United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015
Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act of 2009 to revise and reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation's (NSF) ocean acidification programs through FY2019. The scope of the Act is expanded to cover acidification in estuaries and the Great Lakes, not just oceans. Acidification is the decrease in pH of those waters and changes in their chemistry caused by chemical inputs, including carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology must: (1) oversee the development of adaptation and mitigation strategies to address socioeconomic impacts resulting from ocean acidification, (2) ensure that agencies represented on the interagency working group on ocean acidification deliver data and information to support the Ocean Acidification Information Exchange and a data archive, and (3) establish an Ocean Acidification Advisory Board to provide advice to the subcommittee and the interagency working group and certain information to Congress and the public. The strategic plan for federal research and monitoring on ocean acidification must include: (1) modeling to determine impacts of acidification on marine food webs, and (2) research to understand related and cumulative stressors and other biogeochemical processes occurring in conjunction with ocean acidification. NOAA must establish data processing, storage, and archive facilities and procedures to provide for the long-term stewardship of environmental data, products, and information necessary for carrying out the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2015
Rare Cats and Canids Act of 2015 This bill establishes a Rare Cats and Canids Conservation Fund as a separate account within the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. The Department of the Interior must use amounts in the fund to provide assistance for the conservation of rare felids and rare canids. Grant amounts may not be used for captive breeding unless it is a part of an accredited reintroduction or restoration program. Rare felids or rare canids are any population in the family Felidae (cats) or Canidae (dogs), respectively, that are listed in the Red List of Threatened Species Maintained by the World Conservation Union as near-threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, excluding any population native to the United States or Canada. Tigers are not considered to be rare felids. Interior may convene an advisory group of individuals representing organizations actively involved in the conservation of felids and canids.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2015
Defines "water resources project" and "water resources development project" to include water supply and environmental infrastructure projects, including projects designed to reclaim or reuse municipal wastewater or impaired surface or groundwater, for purposes of specified provisions of: (1) the Water Resources Development Act of 1986 concerning feasibility studies and feasibility reports for water resources projects, and (2) the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 concerning the annual Report to Congress on Future Water Resources Development.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2015
Automatic Voter Registration Act This bill amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require state motor vehicle authorities (MVAs), upon receiving certain identifying information with respect to any individual requesting MVA services, to transmit it to the appropriate state election official. The appropriate state election official shall then notify the individual that unless he or she notifies the official, before 21 calendar days elapse after issuance of the notification, that the individual declines to be registered to vote in federal elections in the state, the individual shall be considered to have submitted a completed voter registration application and be considered automatically registered unless: the official determines that the individual does not meet voter registration eligibility requirements, or the individual is already registered to vote. A state may not use any identifying information regarding an individual's citizenship status for any purpose other than determining whether the individual is eligible to vote in federal elections.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency on Campus Sexual Violence Act or the HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act This bill amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Department of Education (ED) to make publicly available on its website: a list of the institutions of higher education (IHEs) under investigation, sanctions or investigation findings, and a copy of program reviews and resolution agreements entered into with ED or the Department of Justice (DOJ), under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) or title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the letter terminating the ED's monitoring of such agreements; and a list of the IHEs under investigation, and a copy of the program reviews, sanctions or investigation findings, and resolution agreements entered into with ED or DOJ, under the provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). ED may impose a civil penalty on an IHE that has violated a law under the jurisdiction of its Office for Civil Rights. The bill amends the Clery Act to direct ED to develop a biennial sexual violence climate survey and include statistics from such survey in the annual campus security report provided to current and prospective students and employees. An individual may allege a violation of the Clery Act in a judicial proceeding. The maximum penalty for substantially misrepresenting the number, location, or nature of the crimes required to be reported under the Clery Act is increased. The IHE's annual statement of its policy regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking must: use simple and understandable language and clear formatting; be made available and posted on its public website and in conspicuous places in and around student housing and other campus buildings; be provided to each student group, team, or organization that has a specified connection to the IHE or is known by the IHE to act on an unaffiliated basis; and ensure that each of those groups distributes a copy of such policy to each of its members or applicants for membership. ED and DOJ are directed to create a joint interagency Campus Sexual Violence Task Force.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Declares that it is an unlawful employment practice for employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and other specified entities to: (1) fail to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of job applicants or employees, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such an entity's business operation; (2) require such job applicants or employees to accept an accommodation that they choose not to accept, if such accommodation is unnecessary to perform the job; (3) deny employment opportunities based on the need of the entity to make such reasonable accommodations; (4) require such employees to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to their known limitations; or (5) take adverse action in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment against an employee requesting or using such reasonable accommodations. Sets forth enforcement procedures and remedies under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and the rights and protections extended to presidential offices. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue regulations to carry out this Act, including the identification of reasonable accommodations addressing known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Prohibits state immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution from an action for a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
National Discovery Trails Act of 2015 Amends the National Trails System Act to establish as part of the national trails system national discovery trails, which shall be extended, continuous interstate trails located to provide for outdoor recreation and travel and to connect representative examples of America's trails and communities. Authorizes the designation of such trails on federal lands and, with the owner's consent, on non-federal lands. Designates as a national discovery trail the 6,000-mile American Discovery Trail extending from Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore in California, splitting into northern and southern routes at Cincinnati, Ohio, and rejoining at Denver, Colorado. Sets forth requirements for designation of a trail as a national discovery trail. Requires the appropriate Department for each national discovery trail to: (1) administer the trail in cooperation with a competent trailwide volunteer-based organization; and (2) submit a comprehensive plan for the trail's protection, management, development, and use.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2015
Prioritizing Online Threat Enforcement Act of 2015 Directs the Attorney General to ensure: that there are at least 10 additional operational agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) designated to support the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the investigation and coordination of cybercrimes against persons; that each office of a U.S. Attorney designates at least one Assistant U.S. Attorney as responsible for investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes against persons; and the implementation of a regular and comprehensive training program to train FBI agents in the investigation and prosecution of, and the enforcement of laws related to, cybercrimes against persons, including relevant forensic training related to investigating and prosecuting such crimes. Makes additional funding available to the FBI, the Attorney General, and DOJ's Criminal Division for FY2016-FY2020 to: (1) hire and train law enforcement officers to investigate cybercrimes against person and assist in the prosecution of such crimes; and (2) enable relevant DOJ units to procure advanced tools of forensic science and expert computer forensic assistance to investigate, prosecute, and study such crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) gun violence is a public health issue; and (2) Congress should expand enforceable background checks for all commercial gun sales, improve the mental health system, and make gun trafficking and straw purchasing a federal crime.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2015
Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish in the Treasury the Homeless Veterans Assistance Fund; (2) allow individual taxpayers to designate on their tax returns a specified portion (not less than $1) of any overpayment of tax, and to make a contribution of an additional amount, to be paid over to such Fund to provide services to homeless veterans; and (3) require the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Housing and Urban Development, each year beginning with the President's annual budget submission for FY2017, to include a description of the use of funds from the Fund in the previous fiscal year and the proposed use of such funds for the next fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Anna Westin Act of 2015 This bill requires the Office on Women's Health of the Department of Health and Human Services to revise, promote, and make freely available the BodyWise Handbook and BodyWorks obesity prevention program. The handbook must include information about eating disorders relating to males as well as females. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration must award grants: (1) to integrate training on eating disorders into existing curricula for health, mental health, and public health professionals; and (2) to states, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and educational institutions for seminars for school personnel on eating disorders and to make resources available to individuals affected by eating disorders. The National Institute of Mental Health must make public service announcements on eating disorders. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and Internal Revenue Code to prohibit health insurance coverage from permanently excluding a particular condition from mental health or substance use disorder benefits. Mental health and substance use disorder benefits include residential treatment. The Federal Trade Commission must submit to Congress a report that contains a strategy and recommendations to reduce the use in advertising of images that have been altered to change the physical characteristics of the individuals depicted.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to conduct a three-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of awarding grants to veterans service agencies, veterans service organizations, and nongovernmental tax-exempt organizations with experience assisting veterans or the homeless to provide veterans who are receiving specified VA homeless benefits with furniture, household items, and other assistance to facilitate their settlement into permanent housing. Requires the Secretary to: (1) give grant priority to applicants who serve communities that have the greatest need of homeless services, and (2) inform veterans of their eligibility to receive benefits under the pilot program. Caps the amount of each grant and the amount of each grant that a grantee may use to provide benefits to an individual veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Hero Street USA Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins emblematic of Hero Street (in Silvis, Illinois) in the following amounts in commemoration of the semi-centennial of the naming of Hero Street: (1) 50,000 $5 gold coins, (2) 400,000 $1 silver coins, and (3) 750,000 half-dollar clad coins. Coins may be issued only between January 1 and December 31, 2018. There must be surcharges of: (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin, (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin, and (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin, all to be paid to implement the Wounded Warrior Project. The Treasury must act to ensure that coin minting and issuance do not result in any net cost to the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Global Anti-Poaching Act This bill addresses the illegal trade in endangered and threatened wildlife and their related parts and products. The Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other appropriate agencies are urged to: (1) support strengthening existing wildlife enforcement networks and establishing new networks in other appropriate regions, and (2) promote the professionalization of the wildlife law enforcement sector and professional ranger training in partner countries. The State Department: (1) must provide to Congress an annual list of each foreign country that is a major source, transit point, or consumer of wildlife trafficking products; and (2) may withhold certain assistance from countries that have failed to adhere to their obligations under international agreements relating to endangered or threatened species. The President may provide defense articles, services, and related training to security forces of African countries to counter wildlife trafficking and poaching. If a unit of a security force has been found to engage in wildlife trafficking or poaching, the President may not provide such assistance unless the President determines that the government of the country is taking steps to hold the security unit accountable and prevent trafficking and poaching. The bill amends the federal criminal code to make wildlife trafficking violations of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the African Elephant Conservation Act, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 predicate offenses for racketeering and money laundering prosecutions, if such violations involve more than $10,000. Fines and forfeitures from such violations must be transferred to the Multinational Species Conservation Fund and used for the benefit of the species impacted by the violation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Wounded Warrior Service Dog Act of 2015 Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs (VA) to jointly establish the K-9 Companion Corps program for the awarding of grants to assist nonprofit organizations in establishing, planning, designing, and/or operating programs to provide assistance dogs to certain members of the Armed Forces and veterans who have certain disabilities. Defines "assistance dog" to mean a dog specifically trained to perform physical tasks to mitigate the effects of such a disability, except that such term does not include a dog specifically trained for comfort or personal defense.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Strong Start for America's Children Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to allot matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies, childhood education program providers, or consortia of those entities to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for children from low-income families. Grants are allotted to states based on each state's proportion of children who are age four and who are from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty level. "High-quality prekindergarten programs" are those that serve children three or four years of age and meet criteria concerning: class size; learning environments; teacher qualifications, salaries, and professional development; program monitoring; and accessibility to comprehensive health and support services. Programs supported by a state must conduct criminal history background checks on employees and applicants for employment with unsupervised access to children. States may apply to use up to 15% of their grant for subgrants to high-quality early childhood education and care programs for infants and toddlers whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level. ED and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall develop a process to: (1) provide Head Start program services to children younger than age four in states or regions that already provide four-year-olds whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level with sustained access to high-quality prekindergarten programs, or (2) convert programs to serve infants and toddlers. ED shall award competitive matching grants to states to increase their capacity to offer high-quality prekindergarten programs. States must provide assurances that they will use their grant to become eligible, within three years of receiving the grant, for this Act's grants for high-quality prekindergarten programs. The bill amends the Head Start Act to direct HHS to make grants to Early Head Start agencies to partner with center-based or family child care providers, particularly those that receive support under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990, to assist them in meeting program performance standards. Such partnerships may serve children through age three. The bill reauthorizes the programs providing: (1) preschool grants for special education and related services, and (2) early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. The bill expresses the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the value of the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin, (2) Grand Staircase-Escalante, (3) Moab-La Sal Canyons, (4) Henry Mountains, (5) Glen Canyon, (6) San Juan-Anasazi, (7) Canyonlands Basin, (8) San Rafael Swell, and (9) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative requirements for: (1) the exchange of state-owned lands within such areas, (2) federal reservation of water rights, (3) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness, (4) authorized livestock grazing, and (5) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Every Child Deserves a Family Act Prohibits adoption or foster care placement service entities that receive federal assistance (or that contract with entities receiving such assistance) from using the sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status of a prospective adoptive or foster parent, or from using the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child, to: (1) deny a person the opportunity to become an adoptive or foster parent; (2) delay or deny the placement of a child for adoption or into foster care; or (3) require different or additional screenings or procedures for adoptive or foster placement decisions, including whether to seek the termination of birth parent rights or to make a child legally available for adoptive placement. Allows individuals aggrieved by a violation of this Act to bring an action seeking relief in federal court. Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publish guidance on legal compliance and to assist entities with casework practices, recruitment efforts, and cultural competency training. Allows HHS to withhold payments under part B (Child and Family Services) or part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to states that fail to comply with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Student Loan Tax Debt Relief Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the exclusion from gross income of income attributable to the discharge of student loan indebtedness to include indebtedness discharged pursuant to income-contingent and income-based repayment plans.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
21st Century Cures Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through FY2018. The NIH Innovation Fund is established to fund a strategic plan, early stage investigators, and high-risk, high-reward research. The NIH may require scientific data to be shared if the research is fully funded by the NIH. The NIH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must implement a system that allows further research on clinical trial data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must expand surveillance of neurological diseases. The Council for 21st Century Cures is established to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative cures, treatments, and preventive measures. The Department of Health and Human Services must monitor the use of antibacterial and antifungal drugs and resistance to these drugs. Requirements are established for interoperability and certification of health information technology. Practices that discourage the exchange of electronic health information are prohibited. This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the drug approval process, including by: (1) allowing patient experience data to be considered in the risk-benefit assessment of a new drug, (2) requiring the FDA to qualify drug development tools, (3) allowing the FDA to rely upon data previously submitted for a different purpose to expedite the development of certain drugs, and (4) establishing a streamlined data review program for approval of a drug for an additional indication. Manufacturers and distributors of investigational drugs for serious conditions must publish their policies on compassionate use requests. The marketing exclusivity period is extended by six months for a drug approved for a new indication that is a rare disease or condition. The priority review voucher program for rare pediatric diseases is revised and extended. The FDA must: (1) establish a program for priority review of breakthrough medical devices, (2) identify types of devices that do not require a report preceding introduction, and (3) rely on a third-party to determine the safety and effectiveness of changes to medical devices. Regarding medical devices, this bill defines “valid scientific evidence” and makes changes to classification panels and the humanitarian device exemption. “Health software” is defined and, with certain exceptions, exempted from FDA regulations. This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to: (1) increase certain payments for new antimicrobial drugs, (2) establish a payment methodology for certain medical devices, and (3) publish online estimated payments for certain outpatient items and services. A pharmaceutical and technology ombudsman within the CMS must respond to complaints from manufacturers of medical products. Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors may limit the access of certain beneficiaries to frequently abused drugs. This bill amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to allow exported controlled substances to be re-exported within the European Economic Area.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2015
Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in addition to qualified primary care physicians and other primary care practitioners, to cover intensive behavioral therapy for obesity furnished by: (1) a physician who is not a qualified primary care physician; (2) an evidence-based, community-based HHS-approved lifestyle counseling program; or (3) any other appropriate health care provider (including a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, a clinical psychologist, and a registered dietitian or nutrition professional). Allows coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity furnished by another appropriate health care provider or program only if it is furnished: (1) upon referral from, and in coordination with, a physician or primary care practitioner in a primary care or other HHS-specified setting; and (2) in an office setting, a hospital outpatient department, a community-based site that complies with the federal regulations concerning the privacy of individually identifiable health information, or another HHS-specified setting. Authorizes HHS to cover under Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) medication for treatment of obesity or for weight loss management for an overweight individual with one or more related comorbidities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Broadening Opportunities Through Education Act This bill directs the Department of Education to award competitive grants to states that make school attendance compulsory through age 17. States must use their grant to improve their secondary school programs, such as by: establishing or expanding work-based programs that integrate academic and career-based skills; implementing an early warning system that helps high schools and their feeder middle schools identify and assist struggling students; establishing grade and school transition programs and supports; personalizing the school experience and increasing student engagement through service-learning and experiential, work-based, and other learning opportunities; providing extended-learning opportunities by the school day, week, or year; and increasing student supports through activities such as student advisories, counseling, and one-to-one mentoring.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to eliminate the expected family contribution (EFC) used to determine financial need in the case of a Pell Grant-eligible student whose parent or guardian died in the line of duty as a police officer, firefighter, or other public safety officer. Such student is eligible to receive an automatic zero EFC and qualify for the maximum Pell Grant award if the student was less than 24 years old or enrolled at an institution of higher education at the time of the parent or guardian's death.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Global Respect Act Directs the President to submit to Congress a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible, or acted as an agent, for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against an individual in a foreign country based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Makes a listed foreign person ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Requires revocation of any visa issued for such person. Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive such prohibition if in U.S. national security interests or if necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Requires congressional notification prior to any such waiver. Directs the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions in the annual country reports on human rights practices.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Constitutional Amendment Declares that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Finds that the lack of minority representation in law enforcement across the country needs to be addressed. Calls on law enforcement departments to have a formal plan of community-oriented policing. Commits to ensuring that the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program has the resources it needs to increase the hiring and retention of diverse law enforcement officers. Encourages the Department of Justice (DOJ), in collaboration with the COPS office, to issue further guidance and best practices on diversity hiring and retention of law enforcement personnel, use of excessive and deadly force, and community-oriented policing strategies. Urges the Bureau of Justice Statistics to report annually on DOJ's efforts to increase community-oriented policing and diversity hiring and retention within law enforcement departments nationwide.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of the National Health Service Corps. Makes physical therapists eligible for repayment of their educational loans in order to ensure an adequate supply of physical therapists.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Securing Participation, Engagement, and Knowledge Freedom by Reducing Egregious Efforts Act of 2015 or the SPEAK FREE Act of 2015 Amends the federal judicial code to allow a person against whom a lawsuit is asserted to file a special motion to dismiss claims referred to as strategic lawsuits against public participation ("SLAPP suits") that arise from an oral or written statement or other expression, or conduct in furtherance of such expression, by the defendant in connection with an official proceeding or about a matter of public concern. Defines "matter of public concern" as an issue related to: (1) health or safety; (2) environmental, economic, or community well-being; (3) the government; (4) a public official or public figure; or (5) a good, product, or service in the marketplace. Requires courts to grant such a special motion to dismiss if the party filing the motion makes a prima facie showing that the claim asserted against them is a SLAPP suit, unless the responding party demonstrates that the claim is likely to succeed on the merits. Provides exceptions prohibiting courts from granting such a special motion to dismiss if the claim concerns: a government enforcement action, a business making representations of fact in commercial speech to consumers about its own or a business competitor's goods or services, or a public interest claim on behalf of the general public. Allows dismissal of private suits, notwithstanding such commercial speech and public interest exceptions, if the claim is against: a person or entity engaged in activities to disseminate or express ideas to the public in a book or academic journal; any person or entity based upon statements or conduct concerning the creation, dissemination, exhibition, advertisement, or other promotion of journalistic, consumer commentary, dramatic, literary, musical, political, or artistic works, including motion pictures, television programs, or articles published online or in a newspaper or magazine of general circulation; or a nonprofit organization that receives more than 50% of annual revenue grants or awards from, programs of, or reimbursements for services rendered to the government. Sets forth special procedural requirements for discovery and motions. Requires courts to award litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees to private parties that filed and prevailed on certain motions under this Act or to parties that responded to motions found to be frivolous.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2015 Requires states receiving funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, or the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to: (1) require all individuals enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency and all law enforcement officers of the state to fulfill a training session on sensitivity each fiscal year, including training on ethnic and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants; and (2) certify to the Attorney General that such training sessions have been completed. Subjects a state that fails to comply to a reduction of up to 20% of such funds that would otherwise be allocated to the state. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive such requirements if compliance would violate a state's Constitution. Directs the Attorney General to reduce by 20% the amount that would otherwise be awarded to a state or local government under such grant programs for a fiscal year if it fails to enact or have in effect by the end of the previous fiscal year a statute requiring the appointment of an independent prosecutor to conduct any criminal investigation and prosecution in which: (1) one or more of the possible defendants is a law enforcement officer, (2) one or more of the alleged offenses involves the law enforcement officer's use of deadly force in the course of carrying out that officer's duty, and (3) the law enforcement officer's use of deadly force resulted in a death or injury.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally engaging in animal crushing in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. (Current law prohibits knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video.) Adds exceptions for conduct that is for predator or pest control, medical or scientific research, or necessary to protect the life or property of a person from a serious threat caused by an animal.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. Declares that such amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act of 2015 Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the Department of Education (ED) from providing education funding to any educational agency or institution that allows school personnel to inflict corporal punishment upon a student as a form of punishment or to modify undesirable behavior. Requires each state to submit a plan to ED, within 18 months of this Act's enactment and every third year thereafter, that describes how the state eliminates the use of corporal punishment in schools and makes school personnel and parents aware of its policies and procedures for doing so. Authorizes ED to award three-year grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to assist them in improving school climate and culture by implementing school-wide positive behavior supports. Requires grant and subgrant funds to be used for professional training, technical assistance, research, and outreach regarding positive behavior supports. Requires LEAs to ensure that private school personnel can participate, on an equitable basis, in activities supported by such funds. Authorizes ED to allocate funds to the Department of the Interior to carry out such activities with regard to schools operated or funded by such Department. Directs ED to conduct a national assessment to determine compliance with this Act's requirements and identify best practices regarding positive behavior support professional training programs. Gives Protection and Advocacy Systems the authority provided under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 to investigate, monitor, and enforce this Act's protections for students.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the licensing of ammunition dealers. Prohibits any person except a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from: (1) selling ammunition, with an exception for a sale of ammunition to a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer; or (2) engaging in the business of importing or manufacturing ammunition, or in the course of such business, from shipping, transporting, or receiving ammunition. Prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from: (1) transferring ammunition to a person unless the licensee, in the physical presence of the person, has verified the person's identity by examining a valid identification document containing a photograph of such person; or (2) selling or delivering any ammunition (currently, any armor-piercing ammunition) to any person unless the licensee notes in his records the person's name, age, and place of residence, if the person is an individual, or the person's identity and principal and local places of business, if the person is a business entity. Applies prohibitions applicable to the shipping or transport of firearms, and record-keeping requirements applicable to the importation, production, shipment, receipt, sale, or other disposition of firearms, to ammunition. Requires each licensee to: (1) prepare a report of multiple sales or other dispositions whenever the licensee sells or otherwise disposes of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to an unlicensed person at one time or during any five consecutive business days; and (2) forward such report to the specified office and to the department of state police, the state law enforcement agency, or the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the sale took place by the close of business on the day the multiple sale occurs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Critical Electric Infrastructure Protection Act Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Department of Energy (DOE), with or without notice, hearing, or report, to issue orders for emergency measures to protect the reliability of either the bulk-power system or the defense critical electric infrastructure whenever the President issues a written directive or determination identifying an imminent grid security emergency. Requires the President to notify specified congressional committees promptly whenever the President issues such a directive. Instructs DOE, before issuing an order for such emergency measures, to the extent practicable in light of the nature of the grid security emergency and the urgency of the need for action, to consult with governmental authorities in Canada and Mexico, regarding implementation of the emergency measures. Prescribes: (1) implementation procedures (including expiration and reissuance of emergency orders); and (2) related cost recovery measures affecting owners, operators, or users of the bulk-power system. Requires DOE, to the extent practicable and consistent with obligations to protect classified information, to provide temporary access to classified information relating to a grid security emergency to key personnel of relevant entities in order to optimize communications between them and federal agencies. Requires DOE to identify facilities in the U.S. and its territories that are: (1) critical to the defense of the United States, and (2) vulnerable to a disruption of the supply of electric energy provided by an external provider. Exempts critical electric infrastructure information from mandatory disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to: (1) designate critical electric infrastructure information, and (2) prescribe regulations and orders prohibiting its unauthorized disclosure but also authorizing appropriate voluntary sharing with federal, state, local, and tribal authorities. Shields a person or entity in possession of critical electric infrastructure information from any cause of action for sharing or receiving information that was done in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Federal Bird-Safe Buildings Act of 2015 Requires each public building constructed, substantially altered, or acquired by the General Services Administration (GSA) to meet the following standards: at least 90% of the exposed facade material from ground level to 40 feet shall not be composed of glass or shall be composed of glass employing elements that preclude bird collisions without completely obscuring vision, ultraviolet (UV) patterned glass that contains UV-reflective or contrasting patterns that are visible to birds, patterns on glass designed in accordance with a rule that restricts horizontal spaces to less than 2 inches high and vertical spaces to less than 4 inches wide, opaque, etched, stained, frosted, or translucent glass, orany combination of these methods (modified glass); at least 60% of the exposed facade material above 40 feet shall meet such glass standard; there shall not be any transparent passageways or corners; all glass adjacent to atria or courtyards containing water features, plants, and other materials attractive to birds shall meet the modified glass standard; and outside lighting shall be appropriately shielded and minimized. Directs GSA to: (1) ensure that actual bird mortality is monitored at each public building; and (2) reduce exterior building and site lighting for each public building, where practicable. Exempts historic buildings of national significance, the White House and its grounds, the Supreme Court building and its grounds, or the U.S. Capitol and its related buildings and grounds.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2015
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Federal Trade Commission to initiate and complete a rulemaking to consider making a special note in a prominent manner on any Energy Guide label for products that include Smart Grid capability to explain that the value of the feature depends on the Smart Grid capability of the utility system and that the use of such capability could reduce the customer's costs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2015
This bill requires the Department of Energy (DOE), acting through the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, to submit to Congress a plan to establish a Strategic Transformer Reserve for the storage, in strategically located facilities, of spare large power transformers in sufficient numbers to temporarily replace critically damaged large power transformers. DOE may not establish a Strategic Transformer Reserve until Congress has approved the plan.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2015
Recognizes the National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that children face in the foster-care system and supports the designation of National Foster Care Month.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Youth Access to American Jobs Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Education to award grants to 10 eligible entities (partnerships among a local educational agency (LEA), a community college, and a state apprentice program or a joint-labor management training program) to carry out a program for students to: take science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses and STEM-focused Career and Technical Education courses and other courses during grades 11 and 12 at a secondary school served by the LEA that prepare them for community college; enroll in a course of study related to the manufacturing field at the community college upon graduating from the secondary school; and enroll, for a two-year period, in the state apprenticeship program or the joint-labor management training program upon receiving an associate's degree from the community college.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act Amends federal firearms provisions to expand the definition of: (1) "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner; and (2) "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, the use or attempted use of force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon by a dating partner or former dating partner against the victim. Prohibits the sale or other disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, or the possession or receipt of a firearm by, a person who: (1) is subject to a court order, or an ex parte order, that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would put an individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury, including an order issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student, or from intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court; or (2) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of stalking under federal, state, territorial, or tribal law or of a crime that involves conduct that would be proscribed by prohibitions against stalking if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Raise the Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.00 an hour on January 1, 2016, or, if later, on the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act; (2) $9.00 an hour after one year; (3) $10.00 an hour after two years; (4) $11.00 an hour after three years; (5) $12.00 an hour after four years; and (6) the amount the Department of Labor determines (based on increases in the median hourly wage of all employees) after five years, and annually thereafter. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees shall increase to $3.15 an hour for one year on January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase, according to a specified formula, shall ensure that it remains equal to the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Employers must notify their employees of the right to retain any received tips. The separate minimum wage requirements for tipped employees shall end, effective one day after the hourly wage established for them under this Act takes effect. The Department must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on the Department's website 60 days before it takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Local Task Forces on 21st Century Policing Act of 2015 Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the use of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program by state and local governments for the establishment of a task force to identify the best ways to create an effective partnership between local law enforcement officers and the community those officers serve that reduces crime and increases trust.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to distribution of additional resident positions as they affect calculation of payments for direct graduate medical education costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for each of FY2017-FY2021 (and each succeeding fiscal year if additional residency positions are available to distribute), to increase the otherwise applicable resident limit for each qualifying hospital. Directs the Secretary to determine the total number of additional residency positions available for distribution, in accordance with guidelines for allocating 33% to hospitals already operating over the resident limit, and generally setting the aggregate number of increases in the resident limit to 3,000 in each year. Specifies the process for distributing positions. Declares that, for discharges occurring on or after July 1, 2017, the indirect teaching adjustment factor, with respect to additional payments for subsection (d) hospitals with indirect costs of medical education, insofar as those additional payments are attributable to resident positions distributed to a hospital according to such process, shall be computed in a specified manner with respect to those resident positions. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Directs the National Health Care Workforce Commission established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to study the physician workforce. Directs the Comptroller General to study strategies for increasing the diversity of the health profession workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Keeping Our Campaigns Honest Act of 2015 Directs the Federal Communications Commission to revise its sponsorship identification rules to require the disclosure announcements required for broadcast matter or origination cablecasting matter that is political or that involves the discussion of a controversial issue of public importance to include the names of significant donors to the person whose identity is required to be disclosed in such an announcement.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
STEM K to Career Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require the Department of Education to forgive student loan obligations of borrowers employed as full-time teachers of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) in elementary or secondary schools in which the number of low-income children exceeds a certain percentage. Portions of the student loan debt, including interest, will be forgiven on the basis of years of service, with 100% forgiven for five years of teacher service. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an increased tax deduction for expenses by elementary and secondary school teachers for STEM education supplies; (2) a tax credit for the employment of STEM interns; and (3) a tax credit for employment of individuals who participated in an apprenticeship program in a STEM field, with the amount determined according to the degree of completion of a program. Beginning with FY2016, an institution of higher education must use at least 7% of federal work-study funds granted under HEA to compensate students employed in STEM fields.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Arbitration Fairness Act of 2015 Declares that no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of an employment, consumer, antitrust, or civil rights dispute. Declares, further, that the validity and enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by a court, under federal law, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement. Exempts from this Act arbitration provisions in a contract between an employer and a labor organization or between labor organizations. Denies to any such arbitration provision, however, the effect of waiving the right of an employee to seek judicial enforcement of a right arising under the U.S. Constitution, a state constitution, a federal or state statute, or related public policy.
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 · 29 April 2015
Student Digital Privacy and Parental Rights Act of 2015 Prohibits an operator of a school's Internet or online service that is designed and marketed for K-12 educational or administrative purposes from presenting students or parents with targeted advertisements that are selected based on information obtained or inferred from: (1) students' online behavior or use of online or mobile applications, or (2) personally identifiable information about the student. Exempts online advertisements that are contextually relevant and selected based on a single visit or session of use during which the advertisements are presented, provided that information about students' online behavior is not collected or retained over time. Prohibits operators from: (1) selling students' personal information to third parties; or (2) collecting student information to create a personal profile or for purposes unrelated to educational instruction, school collaboration, or administrative activities. Requires operators to: (1) implement information security procedures and a process for responding to data breaches; (2) notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and students, parents, educational agencies or institutions, school officials, or teachers of unauthorized acquisitions of, or access to, personal information; and (3) delete certain student information that is not required to be maintained by the school within 45 days after a request from an educational agency, institution, or student's parent or within one year after the operator ceases to provide the service. Requires operators to disclose publicly the types of personal information they collect or generate, the purposes for which the information is used or disclosed to third parties, and the identity of any such third parties. Instructs operators to establish procedures for parents and system users to access and correct certain information. Allows operators to disclose students' information only for certain lawful purposes or pursuant to a process that requires the student's or parent's express affirmative request. Requires an operator to receive the student's or parent's request before providing transcripts for admission to an institution of higher education or to a potential employer. Provides authority to the FTC to enforce this Act and treats violations as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Authorizes a student who is at least 18 years of age, enrolled in an institution of higher education, or a secondary school graduate to provide any required consent or to exercise rights provided to parents under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act or the EACH Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the religious conscience exemption under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to exempt individuals who rely solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs from the requirement to purchase and maintain minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
National Park and Wilderness Waters Protection Forever Act Withdraws federal lands within the Rainy River Drainage Basin in Minnesota from all forms of: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) operation under the mineral leasing and mineral material laws. Deems the approval of any lease or permit for activities relating to mining on federal lands in the Basin to be a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Requires an environmental impact statement conducted for such an action to include consideration of any potential impacts to units of the National Park System (NPS) or land in the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) located in the Basin. Conditions the issuance or renewal of any such lease or permit on a requirement that the permittee or lessee seasonally monitor water quality on such lands throughout the Basin. Requires all mining activities to be suspended if any mining related contamination is detected in any NPS unit or NWPS land in the Basin until all contamination has been remediated. Bars a federal agency from approving any mining related activities on federal lands in the Basin until the entity holding a lease or permit for that activity has submitted: (1) an acceptable contamination remediation plan, and (2) a full reclamation and performance bond sufficient to return the affected area to its original condition and treat any potential contamination for 50 years following the conclusion of any mining activities. Exempts sand, gravel, and granite operations that exist on the date of enactment of this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. McNerney, Jerry [D-CA-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/m001166_200.jpg)