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United States · Official source
1,914 records where Rep. Pearce, Stevan [R-NM-2] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Future Logging Careers Act Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to make the restrictions on oppressive child labor inapplicable to employment of an employee age 16 or 17 by a parent, or a person standing in place of a parent, in a logging or mechanized operation owned or operated by that parent or person.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Condemns violence against religious minorities in the Middle East and actions that limit their practice of faith. Reaffirms the commitment of the United States to promoting religious freedom around the world and protecting religious minorities facing persecution. Calls on the governments of the Middle East to uphold the internationally recognized human right to freedom from religious persecution and to end violence and discrimination against religious minorities. Urges the Obama Administration to appoint a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and restores provisions of law amended by those sections) related to the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in spending under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Advisory Boards Act Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish a Small Business Advisory Board to: (1) advise and consult with the CFPB in the exercise of its functions under the federal consumer financial laws regarding eligible financial products or services, and (2) provide information on evolving small business practices. Requires such Board members to be representatives of small business concerns that: provide financial products or services for use by consumers primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, are service providers to covered persons; and use consumer financial products or services in financing the business activities of such small businesses. Encourages the Director, in making such Board appointments, to ensure the participation of minority- and women-owned small business concerns and their interests, without regard to party affiliation. Instructs the Director to establish a Credit Union Advisory Council and a Community Bank Advisory Council to advise and consult with the CFPB on consumer financial products or services that impact credit unions and community banks, respectively. Encourages the Director, in making appointments to such Councils, to ensure the participation of credit unions and community banks predominantly serving traditionally underserved communities and populations and their interests, without regard to party affiliation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2015 Amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to locate the Office on International Religious Freedom in the Office of the Secretary of State. Directs the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to seek to coordinate religious freedom policies and religious engagement strategies across all U.S. programs, projects, and activities. Specifies additional foreign government actions violating religious freedom for the Ambassador's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, including a Special Watch List of countries or violent nonstate actors that have engaged in or tolerated such violations but do not yet meet the criteria for designation as countries of particular concern for religious freedom. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary to develop a curriculum for, and the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to begin, mandatory training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers. Amends IRFA to require the Commission on International Religious Freedom to compile and make publicly available regularly updated lists of persons imprisoned, detained, disappeared, placed under house arrest, tortured, or subject to forced renunciations of faith by: (1) a foreign government recommended for designation as a country of particular concern for religions freedom, or (2) a violent nonstate actor. Extends the Commission's termination date. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to direct the President to appoint in the National Security Council a Special Adviser for Global Religion Engagement and International Religious Freedom (in lieu of the Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom) who shall assist the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to coordinate executive branch international religious freedom policies and global religion engagement strategies. Establishes within the National Security Council: (1) the Interagency Policy Committee on Religious Freedom and Engagement; and (2) the Interagency Policy Committee on Religion, International Religious Freedom, and National Security. Amends IRFA to revise requirements, including reporting requirements, for presidential actions with respect to country and violent nonstate actor designations, in particular those countries on the Special Watch List. Declares the sense of Congress that: ongoing and persistent waivers for designated countries, especially those engaging in particularly severe violations of religious freedom, do not fulfill IRFA purposes; and the President, the Secretary, and other executive branch officials, in consultation with Congress, should seek to find ways to address existing violations, on a country-by-country basis, through specified actions. Repeals the automatic termination of a presidential designation after two years. States that it should be U.S. policy that violent nonstate actors should be eligible for designation as countries of particular concern and that specified presidential actions should apply to them or individual members of such groups. Makes funds available for FY2016-FY2021 for the Human Rights and Democracy Fund. Establishes in the State Department the Religious Freedom Defense Fund, to be administered by the Ambassador at Large. Authorizes the President to take specified actions against foreign persons: (1) responsible for committing or supporting systemic violations of religious freedom, or (2) supporting violence or terrorist acts targeting members of religious groups. Declares the sense of Congress about: (1) adoption of codes of conduct by U.S. institutions of higher education outside the United States, and (2) national security strategy to promote religious freedom through U.S. foreign policy.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax exclusion for distributions from health flexible spending arrangements, to: (1) increase to $5,000, with an additional $500 for each additional employee dependent above two dependents, the maximum annual amount of funding for such plans, and (2) allow a carryforward into the next year for unused amounts in such plans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Bureau of Reclamation Transparency Act Directs the Department of the Interior to submit to Congress, make publicly available, and biennially update an Asset Management Report that describes the Bureau of Reclamation's efforts to maintain in a reliable manner all reserved works (buildings, structures, facilities, or equipment owned by the Bureau for which operations and maintenance are performed by Bureau employees or through a contract with the Bureau) at Reclamation facilities (infrastructure assets that are owned by the Bureau at each Reclamation project owned by the Bureau) and to standardize and streamline data reporting and processes across regions and areas for the purpose of maintaining such works. Requires such Report to include: (1) a detailed assessment of major repair and rehabilitation needs for all such works; and (2) an itemized list of major repair and rehabilitation needs of individual Reclamation facilities at each Reclamation project, including a budget level cost estimate of appropriations needed to complete each item and an assignment of a categorical rating for each item consistent with existing uniform categorization systems to inform the annual budget process and agency requirements. Directs Interior to: (1) coordinate with the non-federal entities responsible for the operation and maintenance of transferred works (Reclamation facilities at which operations and maintenance are carried out by a non-federal entity under a formal agreement with the Bureau) in developing reporting requirements for Asset Management Reports regarding the condition of, and planned maintenance for, transferred works; and (2) develop and implement a categorical rating system for transferred works.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Chris Kyle Medal of Honor Act Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Navy Seal Christopher Scott Kyle for acts of valor during Operation Iraqi Freedom, notwithstanding otherwise applicable time limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Death Tax Repeal Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and (2) make permanent the maximum 35% gift tax rate and the lifetime gift tax exemption. Provides for an inflation adjustment to such exemption amount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Accountability in Unemployment Act of 2015 Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation) of the Social Security Act to require state laws to deny unemployment compensation to applicants unless they undergo drug testing and test negative. Requires a retest after a 30-day waiting period for applicants who test positive for any one of several specified drugs. Denies unemployment compensation for five years to any applicant who tests positive for drugs three or more times.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. Defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
Building upon Unique Indian Learning and Development Act Directs the Department of the Interior to establish an in-school facility innovation program contest to encourage institutions of higher education (IHEs) to solve the problem of how to improve Indian school facilities for problem-based learning. Requires the Department of Education (ED) and Interior to establish a Department of the Interior and Department of Education Joint Oversight Board to coordinate Indian education policies and assistance. Amends part A (Indian Education) of title VII (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to establish a program awarding grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), IHEs, or nonprofit organizations to create or expand teacher and administrator pipelines for teachers and administrators of Native American students. Amends the school improvement program, under part A of title I of the ESEA, to require states to develop standards-based assessments and classroom lessons that accommodate diverse learning styles. Directs: (1) ED to expand programs for Native American school children to support learning in the children's Native language and culture and provide English language instruction, and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct research on culture- and language-based education to identify the factors that improve education and health outcomes. Excepts Native language teachers from the requirement that teachers be highly qualified. Requires states to develop an alternative licensure or certification process for those teachers. Directs the Administration for Native Americans in the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program providing grants to public and nonprofit private agencies to assist Native Americans in ensuring the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages. Requires ED assistance programs for elementary and secondary schools or early learning programs to reserve at least 0.5% of their funding for Indian elementary and secondary schools or early learning programs. Requires ED to: (1) establish a program to improve school environments and student skill development for healthy choices for Native American students, (2) establish a program for school dropout prevention for Native American students, and (3) collaborate with the Department of Agriculture to establish tribal-school specific school gardens and nutrition programs that are within the tribal cultural context. Authorizes and appropriates additional funds for the Impact Aid program, under title VIII of the ESEA, through FY2018. (The Impact Aid program compensates LEAs for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their school districts.) Authorizes appropriations for FY2016, for use through FY2017, for: (1) the tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions program under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978; (2) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; (3) institutional operations grants for the Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute under the Snyder Act; and (4) scholarships and adult education and special higher education scholarships under the Snyder Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
STEM Support for Teachers in Education and Mentoring (STEM) Act or the STEM 2 Act Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive planning grants to states, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, nonprofit organizations, or institutions of higher education (IHEs) to develop effective state or tribal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) networks that coordinate STEM education efforts by: (1) facilitating communication and collaboration among public and private STEM stakeholders, and (2) identifying STEM occupational skills needed in the future. Directs the Secretary to award competitive grants to states, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, local educational agencies (LEAs), IHEs, or nonprofit organizations to develop, implement, and evaluate STEM education training programs for teachers and administrators in elementary, middle, and secondary schools and for preservice teachers in postsecondary schools. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to states, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, LEAs, public charter schools, IHEs, or nonprofit organizations to support curriculum development, assessments, or related activities that enable states to adopt new mathematics and science academic standards. Requires the Secretary to establish a national panel to identify and recommend the most effective STEM curricula models for kindergarten through grade 12.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue or revise medical certification regulations to ensure that an individual may operate as a pilot of a covered aircraft without regard to any medical certification or proof of health requirement otherwise applicable under federal law if the flight meets certain criteria and the individual: possesses a valid state driver's license, complies with applicable medical requirements associated with that license, is transporting five or fewer passengers, and is operating under visual or instrument flight rules. "Covered aircraft" is one that: is not authorized under federal law to carry more than six occupants, and has a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. The FAA may not take enforcement action against a pilot of a covered aircraft for not holding a valid third-class medical certificate if the pilot and the flight meet such requirements, unless the FAA has published final regulations under this Act in the Federal Register. The Pilot's Bill of Rights is amended to authorize any persons adversely affected by an FAA decision to deny, suspend, or revoke a covered certificate or impose a civil penalty to file an appeal with the National Transportation Safety Board or, without further administrative review, in the U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This subjects all FAA-issued certificates involving an adverse action to review. "Covered certificate" means, in addition to an airman certificate (as under current law), a design organization certificate, holder of type certificate, production certificate, airworthiness certificate, air carrier operating certificate, airport operating certificate, air agency certificate, air navigation facility certificate, or medical certificate. Requirements are prescribed or revised for FAA: failure to notify an individual who is the subject of an investigation regarding the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a covered certificate; provision to persons holding a covered certificate of the releasable portion of an investigative report before issuing an emergency order relating to the investigation; response to a written request by a certificate-holding repair station subject to an investigation to withdraw from or settle a proceeding relating to the investigation within 30 days after receiving the request; and reexamination of airmen certificates where there are reasonable grounds to question an airman's lack of competence or believe a certificate was obtained through fraud. The FAA may not take enforcement action against an individual for violation of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) regarding airspace system information until the FAA certifies its compliance with certain NOTAM Improvement program requirements, as amended by this Act. The FAA, upon receiving a request for a covered flight record not in its possession, shall request the record from a FAA contract tower or other FAA contractor possessing it. Any individual designated by the FAA to act as an FAA representative shall be shielded from liability in a civil action for actions performed with reasonable care in connection with related duties. The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 is amended to shield from liability a volunteer pilot that flies for a volunteer pilot nonprofit organization for public benefit an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured. The staff, mission coordinators, officers, and directors of the nonprofit organization shall also be shielded from liability, provided certain conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
General Aviation Pilot Protection Act of 2015 Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue or revise FAA medical certification regulations to ensure that an individual may operate as a pilot of a covered aircraft without regard to any medical certification or proof of health requirement otherwise applicable under federal law if the flight meets certain criteria and the individual: (1) possesses a valid state driver's license, (2) complies with applicable medical requirements associated with that license, (3) is transporting five or fewer passengers, and (4) is operating under visual or instrument flight rules. Defines "covered aircraft" as an aircraft that: (1) is not authorized under federal law to carry more than six occupants, and (2) has a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. Prohibits the Administrator from taking enforcement action against a pilot of a covered aircraft for not holding a valid third-class medical certificate if the pilot and the flight meets such requirements, unless the Administrator has published final regulations in the Federal Register.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Return of Certain Lands At Fort Wingate to The Original Inhabitants Act Requires all U.S. interest in and to specified lands of the former Fort Wingate Depot Activity in McKinley County, New Mexico (Activity), transferred to the Department of the Interior to be held in trust for: (1) the Zuni Tribe as part of the Zuni Reservation, unless the Tribe elects to have the parcel conveyed to it in restricted fee status; and (2) the Navajo Nation as part of the Navajo Reservation, unless the Navajo Nation elects to have the parcel conveyed to it in restricted fee status. Subjects the lands of the Activity held in trust or conveyed in restricted fee status to reservation by the United States of such easements as the Department of the Army determines are reasonably required to permit access to Activity lands for administrative, environmental cleanup, and environmental remediation purposes. Requires the lands of the Activity identified as parcel 1 to be held in trust subject to a shared easement for cultural and religious purposes only. Requires the access road for the Activity that originates at the frontage road for Interstate 40 and leads to the parcel of the administration area to be held in common by both the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation to provide for equal access to the Activity. Subjects lands held in trust or conveyed in restricted fee status to easements reasonably required to permit access to the Missile Defense Agency facility as needed by the Department of Defense. Requires the Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation, after a parcel of land has been transferred or conveyed, to notify the Secretary of the Army of the existence or discovery of any contamination or hazardous material on it.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Secret Science Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support such action is the best available science, specifically identified, and publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results. A covered action includes a risk, exposure, or hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to revise the process of selecting members of the Science Advisory Board, guidelines for participation in Board advisory activities, and terms of office. The Board provides scientific advice to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This bill requires the Board to independently provide that advice. Federally registered lobbyists may not be appointed to the Board. The EPA must provide draft risk or hazard assessments in its regulatory proposals and documents to the Board. The Board's advice and comments must be included in the record regarding any such proposal and published in the Federal Register. The Board's member committees and investigative panels must operate in accordance with the membership, participation, and policy requirements contained in this Act, including new requirements for public participation in advisory activities of the Board. The member committees and investigative panels do not have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the Board and may not report directly to the EPA. The Board must: (1) strive to avoid making policy determinations or recommendations, (2) communicate uncertainties, (3) encourage dissenting members to make their views known, (4) conduct periodic reviews to ensure that its activities address the most important scientific issues affecting the EPA, and (5) respond to Congress fully and in a timely manner. This Act may not be construed as supplanting the requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act or the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 2015
Partner with Korea Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to create an E-4 treaty trader visa category for up to 15,000 nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) each fiscal year who are coming to the United States solely to perform specialty occupation services and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor has certified to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State that the intending employer has filed an attestation concerning U.S. worker protections with the Secretary of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2015 This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue orders applicable to manufacturers of concrete masonry products. Any such order must provide for the establishment of a Concrete Masonry Products Board to carry out a program of promotion, research, and information regarding concrete masonry products. Manufacturers and importers shall maintain, and make available, specified records. An order must also provide that assessments be paid by concrete masonry product manufacturers with respect to concrete masonry products manufactured and marketed in the United States. Assessment rates are specified. At least 50% of the assessments paid by a manufacturer must be used to support research, education, and promotion plans and projects in support of the geographic region of the manufacturer. During the 60-day period preceding the proposed effective date of an order, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum for order approval among the manufacturers required to pay assessments under it. Referendum procedures are outlined. The bill allows petition and review of an order, and order enforcement through U.S. district courts. The Secretary: (1) may conduct appropriate investigations in order to administer this Act (with power of subpoena); and (2) must suspend or terminate any order or provision that obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the purposes of this Act, or that is not favored by persons voting in a referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2015 Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after enactment of this Act. Prescribes additional periods of required presence in an affected area during atmospheric nuclear testing for individuals filing leukemia or specified disease claims. Increases the amount of compensation an individual filing a claim may receive to $150,000. Expands "affected area" to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as any county in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah. Extends to December 31, 1990, the period during which an individual employed at any time in a uranium mine or uranium mill is made eligible to receive compensation for a disease claim due to radiation exposure. Makes a core driller eligible to receive compensation upon filing of a disease claim. Makes miners, core drillers, and ore transporters who suffer renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury, eligible for compensation due to exposure to radiation while on the job. Requires the Attorney General to accept written affidavits meeting specified requirements regarding employment history, physical presence in an affected area, or participation at a nuclear testing site in determining the eligibility of claimants. Extends until 19 years after enactment of this Act the statute of limitations for the filing of such claims. Increases from 2% to 10% of the payment received by a claimant the maximum amount of attorneys fees that can be charged for the filing of an initial claim. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals, including family members of uranium miners and millers. Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort entitled to compensation with respect to chronic beryllium disease under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program any Department of Energy employee or contractor who contracted cancer after beginning employment between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1990, in a uranium mine or mill located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, or any other state the Attorney General includes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, and who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit issued by any state to carry a concealed firearm, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any other state that permits residents to carry a concealed firearm, in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Makes presentation of facially valid documents prima facie evidence that the individual has a license or permit as required.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act Requires that the locally prevailing wage paid to various classes of laborers and mechanics working under federally-financed or federally-assisted contracts for construction, alteration, and repair of public buildings or public works (Davis-Bacon Act) be determined by the Secretary of Labor (as under current law), but acting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), using surveys carried out by BLS that use proper random statistical sampling techniques.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
State Mineral Revenue Protection Act Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior, on the request of a state (other than Alaska) and in lieu of any payments to the state under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (FOGRMA), to convey to the state all right, title, and interest in and to the percentage specified in the FOGRMA for that state of all amounts otherwise required to be paid into the Treasury from sales, bonuses, royalties (including interest charges), and rentals for all public land or deposits located in the state. (Current law requires payment to a state of 50% of all money derived from such sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals.) Requires any person, after a conveyance under this Act, to pay directly to the state any amount the person owes for which the right, title, and interest has been conveyed to the state. Requires the Secretary to provide prompt notice of any such conveyance, and the duty to make direct payments to the state involved, to each holder of a lease of public land to which this Act applies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, who is entitled and not prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence or who is carrying a valid state license or permit to carry a concealed weapon, and who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document, to carry a concealed handgun (which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any state in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Provides that in a state that allows the issuing authority for licenses or permits to carry concealed firearms to impose restrictions on the carrying of firearms by individual license or permit holders, an individual carrying a concealed handgun under this Act shall be permitted to carry it according to the same terms authorized by an unrestricted license or permit issued by such state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Health Care Conscience Rights Act Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in that title requires an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering coverage excluding such item or service to that individual. Denies that title I requires a health plan sponsor or a health insurance issuer to cover an item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection. Denies also that title I authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, on health insurance coverage that excludes such an item or service. Amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against any action by the federal government and any state or local government receiving federal financial assistance to subject a health professional, or health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of HHS to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Creates a cause of action for the Attorney General or any person or entity adversely affected to obtain equitable or legal relief for any violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Allows commencement of an action and the granting of relief without a prerequisite pursuit of administrative remedies. Allows such an action against a federal or state governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
This bill repeals a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that imposes an annual fee on a health insurance provider based on its net premium income.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
All-American Flag Act Requires any flags of the United States acquired for use by the federal government to be entirely manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Constitutional Amendment Marriage Protection Amendment Defines marriage in the United States as consisting only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits either the U.S. Constitution or the constitution of any state from being construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon any other union.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Veterans TRICARE Choice Act Allows an individual who is eligible to participate in the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program) to: (1) elect to be ineligible to enroll in such program, (2) make tax deductible contributions to a health savings account during the period such individual elects to be ineligible for TRICARE coverage, and (3) enroll in the TRICARE program at a later date during a special enrollment period. Requires DOD to: (1) submit to the Internal Revenue Service information on each TRICARE-eligible individual who makes such election for purposes of determining such individual's eligibility for a health savings account; and (2) report to Congress, annually, on elections by TRICARE-eligible individuals under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 350,000 $1 silver coins, and 300,000 half-dollar clad coins to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town. Requires the design of the coins to be emblematic of the 100 years of Boys Town, one of the largest nonprofit child care agencies in the United States. Permits issuance of such coins only between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. Subjects all coin sales to specified surcharges, which shall be paid to Boys Town to carry out its cause of caring for and assisting children and families in underserved communities across America. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the federal government; and (2) no funds, including surcharges, will be disbursed to Boys Town until the total cost of designing and issuing all authorized coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
National Monument Designation Transparency and Accountability Act of 2015 This bill requires the President, before a national monument can be designated on public land, to obtain congressional approval, certify compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and determine that the state in which the monument is to be located has enacted legislation approving its designation. The Department of the Interior may not implement restrictions on the public use of a national monument until the expiration of an appropriate review period providing for public input and congressional approval.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Ax the Tax on Middle Class Americans' Health Plans Act This bill repeals, effective for taxable years beginning after 2017, the excise tax on the excess benefit portion of high-cost employer-sponsored health care plans (known as Cadillac plans). The reporting requirement for such plans is also repealed for calendar years beginning after 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: only Congress has the constitutional authority to declare war according to article 1, section 8, clause 11 of the Constitution; the President should set clear objectives for the U.S. Armed Forces before committing them to battle; and the President should provide Congress with a clear and definitive deployment and troop commitment plan before engaging in hostilities against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). States that the House should not approve a request for the Use of Military Force against ISIS: unless the President provides Congress with requested information, and if the President commits to defeating ISIS using temporary duty assignment as a main means of troop deployment.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to publish a national strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners in trail maintenance. Requires the strategy to: (1) augment and support the capabilities of federal employees to carry out or contribute to trail maintenance; (2) provide opportunities for volunteers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in each region of the Forest Service; (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism and partnerships; (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and partnerships in those regions with the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where backlogs are jeopardizing access to national forest lands; and (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volunteers and partners by 100% within 5 years. Directs USDA to study opportunities to improve trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use fire crews in trail maintenance activities. Deems a volunteer with a partner organization to be considered a federal employee for the purposes of civil claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal property of a volunteer incident to volunteer services. Sets forth provisions for the selection of priority areas for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. Directs USDA to establish a pilot program to offset all or part of the land use fee for outfitting and guiding permits.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
United States-Israel Trade and Commercial Enhancement Act This bill states that among the principal U.S. trade negotiating objectives for trade agreements with foreign countries regarding commercial partnerships are to: discourage actions by potential trading partners that discourage commercial activity solely between the United States and Israel; discourage politically motivated actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction Israel and to seek the elimination of politically motivated non-tariff barriers on Israeli commerce; and seek the elimination of state-sponsored unsanctioned foreign boycotts against Israel or compliance with the Arab League Boycott of Israel. The President is directed to report annually to Congress on politically motivated acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is amended to require a foreign issuer traded on the U.S. stock market to disclose in its quarterly or annual report: whether the issuer has discriminated against doing business with Israel in the last calendar year; whether the issuer has been advised by a foreign government or a non-member state of the United Nations (U.N.) to discriminate against doing business with Israel, entities owned or controlled by Israel, or entities operating in Israel or Israeli-controlled territory; and any instances where the issuer has learned that a person, foreign government, or a non-member state of the U.N. is boycotting the issuer, divesting itself of an ownership interest in the issuer, or placing sanctions on the issuer because of the issuer's relationship with Israel. No U.S. court may recognize or enforce any judgment by a foreign court against a U.S. person carrying out business operations in Israel or in any territory controlled by Israel, and on which is based a determination by the foreign court that the location in Israel, or in any territory controlled by Israel, of the facilities at which the business operations are carried out is sufficient to constitute a violation of law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Western Great Lakes Wolf Management Act of 2015 This bill prohibits any wolf of the species Canis lupus in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan from being treated under any status of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, including as an endangered species, a threatened species, an essential experimental population, or a nonessential experimental population. Each of those states are given exclusive jurisdiction over the management of those wolves within its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
State Marriage Defense Act of 2015 Prohibits, in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of U.S. administrative bureaus and agencies as applied with respect to individuals domiciled in a state or in any other territory or possession of the United States: (1) the term "marriage" from including any relationship that the state, territory, or possession does not recognize as a marriage; and (2) the term "spouse" from including an individual who is a party to a relationship that is not recognized as a marriage by that state, territory, or possession.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2015 Directs the Commissioner of Social Security, for purposes of determining cognitive, behavioral, and physical disability under titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act (SSAct), to amend specified Listings of Impairments by providing medical and evaluation criteria for Huntington's Disease. Amends SSAct title II to waive the 24-month waiting period for coverage under the program under SSAct title XVIII (Medicare) for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Life at Conception Act Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Prohibits this Act from being construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to exclude remuneration paid for licensed independent insurance producers from administrative costs for purposes of calculating the medical-loss ratio of a health insurance plan. Defines "independent insurance producer" to mean an insurance agent or broker, insurance consultant, benefit specialist, limited insurance representative, and any other person required to be licensed under state law to sell, solicit, negotiate, service, effect, procure, renew, or bind policies of insurance coverage or offer advice, counsel, opinions, or services related to insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Financial Institution Customer Protection Act of 2015 Prohibits a federal banking agency from formally or informally suggesting, requesting, or ordering a depository institution to terminate either a specific customer account, or group of customer accounts, or otherwise restrict or discourage it from entering into or maintaining a banking relationship with a specific customer or group of customers, unless: (1) the agency has a material reason to do so, and (2) the reason is not based solely on reputation risk. Deems the "material reason" criterion satisfied if a federal banking agency believes that a specific customer or group of customers poses a threat to national security, including any belief that they are involved in terrorist financing. Prescribes notice requirements incumbent upon the federal banking agency to the depository institution regarding customer account restriction or termination, but states that the agency's notice to the customer is not required. Prohibits any notice to the customer if the federal banking agency requests or orders a depository institution to terminate a customer account (or a group of customer accounts) based upon a belief that customer or those customers pose a threat to national security. Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to revise requirements for summoning witnesses and requiring production of books or other records the Attorney General deems relevant or material to a civil investigation in contemplation of a civil proceeding which may result in civil penalties for specified violations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act of 2015 Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct any prescription drug plan that has in its network one or more pharmacies located in a health professional shortage area, in a medically underserved area, or among a medically underserved population, and that provides a reduction in coinsurance or copayments for covered part D drugs, to extend to any pharmacy located in that area, or among that population, the option to be an in-network pharmacy under terms and conditions comparable to those the plan has agreed upon with other in-network pharmacies located in the area or among that population.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the caps on Medicare outpatient rehabilitation physical therapy services and speech-language pathology services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Innovation Act Directs a party alleging patent infringement in a civil action to include in the court pleadings, if the information is reasonably accessible, specified details concerning: each claim of each patent allegedly infringed; for each claim of indirect infringement, the acts of the alleged indirect infringer that contribute to, or are inducing, a direct infringement; the principal business of the party alleging infringement; the authority of the party alleging infringement to assert each patent and the grounds for the court's jurisdiction; each complaint filed that asserts any of the same patents; and whether the patent is essential or has potential to become essential to a standard-setting body, as well as whether the United States or a foreign government has imposed any specific licensing requirements. Requires courts to award prevailing parties reasonable fees and other expenses incurred in connection with such actions, unless: (1) the position and conduct of the nonprevailing party was reasonably justified in law and fact; or (2) special circumstances, such as severe economic hardship to a named inventor, make an award unjust. Directs courts, upon a motion of a party, to require another party to certify whether it will be able to pay any award of such fees and expenses. Allows the court, if a nonprevailing party is unable to pay such a fee, to make a joined party liable for the unsatisfied portion. Requires the court, upon a motion by a prevailing party defending against an allegation of infringement in a case in which the nonprevailing party alleging infringement is unable to pay an award of fees and expenses, to join an interested party if the prevailing party shows that the nonprevailing party has no substantial interest in the subject matter at issue other than asserting the patent claim in litigation. Defines "interested party" as a person, other than the party alleging infringement, that: (1) is an assignee of the patent; (2) has a right, including a contingent right, to enforce or sublicense the patent; or (3) has a direct financial interest in the patent, including the right to any part of an award of damages or licensing revenue. Limits discovery during a claim construction period to only the information necessary to determine the meaning of patent terms. Makes such limitation inapplicable to an action seeking a preliminary injunction against an allegedly infringing instrumentality that competes with a product or a process of the party alleging infringement. Allows parties to voluntarily consent to be excluded from patent discovery limitations under this Act and to instead proceed according to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) parties who send purposely evasive demand letters to end users alleging patent infringement are abusing the patent system in a manner that is against public policy, and (2) actions or litigation stemming from such purposeful evasion should be considered a fraudulent or deceptive practice and an exceptional circumstance when considering whether the litigation is abusive. Prohibits a claimant seeking to establish willful infringement from relying on evidence of pre-suit notification of infringement unless the notification provides specific information regarding the particular patent, claimant, and infringement. Requires plaintiffs, upon filing an initial complaint, to disclose to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the court, and each adverse party the identity of: (1) the assignee, (2) any entity with a right to sublicense or enforce the patent, (3) any entity that the plaintiff knows to have a specified financial interest in the patent or the plaintiff, and (4) the ultimate parent entity of any such identified assignee or entity. Directs plaintiffs, or subsequent owners of the patent, to provide the USPTO with updates after the initial identification. Requires courts to grant a motion to stay an action against a customer accused of infringing a patent based on a product or process under specified conditions when: (1) the manufacturer is a party to the action or to a separate action involving the same patent related to the same product or process; and (2) the customer agrees to be bound by any issues in common with, and finally decided as to, such manufacturer in the action to which the manufacturer is a party. Authorizes the court, if the manufacturer consents to or declines to appeal a judgment regarding an issue in common with such a customer, to determine, upon grant of a motion, that the consent judgment or unappealed decision is not binding on the customer. Directs the Judicial Conference of the United States to develop discovery rules for patent actions. Requires the Judicial Conference to consider proposals to delay determinations as to whether discovery of emails, text messages, or instant messages is appropriate until after the parties have exchanged initial disclosures and core documentary evidence. Requires the Supreme Court to eliminate the model patent infringement complaint form currently provided in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Permits the Supreme Court to prescribe new model allegations that would notify accused infringers of specific information about patent claims. Requires courts in cross-border bankruptcy cases involving the recognition of a foreign proceeding under the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency to apply U.S. bankruptcy laws relating to the retention or termination of licensed intellectual property rights after a trustee has rejected an executory contract. Allows a licensee to elect to retain its right to intellectual property if a foreign representative rejects or repudiates a contract under which the debtor is the licensor. Expands the definition of "intellectual property" as it applies to the federal bankruptcy code to include trademarks, service marks, or trade names, thereby providing for trademark licenses to be retained instead of voided in bankruptcy. Directs the USPTO to notify the public on its website when a patent case is brought in federal court, including by providing information about the patent owners. Amends the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) to: limit the grounds for invalidity of a patent claim that a post-grant review petitioner is prohibited, by estoppel, from asserting in subsequent civil actions or certain U.S. International Trade Commission proceedings to only those grounds that the petitioner actually raised during post-grant review; require claims of patent in post-grant and inter partes review proceedings to be construed in the same manner as a court would construe such claims in a civil action to invalidate the patent; codify judicial doctrine relating to the consideration of prior art in cases of double patenting for the purpose of determining the nonobviousness of a second patent's claimed invention, thereby specifying that such doctrine continues to apply under the AIA's first-inventor-to-file patent system; revise the transitional covered business method patent review program to expand the scope of prior art that may serve as the basis of a challenge and permit the USPTO to waive filing fees; and exclude any time consumed by an applicant's request for continued examination from the calculation of a patent term adjustment that is based on the USPTO failing to issue a patent within three years. Extends by an additional 10 years the duration of the patent pilot program under which certain U.S. district court judges can request to be assigned to patent cases. Extends from one year to 18 months the time limit for the USPTO to commence a misconduct proceeding to suspend or exclude a person from practicing before the USPTO once the misconduct forming the basis for the proceeding is made known to the USPTO. Reestablishes a requirement that international applications be filed in English.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Email Privacy Act Amends the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to prohibit a provider of remote computing service or electronic communication service to the public from knowingly divulging to a governmental entity the contents of any communication that is in electronic storage or otherwise maintained by the provider, subject to exceptions. Revises provisions under which the government may require a provider to disclose the contents of such communications. Eliminates the different requirements applicable under current law depending on whether such communications were: (1) stored for fewer than, or more than, 180 days by an electronic communication service; or (2) held by an electronic communication service as opposed to a remote computing service. Requires the government to obtain a warrant from a court before requiring providers to disclose the content of such communications regardless of how long the communication has been held in electronic storage by an electronic communication service or whether the information is sought from an electronic communication service or a remote computing service Requires a law enforcement agency, within 10 days after receiving the contents of a customer's communication, or a governmental entity, within 3 days, to provide a customer whose communications were disclosed by the provider a copy of the warrant and a notice that such information was requested by, and supplied to, the government entity. Allows the government to request delays of such notifications. Prohibits disclosure requirements that apply to providers from being construed to limit the government's authority to use an administrative or civil discovery subpoena to require: (1) an originator or recipient of an electronic communication to disclose the contents of such communication, or (2) an entity that provides electronic communication services to its employees or agents to disclose the contents of an electronic communication to or from such employee or agent if the communication is on an electronic communications system owned or operated by the entity. Allows the government to apply for an order directing a provider, for a specified period, to refrain from notifying any other person that the provider has been required to disclose communications or records. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress regarding disclosures of customer communications and records under provisions: (1) as in effect before the enactment of this Act, and (2) as amended by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2015 Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect: (1) the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" or a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into a covered civil action, and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to such a regulatory action that affects the rights of such persons or governments. Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner, including by making such notice and complaint available online not later than 15 days after receiving service of such notice or complaint Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online not later than 60 days before it is filed with the court. Provides for public comment and public hearings on such decree or agreement. Requires the Attorney General or an agency head, if an agency is litigating a matter independently, to certify to the court that the Attorney General or the agency head approves of: (1) any proposed covered consent decree that includes terms that convert into a nondiscretionary duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations, commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization, divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution, or otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority; or (2) any proposed covered settlement agreement that includes terms that provide a remedy for a failure by the agency to comply with the terms of the agreement other than the revival of the civil action resolved by the agreement, interfere with the authority of an agency to revise, amend, or issue rules, or commit the agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted or to exercise in a particular way discretion which was committed to the agency by statute or the Constitution. Requires a court to grant de novo review of a covered consent decree or settlement agreement if an agency files a motion to modify such decree or agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to repeal authority to restrict the export of: (1) coal, petroleum products, natural gas, or petrochemical feedstocks; and (2) supplies of materials or equipment necessary to maintain or further exploration, production, refining, or transportation of energy supplies, or for the construction or maintenance of energy facilities within the United States. Prohibits any federal official from imposing or enforcing any restriction on the export of crude oil. Requires the Secretary of Energy to study and make recommendations on the appropriate size, composition, and purpose of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act Amends the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 to expand existing grounds for termination of the employment of an Internal Revenue Service employee to include performing, delaying, or failing to perform (or threatening to perform, delay, or fail to perform) any official action (including any audit) with respect to a taxpayer for purpose of extracting personal gain or benefit or for a political purpose.