United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Community Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act of 2015 or the CLEARR Act of 2015 This bill amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which: (1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, and (2) has not changed its policies and practices regarding disclosures of nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers. The federal banking agencies are directed to study jointly the appropriate capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions. Mortgage servicing assets are those resulting from contracts to service loans secured by real estate, where such loans are owned by third parties. A nonsystemic banking institution is any banking institution other than one identified by the Financial Stability Board as a global systemically important bank. Any regulatory implementation of either Basel III or National Credit Union Administration capital requirements about mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions is prohibited until six months after a report to Congress on the study. The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is amended to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) to exempt from certain escrow or impound requirements a loan secured by a first lien on a consumer's principal dwelling if the loan is held by a creditor with assets of $10 billion or less. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must provide either exemptions to or adjustments from the mortgage loan servicing and escrow account administration requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 for servicers of 20,000 or fewer mortgage loans. The TILA is also amended to exempt from property appraisal requirements a higher-risk mortgage loan of $250,000 or less if it appears on the loan creditor's balance sheet for at least three years. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is revised to direct federal banking agencies to issue regulations that allow a reduced reporting requirement for depository institutions meeting certain criteria when making the first and third report of condition for a year. If a depository financial institution receives an order to request a funds transfer (entry) via an automated clearing house, it shall not be required to verify that the entry is not a prohibited monetary transaction if the originating depository financial institution has warranted its compliance with the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Federal Reserve Board must revise the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on the Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors to raise its consolidated asset threshold from $1 billion to $5 billion. The TILA is again amended to create a safe harbor from lawsuit for creditors that are depository institutions for any failure to comply with certain requirements with respect to a residential mortgage loan, and the banking regulators are required to treat such a loan as a qualified mortgage, if the creditor has, since the loan's origination, held it on its balance sheet and all prepayment penalties with respect to the loan comply with specified limitations. A safe harbor from lawsuit is also created for mortgage originators for steering a consumer to a residential mortgage loan if: the creditor is a depository institution and has informed the mortgage originator that it intends to hold the loan on its balance sheet for the life of the loan, and the mortgage originator informs the consumer that the creditor intends to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Commemorates the life and achievements of Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, who throughout his life displayed extraordinary commitment to social justice and the improvement of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to create a safe harbor from lawsuit for creditors that are depository institutions for any failure to comply with certain requirements with respect to a residential mortgage loan, and the banking regulators are required to treat such a loan as a qualified mortgage, if the creditor has, since the loan's origination, held it on its balance sheet and all prepayment penalties with respect to the loan comply with specified limitations. A safe harbor from lawsuit is also created for mortgage originators for steering a consumer to a residential mortgage loan if: the creditor is a depository institution and has informed the mortgage originator that it intends to hold the loan on its balance sheet for the life of the loan, and the mortgage originator informs the consumer that the creditor intends to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening tests (in order to cover 100% of their cost under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled]), regardless of the code billed for a diagnosis as a result of a test, or for the removal of tissue or other procedure furnished in connection with, as a result of, and in the same clinical encounter as the screening test.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act This bill prohibits any federal officer or employer from extending an offer of employment in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to any individual until the IRS publicly issues a written certification that the IRS does not employ any individual who has a seriously delinquent tax debt. A seriously delinquent tax debt is an outstanding tax debt for which the IRS has filed a notice of lien in public records, excluding a tax debt: (1) that is being paid in a timely manner under an approved installment payment agreement or an offer-in-compromise, (2) for which a collection due process hearing has been requested or is pending, (3) for which a tax levy has been issued, or (4) with respect to which relief has been granted due to economic hardship.
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
Combat Human Trafficking Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code, with respect to sex trafficking of children, to: (1) subject to criminal prosecution buyers, as well as sellers, of commercial sex involving sex trafficking victims; (2) provide that in prosecutions of sex trafficking crimes, the government is not required to prove that a sex trafficking defendant knew or recklessly disregarded the fact that a victim was under age 18; (3) equalize the period of supervised release for sex trafficking offenders convicted of conspiracy; (4) expand wiretap authority for investigating crimes related to sex trafficking, including slavery, involuntary servitude, and forced labor; (5) grant crime victims the right to be informed in a timely manner of any plea agreement or deferred prosecution agreement; and (6) require an appellate court to apply ordinary standards of review in reviewing appeals filed by crime victims. Requires the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prepare and report annually on: (1) the rates of arrests by state law enforcement officers for sex trafficking crimes involving buyers of commercial sex involving sex trafficking victims, and (2) prosecutions and convictions for such crimes in state courts. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that: (1) DOJ anti-human trafficking training programs, including programs for law enforcement officers, include technical training on effective methods for investigating and prosecuting individuals who obtain, patronize, or solicit a commercial sex act involving a person subject to severe forms of human trafficking and on facilitating the provision of physical and mental health services by health care providers to persons subject to severe forms of human trafficking; (2) federal law enforcement officers are engaged in activities, programs, or operations involving the detection, investigation, and prosecution of such offenses; and (3) DOJ anti-human trafficking programs for U.S. attorneys or other federal prosecutors include training on seeking restitution for peonage, slavery, and human trafficking offenses to ensure that each such attorney, upon obtaining a conviction for such an offense, requests a specific amount of restitution for each victim without regard to whether the victim requests it. Requires the Federal Judicial Center to provide training to judges relating to the application of mandatory restitution provisions regarding ordering restitution for victims of such offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Medicare Patient Access to Hospice Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to recognize attending physician assistants as attending physicians to serve hospice patients.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Accelerating the End of Breast Cancer Act of 2015 Directs the President to establish the Commission to Accelerate the End of Breast Cancer to help end breast cancer by January 1, 2020. Directs the Commission to: (1) identify opportunities and ideas within government and the private sector that are key components in achieving the end of breast cancer and which have been overlooked, yet are ripe for collaboration and investment; (2) recommend projects to leverage such opportunities and ideas in the areas of the primary prevention of breast cancer and the causes and prevention of breast cancer metastasis; and (3) ensure that its activities are coordinated with, and do not duplicate the efforts of, programs and laboratories of other government agencies. Directs the President to enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine for an evaluation of the Commission's progress. Terminates the Commission on June 1, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Credit Union Small Business Jobs Creation Act Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to prohibit an insured credit union from making any member business loan that would result in the total amount of such loans outstanding at that credit union at any one time exceeding either: (1) 1.75 times the actual net worth of the credit union, or (2) 12.25% of the total assets of the credit union. Authorizes the National Credit Union Administration Board to approve an application by an insured credit union to make one or more member business loans that would result in a total amount of such loans outstanding at any one time of up to 27.5 % of the total assets of the credit union, if the credit union meets specified safety and soundness criteria. Prohibits an insured credit union that has made such a member business loan but that is not well capitalized from making any new member business loans until it becomes well capitalized and obtains Board approval. Directs the Board to develop a tiered approval process, including lending standards, under which an insured credit union gradually increases the amount of member business lending in a manner consistent with safe and sound operations. Directs the Comptroller General to study the status of member business lending by insured credit unions.
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
Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome Act of 2015 or the SCRUB Act of 2015 Establishes the Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission to review the Code of Federal Regulations to identify, using specified criteria, rules and sets of rules that collectively implement a regulatory program that should be repealed to lower the cost of regulation to the economy, giving priority to major rules that: (1) have been in effect more than 15 years, (2) impose paperwork burdens that could be reduced substantially without significantly diminishing regulatory effectiveness, (3) impose disproportionately high costs on small business entities, and (4) could be strengthened in their effectiveness while reducing regulatory costs. Prohibits the reissuance of a rule similar to any rule that has been repealed or that results in the same adverse effects of a repealed rule. Requires the Commission to establish a public website to make regulatory information accessible to the public at no cost. Requires a federal agency that makes a new rule to: (1) repeal rules identified by the Commission to offset the cost to the economy of such new rule (cut-go procedures), and (2) include in the final issuance of such rule a plan for reviewing the rule not later than 10 years after it is promulgated. Requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget to review and certify the accuracy of agency determinations of the cost of new rules. Makes agency compliance with the requirements of this Act subject to judicial review.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a governmental entity to require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage with or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider only pursuant to a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Authorizes such a warrant to require such disclosure regardless of where such contents may be in electronic storage or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider if the holder of the account the contents of which are sought by the warrant is a U.S. person. Requires a court, on a service provider's motion, to modify or vacate such a warrant upon finding that it would require the provider to violate the laws of a foreign country. Sets forth requirements for government notification of provider customers or subscribers regarding the receipt of communication contents pursuant to such a warrant. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a form for use by a foreign government filing a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) request; (2) establish an online docketing system for all MLAT requests; and (3) publish statistics annually on MLAT requests made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to foreign governments, and by foreign governments to DOJ, to obtain the contents of communications or other information or records from a provider of electronic communications or remote computing services. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) data localization requirements imposed by foreign governments on data providers are incompatible with the borderless nature of the Internet, an impediment to online innovation, and unnecessary to meet the needs of law enforcement; and (2) DOJ, the Department of State, and the U.S. Trade Representative should pursue open data flow policies with foreign nations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Urges the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and other relevant U.S. government agencies and officials to work with the European Union and European governments to encourage further efforts to address anti-Semitism.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Michael Davis, Jr. in Honor of State and Local Law Enforcement Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and related federal law with respect to immigration law enforcement within the United States. Authorizes: (1) states or their political subdivisions to enact and enforce immigration criminal penalties as long as they do not exceed relevant federal criminal penalties; and (2) state or local law enforcement personnel to investigate, apprehend, arrest, or transfer to federal custody aliens for immigration enforcement purposes to the same extent as federal law enforcement personnel. Directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Department of Justice (DOJ) with all information that DHS has regarding any alien: (1) against whom a final order of removal has been issued, (2) who has entered into a voluntary departure agreement, (3) who has overstayed his or her authorized period of stay, or (4) whose visa has been revoked. Requires NCIC to enter such information into its Immigration Violators File. Requires: (1) states to have access to federal programs or technology directed at identifying inadmissible or deportable aliens, and (2) states and their political subdivisions to provide DHS with specified identifying information about each apprehended alien who is believed to be inadmissible or deportable. Directs DHS to make grants to states and their political subdivisions for procurement of equipment, technology, and facilities related to investigating, apprehending, arresting, or transporting inadmissible or deportable aliens. Directs DHS to construct or acquire additional domestic detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal. Amends the INA regarding illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local request, and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. Directs the DOJ or DHS to ensure that an alien subject to removal is detained in an adequate state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility. Directs DHS to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties. Directs DHS to continue to operate a program that: (1) identifies removable criminal aliens in federal and state correctional facilities, (2) ensures that such aliens are not released into the community, and (3) removes them from the United States after the completion of their sentences. Extends such program to all states. Requires states that receive state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) funds to comply with program requirements. Authorizes state or local detention of certain aliens, in specified circumstances, after completion of their state or local prison sentence. Authorizes appropriations for SCAAP. Transfers SCAAP jurisdiction from DOJ to DHS. Requires states and localities to: (1) notify the federal government of inadmissible or removable aliens who are encountered by law enforcement personnel, and (2) comply with federal law enforcement information requests and with DHS detainers. Denies specified federal law enforcement assistance to a state or a political subdivision that prohibits law enforcement officers from cooperating with federal immigration law enforcement. Revises certain terrorism-related requirements and prohibitions with respect to naturalization, asylum, good moral character, voluntary departure, and cancellation of removal. Authorizes: (1) the denaturalization of a person who participates in terrorist activities or violent or unlawful activities aimed at the overthrow of the United States; and (2) the use or publication by DHS of certain legalization or special agricultural worker status information for any purpose relating to terrorism, national intelligence, or national security. Requires security and background checks and investigations of suspected immigration irregularities to be completed before specified immigration-related statuses and benefits may be granted or adjudicated. Revises and expands the definition of "aggravated felony" under INA. Makes such changes retroactive. Adds new grounds of inadmissibility for: (1) identity fraud or Social Security number misuse; (2) unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization; (3) specified firearm offenses; (4) conviction of an aggravated felony; and (5) crimes of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse. Makes such additions retroactive. Adds new grounds of deportability for: (1) identity fraud or Social Security number misuse, and (2) unlawful procurement of citizenship or naturalization. Makes such additions retroactive. Makes inadmissible an alien who plans to or has engaged in espionage, prohibited export, or other unlawful activities, including activities aimed at the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Prohibits the sale of or possession of firearms by any alien who is not lawfully admitted for permanent residence. Amends the federal criminal code to place a 10-year statute of limitations on most criminal violations of INA. Makes: (1) aggravated felons ineligible for refugee, asylee adjustment of status, or any withholding of removal; and (2) a second DUI conviction an aggravated felony under INA. Revises requirements regarding: (1) detention and removal of aliens ordered removed, (2) alien smuggling and related offenses, and (3) reentry of removed aliens. Authorizes DHS to designate groups as criminal gangs. Requires detention for anyone found inadmissible or deportable for criminal street gang membership. Bars individuals found inadmissible or deportable for criminal gang membership from asylum, withholding of removal, and temporary protected status. Amends the federal criminal code to state that the government, in the prosecution of aggravated identity theft, need not prove the defendant knew that the means of identification was of another person. Subjects to specified criminal penalties for illegal entry an alien who knowingly: (1) enters or crosses the border at a place other than a designated port of entry; (2) evades inspection by an immigration, customs, or agricultural officer; (3) makes a false or misleading statement or conceals a material fact during examination or inspection while crossing the border; or (4) violates the conditions of U.S. admission or parole for 90 days or more. Increases penalties under the federal criminal code for certain immigration document and passport fraud activities, and authorizes forfeiture of property used in connection with them. Reduces the period during which an alien may seek judicial review of an expedited removal order based on criminal or security grounds. Subjects to such expedited removal procedures an individual inadmissible because of a criminal offense if the individual has not been admitted or paroled, does not have a credible fear of persecution, and is not eligible for relief from removal. Expands the grounds of inadmissibility and deportability to include violation of federal requirements regarding sex offender registration. Prohibits U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents convicted of certain sex offenses from sponsoring an alien for admission unless DHS determines that such person poses no risk to the alien. Authorizes the DOJ to consider evidence extrinsic to an alien's conviction record to determine whether the conviction was based on conduct constituting a crime of moral turpitude or a domestic violence offense (which would make the alien deportable). States that a conviction for which a pardon has been issued shall not be grounds for deportability by reason of such conviction. Revises visa information sharing requirements. Prohibits waiver of a visa interview for an alien DHS determines to be a person of concern or in a class of aliens that are security threats. States that DHS: (1) shall have exclusive authority to issue regulations, establish policy, and administer all immigration or nationality laws relating to consular functions in connection with visa issuance or denial; and (2) may refuse or revoke any visa to an alien or class of aliens for U.S. security interests. Prohibits judicial review of a decision by DHS to refuse or revoke a visa. Authorizes a consular surcharge (in addition to immigrant visa fees) to fund the visa security program. Provides for expedited clearance and placement of DHS personnel at overseas embassies and consular posts. Revises accreditation requirements. Limits those individuals who may serve as a designated school official (DSO) or be granted access to the student and exchange visitor information system (SEVIS). Requires a background check of any person serving in such capacity. Authorizes DHS to suspend an institution's student and exchange visitor program (SEVP) certification for reasonable suspicion of fraud. Makes a person convicted of such fraud permanently ineligible to hold a position of authority or ownership at any such institution. Authorizes school officials to nominate as many DSO's in addition to their Principal DSO's as necessary and adequate to make recommendations to enrolled students on how to maintain nonimmigrant status. Requires an SEVP-participating institution or exchange visitor program sponsor to report to the DHS on students or exchange visitors with nonimmigrant status. Makes flight schools that are not certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ineligible to access SEVIS. Requires SEVIS suspension for a school that loses or is denied accreditation. Directs DHS to authorize all DHS immigration enforcement agents and deportation officers who have successfully completed basic immigration law enforcement training to: (1) make arrests for offenses against the United States, for certain felonies, and for bringing in, transporting, or harboring certain aliens; (2) execute warrants of arrest for administrative immigration violations; and (3) carry firearms. Authorizes DHS to hire additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention enforcement officers. Establishes: (1) an ICE Advisory Council; and (2) a pilot program in at least five of the busiest ICE offices to process electronically and serve charging documents, and process and place detainers while in the field. Directs DHS to increase the number of ICE deportation officers, support staff, and prosecutors. Requires semiannual DHS reports on countries that refuse or unreasonably delay repatriation of an alien who is a national of the country. Subjects countries that repeat on those lists to certain visa sanctions. Revises requirements and restrictions regarding: (1) voluntary departure, (2) reentry bars for aliens who remain in the United States after ordered removed, and (3) reinstatement of removal orders. Denies the use of certain funds to implement specified executive branch memoranda regarding the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in the apprehension, detention, and removal of aliens unlawfully present in the United States. Directs the Government Accountability Office to report on the deaths in custody of DHS detainees. Requires that, whenever possible, removal proceedings take place in the order in which aliens are placed in proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should seek through negotiated agreements under the auspices of the World Trade Organization the elimination of all direct and indirect subsidies benefitting the production or export of sugar by any foreign country that: (1) exported more than 200,000 metric tons of sugar during 2014, or (2) has in effect a free trade agreement with the United States. Urges the President to: (1) report to Congress detailed information about how any of such countries has eliminated such subsidies, and (2) then propose legislation to implement a "zero for zero" sugar subsidy policy.
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
Bringing Missing Children Home Act of 2015 Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to require the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's annual grant to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to be used (among other things) to operate a cyber tipline to provide online users and electronic service providers an effective means of reporting Internet-related child sexual exploitation in the area of child sex trafficking (currently, child prostitution). Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require each state reporting on missing children to: (1) provide, with respect to each missing child report, a recent photograph of the child, if available; (2) direct the law enforcement agency that entered the report into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to verify and update such record with any additional information no later than 30 days after the original entry of the record into the state law enforcement system and NCIC computer networks and to maintain close liaison with state and local child welfare systems for the exchange of information and technical assistance; and (3) grant permission to the NCIC Terminal Contractor for the state to update the missing person record in the NCIC computer networks with additional information learned during the investigation relating to the missing person.
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 · 25 February 2015
Pilot's Bill of Rights 2 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue or revise medical certification regulations to ensure that an individual may operate as a pilot of a covered aircraft without regard to any medical certification or proof of health requirement otherwise applicable under federal law if the flight meets certain criteria and the individual: possesses a valid state driver's license, complies with applicable medical requirements associated with that license, is transporting five or fewer passengers, and is operating under visual or instrument flight rules. "Covered aircraft" is one that: is not authorized under federal law to carry more than six occupants, and has a maximum certificated takeoff weight of no more than 6,000 pounds. The FAA may not take enforcement action against a pilot of a covered aircraft for not holding a valid third-class medical certificate if the pilot and the flight meet such requirements, unless the FAA has published final regulations under this Act in the Federal Register. The Pilot's Bill of Rights is amended to authorize any persons adversely affected by an FAA decision to deny, suspend, or revoke a covered certificate or impose a civil penalty to file an appeal with the National Transportation Safety Board or, without further administrative review, in the U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. This subjects all FAA-issued certificates involving an adverse action to review. "Covered certificate" means, in addition to an airman certificate (as under current law), a design organization certificate, holder of type certificate, production certificate, airworthiness certificate, air carrier operating certificate, airport operating certificate, air agency certificate, air navigation facility certificate, or medical certificate. Requirements are prescribed or revised for FAA: failure to notify an individual who is the subject of an investigation regarding the approval, denial, suspension, modification, or revocation of a covered certificate; provision to persons holding a covered certificate of the releasable portion of an investigative report before issuing an emergency order relating to the investigation; response to a written request by a certificate-holding repair station subject to an investigation to withdraw from or settle a proceeding relating to the investigation within 30 days after receiving the request; and reexamination of airmen certificates where there are reasonable grounds to question an airman's lack of competence or believe a certificate was obtained through fraud. The FAA may not take enforcement action against an individual for violation of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) regarding airspace system information until the FAA certifies its compliance with certain NOTAM Improvement program requirements, as amended by this Act. The FAA, upon receiving a request for a covered flight record not in its possession, shall request the record from a FAA contract tower or other FAA contractor possessing it. Any individual designated by the FAA to act as an FAA representative shall be shielded from liability in a civil action for actions performed with reasonable care in connection with related duties. The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 is amended to shield from liability a volunteer pilot that flies for a volunteer pilot nonprofit organization for public benefit an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured. The staff, mission coordinators, officers, and directors of the nonprofit organization shall also be shielded from liability, provided certain conditions are met.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 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
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, and who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit issued by any state to carry a concealed firearm, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any other state that permits residents to carry a concealed firearm, in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Makes presentation of facially valid documents prima facie evidence that the individual has a license or permit as required.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015 Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Patient Access to Higher Quality Health Care Act of 2015 Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to repeal the prohibition against Medicare participation by physician-owned hospitals that do not have a provider agreement by August 1, 2010, which nonetheless allows their Medicare participation under a rural provider and hospital exception to a specified ownership or investment prohibition if they meet certain requirements. Amends the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA) to repeal provisions: (1) postponing from August 1, 2010, to December 31, 2010, the date by which physician-owned hospitals must have a provider agreement in order to participate in Medicare under a rural provider and hospital exception to the physician-ownership or -investment prohibition if they also meet certain requirements addressing conflicts of interest, bona fide investments, patient safety issues, and expansion limitations; and (2) modifying the expansion limitation imposed on such a rural hospital Restores related previous law amended or repealed by PPACA and HCERA as if PPACA or HCERA had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Capital Access for Small Businesses and Jobs Act Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to empower federal credit unions to receive payments on certain uninsured non-share accounts, subject to such terms, rates, and conditions as may be established by the board of directors, within limitations prescribed by the National Credit Union Administration Board (Board). Requires any Board-prescribed system of prompt corrective action to take into account that credit unions rely predominantly (under current law, must rely) upon retained earnings to build net worth. Redefines "net worth" with respect to any insured credit union (other than a low-income credit union) to include uninsured non-share capital accounts that: do not alter the cooperative nature of the credit union; are subordinate to all other claims against the credit union, including the claims of creditors, shareholders, and the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund; are available to cover operating losses in excess of retained earnings and, to the extent so applied, will not be replenished; if they have a stated maturity, have an initial maturity of at least five years, and their net worth may be discounted at the Board's discretion when the remaining maturity is less than five years; are subject to disclosure and consumer protection requirements as determined by the Board; are offered by a credit union that is sufficiently capitalized and well-managed; and are subject to such rules and regulations as the Board may establish.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2015 Provides that for purposes of medical professional liability insurance or civil and criminal malpractice liability determinations, a physician or athletic trainer (covered sports medicine professional) who is authorized to practice medicine in a state (primary state) and who provides medical services to an athlete or athletic team in a state where such professional is not authorized to practice (secondary state) shall be deemed to have provided such medical services in the primary state, provided that prior to providing the covered medical services such professional has disclosed the nature and extent of such services to the entity that provides such professional with medical professional liability insurance in the primary state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015 Expresses the sense of Congress that expeditious consideration of certifications of letters of offer to sell defense articles, defense services, design and construction services, and major defense equipment to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is fully consistent with U. S. security and foreign policy interests and the objectives of world peace and security. Amends the Arms Export Control Act to include Jordan among the countries eligible for certain streamlined defense sales. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include Jordan among the countries not required to be included in the annual foreign military training report submitted by the Department of Defense and the Department of State to Congress. Authorizes the Department of State to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Jordan to increase military cooperation, including joint military exercises, personnel exchanges, support for international peacekeeping missions, and enhanced strategic dialogue.
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
National Freight Network Trust Fund Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the National Freight Network Trust Fund, from which expenditures shall be made to fund awards under the National Freight Network Grant Program. Appropriates to the Fund amounts equivalent to 5% of the import duties imposed under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. Establishes such Program in the Department of Transportation, under which the Secretary of Transportation shall make grants to states, regional or local transportation organizations, or port authorities to assist projects that improve the performance of the national freight network. Directs the Secretary to evaluate and select projects on a competitive basis by considering their potential to: generate national economic benefits, improve the performance of key corridors and gateways, reduce congestion, improve transportation safety, and enhance the network. Requires the Secretary to update the national freight network every five years.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Federal Land Freedom Act of 2015 This bill permits a state that has an established leasing, permitting, and regulatory program to: (1) declare to the Secretaries of the Interior, of Agriculture, and of Energy that it has either established or amended the program; and (2) seek to transfer to itself, and to implement, existing federal responsibilities for leasing, permitting, and regulating oil and natural gas development. Any state action to lease, permit, or regulate oil and gas exploration and development shall not be subject to, or considered, a federal action, a federal permit, or a federal license with respect to specified administrative and environmental laws and is therefore exempt from them. State-issued leases or permits must provide for: (1) the collection of royalties or other revenues in an amount equal to what would have been collected if the lease or permit had been federally issued, and (2) their deposit into the same federal account in which they would have been deposited if the lease or permit had been federally issued. A state may collect and retain lease or permit application processing fees.
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
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 141 Paloma Drive in Floresville, Texas, as the "Floresville Veterans Post Office Building."
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
Bringing Awareness and Knowledge to Exempt Schools Against Legislative Encroachment Act Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from applying the rule entitled "National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010" to food sold as a fundraiser that takes place on the grounds of a school, including by limiting the number of such fundraisers by state agencies or the Secretary. (The rule requires the Secretary to set nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools that are not foods sold under the school lunch and breakfast programs.)
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
Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act of 2015 or the STARS Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt seasonal employees from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage. Defines "seasonal employee" as an employee who is employed in a position for which the customary annual employment is not more than six months and which requires performing labor or services that are ordinarily performed at certain seasons or periods of the year.
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 · 5 February 2015
North Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2015 This bill requires the President to investigate any credible information of sanctionable activities involving North Korea and to designate and apply sanctions with respect to any person (including entities) knowingly engaging in or contributing to activities in North Korea, through export or import, which involve weapons of mass destruction, significant arms or related materiel, significant luxury goods, money laundering, censorship, or human rights abuses. The President shall exercise authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with respect to such persons and the government of North Korea. The President also has discretionary authority to designate and apply sanctions to persons involved in certain other kinds of conduct. Real or personal property will be subjected to civil forfeiture if it is involved in any attempted or actual violation of this Act, or which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to such a violation. The Secretary of the Treasury is required to: determine whether reasonable grounds exist for concluding that North Korea is a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern; and, if so, impose one or more special measures with respect to the jurisdiction of North Korea. The sense of Congress is declared about ensuring the consistent enforcement of United Nations Security Council resolutions and financial restrictions on North Korea. A validated license is required for export to North Korea of any goods or technology subject to the Export Administration Regulations, which shall also be subject to a presumption of denial. Specified prohibitions and restrictions of the Arms Export Control Act shall be applied to any provision of munitions to North Korea regardless of whether it is designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. The President must withhold assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to any country that provides lethal military equipment to, or receives it from, the government of North Korea. U.S. government contracts with designated persons are forbidden. The Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) shall require enhanced screening procedures to determine if physical inspections are warranted of any cargo bound for or landed in the United States that has been transported through a foreign seaport or airport whose inspections are deficient if there are reasonable grounds to believe that such cargo contains goods prohibited under this Act. Seizure or forfeiture is also authorized for vessels or aircraft used to facilitate sanctionable activities. Visas are denied to designated aliens, and the issuing consular officer, the Secretary of State, or DHS must revoke any visas or other entry documentation already issued to them. Certain exemptions to designations and waivers of designations and sanctions will be allowed. The President must report to Congress on: significant activities undermining cyber security conducted, or otherwise ordered or controlled, directly or indirectly, by the government of North Korea; and a detailed plan for making unrestricted, unmonitored, and inexpensive radio, Internet, and electronic mass communications available to the people of North Korea. The Secretary of State is required to report to Congress certain information on: each political prison camp in North Korea; and the identity of each person responsible for serious human rights abuses or censorship in North Korea, along with a description of those abuses or censorship. Circumstances for suspension or termination of sanctions are also specified.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015 This bill amends the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act to direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Coast Guard to enforce specified laws to address illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing, including through vessel forfeiture and civil and criminal penalties. NOAA may: (1) help other nations combat IUU fishing and achieve sustainable fisheries; (2) disclose information to government agencies, international fisheries management organizations, and foreign governments to enforce or assist in enforcing fisheries policies; and (3) publish a list of vessels and vessel owners engaged in IUU fishing and take action against listed vessels and owners. This bill subjects a nation to sanctions only if NOAA certifies that the nation is not addressing IUU fishing or activities resulting in bycatch of a protected living marine resource. Currently, such nations are subject to denial of port privileges and other sanctions unless NOAA has certified that they are addressing such activities. This bill amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to expand enforcement authority to include violations of a treaty or binding conservation measure. Antigua Convention Implementing Act of 2015 This bill amends the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 to implement the Convention for the Strengthening of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Established by the 1949 Convention Between the United States of America and the Republic of Costa Rica, also known as the Antigua Convention. The Eastern Pacific Tuna Licensing Act of 1984 is repealed. Port State Measures Agreement Act of 2015 This bill implements the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing signed by the United States November 22, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor child across a state line to obtain an abortion (deems such transporting to be a de facto abridgment of the right of a parent under any law in the minor’s state of residence that requires parental involvement in the minor’s abortion decision). Makes an exception for an abortion necessary to save the life of the minor. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution or civil action under this Act that a defendant: (1) reasonably believed that before the minor obtained the abortion, the required parental consent or notification or judicial authorization took place; or (2) was presented with documentation showing that a court waived parental notification requirements or authorized the minor's abortion. Defines "abortion" to mean the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device: (1) to intentionally kill the unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant; or (2) to intentionally prematurely terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth or of preserving the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead unborn child. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to one year on a physician who performs or induces an abortion on an out-of-state minor in violation of parental notification requirements. Requires such physician to give 24-hour actual or constructive notice to a parent of the minor seeking an abortion, subject to certain exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Bringing Terrorists to Justice Act Directs the Department of State, in accordance with the Rewards for Justice program authorized under the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, to offer a reward to any individual who furnishes information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual for committing, conspiring or attempting to commit, or aiding or abetting in the commission of the kidnapping and murder of James Foley, Peter Kassig, or Steven Sotloff or the kidnapping and murder of any other U.S. citizen by a foreign terrorist organization. Limits to $5 million the total amount of rewards offered in connection with the kidnapping and murder of any one such individual. Prohibits such Department from offering a reward under this Act in connection with the kidnapping and murder of any U.S. citizen determined to have been affiliated with or supportive of a foreign terrorist organization.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Fair Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act or the Fair BEER Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the excise tax on beer brewed or produced, and removed for consumption or sale, within the United States or imported into the United States. The revised tax ranges from $0 for an amount not exceeding 7,143 barrels to $18 per barrel on an amount exceeding 2 million barrels.
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
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
Secure Data Act of 2015 Prohibits a federal agency from requiring or requesting a manufacturer, developer, or seller of any computer hardware, software, or electronic device made available to the general public to design or alter the security functions in such products to allow the surveillance of any user or the physical search of such product by any agency. Exempts from such prohibition products used by law enforcement agencies for electronic surveillance as authorized under the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000592_200.jpg)