United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
School Nutrition Flexibility Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from promulgating rules and regulations applicable to the school lunch and breakfast programs that establish a maximum quantity of grains, meat, or meat alternates that may be served in any meal or during any period of time of any school year. Makes the formula that school food authorities are required to use to establish the price for a paid lunch (a lunch provided to children who are not eligible for free or reduced price meals) applicable only to school food authorities that had a negative balance in their nonprofit school food service account for the previous school year.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
New IDEA Act or the New Illegal Deduction Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax deduction for wages and benefits paid to or on behalf of an unauthorized alien. Extends to six years the period for assessing and collecting underpayments of tax due to deductions claimed for wages paid to unauthorized aliens. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretaries of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Treasury to jointly establish a program to share information that may lead to the identification of unauthorized aliens. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide taxpayer identity information to the Commissioner of Social Security and the DHS Secretary on employers who paid nondeductible wages to unauthorized aliens and on the aliens to whom such wages were paid. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to: (1) make permanent the E-Verify Program for verifying the employment eligibility of alien workers, (2) apply such program to current employees in addition to new hires, (3) establish a rebuttable presumption that employers who participate in the E-Verify Program and obtain confirmation of identity and employment eligibility have not violated hiring requirements under such Act, and (4) allow employers participating in the E-Verify Program to make a conditional offer of employment pending final verification of the identity and employment eligibility of the job applicant.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Amends provisions of the federal criminal code governing interstate transportation of firearms or ammunition to require that whenever transported by any means other than a motor vehicle: (1) a firearm shall be in a locked container or secured by a secure gun storage or safety device, and (2) ammunition shall be in a locked container. Excludes from permitted transport of a firearm or ammunition any transportation: (1) with the intent to commit a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year that involves the use or threatened use of force against another; or (2) with knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that such a crime is to be committed in the course of, or arising from, the transportation. Prohibits the arrest or detention of a person for a violation of any state or local law or regulation related to the possession, transportation, or carrying of firearms unless there is probable cause to believe that the person is doing so in a manner not provided for under federal law. Provides that when a person asserts this as a defense in a criminal proceeding: (1) the prosecution shall bear the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person's conduct did not satisfy federal conditions; and (2) the court shall award the prevailing defendant a reasonable attorney's fee. Authorizes a private right of action (and attorney fees) for deprivation of any right, privilege or immunity secured by federal firearms provisions under color of any state or local law or regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Accountability in Unemployment Act of 2013 - 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 · 19 March 2013
Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a process which subjects to a single, combined maximum annual limit, applied incrementally, the number of additional documentation requests made to a hospital by Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, or Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program contractors pursuant to prepayment and postpayment audits requiring a hospital to submit a medical record for audit purposes. Directs the Secretary also to establish a distinct additional documentation request limit, computed according to a specified formula, for each hospital claim type for each hospital for a 45-day period in a year. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare Integrity Program and use of recovery audit contractors. Requires the Secretary to ensure that recovery audit contracts include certain mandatory terms and conditions pertaining to: (1) penalties for certain compliance failures, (2) penalties for overturned appeals, (3) postpayment and prepayment audits, and (4) guidelines for prepayment review. Directs the Secretary to publish on the Internet website of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information on recovery audit contractor performance regarding: (1) audit rates, denials, and appeals outcomes; and (2) independent performance evaluations. Deems to be an original claim for Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) payment a resubmitted hospital claim for Medicare part A payment for inpatient hospital services which a recovery audit contractor determines: (1) were not medically necessary and reasonable based on the site of service, but (2) would be medically necessary and reasonable in an outpatient setting of the hospital. Requires payment to be made for such a resubmitted claim for all furnished items and services for which payment may be made under Medicare part B. Deems to be a reopened claim, for purposes of a hospital's ability to resubmit a claim for Medicare payment in timely fashion, any claim that is the subject of an audit by a recovery audit contractor or a Medicare administrative contractor. Requires contracts for a recovery audit contractor to require that a physician review each denial of a claim for medical necessity made by an employee of the contractor who is not a physician. Subjects to administrative and judicial review the Secretary's compliance with guidelines for reopening and revising benefit determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. Requires the nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board to include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole product; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per the common unit division of the product, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Permits such information to be provided by a remote-access menu, such as through the internet, for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises at the time the order is placed. Defines “reasonable basis” for a restaurant or similar food establishment’s nutrient content disclosures to mean that the nutrient disclosure is within acceptable allowances for variation in nutrient content, which include variations in serving size or ingredients, and inadvertent human error in formulation of menu items. Sets forth the methods a restaurant or similar food establishment may use to determine nutritional content for disclosure, including ranges, averages, individual labeling of flavors or components, or labeling of one preset standard build (i.e., the finished version of a menu item most commonly ordered by consumers). Applies the nutritional disclosure requirements to retail food establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Sequester Pakistan Act - Prohibits foreign assistance for Pakistan until expenditures for the Department of Defense (DOD) military tuition assistance program for FY2013 are at least equal to FY2012 program expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2013
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in honor of the members of the 17 Bombardment Group (Medium), who became known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, in recognition of their military service during World War II. Requires the medal to be given to the National Museum of the United States Air Force for display. Expresses the sense of Congress that such Museum should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations and events associated with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2013
Northern Route Approval Act - Declares that a presidential permit shall not be required for the pipeline described in the application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline, including the Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Nebraska governor. Deems the final environmental impact statement issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, coupled with such Final Evaluation Report, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and of the National Historic Preservation Act. Grants original and exclusive jurisdiction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to determine specified issues (except for review by the Supreme Court on writ of certiorari). Deems the Secretary of the Interior to have issued a written statement setting forth the Secretary's opinion that the Keystone XL pipeline project will not jeopardize the continued existence of the American burying beetle or destroy or adversely modify American burying beetle critical habitat. States that any taking of the American burying beetle that is incidental to the construction or operation and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline shall not be considered a prohibited taking of such species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Deems the Secretary to have issued: (1) a grant of right-of-way and temporary use permit pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, and (2) a special purpose permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (described in a certain application filed with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the Keystone XL pipeline). Directs the Secretary of the Army to issue permits pursuant the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline. Authorizes such Secretary to waive any procedural requirement that the Secretary considers desirable in order to accomplish the purposes of this Act. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from prohibiting or restricting an activity or use of an area that is authorized under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Express the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses and is not in the best interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act - Repeals a Library of Congress (LOC) rulemaking determination, made upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, regarding the circumvention of technological measures controlling access to copyrighted software on wireless telephone handsets (mobile telephones) for the purpose of connecting to different wireless telecommunications networks (a practice commonly referred to as "unlocking" such devices). Reestablishes, as an exemption to provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibiting such circumvention, a previous LOC rule permitting the use of computer programs, in the form of firmware or software, that enable used wireless telephone handsets to connect to a wireless telecommunications network, when circumvention is initiated by the owner of the copy of such computer program solely to connect to such a network and access to the network is authorized by the network operator, thus permitting unlocked phones. Directs the Librarian of Congress, upon the recommendation of the Register, to determine whether to extend such exemption to include any other category of wireless devices in addition to wireless telephone handsets (e.g., tablets and other mobile broadband-enabled devices).
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Protecting Life in Funding Education Act or the PRO-LIFE Act - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the provision of federal education funding to state or local educational agencies that make health services available to students through school-based health centers, unless those centers certify that they will not provide students with abortions, abortion-related materials or referrals, or directions to abortion services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Recognizes the Sabin Vaccine Institute on 20 years of success. Expresses support for the efforts of the Institute, Texas Children's Hospital, and Baylor College of Medicine to reduce the prevalence of neglected tropical diseases by developing new vaccines, advocating for increased use of existing vaccines, and expanding access to affordable medicine for the world's poorest people.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should not sign the Arms Trade Treaty, and that, if he transmits the Treaty with his signature to the Senate, the Senate should not ratify it; and (2) until the Treaty has been signed by the President, received the advice and consent of the Senate, and has been the subject of implementing legislation by Congress, no federal funds should be appropriated or authorized to implement the Treaty, or any similar agreement, or to conduct activities relevant to the Treaty, or any similar agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Life at Conception Act - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Prohibits construing this Act to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Preserving Jobs in the Oilfield Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that, with respect to maximum hours of service for drivers, on-duty time does not include waiting time at a natural gas or oil well site for operators of commercial motor vehicles transporting supplies, equipment, or materials, including sand or water, to or from a natural gas or oil well site. Applies this exclusion without regard to whether operators have received special training or operate vehicles specially constructed to service wells.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Requires the Secretary of Commerce, in conducting any survey relating to the Census, to include in instructions for completing any such survey that participation in the survey is optional, except that survey respondents must provide their names, contract information, the date of response, and the number of people living or staying at the same addresses where the respondents reside. Prohibits any person participating in a survey from being fined or otherwise compelled to answer questions in connection with the survey (except for the basic questions permitted by this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Consumer Mortgage Choice Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act with respect to requirements for disclosure to a consumer of points and fees information about a consumer credit transaction, secured by the consumer's principal dwelling, but which is not a residential mortgage transaction, a reverse mortgage transaction, or a transaction under an open end credit plan, when the total points and fees the consumer must pay at or before closing will exceed 8% percent of the total loan amount or $400, whichever is greater. (Such consumer credit transactions might include an equity credit line to which consumer purchases or leases may be charged.) Excludes from the computation of such points and fees: (1) the amount of any loan level price adjustment payment set by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), or similar government entity or government-sponsored enterprise; (2) any compensation paid by a mortgage originator or a creditor to an individual person employed by the mortgage originator or creditor; and (3) any escrow for future payment of insurance. Modifies the inclusion in the computation of points and fees of all compensation paid to mortgage brokers. Specifies instead all compensation paid directly by a consumer to a mortgage originator, including a mortgage originator that is also the creditor in a table-funded transaction, but not including compensation paid by a mortgage originator or a creditor to an individual employed by the mortgage originator or creditor. Modifies the criteria for exclusion from the computation of points and fees of certain reasonable charges elsewhere exempted from the computation of the finance charge in extensions of credit secured by an interest in real property. Excludes from points and fees any such reasonable charges even though a creditor receives compensation, but only in so far as the creditor or its affiliate retains the compensation as a result of their participation in an affiliated business arrangement. (An "affiliated business arrangement" is one in which: (1) a person who is in a position to refer business incident to or a part of a real estate settlement service involving a federally related mortgage loan, or an associate of such person, has either an affiliate relationship with or a direct or beneficial ownership interest of more than 1% in a provider of settlement services; and (2) either of such persons directly or indirectly refers such business to that provider or affirmatively influences the provider's selection.) Revises the additional requirement that such a reasonable charge be paid to a third party unaffiliated with the creditor. Requires the charge to be: (1) a bona fide third party charge not retained by the mortgage originator, creditor, or an affiliate; or (2) a fee or premium for title examination, title insurance, or similar purposes. Modifies the conditions under which federal departments and agencies may exempt refinancings under a streamlined refinancing from an income verification requirement that, at the time a refinancing is consummated, the consumer has a reasonable ability to repay the loan and all applicable taxes, insurance, and assessments. Repeals the exception for bona fide third party charges not retained by the mortgage originator, creditor, or an affiliate from the requirement that total points and fees not exceed 3% of the total new loan amount. (Thus subjects such charges to the same 3% ceiling.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Condemns Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. Calls on Iran to release all prisoners held solely on account of their religion. Calls on the President and Secretary of State, in cooperation with responsible nations, to condemn Iran's continued violation of human rights and demand the release of prisoners held solely on account of their religion. Urges the President and Secretary to impose sanctions on Iranian government officials and other individuals directly responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against the Baha'i community of Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Calls for the President to refrain from any further vacations at the taxpayers' expense until such sums have been saved that the White House can be reopened for public tours.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2013
Rescinds $500 million of unobligated amounts of foreign assistance for Egypt. Appropriates $500 million for the Department of Defense (DOD) tuition assistance program for FY2013.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2013
American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of 2013 - Amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, with respect to the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program, to: (1) expand the current definition of "battlefield report" to include the report entitled "Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States"; and (2) expand the Program to permit the acquisition not only of an "interest in an eligible site," but also an "eligible site." Requires acquisitions of lands or interests under the Act to be from willing sellers only. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on activities carried out under this Act. Prohibits the use of any acquisition grant program funds for purposes of lobbying.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2013
Medication Therapy Management Empowerment Act of 2013 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide access to services under medication therapy management programs for Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Program) eligible individuals with a single chronic disease. Allows the application of this Act only if the Chief Actuary for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services determines that such application with regard to a particular single chronic disease is not projected to increase overall costs to the Medicare program over the following five year period.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2013
Making College Affordable Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to Coverdell education savings accounts, to: (1) increase the age limit for beneficiaries of such accounts after which contributions may not be made from age 18 to age 26, (2) increase the maximum contribution limit in any taxable year from $2,000 to $10,000, and (3) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the increased contribution limit for taxable years beginning in a calendar year after 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a governmental entity to require the disclosure of the contents of any wire or electronic communication that is stored, held, or maintained by an electronic communication service or a remote computing service only pursuant to a warrant. Requires such entity, within three days after it receives such contents from a provider of such service, to serve upon or deliver to the service subscriber, customer, or user a copy of the warrant and required notice. Includes the contents of such a communication among the information that any such service provider shall not knowingly divulge to any governmental entity except as provided under current law. Prohibits a governmental entity from intentionally intercepting geolocation information pertaining to an individual, or from intentionally disclosing or using such information knowing that it was obtained in violation of existing prohibitions, except: (1) for purposes of electronic surveillance authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA); (2) with the consent of the individual to whom the information pertains or the parent or guardian of a child to whom the information pertains; (3) through any system that is configured so that such information is readily accessible to the general public; (4) by an emergency responder to respond to a request by such individual for assistance or in circumstances in which it is reasonable to believe that individual's life or safety is in jeopardy; (5) pursuant to a warrant issued by a court in accordance with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or as otherwise provided in FISA; or (6) by an investigative or law enforcement officer specially designated to intercept or use geolocation information if such officer reasonably determines that an emergency situation (involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to any individual or conspiratorial activities that threaten the national security interest or that are characteristic of organized crime) exists and requires interception or use before an authorizing order can be obtained, there are grounds upon which such an order could be entered, and an application for such order is made within 48 hours after the interception or use occurs. Prohibits a service provider from intentionally disclosing geolocation information pertaining to an individual to any governmental entity, except: (1) pursuant to the above exceptions, or (2) to disclose to a law enforcement agency information which was inadvertently obtained and which appears to pertain to the commission of a crime. Prohibits the use of any geolocation information intercepted, used, or disclosed in violation of this Act as evidence in any trial, hearing, or other government proceeding, except in a civil action to obtain relief for a violation of this Act. Authorizes civil actions to recover damages from persons, other than the United States, where an individual's geolocation information is intentionally disclosed or used in violation of this Act. Requires a federal agency to initiate proceedings to determine whether disciplinary action is warranted against any federal employee when a court or agency has determined that the United States has violated this Act. Amends the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure to require a search warrant to obtain geolocation information. Prohibits obtaining the geolocation information of a person for protective activities or law enforcement or intelligence purposes except pursuant to a warrant issued pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, this Act, or FISA.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
American Land Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), for FY2013-FY2017, to offer for competitive sale by auction 8% of the federal lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 8% of the National Forest System lands. Requires the lands to be sold to be configured so as to maximize their marketability or to achieve management objectives. Permits either Secretary to include the mineral rights in a sale of land under this Act for not more than 50% of the total acreage sold, if such inclusion is likely to maximize that land's marketability.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Low Value Shipment Regulatory Modernization Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) should encourage other countries, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral fora, to establish commercially meaningful de minimis values for express and postal shipments of articles that are exempt from customs duties and certain entry documentation requirements, as appropriate. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase from $200 to $800 for 2014, and to $800 adjusted annually for inflation after 2014, the aggregate retail value in the country of shipment of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2013 - Directs the Commissioner of Social Security, for purposes of determining cognitive, behavioral, and physical disability under titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), to amend specified Listings of Impairments by providing medical and evaluation criteria for Huntington's Disease. Amends SSA title II to waive the 24-month waiting period for coverage under the Medicare program for individuals diagnosed with Huntington's Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Revises requirements with respect to the training of aliens and other individuals designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the operation of certain aircraft. Authorizes a flight instructor, pilot school, or aviation training center to provide training to an individual in the operation of an aircraft with a takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds only if that individual has been checked against databases available to the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) that he or she is: (1) a U.S. citizen, (2) a U.S. national, (3) a permanent resident, or (4) an alien temporarily admitted to the United States as a nonimmigrant for the purpose of obtaining such training. Directs the Secretary to require Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification of flight schools.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act [CWA]) to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or a state from requiring a permit under the CWA for a discharge from a point source into navigable waters of a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under FIFRA, or the residue of such a pesticide, resulting from the application of such pesticide. Exempts from such prohibition the following discharges containing a pesticide or pesticide residue: (1) a discharge resulting from the application of a pesticide in violation of FIFRA that is relevant to protecting water quality, if the discharge would not have occurred but for the violation or the amount of pesticide or pesticide residue contained in the discharge is greater than would have occurred without the violation; (2) stormwater discharges regulated under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES); and (3) discharges regulated under NPDES of manufacturing or industrial effluent or treatment works effluent and discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel, including a discharge resulting from ballasting operations or vessel biofouling prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013 - Declares that Israel is a major strategic partner of the United States. Amends the Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 to extend authority to: (1) make additions to foreign-based defense stockpiles, and (2) transfer certain obsolete or surplus Department of Defense (DOD) items to Israel. Authorizes the President to carry out U.S.-Israel cooperative activities and to provide assistance for cooperation in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies. Amends the the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to extend the grant program for U.S.-Israeli cooperation on research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy or energy efficiency. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States and Israel should increase cyber-security cooperation. Urges the President to provide assistance for enhancement of the David's Sling Weapon System, the joint United States-Israel Arrow Weapon System, and the Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. States that it shall be U.S. policy to include Israel in the visa waiver program when Israel satisfies such program's inclusion requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2013
Health Care Conscience Rights Act - Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in such title shall require 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 or issuing, to that individual, individual coverage excluding such item or service. Makes similar denials about requiring a sponsor to sponsor, purchase, or provide such coverage, or a health insurance issuer or group health plan sponsor to cover an abortion or other item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection. Denies also that such title authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, in relation to health insurance coverage or a group health plan 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, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization, a health maintenance organization, an accountable care organization, a health insurance plan, or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of 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 to be commenced 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 · 28 February 2013
Human Trafficking Reporting Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include severe forms of trafficking in persons among "part 1 violent crimes" required to be reported by states for the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of Bureau of Justice Assistance Grants and Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Justice for the American Diplomats Held Hostage in Tehran Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a common fund to be administered by the class representatives and agents for the former American hostages in Iran and their survivors (case number 1:08-CV-00487 (EGS) of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) in order to pay claims to the American hostages and to family members identified as class members. Finances the fund from: (1) fines and penalties for violations of activities with respect to any government or person by reason of a connection with Iran, and (2) seized or frozen Iranian assets or assets from persons or entities subject to Iran-related sanctions. Sets forth payment priority and amount provisions. States that the United States shall be fully subrogated with respect to payments to all rights of each individual paid under this Act against the government of Iran or the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Accountability Act of 2013 - Directs the President to impose sanctions for not less that two years on any foreign person who on or after September 1, 2007, transferred to or acquired from Iran, Syria, or North Korea: (1) certain listed nuclear, dual use, missile, chemical, biological, toxic, or nonlisted but otherwise prohibited goods, services, or technology; (2) acquired, mined, or otherwise extracted materials within the territory or control of Iran, North Korea, or Syria for purposes relating to such countries' nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or missile development programs; (3) transferred to Iran, Syria, or North Korea goods, services, or technology that could assist such countries' efforts to extract or mill uranium ore; or (4) provided a vessel, insurance, or any other shipping service for transporting goods to or from Iran, North Korea, or Syria for purposes relating to such countries' nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, or missile development programs. Directs the President to impose sanctions for at least two years on any foreign person that knowingly participated in a uranium-related joint venture with Iran, North Korea, or Syria, or with persons acting on behalf of, or entities controlled by, such countries. Applies the following sanctions to such prohibited activities: (1) arms export prohibitions, (2) Executive Order 12938 prohibitions, (3) dual use export prohibitions, (4) investment prohibitions, (5) financing prohibitions, (6) financial assistance prohibitions, (7) exclusion of corporate officers from the United States, and (8) sanctions on principal executive officers. Prohibits U.S. nuclear cooperation agreements and related export licenses and transfers of materials, services and goods with a country that is assisting the nuclear program of Iran, North Korea, or Syria, or is transferring advanced conventional weapons to such countries. Directs the President to submit an annual report to Congress that identifies each country that allows foreign persons under its jurisdiction to engage in sanctionable activities. Directs the President to prohibit assistance (other than humanitarian assistance) under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and not issue export licenses for defense articles or defense services under the Arms Export Control Act to a foreign country that is assisting Iran, North Korea, or Syria in the acquisition, development, or proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or ballistic missiles. Prohibits any U.S. government agency from making extraordinary payments in connection with the International Space Station to the Russian Aviation and Space Agency or any other organization of the government of the Russian Federation unless the President has reported to Congress that: (1) it is Russian policy to oppose the proliferation to or from Iran, North Korea, and Syria of weapons of mass destruction and missile delivery systems; (2) the government of the Russian Federation has demonstrated a commitment to prevent the transfer to or from Iran, North Korea, and Syria of goods, services, and technology that could make a material contribution to Iran's nuclear, biological, chemical weapons, or missile programs; and (3) the Russian Aviation and Space Agency has not, during the one-year period ending on the date of such presidential determination, made transfers that are reportable under this Act to or from Iran, North Korea, or Syria. Authorizes the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to make extraordinary payments in connection with the International Space Station to the Russian Aviation and Space Agency that would otherwise be prohibited under this Act: (1) if such payments are necessary for crew safety aboard the International Space Station; or (2) for the construction, testing, preparation, delivery, launch, or maintenance of the Service Module, and for the purchase of the pressure dome for the Interim Control Module and the Androgynous Peripheral Docking Adapter for the U.S. propulsion module under specified conditions. Directs the President to report to Congress identifying each Russian person or entity that the U.S. government has paid since November 22, 2005, for work to be performed or services to be rendered under the Agreement Concerning Cooperation on the Civil International Space Station or any related protocol, agreement, or contract. Directs the Secretary of State to deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to exclude from the United States, an alien listed in a report identifying persons involved in specified weapons proliferation activities with Iran. Amends the Ports and Waterways Safety Act to require, before a vessel arrives at a U.S. port, the owner, charterer, operator, or master of the vessel to certify that the vessel did not enter a port in Iran, North Korea, or Syria during the 180-day period ending on the date of the vessel's U.S. port arrival. Prohibits from landing in a U.S. port for at least two years: (1) any vessel for which a false certification was made; and (2) any other vessel owned or operated by a parent corporation, partnership, association, or individual proprietorship of the vessel for which the false certification was made. Directs the Secretary (of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating) to: (1) identify foreign ports at which vessels have landed during the preceding 12-month period that have also landed at ports in Iran, North Korea, or Syria during such period; and (2) inspect vessels arriving in the United States from such foreign ports to establish whether a vessel was involved, during the 12-month period ending on the date of the vessel's U.S. arrival, in any activity that would be sanctionable under this Act. Directs the President to apply foreign exchange, banking, property and loan guarantee sanctions to any person who provides to or acquires from Iran, North Korea, or Syria goods or technology that is used, or is likely to be used, for military applications. Directs the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), before issuing an export license for nuclear cooperation or approving a loan guarantee or any other U.S. assistance with respect to a nuclear energy project, to certify to Congress that issuing the license or approving the loan guarantee will not permit the transfer of any goods or technology that may have military application to Iran, North Korea, or Syria. Prohibits any U.S. contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from being used to support any assistance provided by the IAEA through its Technical Cooperation Program to Iran, North Korea, or Syria. Repeals the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
American Job Protection Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requiring certain employers who have a workforce of 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance coverage for their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Condemns the attack against the residents of Camp Hurriya in Iraq. Calls on the President to work with Iraq to ensure that the December 25, 2011, Memorandum of Understanding on the temporary relocation and eventual resettlement of the residents of Camp Ashraf is fully implemented and that humanitarian protections for such residents are upheld. Urges the President to work with Iraq and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to return the residents of Camp Hurriya to Camp Ashraf where they will have more protection from any future terrorist attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to determine if Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) meets the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organization and: (1) if so, designate the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization; and (2) if not, report to Congress concerning those criteria which have not been met. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the imposition of sanctions on certain Iranian government persons responsible for, or complicit in, human rights abuses, diversion of food and medicine, and censorship. Amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to subject to mandatory sanctions a financial institution that facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for a person that: (1) is subject to human rights-related sanctions, or (2) exports sensitive technology to Iran and is subject to the prohibition on procurement contracts. Amends the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 to authorize the President to impose sanctions on a foreign person that knowingly conducted or facilitated a significant financial transaction with the Central Bank of Iran or other Iranian financial institution subject to sanctions for the purchase of goods (other than petroleum or petroleum products) or services by or from a person in Iran, or on behalf of a person in Iran. Excludes from such sanctions a transaction for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran. Directs the President to impose specified sanctions on a foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitated a significant financial transaction on behalf of any person directly or indirectly owned or controlled by an Iranian person included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Revises the exception to the imposition of sanctions for purchases of Iranian petroleum or petroleum products. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should coordinate with the European Union (EU) and its member states to restrict Iran's access to the euro currency. Directs the President to develop a National Strategy on Iran that provides strategic guidance for addressing threats posed by Iran. Directs the President to report to Congress every 60 days regarding the Iranian nuclear timetable and the projected economic effects of international sanctions on Iran. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress regarding presidential implementation of specified sanctions on Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to payments for physician services, to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from applying a multiple procedure payment reduction policy to the professional component of imaging services until the Secretary publishes in the Federal Register: (1) an analysis of the information used in the final rule to implement the physician fee schedule in 2013 to determine what, if any, efficiences exist within the professional component of imaging services when two or more studies are performed on the same patient on the same day; and (2) detailed information on which activities in the vignettes in such rule were assigned specified reduction percentages, how such percentage reductions for the pre-, intra-, and post-service work were determined and calculated, and the clinical aspects that went into those decisions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Dr. Shakil Afridi is an American hero and that he should be immediately released from custody by Pakistan.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to consider any bill or joint resolution that appropriates foreign assistance for more than one country.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2013
Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills Act or SKILLS Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for: (1) WIA title I, workforce investment systems for job training and employment services; and (2) WIA title II, adult education and family literacy education programs. Revises requirements to: (1) eliminate representatives of labor organizations from state workforce investment boards, and (2) specify that representatives of business on a board represent large and small businesses with immediate and long-term employment opportunities in in-demand industries and other occupations important to the state economy. Requires a state board to assist the state governor by developing: (1) policies and programs that support a comprehensive statewide workforce development system, and (2) a statewide workforce and labor market information system. Revises requirements for: (1) a state workforce development plan; (2) local workforce investment areas, boards, and plans; (3) one-stop delivery systems; and (4) the allotment of federal funds among states for employment and training activities. Eliminates specific funding for adult and dislocated worker employment and training. Specifies state use of federal funds to set up a Workforce Investment Fund. Revises requirements for: (1) within state allocations of funds; and (2) the use of funds for state and local employment and training activities, including statewide rapid response, individuals with barriers to employment grants, and adults with barriers to employment grants. Converts the national emergency grants program into a national dislocated worker grants program. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to award national dislocated worker grants to spouses of active duty members of the Armed Forces or full-time duty members of the National Guard (or members who recently separated from such duties) and are in need of employment and training assistance to obtain or retain employment. Requires the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor to be the principal agency to administer WIA title I workforce investment systems for job training and employment services and title III (Job Corps). Revises requirements for the state unified plan for adult education and literacy programs. Amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to eliminate the U.S. Employment Service. Replaces the nationwide employment statistics system, which the Secretary is required to oversee, with a nationwide workforce and labor market information system. Repeals the Youth Conservation Corps Act of 1970 and specified other laws. Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require employment and training services to eligible members of households participating in the supplemental nutrition assistance program be provided through the statewide workforce development system, including the One-Stop delivery system. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with respect to employment and training services for refugees, and the Second Chance Act of 2007 and well as the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 with respect to such services through the statewide workforce investment system for federal, state, and local prisoner reentry programs. Amends INA also to require that 15% of importing employer fees deposited into the H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account be transferred to the Department of Education for gifted and talented grant programs (instead of 50% to job training programs). Amends the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (RA73) to: (1) redesignate the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration the Director, and (2) require an eligible state to use a certain percentage of the federal share of the cost of vocational rehabilitation services to award grants to create practical job and career readiness and training programs and provide job placements and career advancement. Repeals the authority of the Commissioner of the Rehabilitation Services Administration in the Department of Education to make grants and contracts for: (1) vocational rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities who are migrant or seasonal farmworkers; (2) recreational programs for such individuals; and (3) in-service training of vocational rehabilitation personnel. Repeals title VI (Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities) of the RA73. Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for vocational rehabilitation services under the RA73.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2013
Sequestration Flexibility Act of 2013 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to authorize the head of any federal department or agency to transfer amounts within that department or agency for FY2013 or for FY2014 in order to lessen the effect of a presidential sequestration order for that fiscal year on such entity's program, project, or activity. Prohibits such transfer from causing any account to be at a higher level than it was before such sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to eliminate the annual fee on health insurance providers set to be imposed beginning on January 1, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Protecting American Jobs Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to repeal the authority of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to issue, and prosecute before the Board, complaints with respect to unfair labor practices. Repeals the prohibition against: (1) review of an administrative law judge's report by any person other than a Board member or legal assistant; and (2) advice to or consultation with the Board by an administrative law judge with respect to exceptions taken to his or her findings, rulings, or recommendations. Limits the Board's rulemaking authority to rules concerning the internal functions of the Board. Prohibits the Board from promulgating rules that affect the substantive rights of a person, employer, employee, or labor organization. Revises Board powers to grant it the authority to investigate unfair labor practices, but repeals its power to prevent any person from engaging in them. Repeals the Board's power to issue a complaint against a person charging an unfair labor practice. Allows an aggrieved party to bring a civil action for relief (including injunctions) in U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in cases where it appears that a person has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in an unfair labor practice.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should: (1) reaffirm U.S. support for the peaceful resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea; (2) condemn the use of threats or force by naval, maritime security, and fishing vessels from China in the South China Sea and the East China Sea as well as the use of force by North Korea in the Yellow Sea; (3) welcome the diplomatic efforts to resolve these disputes by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the U.S. allies and partners in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and India; and (4) support U.S. Armed Forces operations in support of freedom of navigation rights in international waters and air space in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the Yellow Sea. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress regarding peaceful measures to resolve the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude from the average sales price in calculating Medicare payments for drugs and biologicals any customary prompt pay discounts from manufacturers to wholesalers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to honor collectively the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in recognition of their military service and exemplary record during World War II. Requires the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the CAP. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
![Official portrait of Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000592_200.jpg)