United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2016
This bill amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize Federal Home Loan Banks to make investments related to rural infrastructure development. Federal Home Loan Banks may purchase investment-grade securities from nonmember lenders that are organized as cooperatives, have received financing from the Federal Financing Bank, and have experience providing loans to cooperatives eligible to receive loans from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2016
Senior$afe Act of 2016 This bill provides that: (1) a supervisor, compliance officer, or legal advisor for a covered financial institution who has received training regarding the identification and reporting of the suspected exploitation of a senior citizen (at least 65 years old) shall not be liable for disclosing such exploitation to a covered agency if such individual made the disclosure in good faith and with reasonable care; and (2) a covered financial institution shall not be liable for such a disclosure by such an individual if such individual was employed by the institution at the time of the disclosure and the institution had provided such training. A "covered financial institution" means a bank, a credit union, an investment adviser, or a broker-dealer. A "covered agency" means each of the federal financial institutions regulatory agencies or a state financial regulatory agency, law enforcement agency, or adult protective services agency. A covered financial institution may provide such training to each of its supervisors, compliance officers, or legal advisors who: (1) may come into contact with a senior citizen as a regular part of such employee's duties; or (2) may review or approve the financial documents, records, or transactions of a senior citizen in connection with providing him or her financial services.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2016
Stop Online Booking Scams Act of 2016 This bill amends the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act (ROSCA) to prohibit a third party online hotel reservation seller (an online seller that is not affiliated with the person who owns the hotel or provides the hotel services or accommodations) from charging a consumer's credit card, debit card, bank account, or other financial account for any good or service sold in an Internet transaction, unless the seller discloses all material terms of the transaction. Before the conclusion of the transaction, the seller must describe, and disclose the cost of, the offered good or service. The seller must also disclose, in a manner that is continuously visible to the consumer throughout the transaction process, the fact that it is not affiliated with the person who: (1) owns the hotel, or (2) provides the hotel services or accommodations. States may bring actions in federal courts to obtain damages, restitution, compensation, or other relief for ROSCA violations. (Currently, states may bring such actions for only injunctive relief.) The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) must publish on its website an assessment of: (1) consumers' capacity to understand which company they are transacting with during online hotel reservation shopping, (2) consumer harm from such uncertainty, and (3) whether any practice by a third party online hotel reservation seller violates ROSCA. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that the FTC should revise its website to make it easier for consumers and businesses to report complaints of deceptive practices with online booking of hotel reservations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2016
Community Bank Reporting Relief Act This bill amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to direct federal banking agencies to issue regulations that allow a reduced reporting requirement for highly rated and well-capitalized depository institutions meeting certain other criteria when making the first and third report of condition for a year.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2016
No Welfare for Terrorists Act of 2016 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to make convicted terrorists ineligible to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2016
Women Airforce Service Pilot Arlington Inurnment Restoration Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to ensure that the cremated remains of persons who served as Women's Air Forces Service Pilots are eligible for interment in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015
Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Committee on Oversight of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to conduct comprehensive oversight and investigate compliance of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and issue annual reports of its findings to the House regarding: all enrichment activities, including relevant limitations pertaining to uranium enrichment levels, centrifuge capacity, and related research and development; all international collaborative partnerships formed and the agreed upon research interests; all uranium stockpile levels, including enrichment levels as well as the amount and price of any excess uranium sold to international buyers; all International Atomic Energy Agency oversight activities relating to the JCPOA, including the effectiveness of relevant inspections into JCPOA tenants; compliance with all enacted international and domestic sanctions, including potential violations of relevant sanctions; all financial transactions including establishment of banking relationships, trade in gold and precious metals, and investment in Iran's oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors; all research and development of missile technology and the acquisition of relevant technology from international partners; and all acquisition of conventional weaponry by the Iranian regime.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Technical Education and Career Help (TEACH) Act This bill amends title II (Teacher Quality Enhancement) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize grants under the Teacher Quality Partnership grant program to be used for secondary school career and technical education teacher preparation programs. The grant program provides funds to partnerships of high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools or early education programs, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to train current and prospective teachers and school leaders. The bill requires the career and technical education teacher preparation programs to: be available to mid-career professionals or recent graduates of an IHE who have expertise in a program area in which there is a career and technical education teacher shortage; allow individuals to obtain initial licensure and the basic skills required for entry into the education profession, with the option of earning a bachelor's or master's degree; and allow teachers who do not have subject matter expertise in a career and technical education field that is in demand in the local or regional economy to receive the technical skills training they need to teach those skills in a classroom setting. It directs the Department of Education to establish performance measures for the career and technical education teacher preparation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2015
This bill exempts importers and exporters of sea urchins and sea cucumbers that are designated as food for humans or animals or taken for recreational purposes from licensing requirements. Thus, those importers and exporters will be exempted from: (1) inspections to ensure shipments of those sea urchins and sea cucumbers do not contain endangered or threatened species, and (2) related inspection fees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act of 2015 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to include in the definition of a "controlled substance analogue" a substance designated as such by the Controlled Substance Analogue Committee (established by this bill). It directs the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to establish such Committee as an interagency committee headed by the DEA and comprised of scientific experts in the fields of chemistry and pharmacology from the DEA, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and any other federal agency determined by the DEA to be appropriate. The Committee may designate, and shall establish and maintain a list of, controlled substance analogues determined to be similar to a schedule I or II controlled substance in either chemical structure or predictive effect on the body in such a manner as to make it likely that the substance will, or can be reasonably expected to, have a potential for abuse. The DEA must publish a description of each designation made by the Committee. The bill amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to prohibit the importation of any controlled substance analogue except pursuant to such notification or declaration as the DEA may prescribe. It directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements to ensure that they provide adequate penalties for any offense involving the unlawful manufacturing, importing, exporting, or trafficking of controlled substance analogues and similar offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Small Business Capital Formation Enhancement Act This bill amends the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980 with respect to the annual government-business forum of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review the current status of problems and programs relating to small business capital formation. The SEC shall review each of the forum's findings and recommendations and issue a public statement promptly assessing it and disclosing the action, if any, the SEC intends to take with respect to it.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2015
Reaffirms: (1) the commitment of Congress to stopping Iran's sponsorship of terrorism and human rights violations; and (2) the legislative intent of Congress that the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 was enacted to deter illicit Iranian behavior, including sponsorship of terrorism and human rights violations. Supports state and local government sanctions targeting Iran's illicit activity, including divestment of assets from companies investing in Iran and prohibition of investment of state and local assets in any person engaging in investment activities in Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2015
Preserving State Rights Act This bill allows a proclamation designating a national monument only for those approved by the state legislature and the governor of each state in which the national monument would be located.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015
Guantanamo Transfer Prevention Act This bill prohibits the President from using Department of Defense (DOD) funds to transfer or release to or within the United States, its territories, or possessions Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who is not a U.S. citizen or member of the U.S. Armed Forces and is or was held on or after January 20, 2009, at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by DOD. Any contravening action by the President shall be without legal effect. No amounts authorized to be appropriated or otherwise made available for DOD for FY2016 may be used to: (1) close or abandon Guantanamo, (2) relinquish control of Guantanamo to Cuba, or (3) implement a material modification to the Treaty Between the United States of America and Cuba signed at Washington, DC, on May 29, 1934, that constructively closes Guantanamo.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2015
Give our Seniors and Veterans the COLA they Deserve Act This bill directs the General Services Administration (GSA) to sell buildings owned by the federal government that are not utilized. GSA must identify all such buildings and sell them not later than five years after they have been identified. The bill exempts buildings that have been set aside for preservation or historic purposes. The bill requires the net revenues from the sale of such buildings to be made available to increase the cost-of-living adjustments to: (1) social security retirement benefits, and (2) retirement benefits for members and former members of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015
Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to the members of the Office of Strategic Services in recognition of their service and contributions during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2015
Atomic Veterans Healthcare Parity Act This bill includes veterans who participated in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands during the period January 1, 1977-December 31, 1980, as radiation exposed veterans for purposes of the Department of Veterans Affairs presumption of service-connection for specified cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2015
Cradle Act This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow for alternative certification requirements for a residential pediatric recovery center to participate in a state Medicaid program. A "residential pediatric recovery center" is a facility that treats infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which is caused by exposure to opioids before birth. With respect to certifying such facilities, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid must establish guidelines that: (1) include requirements specifically applicable to treating infants with NAS, and (2) take into account that certain requirements needed for centers that treat adults may not be necessary for facilities that treat such infants. A residential pediatric recovery center may satisfy the requirements set forth in these guidelines in lieu of any comparable requirements otherwise applicable for purposes of the center's participation under a state Medicaid program. A facility licensed by a state as a residential pediatric recovery center shall be treated as having satisfied certification requirements for participation under the Medicaid program for that state.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2015
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act This bill amends the federal judicial code to narrow the scope of foreign sovereign immunity by authorizing U.S. courts to hear cases involving claims against a foreign state for injuries, death, or damages that occur inside the United States as a result of a tort, including an act of terrorism, committed anywhere by a foreign state or official. It amends the federal criminal code to permit civil claims against a foreign state or official for injuries, death, or damages from an act of international terrorism. Additionally, the bill authorizes federal courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over and impose liability on a person who commits, or aids, abets, or conspires to commit, an act of international terrorism against a U.S. national.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015
Recognizes the importance of accreditation by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer to ensure patient access to high quality, comprehensive cancer care.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015
This bill directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to withdraw its proposed rule entitled "Members of Federal Home Loan Banks" (September 12, 2014). The Government Accountability Office shall report to certain congressional committees on the impact of the rule upon the Federal Home Loan Bank System and financial intermediaries.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2015
This bill prohibits federal departments and agencies from including the Social Security account number of any individual on any document sent by mail unless the department or agency head determines that inclusion of that Social Security number on the document is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2015
Expresses support for the recent terrorism victims and their families in Israel, the people of Israel, and the government of Israel. Condemns terrorism committed under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and calls on Palestinian leaders to cease supporting or allowing terrorist activities in Israel. Urges the President to condemn the attacks carried out against innocent Israelis and freeze U.S. funding to the PA until their leaders openly increase efforts to end their incitement of violence. Expresses concern about the use of national security waivers to continue supplying aid to the PA. Demands as a condition of continued U.S. aid that the President re-certify that the PA government and all its ministers have publicly accepted and are complying with the principles which demand the recognition of Israel's right to exist and the acceptance of previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2015
WIFIA Improvement Act This bill amends the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 to repeal provisions prohibiting any project receiving federal credit assistance under such Act from being financed from the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Stop the Overdose Problem Already Becoming a Universal Substance Epidemic Act of 2015 or the STOP ABUSE Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to convene an interagency task force to develop, solicit input on, disseminate information about, and study implementation of best practices for pain management and prescription of pain medication. It amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Department of Justice to award grants: to implement comprehensive community-wide prevention strategies to address a rapid increase or high rate of opioid or prescription drug abuse; and to develop, implement, or expand treatment alternative to incarceration programs. This bill limits an individual's civil liability for harm caused by the emergency administration of an opioid overdose reversal drug (e.g., naloxone) if the individual: works or volunteers at an opioid overdose program and provides the drug, as a part the program, to an authorized individual who administers it; or administers the drug after obtaining it from a health care professional or as part of an opioid overdose program, or administers it pursuant to a prescription, and was educated on its administration. It amends the Controlled Substances Act to require an opioid treatment program that closes on any day to make arrangements for each patient to receive treatment during the closure, as necessary. The bill reauthorizes the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program through FY2020. It amends the National All Schedules Prescription Electronic Reporting Act of 2005 to include as a specified purpose of state-administered controlled substance monitoring systems ensuring that appropriate authorities have access to prescription history information for investigations. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to revise and reauthorize through FY2020 the controlled substance monitoring program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015
Helping our Rural Veterans Receive Health Care Act This bill amends the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 to make permanent and expand the pilot program to provide, through qualifying non-VA health care providers, VA-authorized hospital care or medical, rehabilitative, or preventive health services to veterans in highly rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015
Financial Regulatory Clarity Act of 2015 Requires the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Credit Union Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, before issuing a regulation or order, to assess other federal regulations and orders to determine whether: (1) the agency's proposal is in conflict with, inconsistent with, or duplicative of such regulations or orders; and (2) such other federal regulations or orders are outdated.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015
Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 This bill directs the President to: establish a five-year strategy to achieve, with target countries and donors, the goal of ending preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths globally and ensure healthy and productive lives within a generation; and provide assistance to implement the strategy. The President shall designate a current U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee serving in the Senior Executive Service or at the level of a Deputy Assistant Administrator or higher to serve concurrently as the Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator, who shall be responsible for: overseeing such strategy, and all U.S. government funds appropriated or used for international maternal and child health and nutrition programs. The U.S. government, through USAID and other relevant executive branch agencies, should identify and remove financial barriers to strengthen access to delivery systems for vulnerable and marginalized populations by leveraging public and private capital to expand delivery of interventions for maternal, newborn, and child health.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
New England Fishermen Preservation Act This bill prohibits the Department of Commerce from requiring sectors of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery to comply with the independent, third-party monitoring program, unless the program is fully funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The program monitors annual catch limits for fishing vessels in that sector. Currently, those sectors are required to develop and implement those programs, and are responsible for the program costs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Internal Revenue Service to mail paper income tax forms (and related instructions) to taxpayers who file paper returns not later than 31 days after the close of such taxpayer's next taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015
Positive Train Control Enforcement and Implementation Act of 2015 This bill extends deadlines and modifies requirements for railroad carriers and providers of intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation to implement positive train control (PTC) systems. (A PTC system is a communications and signaling system designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, over-speed derailments, incursions into established work zone limits, and the movement of a train through a switch left in the wrong position. Railroads which carry passengers or have high-volume freight traffic with certain hazardous materials are required to implement a PTC system.) Within 60 days of enactment of this bill, each Class I railroad carrier (the largest operators by revenue) and provider of intercity or commuter rail passenger transportation must submit to the Department of Transportation (DOT) a plan for implementing PTC by December 31, 2018, instead of the December 31, 2015, deadline required under current law. DOT may extend the deadline if specified requirements are met. The revised plan must include a detailed schedule and sequence for fully implementing PTC in a manner that complies with specified regulations, and railroads must implement PTC in accordance with the plan. DOT may authorize a railroad carrier or other entity to begin the provisional operation of a PTC system without the required certification if it is necessary to enable the safe implementation of PTC in phases.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2015
Interim Consolidated Storage Act of 2015 This bill amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to authorize the Department of Energy (DOE) to enter into new contracts (or modify existing contracts) with the licensee of an interim consolidated storage facility in order to take title to and store in it either high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel of domestic origin. The bill defines: "interim consolidated storage facility" as a facility licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel received from DOE or from two or more persons that generate or hold title to such fuel generated at a civilian nuclear power reactor, and "high-level radioactive waste" as including Greater than Class C waste. The bill assigns priority to storage of such waste and spent fuel located on sites without an operating nuclear reactor. The bill makes appropriations targeted for the Nuclear Waste Fund available to pay for costs in connection with storage in an interim consolidated storage facility. Beginning in FY2016 DOE shall not expend, on fees for dry modes of storage of high-level radioactive waste or spent nuclear fuel, any amounts exceeding the cumulative amount of interest generated by the Fund each fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2015
Fruit and Vegetables Access for Children Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow federal grant-funded fresh fruit and vegetable programs carried out by states to include canned, dried, frozen, or pureed fruits and vegetables.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2015
Social Security Beneficiary 2nd Amendment Rights Protection Act This bill amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to prohibit any determination by the Commissioner of Social Security with respect to an individual, including one that OASDI and SSI benefits to which that individual is entitled shall be paid to a representative payee, from being considered to be a determination that the individual has been adjudicated as a mental defective to make it unlawful for the individual to engage in the shipment or transport of firearms or ammunition or receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2015
Safe, Flexible, and Efficient Trucking Act of 2015 This bill allows a state to authorize a vehicle with a maximum gross weight (including enforcement tolerances) exceeding certain federal weight limitations to operate on Interstate Highway System routes in the state if: the vehicle is equipped with at least six axles, the weight of any single axle does not exceed 20,000 pounds, the weight of any tandem axle does not exceed 34,000 pounds, the weight of any group of 3 or more axles does not exceed 51,000 pounds, the gross weight of the vehicle does not exceed 91,000 pounds, and the vehicle complies with a specified bridge formula. The Department of Transportation may issue regulations necessary to require such a vehicle to include one item of additional equipment not otherwise required by law, but only if the equipment item is available at the time the rule is proposed.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research Act of 2015 or the Childhood Cancer STAR Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to permit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide support to collect the medical specimens and information of children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer to improve the understanding of these cancers and of the effects of treatment. The national childhood cancer registry is reauthorized through FY2020 and revised to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award grants to states to improve tracking of childhood cancers. This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require manufacturers and distributors of investigational drugs to publish policies for compassionate use of the drugs. The Department of Health and Human Services must: (1) support pilot programs to develop or study models for monitoring and caring for childhood cancer survivors throughout their lives, (2) convene a Workforce Development Collaborative on Medical and Psychosocial Care for Pediatric Cancer Survivors, (3) establish a task force on standards for high-quality childhood cancer survivorship care, and (4) carry out a demonstration project to improve care coordination as childhood cancer survivors transition to adult care. The NIH must support research on: (1) outcomes for, and barriers faced by, pediatric cancer survivors within minority or medically underserved populations; and (2) follow-up care for pediatric cancer survivors, including research on the late effects of cancer treatment and long-term complications. The Government Accountability Office must make recommendations to address barriers to childhood cancer survivors obtaining and paying for adequate medical care.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act This bill amends the Financial Stability Act of 2010 to make the budgets of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) subject to the annual appropriations process and to establish requirements for reports and a public notice and comment period. The budgets of the FSOC and the OFR are funded by assessments on financial institutions which are deposited into the Financial Research Fund and, under current law, are immediately available to be spent. This bill requires the funding from the Financial Research Fund to be made available by appropriations Acts. The bill also requires the OFR to: (1) submit quarterly reports to Congress regarding its activities; and (2) provide a public notice and comment period of at least 90 days before issuing any report, rule, or regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. Specifically, the bill authorizes a trade secret owner to file a civil action in a U.S. district court seeking relief for trade secret misappropriation related to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce. It establishes remedies, such as an injunction and damages. The statute of limitation is set at five years from the date of discovery of the misappropriation. A trade secret owner may apply for and a court may grant a seizure order to prevent dissemination of the trade secret if the court makes specific findings, including that an immediate and irreparable injury will occur if seizure is not ordered. A court must take custody of the seized materials and hold a seizure hearing within seven days. Any party harmed by the order may move to dissolve or modify the order and may also seek relief against the applicant of the seizure order for wrongful or excessive seizure. The Department of Justice must submit to Congress and publish a biannual report on trade secret theft outside the United States. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) trade secret theft occurs in the United States and around the world, (2) trade secret theft harms owner companies and their employees, and (3) the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 applies broadly to protect trade secrets from theft.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Justice for Former American Hostages in Iran Act of 2015 Establishes in the Treasury the American Hostages in Iran Compensation Fund to: (1) make payments to the Americans held hostage in Iran, and to their families, who are identified as members of the proposed class in case number 1:00-CV-03110 (ESG) of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia; and (2) satisfy their claims against Iran relating to the taking of hostages and treatment of personnel of the U.S. embassy in Tehran between November 4, 1979, and January 20, 1981. Imposes a surcharge, to be deposited into the Fund, of 30% on the amount of: (1) any fine or penalty imposed for a violation (committed on or after enactment of this Act) of a law or regulation penalizing any economic activity relating to Iran that is administered by the Departments of State, Treasury, Justice, Commerce, or Energy; or (2) the monetary amount of a settlement entered into by a person regarding a suspected violation of such a law or regulation. Requires distribution of Fund payments to members of the proposed class in the following amounts: to each living former hostage, $6,750 for each day of captivity; to the estate of each deceased former hostage, $6,750 for each day of captivity; to each spouse (who is also a member of the identified class) of a former hostage, $600,000, or to the estate of such spouse who is deceased, $600,000; and to each child (who is also a member of the identified class) of a former hostage, $600,000, or to the estate of such child who is deceased, $600,000. Specifies the order of payment distribution. Prohibits a payment recipient from maintaining an action against Iran in any federal or state court for any claims relating to the hostage events. Deems waived and forever released all existing claims against Iran for those events upon payment from the Fund to all designated recipients. Requires the Department of State to submit recommendations to Congress if Fund amounts will be insufficient to pay all recipients within 444 days after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act (PALS Act) This bill requires that any provision of law referring to current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with respect to breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention be administered as if: (1) the provision referred to USPSTF recommendations last issued before 2009; and (2) those recommendations applied to any screening mammography modality, including any digital modality of such a procedure. (In 2009, the USPSTF updated its guidelines to recommend against routine screening mammography for women between 40 to 49 years of age and to recommend biennial, instead of annual, screening mammography for most women between 50 to 74 years of age.) In addition, the bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to preserve Medicare coverage for screening mammography, without a requirement for coinsurance, and expand the definition of screening mammography to include any digital modality of such a procedure. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services may not decrease the frequency with which screening mammography may be paid by Medicare for a woman over 39 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Securing America's Next Generation of Safe Loggers and Truckers Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to make the restrictions on oppressive child labor inapplicable to employment of an employee age 16 or 17 exclusively by a parent, or a person standing in place of a parent, in a logging operation owned or operated by that parent or person. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shall establish a test program to allow states to enter into interstate compacts with contiguous states, approved by the governor of each state, to standardize the requirements for operators of commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. A commercial driver's license issued by one state participating in a compact shall be recognized as valid in every state participating in the compact.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Resettlement Accountability National Security Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the admission of refugees into the United States until Congress passes a joint resolution giving the Department of Homeland Security authority to resume admitting refugees. Requires the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on refugees who received benefits under any of the following programs: Medicare, Medicaid, disability insurance under title II of the Social Security Act, the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program), and section 8 rental assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Regulation Sensibility Through Oversight Restoration Resolution of 2015 or the RESTORE Resolution of 2015 Establishes the Joint Select Committee on Regulatory Reform to: review the process by which rules are promulgated by agencies, hold hearings on the effects of and how to reduce regulatory overreach in all sectors of the economy, and review the Code of Federal Regulations to identify rules and sets of rules that should be repealed. Requires the Joint Select Committee to recommend to Congress legislation to create processes: (1) under which an agency, before promulgating a rule, shall seek advice from Congress and take other specified actions; and (2) to appropriately sunset as many rules as possible. Requires the Joint Select Committee also to submit to Congress: recommendations for ways to reduce the financial burden placed on the various sectors of the economy in order to comply with rules; an analysis of the feasibility of creating a permanent Joint Committee on Rules Review, and requiring each agency to submit each of its proposed rules to the appropriate congressional committee for review in a specified manner; and a list of rules and sets of rules that the Joint Select Committee recommends should be repealed. Requires the Joint Committee on Rules Review, if established, to review each proposed rule that an agency determines is likely to have an annual effect on the economy of $50 million or more before the agency promulgates the final rule.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the July 16, 2015, attack upon members of the Armed Forces at the Navy Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center and the Armed Forces Career Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, meets the criteria for the award of the Purple Heart, and (2) the Secretary of the Navy should award the Purple Heart to the members of the Marine Corps and Navy who were killed or wounded in the attack.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2015
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the use of tissue from a spontaneous or induced abortion in research conducted or supported by the National Institutes of Health on the transplantation of fetal tissue for therapeutic purposes. (A spontaneous abortion is the death of a fetus before the age of viability, also known as a miscarriage.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants or contracts for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers. These Centers must improve the training of health professionals in palliative care and establish traineeships for individuals preparing for advanced education nursing degrees, social work degrees, or advanced degrees in physician assistant studies in palliative care. HHS may make grants to, and enter into contracts with, schools of medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, teaching hospitals, and graduate medical education programs to support the training of physicians who plan to teach palliative medicine. HHS must: (1) provide Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards to individuals to promote their career development; (2) award grants or contracts to entities that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center; (3) award incentive grants or contracts to advanced practice nurses, social workers, physician assistants, pharmacists, chaplains, or students of psychology pursuing an advanced degree in palliative care or related fields; and (4) award grants to schools of nursing, health care facilities, or programs leading to certification as a nurse assistant to train individuals in providing palliative care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must provide for a national education and awareness campaign to inform patients, families, and health professionals about the benefits of palliative care. The National Institutes of Health must expand national research programs in palliative care.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2015
Enhancing Safety at Military Installations Act This bill directs the Department of Defense (DOD) to issue a new directive authorizing trained military personnel to carry military-issued firearms on military bases and Armed Forces recruitment facilities. Army Regulation 190-14, entitled "Carrying of Firearms and Use of Force for Law Enforcement and Security Duties," and DOD Directive Number 5210.56, entitled "Use of Deadly Force and the Carrying of Firearms by DOD Personnel Engaged in Law Enforcement and Security Duties" are repealed. Any provision in any other law, rule, regulation, or executive order that prohibits trained military personnel from carrying officially issued firearms on military bases and Armed Forces recruitment facilities shall have no force or effect. Trained military personnel shall not be prohibited from carrying officially issued firearms on military bases or Armed Forces recruitment facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015
Expresses disapproval of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed to by the P5+1 and Iran on July 14, 2015. Reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to: (1) prevent Iran from ever acquiring a nuclear weapons capability, and (2) encourage global stability and security by strongly supporting strategic regional allies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2015
National 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center Act This bill designates the National September 11 Memorial located at the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, as a national memorial. The Department of the Interior may award a grant of not more than $25 million each fiscal year to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation, Inc., for the operation and maintenance of the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015
Merchant Marine of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act This bill requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal to the U.S. Merchant Marine of World War II, in recognition of their dedicated and vital service during World War II.
![Official portrait of Rep. Poliquin, Bruce [R-ME-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/115_rp_me_2_poliquin_bruce_200.jpg)