United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
No Social Security for Nazis Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to consider the following individuals to be removed under the Immigration and Nationality Act and so to have their OASDI benefits terminated: an individual with respect to whom an order admitting the individual to citizenship has been revoked and set aside where such action is based on conduct relating to participation in Nazi persecution, concealment of a material fact about such conduct, or willful misrepresentation about such conduct; and an individual who, pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Attorney General (AG), has admitted to such conduct and has lost status as a U.S. national by renouncing that status. Requires such individuals to have been considered removed under such Act as of the date of the revocation, setting aside, or renunciation. Prohibits such individuals from receiving other Social Security benefits based on the wages and self-employment income of any other individual. Prohibits the payment to such individuals also of any benefits under SSA tile XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI). Requires the AG or the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to notify the Commissioner of Social Security of such revocations, setting asides, and renunciations of nationality.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2014 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to revise requirements for the audit capacity of voting systems, particularly those for a permanent paper record. Requires the voting system to require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted, and which shall be counted by hand or read by an optical scanner or other counting device. Requires the voting system to provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any system-made error in the voter-verified paper ballot before it is permanently preserved. Requires each paper ballot used to be: (1) suitable for a manual audit, and (2) counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any federal election. Sets forth a special rule for treatment of disputes when paper ballots have been shown to be compromised. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to make grants to eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy. Specifies additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Requires the NSF Director to make grants to eligible entities to conduct research on the development of election-dedicated voting system software. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Requires each state to administer audits of federal election results, without advance notice to the precincts selected, consisting of random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots. Makes an exception from this requirement for elections in which the winning candidate had no opponent or received 80% or more of the vote total. Prescribes requirements for determination of the number of ballots counted under the audit. Prescribes the process for administering audits. Requires the Election Auditor of a state, as soon as practicable after the completion of an audit, to submit the results to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for publication. Prohibits certification of the results of any election until completion of audits. Provides for payments to states for the costs of conducting audits. Exempts from this Act any election for which a recount under state law will commence before certification of the election results. Repeals the EAC's exemption from certain federal government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2014
Congratulates and honors Malala Yousafzai on receiving the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to global education equality and the promotion of peace. States that in honoring Malala Yousafzai the House of Representatives honors those who have promoted education equality, including those individuals who continue to champion the right of all children to a peaceful education in Pakistan and elsewhere. Emphasizes that violations of human rights in general, and the persecution of children specifically, are matters of legitimate concern to all nations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 November 2014
Congratulates and honors Kailash Satyarthi on receiving the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to the protection of children's rights and the promotion of peace. Condemns child labor as a form of modern slavery. States that in honoring Kailash Satyarthi the House of Representatives honors all those who have worked to end child labor. Emphasizes that violations of human rights in general, and the abuse of children specifically, are matters of legitimate concern to all nations.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
10-20-30 Act of 2014 - Requires 10% of funds made available in appropriations Acts in FY2015-FY2025 for specified accounts or activities to be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties. Defines "persistent poverty counties" as any county with a poverty rate of at least 20%, as determined in each of the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates of the Bureau of the Census.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
National Parents Corps Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, subject to the availability of appropriations, to award a grant to a nonprofit entity (to be known as the NPCP Nonprofit Partner) to establish a National Parents Corps program to promote safety and combat youth violence and substance abuse in public middle or secondary schools. Requires the NPCP Nonprofit Partner to: (1) select for program participation annually schools that agree to host a Parent Leader for a number of years equal to the number of grade levels they offer; and (2) employ, after a background check, a Parent Leader from among the parents of students enrolled in the lowest grade at each participating school to work on a full-time basis with students, other parents, and school officials to treat, prevent, and reduce violence and drug, alcohol, and tobacco addiction among students. Urges participating schools to take the measures necessary to secure funding for the employment of Parent Leaders after federal funding becomes unavailable.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Veteran Education Empowerment Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award four-year grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish, maintain, and improve a veteran student center. Requires grantees to be IHEs that: have a population of at least 15,000 students, of which at least 1% are veterans or members of the Armed Forces; are located in a region or community that has a significant veteran population; carry out programs or activities that assist veterans in the local community; and present a sustainability plan demonstrating that their veteran student center will be maintained and will continue to operate after the grant ends. Defines a "veteran student center" as a dedicated space on a campus that provides students who are veterans or members of the Armed Forces with: (1) a lounge or meeting space for such students and veterans in the community, and (2) a centralized office for veteran services that is staffed by trained employees and volunteers. Requires that office to provide such students with assistance in: transitioning from the military to student life, transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce, networking with other students, understanding and obtaining the federal and state benefits for which they may be eligible, and understanding how to succeed in the IHE.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Copyright and Marriage Equality Act - Amends federal copyright law to revise the definition of "widow" or "widower" for purposes of provisions concerning the transfer of a copyright to an author's spouse or other next of kin following the author's death. Declares that an individual is the widow or widower of an author if the courts of the state in which the individual and the author were married (or, if the individual and the author were not married in any state but were validly married in another jurisdiction, the courts of any state) would find that the individual and the author were validly married at the time of the author's death. (Currently, only the author's surviving spouse under the law of the author's domicile at the time of death is considered a widow.)
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to reauthorize through FY2024 Historic Preservation Fund activities related to the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and structures on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Peaceful Learning Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to study railway noise in the United States. Requires the Secretary, by regulation, to: establish a single system of measuring railway noise that: (1) has a highly reliable relationship between projected railway noise exposure and surveyed reactions of individuals to noise, and (2) is applied uniformly in measuring railway noise near urbanized areas; establish a single system for determining the exposure of individuals to railway noise in urbanized areas; and determine, based on the study findings, minimum standards for railway noise levels on the property of a school located in an urbanized area. Requires each rail operator to submit to DOT a noise exposure map showing any areas of nonconforming railway noise levels (based on such standards) that: (1) adversely impact a school located in an urbanized area, and (2) are caused by operations of the rail operator. Authorizes a rail operator that submitted a noise exposure map to DOT also to submit a noise compatibility program. Authorizes the Secretary to incur obligations to make grants to specified entities for up to 80% of the costs of carrying out a project under an approved noise compatibility program. Bars admission of a noise exposure map and related information into evidence, or their use for any other purpose, in a civil action asking for relief for noise resulting from the operation of a fixed rail public transportation facility.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Bridge to a Clean Energy Future Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2015 the following energy-related tax provisions: the tax credits for residential energy efficiency improvements, alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures, two-wheeled plug-in electric vehicles, second generation biofuel production, biodiesel and renewable diesel fuel mixtures, producing electricity using Indian coal facilities, the construction of energy-efficient new homes, and new qualified fuel cell motor vehicles; the enhanced depreciation allowance for second generation biofuel plant property; the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings; the excise tax credit for alternative fuels and fuels involving liquefied hydrogen; and tax deferral rules for sales or dispositions of qualified electric utilities. Extends through 2016, the tax credit for producing electricity using wind, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, trash, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program to consider and award certifications for qualified investments eligible for the advanced energy project tax credit. Limits the amount of credits that may be allocated under such program to not more than $5 billion (the 2013 allocation amount). Authorizes the Secretary to make direct payments to a taxpayer in lieu of a tax credit. Extends the energy tax credit to solar energy, fuel cell, microturbine, combined heath and power system, small wind energy, and thermal energy properties the construction of which begins before January 1, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Creating American Prosperity through Preservation Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to tax credits for building rehabilitation expenditures, to: (1) allow an increased 30% credit for projects involving $7.5 million or less in rehabilitation expenditures, (2) provide for an additional 2% credit amount for a building that is a qualified energy efficient rehabilitated building (increased energy efficiency of 30% or more), (3) change the placed-in-service requirement for non-historic rehabilitated buildings from before 1936 to 50 years prior to the year in which qualified rehabilitation expenditures are taken into account, and (4) exempt from tax the proceeds of a state historic tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Helping Wounded Warriors Cover Medical Expenses Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow tax-free distributions from a qualified tuition program account (529 tuition plans) for payment of the medical expenses of veterans with disability ratings of more than 50%; and (2) exclude such distributions from gross income, for income tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Constitution and Citizenship Day Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a Constitution Day Grant Program awarding competitive grants to local educational agencies and charter schools to commemorate, and enhance educational programs that teach students about, the U.S. Constitution and their state constitution. Requires such program to occur annually on Constitution Day, September 17, or the following Monday if that day falls on a weekend, and give students the ability to register to vote.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Fund through FY2041 and index appropriations to the medical care component of the consumer price index for urban consumers. Makes funding available for: a quality assurance program for services delivered by health care providers, the WTC Program annual report, WTC Health Program Steering Committees, and contracts with Clinical Centers of Excellence. Removes the disqualification of individuals on the terrorist watch list maintained by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from being identified as WTC responders or WTC survivors eligible for benefits provided by the WTC Health Program. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to make individuals (or relatives of deceased individuals) who were injured or killed in the rescue and recovery efforts after the aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Allows individuals to file claims for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 up to 30 years after regulations are updated based on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Removes the cap on payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Adds the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program Fund to the list of accounts that are not subject to budget sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act of 2014 - Redesignates the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site in the state of Georgia as the "Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park." Replaces the current boundary map with an updated map dated April 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014 - Expands the TRICARE health care program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to entitle additional female beneficiaries and dependents to care related to the prevention of pregnancy. (Currently, such care is limited to certain female members of the uniformed service or a reserve component performing active duty or certain servicewomen performing inactive-duty training.) Prohibits cost-sharing from being imposed or collected for such pregnancy prevention care, including for any method of contraception provided through a facility of the uniformed services, the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, or the national mail-order pharmacy program. Provides for such pregnancy prevention care to include all methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling. Directs the DOD Secretary to: (1) ensure that every military treatment facility has a sufficient stock of a broad range of FDA-approved methods of contraception to dispense to any women members of the Armed Forces and female covered beneficiaries who receive care through such facility; (2) disseminate clinical practice guidelines and decision support tools to DOD-employed health care providers; (3) ensure that women members of the Armed Forces have access to contraception counseling during health care visits; and (4) establish an education program for all members of the Armed Forces, including both men and women members, consisting of a uniform standard curriculum on family planning. Requires questions regarding family planning services and counseling to be incorporated into DOD health surveys. Requires every military treatment facility, upon request, to provide emergency contraception, or information about FDA-approved methods of emergency contraception, to any woman who: (1) states to personnel that she is a victim of sexual assault or is accompanied by another individual who states that the woman is a victim of sexual assault, or (2) is reasonably believed to be a survivor of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Employ Young Americans Now Act - Establishes in the Treasury the Employ Young Americans Fund, with an initial appropriation of $5.5 billion for FY2015. Requires the Secretary of Labor to make certain Fund allocations to each state with an approved workforce investment system plan modification, other specified requests for funds, and Native American program grantees to provide summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth. Requires the Secretary to award allocations and competitive grants to local entities for work-based training and other work-related and educational strategies and activities of demonstrated effectiveness to provide unemployed, low-income young adults and low-income youths with skills that will lead to employment. Subjects activities funded under this Act to federal labor standards and nondiscrimination protections.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to select a medical center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of descendants (i.e., a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to that exposure. Requires the national research center to employ at least one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate the access of individuals to appropriate federal, state, and local social and health care programs and to handle case management. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory board to: (1) advise the national research center, (2) determine which health conditions in the descendants of individuals who were exposed to toxic substances while serving in the Armed Forces result from such exposure for purposes of determining those descendants' eligibility for VA medical care, and (3) study and evaluate claims of service-related exposure to toxic substances by current and former members of the Armed Forces. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which not less than 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of disability. Directs the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the DOD Secretary to jointly conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed at members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on: (1) incidents of exposure to toxic substances, health conditions resulting form such exposure, and the potential long-term effects of such exposure; and (2) the national research center.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Stop Militarizing Law Enforcement Act - Amends the program under which the Secretary of Defense is authorized to transfer excess personal property of the Department of Defense (DOD) to federal and state agencies for law enforcement activities. Excludes counter-drug activities from the categories of law enforcement activities for which DOD property may be transferred under such program. Requires recipients of DOD property to certify that they: (1) have personnel, technical capacity, and training to operate the property; and (2) will return to the DOD any property that is surplus to the recipient's needs. Requires recipients that are not federal agencies to certify that they have notified their local community of requests for DOD property with a notice on a publicly accessible Internet website and postings at prominent locations in the jurisdiction. Requires the Secretary to submit annually to Congress a description of property to be transferred along with a certification that the transfers are not prohibited by law. Prohibits transfers of: automatic weapons that are not suitable for law enforcement purposes; weapons of .50 caliber or greater; tactical vehicles, including highly mobile multi-wheeled vehicles, armored vehicles, and mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles; armored or weaponized drones; aircraft that are combat configured or combat coded, or that have no established commercial flight application; grenades and similar explosives; silencers; and long range acoustic devices. Prohibits transfers conditioned upon the agency demonstrating the use of any small arms or ammunitions. Requires the Secretary to ensure that certain items are not transferred from one federal or state agency to another such agency. Prohibits obligations or expenditures of appropriations to carry out the DOD's property transfer program unless specified conditions have been met, including requirements to verify: (1) that in-person inventories of transferred property have been conducted at each agency, and (2) that 100% of such property was accounted for during the inventories or that agencies unable to account for such property have been suspended from the program. Requires the Defense Logistics Agency to maintain an Internet website that makes available publicly a description of: (1) each transfer broken down by state, county, and recipient; and (2) during the 30-day period preceding the date on which any property is transferred, the property to be transferred and the recipient.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Recognizes the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Esteems the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2014 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the ambulance fee schedule to: (1) increase the conversion factor for ground ambulance services in the formula for determining the appropriate fee, and (2) increase the mileage rate for such services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study how the conversion factor should be modified, if at all, to take into account the cost of providing ambulance services in urban, rural, and super-rural areas. Directs the Secretary to establish a process to determine, in advance of furnishing end stage renal disease (ESRD) ambulance services, whether payment for them may not be made because they are not covered or because they are excluded from coverage. Prohibits any payment unless the Secretary determines, pursuant to this process, that the service meets coverage requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop a data collection system for providers and suppliers of ambulance services to collect cost, revenue, utilization, and other appropriate information.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson for acts of valor during World War I for which he was previously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Supports the efforts of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy in working with the public and private sectors to: increase financial education for youth in school and for adults in the workplace, increase access to financial services, establish measures of national financial literacy, conduct research on financial knowledge, and strengthen financial education programs. Reaffirms the purposes of the Dodd-Frank Act directing federal financial agencies and the entities they regulate to partner with organizations focused on developing opportunities to place talented young minorities and women in industry internships, summer employment, and full-time positions. Supports the efforts of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to provide consumers with relevant information and decisionmaking tools regarding important financial decisions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
States that Congress: (1) should debate and vote on a statutory authorization for any sustained U.S. combat role in Iraq or Syria, (2) does not support the deployment of ground combat troops in Iraq or Syria, (3) should ensure that any such statutory authorization is limited, and (4) should ensure that any statutory authorization includes robust reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Amends the federal charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to describe the organization as a national association of veterans (currently, an association of men) who, as soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen, served this Nation in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign soil or in hostile waters. Expands its purpose of assisting widows to that of assisting surviving spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award grants to eligible institutions to: (1) establish a master's or doctoral degree program in orthotics and prosthetics, or (2) expand upon an existing master's degree program in such area. Requires a grant priority for institutions in partnership with a medical center administered by the VA or a facility administered by the Department of Defense (DOD). Provides grant amounts of at least $1 million and up to $1.5 million. Defines as eligible institutions those either accredited by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education or demonstrating an ability to meet such accreditation requirements if receiving a grant. Requires the Secretary to award a grant to an institution with orthotic and prosthetic research and education experience to: (1) establish the Center of Excellence in Orthotic and Prosthetic Education; and (2) improve orthotic and prosthetic outcomes for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and civilians by conducting orthotic and prosthetic-based research.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Safe and Secure Drinking Water Act of 2014 - Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and publish within 90 days a health advisory including recommendations on: (1) the level of microcystins (toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae) in drinking water that is safe for human consumption; (2) feasible treatment techniques and other means for achieving a safe level; and (3) standardized procedures for testing for microcystins in drinking water. Directs the EPA, until it makes a determination on whether to regulate microcystins in drinking water, to report within 120 days and every year thereafter on: (1) the status of the determination, (2) the steps taken by the EPA to promote testing of drinking water for microcystins in areas that have been affected by harmful algal blooms, and (3) an analysis of available treatment techniques and other means for addressing microcystins in drinking water.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2014
Transparency in Policing Act of 2014 or the TIP Act of 2014 - Directs the Attorney General to conduct a study on the cost to state and local law enforcement agencies of purchasing and using body cameras. Conditions the receipt by a state or local law enforcement agency of federal funds from a grant program carried out by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the purchase of body cameras for use by the law enforcement officers employed by that agency. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive such requirement upon determining that compliance would create a hardship for such agency.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Pathways Out of Poverty Act of 2014 - Division A: Education - Title I: Strong Start for America's Children - Subtitle A: Access to Voluntary Prekindergarten for Low- and Moderate-Income Families - Directs the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to allot matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), childhood education program providers, or consortia of those entities to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for children from low-income families. Allots grants to states based on each state's proportion of children who are age four and who are from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty level. Defines "high-quality prekindergarten programs." Conditions grant eligibility on a state demonstrating to the Secretary that it: (1) has established or will establish early learning and development standards, (2) has established or will develop the ability to link prekindergarten data with elementary and secondary school data, (3) offers state-funded kindergarten for children, and (4) has established a State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a process to provide Head Start program services to children who are younger than age four in states or regions that provide four-year-olds whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level with sustained access to high-quality prekindergarten programs. Subtitle B: Prekindergarten Development Grants - Directs the Secretary to award competitive, matching, capacity-building grants to states that assure that they will use their grant to become eligible, within three years of receiving the grant, for this Act's grants for high-quality prekindergarten programs. Title II: Restoring Summer Pell Grants - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary to award a student two Pell Grants during a single award year if the student is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate degree program or a certificate program at an institution of higher education (IHE) on at least a half-time basis for the equivalent of more than one academic year during the Pell Grant award year. Title III: Restoring Title IV Ability-to-Benefit Eligibility - Allows students who are not high school graduates or have not met certain home schooling requirements to receive student assistance under title IV of the HEA if they demonstrate that they can benefit from the education or training being offered by an IHE through: (1) their performance on an independently administered examination, (2) a state prescribed process, or (3) their satisfactory completion of six credit hours or the equivalent coursework toward a degree or certificate offered by the IHE. Title IV: Youth Promise/Federal Coordination of Local and Tribal Juvenile Justice Information and Efforts - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to establish a PROMISE Advisory Panel to assist the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in assessing and developing standards and evidence-based practices to prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity. Requires the Administrator of the Office to award grants to organizations to collect and use data in designated geographic areas to assess the needs and existing resources for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention. Title V: Promise Grants - Subtitle A: PROMISE Assessment and Planning Grants - Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award grants to local governments and Indian tribes to assist local PROMISE Coordinating Councils (PCCs) with planning and assessing evidence-based and promising practices for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention, especially for at-risk youth. Subtitle B: PROMISE Implementation Grants - Directs the Administrator to award additional grants to assist PCCs to implement PROMISE plans for coordinating and supporting the delivery of juvenile delinquency and gang prevention and intervention programs in local communities. Subtitle C: General PROMISE Grant Provisions - Directs the Administrator, in conjunction with the PROMISE Advisory Panel, to establish and utilize a system for evaluating applications for PROMISE Assessment and Planning grants and for PROMISE Implementation grants. Division B: Housing - Title VI: Common Sense Housing Investment - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax deduction for mortgage interest, to: (1) allow, in lieu of such deduction, a tax credit for 15% of mortgage interest paid in a taxable year for the taxpayer's principal residence and one other residence; (2) provide for a phaseout of the tax deduction for mortgage interest between 2014 and 2018; (3) allow a deduction for interest and taxes relating to land for dwelling purposes owned or leased by cooperative housing corporations; and (4) increase the state housing credit ceiling for the low-income housing tax credit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to apply the savings from the enactment of this Act to the Housing Trust Fund, for assistance under the Section 8 low-income housing program, and for the Public Housing Capital Fund. Title VII: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit for Homeless Youth - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify low-income building units that provide housing for full-time students who were homeless youth or homeless veterans prior to occupying a low-income housing unit for the low-income housing tax credit. Title VIII: Renters Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for a portion of the rent paid by a qualified renter. Defines "qualified renter" as a family unit with income not greater than the higher of 60% of local median income or 150% of the federal poverty line. Establishes the amount of such credit as the rent reduction amount, which: (1) is the amount by which the fair market rent for a rental unit exceeds the rent charged to the qualified renter; and (2) shall not exceed the excess of the rent charged to the qualified renter (or, if lower, specified modest rent) over 30% of the qualified renter's income (prorated monthly). Division C: Nutrition - Title IX: Improving the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require state TANF plans to address whether and how states will give priority to providing assistance in areas with the greatest need. Extends the TANF program. Establishes matching grants to the states for subsidized employment. Sets a flat minimum participation rate of 50% with respect to all families residing in a state that include a work-eligible individual.. Gives TANF recipients the option to have trained personnel assess certain barriers to employment. Revises the contents of individual responsibility plans. Authorizes a state to develop a modified employability plan for a TANF recipient with, or caring for a family member with, a disability. Prohibits a state from imposing a lifetime sanction or full-family sanction on assistance to any individual or family on the basis of a family member's failure to comply with a program requirement. Prohibits sanctioning individuals for failure to engage in work if the failure results from the inability to secure child care or after-school arrangements for a child under age 13. Prohibits imposing a limit of less than 60 months on duration of TANF assistance. Makes the durational limit inapplicable during a recession. Requires that states establish personnel standards through a merit-based system in the administration of TANF programs. Requires TANF assistance to meet basic family economic needs. Makes reducing child poverty a purpose of the TANF program. Requires that states adopt standards and procedures to address domestic and sexual violence suffered by TANF recipients. Requires a state to guarantee child care services to TANF recipients employed or participating in a work activity. Eliminates the ban on providing assistance to families not assigning certain support rights to the state. Gives states the option to extend TANF eligibility to children through age 21. Prohibits considering financial aid tied to education of a child in determining eligibility for or the amount of TANF. Eliminates bars to TANF assistance for persons convicted of drug felonies, unwed teen parents not in school, and teens not in an adult-supervised living arrangement. Title X: Employment Advancement, Retention, and Navigation Act - Makes it a purpose of TANF to promote employment among needy families. Requires a state to use any funds received under a grant from the TANF Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs solely to support training programs leading to a credential directly linked to the employment opportunities in the local area or region. Eliminates the maintenance of effort requirement, and related administrative penalty, for state use of amounts from the Contingency Fund. Revises the definition of vocational educational training as a work activity to include up to 24 months of such training for any individual participating in a training program leading to a credential directly linked to employment opportunities in the individual's local area or region. Removes from the limitation on the number of persons who may be treated as engaged in work by reason of participation in educational activities all single heads of household or married individuals under age 20 who maintain satisfactory school attendance. Title XI: Restoring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs Funding Cuts Instituted in Farm Bill (Heat-and-Eat) - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to remove restrictions on providing standard utility allowances under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) to certain households based on the receipt of nominal benefits under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 or similar energy assistance programs. Title XII: Helping Hungry Students Learn - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand the school lunch program, provide free breakfast to students, and establish a pilot program to provide commodities to state agencies to assist in providing food to at-risk children on weekends and during school holidays. Title XIII: Food Assistance to Improve Reintegration Act - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to repeal provisions making individuals convicted of certain drug-related offenses ineligible for SNAP benefits. Division D: Labor/Job Training - Title XV [ sic ]: Assistance for the Unemployed and Pathways Back to Work - Subtitle A: Supporting Unemployed Workers - Supporting Unemployed Workers Act of 2014 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before January 1, 2016. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until December 31, 2015, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 30, 2016, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. Amends FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to December 31, 2015, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2015, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Establishes the Reemployment NOW program to facilitate the reemployment of individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation (EUC claimants). Requires a state to submit for approval by the Secretary of Labor a plan meeting certain minimum requirements in order to be eligible for an allotment of federal funds under such program. Authorizes a state to use its allotted funds to establish: (1) a Bridge to Work program to provide EUC claimants with short-term work experience placements with eligible employers; (2) a wage insurance program to pay, for up to two years, an EUC claimant who obtains reemployment up to 50% of the difference between the wages received at the time of work separation and the wages received for reemployment; and (3) a program of enhanced reemployment services to EUC claimants, including unemployed individuals who have exhausted their EUC rights. Prescribes requirements for federal financing of state short-time compensation programs. Subtitle B: Long-Term Unemployed Hiring Preferences - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an increased work opportunity tax credit for long-term unemployed individuals (individuals who are unemployed and receiving unemployment compensation for six months or more). Subtitle C: Pathways Back to Work - Pathways Back to Work Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make certain allocations of federal funds to states with approved plans, qualifying outlying areas (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau), and Native American program grantees to provide: (1) subsidized employment to unemployed, low-income adults; and (2) summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth. Requires the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to local entities for work-based training and other work-related and educational strategies and activities of demonstrated effectiveness to provide unemployed, low-income adults and low-income youths with skills that will lead to employment. Subjects activities funded under this Act to federal labor standards and nondiscrimination protections. Subtitle D: Prohibition of Discrimination in Employment on the Basis of an Individual's Status as Unemployed - Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2014 - Makes it an unlawful practice for certain employers to: (1) publish a job advertisement or announcement that includes provisions indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for employment or that the employer will not consider or hire an individual for employment based on such status, (2) fail or refuse to consider or hire an individual because of such status, or (3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration for employment or when screening or referring employees. Makes it an unlawful practice for an employment agency to commit similar acts, including to: (1) screen, or fail or refuse to consider or refer, an individual for employment because of the individual's unemployed status; or (2) limit, segregate, or classify any such individual in any manner that would limit access to job information or consideration, screening, or referral for jobs. Makes it unlawful for any employer or employment agency to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under this Act; or (2) fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because such individual opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act or asserted any right under it. Prescribes enforcement authorities and legal remedies for violations of this Act. Title XVI: Living American Wage - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to at least the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor according to the formula prescribed by this Act beginning September 1, 2014. Requires the Secretary to determine such minimum wage rate by June 1, 2014, and once every four years thereafter. Prohibits any adjustment if the determination would result in a minimum wage lower than the current one. Requires the minimum wage so determined to be the minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person working for it 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn an annual income 15% higher than the federal poverty threshold for a four-person household, with two children under age 18, and living in the 48 contiguous states, as published for each such year by the Census Bureau. Title XVII: Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SSA, 2008) to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before January 1, 2015. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until December 31, 2014 requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 30, 2015 from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to December 31, 2014 termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the SSA, 2008 to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2014 the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Makes a change in application of a certain requirement (nonreduction rule) to a state that has entered a federal-state EUC agreement, under which the federal government would reimburse the state's unemployment compensation agency making EUC payments to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and meet specified other criteria. (Under the nonreduction rule such an agreement does not apply with respect to a state whose method for computing regular unemployment compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010, less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.) Declares that the nonreduction rule shall not apply to a state which has enacted a law before December 1, 2013, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. Allows a state whose agreement was terminated, however, to enter into a subsequent federal-state EUC agreement on or after enactment of this Act if, taking into account this inapplicability of the nonreduction rule, it would otherwise meet the requirements for an EUC agreement. (Thus allows such a subsequent EUC agreement to permit payment of less than the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010.) Division E: Anti-Poverty Tax Provision - Title XVIII: Child Tax Credit Permanency - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) make permanent the reduction (from $10,000 to $3,000) of the eligibility threshold for the refundable portion of such credit, and (2) require an annual inflation adjustment to the allowable amount of such credit (i.e., $1,000) after 2013. Title XIX: Earned Income Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the earned income tax credit, to: (1) increase the rate of such credit for individuals with no qualifying children; (2) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the increased phaseout amount of such credit for taxable years beginning after 2014; and (3) expand eligibility for such credit to individuals who have attained age 21 (currently, age 25) but have not attained the full retirement age under the Social Security Act. Title XX: Child Care Access and Refundability Expansion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for dependent care expenses, to: (1) make such credit refundable, (2) deny such credit to nonresident aliens, and (3) allow an annual cost-of-living adjustment after 2013 to the amounts used to determine an income-based reduction in the amount of such credit. Division F: Miscellaneous - Title XXI: Poverty Impact Trigger - Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to consider a public bill or joint resolution authorizing an appropriation of $10 million or more, unless: (1) the accompanying committee report includes a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Poverty Impact Division impact statement, or (2) the chair of the committee reporting the legislation submits such statement for publication in the Congressional Record before consideration of the measure. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish the CBO Poverty Impact Division to prepare and submit poverty impact statements to the chair of House committees. Title XXII: Half in Ten Act to Create a National Strategy to Reduce Poverty - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty, which shall develop a National Strategy to reduce the number of persons living in poverty in America in half within 10 years after release of the 2012 Census report on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require any employment in which children under the age of 18 come into direct contact with tobacco plants or dried tobacco leaves to be considered particularly hazardous oppressive child labor, which is prohibited under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Veterans Dignified Burial Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA): (1) upon confirming the veteran status of a deceased veteran in the custody of a local medical examiner, funeral director, county service group, or other similar entity, to request from such entity the specific date of the scheduled interment of such veteran; and (2) during each 30-day period following such request, to repeat the request until such entity confirms that such veteran has been interred. Requires the Secretary, by January 31 of each year, to submit to the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees a report on deceased veterans who were interred after the 30-day period following the date on which the Secretary made such request. Requires the report to include: (1) the number of deceased veterans who were not interred in such 30-day period during the prior year, (2) the number of such deceased veterans who are not interred as of the date of the report, and (3) the entity with custody of each such deceased veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Medicare Telehealth Parity Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with regard to payment for telehealth services to include in the term "originating site" additional sites, including any federally qualified health center and any rural health clinic, at which the eligible telehealth individual is located at the time the service is furnished via a telecommunications system. Prohibits application of the originating site facility fee to the additional sites. Authorizes additional telehealth providers, including a certified diabetes educator or licensed respiratory therapist, audiologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, or speech language pathologist. Extends Medicare coverage to remote patient management services for certain chronic health conditions. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the effectiveness of remote patient monitoring on decreasing hospital readmissions for specified chronic conditions, and the savings to the Medicare program associated with use of such monitoring. Authorizes home telehealth sites as additional originating sites. Directs GAO to study the effectiveness of using described telehealth services between therapy providers and patients, any associated savings, and the potential for greater use of telehealth services for other forms of therapy Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop and implement payment methods to apply in the case of anyone who would be an eligible telehealth individual except that the telehealth services are furnished at a site other than an originating site.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Put a Registered Nurse in the Nursing Home Act of 2014 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with respect to coverage of nursing care services in skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities, respectively, to revise the standards for 24-hour licensed nursing service care which a professional registered nurse is required to provide at least 8 consecutive hours a day, 7 days a week. Requires such facilities, instead, to use the services of at least one registered professional nurse to provide assessment, surveillance, and direct care to residents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
CHIP Extension and Improvement Act of 2014 - Revises and extends through FY2019 at generally increased levels the program under title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA), and adjusts CHIP allotment requirements accordingly, including the rebasing and growth factor update rules for computing state allotments. Makes appropriations for certain allotments. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make payments to shortfall states from the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund in each of FY2016-FY2019. Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to minimum essential coverage for a targeted pregnant low-income woman under CHIP, to exclude from such coverage, at a woman's option, pregnancy-related assistance. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to ensure continuity of care for children who: (1) are undergoing an active course of treatment; and (2) involuntarily change coverage under health insurance, the state plan under Medicaid (SSA title XIX), or the state child health plan under CHIP during such course of treatment for any reason. Amends SSA title XIX to allow a state Medicaid plan to provide that an adult determined eligible for Medicaid benefits shall remain eligible for those benefits until the end of a period (not to exceed 12 months) following the determination. Makes permanent the express lane option and the CHIP outreach and enrollment grant program. Gives states the option to extend express lane Medicaid eligibility to adults. Makes permanent the program of grants to conduct outreach and enrollment efforts designed to increase the enrollment and participation of eligible children under CHIP. Requires each contract with a managed care entity under Medicaid to require the provision of and payment for language services for enrolled individuals who are limited English proficient. Prescribes additional cost-sharing requirements under CHIP. Amends SSA titles XIX and XXI to cover preventive services for children or pregnant women without cost-sharing. Amends SSA title XIX to cover newly approved vaccines within 30 days after the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices approves them. Treats CHIP-eligible children as federally vaccine-eligible children. Extends Medicaid coverage of primary care services through calendar 2019, and expands the types of physicians and health care practitioners eligible for reimbursement for providing such services. Amends SSA title XI to extend the pediatric quality measures program through calendar 2019. Revises the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP, or federal matching rate) for activities related to pediatric quality measures. Extends the technical assistance provided to states in adopting and utilizing certain core sets of child health measures to assistance in building their data collection infrastructures as well. Revises requirements for initial core measures. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the core set of child health quality measures. Modifies and extends through FY2019: (1) the demonstration projects for improving the quality of children's health care and the use of health information technology, and (2) funding for childhood obesity demonstration projects. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to extend funding through FY2019 for maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs. Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to extend through calendar 2019 the Pediatric Accountable Care Organization Demonstration Project. Amends SSA title XIX to cover therapeutic foster care services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Medicaid Parity Act of 2014 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend through 2019: (1) Medicaid payment parity with Medicare for primary care services furnished under the Medicaid program, and (2) the increased (to 100%) federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP, or federal matching rate) for additional payments for primary care services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Federal Employee Pension Fairness Act - Repeals provisions requiring federal employees, including foreign service employees, who began service after 2012 to pay an increased contribution (4.4%) for funding their annuities under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for U.S. tax purposes; and (2) revise rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (i.e., U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with lower income tax rates than the United States).
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Bringing Urgent Investment to Local Development Act or the BUILD Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for investment in Build America bonds, to: (1) make permanent the authority for issuance of such bonds, (2) phase in an annual reduction in the credit rate for bondholders and issuers between 2014 and 2019, and (3) allow an issuer a refundable credit amount for investment in economic development bonds in cities with specified unemployment and poverty rates and population loss.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Condemns: (1) all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval over political events, and (2) the comparison of Israel to Nazis perpetrating a Holocaust or genocide. Applauds those foreign leaders, especially in France, Italy, and Germany, who have condemned anti-Semitic acts, and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-Semitism in their countries to do so. Reaffirms support for the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Supports Holocaust educational programs at home and abroad. Urges the Secretary of State to: maintain the fight against anti-Semitism as a U.S. foreign policy priority, urge governments to ensure that adequate laws are in place to punish anti-Semitic violence and hate crimes as well as establish mechanisms to investigate and punish perpetrators, continue U.S. reporting on anti-Semitism as a human rights and religious freedom issue, provide training for diplomatic and law enforcement personnel posted abroad to report on anti-Semitic incidents, deepen engagement with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and support its specialized efforts to monitor and address anti-Semitism, and oppose efforts to prevent any individual from exercising his or her religion without fear of prosecution or violence.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the current outbreak of Ebola in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia is an international health crisis and is the largest and most widespread outbreak of the disease ever recorded. Calls on all nations to immediately provide additional resources to help affected nations address current and future public health crises. Requests development of a global health security plan to respond to disease outbreaks. Urges the prioritization of the elimination of Ebola as a public health threat.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Welcomes: (1) African leaders to the first United States-Africa Leaders' Summit in Washington, DC, and (2) African trade ministers to the 13th African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum. Recognizes the progress and hope that modern Africa represents in global affairs and economic advancement. Acknowledges the opportunities to boost cultural, trade, and economic relations and partnerships between the United States and Africa. Recognizes the importance of renewing the AGOA program. Encourages implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement as one important way to address supply-side barriers and encourage greater trade and investment in Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act to expand the collection and analysis of data in programs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sets forth provisions to improve cultural competence in federal health care programs and services, including by establishing the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Care. Requires the Secretary of HHS (Secretary) to engage in activities to improve health workforce diversity, including by: (1) establishing a working group and a technical clearinghouse; (2) awarding grants to academic institutions; (3) establishing a health and health care disparities education program; and (4) providing for scholarships, student loan repayment and loan forgiveness, and research fellowships. Health Empowerment Zone Act of 2014 - Provides for the establishment of health empowerment zones in communities that experience disproportionate disparities in health status and health care. Requires the Secretary to engage in activities to improve the quality of and access to health care, including by expanding access to health care and health care insurance for immigrants, designating centers of excellence at public hospitals and other health systems serving minority patients, increasing Medicaid payments to territories and to Native Hawaiian health centers, and providing for border health grants. Sets forth programs to reduce health disparities affecting minorities and rural residents. Establishes an Office of Minority Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Sets forth provisions to improve health for women and children, including by expanding access to federal programs for immigrant women and children, creating public awareness campaigns, engaging in activities to eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes, and establishing programs to reduce teenage pregnancies, including contraception education and information programs, programs to support healthy adolescent development, maintaining a database of systematic reviews of maternity care, designating maternity care health professional shortage areas, and establishing a research center on optimal maternity outcomes. Directs the Secretary to develop a multisite gestational diabetes research project within the diabetes program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Requires pharmacies to provide in stock contraceptives to customers without delay. Expands Medicare coverage of marriage and family therapist services, mental health counselor services, and substance abuse counselor services. Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary to implement the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Program to achieve a reduction of at least 25% in the mortality rate of lung cancer by 2020. Prostate Research, Outreach, Screening, Testing, Access, and Treatment Effectiveness Act of 2014 or the PROSTATE Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take action to address prostate cancer, including by establishing the Interagency Prostate Cancer Coordination and Education Task Force. Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary to implement programs to address hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Bone Marrow Failure Disease Research and Treatment Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of CDC to establish the National Acquired Bone Marrow Failure Disease Registry. Requires the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to develop guidelines to screen minority patient populations which have a higher than average risk for many chronic diseases and cancers. Expands Medicaid to cover a beneficiary's routine medical costs when they are in an approved clinical trial. Requires the Secretary to expand HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention activities, including: (1) identification of issues that impede disease status awareness and retention in appropriate care, (2) research into treatment adherence strategies, (3) grants to public health agencies and faith-based organizations, (4) the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, and (5) health workforce training for culturally competent care. Directs the Secretary to award grants for comprehensive sex education programs for adolescents. Eliminates a program that supports abstinence education. Permits community organizations to distribute sexual barrier protection devices (e.g., condoms) and to engage in sexually transmitted infection counseling and prevention education in federal correctional facilities. Stop AIDS in Prison Act - Requires the Bureau of Prisons to develop a comprehensive policy to provide HIV testing, treatment, and prevention for inmates. Requires the Secretary to conduct research and other activities with respect to diabetes in minority populations and the prevention of lung disease. Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Disorders Health Disparities Act - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand research addressing sleep health disparities. Requires the Director of CDC to expand activities regarding sleep disorders. Sets forth provisions regarding the use of health information technology to reduce health disparities, particularly in racial and ethnic minority communities. Prohibits discrimination in federal health care programs or research activities. Requires the Secretary to establish the Office of Health Disparities in the Office for Civil Rights and to establish civil rights compliance offices in each HHS agency that administers health programs. Directs the Secretary to establish a program at the National Center for Environmental Health on health impact assessment (the process of determining the potential effects of a policy, program, or project on health). Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the type and scope of health care services provided to racial and ethnic minorities affected by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling unit on April 20, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Living Donor Protection Act of 2014 - Prohibits discrimination based on a person's status as a living organ donor in the offering, issuance, cancellation, coverage, price, or any other condition of a life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy. Revises the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to specifically include living organ donation as a serious health condition that entitles a covered employee to leave under that Act. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to update public service announcements, websites, and other media regarding live organ donation to educate the public on the benefits of live organ donation and access to insurance for living organ donors.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Pet and Women Safety Act of 2014 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit threats or acts of violence against a person's pet under the offenses of stalking and interstate violation of a protection order. Defines "pet" to mean a domesticated animal that is kept for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes. Requires the "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of restitution in domestic violence and stalking offenses to include any costs incurred for veterinary services relating to physical care for the victim's pet. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to award grants to eligible entities to carry out programs to provide specified housing assistance, support services, and training of relevant stakeholders to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their pets. Expresses the sense of Congress that states should encourage the inclusion of protections against violent or threatening acts against the pet of the person in domestic violence protection orders.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Healthy Climate and Family Security Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Department of the Treasury to establish for 2015 and thereafter a carbon trading program that caps the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from crude oil, coal, and natural gas by requiring crude oil refineries, petroleum importers, coal mines, and natural gas suppliers or processors to purchase carbon permits. Establishes a declining cap on the quantity of permits issued to reduce CO2 emissions until they are reduced to 80% below 2005 levels by 2050. Sets forth provisions concerning compliance with permit obligations, issuance of permits for carbon capture and sequestration, and permit auctioning, trading, banking, and borrowing. Establishes the Healthy Climate Trust Fund and appropriates auction proceeds and penalty payments to it. Returns Trust Fund amounts not used for administrative expenses (as a fraction of auction proceeds) to individuals with a valid Social Security number in the form of Healthy Climate Dividend Payments. Requires the Department of the Treasury to: (1) impose carbon equivalency fees to be collected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on imports of carbon-intensive goods, and (2) give payments to exporters of comparable domestically produced carbon-intensive goods. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a rule listing greenhouse gases (GHGs) that includes anthropogenically emitted (caused by human activity) gases that contribute to global warming but excludes CO2 emitted by the combustion of crude oil, coal, and natural gas and gases attributable to the production of animals for food. Directs the EPA to promulgate regulations to reduce such non-auction GHGs and ensure the regulation of all sources of them within 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility Act or the NOTICE Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require a hospital with an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to give each individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance), whom the hospital classifies for more than 24 hours as an outpatient under observation status or any other similar status, an adequate oral and written notification within 36 hours of that classification which: explains the individual's status as an outpatient under observation (or any similar status) and not as an inpatient; explains the reason for that classification; explains the implications of that outpatient status on eligibility for Medicare coverage of items and services as well as cost-sharing requirements; includes the name and title of the hospital staff who gave an oral notification and its date and time; and is signed by individual, if the notification is written, to acknowledge its receipt.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Emergency Iron Dome Replenishment Act - Authorizes the President, through the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of State, to provide assistance to Israel for the procurement, maintenance, and sustainment of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system.
![Official portrait of Rep. Rangel, Charles B. [D-NY-15]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000053_200.jpg)