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![Official portrait of Rep. Schwartz, Allyson Y. [D-PA-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001162_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
1,695 records where Rep. Schwartz, Allyson Y. [D-PA-13] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2013
Expresses support for the designation of National Entrepreneurs Day. Recognizes the considerable contributions of entrepreneurs to the United States. Honors those entrepreneurs who ignite innovation and inspire the next generation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2013
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2013 - Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from: (1) increasing flood insurance risk premium rates to reflect the current risk of flood for certain property located in specified areas subject to a certain mandatory premium adjustment, or (2) reducing such subsidies for any property not insured by the flood insurance program as of July 6, 2012, or any policy that has lapsed in coverage as a result of the policyholder's deliberate choice (Pre-Flood Insurance Rate Map or pre-FIRM properties). Sets forth expiration dates for such prohibitions. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) to prohibit the Administrator from providing flood insurance to prospective insureds at rates less than those estimated for any property purchased after the expiration of such six-month period (currently, any property purchased after July 6, 2012). Directs FEMA to: (1) restore during such six-month period specified estimated risk premium rate subsidies for flood insurance for pre-FIRM properties and properties purchased after such six-month period, and (2) submit to certain congressional committees a draft affordability framework addressing the affordability of flood insurance sold under the National Flood Insurance Program. Prescribes procedures for expedited congressional consideration of legislation on FEMA affordability authorities. Permits FEMA to enter into an agreement with another federal agency either to: (1) complete the affordability study, or (2) prepare the draft affordability framework. Directs FEMA submit to certain congressional committees the affordability study and report. Amends NFIA to authorize FEMA to reimburse homeowners for successful map appeals. Makes any community that has made adequate progress on the construction (as under current law) or reconstruction (new) of a flood protection system which will afford flood protection for the one-hundred year frequency flood eligible for flood insurance at premium rates not exceeding those which would apply if such flood protection system had been completed. Revises guidelines governing availability of flood insurance in communities restoring disaccredited flood protection systems to include riverine and coastal levees. Requires FEMA to: (1) rate a covered structure using the elevation difference between the floodproofed elevation of the covered structure and the adjusted base flood elevation of the covered structure; and (2) designate a Flood Insurance Advocate to advocate for the fair treatment of policy holders under the National Flood Insurance Program and property owners in the mapping of flood hazards, the identification of risks from flood, and the implementation of measures to minimize the risk of flood.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2013
Children in Families First Act of 2013 - Establishes within the Department of State the Bureau of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) establish within the Bureau a Senior Coordinator for Permanence who shall lead the implementation of policies to ensure permanent family care for children living without families, including refugee and stateless children. States that the Bureau shall be headed by an Assistant Secretary and have lead responsibility for representing the U.S. government in diplomatic contacts pertaining to intercountry adoptions. Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers. Establishes data bases for: (1) internationally adopted children, and (2) adoption service providers. Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in accordance with criteria that comply with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States. Directs the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress regarding children living without families. Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity. Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children. Requires USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries. Prohibits: (1) the authorization of appropriations to carry out this Act, and (2) funds from being awarded to the United Nations (U.N.) or any of its subsidiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2013
Medicare Adult Day Services Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) cover certified adult day services furnished in a certified adult day services center and meeting specified requirements; and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to increase by 3% the payment amount otherwise effective for such services furnished in a rural area on or after January 1, 2014, and before January 1, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2013
Inspiring Scientific Research and Innovation Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2014 - Appropriates, for FY2014, an additional $3 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to remain available until expended. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the recovery period for the depreciation of an airplane: (1) used in directly carrying out activities essential to the function of a trade or business other than the commercial or contract carrying of freight or passengers; and (2) whose primary use is not for the transportation of freight or passengers, other than medical or emergency transportation. Provides a special effective date rule for property for which there is a qualified written binding contract in effect before the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2013
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center in Bay Pines, Florida, as the "C.W. Bill Young Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center."
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2013
Default Prevention Act of 2013 - Amends the No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (P.L. 113-3) to suspend the public debt limit through December 31, 2014. Revises the special rule relating to obligations issued during the suspension period to provide for an increase in the debt limit, effective January 1, 2015, to the extent that: (1) the face amount of obligations issued and the face amount of obligations whose principal and interest are guaranteed by the federal government (except guaranteed obligations held by the Secretary of the Treasury) outstanding on January 1, 2015, exceeds (2) the face amount of such obligations outstanding on the date of enactment of this Act. Prohibits an obligation from being taken into account unless its issuance was necessary to fund a commitment incurred by the federal government that required payment before January 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2013
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act - States that passage of this Act recognizes that the primary tenets of its success depend on securing U.S. sovereignty and establishing a coherent and just system for integrating those who seek to join American society. States that the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) border security goal is to gain situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas and operational control along the Southwest border of the United States. Establishes a Southern Border Security Commission if border security goals have not been achieved within five years. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHA) to: (1) implement metrics to measure security effectiveness at and between ports of entry and in the maritime environment, (2) submit to Congress a comprehensive strategy for gaining situational awareness and operational control of high traffic areas and operational control along the Southwest border of the United States, and (3) submit to Congress a plan to implement a biometric exit capability at ports of entry under the US-VISIT program. Prohibits the Secretary from processing applications for registered provisional immigrant status (RPI) until the Secretary has submitted to Congress the notice of commencement of implementation of the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and the Southern Border Fencing Strategy. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting RPI aliens to lawful permanent resident status until the Secretary certifies to the President and Congress that: (1) the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy is operational, (2) the Southern Border Fencing Strategy has been implemented, (3) a mandatory employment verification system to be used by all employers has been implemented, and (4) the mandatory electronic exit data system is in use at U.S. air and sea ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to implement: (1) a Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy for achieving and maintaining effective control between and at the ports of entry in all border sectors along the Southern border, and (2) a Southern Border Fencing Strategy to identify where fencing and technology should be deployed along the Southern border. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund, and (2) the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Startup Account. Title I: Border Security - Increases the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and CBP Air and Marine unmanned aircraft systems crew, marine agent, and personnel. Authorizes the transfer of officers and agents from the Northern border to the Southern border. Authorizes permanent funding for the Corporation for Travel Promotion. Establishes a program to recruit Armed Forces reservists and former members of the Armed Forces to serve in CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Authorizes the governor of a state, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense (DOD), to order National Guard units or personnel to perform operations in the Southwest border region to assist CBP in securing the southern border. Increases funding for additional attorneys, support staff, interpreters, pre-trial services, and U.S. marshals in order to increase the number of border crossing prosecutions in the Tucson sector of the Southwest border region. Directs the Secretary to enhance border infrastructure by: (1) constructing additional Border Patrol stations in the Southwest border region, (2) upgrading and establishing additional Border Patrol operating bases, and (3) establishing a grant program with the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to construct transportation improvements at international border crossings. Directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enhance law enforcement and operational readiness along the U.S. borders through Operation Stonegarden. Directs the President to appoint additional district judges for Arizona, California, and Texas. Increases the fee for filing a civil action in U.S. district court to $360. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior to provide CBP personnel with security-related access to federal lands in the Southwest border region in Arizona. Requires CBP to deploy additional mobile, video, and portable surveillance systems, and unarmed, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) in the Southwest border region. Establishes a grant program to improve emergency communications in the Southwest border region. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) to reimburse state, county, tribal, and municipal governments for costs associated with the prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases declined by local offices of the United States Attorneys. Authorizes appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP). Directs the Secretary to: (1) provide training for CBP officers, U.S. Border Patrol officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, U.S. Air and Marine Division agents, and agriculture specialists stationed within 100 miles of any U.S. land or marine border, or at any U.S. port of entry; (2) provide training for border community liaison officers; and (3) establish CBP child custody guidelines. Establishes the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Task Force. Terminates the Task Force 60 days after submission of a required report. Establishes within DHS an Ombudsman for Immigration Related Concerns. Directs the Secretary to consider safety and family concerns in any action related to the repatriation or prosecution of individuals apprehended for immigration violations. Prohibits the Secretary from establishing border crossing fees for individuals at land ports of entry along the Southern and Northern borders. Human Trafficking Reporting Act of 2013 - Includes severe forms of trafficking in persons among "part 1 violent crimes" required to be reported by states for the Uniform Crime Reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for purposes of Bureau of Justice Assistance Grants and Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants. Directs the Secretary to certify to Congress every six months that DHS has only deported or otherwise removed a migrant from the United States through an entry or exit point on the Southern border during daylight hours. Revises restrictions on payment of senior executives' compensation under contracts relating to border security. Title II: Immigrant Visas - Subtitle A: Registration and Adjustment of Registered Provisional Immigrants - Authorizes the Secretary, after conducting the required national security and law enforcement clearances, to grant RPI status to an alien unlawfully in the United States who: (1) meets specified eligibility requirements, (2) applies before the end of the application period, (3) has paid the required fee and penalty if applicable, and (4) has been physically present in the United States since December 31, 2011, and maintains such presence until RPI status has been granted. Establishes a processing fee for persons 16 years or older. Sets forth bars to eligibility based upon criminal convictions, terrorist activity, and grounds for excludability. Provides derivative RPI status to a qualifying spouse or child of an RPI alien. Authorizes a dependent spouse or child to apply for RPI status if the legal relationship between such person and the RPI alien ended due to death, divorce, or domestic violence. Grants RPI status for an initial six-year period, which may be extended under specified conditions. Permits an RPI alien to work and travel outside the United States under specified conditions. Enumerates the grounds under which the Secretary may revoke RPI status. Makes an RPI alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit, and considers such person to be a noncitizen for certain other federal benefits. Authorizes an RPI alien to: (1) be issued a Social Security number, and (2) enlist in the Armed Forces. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if such person meets specified eligibility requirements. Prohibits an RPI alien from applying for lawful permanent resident status until the Secretary of State certifies that immigrant visas have become available for all approved petitions filed before the date of enactment of this Act. Establishes a processing fee. States that an RPI alien may only adjust status under the merit-based system provided for by this Act. States that a lawful permanent resident who was lawfully present in the United States and eligible for work authorization for not less than 10 years before becoming a lawful permanent resident may be naturalized in three years upon compliance with specified requirements. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2013 or DREAM Act 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of a lawful permanent resident if the person demonstrates that he or she: (1) has been in RPI status for at least five years; (2) was younger than age 16 when he or she entered the United States; (3) has earned a high school diploma or obtained a general education development certificate in the United States; (4) has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has completed at least two years in a program for a bachelor's or higher degree in the United States, or has served in the Uniformed Services for at least four years and, if discharged, received an honorable discharge; and (5) has provided a list of each secondary school attended in the United States. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting the status of an RPI alien to lawful permanent resident status unless the person: (1) satisfies citizenship requirements, (2) submits appropriate biometric and biographic data, and (3) undergoes security and law enforcement background checks. Repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence. Sets forth RPI program requirements regarding: (1) prohibited and required disclosures, (2) employer protections, (3) audits and information evaluation, (4) administrative review, (5) privacy and civil liberties, (6) judicial review, and (7) federal education benefits. Sets forth prohibitions on federal agency use or publishing of information furnished in a lawful status application pursuant to the DREAM ACT or the RPI programs. Establishes a criminal penalty for a person who knowingly misuses or publishes or permits the improper use of RPI application information. Establishes within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services a program to award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist RPI applicants. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act regarding: (1) state termination of parental rights, (2) children separated from parents and caregivers, and (3) proof of authorization to work in the United States for purposes of OASDI insured status. Extends authority to waive the termination of annuity payments for re-employed Foreign Service annuitants. Establishes a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-only lawful permanent resident status for certain long-term Commonwealth legal residents. Authorizes such aliens to receive an immigrant visa or to adjust to lawful permanent (U.S.) resident status. Subtitle B: Agricultural Worker Program - Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2013 - Confers "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed specified periods of U.S. agricultural employment or is a qualifying alien's spouse or child, (2) applied for such status during the application period, and (3) is not ineligible under the grounds applicable to RPI aliens. Sets forth protections for aliens apprehended before or during the application period, or in removal proceedings. Permits qualified nonimmigrants who have participated in the H-2A temporary agricultural worker program to apply from outside the United States. Prohibits the Secretary from granting blue card status unless the individual submits eligibility-related security and law enforcement biometric and biographic data. States that blue card status expires eight years after the date on which final blue card regulations are published. Establishes a processing fee for persons 16 years or old. Enumerates grounds under which the Secretary may revoke blue card status. Makes a blue card alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust to RPI the status of an alien who has been granted blue card status if the alien is unable to fulfill the agricultural service requirement. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Requires payment of: (1) a $400 fine, and (2) any federal tax liability. Establishes criminal penalties for false application statements. Authorizes a blue card alien to correct certain social security records. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to create: (1) a W-3 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a written contract that specifies the wages, benefits, and working conditions of such full-time employment with a designated agricultural employer for a specified period of time; and (2) a W-4 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a full-time employment offer from a designated agricultural employer for such employment. Establishes the nonimmigrant agricultural (W-3 and W-4 visa) worker program. Establishes a program limit for the first five years which may be adjusted annually based upon demand and economic factors. Provides for a three-year period of admission with specified extension periods. Provides for worker portability. Prohibits derivative status for the spouses and children of program aliens. Excludes W-3 and W-4 workers from need-based federal financial assistance programs. Directs the Secretary to monitor program workers through E-Verify and an electronic monitoring system. Establishes a cut-off date for petitioning for H-2A temporary agricultural workers that is one year after the effective date of the regulations implementing the agricultural worker program under this Act. Subjects specified benefits programs to quarterly fraud investigations. Subtitle C: Future Immigration - Establishes a merit-based and points immigrant admissions system. Provides for: (1) 120,000 admissions per fiscal year, annual increases based upon specified admissions and employment conditions, and a maximum admissions cap of 250,000; (2) recapture of unused visas; and (3) lawful permanent resident status for such entrants. Provides that: (1) for FY2015-FY2017 the worldwide level of merit-based immigrant visas shall be available for skilled workers, professionals, and certain other workers; and (2) for subsequent fiscal years preference will be given to tier 1 and tier 2 aliens based upon a point allocation system. Awards tier 1 and tier 2 points to applicants for specified criteria. Establishes a $1,500 visa fee in addition to any application processing fee. Makes specified employment- and family-based applicants and long-term workers eligible for merit-based immigrant visas. Repeals the diversity immigrant program as of October 1, 2014. Permits aliens selected for FY2013 or FY2014 to retain program eligibility. Sets forth worldwide levels of employment- and family-based immigrants. Includes the spouse or minor child of a lawful permanent resident alien in the definition of "immediate family." Eliminates the per-country limit for employment-based immigrants and increases the per-country limit for family-based immigrants. Revises family-based immigrant visa allocations for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, (2) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (requires that they be under 31 years old at time of filing), and (3) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. lawful permanent residents. Eliminates the visa category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Exempts certain aliens from numerical limitations. Includes a community adversely affected by a recommendation of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission as a targeted employment area for purposes of certain employment creation visa set-asides. Revises nonimmigrant V-visa (spouses and children of lawful permanent residents coming to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) requirements. Makes fiances of lawful permanent residents eligible for a nonimmigrant K-visa (fiance or fiancee). Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of INA to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Permits children under 18 years old to be adopted. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses. Authorizes an immigration judge to terminate removal proceedings. Revises waiver of inadmissibility requirements, including waiving inadmissibility for certain persons who entered the United States before age 16 who have earned a degree from a U.S. institution of higher education. Considers a lawful permanent resident alien (and spouse or child) who is a doctor or health care worker residing in an eligible country and working in such capacity to be physically present and residing in the United States for naturalization purposes. Extends the Iraqi special immigrant visa program and the Afghan special immigrant visa program. Makes the special immigrant non-minister religious worker and the EB-5 regional center programs permanent. Provides discretionary special immigrant status for the surviving spouse or child of a U.S. government employee killed abroad in the line of duty who had performed faithful service for at least 15 years. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Exempts from worldwide or numerical limitations on immigrant visas the sons and daughters of a U.S. citizen and a parent who was a Filipino World War II veteran who was naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 or other specified federal law. Subtitle D: Conrad State 30 and Physician Access - Makes permanent the J-1 visa waiver program (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas). Excludes from numerical immigration limitations any alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before enactment of this Act and their spouse and children). Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas. Increases the number of alien physicians that may be allocated to a state. Provides for: (1) additional increases or decreases based upon demand, and (2) up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers. Subtitle E: Integration - Renames the DHS Office of Citizenship as the Office of Citizenship and New Americans. Revises Office functions. Establishes a Task Force on New Americans which shall establish a coordinated federal program and policy response to immigrant integration issues. Authorizes the Secretary, through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to: (1) establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to expand citizenship preparation programs, and (2) award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for immigration integration programs. Establishes a pilot program of grants to states, local governments, or other qualifying entities to carry out immigrant integration programs, or to establish New Immigrant Councils to carry out such programs. Waives with respect to naturalization: (1) English language and civics requirements for persons over age 65 who have lived in the United States for at least 5 years as lawful permanent residents, and (2) the English language requirement for persons over age 60 who have lived in the United States for at least 10 years as lawful permanent residents. Prohibits the Secretary, before October 1, 2020, from requiring an applicant or petitioner for permanent residence or citizenship to use an electronic method to file an application or access a customer account. Makes certain battered aliens eligible for housing assistance. Amends the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, regarding naturalization of an alien child adopted by a U.S. citizen, to: (1) apply its requirements to any individual who satisfies requirements for naturalization, regardless of the date on which they were satisfied; (2) permit one parent to satisfy the preadoption visitation requirement; (3) grant automatic citizenship to a child in the legal custody of the citizen parent pursuant to a lawful admission; and (4) provide for the naturalization of adopted children who lack legal status or physical presence in the United States. Applies these amendments to any child adopted by a U.S. citizen regardless of the date of the adoption. Title III: Interior Enforcement - Subtitle A: Employment Verification System - Prohibits an employer from: (1) hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee any alien who is not authorized to work in the United States; (2) failing to comply with E-Verify or document requirements; or (2) continuing to employ an unauthorized alien. Provides a good faith defense for an employer who has complied with document and E-Verify requirements. Sets forth: (1) employer and employee document requirements, and (2) employer penalties and civil rights protections. Sets forth E-Verify participation deadlines for federal agencies and departments, federal contractors, employers, agricultural laborers, tribal employers, and all other employers. Sets forth E-Verify program requirements. Declares that failure to participate in E-Verify shall constitute a civil violation. States that E-Verify remains in effect during the period of transition as provided for by this Act. Requires that within five years all Social Security cards issued shall be fraud-, tamper-, wear-, and identity theft-resistant. Makes specified forms of Social Security fraud punishable by fine, up to five years' imprisonment, or both. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security (SSA) to establish a secure method to check specified employee data against SSA data in order to confirm identity and employment eligibility. Prohibits the release of tax return information except as authorized by the Internal Revenue Code. Makes it an unfair immigration-related employment practice, with specified exceptions, for a person, entity, or employment agency to discriminate based upon an individual's national origin or citizenship status with respect to hiring, firing, or verifying employment eligibility. Establishes within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the Office of the Small Business and Employee Advocate to assist small businesses and individuals comply with alien employment requirements. Subtitle B: Protecting United States Workers - Expands the U-visa (crime victims) category to include aliens who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse or harm, or who would suffer extreme hardship upon removal, as a result of having been a victim of the following covered violations: (1) certain workplace abuses, (2) slavery or trafficking in persons, or (3) deprivation of due process or constitutional rights. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Establishes in the Treasury the Interior Enforcement Account. Establishes: (1) a mandatory exit data system that shall include data collection from machine-readable visas, passports, and other travel and entry documents for all aliens exiting the United States from air and sea ports of entry; (2) a mandatory biometric exit data system at the 10 U.S. airports that support the highest volume of international air travel; and (3) a mandatory biometric exit data system at the Core 30 international airports in the United States. Directs the Secretary to implement an interoperable electronic data system to access database information from federal law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community for purposes of visa issuance, admissibility, or deportability. Requires an appropriate official of each commercial aircraft or vessel departing from the United States to any port or place outside the United States to ensure transmission to CBP of identity-theft resistant departure manifest information covering alien passengers, crew, and non-crew. Prohibits, with national security and specific suspect exceptions, federal law enforcement officers from using race or ethnicity in making routine law enforcement decisions. Increases penalties for cultivating or manufacturing controlled substances on federal property. Provides additional penalties under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for: (1) the use of hazardous substances on federal land, and (2) the use or possession of firearms in connection with drug offenses on federal land. Subtitle D: Asylum and Refugee Provisions - Eliminates the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. Permits reopening a claim denied because of failure to file within one year. Authorizes the spouse or child of a refugee or asylee to bring his or her accompanying or joining child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. Terminates the waiver of specified visa requirements for certain aliens who were born and reside in Vietnam and who were fathered by a U.S. citizen. Authorizes the President to designate refugee groups. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to designate specific groups of individuals as stateless persons, and (2) the Secretary or the Attorney General to provide conditional lawful status to a qualifying stateless person and adjust such person to lawful permanent resident status after one year. Sets forth protections for stateless persons in the United States. Increases the number of annual U-visas. Provides employment authorization for nonimmigrant U-visa and T-visa (trafficking victim) aliens whose applications are pending. Prohibits an alien from being admitted as a refugee or asylee until such person's identity has been checked against all appropriate databases. Tibetan Refugee Assistance Act of 2013 - Makes 5,000 immigrant visas available in FY2014-FY2016 for individuals born in Tibet who have been continuously residing in India or Nepal. Terminates the refugee or asylee status of an alien who: (1) without good cause returns to the alien's country of nationality or, in the case of an alien having no nationality, returns to the country in which the alien last habitually resided; and (2) applied for such status because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. Makes such provision inapplicable to an alien eligible for adjustment to lawful permanent resident status pursuant to the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. Subtitle E: Shortage of Immigration Court Resources for Removal Proceedings - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) increase the number of immigration court judges, support staff, and Immigration Board of Appeals staff attorneys; and (2) appoint counsel in certain removal proceedings involving an unaccompanied child, an individual with a serious mental disability, or a particularly vulnerable individual. Establishes within the Executive Office for Immigration Review an Office of Legal Access Programs to educate aliens regarding administrative procedures and legal rights. Subtitle F: Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Abuses Involving Workers Recruited Abroad - Requires any person who engages in foreign labor contracting to disclose in writing in English and in the primary language of the worker being recruited specified information, including the identity of the employer and the recruiter, worker protections, and a signed copy of the work contract. Prohibits any person who engages in foreign labor contracting from discriminating in hiring. Prohibits certain recruitment fees. Requires a foreign labor contractor to register with the Secretary of Labor. Establishes a registration fee. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) maintain a list of all foreign labor contractors registered and a list of all foreign labor contractors whose registration has been revoked, and (2) establish a process for complaint investigation. Sets forth administrative and civil action enforcement requirements. Child Trafficking Victims Protection Act - Directs the Secretary to require the appropriate training of all personnel who come into contact with unaccompanied alien children. Sets forth child protection requirements. Directs the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement a best practices program to ensure the safe repatriation and reintegration of unaccompanied alien children into their country of nationality or of last habitual residence. Subtitle G: Interior Enforcement - Makes an alien who has been convicted of an offense for which an element was active and knowing participation in a criminal street gang inadmissible and deportable. Makes an alien: (1) inadmissible who is physically outside the United States and since the age of 18 knowingly participated in a criminal street gang, or (2) who is at least 18 years old ineligible for RPI status for criminal street gang activities. Makes an alien who has been convicted three or more times for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated inadmissible and deportable. Revises the definition of "aggravated felony" regarding the evidentiary determination of minority in instances of murder, rape, or sexual abuse of a minor. Revises criminal penalty and related affirmative defense requirements regarding illegal entry and reentry. Increases monetary penalties for owners and operators of vessels and aircraft regarding stowaways and execution of removal orders. Amends the federal criminal code to revise and increase criminal penalties for passport, visa, and immigration fraud. Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action to enjoin any fraudulent immigration service provider from continuing to provide services that substantially interfere with the administration of the immigration laws or from continuing to willfully misrepresent such provider's legal authority to provide representation. Makes an alien convicted of a passport or visa violation under the federal criminal code inadmissible and removable. Makes certain aliens inadmissible who: (1) refuse to comply with a lawful request for biometric information; or (2) have been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, or are in violation of a domestic protection order. Prohibits an individual acting for financial gain from directing or participating in an effort to bring or attempt to bring five or more persons unlawfully into the United States. Establishes and increases monetary and/or prison penalties for such actions. Makes it a crime to transmit to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents while intending to further an immigration-related crime. Prohibits the carrying or use of a firearm in an alien smuggling crime. Eliminates the provision permitting a U.S. national to renounce his or her citizenship during wartime. Authorizes special agents of the Department and the Foreign Service to investigate illegal passport or visa issuance or use, identity theft, document fraud, human trafficking, peonage, and federal offenses committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to use secure alternatives programs to maintain custody over detained aliens, except for terrorist aliens. Sets forth detention facility oversight requirements. Revises bond hearing and notice to appear requirements. Limits the use of solitary confinement, prohibiting it for persons younger than age 18. Directs the Secretary of State to prohibit visas to persons of a country whose government denies or unreasonably delays accepting back their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents. Makes inadmissible an alien who has committed acts of torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, or systematic attacks on civilians. Subtitle H: Protection of Children Affected by Immigration Enforcement - Humane Enforcement and Legal Protections for Separated Children Act or HELP Separated Children Act - Sets forth apprehension procedures for DHS and cooperating entity immigration enforcement-related activities. Requires DHS detention centers to provide for access to children, child welfare agencies, courts, and consular officials. Title IV: Reforms to Nonimmigrant Visa Programs - Subtitle A: Employment-based Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes: (1) a nonimmigrant H-1B visa (specialty occupation) cap of 115,000 for the fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act, and (2) a minimum of 115,000 visas and a maximum of 180,000 visas in subsequent years based upon market conditions. Sets forth fiscal year cap increases and decreases. Limits the exemption from H-1B numerical limitations to STEM occupations and increases the annual STEM allocation to 25,000. Authorizes an H-1B or L-visa (intra-company transferee) spouse to work if he or she is the national of a country that permits reciprocal employment. Provides deference to prior H-1B or L-visa adjudications involving the same employer and nonimmigrant absent material error, changed circumstances, or new information adversely affecting eligibility. Provides a 60-day lawful status period for an H-1B alien whose employment is terminated. Authorizes: (1) visa revalidation within the United States for specified nonimmigrant visa categories, and (2) waiver of consular interviews for low-risk applicants. Establishes in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account. Requires employers to submit a $1,000 fee along with an application for a certification. Sets aside specified amounts for: (1) a low-income STEM scholarship program, (2) K-12 STEM education, and (3) STEM capacity building at minority-serving institutions. Authorizes grants to eligible entities for American Dream Accounts for a group of low-income students. Requires an employer (except for nonprofit research institutions and nonprofit educational institutions) filing a petition to hire H-1B or L-visa aliens to pay a fee of: (1) $1,250 for each petition filed by any employer with not more than 25 full-time U.S. employees, and (2) $2,500 for each petition filed by any employer with more than 25 such employees. Subtitle B: H-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Revises H-1B requirements for employer applications and application reviews. Revises requirements regarding (H-1C visa) nonimmigrant nurses in health professional shortage areas to: (1) permit a one-time three-year extension of admission, (2) reduce the maximum number of visas per fiscal year, and (3) authorize such a nonimmigrant to accept new employment as a registered nurse at any H-1C-qualifying facility. Prohibits an employer (other than an educational or research employer) that employs 50 or more employees in the United States from hiring additional H-1B or L-visa employees if the number of such employees exceeds specified limits. Revises H-1B employer complaint requirements. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an H-1B recruitment website. Establishes: (1) specified filing fees for H-1B-dependent employers, and (2) a fee for premium processing of employment-based immigrant petitions. Revises portability requirements for beneficiaries of immigrant petitions. Subtitle C: L Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Prohibits outplacement of L-1 visa workers (employees of an international company with offices in the United States and abroad) by certain employers. Authorizes and enumerates the requirements for: (1) outplacement of L-visa nonimmigrants, including payment of a $500 fee; and (2) 12-month approvals of new office L-visa petitions. Sets forth L-visa filing fee requirements for certain employers. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate complaints against L-visa employers. Sets forth related penalty requirements. Requires DHS to report to Congress regarding the use of L-visa blanket petitions. Subtitle D: Other Nonimmigrant Visas - Authorizes dual intent for F-1 visa foreign students, including students who commute from Canada or Mexico to study in the United States. Revises the nonimmigrant E-visa (treaty trader) category to: (1) include aliens seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty or a free trade agreement, (2) establish an E-4 visa for specialty occupation workers (other than from Chile, Singapore, or Australia) to enter the United States pursuant to a free trade agreement, (3) establish an E-5 visa for specialty occupation workers who are nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and (4) establish an E-6 visa for qualifying workers who are nationals of certain sub-Saharan African or Caribbean Basin countries. Includes in the nonimmigrant E-3 visa category certain nationals of Ireland coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce to perform specialty occupation services. Extends portability to certain nonimmigrant O-1 visa holders (extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry). Permits specified nonimmigrant aliens granted employment authorization to continue employment with the same employer while an extension of stay application is adjudicated. Eliminates the 12-month attendance limit for elementary and secondary foreign students. Requires employers/sponsors to pay a $500 fee for each J-1 visa (cultural exchange visitor) alien admitted under the summer work travel program. Includes in the J-1 visa category persons coming to the United States to perform work involving a specialized knowledge or skill that requires proficiency in a language spoken in countries of which fewer than 5,000 nationals were lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the previous year. Establishes a $100 nonimmigrant F-1 (foreign student) visa fee. Directs the Secretary of State to develop a pilot program for processing B-visas (business or tourist visitors) using secure remote videoconferencing technology to conduct applicant interviews. Grants the Secretary of State access to all terrorism records and databases maintained by any U.S. agency or department in order to determine whether an applicant for admission poses a security threat. Authorizes the head of an agency or department to withhold such access if necessary to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of information that identifies intelligence or sensitive law enforcement sources, methods, or activities. Requires every alien applying for U.S. admission to submit to biographic and biometric screening to determine whether the alien is listed in any U.S. terrorist watch list or database. Prohibits, with specified exceptions, the entry of a listed person. Requires that notice of a revoked visa be immediately provided to the relevant consular officers, law enforcement, terrorist screening databases, and DHS port inspectors. Defines "abused derivative alien" as the spouse or child accompanying or joining a principal alien who has been subjected to the principal alien's battery or extreme cruelty. Directs the Secretary to grant or extend the admission status of an abused derivative alien for the longer of the same period for which the principal alien was admitted, or three years. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an abused derivative alien to that of a lawful permanent resident. Considers an alien crewman to have departed from Hawaii, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands after leaving its territorial waters without regard to whether the alien arrives in a foreign state before returning to Hawaii, Guam, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Makes citizens of the Compact of Free Association States (Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau) lawfully residing in the United States eligible for Medicaid. Subtitle E: JOLT Act - Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2013 or JOLT Act of 2013 - Establishes a pilot fee-based premium processing service to expedite visa interview appointments. Authorizes the admission into the United States of a qualifying Canadian citizen over age 55 and spouse (who is not required to be over age 55) for a period not to exceed 240 days in any 365-day period who maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Prohibits U.S. employment. Establishes a nonimmigrant Y-visa for: (1) an alien who invests (and maintains) at least $500,000 in U.S. residential real estate, of which at least $250,000 must be for a U.S. primary residence where such person will reside for more than 180 days per year; and (2) such alien's accompanying or joining spouse and children. Requires a Y-visa alien to: (1) be at least 55 years old, (2) have purchased a qualifying residence, (3) not need public assistance, (4) possess health insurance, (5) live in the United States for more than 180 days per year, and (6) pay a $1,000 fee. Limits U.S. employment. Directs the Secretary to make available each month data for the previous two years regarding visa appointment availability for each visa processing post to allow applicants to identify periods when wait times may be shorter. Revises the visa waiver program to authorize the Secretary (in lieu of the Attorney General) to designate any country as a program country if it provides machine-readable passports and the visa refusal rate and overstay rate for nationals of that country were both not more than 3% in the previous fiscal year. Directs: (1) the Comptroller General (GAO) to review the Secretary's methods of tracking entering and exiting aliens and detecting overstays, and (2) the Secretary to evaluate the security risks of aliens entering the United States without an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization verification. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary, in conducting evaluations of visa waiver countries, should prioritize reviews of countries in which such review is necessary or desirable. Makes the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China (PRC) eligible for program country designation. Authorizes the inclusion in registered traveler programs of individuals who meet security requirements and are employed and sponsored by an international organization which maintains a strong working relationship with the United States. Prohibits enrollment of an individual who is a citizen of a state sponsor of terror. Requires U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security and resource allocation considerations; and (2) explore expanding visa processing capacity in China and Brazil. Establishes a $5 B-visa fee. Subtitle F: Reforms to the H-2B Visa Program - Exempts returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations through FY2018. Sets forth H-2B employer requirements, including payment of a $500 labor certification application fee. Authorizes the temporary nonimmigrant admission of: (1) multinational executives, managers, and multinational company employees coming for work-related purposes; and (2) certain relief workers coming in response to a federal or state declared disaster. Authorizes a B-visa alien to accept certain honorarium payments and associated incidental expenses. Establishes a temporary nonimmigrant Z-visa for certain aliens coming to perform health and safety-related maintenance or repairs for common carriers on equipment or machinery manufactured outside of the United States. Establishes a $500 fee for each such alien. American Jobs in American Forests Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, as a component of the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) labor certification process for forestry employment, to take specified actions to recruit U.S. workers before hiring H-2B workers. Subtitle G: W Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research which shall devise a methodology to: (1) determine the annual change to the nonimmigrant W-visa cap and use such methodology to set such caps, and and (2) designate shortage occupations by job zone. Establishes: (1) a nonimmigrant W-1 visa for an alien having a foreign residence who is coming to the United States to perform services or labor for a registered employer in a registered position, and (2) a nonimmigrant W-2 visa for such alien's accompanying or joining spouse or children. Provides that: (1) a certified alien may be granted W-visa status for an initial three-year period, with additional three-year extensions which may be made while in the United States; and (2) a W-visa alien must leave the United States if unemployed for more than 60 consecutive days. Requires an employer to pay a registered employer application fee. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) employer eligibility, registration, U.S. worker recruitment requirements,and related requirements; (2) W-visa nonimmigrant protections; (3) eligible and ineligible occupations; (4) fees; (5) enforcement; and (6) annual admission limits. Subtitle H: Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups, and Technologies - Establishes a nonimmigrant X-visa for a qualified entrepreneur: (1) who has secured at least $100,000 in investments from an accredited investor, venture capitalist, or government entity for such alien's U.S. business; or (2) whose U.S. business has created at least three qualified jobs during the previous two years and has generated at least $250,000 in annual revenue in the United States. Provides for an initial three-year period of authorized admission with specified extension periods. Establishes a $1,000 X-visa fee. Establishes an EB-6 immigrant investor visa (capped at 10,000 per year) for qualifying entrepreneur aliens (including aliens with advanced STEM degrees) living in the United States whose U.S. business has met specified job creation, revenue, and/or venture capital or investment requirements. Makes the EB-5 visa (alien investor) regional center program permanent. Authorizes a commercial enterprise affiliated with a regional center to file a preapproval petition. Authorizes a related premium processing (and fee) option. Authorizes termination of a previously approved regional center if persons in positions of authority have been involved in criminal, trafficking, espionage, or terrorist activity. Requires regional center compliance with securities laws. Terminates the status of an alien (and the alien's spouse and children) with conditional permanent resident status who is an employee of a federal national security, science and technology laboratory, center, or agency if the Secretary determines within one year of granting such status that: (1) the qualifying employment was intended as a means to evade U.S. immigration laws; (2) the alien has not completed, or is not likely to complete, the 12-month employment requirement; or (3) the alien was not meeting status requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to require an employment-based immigrant to pay an additional fee for a petition that includes the alien's spouse and child or children. Exempts spouses and children of EB-5 employment-based immigrants from EB-5 admissions limits. Increases the fiscal year EB-5 set-aside for qualified immigrants who invest in a new commercial enterprise which is investing capital and will create employment in a targeted employment area (TEA). Designates TEAs for a five-year renewable period. Authorizes concurrent filing of EB-5 petitions and applications for status adjustment to conditional lawful permanent resident Subtitle I: Student and Exchange Visitor Programs - Student Visa Integrity Act - Subjects to fine and a 15-year prison term an owner, official, employee, or agent of an educational institution who commits fraud or misuse of visas, permits, and other immigration documents in connection with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Requires academic institutions (other than seminaries or other religious institutions) to be accredited for F-visa purposes if: (1) the institution is not already required to be accredited, and (2) an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education is able to provide such accreditation. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a monetary fine and suspend authority to issue a Form I-20 with regard to an institution that fails to comply with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, upon reasonable suspicion that an owner of, or a designated school official at, an approved institution of higher education, another educational institution, or a designated exchange visitor program, has committed SEVP-related fraud, to suspend: (1) SEVP certification, and (2) such official's or such school's SEVIS access. Disqualifies permanently an owner or school official who is convicted of SEVP-related fraud from filing future petitions and from having an ownership interest or a management role in any U.S. educational institution that enrolls nonimmigrant alien students or nonimmigrant alien vocational students. Prohibits an individual from serving as a designated school official or from being granted SEVIS access unless the individual: (1) is a U.S. national or a lawful permanent resident alien who, during the most recent three-year period, has undergone a specified background check; and (2) has completed SEVP and SEVIS training. Authorizes the Secretary to collect a fee for each such security check. Prohibits any U.S. flight school from accessing SEVIS or issuing a Form I-20 to an alien seeking a student or vocational student visa if the flight school has not been certified to the satisfaction of the Secretary and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Requires: (1) an accrediting agency, at the time it is required to notify the Secretary of Education and the appropriate state licensing agency of the final denial, withdrawal, suspension, or termination of an institution's accreditation, to notify the Secretary of such determination; and (2) the Secretary to withdraw the school from SEVP and prohibit the school from accessing SEVIS. Directs the Secretary to implement both phases of the second generation Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS II) within two years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2013
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2013 - Amends provisions of federal civil service law to extend employment-related and retirement benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and to set forth requirements for establishing and terminating a domestic partnership, including the filing of an affidavit attesting to the existence and legitimacy of the partnership. Modifies provisions relating to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to extend eligibility for annuity and survivor benefits to current and former domestic partners of federal employees on the same basis as married employees. Requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations to provide that domestic partners and former domestic partners shall be considered as spouses or former spouses for purposes of creditable service determinations under CSRS and FERS. Makes domestic partners of federal employees eligible for: (1) the federal employee group life insurance (FEGLI) program, (2) federal employees health benefits (FEHB), (3) dental and vision benefit plans, and (4) long-term care insurance coverage. Grants the head of an federal agency authority to reimburse an employee for taxes incurred by the domestic partner of such employee for travel, transportation, or relocation expense reimbursements. Modifies provisions of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) to make domestic partners of federal employees eligible for worker compensation benefits under such Act. Adds "domestic partner" to the list of relatives subject to restrictions on federal employment of relatives and related prohibitions. Includes a biological, adopted, or foster child of a domestic partner as a "son or daughter" for purposes of federal employee family and medical leave provisions. Allows a federal employee family and medical leave to care for a domestic partner. Requires the President to prescribe regulations necessary to ensure that specified provisions relating to the following are administered in a manner consistent with the purposes of this Act: (1) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; (2) travel, transportation, and related payments and benefits under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and for civilian employees of the Department of Defense (DOD); (3) certain benefits for members of the commissioned officer corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and (4) benefits related to federal employees or annuitants and benefits necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to make provisions of that Act applicable to domestic partners of federal employees to the same extent as married employees, including provisions relating to financial disclosure, government-wide limitations on outside earned income and employment, gifts to superiors and to federal employees, bribery, acceptance of travel expenses from nonfederal sources, taxes on self-dealing, and disqualification of a justice, judge, or magistrate judge. Requires reporting by: (1) the President on the implementation of this Act, and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the effect of this Act on premiums or other periodic charges under FEHB and the impact of extending benefits to domestic partners on federal employee retention and recruitment efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2013
Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of taxable wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2013. Amends SSA title II to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in the determination of primary OASDI amounts. Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States who have attained early retirement age for purposes of an old-age, wife's, or husband's insurance benefit. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index (CPI) for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2013
Modernizing Our Drug & Diagnostics Evaluation and Regulatory Network Cures Act of 2013 or MODDERN Cures Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish the Advanced Diagnostics Education Council to recommend standard terms and definitions related to innovative diagnostics for use by patients, physicians, health care providers, payers, and policy makers; and (2) publish a guide regarding such terms and definitions. Sets forth additional factors for the Secretary to consider in determining the payment amount for new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests under gap filling procedures which are used when no comparable existing test is available. Extends the exclusivity period for a medicine if the diagnostic test related to such drug has been determined by the Secretary to have been developed by, or with the participation of, the manufacturer or sponsor of the medicine, and use of the diagnostic tests provides for or improves: (1) the identification of a patient population for the medicine; or (2) the determination of the most appropriate treatment option for a patient population with the medicine. Establishes a dormant therapy designation for medicine that addresses unmet medical needs. Gives such medicine 15 years of data exclusivity under which no drug can be approved by relying on the approval or licensure of the dormant therapy. Directs the Secretary to arrange with the Institute of Medicine (or, if it declines, another appropriate entity) to study intellectual property laws and their impact on therapy and diagnostic development in order to formulate recommendations on how to facilitate the clinical evaluation and development of therapies currently available on the market for new potential indications.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2013
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2013
Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Aging to: (1) ensure that all programs funded under such Act include appropriate training in elder abuse prevention and the provision of services that address elder justice and exploitation, and (2) update periodically the need for and benefit of such training related to prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation (including financial exploitation) of older adults. Makes it a duty and function of the Administration on Aging to: (1) establish priority information and assistance services for older individuals; (2) ensure full collaboration between all governmental information and assistance systems that serve older individuals; and (3) develop a National Eldercare Locator Service, with a nationwide toll free number. Directs the Assistant Secretary, by grant or contract with a national nonprofit entity, to establish a National Adult Protective Services Resources Center to improve the capacity of state and local adult protective services programs to: (1) respond effectively to abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults, including home care consumers and residents of long-term care facilities; and (2) coordinate with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Requires each area plan to provide that the area agency on aging: (1) increases public awareness of elder abuse and financial exploitation, and removes barriers to elder abuse education, prevention, investigation, and treatment; (2) coordinates elder justice activities of the area agency on aging, community health centers, other public agencies, and nonprofit private organizations; (3) develops standardized, coordinated, and reporting protocols with respect to elder abuse; and (4) reports instances of elder abuse. Directs the Assistant Secretary to make grants to states under approved state plans for elder abuse and neglect screening. Requires a state operating a nutrition project to encourage individuals who distribute nutrition services to distribute information on diabetes, elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and the annual Medicare wellness exam. Requires a state, an area agency on aging, a nonprofit organization, or a tribal organization that receives a grant for an older individuals' protection from violence project to use it to research and replicate successful models of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation prevention and training. Directs the Assistant Secretary to award grants and enter into contracts with eligible organizations to carry out projects to engage volunteers over 50 years of age in providing support and information to older adults (and their families or caretakers) who have experienced or are at risk of elder abuse. Allows a state to use funds under the National Family Caregiver Support Program to support the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2013
Modernizing Our Drug & Diagnostics Evaluation and Regulatory Network Cures Act of 2013 or MODDERN Cures Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) establish the Advanced Diagnostics Education Council to recommend standard terms and definitions related to innovative diagnostics for use by patients, physicians, health care providers, payers, and policy makers; and (2) publish a guide regarding such terms and definitions. Sets forth additional factors for the Secretary to consider in determining the payment amount for new clinical diagnostic laboratory tests under gap filling procedures which are used when no comparable existing test is available. Extends the exclusivity period for a medicine if the diagnostic test related to such drug has been determined by the Secretary to have been developed by, or with the participation of, the manufacturer or sponsor of the medicine, and use of the diagnostic tests provides for or improves: (1) the identification of a patient population for the medicine; or (2) the determination of the most appropriate treatment option for a patient population with the medicine. Establishes a dormant therapy designation for medicine that addresses unmet medical needs. Gives such medicine 15 years of data exclusivity under which no drug can be approved by relying on the approval or licensure of the dormant therapy. Directs the Secretary to arrange with the Institute of Medicine (or, if it declines, another appropriate entity) to study intellectual property laws and their impact on therapy and diagnostic development in order to formulate recommendations on how to facilitate the clinical evaluation and development of therapies currently available on the market for new potential indications.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2013
Congressional Tribute to Constance Baker Motley Act of 2013 - Authorizes the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in commemoration of Constance Baker Motley (civil rights attorney at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., first African-American woman elected to the New York State Senate, and Chief Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York), in recognition of her enduring contributions and service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2013
Qualifying Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit Act of 2013 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should encourage the domestic production of renewable chemicals. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for the production of renewable chemicals. Defines "renewable chemical" as any chemical that is: (1) produced in the United States from renewable biomass; (2) sold or used by the taxpayer for the production of chemical products, polymers, plastics, or as chemicals, polymers, plastics, or formulated products; and (3) not sold or used for the production of any food, feed, or fuel. Exempts certain chemicals, including those with a biobased content of less than 25%. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a five-year program to allocate credit amounts. Limits the total amount of allocable credits under such program to $500 million, with a limit of $25 million to any taxpayer in any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Safe Freight Act - Prohibits the operation of a freight train or light locomotive engine used in the movement of freight unless it has a crew of at least two individuals, one of whom is certified by the Federal Railroad Administration as a locomotive operator and the other as a train conductor.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Social Security Equality Act of 2013 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to authorize the treatment of permanent partnerships between individuals of the same gender as marriage for purposes of determining entitlement to OASDI benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Unnecessary Cap Act of 2013 - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to repeal the annual limitation on deductibles under the essential health benefits of employer-sponsored qualified health plans of: (1) $2,000 in the case of a plan covering a single individual, and (2) $4,000 in the case of any other plan.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2013
Expresses support for the designation of National Innovation in Education Day to recognize the advances that the nation's schools have made incorporating both creative teaching methods and technology into the classroom. Recognizes: (1) the importance of creative teaching methods as a means of engaging students in their education and inspiring more students to pursue higher education; (2) that technological advancements within the classroom prepare students for a more information-driven market, thus closing the gap between education and the workforce by allowing students to obtain the skills necessary for employment in competitive science and technology fields in the United States; and (3) the achievements of outstanding educators who have exemplified innovative teaching methods.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Directs 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 in honor of President Shimon Peres of Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2013 - Requires a business enterprise that employs 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, or 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, exclusive of overtime, in a call center to notify the Secretary of Labor at least 120 days before relocating such center outside of the United States. Subjects violators to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 a day. Directs the Secretary to establish, maintain, and make publicly available a list of all such employers that relocate a call center. Authorizes the Secretary to remove from the list an employer that has relocated the call center from a location outside the United States to a location inside the United States. Requires such an employer to remain on the list for up to three years after each relocation. Makes such an employer ineligible for federal grants or federal guaranteed loans for five years after being added to the list, except where the employer demonstrates that a lack of such loan or grant would threaten national security, result in substantial job loss in the United States, or harm the environment. Requires the head of federal or state executive agency or military department, when awarding a civilian or defense-related contract, to give preference to a U.S. employer that does not appear on the list. Requires a business entity that initiates or receives a customer service communication to require each of its employees or agents participating in the communication to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each such communication unless all involved employees or agents are located in the United States. Exempts any communication: (1) initiated by a consumer if the consumer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or agent is located outside the United States, or (2) related to the provision of emergency services. Requires such a business entity, upon request, to transfer a customer to a customer service agent who is physically located in the United States. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to exclude certain classes or types of business entities or customer services communications from the requirements of this Act under exceptionally compelling circumstances. Sets forth enforcement provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
National Guardsmen and Reservists Parity for Patriots Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the armed forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Coal Healthcare and Pensions Protection Act of 2013 - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to address potential shortages in the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan for payment of health care benefits to retired coal miners by expanding the eligible uses of interest transferable to the plan from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, and supplemental payments from the General Fund of the Treasury. Requires calculation of such amount by taking into account only those beneficiaries who are actually enrolled in the plan as of enactment of this Act, as well as those retirees whose health benefits, payable directly by an employer in the bituminous coal industry under a coal wage agreement as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012, would be denied or reduced. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to the trustees of the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan a certain additional amount of funds, to pay pension benefits required under that plan, if the $490 million limitation on certain transfers to the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund and distributions to states and Indian tribes exceeds the aggregate amount required to be transferred to them. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a special rule that employer contributions to an employees' trust or annuity benefit plan providing supplemental benefits solely to participants in a pension plan are neither deductible nor nondeductible as such from the employer's gross income. Subjects such contributions, on the other hand, to deduction as an allowable trade or business expense. Treats a trust holding the assets of such a pension benefit plan as a tax-exempt organization. Excludes from taxable wages any payments made to, or on behalf of, an employee or his or her beneficiary under such a plan.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Behavioral Health Information Technology Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include as a health care provider behavioral and mental health professionals, substance abuse professionals, psychiatric hospitals, certain community mental health centers, and residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to incentives for meaningful use of certified electronic health records (EHR) technology under the pay schedule for physician's services, to include as additional eligible professionals clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services. Subjects any additional eligible professionals, including those under a MedicareAdvantage (MA) plan, to reductions in incentive payments after a certain date for failure to be a meaningful EHR user. Makes inpatient psychiatric hospitals eligible for payment for inpatient hospital services. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to treat as Medicaid providers: (1) public and certain private hospitals that are principally psychiatric hospitals, (2) certain community mental health centers, and (3) certain residential or outpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment facilities. Makes eligible professionals under the Medicaid program certain clinical psychologists providing qualified psychologist services. Authorizes a covered entity to submit to a patient safety organization information on electronic health record (EHR)-related adverse events with respect to certified EHR technology. Specifies covered entities as certain EHR users, health information exchange entities, and health care professionals who use EHR technology. Defines an EHR-related adverse event as a defect, malfunction, or error in the certified health information technology or EHR used by a provider, or in the input or output of data maintained through such technology or record, that results or could reasonably result in harm to a patient. Limits electronic discovery (e-discovery) in any health care lawsuit against a covered entity relating to an Reallotted adverse event involving certified EHR technology to information: (1) related to that event, and (2) from the period in which the event occurred. Prohibits a claimant from commencing a lawsuit more than three years after the manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers, or should have discovered, the injury, whichever occurs first. Requires tolling of this limitation, however, to the extent that the claimant is able to prove: (1) fraud; (2) intentional concealment; or (3) the presence of a foreign body, with no therapeutic or diagnostic purpose or effect, in the injured person. Subjects each party to such a lawsuit which is not a covered entity to proportionate liability only. Allows punitive damages against a covered entity only upon proof by clear and convincing evidence that the entity acted with reckless disregard for the claimant's health or safety. Shields covered entities, employees, agents, and representatives from civil liability for libel or slander arising from information or entries made in certified EHR technology, or transferred to another eligible provider, if the information, entries, or transfer were made in good faith and without malice.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Rebuilding American Manufacturing Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers engaged in domestic manufacturing in the United States a tax deduction equal to 50.5% (43% for C corporations) of the lesser of their domestic manufacturing income or their taxable income for the taxable year (thus effectively reducing their income tax rate to approximately 20%). Limits the amount of such deduction to 25% of such taxpayer's qualifying domestic investment (defined as the sum of the taxpayer's W-2 wages and certain allowable tax deductions, excluding any amounts not properly allocable to the taxpayer's domestic manufacturing gross receipts).
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue in commemoration of the United States Coast Guard: (1) $5 gold coins, (2) $1 silver coins, and (3) half-dollar clad coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the Coast Guard, and its role in securing our nation since 1790. Prescribes design requirements. Restricts the issuance of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes the sale price of the coins and coin surcharges. Requires such surcharges to be paid by the Secretary to the National Coast Guard Museum Foundation to help finance the design and construction of the National Coast Guard Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Prohibits the United States or any state from denying or abridging equal rights under the law on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2013
Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2013 or the BUILD Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to include among entities eligible for brownfields revitalization funding: (1) a tax-exempt charitable organization, (2) a limited liability corporation in which all managing members are tax-exempt charitable organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are such organizations, (3) a limited partnership in which all general partners are tax-exempt charitable organizations or limited liability corporations whose sole members are such organizations, or (4) a qualified community development entity. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to provide multipurpose grants to carry out inventory, characterization, assessment, planning, or remediation activities at brownfield sites in a proposed area. Revises the brownfield site characterization and assessment grant program to authorize an eligible entity that is a governmental entity to receive a grant for property acquired by such governmental entity prior to January 11, 2002, even if the governmental entity does not qualify as a bona fide prospective purchaser as defined under such Act. Increases the maximum amount the President may give in grants and loans to eligible entities for brownfield remediation. Repeals prohibitions on giving grants and loans for brownfields revitalization for administrative costs and the cost of complying with federal law. Excludes from the meaning of "administrative costs" costs for investigating and identifying the extent of the contamination, designing and performing a response action, or monitoring a natural resource. Requires the Administrator to give priority to small communities, Indian tribes, rural areas, or low-income areas with a population of not more than 15,000 in providing assistance to facilitate the inventory of brownfield sites, site assessments, remediation of brownfield sites, community involvement, or site preparation. Requires the Administrator, in giving grants for brownfields revitalization, to give consideration to waterfront brownfield sites. Requires the Administrator to establish a program to provide grants to: (1) carry out inventory, characterization, assessment, planning, feasibility analysis, design, or remediation activities to locate a clean energy project at brownfield sites; and (2) capitalize a revolving loan fund for such purposes. Authorizes the Administrator to provide grants for state response programs. Extends the authorizations of appropriations for brownfields revitalization funding and state response programs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2013
Real Estate Investment and Jobs Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 5% to 10% the allowable ownership interest in real estate investment trust (REIT) stock for purposes of tax exemptions allowed by the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act relating to foreign investment in United States real property interests.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2013
Captive Primate Safety Act - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to add nonhuman primates to the definition of "prohibited wildlife species" for purposes of the prohibition against the sale or purchase of such species in interstate or foreign commerce. Makes it unlawful for a person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase a live animal of any prohibited wildlife species in interstate or foreign commerce (i.e., for pet trade purposes). Modifies exceptions to such prohibition, including by making it inapplicable to a person who is: (1) a licensed and inspected person who does not allow direct contact between the public and prohibited wildlife species, and (2) transporting a single primate of the genus Cebus that was obtained from and trained by a charitable organization to assist a permanently disabled individual with a severe mobility impairment. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2013
Recognizes Bayard Rustin for his leadership in the civil rights, labor, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights movements and for his dedication to realizing equality and freedom in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2013
Restore Honor to Service Members Act - Requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Permits such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances, such as misconduct, that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable. Prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge. Directs the Secretary of each military department to ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives. Requires the reissuance of specified military personnel records and discharge forms in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member. Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to remove from the offense of sodomy specified activity referred to as unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2013
CLEANER Act of 2013 or the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations Act of 2013 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act, with respect to the regulation of wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas, or geothermal energy, to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), within one year, to: determine whether drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with such activities meet the criteria promulgated for the identification or listing of hazardous waste; identify or list as hazardous waste any of such energy-associated wastes that the Administrator determines meet the identification or listing criteria; and promulgate regulations regarding standards applicable to generators, transporters, and owners and operators of facilities for the treatment, storage, or disposal of wastes described under this Act (except that the Administrator may modify the requirements for such regulations to consider such wastes' special characteristics so long as the requirements protect human health and the environment). Directs the Administrator to promulgate revisions of the criteria regarding sanitary landfills and practices of open dumping for facilities that receive the energy-associated wastes described under this Act not identified as hazardous waste. Requires such revisions to: be those necessary to protect human health and the environment, allowing consideration of the practicable capability of such facilities; and include, at minimum, groundwater monitoring as necessary to detect contamination, criteria for the acceptable location of new or existing facilities, and provision for corrective action and financial assurance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2013
Guard and Reserve Equal Access to Health Act - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide a physical examination to each member of a reserve component who: (1) will not otherwise receive one through that department, and (2) elects to receive such examination. Requires the Secretary concerned to: (1) provide such examination during the 90-day period before such member's scheduled date of separation, and (2) provide such member with a record of the examination. Prohibits a member from being entitled to transitional health care benefits through their department solely by reason of being provided such examination.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2013
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2013
Alexis Agin Identity Theft Protection Act of 2013 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the treatment of death information furnished to or maintained by the Social Security Administration (SSA). Authorizes the Commissioner of Social Security to use or provide such information to federal and state agencies for statistical and research activities or to any federal agency for law enforcement or tax administration purposes. Authorizes disclosure of such information by: (1) federal and state agencies to contractors to assist with similar activities, (2) the Commissioner to entities concerning certain individuals who died more than three years earlier as well as to entities certified by the Commissioner, and (3) the Commissioner to the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to assist in the identification of remains.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2013
Segal AmeriCorps Education Award Tax Relief Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any AmeriCorps educational awards provided under the National and Community Service Act of 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2013
Saving America's Pollinators Act of 2013 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to suspend the registration of imidacloprid, clothianidin, thiamethoxam, dinotafuran, and any other members of the nitro group of neonicotinoid insecticides to the extent such insecticide is registered under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) for use in seed treatment, soil application, or foliar treatment on bee attractive plants, trees, and cereals until the Administrator has made a determination that such insecticide will not cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators. Requires such a determination to be based on: (1) an evaluation of the published and peer-reviewed scientific evidence on whether the use or uses of such neonicotinoids cause unreasonable adverse effects on pollinators, including native bees, honeybees, birds, bats, and other species of beneficial insects; and (2) a completed field study that meets the criteria required by the Administrator and evaluates residues, including residue build-up after repeated annual application, chronic low-dose exposure, and cumulative effects of multiple chemical exposures. Prohibits the Administrator from issuing any new registrations of the pesticides listed in this Act for any seed treatment, soil application, and foliar treatment on bee attractive plants, trees, and cereals under FIFRA until the Administrator has made such determination with respect to such insecticide. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, in coordination with the Administrator, to: (1) regularly monitor the health and population status of native bees, (2) identify the scope and likely causes of unusual native bee mortality, and (3) submit to Congress and make public an annual report on such health and population status.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2013
Veterans and Servicemembers Employment Rights and Housing Act of 2013 - Prohibits employment practices that discriminate based on an individual's military service and amends the Fair Housing Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to prohibit housing discrimination against members of the uniformed services. Declares that it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to hire, to discharge, or to otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their military service. Prohibits employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and job training programs from engaging in specified practices that adversely affect an applicant or employee because of such service. Exempts certain hiring and employment practices from being considered unlawful if the occupancy of the position is subject to national security requirements that an individual does not fulfill. Permits an employer to apply different standards of compensation or terms of employement pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, or a professionally developed ability test. Declares that an unlawful employment practice based on disparate impact is established only if: (1) the complaining party demonstrates that a respondent uses a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on the basis of military service and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged practice is job-related and consistent with business necessity, or (2) the complaining party makes a demonstration with respect to an alternative employment practice and the respondent refuses to adopt such practice. Prohibits business necessity from being used as a defense against a claim of intentional discrimination. Declares that an unlawful employment practice is established when the complaining party demonstrates that military service was a motivating factor for any employment practice, even though other factors also motivated such practice. Grants enforcement powers, remedies, and procedures under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Attorney General (DOJ), and persons alleging such discrimination. Amends the Fair Housing Act to prohibit housing discrimination against a member of the uniformed services with respect to: (1) the sale or rental of housing, (2) residential real estate-related transactions, and (3) the provision of brokerage services. Prohibits religious organizations engaging in housing transactions from giving preferences to persons of the same religion in cases where membership in such religion is restricted to persons who are not members of the uniformed services. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1968 to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both on persons who violate prohibitions on housing discrimination under such Act against members of the uniformed services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2013
Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), upon a request by the chairman or ranking minority member of specified congressional committees, to determine if a proposed measure would result in reductions in budget outlays in budgetary outyears through the use of preventive health and preventive health services. Requires CBO, if the measure would result in such substantial reductions, to include in any CBO projection a description and estimate of such reductions and a description of the basis for such conclusions. Authorizes CBO to prepare a budget projection that includes some or all of the budgetary outyears.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013
Amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, with respect to rollovers to a traditional or Roth individual retirement account (IRA) of payments to qualified airline employees in commercial airline carrier bankruptcy cases, to: (1) extend the period for filing a claim for refund of an overpayment of tax resulting from the receipt of such payments (i.e., by the later of April 15, 2015, or the expiration of the limitation period for filing refund claims); (2) modify the definition of "airline payment amount" to include payments in an airline carrier bankruptcy case filed after September 11, 2001, and before January 1, 2007, or on November 29, 2011; and (3) modify the definition of "qualified airline employee" to include an employee who was a participant in a defined benefit plan maintained by an airline carrier that was frozen effective November 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2013
Manufacturing Innovation in America Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to elect a tax deduction for an amount equal to 71% of the lesser of: (1) the taxpayer's patent box profit, or (2 the taxpayer's taxable income for the taxable year. Defines "patent box profit" to include gross receipts derived from the sale, lease, license, or or other disposition of qualified patent property in the course of a U.S. trade or business over the sum of the taxpayer's cost of goods sold allocable to patent gross receipts, other expenses, losses, or deductions, including research and development expenditures, allocable to such receipts, plus routine profit. Defines "qualified patent" to include a patent issued or extended by, or for which an application is pending before, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Sets forth rules for the application of the patent box profit deduction to pass-thru entities, including partnerships and S corporations, trusts and estates, and agricultural and horticultural cooperatives.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act - Amends the definition of "spouse" for purposes of veterans' benefits provisions to require an individual to be considered a spouse if the marriage of the individual is valid in the state in which the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place in which the marriage was entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Includes as a state the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. territories and possessions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2013 - Establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank as a wholly owned government corporation. Makes the Bank's Board of Directors responsible for monitoring and overseeing energy, environmental, telecommunications, and transportation infrastructure projects. Authorizes the Board to: (1) make senior and subordinated direct loans and loan guarantees to assist in the financing or refinancing of an infrastructure project, (2) issue public benefit bonds and provide financing to infrastructure projects, and (3) pay an interest subsidy to the issuer of American Infrastructure Bonds. Requires the Board to establish an Executive Committee, headed by the chief executive officer, to establish requirements and make recommendations for project proposals to be considered for financial assistance. Requires the Bank to establish a Risk Management Committee, headed by the chief risk officer, which shall: (1) create financial, credit, and operational risk management guidelines for the Bank; (2) set guidelines to ensure diversification of lending activities by both geographic region and infrastructure project type; (3) create conforming standards for all financial assistance provided by the Bank; (4) monitor financial, credit, and operational exposure of the Bank; (5) provide financial recommendations to the Board; and (6) ensure that the aggregate amount of interest subsidies provided for American Infrastructure Bonds in a given calendar year do not exceed 28% of interest payable under all such Bonds. Requires the Bank to establish an audit committee, headed by a chief compliance officer, to be responsible for auditing and accounting activities. Requires the Board to approve criteria established by the Executive Committee, with public input, for determining project eligibility for financial assistance. Sets forth criteria to be considered by the Board for each type of infrastructure project. Requires the Executive Committee to conduct an analysis that considers the economic, environmental, and social benefits and costs of each project under consideration, prioritizing projects that contribute to economic growth, lead to job creation, and are of regional or national significance. Requires any financial assistance for an infrastructure project to be repayable from dedicated revenue sources that also secure the infrastructure project obligations. Limits the amount of assistance under this Act to 50% of reasonably anticipated project costs. Exempts all bonds issued by the Bank, and the interest on or credits with respect to such bonds, from state or local government taxation. Sets forth requirements regarding compliance of assisted projects with wage rate, domestic content, and buy American statutes. Requires the Board to establish an American Infrastructure Bond program. Establishes in the Treasury the National Infrastructure Development Bank Trust Fund into which an amount estimated to equal the tax receipts attributable to interest payable under such Bonds is to be appropriated.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
Transportation and Regional Infrastructure Project Bonds Act of 2013 or TRIP Bonds Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit for any TRIP bond issued by or for the benefit of a state infrastructure bank as part of an issue, if 100% of the available project proceeds from such issue are to be used for expenditures incurred for one or more qualified projects. Requires proceeds from the sale of bonds issued under this Act to be held in a TRIP Bonds Trust Account (including one or more subaccounts). Defines "qualified project" as a capital transportation infrastructure project (including roads, bridges, rail and transit systems, ports, and inland waterways) proposed and approved by a state infrastructure bank, as well as any flood damage risk reduction project with a completed Report of the Chief of Engineers of the Army Corps of Engineers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
Calls on China (PRC) to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners, and particularly from Falun Gong prisoners of conscience and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups. Calls for a Department of State investigation into organ transplant practices in China, and for the prosecution of those found to have engaged in such practices. Demands an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice by the Communist Party of China and the release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. Recommends that: (1) the Department issue a travel warning for U.S. citizens traveling to China for organ transplants informing them that the organ source for their operation may be a prisoner of conscience; and (2) the U.S. government condemn organ transplantation abuses in China, ban the entry of those who have participated in such activities, and prosecute such individuals should they be found on U.S. soil.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2013
Applauds the U.N. General Assembly for honoring President Mandela's contribution to international peace and freedom. Recognizes the global impact of President Mandela's legacy and commitment to nonviolence, respect, and dialogue. Supports the international community's recognition of Nelson Mandela International Day. Urges all U.S. citizens to reflect on the importance of peace, tolerance, democracy, human rights, and reconciliation in honor of Nelson Mandela International Day.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2013
Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise conditions of and limitations on payment for home health care services. Allows payment for home health services to Medicare beneficiaries by: (1) a nurse practitioner, (2) a clinical nurse specialist working in collaboration with a physician in accordance with state law, (3) a certified nurse-midwife, or (4) a physician assistant under a physician's supervision.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2013
Respect for Marriage Act - Amends the Defense of Marriage Act to repeal a provision that prohibited a state, territory, possession, or Indian tribe from being required to recognize any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other state, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a same sex marriage. Amends the federal rules of construction added by such Act concerning the definitions of "marriage" and "spouse" to provide that, for purposes of any federal law in which marital status is a factor, an individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the state where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any state, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a state. Removes the definition of "spouse" (currently, a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife).