United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Amends the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 1987 to allow the Clerk of the House of Representatives, at the request of a Member of the House, to donate computers and related peripheral tools previously used by the Member to a public elementary or secondary school designated by such Member without regard to whether the donation: (1) is a cost to the government, or (2) has a recoverable value.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act Establishes the Medicare for All Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, dietary and nutritional therapies, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Prohibits an institution from participating unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities to participate. Allows patients to choose from participating physicians and institutions. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Allows insurers to sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. Sets forth methods to pay institutional providers of care and health professionals for services. Prohibits financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization. Establishes the Medicare for All Trust Fund to finance the Program with amounts deposited: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care, (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% of income earners, (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income, (4) by instituting a tax on unearned income, and (5) by instituting a tax on stock and bond transactions. Transfers and appropriates to carry out this Act amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Requires the Medicare for All Program to give employment transition benefits and first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced clerical and administrative work. Requires creation of a confidential electronic patient record system. Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. Requires the eventual integration of the Indian Health Service into the Program, and an evaluation of the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs health programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2015
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 to the Freedom Riders in recognition of their contribution to civil rights, which inspired a movement to equality in interstate travel. Requires such medal to be given to the Smithsonian Institution to be available for display and research. Expresses the sense of Congress that the medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the Freedom Riders.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015 This bill states that: the President may not prohibit or otherwise regulate travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions incident to such travel, including banking transactions; any regulation in effect on the date of enactment of this Act prohibiting or otherwise regulating such travel or transactions incident to such travel shall cease to have any force or effective; but the prohibitions and requirements of this Act shall not apply if the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act of 2015 Prohibits the President from restricting direct transfers from a Cuban depository institution to a U.S. depository institution in payment for a product authorized for sale under the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide information and technical assistance to U.S. agricultural producers, cooperative organizations, or state agencies to promote U.S. agricultural exports products to Cuba. Authorizes the issuance of temporary entry visas to Cuban nationals to facilitate purchase of U.S. agricultural products. Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal the prohibition on enforcement of rights to certain U.S. intellectual properties and such properties' transfer. Prohibits the regulation or prohibition of travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel if such travel would be lawful in the United States. Directs the President to rescind all regulations in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act that regulate or prohibit such travel or transactions. Includes in such transactions: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions, (such provision does not permit the carriage of articles other than accompanied baggage into Cuba or the United States); and (5) normal banking transactions. States that such provision shall not apply in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba, or of imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. citizens or legal residents. Amends the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 to repeal the requirement for onsite verification of certain medical exports to Cuba. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the airport ticket tax for transportation between the United States and Cuba by $1, and (2) establish in the Treasury the Agricultural Export Promotion Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2015 Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, if such travel would be lawful in the United States, relating to: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions (such provision does not permit the carriage of articles other than accompanied baggage into Cuba or the United States); and (5) normal banking transactions. States that such restrictions on authority shall not apply if: (1) the United States is at war with Cuba, or armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress; or (2) there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Supports the goals and ideals of a Dominican Heritage Month. Supports the establishment of a national month of Recognition for Dominican-Americans to honor the Dominican people and their contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act of 2015 or the FAIR Act This bill modifies general rules governing civil forfeiture proceedings to: (1) ensure that a person contesting a civil forfeiture has legal representation without regard to whether the property subject to forfeiture is being used by such person as a primary residence; (2) increase the federal government's burden of proof in civil forfeiture proceedings to clear and convincing evidence; (3) require the government, in addition to showing a substantial connection between the seized property and an offense, to establish by clear and convincing evidence that the owner of any interest in the seized property used the property with intent to facilitate the offense or knowingly consented or was willfully blind to the use of the property by another in connection with the offense; and (4) expand the proportionality criteria used by a court to determine whether a civil forfeiture was constitutionally excessive. To remove incentives for carrying out civil forfeitures, the bill requires proceeds from the disposition of seized property to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, rather than to Department of Justice accounts for law enforcement activities. The bill adds a scienter requirement (i.e., a knowing violation) to the prohibition against structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. The bill requires: (1) a court to conduct a probable cause hearing to determine if there is a violation of the prohibition against structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements involving a monetary instrument and to return such instrument if probable cause is not established, and (2) the Attorney General to specify in reports to Congress and the public on forfeitures the amounts received from criminal and civil forfeitures.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Stop Wasting Taxpayer Money on Cuba Broadcasting Act Repeals the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act (thus eliminating Voice of America: Radio/Television Marti broadcasts to Cuba).
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to restore mail delivery service standards in effect as of July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2015 Allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the: (1) birth of a child, or (2) placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Makes available (subject to specified requirements) for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: (1) six administrative weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth or placement involved, and (2) any accumulated annual or sick leave. Authorizes the Director of the Office of Personnel Management to promulgate regulations to increase the amount of paid parental leave available to such an employee to a total of 12 administrative workweeks, based on the consideration of: (1) the benefits to the federal government, including enhanced recruitment and employee retention; (2) the cost to the government; (3) trends in the private sector and in state and local governments; (4) the federal government's role as a model employer; and (5) the impact of increased paid parental leave on lower-income and economically disadvantaged employees and their children. Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to allow the same substitution for covered congressional employees, Government Accountability Office (GAO) employees, and Library of Congress employees. Counts certain service by an employee of the executive branch, Congress, GAO, or the Library of Congress while on active duty as a member of the National Guard or Reserves as service for that branch or agency for purposes of determining such employee's eligibility to take or substitute leave as provided under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
This bill directs the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Shareholder Protection Act of 2015 Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: (1) describe the specific nature (to the extent known) and total amount of expenditures proposed for political activities for the forthcoming fiscal year but not yet authorized by a vote of the issuer's shareholders, and (2) provide for a separate shareholder vote to authorize such proposed expenditures. Prohibits an issuer from making an expenditure for political activities in any fiscal year unless: (1) such expenditure is of the nature of those proposed by the issuer according to the requirements of this Act, and (2) authorization for such expenditure has been granted by votes representing a majority of outstanding shares. Deems a violation of this requirement to be a breach of the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors who authorized such expenditure. Subjects officers and directors who authorize the expenditure without prior shareholder authorization to joint and several liability to any shareholder or class of shareholders for the amount of such expenditure. Requires certain institutional investment managers to disclose annually in mandatory reports how they voted (proxies) in certain shareholder votes. Prohibits any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against an institutional investment manager, or any of its employees, officers, or directors, based solely upon the investment manager's decision to divest from, or not to invest in, securities of an issuer because of expenditures for political activities made by that issuer. Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not expressly provide for a vote of the issuer's directors on any individual expenditure for political activities in excess of $50,000. Requires an issuer to make public, within 48 hours, the individual votes of the directors regarding any such expenditure. Directs the SEC to: (1) require issuers to disclose expenditures for political activities made during the preceding quarter and the individual votes by board members authorizing such expenditures, and (2) make such reports publicly available through the SEC website. Requires the SEC to make annual assessments of the compliance by public corporations and their management with the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, and the Comptroller General to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act of 2015 Makes an individual who is eligible for educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance program eligible for assistance with the fees for applying to institutions of higher education (IHEs). Sets the amount of such assistance payable to an individual at the lesser of: (1) the total application fees charged to the individual by the IHEs, or (2) $750.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Disclosure of Information on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Secure Elections Act of 2015 or the DISCLOSE 2015 Act Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidates, qualifications, or fitness for office. Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications. Prescribes: (1) disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities; and (2) disclaimer requirements for campaign-related disbursements and for certain communications. Requires any communication transmitted through radio or television to include an individual or organizational disclosure statement, together with: (1) the Top Two Funders List of the persons providing the largest and second largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a radio communication, and (2) the Top Five Funders List of the five persons providing the largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a television communication. Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger. Requires a covered organization which submits regular, periodic reports to its shareholders, members, or donors on its finances or activities to include in each report, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the information included in the statements it has filed about campaign-related disbursements the organization has made during the period covered by the report. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require semiannual reports on certain election campaign contributions filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives by registered lobbyists (or persons or organizations required to register as lobbyists) to contain: (1) the amount of any independent expenditure of $1,000 or more made by each such person or organization, along with the name of each candidate being supported or opposed and the amount spent supporting or opposing that candidate; and (2) the amount of any electioneering communication of $1,000 or more made by such person or organization, along with the name of the candidate referred to in the communication and whether the communication involved was in support of or in opposition to the candidate.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment Grants every U.S. citizen of legal voting age the fundamental right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Government By the People Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to allow a refundable credit of 50% of qualified congressional House campaign contributions paid or incurred during the taxable year (contributions of cash by an individual to a House candidate or a political committee established and maintained by a national political party if the contribution is not prohibited under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 [FECA], to be known as "My Voice Federal" contributions). Directs the Government by the People Oversight Commission, established by this Act, to launch a pilot program under which it shall select three eligible states to operate a voucher pilot program. Requires a state under a voucher pilot program to provide each qualified individual during the election cycle, upon his or her request, with a "My Voice Voucher" worth $50, which will be assigned a routing number. Authorizes the individual to submit the My Voice Voucher to qualified federal election candidates, allocating a portion of its value in $5 increments. Requires the Commission to pay any candidate who transmits a My Voice Voucher that portion of its value which the individual allocated to the candidate. Considers this transaction a contribution by the individual to the candidate for purposes of FECA. Requires a state operating a voucher pilot program also to permit an individual to revoke a My Voice Voucher within two days after submitting it to a candidate. Requires such a state to establish a commission or designate an existing entity to oversee and implement the program in the state, except that no such commission or entity may be composed of elected officials. Amends FECA with respect to: benefits for participating House of Representatives candidates; Federal Election Commission (FEC) payments to such candidates; candidate use of payments; qualified small dollar contributions, expenditures, and fundraising requirements; certification of participating candidates; campaign administration; prevention of the unnecessary spending of public funds; establishment of the Freedom From Influence Fund in the Treasury and of a Government by the People Oversight Commission in the FEC; remittal of unspent funds to the Freedom From Influence Fund after an election; eligibility of participating candidates for additional payments; civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements; a Commission action appeals process; and contributions and expenditures by multicandidate and political party political committees on behalf of participating candidates. Prohibits a certified participating candidate's authorized committee from establishing a joint fundraising committee with any political committee other than another authorized committee of the candidate. Prohibits a certified participating candidate from establishing, financing, maintaining, or controlling a leadership PAC (political action committee). Prohibits use of contributions by a participating candidate for any purposes other than an election campaign. Revises bundler disclosure requirements to repeal a specified exception and so require disclosure of persons who provided bundled contributions to the reporting committee. Amends FECA to empower the FEC to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action to enforce the Act. Requires all political committee designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed: (1) directly with the FEC; and (2) in electronic form accessible by computers. Reduces to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set a station's lowest unit price for preemptible use as the charge for a broadcast by the national committee of a political party for an affiliated candidate. Authorizes the FEC to revoke a broadcast station license or construction permit only for at least three willful failures to allow reasonable access to, or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time for the use of, a broadcasting station or cable system by a legally qualified candidate for federal office. Amends the IRC to allow taxpayers to designate overpayments of tax for contribution to the Freedom From Influence Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment - Authorizes Congress and the states to set reasonable limits on the raising and spending of money by candidates and others to influence elections. Grants Congress and the states the power to implement and enforce this amendment by appropriate legislation. Allows them to distinguish between natural persons and corporations or other artificial entities created by law, including by prohibiting such entities from spending money to influence elections. Declares that nothing in this amendment shall be construed to grant Congress or the states the power to abridge the freedom of the press.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2015
Trafficking Prevention in Foreign Affairs Contracting Act This bill directs the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development to report to Congress regarding: a definition of "placement and recruitment fees" for purposes of complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and how such definition will be incorporated into grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, and contracting practices; and a description of actions taken to ensure that officials include the prevention of trafficking in persons in monitoring grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements and contracting practices.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2015
Free Trade With Cuba Act Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to repeal the embargo on trade with Cuba. Prohibits the exercise by the President with respect to Cuba of certain authorities conferred by the Trading With the Enemy Act and exercised on July 1, 1977, as a result of a specified national emergency. Makes ineffective any prohibition on exports to Cuba under the Export Administration Act of 1979. Authorizes the President to impose export controls with respect to Cuba and exercise certain authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act only on account of an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security that did not exist before enactment of this Act. Repeals: (1) the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, (2) the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, (3) the prohibition under the Food Security Act of 1985 against allocation of the annual sugar quota to any country unless its officials verify that it does not import for reexport to the United States any sugar produced in Cuba, and (4) the prohibition under the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 on transactions or payments respecting certain U.S. intellectual property. Amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to remove Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terrorism subject to agricultural and medical export restrictions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate the denial of foreign tax credit with respect to Cuba. Authorizes common carriers to install and repair telecommunications equipment and facilities in Cuba, and otherwise provide telecommunications services between the United States and Cuba. Prohibits regulation or banning of travel to and from Cuba by U.S. citizens or residents, or of any transactions incident to travel. Directs the U.S. Postal Service to provide direct mail service to and from Cuba. Urges the President to take all necessary steps to conduct negotiations with the Government of Cuba to: (1) settle claims of U.S. nationals against Cuba for the taking of property, and (2) secure protection of internationally recognized human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Putting Our Veterans Back to Work Act of 2015 Amends the: (1) VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 to extend through 2018 the veterans retraining assistance program, and (2) Wounded Warrior Act to extend through 2018 the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Secretary) to provide the same rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses as are provided to veterans. Extends through: (1) March 31, 2018, additional VA rehabilitation programs for certain disabled veterans who have completed a VA rehabilitation program and have exhausted their rights to state unemployment benefits; and (2) FY2019 the collaborative veterans' training, mentoring, and placement program. Directs the Secretary to develop a single, unified federal web-based employment portal for veterans to access information on federal programs and activities concerning veterans employment, unemployment benefits, and training. Directs the: (1) Secretary of Homeland Security to award grants to hire veterans as firefighters, and (2) Attorney General (AG) to award grants to hire veterans as law enforcement officers. Requires the head of each executive and defense agency to consider favorably, as an evaluation factor in federal solicitations for contracts and task or delivery orders valued at or above $25 million, the employment by a prospective contractor of veterans constituting at least 5% of the contractor's workforce. Allows a veteran on whose behalf a complaint of a violation of employment or reemployment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is made by the AG to intervene in such action, and to obtain appropriate relief. Requires the AG, within 60 days after receiving a referral of an unsuccessful attempt to resolve a complaint relating to a state or private employer, to notify the person on whose behalf the complaint is submitted of either the decision to commence such an action or of when such decision is expected to be made. Requires, in the latter case, such decision to be made within an additional 30 days. Requires the AG to commence such an action when there is reasonable cause to believe that a state or private employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such rights and benefits, and that the pattern or practice denies the full exercise of such rights and benefits. Authorizes the suspension, termination, or debarment of federal contractors for repeated failures or refusals to comply with USERRA protections. Provides the Special Counsel with subpoena power to require the attendance and testimony of, and production of documents from, federal employees, to be enforced through the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes the AG, in employment or reemployment rights investigations, to issue and serve a civil investigative demand for the production of documentary material.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Manufacturing Jobs for Veterans Act Directs the Secretary of Labor, as part of the Veteran's Workforce Investment Program, to carry out a five-year pilot program (to be known as the Veterans Manufacturing Employment Program) to award competitive grants to three states for the establishment and administration of a State Manufacturing Employment Program to make grants to manufacturing employers and labor-management organizations that provide training, on-job training, apprenticeships, and certification classes to eligible veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Veterans, Women, Families with Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 2015 or the Housing Fairness Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to require that only qualified private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations receive funds under the fair housing initiatives program for investigations of violations of the rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Requires the design of the national education and outreach program to provide for the development and dissemination of websites and other media outlets among its fair housing media products. Requires private entities that formulate or carry out programs to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices to be nonprofit in order to be eligible for contracts to establish or support education and outreach programs and to support community-based education and outreach activities. Requires the Secretary to establish minimum standards for the training of testers of organizations funded with any amounts made available under this Act. Directs the Secretary to implement a competitive matching grant program to assist public and private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation on education, poverty, and economic development or on veterans and military personnel; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
Return to Prudent Banking Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to prohibit an insured depository institution from being an affiliate of any broker or dealer, investment adviser, investment company, or any other person or entity engaged principally in the issue, flotation, underwriting, public sale, or distribution of stocks, bonds, debentures, notes, or other securities. Prohibits officers, directors and employees of securities firms from simultaneous service on the boards of depository institutions, except in specified circumstances. Requires any such individual serving as an officer, director, employee, or other institution-affiliated party of any insured depository institution to terminate such service as soon as practicable after enactment of this Act. Requires an insured depository institution to wind-down in an orderly manner and terminate any affiliation prohibited by this Act. Amends the Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall Act) to expand its prohibition against the transaction of banking activities by securities firms. Declares that Congress ratifies the interpretation by the Supreme Court of specified statutory language in the case of Investment Company Institute v. Camp ( ICI ) regarding permissible activities of banks and securities firms. Declares that the reasoning of the Court in that case shall continue to apply to the limitations placed upon security affiliations under the FDIA as enacted by this Act. Prohibits a federal banking agency or federal court from issuing an interpretation regarding such security affiliations that is narrower than that of the Court in ICI . Makes technical and conforming changes to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Revised Statutes of the United States, and specified federal law. Requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Comptroller of the Currency, or another appropriate federal banking agency to report to Congress a detailed description of the basis for its decision each time it makes a determination or grants an extension concerning an affiliation between insured depository institutions and investment banks or securities firms.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Limits the minting of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes surcharges for coin sales, which shall be paid to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc., to help finance the construction of a new building and renovation of existing National Purple Heart Hall of Honor facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to reauthorize, for FY2016-FY2025, Historic Preservation Fund activities related to the preservation and restoration of historic buildings and structures on the campuses of historically black colleges and universities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2015 Requires the Attorney General to issue regulations for the collection and compilation of data pertaining to the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers, which shall require: the collection of data on all instances wherein deadly force was used; the data to include information on the characteristics of the officer and the person who was the target of deadly force (excluding personally identifiable information), the alleged criminal activity of such person, when and where the deadly force occurred, the nature of the deadly force used, the law enforcement agency's explanation of why deadly force was used, any deadly force guidelines of the law enforcement agency in effect at the time, and any non-lethal efforts employed to apprehend or subdue the person before deadly force was used; a standardized form be made available to law enforcement agencies for the submission of data collected to the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics; and law enforcement agencies to maintain all data collected for not less than four years. Requires the Bureau to provide the data to Congress and make it available to the public. Restricts the disclosure of the name or identifying information of a law enforcement officer, a person who was the target of deadly force, or any other individual involved in any activity for which such data is collected. Directs the Attorney General to reduce by 10% the amount that would otherwise be awarded under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to a state or local government that fails to comply with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
New Columbia Admission Act Sets forth procedures for admission into the United States of the state of New Columbia. Requires the Mayor of the District of Columbia to: (1) submit to the eligible voters propositions for statehood and adoption of a State Constitution, and (2) issue a proclamation for the first elections to Congress of two Senators and one Representative of New Columbia. Requires the President, upon adoption of such propositions and certification of such elections, to issue a proclamation announcing the results and admitting New Columbia into the Union. Provides for conversion of District government offices to state offices. Provides that New Columbia shall consist of all territory of the District as of the enactment of this Act, excluding land within specified metes and bounds that shall remain the District of Columbia and that shall include the principal federal monuments, the White House, the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court Building, the federal executive, legislative, and judicial office buildings located adjacent to the Mall and the Capitol Building, and certain military property. Prohibits New Columbia from imposing taxes on federal property except as provided by Congress. Maintains the applicability to New Columbia of current District laws and continues pending judicial proceedings. Maintains: (1) the District of Columbia as the seat of the federal government, and (2) the federal government's authority over military lands and specified other property. Requires each state that is the last place an individual resided before residing in the District of Columbia to permit such individual to vote in federal elections by absentee ballot. Sets forth a rule for expedited consideration of a joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution to repeal the 23rd amendment (which provides for the appointment of electors for President and Vice President for the District).
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act or the FAIR Act Increases the rates of basic pay for federal employees under the statutory pay systems (relating to the General Schedule, the U.S. Foreign Service, and the Veterans Health Administration) for calendar year 2016, and for prevailing rate employees for FY2016, by 3.8%.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the U.S. Postal Service should take all appropriate measures to ensure the continuation of door delivery for all businesses and residential customers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Homes for Heroes Act of 2015 Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure veterans fair access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs, (2) coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans, and (3) serve as a HUD liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Terminates, at the same time as such establishment, the position of Special Assistant for Veterans Programs in the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Special Needs. Directs the Secretaries of HUD and VA to report annually to Congress with respect to veterans homelessness and housing assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act Designates approximately 1,559,538 acres of land within Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Creating Jobs From Innovative Small Businesses Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a general business tax credit of 20% of the amount paid to acquire an equity investment in a qualified research intensive small business concern. Defines "qualified research intensive small business concern" as a small business concern that employs an average of fewer than 500 employees during a year and devotes at least 50% of its gross expenditures to research and experimentation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Comprehensive Homes for Heroes Act of 2015 Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure veterans' access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs, (2) coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans, and (3) serve as a HUD liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the HUD Secretary to provide assistance to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to expand the supply of supportive housing for very low-income veterans' families (families with incomes not exceeding 50% of the area median income). Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) make housing rental vouchers available to all homeless veterans, regardless of medical condition; and (2) include veterans in public housing planning. Excludes veterans' benefits from income for purposes of HUD assisted housing rental determinations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make grants to nonprofit entities for technical assistance in sponsoring HUD housing projects for veterans, and (2) report annually to specified congressional committees and the VA Secretary on HUD activities relating to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Next Generation American Manufacturing Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the purchase (during a specified period of between 5 and 10 years based on the incentive needed with respect to each product) of new products certified as assembled in the United States and consisting of at least 60% of components assembled or otherwise arising in the United States. Establishes the 21st Century American Manufacturing Commission to conduct research to designate products eligible for such tax credit. Allows certain start-up companies that are headquartered in the United States a tax credit for up to 25% of their costs for the construction of a manufacturing facility and for the purchase of specialized equipment for use at such facility. Defines a "start-up company" as any corporation or partnership that: (1) first has both gross receipts and qualified research expenses in a taxable year beginning after December 31, 2012; or (2) has both gross receipts and qualified research expenses in fewer than three taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012, and before January 1, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Incentivize Growth Now In Tomorrow's Entrepreneurs Act of 2015 This bill creates tax-exempt small business start-up accounts to pay for the start-up expenses (defined as expenses for investigating the creation or acquisition of an active trade or business) of a business that does not employ more than 50 full-time employees during a taxable year. Cash contributions to such accounts are allowed up to the lesser of $10,000 or the amount of compensation includible in the taxpayer's gross income for the taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Half in Ten Act of 2015 Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services a Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty, which shall develop a National Strategy to reduce the number of persons living in poverty in America in half within 10 years after release of the 2014 Census Report on Income and Poverty in the United States: 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Support Our Startups Act of 2015 This bill allows the increased tax deduction amount for business start-up expenses (defined as expenses for investigating the creation or acquisition of an active trade or business) for taxable years beginning in 2015 or 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Superstorm Sandy Relief Act of 2015 Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish a loan program under which, for at least one year, a small business, homeowner, or renter that was located within a declared major disaster area during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 may apply for a loan to: (1) repair, rehabilitate, or replace property damaged or destroyed because of the storm; or (2) assist a small business that suffered substantial economic injury because of it.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Keeping Guns from High Risk Individuals Act Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to prohibit the sale or other disposition of a firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person: (1) has been convicted of a crime of violence in the previous 10 years; (2) is under age 25 and has been adjudicated as having committed an offense that would have been a crime of violence if committed by an adult; (3) has been convicted on 2 separate occasions in any period of 3 consecutive years in the last 10 of an offense that has the possession or distribution of alcohol or a controlled substance as an element; or (4) has been convicted of stalking. Prohibits any such person from: (1) shipping or transporting in interstate or foreign commerce, or possessing in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or (2) receiving any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Firearm Safety Act of 2015 Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to remove from the definition of "consumer product" the exclusion for any article sold by a manufacturer, producer, or importer that would be subject to a firearms sales tax under the Internal Revenue Code for pistols, revolvers, and other firearms, including shells and cartridges, thereby permitting the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue safety standards for such articles.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Requires the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service to report annually to Congress on the effects of gun violence on public health and the status of actions taken to address those effects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
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).
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Veteran's I.D. Card Act Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a veteran's identification card to any veteran who requests such card and is neither entitled to military retired pay nor enrolled in the VA system of patient enrollment. Requires such card, among other things, to: (1) display their name and photograph, and (2) serve as proof that the veteran honorably served in the Armed Forces and has a DD-214 form or other official document in their personnel file that describes their military service. Directs the Secretary to charge a card fee. States that such card shall not serve as proof of entitlement to any benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2015-FY2022 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Close the Floodgates Act Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, to repeal certain limits on separate contributions by persons or multicandidate political committees to political committees of a national political party which are not the authorized political committees of any candidate. Specifies those contributions used to defray expenses for: a presidential nominating convention; the construction, purchase, renovation, operation, and furnishing of party headquarters buildings; and the preparation for and the conduct of election recounts, contests, and other legal proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
No Social Security for Nazis Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to consider the following individuals to be removed under the Immigration and Nationality Act and so to have their OASDI benefits terminated: an individual with respect to whom an order admitting the individual to citizenship has been revoked and set aside where such action is based on conduct relating to participation in Nazi persecution, concealment of a material fact about such conduct, or willful misrepresentation about such conduct; and an individual who, pursuant to a settlement agreement with the Attorney General (AG), has admitted to such conduct and has lost status as a U.S. national by renouncing that status. Requires such individuals to have been considered removed under such Act as of the date of the revocation, setting aside, or renunciation. Prohibits such individuals from receiving other Social Security benefits based on the wages and self-employment income of any other individual. Prohibits the payment to such individuals also of any benefits under SSA tile XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI). Requires the AG or the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to notify the Commissioner of Social Security of such revocations, setting asides, and renunciations of nationality.
![Official portrait of Rep. Serrano, Jose E. [D-NY-15]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000248_200.jpg)