The world's political record
Person
![Official portrait of Rep. Sires, Albio [D-NJ-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001165_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
3,987 records where Rep. Sires, Albio [D-NJ-13] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015
Humane Cosmetics Act This bill prohibits testing cosmetics on animals, effective on the date that is one year after enactment of this Act. No cosmetic may be sold or transported if the final product or any component was developed or manufactured using animal testing after such date, effective three years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2015
Keep Our Pension Promises Act This bill repeals the elimination of the pension anti-cutback provisions under the Multiemployer Pension Reform Act of 2014. The anti-cutback provisions prohibit reductions in pension benefits to participants in multiemployer pension plans. The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow a plan sponsor of an eligible multiemployer plan to petition the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for a partition of a financially-troubled pension plan. PBGC is required to establish a legacy fund to cover the administrative and benefit costs resulting from a partition.. The bill amends the federal bankruptcy code to assign first claim priority to pension obligations under ERISA. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a limit of $1 million on the exemption of the gain from the exchange of real property in a like kind exchange, (2) prohibit the use of like kind exchanges for collectibles, (3) establish estate valuation rules for certain transfers of nonbusiness assets, and (4) limit estate tax discounts for certain individuals with minority interests in a business acquired from a decedent.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2015
Recognizes the three-year anniversary of the deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) program, which permits young people who were brought to the United States by their parents as children to remain temporarily in the United States and make meaningful contributions to our country. Acknowledges that the country benefits when we fully integrate hardworking immigrants. Recognizes that the President's DACA program, along with his recent constitutionally sound executive actions on immigration, serve as the precursor to legislative action.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2015
Expresses support for National Men's Health Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2015
Congratulates American Pharoah and owner Ahmed Zayat of Teaneck, New Jersey, for winning horse racing's Triple Crown.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2015
Affirms that the policies of aggression and ethnic cleansing implemented by Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995 meet the terms of genocide. Urges the Atrocities Prevention Board, a U.S. interagency committee established by the Administration in 2012, to study the lessons of Srebrenica and issue guidance on how to prevent similar incidents from recurring in the future. Encourages the United States to reaffirm its policy of supporting the independence and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, peace and stability in southeastern Europe, and the right of all people living in the region to return to their homes and enjoy the benefits of democratic institutions, as well as to know the fate of missing relatives and friends. Recognizes the achievement of the International Commission for Missing Persons in accounting for those missing in conflicts or natural disasters around the world. Welcomes the arrest and transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of all persons indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, particularly those of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic. Asserts that it is in the U.S. national interest that those individuals who are responsible for these crimes should continue to be held accountable for their actions. Honors the thousands of innocent people killed or executed at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1995, along with all individuals who were victimized during the conflict and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, as well as the foreign nationals who risked and in some cases lost their lives during their defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015
Global Democracy Promotion Act States that, with respect to eligibility for assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be ineligible for such assistance solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States. Declares in addition that foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving assistance under part I of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015
Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015 Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to the Filipino Veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II. Requires that the medal, following its award, be given to the Smithsonian Institution where it will be available for research and for display at other appropriate locations associated with such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015
Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue gold, silver, half-dollar clad, and proof silver coins in recognition and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. Treasury may issue coins minted under this Act for only a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2019. All sales of coins minted under this Act shall include a surcharge of $35 per gold coin, $10 per silver coin, $5 per half-dollar clad coin, and $50 per proof silver coin. All of the surcharges received from the sale of such coins shall be paid as follows: one-half to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum's "Destination Moon" exhibit; one-quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation; and one-quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, to aid its missions by providing college scholarships for the very best and brightest students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM).
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015
Condemns the Republic of the Sudan's pardon of Mubarak Mustafa for his role in allowing the men convicted of John Granville's assassination to escape imprisonment. Calls on the Department of State to continue to list Sudan on the state sponsors of terrorism list until such time as the men convicted of John Granville's assassination are apprehended and the pardon of Mubarak Mustafa is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015
Supports individuals and organizations working to encourage cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians, including Professor Mohammed Dajani Daoudi, the Israel Palestine Center for Research and Information, United Hatzalah, and Breaking the Impasse. Reiterates condemnation of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement in the Palestinian Authority (PA) as antithetical to peace. Urges President Abbas and PA officials to discontinue all official incitement and exert influence to discourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement in Palestinian civil society. Directs the Department of State to regularly monitor and publish information on all official PA incitement against Jews and Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015
Expresses the strong support of the House of Representatives for the continuation of the Perkins Loan Program in order to provide educational opportunities to future generations of students who need low-cost financing to make their dreams of higher education possible.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Berry Amendment Extension Act Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to prohibit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from procuring specified covered items directly related to national security interests (including clothing, tents, or natural fiber products) that are not grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States, except to the extent satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity of any such product cannot be procured as and when needed. Makes additional exceptions for: (1) procurements by vessels in foreign waters, (2) emergency procurements, and (3) purchases for amounts not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold described in military procurement provisions. Requires DHS to post a notification that an exception has been applied not later than seven days after the award of the contract. Directs DHS to ensure that: (1) each member of DHS's acquisition workforce who regularly participates in textile acquisition receives training on this Act's requirements, and (2) any such training includes comprehensive information on such requirements. Requires this Act to be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
This bill amends the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1990 and 1991 to: authorize the Secretary of State to award a local guard contract abroad under the diplomatic security program on the basis of best value (as determined by a cost-technical trade off analysis); and report to Congress for each such contract providing the basis for the award and an explanation of the inability to satisfy the Department of State's needs by technically acceptable, lowest price evaluation award.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Hero Street USA Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins emblematic of Hero Street (in Silvis, Illinois) in the following amounts in commemoration of the semi-centennial of the naming of Hero Street: (1) 50,000 $5 gold coins, (2) 400,000 $1 silver coins, and (3) 750,000 half-dollar clad coins. Coins may be issued only between January 1 and December 31, 2018. There must be surcharges of: (1) $35 per coin for the $5 coin, (2) $10 per coin for the $1 coin, and (3) $5 per coin for the half-dollar coin, all to be paid to implement the Wounded Warrior Project. The Treasury must act to ensure that coin minting and issuance do not result in any net cost to the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Global Anti-Poaching Act This bill addresses the illegal trade in endangered and threatened wildlife and their related parts and products. The Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other appropriate agencies are urged to: (1) support strengthening existing wildlife enforcement networks and establishing new networks in other appropriate regions, and (2) promote the professionalization of the wildlife law enforcement sector and professional ranger training in partner countries. The State Department: (1) must provide to Congress an annual list of each foreign country that is a major source, transit point, or consumer of wildlife trafficking products; and (2) may withhold certain assistance from countries that have failed to adhere to their obligations under international agreements relating to endangered or threatened species. The President may provide defense articles, services, and related training to security forces of African countries to counter wildlife trafficking and poaching. If a unit of a security force has been found to engage in wildlife trafficking or poaching, the President may not provide such assistance unless the President determines that the government of the country is taking steps to hold the security unit accountable and prevent trafficking and poaching. The bill amends the federal criminal code to make wildlife trafficking violations of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the African Elephant Conservation Act, and the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994 predicate offenses for racketeering and money laundering prosecutions, if such violations involve more than $10,000. Fines and forfeitures from such violations must be transferred to the Multinational Species Conservation Fund and used for the benefit of the species impacted by the violation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act This bill provides $7.5 billion in supplemental FY2016 appropriations to the Department of Transportation for National Infrastructure Investments under a competitive grant program known as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The bill permits the funds to remain available through FY2021. The funding provided by this bill is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Emergency spending is exempt from limits on discretionary spending and other budget enforcement rules. The funding is only available if the President subsequently designates the amount as an emergency and submits the designation to Congress. The funding is also exempt from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985. Sequestration is a process of automatic, usually across-the-board spending reductions under which budgetary resources are permanently cancelled to enforce specific budget policy goals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Generating Renewal, Opportunity, and Work with Accelerated Mobility, Efficiency, and Rebuilding of Infrastructure and Communities throughout America Act or the GROW AMERICA Act Prescribes requirements for environmental reviews with respect to state and federal agency engagement, obstruction of navigation, historic sites, categorical exclusion of multimodal projects from environmental review, and creation in the Department of Transportation (DOT) of an Interagency Infrastructure Permitting Improvement Center. Directs DOT to establish a multimodal freight incentive grant program and a National Freight Infrastructure Program. Redesignates the Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways as the National Highway System and the National Freight Network. Requires the federal long-range transportation plan to include a transportation system resilience assessment. Prescribes criteria for high performing metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) representing urbanized areas with populations of over 200,000. Removes the congestion management process from the transportation planning process for MPOs. Directs DOT to establish a pilot program for up to 10 MPOs to improve multimodal connectivity and increase connections for disadvantaged Americans and neighborhoods with limited transportation options. Revises requirements with respect to congestion mitigation and air quality improvement, including electric vehicle charging stations and commercial motor vehicle anti-idling facilities in rest areas along the Interstate System. Establishes in DOT: a discretionary TIGER Infrastructure Grant Program for various transportation projects; and a discretionary FAST Grant Program to reform the way surface transportation investments and decisions are made, implemented, and funded to achieve national transportation outcomes. Revises requirements for the funding of railroad rehabilitation and improvement financing, the state infrastructure bank program, toll roads, bridges, tunnels, and ferries. Establishes within DOT the position of Assistant Secretary for Innovative Finance. Reauthorizes the federal-aid highway and related programs through FY2021, including revised obligation limitation and apportionment requirements. Directs DOT to: establish a nationally significant federal lands and tribal projects program to fund construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of nationally significant federal lands and tribal transportation projects; carry out a broadband infrastructure deployment initiative; create a program to make critical and immediate improvements to infrastructure and highway safety; set-aside specified funds for states for highway safety data improvement activities on public roads; and create and maintain data sets and data analysis tools to assist MPOs, states, and the DOT in carrying out performance management analyses. Federal Public Transportation Act of 2015 Revises fixed guideway capital investment grants requirements. Authorizes grants to state and local governments for very small starts projects. Revises requirements for formula grants for enhanced mobility and for rural areas, workforce development programs, and the public transportation safety program. Requires recipients of transportation assistance to meet certain standards for hiring locally. Reauthorizes specified public transportation assistance programs through FY2021. Authorizes DOT to make competitive grants to state and local governmental entities for bus rapid transit projects. Authorizes appropriations for specified highway safety programs through FY2021, and revises related requirements. Revises criteria for state graduated driver licensing incentive grants. Adds a 24-7 sobriety program to criteria for state repeat offender and open container laws. Authorizes specified amounts of grant funds to states for distracted driving enforcement. Authorizes appropriations for specified motor vehicle safety programs through FY2021, and increases penalties for safety violations. Revises certain reporting requirements for tire manufacturers. Requires DOT to conduct a pilot grant program to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness for a state process for informing consumers of open motor vehicle recalls at the time of motor vehicle registration. Revises specified requirements for commercial motor vehicle and commercial driver safety. Requires disqualification to operate a commercial motor vehicle for anyone who fails to pay an assessed civil penalty for a motor vehicle safety violation. Revises certain medical and registration requirements for commercial motor vehicle operators. Revises requirements for the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program. Directs DOT to administer a High Priority Program, an innovative technology deployment grant program, and a Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators Grant Program. Authorizes DOT to establish: a motor carrier safety facility working capital fund, and a financial assistance program for commercial driver's license program implementation. Directs DOT to maintain for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration a motor carrier safety advisory committee. Revises requirements for the Unified Carrier Registration System plan. Repeals the authorization for self-insurance by motor carriers. Prescribes notice requirements relating to decisions that electronic logging devices fail to comply with standards. Authorizes DOT to issue regulations: governing contractors that exercise control over motor carrier operations; and requiring motor vehicle employers to track and compensate employees for on-duty, not-driving time. Authorizes DOT, with respect to unsafe conditions or practices in the transportation of hazardous materials (hazmat transportation), to order necessary: operational controls, restrictions, and prohibitions without prior notice or an opportunity for a hearing; and removal, remediation, or disposal of hazardous materials causing unreasonable risk of death, personal injury, or significant harm to the property or the environment. Authorizes DOT to collect reasonable fees for the administration of the special permits and approvals for deposit into a Hazardous Materials Approvals and Permits Fund. Revises requirements for planning and training grants under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986. Reauthorizes the program for regulating hazmat transportation through FY2021. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2023 specified highway-related taxes as well as requirements for expenditures from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund. Replaces the Highway Trust Fund with a Transportation Trust Fund, and authorizes appropriations to it through FY2021. Directs DOT to establish and support a National Cooperative Freight Transportation Research Program and a Priority Multimodal Research Program. Revises the competitive selection process for the university transportation centers consortia program. Requires the Director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to create data sets and data analysis tools for intermodal transportation data. Establishes in the BTS a National Transportation Library. Authorizes the BTS Director to establish a Port Performance Statistics Program to provide nationally consistent measures of performance of the nation's maritime ports. Revises requirements for the intelligent transportation system (ITS) program. Includes as an ITS program goal the development and deployment of automated vehicles in all modes of surface transportation. Prescribes requirements for the use of funds to develop ITS infrastructure, equipment, and systems. Rail for America Act Directs DOT to facilitate by financial assistance the establishment of a National High-Performance Rail System of integrated passenger and freight rail services, including a Current Passenger Rail Service Program and a Rail Service Improvement Program. Authorizes appropriations through FY2021 for the System and for the planning, development, construction, and implementation of rail corridors and related infrastructure improvements. Requires Amtrak to submit to the Secretary draft 5-year business line plans and draft 5-year capital asset plans. Authorizes DOT to establish Regional Rail Development Authorities, including a Regional Committee, to facilitate the development of multi-state high-performance rail services, and to coordinate these investments with other rail, transit, highway, and aviation system services. Prescribes requirements for the standardization of passenger equipment and level-entry boarding platforms. Directs DOT to: evaluate the shared-use of right-of-way by passenger and freight rail systems and the operational, institutional, and legal structures that would best support improvements to both of these systems; and conduct a nationwide disparity and availability study to establish the availability and utilization of small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in publicly funded railroad projects. Requires DOT to complete a National Rail Development Plan meeting certain criteria, and facilitate development of Regional Rail Development Plans. Authorizes DOT to prescribe regulations or issue orders to require host railroads for joint operations that occur within a small geographic area to develop unified rules governing all operations within that area. Revises or prescribes requirements relating to positive train control, hours of service, maximum employee duty hours, safety appliances, locomotive inspections, noise emission standards, and damaged track inspection equipment. Authorizes federal agency heads to construct, install, operate, and maintain electric charging infrastructure for official agency vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
21st Century Cures Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through FY2018. The NIH Innovation Fund is established to fund a strategic plan, early stage investigators, and high-risk, high-reward research. The NIH may require scientific data to be shared if the research is fully funded by the NIH. The NIH and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must implement a system that allows further research on clinical trial data. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must expand surveillance of neurological diseases. The Council for 21st Century Cures is established to accelerate the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative cures, treatments, and preventive measures. The Department of Health and Human Services must monitor the use of antibacterial and antifungal drugs and resistance to these drugs. Requirements are established for interoperability and certification of health information technology. Practices that discourage the exchange of electronic health information are prohibited. This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the drug approval process, including by: (1) allowing patient experience data to be considered in the risk-benefit assessment of a new drug, (2) requiring the FDA to qualify drug development tools, (3) allowing the FDA to rely upon data previously submitted for a different purpose to expedite the development of certain drugs, and (4) establishing a streamlined data review program for approval of a drug for an additional indication. Manufacturers and distributors of investigational drugs for serious conditions must publish their policies on compassionate use requests. The marketing exclusivity period is extended by six months for a drug approved for a new indication that is a rare disease or condition. The priority review voucher program for rare pediatric diseases is revised and extended. The FDA must: (1) establish a program for priority review of breakthrough medical devices, (2) identify types of devices that do not require a report preceding introduction, and (3) rely on a third-party to determine the safety and effectiveness of changes to medical devices. Regarding medical devices, this bill defines “valid scientific evidence” and makes changes to classification panels and the humanitarian device exemption. “Health software” is defined and, with certain exceptions, exempted from FDA regulations. This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to: (1) increase certain payments for new antimicrobial drugs, (2) establish a payment methodology for certain medical devices, and (3) publish online estimated payments for certain outpatient items and services. A pharmaceutical and technology ombudsman within the CMS must respond to complaints from manufacturers of medical products. Medicare prescription drug plan sponsors may limit the access of certain beneficiaries to frequently abused drugs. This bill amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to allow exported controlled substances to be re-exported within the European Economic Area.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2015
Treat and Reduce Obesity Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in addition to qualified primary care physicians and other primary care practitioners, to cover intensive behavioral therapy for obesity furnished by: (1) a physician who is not a qualified primary care physician; (2) an evidence-based, community-based HHS-approved lifestyle counseling program; or (3) any other appropriate health care provider (including a physician assistant, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, a clinical psychologist, and a registered dietitian or nutrition professional). Allows coverage of intensive behavioral therapy for obesity furnished by another appropriate health care provider or program only if it is furnished: (1) upon referral from, and in coordination with, a physician or primary care practitioner in a primary care or other HHS-specified setting; and (2) in an office setting, a hospital outpatient department, a community-based site that complies with the federal regulations concerning the privacy of individually identifiable health information, or another HHS-specified setting. Authorizes HHS to cover under Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) medication for treatment of obesity or for weight loss management for an overweight individual with one or more related comorbidities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2015
Global Respect Act Directs the President to submit to Congress a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible, or acted as an agent, for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against an individual in a foreign country based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Makes a listed foreign person ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States. Requires revocation of any visa issued for such person. Authorizes the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive such prohibition if in U.S. national security interests or if necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Requires congressional notification prior to any such waiver. Directs the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions in the annual country reports on human rights practices.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2015
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 · 14 May 2015
United States International Communications Reform Act of 2015 Revises U.S. international broadcasting and communications structures, missions, and objectives. Requires U.S. international broadcasting to incorporate specified standards. Establishes the United States International Communications Agency (USICA), consisting of the Voice of America (VOA) and the offices of the International Broadcasting Bureau. Directs USICA and the Freedom News Network (FNN) to ensure that U.S. international broadcasting is conducted only to countries and regions that: (1) lack democratic rule and domestic media that provides accurate news, and (2) would benefit U.S. national security. Expresses the sense of Congress that VOA: (1) has been an indispensable element of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy efforts, and (2) would benefit from a recalibration of federal international broadcasting agencies and resources. Requires VOA to adhere to specified principles and carry out specified duties and responsibilities. Requires Radio Marti and Television Marti, which constitute the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, to: (1) continue programming and content production consistent with their mission under the Radio Broadcasting to Cuba Act and the Television Broadcasting to Cuba Act, and (2) continue to exist within VOA. Requires USICA and FNN to consult with the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in order to assess international developments. Repeals the United States International Broadcasting Act of 1994. Expresses the sense of Congress that RFE/RL, Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated share a common mission with distinct geographic foci, and should therefore be merged into a single organization with distinct marketing brands to provide news and related programming and content in countries where free media are not established. Consolidates RFE/RL Incorporated, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Incorporated into FNN to carry out all international broadcasting activities supported by the U.S. government. Retains the brand names of the individual grantees. Specifies FNN standards and principles, including consistency with broad U.S. foreign policy objectives. Directs USICA and FNN to establish procedures to vet and monitor employees for affiliations to terrorist organizations, foreign governments to protect against espionage, sabotage, foreign propaganda messaging, and other subversive activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Police Training and Independent Review Act of 2015 Requires states receiving funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Program, the Local Government Law Enforcement Block Grants Program, or the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to: (1) require all individuals enrolled in an academy of a law enforcement agency and all law enforcement officers of the state to fulfill a training session on sensitivity each fiscal year, including training on ethnic and racial bias, cultural diversity, and police interaction with the disabled, mentally ill, and new immigrants; and (2) certify to the Attorney General that such training sessions have been completed. Subjects a state that fails to comply to a reduction of up to 20% of such funds that would otherwise be allocated to the state. Authorizes the Attorney General to waive such requirements if compliance would violate a state's Constitution. Directs the Attorney General to reduce by 20% the amount that would otherwise be awarded to a state or local government under such grant programs for a fiscal year if it fails to enact or have in effect by the end of the previous fiscal year a statute requiring the appointment of an independent prosecutor to conduct any criminal investigation and prosecution in which: (1) one or more of the possible defendants is a law enforcement officer, (2) one or more of the alleged offenses involves the law enforcement officer's use of deadly force in the course of carrying out that officer's duty, and (3) the law enforcement officer's use of deadly force resulted in a death or injury.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally engaging in animal crushing in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. (Current law prohibits knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video.) Adds exceptions for conduct that is for predator or pest control, medical or scientific research, or necessary to protect the life or property of a person from a serious threat caused by an animal.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2015
Eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. Declares that such amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2015
Stop Online Ammunition Sales Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the licensing of ammunition dealers. Prohibits any person except a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from: (1) selling ammunition, with an exception for a sale of ammunition to a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer; or (2) engaging in the business of importing or manufacturing ammunition, or in the course of such business, from shipping, transporting, or receiving ammunition. Prohibits a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer from: (1) transferring ammunition to a person unless the licensee, in the physical presence of the person, has verified the person's identity by examining a valid identification document containing a photograph of such person; or (2) selling or delivering any ammunition (currently, any armor-piercing ammunition) to any person unless the licensee notes in his records the person's name, age, and place of residence, if the person is an individual, or the person's identity and principal and local places of business, if the person is a business entity. Applies prohibitions applicable to the shipping or transport of firearms, and record-keeping requirements applicable to the importation, production, shipment, receipt, sale, or other disposition of firearms, to ammunition. Requires each licensee to: (1) prepare a report of multiple sales or other dispositions whenever the licensee sells or otherwise disposes of more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition to an unlicensed person at one time or during any five consecutive business days; and (2) forward such report to the specified office and to the department of state police, the state law enforcement agency, or the local law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the sale took place by the close of business on the day the multiple sale occurs.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2015
Global Health Innovation Act of 2015 This bill directs the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to report annually to Congress on the development and use of global health innovations in USAID programs, projects, and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2015
Recognizes the National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges that children face in the foster-care system and supports the designation of National Foster Care Month.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2015
Protecting Domestic Violence and Stalking Victims Act Amends federal firearms provisions to expand the definition of: (1) "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner; and (2) "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include a misdemeanor offense that has, as an element, the use or attempted use of force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon by a dating partner or former dating partner against the victim. Prohibits the sale or other disposition of a firearm or ammunition to, or the possession or receipt of a firearm by, a person who: (1) is subject to a court order, or an ex parte order, that restrains such person from harassing, stalking, threatening, or engaging in other conduct that would put an individual in reasonable fear of bodily injury, including an order issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student, or from intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court; or (2) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of stalking under federal, state, territorial, or tribal law or of a crime that involves conduct that would be proscribed by prohibitions against stalking if committed within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Walter Patterson and Werner Foerster Justice and Extradition Act Directs the President to report annually to Congress regarding: (1) the number of fugitives and others residing in other countries for whom the United States is seeking extradition or rendition, together with a list of those countries; (2) U.S. diplomatic and other efforts to secure such fugitives' return; (3) the average length of time these cases have been outstanding; (4) the number of satisfactorily resolved cases; (5) factors that have been barriers to case resolution; and (6) information on the number of U.S. citizens whose extradition has been sought by other countries during the past five years, a list of those countries seeking extradition, and the outcomes of those requests.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Raise the Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.00 an hour on January 1, 2016, or, if later, on the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act; (2) $9.00 an hour after one year; (3) $10.00 an hour after two years; (4) $11.00 an hour after three years; (5) $12.00 an hour after four years; and (6) the amount the Department of Labor determines (based on increases in the median hourly wage of all employees) after five years, and annually thereafter. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees shall increase to $3.15 an hour for one year on January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase, according to a specified formula, shall ensure that it remains equal to the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Employers must notify their employees of the right to retain any received tips. The separate minimum wage requirements for tipped employees shall end, effective one day after the hourly wage established for them under this Act takes effect. The Department must publish any increase in the minimum wage in the Federal Register and on the Department's website 60 days before it takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Servicemembers' Choice in Transition Act Directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to permit members of the Armed Forces who are being separated from active duty and their spouses to elect to receive the following types of additional training under the Department of Labor's transition assistance program: preparation for higher education or training, preparation for career or technical training, and preparation for entrepreneurship.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Medicare Audit Improvement Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) with respect to the practices of recovery audit contractors (RACs) under the Medicare program fin identifying underpayments and overpayments and recouping overpayments. Incentive payments to a RAC for recovery activities are prohibited for FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years. Payments for recovery activities shall be reduced, according to a sliding scale established by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to any RAC with a complex audit denial rate at the end of a fiscal year, determined pursuant to a specified formula, that is .1% or greater. The one-year timely filing limit for certain rebilled SSAct title XVIII part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) claims is eliminated, extending the deadline for the rebill to 180 days after final denial of the claim. A determination of whether inpatient hospital services or inpatient critical access hospital services furnished to an individual are reasonable and necessary shall now be based solely on information available to the admitting physician at the time of the inpatient admission of the individual for such services, as documented in the medical record.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to distribution of additional resident positions as they affect calculation of payments for direct graduate medical education costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for each of FY2017-FY2021 (and each succeeding fiscal year if additional residency positions are available to distribute), to increase the otherwise applicable resident limit for each qualifying hospital. Directs the Secretary to determine the total number of additional residency positions available for distribution, in accordance with guidelines for allocating 33% to hospitals already operating over the resident limit, and generally setting the aggregate number of increases in the resident limit to 3,000 in each year. Specifies the process for distributing positions. Declares that, for discharges occurring on or after July 1, 2017, the indirect teaching adjustment factor, with respect to additional payments for subsection (d) hospitals with indirect costs of medical education, insofar as those additional payments are attributable to resident positions distributed to a hospital according to such process, shall be computed in a specified manner with respect to those resident positions. (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute care hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Directs the National Health Care Workforce Commission established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to study the physician workforce. Directs the Comptroller General to study strategies for increasing the diversity of the health profession workforce.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2015
Generational Residences and Nurturing Dwellings Act or the GRAND Ac t Establishes in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a program to provide assistance for each fiscal year to up to five eligible nonprofit organizations to expand the supply of specialized housing and social services for qualified elderly relatives, age 60 or older, who are raising a child of whom they are not a parent either by blood or marriage. States that nothing in this Act shall preclude a recipient of such assistance from applying for or receiving financial assistance under any other HUD program. Provides such assistance in the form of: financing for the construction, reconstruction, moderate or substantial rehabilitation, or acquisition of a structure or a portion of a structure to be used as specialized housing; tenant-based rental (voucher) assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937 for entities meeting certain criteria for use only by qualified relatives who are raising a child and are eligible for such assistance for rental of a dwelling unit that qualifies as specialized housing; elderly housing project rental assistance under the Housing Act of 1959 for entities entities meeting certain criteria in connection with dwelling units that qualify as specialized housing and are made available for occupancy only by qualified relatives who are raising a child and are eligible for occupancy in such housing; and help with ongoing operational expenses of any specialized housing, including costs of supportive services required for such housing.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
SAFE Transitional Licensing Act of 2015 This bill amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to provide a temporary license of 120 days for registered loan originators: (1) moving from a financial institution to a state-licensed non-bank originator, or (2) moving interstate to a state-licensed loan originator in another state. Any person registering a registered loan originator with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry shall be subject to this Act and to applicable state law to the same extent as if that registered loan originator was licensed and registered as a state-licensed loan originator.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Iran should release all detained U.S. citizens and provide any information it possesses regarding any U.S. citizens who have disappeared within its borders.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2015
Expresses deepest condolences to and solidarity with the people of Nepal following the devastating earthquake on April 25, 2015. Supports the Administration's efforts to coordinate an immediate U.S. humanitarian response. Commends the efforts and honors the sacrifice of the men and women engaged in the response, including the citizens and government of Nepal, the United States, and international humanitarian and nongovernmental organizations. Urges the Administration, in coordination with the government of Nepal and other donors, to provide emergency relief and reconstruction efforts in Nepal.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2015
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans).
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 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 Edwin Cole "Ed" Bearss in recognition of his contributions to the preservation of American Civil War history and his continued efforts to bring our nation's history alive for new generations through his interpretive storytelling.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. The nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board must include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole menu item; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per common unit of the item, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Nutritional information may be provided solely by a remote-access menu (e.g., an Internet menu) for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises. Establishments with self-serve food may comply with the requirements for restaurants or place signs with nutritional information adjacent to each food item. An establishment’s nutrient content disclosures have a “reasonable basis” if they are within acceptable allowances for variation, including variations in serving size or ingredients and inadvertent human error in formulation. Establishments with standard menu items that come in different flavors, varieties, or combinations, that are listed as a single menu item can determine and disclose nutritional information using specified methods or methods allowed by the Food and Drug Administration. Regulations pursuant to this Act or the clause amended by this Act cannot take effect earlier than two years after final regulations are promulgated pursuant to this Act. Nutritional information disclosure requirements apply to establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
College Options for DREAMers Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow Dreamer students to receive federal financial aid for higher education. A "Dreamer student" is an individual who was under age 16 upon entering this country, has provided a list of secondary schools the individual attended in this country, and, in this country: has earned a high school diploma or the equivalent, is scheduled to complete the requirements for a high school diploma or equivalent before the next academic year begins, has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education, has successfully completed at least two years of a program for a baccalaureate or higher degree, is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or has served honorably in the uniformed services for at least four years. The Department of Education must provide for a hardship exception to the age and secondary school list requirements. States are allowed to offer unlawful aliens postsecondary benefits on the basis of their residence in the state (e.g., in-state tuition).
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Year-Round Pell Grant Restoration Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to award an additional Pell Grant to a student who has received a Pell Grant for an award year and is enrolled in a program of study for payment periods during the same award year that are not covered by the Pell Grant. The total amount of the Pell Grants awarded to such a student for the award year may exceed the total maximum Pell Grant.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Pell Grant Cost of Tuition Adjustment Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to set the maximum Pell Grant at a specified amount, increased for inflation each year, plus any additional amount specified in the last enacted appropriation Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Pell Grant Protection Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to appropriate for each fiscal year beginning with FY2016 the funding necessary to provide each eligible student with the maximum Pell Grant amount, minus the student's expected family contribution. (Currently, funds for the Pell Grant program come from a combination of mandatory and discretionary spending. This bill converts the Pell Grant program into a mandatory spending program.)
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Veterans Conservation Corps Act of 2015 Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a veterans conservation corps to assist unemployed veterans in the transition from service in the Armed Forces to civilian life and to employ such veterans: (1) in conservation, resource management, firefighting, law enforcement, and historic preservation projects on public lands; (2) in maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and (3) as firefighters, law enforcement officers, and disaster relief personnel. Requires priority to be given to the employment of veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Requires, as part of the veterans conservation corps: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to award grants under the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to hire veterans as firefighters, (2) the Attorney General to award grants under the public safety and community policing grant program (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program) under the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to hire veterans as law enforcement officers, and (3) the DHS Secretary to provide funds to increase participation by veterans in the Federal Emergency Management Agency Corps program. Authorizes the VA Secretary to transfer amounts to carry out the corps to the Attorney General, the Chief of Engineers, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, DHS, and the Interior. Directs the VA Secretary to establish a steering committee to establish selection criteria for, and provide advice to the VA Secretary on, the awarding of assistance under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act or the COAST Anti-Drilling Act Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease or other authorization for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in either the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, or the North Atlantic planning areas.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem equine (horses and other members of the equidae family) parts to be an unsafe food additive or animal drug. Prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of human consumption.