Electing a Member to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2016
Elects a specified Member to the House Committees on: (1) Science, Space, and Technology; and (2) Small Business.
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![Official portrait of Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001187_200.jpg)
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2,107 records where Rep. Stivers, Steve [R-OH-15] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2016
Elects a specified Member to the House Committees on: (1) Science, Space, and Technology; and (2) Small Business.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5053) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prohibit the Secretary of the Treasury from requiring that the identity of contributors to 501(c) organizations be included in annual returns; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5293) making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2016
Small Business Health Care Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), and other laws to exempt qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) from certain requirements that apply to group health plans. A qualified small employer HRA is offered by employers that have fewer than 50 full-time employees and do not offer group health plans to any of their employees. A qualified small employer HRA must: be provided on the same terms to all eligible employees of the employer; be funded solely by the employer without salary reduction contributions; provide, after an employee provides proof of coverage, for the payment or reimbursement of medical expenses of the employee and family members; and limit annual payments and reimbursements to specified dollar amounts. HRAs that meet these requirements are not considered group health plans and are exempt from various requirements that apply to group health plans, including coverage and cost-sharing requirements. (Under current law, employers that sponsor group health plans that do not meet specified requirements are subject to an excise tax.) Coverage and payments under a qualified HRA are excluded from gross income, unless the employee does not have minimum essential coverage for the month in which the medical care was provided. Employers offering a qualified HRA must notify employees in advance regarding permitted benefits and report benefit information on W-2 forms and to health exchanges. The bill sets forth requirements for determining whether an employee covered under an HRA is also eligible for premium subsidies under PPACA.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2016
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the rules for health savings accounts (HSAs) with respect to catch-up contributions for married couples, medical expenses incurred before an HSA is established, and contribution limits. If both spouses of a married couple have family coverage under a high deductible health plan, each spouse may make catch-up contributions to the same HSA. (Catch-up contributions are additional contributions which individuals who are at least 55 years of age may make to an HSA.) If an HSA is established within 60 days of the beginning of coverage under a high deductible health plan, any distribution from the HSA used to pay a qualified medical expense incurred during that 60-day period after the health coverage began is excludible from gross income. (Under current law, the medical expense must be incurred on or after the date that the HSA is established.) The bill increases the maximum contribution limits for HSAs to equal the maximum for the sum of the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses that may be required to be paid for covered benefits under a high deductible health plan.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2016
Investment Advisers Modernization Act of 2016 This bill directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to amend specified regulations for investment advisers as they apply to private equity firms and private investment funds. A specified regulation regarding books and records that investment advisers must maintain shall be amended to declare that an investment adviser is not required to maintain: any communications or materials (including any made available in a secure electronic or physical data room) used in connection with due diligence for a prospective investment, if the communications or materials are subject to a confidentiality agreement; or any written communications regarding recommendations, advise, purchase or sell orders, or the receipt, disbursement or delivery of funds or securities if they are sent and received only by supervised persons of the investment adviser. The bill revises the disclaimer that, in the case of an investment adviser that is a partnership, an assignment shall not be deemed to result from the death, withdrawal, sale or transfer of minority interests to apply the disclaimer also to minority members, shareholders, for other equity owners of the investment adviser. The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 is amended to repeal the requirement that advisers organized as partnerships notify the other party to an investment adviser contract every time there is a change in the composition of the partnership. The SEC shall waive the application of specified antifraud prohibitions to advisers who advertise exclusively to accredited investors, qualified clients, qualified purchasers, or knowledgeable employees. Another regulation shall declare that an investment adviser is not required to deliver a brochure or brochure supplement to a client that is a limited partnership, limited liability company, or other pooled investment vehicle for which each limited partner, member, or other equity owner has received, before purchasing a security issued by the pooled investment vehicle, a prospectus, private placement memorandum, or other offering document containing (to the extent material to the private fund offering) substantially the same information as would be required by Part 2A or 2B of Form ADV. The SEC must amend a certain regulation regarding Form PF which registered investment advisers with at least $150 million in private funds assets under management must file with the SEC to report information about the private funds that they manage. This amendment shall state that an investment adviser to a private fund is not required to report any information beyond that which is required by sections 1a and 1b of Form PF unless it is a large hedge fund adviser or a large liquidity fund adviser. The SEC shall also amend the regulation requiring that client funds and securities of which an investment adviser has custody are verified by actual examination periodically by an independent public accountant. The current "privately offered securities" exemptions from this custody rule must apply to both certificated and uncertificated securities and exempt special purpose vehicles managed by private fund sponsors and co-investment funds that hold only one investment. The SEC shall amend the proxy voting regulation to waive its application to any voting authority exercised by an investment adviser regarding client securities that are not public securities. On the other hand, the SEC may not: amend a specified regulation to extend its requirements and prohibitions concerning investment company sales literature to offerings of securities issued by private funds, or adopt substantially similar rules applicable to such offerings. This bill shall not apply to advisory services supplied to an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2016
Condemns the Dog Meat Festival in Yulin, China, because it: (1) is a spectacle of extreme animal cruelty, (2) is a commercial activity not grounded in Chinese history, (3) is opposed by a majority of the Chinese people, and (4) threatens global public health. Urges: the government of China and the Yulin authorities to ban the killing and eating of dogs as part of Yulin's festival and to enforce China's food safety laws regulating the processing and sale of animal products and the 2011 Agriculture Ministry of China Regulation on the Quarantine of Dogs at the Place of Origin requiring one certificate for one dog on trans-provincial transport trucks, and the National People's Congress of China to enact an animal anticruelty law that bans the dog meat trade. Affirms the commitment of the United States to the protection of animals and to the progress of animal protection.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2016
Article V Records Transparency Act of 2016 This bill directs the Archivist of the United States to make and transmit to Congress an organized compilation of all applications and rescissions of applications ever made by states under article V of the Constitution to call a convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution. The Archivist: (1) in complying with such requirement, shall use the records contained in the National Archive and Records Administration and attempt to obtain an official copy of any application or rescission that may not be in such records; (2) submit a report on the extent of suspected missing applications or rescissions not included in the compilation; and (3) catalog the applications and rescissions by year of submission and state. The committees on the judiciary in each chamber shall make the applications and rescissions contained in such compilation available on a publicly accessible website and update the compilation as specified. In order to simplify and make uniform the process by which state legislatures make such an application or rescission, Congress recommends that after adoption of an application or rescission by a state legislature, the secretary of state or other state official should submit at least two copies of the measure containing the application or rescission to Congress, one copy addressed to the President of the Senate and one copy to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who: have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution, are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing, are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or are preference eligible veterans. Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Energy Tax Fairness Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax credit for investment in energy property to include qualified high-efficiency linear generator property. A stationary linear generator power plant is an integrated system consisting of translators, cylinders, electricity generating equipment, and associated balance of plant components which converts a fuel or waste heat into electricity for stationary applications. Qualified high-efficiency linear generator property is a stationary linear generator power plant which has: (1) a nameplate capacity of less than 2,000 kilowatts, and (2) an electricity-only generation efficiency of greater than 30%. For high-efficiency linear generator property that is placed in service during the taxable year, the credit for the year may not exceed $1,500 for each 0.5 kilowatt of capacity of the property.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2016
Congratulates David and Valerie Hodge for their successful tenure leading Miami University over the last decade. Recognizes that they leave behind a significant legacy of success that benefitted the lives of countless students and positioned Miami as a premier Ohio institution of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2016
This joint resolution confers honorary U.S. citizenship upon Staff Sergeant Laszlo Holovits, Jr., posthumously.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Reaffirms: that Israel is a major U.S. strategic partner, that it is U.S. policy and law to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge and self-defense capacity, and support of an Israeli tiered missile defense program. Urges finalization of a new Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel. Supports a long-term Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Israel that increases the amount of aid from previous agreements and enhances Israel's military capabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Anti-Pyramid Promotional Scheme Act of 2016 This bill prohibits the establishment, operation, or promotion of a pyramid promotional scheme, which is defined as a plan or operation by which a person gives consideration (money or other thing of value) to a participant in the scheme for the right to receive compensation derived primarily from the participant's introduction of another person into the plan or operation rather than from the sale of products to ultimate users. The bill grants enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission and requires violations to be treated as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
CFPB Dual Mandate and Economic Analysis Act This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to revise the purpose of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) regarding competition in markets for consumer financial products and services. The CFPB shall implement and, where applicable, enforce federal consumer financial law consistently for the purpose of strengthening private sector participation in markets, without government interference or subsidies, to increase competition and enhance consumer choice. The CFPB shall establish an Office of Economic Analysis (OEA) to: review all CFPB proposed guidance, orders, rules and regulations; assess their impact on consumer choice, price, and access to credit products; assess them again after 1, 2, 5, and 10 years; measure the success of the rule, regulation, guidance, or order in solving the problem it was intended to solve when issued; and report on these reviews and assessments in the Federal Register. Before issuing any guidance, order, rule, or regulation, the CFPB shall consider the OEA's review and assessment of it, giving notice and explanation if the CFPB disagrees with the OEA. The CFPB shall also, in each proposed rulemaking, identify the problem the particular rule or regulations is seeking to solve, and specify the metrics by which success in solving the problem will be measured.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2016
Technologies for Energy Security Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credits for residential energy efficient property and investments in energy property. The bill modifies the tax credit for residential energy efficient property to extend through 2021 the credits for expenditures for fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and geothermal heat pump property. For each extended credit, the bill phases out the current credit rate of 30% of expenditures by reducing it to 26% or 22%, depending on the date that the property is placed in service. The bill extends the tax credit for investments in energy property for the following property with construction that begins before January 1, 2022: fiber-optic solar energy property, fuel cell property, microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, small wind energy property, and thermal energy property. The bill phases out the current credit rate of 30% for investments in fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and fiber-optic solar energy property by reducing it to 26% or 22%, depending on the date that the property is placed in service.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016 This bill specifies U.S. objectives regarding international insurance standards. The United States may not agree to, accept, establish, enter into, or consent to the adoption of a final international insurance standard with an international standard-setting organization or a foreign government, authority, or regulatory entity unless certain publication requirements and capital standards are met. Before U.S. adoption of any such international insurance standard the Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in consultation with the state insurance commissioners, shall analyze and report to Congress on the impact of the standard on U.S. consumers and markets and whether any changes in state law will result from such final standard. Congress shall have 90 days to approve or reject the final standard. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is amended to authorize the Independent Member of the Financial Stability Oversight Council to: perform specified consultant duties with international insurance supervisors, international financial stability counterparts, as well as Treasury; attend the Financial Stability Board of The Group of Twenty, and arrange for the attendance and participation at the Board of state insurance commissioners on matters related to insurance and financial stability; and attend, with the U.S. delegation, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and observe and participate at the OECD Insurance and Private Pensions Committee on those same matters. Parties representing the United States at the Financial Stability Board of the Group of Twenty on matters, and in meetings, related to insurance and financial stability shall consult with the state insurance commissioners and seek to include them in those meetings.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2016
Moving to Work Reform and Expansion Act of 2016 This bill amends the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 to revise the public housing/section 8 (rental voucher) Moving to Work demonstration program. The bill makes the program permanent and replaces its current purposes with the purpose to develop measures to promote employment and economic independence for: families with children whose head of household is working, seeking work, or preparing for work; able-bodied individuals; and persons with disabilities who are able to work on a limited basis. Any number of public housing agencies (PHAs) may participate in the program. The plan in a PHA's application to participate shall include criteria for: a speedy process to determine a tenant's temporary hardship exemption from program requirements; and an informal administrative hearing or grievance process, made public on tenant request, before eviction or termination of assistance. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shall establish standards for a 10-year participation by all PHAs that have not been designated as troubled during the most recent two fiscal years. These PHAs must include in their applications lists of innovative proposals designed to reduce the cost and increase the cost-efficiency of housing, and of innovative ways to assist families and accomplish annual goals. HUD shall review and process applications to enable the transition to the program of at least 25 PHAs per year, with reserved spots for small and rural PHAs. Each PHA shall: submit annually to HUD budget plans meeting specified requirements, and hold as many meetings as necessary to give all assisted families a good-faith opportunity to hear and comment on the budget plan and related PHA reports. HUD shall review annually the activities of each participating PHA and determine its impact, effectiveness, and progress toward meeting program goals. HUD shall not terminate the program participation of any PHA except upon certain findings concerning performance, including persistent failure to meet the goals identified in its application or failure to cure a material deficiency in performance. The Government Accountability Office shall review the program every eight years.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2016
This bill bars the Department of Transportation (DOT) from issuing a foreign air carrier permit, or an exemption from certain economic regulations, to furnish foreign air transportation under the United States-European Union-Norway-Iceland Air Transport Agreement of June 21, 2011, unless DOT: finds that issuing the permit or exemption would be consistent with the intent of the parties, set forth in article 17 bis of the agreement, that opportunities created by the agreement do not undermine labor standards or the labor-related rights and principles contained in the parties' respective laws; and imposes conditions on the permit or exemption necessary to ensure that the foreign air transportation furnished complies with the intent of article 17 bis .
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Investing in Opportunity Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the designation of opportunity zones in low-income communities and to provide tax incentives for investments in the zones, including deferring the recognition of capital gains that are reinvested in the zones. Governors may submit nominations for a limited number of opportunity zones to the Department of the Treasury for certification and designation. Governors must give particular consideration to areas that: are currently the focus of mutually reinforcing state, local, or private economic development initiatives to attract investment and foster startup activity; have demonstrated success in geographically targeted development programs such as promise zones, the new markets tax credit, empowerment zones, and renewal communities; and have recently experienced significant layoffs due to business closures or relocations. Treasury must designate zones if a governor fails to submit nominations within a specified period of time. The bill defines opportunity funds as any investment vehicle organized as a corporation or a partnership to invest in opportunity zones that holds at least 90% of its assets in opportunity zone assets. Taxpayers may temporarily defer the recognition of capital gains that are invested in opportunity zones or opportunity funds. Investments that are held for at least five years are eligible for capital gains tax reductions or exemptions, depending on how long the investment is held. Treasury must report to Congress on the opportunity zone incentives enacted in this bill, including an assessment of opportunity fund investments at the national and state levels.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Main Street Fairness Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prevent qualified business income attributed to individuals from being taxed at a higher rate than corporate income. (Under current law, business income attributed to individuals is taxed using individual income tax rates rather than the corporate tax rate.) Qualified business income is all items of income, deduction, loss, or credit properly attributable to the taxpayer from the active conduct of a trade or business, including: a partnership in which the taxpayer holds a capital or profits interest; an S corporation in which the taxpayer is a shareholder; a sole proprietorship or an entity otherwise disregarded as separate from its sole owner, in which the taxpayer is the sole owner; and a trust or estate in which the taxpayer is a beneficiary. Qualified business income does not include any item taken into account in determining net capital gain or the financial services income of partnerships.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1206) to prohibit the hiring of additional Internal Revenue Service employees until the Secretary of the Treasury certifies that no employee of the Internal Revenue Service has a seriously delinquent tax debt, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4885) to require that user fees collected by the Internal Revenue Service be deposited into the general fund of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2016
Free File Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to continue to operate the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Free File Program. The program must work with state government agencies to enhance and expand the use of the program, while continuing to: provide free commercial-type online individual income tax preparation and electronic filing services to the lowest 70% of taxpayers by income; provide all taxpayers (regardless of income) with a basic, online electronic fillable forms utility; and work with the private sector to provide the free tax preparation and electronic filing services. Treasury must work with the private sector through the program to identify and implement innovative new program features to improve and simplify the taxpayer's experience with completing and filing individual income tax returns. The IRS and members of the tax software and electronic industry involved in the program must support and promote improvements within the program by mutually testing, piloting, and offering innovative solutions to: simplify the tax system, reduce compliance and reporting burdens, increase tax return accuracy through financial data authentication, strengthen the tax system against fraud through cybersecurity collaboration, avoid duplication, and maximize the use of electronic technology.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 229 West Main Cross Street, in Findlay, Ohio, as the "Michael Garver Oxley Memorial Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2016
Firearms Transfer Improvement Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to broaden the scope of permissible transfers between a licensed gun dealer and an out-of-state resident. Current law permits a licensed gun dealer to sell or transfer a rifle or shotgun to an out-of-state resident if the transaction occurs in person and complies with applicable laws of both states. This bill permits a licensed gun dealer to sell or transfer a firearm to an out-of-state resident if the transaction occurs in person and complies with applicable laws of the state in which the gun dealer's place of business is located.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
Kevin and Avonte's Law of 2016 Missing Americans Alert Program Act of 2016 This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to revise and rename the Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program as the Missing Americans Alert Program and to reauthorize it through FY2021. It directs the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Assistance to award grants to state and local law enforcement or public safety agencies and nonprofit organizations to prevent wandering and locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities. DOJ must establish and certain grant recipients must comply with standards and best practices related to the use of tracking technology to locate missing individuals with dementia or developmental disabilities. The bill amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to specify that, with respect to training and technical assistance provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, cases involving missing and exploited children include cases involving children with developmental disabilities such as autism.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3340) to place the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the Office of Financial Research under the regular appropriations process, to provide for certain quarterly reporting and public notice and comment requirements for the Office of Financial Research, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3791) to raise the consolidated assets threshold under the small bank holding company policy statement.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2016
Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act This bill declares that the proposed or the final rule of the Department of Labor entitled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees" shall cease to have any force or effect. The rule revises the "white collar" exemption of executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees from minimum wage and maximum hour, or overtime, requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). If the proposed rule is a final rule on the date of enactment of this bill: Labor shall not enforce it based on conduct occurring before that enactment date, an employee shall not have any right of action against an employer for the employer's failure to comply with the final rule at any time before that enactment date, any regulations that were amended by the final rule shall be restored and revived as if the final rule had never taken effect, and nothing in this bill shall be construed to create a right of action for an employer against an employee for the recoupment of any payments made to the employee before the enactment of this bill that were in compliance with that final rule. Labor may promulgate any substantially similar rule only if it has completed certain required actions; but the rule shall not contain any automatic updates to the salary threshold for purposes of exemptions to minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under the FLSA. The requirement that definitions applicable for such exemptions be defined and delimited from time to time by Labor regulations shall be construed to: require Labor to issue a new rule through notice and comment rulemaking for each change in any salary threshold it has proposed; and exclude any rule that would result in changes to any salary threshold for multiple time periods, including through any automatic updating procedure. Labor may not promulgate any final rule that includes any revision to duties tests for exemption from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements unless specific regulatory text for the provision was proposed in the proposed rule.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2016
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify rules for applying the deduction for income from domestic production activities to contract manufacturing or production arrangements. In a contract manufacturing or production arrangement, a person contracts with one or more unrelated persons for the manufacture, production, growth, or extraction of an item of qualifying production property (tangible personal property, computer software, and sound recordings) or film. The qualifying production property must be manufactured, produced, grown, or extracted in whole or significant part within the United States. In an arrangement in which any person makes a substantial contribution through the activities of its employees within the United States to the manufacture, production, growth, or extraction of qualifying production property: (1) the person shall be treated as engaging in the activity, and (2) the domestic production gross receipts of the person shall include the gross receipts received under the arrangement for the activities. The Internal Revenue Service must prescribe regulations that include specified factors for determining a substantial contribution. A person with an economic risk of loss of more than 50% of the direct material costs necessary to the manufacture, production, growth, or extraction of the qualifying production is deemed to make a substantial contribution. The parties to an arrangement may agree in writing to: (1) make only one person eligible for the deduction, or (2) apply the rules retroactively to tax years in which only one person claimed the deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4596) to ensure that small business providers of broadband Internet access service can devote resources to broadband deployment rather than compliance with cumbersome regulatory requirements, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3797) to establish the bases by which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall issue, implement, and enforce certain emission limitations and allocations for existing electric utility steam generating units that convert coal refuse into energy.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2016
Recognizes magic as a rare and valuable art form and national treasure. Supports efforts to make certain that magic is preserved, understood, and promulgated.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2016
Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2016 or the RPM Act of 2016 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to allow the modification of a vehicle's air emission controls if the vehicle is used solely for competition.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2016
Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act This bill amends part A (General Provisions) of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: identify and publish a recommended core set of maternal and infant quality measures for women and children, as specified by the bill; publish an initial core set of any such measures applicable to mothers and infants eligible under Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP); establish a Maternal and Infant Quality Measurement Program; and establish an online clearinghouse of resources for entities working to improve maternity and infant care quality. HHS may make grants to eligible entities for: the development of new state and regional maternity and infant care quality collaboratives; expanded activities of existing collaboratives; and maternity and infant care initiatives within established state and regional quality collaboratives that are not focused exclusively on maternity care. Under current law, HHS must contract with a consensus-based entity to carry out specified duties regarding performance measurement. The bill requires such an entity to facilitate increased coordination and alignment between the public and private sector with respect to quality and efficiency measures.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Preserving Access to CRE Capital Act of 2016 This bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 concerning credit risk retention standards for commercial real estate loans to revise the optional standard that may include retention of the first-loss position by a third-party purchaser that specifically negotiates for the purchase of that first loss position, holds adequate financial resources to back losses, provides due diligence on all individual assets in the pool before issuance of the asset-backed securities, and meets the same standards for risk retention as the federal banking agencies and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) require of the securitizer. The revised specifications for retention of the first-loss position by a third-party purchaser shall mean the permissible risk retention of the first-loss position by a one or two party third-party purchaser, who may hold the retention obligation in either a senior-subordinate structure or pari passu (where two or more assets, securities, creditors or obligations are equally managed without any display of preference), as long as each party meets the requirements expressed above. The bill exempts from risk retention requirements the securitization of a single commercial real estate loan or a group of cross-collateralized or cross-defaulted commercial real estate loans that represent the obligation of one or more related borrowers secured by commercial properties under direct or indirect common ownership or control. The SEC and the federal banking agencies shall jointly maintain specified regulations which exempt qualified commercial real estate loans from risk retention requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2016
Building Rail Access for Customers and the Economy Act or the BRACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax credit for railroad track maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2016
Reducing Unused Medications Act of 2016 This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow a pharmacist to partially fill a prescription for a schedule II controlled substance (such as a prescription opioid painkiller) at the request of a prescribing practitioner or patient. A pharmacist must record the partial filling in the same manner as a full filling, update the record with each partially filled prescription, and notify the prescribing practitioner. The total quantity dispensed in partial fillings must not exceed the total quantity prescribed. The remaining portion of a partially filled prescription may be filled and must be exhausted prior to, or on the same date that such prescription, if fully filled, would have been exhausted.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2016
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 coins, 400,000 $1 coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition and celebration of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The coins shall be in the shape of a dome, and the design on the common reverse of the coins shall depict a basketball. Treasury shall hold a competition to determine the design of the common obverse of the coins, which shall be emblematic of the game of basketball. The bill requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by Treasury to the Hall to fund an endowment for its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2016
This bill makes eligible for TRICARE health care benefits certain National Guard members (and dependents) who are performing disaster response duty, if the performance of such a duty immediately follows a period in which the member served on full-time additional National Guard duty. "Disaster response duty" means duty performed by a member of the National Guard in state status pursuant to an emergency declaration by the state governor (or, for the District of Columbia, by the mayor) in response to a disaster or in preparation for an imminent disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2016
United States Commission on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Act of 2016 This bill establishes the United States Commission on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to investigate and address any practices on the part of OPEC that prevent or reduce competition in the global oil market. The Commission shall be composed of a bipartisan group of 16 experts on energy and related matters chosen by the leadership of both parties in Congress and appointed by the President. All members of the Commission must be U.S. citizens. The bill requires the Commission to: determine whether the anti-competitive behavior of OPEC is designed to disadvantage U.S. oil producers; assess the impact of OPEC's policies on U.S. economic and energy security interests; assess how federal agencies are working to alleviate the potential negative impacts of OPEC's behavior; and produce policy recommendations for tax, trade, defense, diplomacy, and other areas where OPEC's behavior is found to cause adverse impacts. The Commission must submit a report of its findings and recommendations to Congress and the President within 12 months. The Commission shall terminate within 90 days after submission of its report. On receipt of the Commission's report, the President will have 90 days to submit Congress a proposal to implement or respond to the recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2016
This bill amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize Federal Home Loan Banks to make investments related to rural infrastructure development. Federal Home Loan Banks may purchase investment-grade securities from nonmember lenders that are organized as cooperatives, have received financing from the Federal Financing Bank, and have experience providing loans to cooperatives eligible to receive loans from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2016
Protecting Our Security Through Utilizing Right-Sized End-Strength Act of 2016 or the POSTURE Act This bill expresses the sense of Congress that given the uncertain world and the need for trained and ready U.S. land force, the planned drawdown of land forces should be stopped. The bill sets forth: FY2016 Army, Marine Corps, and Selected Reserve strength levels; and Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force permanent active duty end strength minimum levels. Any proposal to lower the end strength levels established by this Act must first be approved by Congress through enactment of a law to that effect.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2016
Protecting the Dignity of Unborn Children Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime to recklessly dispose of or abandon fetal remains in a landfill or in any navigable waters of the United States. The term "fetal remains" means any part (except a cremated part) of a deceased human fetus following an abortion. A violator is subject to a fine, up to three years in prison, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2016
Resist Executive Amnesty on Defense Installations Act or the READI Act This bill prohibits the use of a military installation to house any alien unlawfully present in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2016
Combating BDS Act of 2016 This bill authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit investment of its assets in: (1) an entity that such government determines, using credible information available to the public, engages in a commerce or investment-related boycott, divestment, or sanctions activity targeting Israel; or (2) an entity that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with, such an entity. Such government shall provide written notice to such an entity before applying such a measure. Such a measure by a state or local government is not preempted by any federal law or regulation. The bill applies to measures adopted by a state or local government before, on, or after the date of this Act's enactment. The bill amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to prohibit any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against any registered investment company, or any officer or employee thereof, based solely upon such company divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by persons that such company determines, using credible information available to the public, engage in commerce or investment-related boycotts, divestments, or sanctions activities targeting Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2016
Opposes a new tax on oil. Urges Congress, when considering a tax policy change, to review the detrimental impacts such change would place on industries facing economic difficulties.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2016
Recognizes Black History Month as an important time to acknowledge and reflect on the significant contributions of African-Americans in the nation's history. Honors the contributions of African-American service members, including the 88 who have been awarded the Medal of Honor for military bravery, heroism, and valor.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2016
Promoting Responsible Opioid Prescribing Act of 2016 or the PROP Act of 2016 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude certain pain-related measures for purposes of calculating incentive payments under the value-based purchasing program (VBP). (VBP is a program that links hospital payments to the quality of care provided.) Specifically, VPB measures shall not include measures based on a patient's assessment of: (1) the patient's need for pain medicine during a hospital stay; (2) how often, during the stay, the patient's pain was well controlled; or (3) how often, during the stay, hospital staff did everything they could to help manage the patient's pain.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2016
Do Your Job Act This bill withholds the salaries of Members of a chamber of Congress if the chamber has not considered and voted on final passage of each regular appropriations bill before the beginning of the fiscal year. The salaries are withheld until the earlier of the: (1) the date on which the chamber has considered and held votes on final passage of each of the bills, or (2) the last day of the Congress. In the House of Representatives, consideration of the bills must include permitting Members to offer amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2016
Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More Act of 2016 or the RECLAIM Act of 2016 This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to make specified funds available to the Department of the Interior for each of FY2017-FY2021 for distribution to states and Indian tribes to promote economic revitalization, diversification, and development in economically distressed communities through the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by coal mining carried out before August 3, 1977. The bill prescribes general requirements for projects to reclaim abandoned mine lands and waters that are likely to create favorable conditions for the economic development of the project site or promote the general welfare through economic and community development of the area in which the project is conducted. Any such project shall be located in a community affected by a recent decline in mining. A state or Indian tribe that receives funds under this bill may retain a portion of them as necessary to supplement its acid mine drainage abatement and treatment fund for future operation and maintenance costs for the treatment of acid mine drainage associated with individual projects.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1675) to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise its rules so as to increase the threshold amount for requiring issuers to provide certain disclosures relating to compensatory benefit plans, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 766) to provide requirements for the appropriate Federal banking agencies when requesting or ordering a depository institution to terminate a specific customer account, to provide for additional requirements related to subpoenas issued under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2016
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3700) to provide housing opportunities in the United States through modernization of various housing programs.