United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Boys Town Centennial Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue up to 50,000 $5 gold coins, 350,000 $1 silver coins, and 300,000 half-dollar clad coins to commemorate the centennial of the founding of Father Flanagan's Boys Town. Requires the design of the coins to be emblematic of the 100 years of Boys Town, one of the largest nonprofit child care agencies in the United States. Permits issuance of such coins only between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2017. Subjects all coin sales to specified surcharges, which shall be paid to Boys Town to carry out its cause of caring for and assisting children and families in underserved communities across America. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) minting and issuing such coins will not result in any net cost to the federal government; and (2) no funds, including surcharges, will be disbursed to Boys Town until the total cost of designing and issuing all authorized coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2015
Ax the Tax on Middle Class Americans' Health Plans Act This bill repeals, effective for taxable years beginning after 2017, the excise tax on the excess benefit portion of high-cost employer-sponsored health care plans (known as Cadillac plans). The reporting requirement for such plans is also repealed for calendar years beginning after 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
National Forest System Trails Stewardship Act Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to publish a national strategy to significantly increase the role of volunteers and partners in trail maintenance. Requires the strategy to: (1) augment and support the capabilities of federal employees to carry out or contribute to trail maintenance; (2) provide opportunities for volunteers and partners to carry out trail maintenance in each region of the Forest Service; (3) address the barriers to increased volunteerism and partnerships; (4) prioritize increased volunteerism and partnerships in those regions with the most severe trail maintenance needs, and where backlogs are jeopardizing access to national forest lands; and (5) aim to increase trail maintenance by volunteers and partners by 100% within 5 years. Directs USDA to study opportunities to improve trail maintenance by addressing opportunities to use fire crews in trail maintenance activities. Deems a volunteer with a partner organization to be considered a federal employee for the purposes of civil claims relating to damage to, or loss of, personal property of a volunteer incident to volunteer services. Sets forth provisions for the selection of priority areas for increased trail maintenance accomplishments. Directs USDA to establish a pilot program to offset all or part of the land use fee for outfitting and guiding permits.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem a hospital or an emergency department and a physician or physician group of a hospital or emergency department to be an employee of the Public Health Service with liability protection provided by the United States for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to providing emergency and post-stabilization services on or after January 1, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to exclude remuneration paid for licensed independent insurance producers from administrative costs for purposes of calculating the medical-loss ratio of a health insurance plan. Defines "independent insurance producer" to mean an insurance agent or broker, insurance consultant, benefit specialist, limited insurance representative, and any other person required to be licensed under state law to sell, solicit, negotiate, service, effect, procure, renew, or bind policies of insurance coverage or offer advice, counsel, opinions, or services related to insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2015 or the DOTCOM Act of 2015 Prohibits the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information from relinquishing or agreeing to any proposal relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) over Internet domain name system functions until the Government Accountability Office (GAO), within one year after the NTIA receives a relinquishment proposal developed in a process convened by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers at the request of the NTIA, submits a report to Congress regarding the NTIA's role with respect to the system. Requires the GAO's report to include: (1) advantages and disadvantages of such a relinquishment of the NTIA's responsibility; (2) any principles or criteria that the NTIA sets for relinquishment proposals, as well as an analysis of each proposal received by the NTIA; (3) the processes used by the NTIA and any other federal agencies for evaluating proposals; (4) any national security or network security concerns; and (5) a definition of "multistakeholder model" as used by the NTIA with respect to Internet policymaking and governance.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the caps on Medicare outpatient rehabilitation physical therapy services and speech-language pathology services.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Fair Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act or the Fair BEER Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the excise tax on beer brewed or produced, and removed for consumption or sale, within the United States or imported into the United States. The revised tax ranges from $0 for an amount not exceeding 7,143 barrels to $18 per barrel on an amount exceeding 2 million barrels.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Federal Communications Commission Consolidated Reporting Act of 2015 Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to replace various reporting requirements with a communications marketplace report that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is required to publish on its website and submit to Congress every two years assessing: (1) competition in the communications marketplace; (2) deployment of communications capabilities, including whether advanced telecommunications capability is being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion; and (3) whether laws, regulations, or regulatory practices pose a barrier to competitive entry or expansion of existing providers of communications services. Requires the report to describe the FCC's actions in the marketplace and its agenda for the next two years. Directs the FCC to: (1) compile a list of geographic areas that are not served by any provider of advanced telecommunications capability; and (2) consider market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and small businesses in accordance with national policy favoring diversity of media voices, competition, technological advancement, and promotion of the public interest, convenience, and necessity. Requires the FCC's competition assessments to include the aggregate average total amount paid by cable systems for retransmission consent. Repeals or consolidates various reports of the FCC and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including reports on satellite competition, international broadband, video programming, cable industry prices, small business entry barriers, commercial mobile radio, services to minority and diverse audiences, waivers from requirements prohibiting FCC employees from being financially interested in companies subject to FCC regulation, and several other existing reports under such Act. Amends the Telecommunications Act of 1996 to require the FCC to determine from the communications marketplace report every two years (currently, in an inquiry initiated each year) whether it must act immediately to accelerate deployment of advanced telecommunications capabilities, particularly in elementary and secondary schools, by removing barriers to infrastructure investment and promoting competition.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2015
Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2015 Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the ambulance fee schedule to: (1) increase the conversion factor for ground ambulance services in the formula for determining the appropriate fee, and (2) increase the mileage rate for such services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study how the conversion factor should be modified, if at all, to take into account the cost of providing ambulance services in urban, rural, and super-rural areas. Directs the Secretary to establish a process to determine, in advance of furnishing end stage renal disease ambulance services, whether payment for them may not be made because they are not covered or because they are excluded from coverage. Prohibits any payment unless the Secretary determines, pursuant to this process, that the service meets coverage requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop a data collection system for ambulance providers to collect cost, revenue, utilization, and other appropriate information.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2015 Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Steve Gleason Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover as durable medical equipment any eye tracking and gaze interaction accessories for speech generating devices furnished to individuals with a demonstrated medical need for them. Payment for speech generating devices or accessories shall be made on a rental basis, or in a lump-sum amount for the purchase of the item, without a cap on the amount.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Stop Targeting of Political Beliefs by the IRS Act of 2015 Requires the Internal Revenue Service standards and definitions in effect on January 1, 2010, for determining whether an organization qualifies for tax-exempt status as an organization operated exclusively for social welfare to apply to such determinations after enactment of this Act. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury, or any delegate of the Secretary, from issuing, revising, or finalizing any regulation (including proposed regulations), revenue ruling, or other guidance not limited to a particular taxpayer relating to such standards and definitions. Terminates this Act after December 31, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from: developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule entitled, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," issued on April 21, 2014, or the proposed guidance entitled, "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected By the Clean Water Act," dated February 17, 2012; or using the proposed rule or proposed guidance, any successor document, or any substantially similar proposed rule or guidance as the basis for any rulemaking or decision regarding the scope or enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). The Army Corps and the EPA must withdraw the interpretive rule entitled, "Notice of Availability Regarding the Exemption from Permitting Under Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act to Certain Agricultural Conservation Practices," issued on April 21, 2014. The Army Corps and the EPA are required to consult with relevant state and local officials to develop recommendations for a regulatory proposal that would identify the scope of waters covered under the Clean Water Act and the scope of waters not covered.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2015
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2015 Amends the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of "marihuana." Defines "industrial hemp" to mean the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-nine tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. Deems Cannabis sativa L. to meet that concentration limit if a person grows or processes it for purposes of making industrial hemp in accordance with state law.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2015 States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process by requiring Congress to approve all new major regulations. Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule. Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement. Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. Requires the introduction of a joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. Prohibits any amendments to such a joint resolution at any stage of the legislative process. Provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval and requires a vote on such resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the resolution. Allows a court to review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this Act for a rule to take effect. Limits the effect of a joint resolution of approval of a major rule. Prohibits an agency from allowing a major rule to take effect without the congressional review procedures set forth in this Act. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this Act affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Nurse Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Chief Nurse Officer of the Public Health Service as the National Nurse for Public Health within the Office of the Surgeon General. Includes among the duties of this position: (1) providing leadership and coordination of Public Health Service nursing professional affairs for the Office of the Surgeon General and other agencies of the Public Health Service, (2) conducting outreach and education, and (3) providing guidance and leadership for activities that will increase public safety and emergency preparedness. Requires the National Nurse for Public Health to: (1) participate in identification of national health priorities, (2) encourage volunteerism of nurses and strengthen the relationship between government agencies and health-related national organizations, and (3) promote the dissemination of evidence-based practice in educating the public on health promotion and disease prevention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2015
National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. Limits the minting of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2017. Prescribes surcharges for coin sales, which shall be paid to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc., to help finance the construction of a new building and renovation of existing National Purple Heart Hall of Honor facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act Amends federal military retired pay provisions to: (1) permit veterans with a service-connected disability of less than 50% to concurrently receive both retired pay and disability compensation; (2) eliminate provisions requiring a phase-in between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, of concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation; (3) eliminate a phase-in of concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation for disabled veterans determined to be individually unemployable; and (4) require a limited reduction in retired pay for qualified disability retirees with less than 20 years of retirement-creditable service.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Retired Pay Restoration Act Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (under current law, only a disability rated at 50% or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2015
Advancing Research for Neurological Diseases Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to: (1) enhance and expand infrastructure and activities to track the epidemiology of neurological diseases, including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease; and (2) incorporate information obtained through those activities into a National Neurological Diseases Surveillance System. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure that the System facilitates further research on neurological diseases. Requires HHS to provide for the collection and storage of information on neurological diseases, including the incidence, prevalence, and other information, to the extent practicable. Requires HHS to: (1) make information and analysis in the System available to federal agencies and to the public, including researchers; and (2) ensure that privacy and security protections applicable to the System are at least as stringent as the protections under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2015
Amends the Indian Reorganization Act to make it applicable to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when any tribe became recognized. (This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that the Secretary of the Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Act was enacted.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2015
Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act or the Small BREW Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the rate of the excise tax on beer produced within or imported into the United States for brewers who produce not more than 6 million barrels of beer a year.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2015
Medgar Wiley Evers Congressional Gold Medal Act Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal in commemoration of Medgar Wiley Evers, in recognition of his contributions and sacrifice in the fight for racial equality in the United States. Requires the medal, following its award, to be given to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, where it is to be available for display or temporary loan to be displayed elsewhere.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Hire More Heroes Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to add a provision to exempt any employee with coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense, including the TRICARE program, or by the Veterans Administration, from classification as an eligible employee of an applicable large employer for purposes of the employer mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide such employees with minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on medical device manufacturers and importers.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access hospital services under which a physician must certify that a patient may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Save American Workers Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to change the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act from an employee who is employed on average at least 30 hours of service a week to an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Wildfire Disaster Funding Act This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2015-FY2022 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at the Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Department of the Interior. If USDA or Interior determines that supplemental appropriations are necessary for wildfire suppression operations, the bill requires the relevant department to submit to Congress a request for the funding and a plan for obligating the funds. The bill also requires the President's budget to include the average costs for wildfire suppression over the previous 10 years.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays for a fiscal year from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber. The prohibition excludes outlays for repayment of debt principal and receipts derived from borrowing. The amendment requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber of Congress to increase the public debt limit. It requires a majority roll vote of each chamber to increase revenue. It also requires the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Congress is authorized to waive these requirements when a declaration of war is in effect or if the United States is engaged in a military conflict which causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Tax Code Termination Act Terminates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after December 31, 2019, except for self-employment taxes, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, and railroad retirement taxes. Requires a two-thirds majority vote in Congress to change such termination date. Declares that any new federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that: (1) applies a low rate to all Americans, (2) provides tax relief for working Americans, (3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses, (4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment, (5) promotes economic growth and job creation, and (6) does not penalize marriage or families. Requires that the new federal tax system be approved by Congress in its final form by July 4, 2019.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2014
STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Title I: Communications Provisions - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend until December 31, 2019, the exemption from retransmission consent requirements for satellite retransmissions of network station signals to subscribers located outside of a station's local market who reside in unserved households. Extends until January 1, 2020: (1) the prohibition on exclusive retransmission consent contracts, and (2) the requirement that television broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) negotiate in good faith. Allows the FCC, following a written request with respect to a particular commercial television broadcast station, to add communities to or exclude communities from a station's local market. Directs the FCC to afford particular attention to the value of localism by taking into account: (1) whether the station has been carried historically within such community; (2) whether the station provides coverage or other local service to such community; (3) whether modifying the local market of the television station would promote consumers' access to television broadcast station signals that originate in their state of residence; (4) whether any other television station that is eligible to be carried by a satellite carrier in such community covers news, sporting, and other events of interest to the community; and (5) viewing patterns in households that subscribe, and in households that do not subscribe, to MVPD services. Permits the FCC to determine that communities are part of more than one local market. Prohibits the FCC's market determinations from creating additional carriage obligations that are not technically and economically feasible for a satellite carrier by means of its satellites in operation at the time of the determination. Prohibits a satellite carrier from deleting from carriage the signal of a commercial television broadcast station during the pendency of any such proceeding. Directs the FCC to revise regulations governing the exercise by television broadcast stations of the right to grant retransmission consent. Requires such revised regulations to prohibit television broadcast stations, unless such stations are under common de jure control permitted by the FCC, from: (1) coordinating negotiations or negotiating on a joint basis with another television broadcast station in the same local market to grant retransmission consent to an MVPD, and (2) limiting the ability of an MVPD to carry a television signal that has been deemed significantly viewed (or any other television broadcast signal such distributor is authorized to carry under current laws governing the carriage of local, distant, or significantly viewed television signals by satellite carriers or the carriage of local commercial television signals by cable operators) into the local market of such station. Directs the FCC to review its totality of the circumstances test for good faith negotiations. Delays the FCC's amendments to joint sales agreement (JSA) rules under which a television station that sells more than 15% of the weekly advertising time of another station in the same market is attributed an ownership interest subject to ownership limitations. Provides JSA parties an additional six months to comply with the amended rules. Removes a prohibition against deletion or reposition of a local commercial television station during periods in which major television ratings services measure the size of local television station audiences. Terminates, one year after this Act's enactment, the FCC's set-top box integration ban that prohibits MVPDs from placing in service new navigation devices that perform both conditional access and other functions in a single integrated device. Directs the FCC to establish a working group to identify and recommend standards for a not unduly burdensome, uniform, technology-neutral, software-based, downloadable security system that promotes the competitive availability of such devices. Requires a Comptroller General (GAO) report concerning changes to carriage requirements currently imposed on MVPDs that would be required or beneficial to consumers if Congress implemented a phase-out of statutory compulsory licensing procedures under federal copyright law. Directs satellite carriers to submit annual reports to the FCC regarding: (1) the local markets in which television broadcast station signals are retransmitted with a community of license, and (2) the use and potential use of satellite capacity for the retransmission of local signals in each local market. Terminates such reporting requirements after each satellite carrier has submitted five reports. Requires the FCC to submit to Congress: (1) an analysis of consumers' access to broadcast programming from television broadcast stations located outside their local market, (2) alternatives to designated market areas to provide consumers with more programming options, and (3) recommendations to increase localism in counties served by out-of-state designated market areas. Requires the FCC's annual report on cable rates to include the aggregate average total amount that cable systems pay for retransmission consent. Requires the FCC to establish a streamlined process for the filing of effective competition petitions by small cable operators, particularly those that serve primarily rural areas. Title II: Copyright Provisions - Extends until December 31, 2019, the statutory license under which satellite carriers retransmit distant television broadcast stations to viewers who are unable to receive signals for such stations in their local market. Expands the local service area for cable retransmissions of low power television stations. Title III: Severability - Provides that if any provision of this Act is held to be unconstitutional, the other provisions shall not be affected.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
United States Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation Act or the U.S. OUTDOOR Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to provide for the duty-free treatment of certain recreational performance outerwear.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Medicare Ambulance Access, Fraud Prevention, and Reform Act of 2014 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the ambulance fee schedule to: (1) increase the conversion factor for ground ambulance services in the formula for determining the appropriate fee, and (2) increase the mileage rate for such services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to study how the conversion factor should be modified, if at all, to take into account the cost of providing ambulance services in urban, rural, and super-rural areas. Directs the Secretary to establish a process to determine, in advance of furnishing end stage renal disease (ESRD) ambulance services, whether payment for them may not be made because they are not covered or because they are excluded from coverage. Prohibits any payment unless the Secretary determines, pursuant to this process, that the service meets coverage requirements. Directs the Secretary to develop a data collection system for providers and suppliers of ambulance services to collect cost, revenue, utilization, and other appropriate information.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Amends the federal charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to describe the organization as a national association of veterans (currently, an association of men) who, as soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen, served this Nation in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign soil or in hostile waters. Expands its purpose of assisting widows to that of assisting surviving spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2014
Securing Access Via Excellence for Medicare Home Health Act of 2014 or the SAVE Medicare Home Health Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to the prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services, to repeal the rebasing reduction adjustment for 2014 and subsequent years required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Establishes a calendar year 2014 payment adjustment under such PPS. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a detailed analysis of the rebasing reduction in Medicare payments for home health services promulgated under the rule for home health prospective payment system rate update for calendar year 2014. Directs the Secretary to specify a home health all-cause all-condition hospital unplanned readmission measure for readmissions (for any cause) to a hospital for an individual entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) (or enrolled under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medicare Insurance]) and who is receiving post-hospital home health services. Requires this measure to be risk adjusted for potentially preventable readmission to a hospital for such an individual. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish: (1) a Medicare home health agency value-based purchasing program (HHA VBP) under which value-based incentive payments are made in a year to home health agencies, and (2) performance standards for application of the unplanned readmission measure. Directs the Secretary to develop by regulation a methodology for assessing the total performance of each home health agency based on these performance standards. Directs the Secretary to: (1) withhold from the payment rates made for each year for home health services the amount necessary so that enactment of this Act is estimated not to result in any net change in payments made for Medicare services, and (2) provide for a distribution of a portion of those withheld amounts for performance payments to home health agencies. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to review the progress of the HHA VBP and make appropriate recommendations on any improvements that should be made to the program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2014
Waters of the United States Regulatory Overreach Protection Act of 2014 - Prohibits the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from: developing, finalizing, adopting, implementing, applying, administering, or enforcing the proposed rule entitled, "Definition of 'Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act," issued on April 21, 2014, or the proposed guidance entitled, "Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected By the Clean Water Act," dated February 17, 2012; or using the proposed rule or proposed guidance, any successor document, or any substantially similar proposed rule or guidance as the basis for any rulemaking or decision regarding the scope or enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). Requires the Army Corps and the EPA to withdraw the interpretive rule entitled, "Notice of Availability Regarding the Exemption from Permitting Under Section 404(f)(1)(A) of the Clean Water Act to Certain Agricultural Conservation Practices," issued on April 21, 2014. Requires the Army Corps and the EPA to consult with relevant state and local officials to develop recommendations for a regulatory proposal that would identify the scope of waters covered under the Clean Water Act and the scope of waters not covered.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2014
Reaffirms the support of the House of Representatives for Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens. Condemns the unprovoked rocket fire at Israel and calls on Hamas to cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
Sage Grouse Protection and Conservation Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior to give effect to a statewide conservation and management plan for the protection and recovery of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and the Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) from either California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, or Wyoming. Requires the appropriate Secretary to: hold for at least 10 years actions to list the species as endangered or threatened, the enforcement of the listing, and the designation of critical habitat for the species in that state; withdraw any land use planning activities related to federal management of the species on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land within the state; and amend federal land use plans with respect to that state to comply with a state plan. Applies these requirements to states that submit a plan or have a plan previously endorsed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Requires the appropriate Secretary to: (1) review statewide plans to determine if they are likely to conserve the species to the point at which the measures provided pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 are no longer necessary; (2) approve or endorse, or make comments on, statewide plans; and (3) provide states with information and make personnel available to help with plans. Prohibits any proposed action pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that occurs within one of those states from being denied or restricted solely on the basis of such sage-grouse if the action is consistent with a state plan that has been submitted to the appropriate Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2014
STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 (STELA), to extend until December 31, 2019, the exemption from retransmission consent requirements (which prohibit cable systems or other multichannel video programming distributors [MVPDs] from retransmitting broadcasting station signals without the authority of the originating station) for satellite retransmissions of network station signals to subscribers located outside of a station's local market who reside in unserved households (commonly referred to as "distant signals"). Extends until January 1, 2020: (1) the prohibition on exclusive retransmission consent contracts, and (2) the requirement that television broadcast stations and MVPDs negotiate in good faith. Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prohibit television broadcast stations from coordinating their negotiations or negotiating jointly in the same local market to grant retransmission consent to an MVPD, unless such stations are directly or indirectly under common de jure control permitted under FCC regulations. Establishes a process to delay application of the FCC's amendments to joint sales agreement (JSA) rules under which a television station that sells more than 15% of the weekly advertising time of another station in the same market is attributed an ownership interest subject to ownership limitation rules. Prohibits a JSA party that submits a petition to the FCC for a waiver of such attribution rules from being considered in violation of ownership limits until the later of: (1) 18 months after the FCC denies such petition, or (2) December 31, 2016. (Currently, the FCC requires compliance with ownership limits within two years of the FCC's order adopting such amended attribution rules.) Removes a prohibition against deletion or reposition of a local commercial television station during periods in which major television ratings services measure the size of local television station audiences (commonly referred to as "sweeps" weeks). Repeals an integration ban that prohibits certain MVPDs from placing in service new navigation devices (set-top boxes) for sale, lease, or use that perform both conditional access (mechanisms that provide for selective access and denial of specific services and can prevent a signal from being received by unauthorized users) and other functions in a single integrated device. Requires a Comptroller General (GAO) report concerning changes to carriage requirements currently imposed on MVPDs that would be required, or beneficial to consumers, if Congress implemented a phase-out of statutory compulsory licensing procedures (a licensing and royalty distribution system administered by the U.S. Copyright Office under which cable and satellite operators may retransmit programming, without negotiating with every copyright holder, by paying licensing royalties at statutorily-defined rates determined by Copyright Royalty Judges or by using a royalty-free license for the retransmission of local broadcasts) under federal copyright law. Directs satellite carriers to submit annual reports to the FCC regarding: (1) the local markets in which television broadcast station signals are retransmitted with a community of license, and (2) the use and potential use of satellite capacity for the retransmission of local signals in each local market. Terminates such reporting requirements after each satellite carrier has submitted five reports.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2014
Insurance Capital Standards Clarification Act of 2014 - Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act concerning establishment of minimum leverage and minimum risk-based capital requirements on a consolidated basis for a depository institution holding company or a nonbank financial company supervised by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board). States that federal banking agencies shall not be required to subject any person to such minimum capital requirements, to the extent that such person either: (1) acts in its capacity as a regulated insurance entity regulated by a state insurance regulator, or (2) is a regulated foreign subsidiary engaged in the business of insurance (including a regulated foreign affiliate of such subsidiary). Exempts from any requirement to prepare holding company financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles any Board-supervised depository institution holding company or nonbank financial company that is also a person regulated by a state insurance regulator or a regulated foreign subsidiary (or a regulated foreign affiliate) that files its holding company financial statements using only Statutory Accounting Principles in accordance with state law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2014
Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014 - Amends the Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (TPA) to revise qualifications requirements for members of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for Travel Promotion. Revises requirements for the Corporation's annual report to the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to require a description of and rationales for: (1) the Corporation's efforts to focus on specific countries and populations, and (2) its combination of media channels employed in meeting the promotional objectives of its marketing campaign. Directs the Corporation and the Secretary (or their designees) to meet biannually to review procedures to determine the fair market value of goods and services received by the Corporation from non-federal sources. Reduces from 80% to 75% the percentage of the fair market value of those goods and services the Corporation may receive from non-federal sources each fiscal year, increasing from 20% to 25% the federal matching rate. Includes U.S. territories among the states and the District of Columbia whose benefit the Corporation's international travel promotion plan must ensure. Extends the TPA and the Corporation through FY2020. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend through FY2020 also the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to charge a fee for use of the electronic travel authorization system to determine, in advance, an alien's eligibility to travel to the United States. Amends the TPA to require the Corporation to establish performance metrics to: (1) measure the impact of its marketing efforts, and (2) demonstrate any cost or benefit to the U.S. economy. Requires the Corporation to report to Congress actions it has taken in response to any recommendations the Government Accountability Office (GAO) might make to it. Requires the Corporation to: (1) establish a competitive procurement process, and (2) certify in its annual report to Congress that any contracts it has entered into were in compliance with that process.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2014
Protecting the Sustainable Use of Spent Grains Act of 2014 - Amends the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act to permit the continued exemption from the Act, as an alcohol-related facility, of a facility that distributes, for use as food for animals, spent grains resulting from the production of alcoholic beverages.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2014
Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) prevent Hezbollah's global logistics and financial network from operating in order to curtail funding of its domestic and international activities; and (2) utilize diplomatic, legislative, and executive avenues to combat Hezbollah's criminal activities in order to block that organization's ability to fund its global terrorist activities. Directs the President to report to Congress: (1) a list of satellite, broadcast, or other providers that knowingly transmit the content of al-Manar TV; and (2) the identity of those providers that have or have not been sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13224. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly: (1) facilitates the activities of Hezbollah or its agents, instrumentalities, affiliates, or successors; (2) facilitates the activities of a person acting on behalf of or owned or controlled by an agent, instrumentality, affiliate, or successor; (3) engages in money laundering to carry out such an activity; (4) facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services to carry out such an activity, including services that involve a transaction of gold, silver, platinum, or other precious metals; or (5) facilitates any of these activities, conspires to facilitate or participate in such an activity, or is owned or controlled by a foreign financial institution that knowingly engages in such an activity. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe reporting, information sharing, and due diligence requirements for domestic financial institutions that maintain a correspondent account or payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements if in the U.S. national security interests, and with congressional notification. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to identify to Congress every 180 days each foreign central bank that carries out an activity prohibited under this Act. Sets forth penalty requirements for specified violations under this Act. Directs the President to designate Hezbollah as: (1) a significant foreign narcotics trafficker if Hezbollah meets meets the criteria set forth under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and (2) a significant transnational criminal organization if Hezbollah meets the criteria set forth under specified executive orders and statutes. Requires the President to report to Congress which of these criteria the President determines that Hezbollah has not met, if it does not. Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress regarding Hezbollah's involvement in the trade in rough diamonds outside of the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme. Declares that nothing in this Act shall apply to authorized U.S. intelligence activities. States that any requirement of this Act shall cease to be in effect 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that Hezbollah: (1) is no longer designated as a foreign terrorist organization; (2) is no longer listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13224 (blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit or support terrorism); and (3) poses no significant threat to U.S. national security, interests, or allies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2014
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Small Business Advisory Board Act - Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to direct the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish a Small Business Advisory Board to: (1) advise and consult with the Bureau in the exercise of the Bureau's functions under the federal consumer financial laws applicable to eligible financial products or services; and (2) provide information on emerging practices of small businesses that provide eligible financial products or services, including regional trends, concerns, and other relevant information. Requires the Director to appoint at least 12 members to such Board.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2014
Alzheimer's Accountability Act of 2014 - Amends the National Alzheimer's Project Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for each fiscal year through FY2025, to submit to the President for review and transmittal to Congress, after reasonable opportunity for comment (but without change) by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services, an annual budget estimate (including regarding personnel needs) for the NIH initiatives under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2014
Domain Openness Through Continued Oversight Matters Act of 2014 or the DOTCOM Act of 2014 - Prohibits the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information from relinquishing or agreeing to any proposal relating to the relinquishment of the responsibility of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) over Internet domain name system functions (including the authoritative root zone file, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority functions, and related root zone management functions) until the Comptroller General (GAO), within one year after the NTIA receives a relinquishment proposal developed in a process convened by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) at the request of the NTIA, submits a report to Congress regarding the role of the NTIA with respect to the Internet domain name system. Requires such GAO report to include: (1) advantages and disadvantages of such relinquishment of NTIA responsibility; (2) any principles or criteria that the NTIA sets for relinquishment proposals, as well as an analysis of each proposal received by the NTIA; (3) the processes used by the NTIA and any other federal agencies for evaluating proposals; (4) any national security concerns; and (5) a definition of "multistakeholder model" as used by the NTIA with respect to Internet policymaking and governance.
![Official portrait of Rep. Walden, Greg [R-OR-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000791_200.jpg)