United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Secret Science Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support such action is the best available science, specifically identified, and publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results. A covered action includes a risk, exposure, or hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
This bill directs the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the Foot Soldiers who participated in Bloody Sunday, Turnaround Tuesday, or the final Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March during March of 1965, which served as a catalyst for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Welcomes the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his visit to the United States, and awaits his address before a joint session of Congress. Reaffirms the Senate's: (1) commitment to stand with Israel during times of uncertainty, and (2) bipartisan support for the friendship between the people and governments of the United States and Israel. Supports Israel's right to defend itself from threats to its survival.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Reform Act of 2015 or CFPB-IG Act of 2015 Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to repeal the authority of the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to appoint the Inspector General of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Requires the CFPB Inspector General to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act or the RAISE Act Amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that neither its prohibition against interference by an employer with employees' right to bargain collectively, nor the terms of a collective bargaining agreement entered into between employees and an employer after enactment of this Act, shall prohibit an employer from paying an employee higher wages, pay, or other compensation than the agreement provides for.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, who is entitled and not prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence or who is carrying a valid state license or permit to carry a concealed weapon, and who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document, to carry a concealed handgun (which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any state in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Provides that in a state that allows the issuing authority for licenses or permits to carry concealed firearms to impose restrictions on the carrying of firearms by individual license or permit holders, an individual carrying a concealed handgun under this Act shall be permitted to carry it according to the same terms authorized by an unrestricted license or permit issued by such state.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
FLAME Act Amendments of 2015 Amends the FLAME Act of 2009 to revise how the FLAME Funds for the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) are funded. Makes amounts appropriated to a FLAME Fund available to USDA or Interior for wildfire suppression operations if the department concerned notifies the relevant congressional committees that a wildfire suppression event is eligible for funding from the FLAME Fund. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require certain adjustments to discretionary spending limits to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at USDA or Interior. Requires adjustments for fire suppression to be made if all amounts in the FLAME Fund established under the FLAME Act of 2009 have been expended and other specified conditions are met. Amends existing disaster funding adjustments to discretionary spending limits to add provisions related to fire suppression adjustments. Authorizes USDA to conduct projects that involve the management or sale of national forest material within certain National Forest System (NFS) lands. Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to authorize the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to obligate funds to cover any potential cancellation or termination costs (cancellation ceiling) in stages that are economically or programmatically viable with respect to an agreement or contract for a stewardship end result contracting project. Requires the Forest Service and BLM to submit written notice to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget 30 days before entering into a multiyear agreement or contract that includes a cancellation ceiling exceeding $25 million if proposed funding for the costs of cancelling the agreement or contract up to the ceiling is not included. Allows the Forest Service and BLM, if the offset value of the forest products to be removed exceeds the value of the resource improvement treatments, to: (1) use the excess to satisfy any outstanding liabilities for cancelled agreements or contracts; or (2) if there are no such outstanding liabilities, apply the excess to other authorized stewardship projects.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
State Mineral Revenue Protection Act Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior, on the request of a state (other than Alaska) and in lieu of any payments to the state under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (FOGRMA), to convey to the state all right, title, and interest in and to the percentage specified in the FOGRMA for that state of all amounts otherwise required to be paid into the Treasury from sales, bonuses, royalties (including interest charges), and rentals for all public land or deposits located in the state. (Current law requires payment to a state of 50% of all money derived from such sales, bonuses, royalties, and rentals.) Requires any person, after a conveyance under this Act, to pay directly to the state any amount the person owes for which the right, title, and interest has been conveyed to the state. Requires the Secretary to provide prompt notice of any such conveyance, and the duty to make direct payments to the state involved, to each holder of a lease of public land to which this Act applies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2015
Preserving Access to Targeted, Individualized, and Effective New Treatments and Services (PATIENTS) Act of 2015 or the PATIENTS Act of 2015 Prohibits the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from using data obtained from comparative effectiveness research, including any conducted or supported using funds appropriated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or authorized or appropriated under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to deny or delay coverage of an item or service under a federal health care program. Requires HHS to ensure that comparative effectiveness research conducted or supported by the federal government accounts for factors contributing to differences in the treatment response and treatment preferences of patients, including patient-reported outcomes, genomics and personalized medicine, the unique needs of health disparity populations, and indirect patient benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Irrigation Rehabilitation and Renovation for Indian Tribal Governments and Their Economies Act or the IRRIGATE Act Establishes the Indian Irrigation Fund from which the Commissioner of Reclamation may make expenditures to carry out this Act. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit into such Fund for each of FY2015-FY2036 specified amounts of revenues that would otherwise be deposited in the reclamation fund established by the Reclamation Act of 1902. Terminates the Fund on September 30, 2036, and requires the unexpended and unobligated balance to be transferred to the reclamation fund. Directs the Commissioner to establish a program to address the deferred maintenance needs of Indian irrigation projects that: (1) create risks to public or employee safety or natural or cultural resources, and (2) unduly impede the management and efficiency of the Indian irrigation program. Requires the Commissioner to use or transfer specified amounts in the Fund to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) for each of FY2015-FY2036 to carry out maintenance, repair, and replacement activities for Indian irrigation projects in the western United States that are owned by the federal government and managed by BIA and that have deferred maintenance documented. Requires the Commissioner to submit to Congress: (1) programmatic goals to carry out this Act that would enable the completion of repairing, replacing, improving, or performing maintenance on projects as expeditiously as possible, facilitate or improve BIA's ability to carry out its mission in operating a project, and ensure that the results of government-to-government consultation with the Indian tribe that has jurisdiction over the land on which an eligible project is located are addressed; and (2) funding prioritization criteria to serve as a methodology for distributing funds under this Act. Requires such criteria to take into account: the extent to which deferred maintenance of projects threatens public or employee safety or health, natural or cultural resources, or BIA's ability to operate the project; the methodology of the rehabilitation priority index; the potential economic benefits of the expenditures on job creation and general economic development in the affected tribal communities; and the ability of the qualifying project to address tribal, regional, and watershed level water supply needs. Requires the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs to complete a study that evaluates options for improving programmatic and project management and performance of irrigation projects managed and operated by BIA. Requires the Commissioner to ensure that, for each of FY2015-FY2036, each eligible Indian irrigation project that has critical maintenance needs receives funding.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Privacy Notice Modernization Act of 2015 Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual written privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which: (1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, (2) has not changed its policies and practices with respect to disclosing nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers, and (3) otherwise provides customers access to such most recent disclosure in electronic or other form permitted by specified regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Internet Tax Freedom Forever 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 · 10 February 2015
Small Business Fairness in Health Care Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), to: (1) exempt a small business concern, as defined by the Small Business Act, from the PPACA employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage; and (2) redefine "full-time employee," for purposes of such mandate, as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 (currently, 30) hours a week.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2015
Condemns the attack on Mariupol by Russian-backed rebels. Urges the President to provide lethal and non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine as unanimously supported by Congress in the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014. Calls on the United States, its European allies, and the international community to continue to apply economic and other pressure on the Russian Federation, especially sanctions, if the Russian Federation continues to refuse to cease its aggression in Ukraine. Calls on the Russian Federation to end its support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine, allow Ukraine to regain control of its internationally-recognized borders, and withdraw its military presence in eastern Ukraine. Expresses solidarity with the people of Ukraine regarding the humanitarian crisis in their country and the destruction caused by the Russian Federation's military, financial, and ideological support for the rebels in eastern Ukraine. States that nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Natural Gas Gathering Enhancement Act Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant a right of way for natural gas pipelines through a unit of the National Park System for a maximum term of 30 years, and a maximum width of 50 feet. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to permit the use of rights of way for natural gas pipelines through public lands, forest, and other reservations of the United States, and specified national parks in California. Defines "gas gathering line and associated field compression unit" as: (1) a pipeline installed to transport natural gas production associated with one or more wells drilled and completed to produce oil or gas; and (2) if necessary, a compressor to raise the pressure of that transported natural gas to higher pressures suitable to enable the gas to flow into pipelines and other facilities. Excludes from such definition any pipeline or compression unit installed to transport natural gas from a processing plant to a common carrier pipeline or facility. Excludes from federal lands, for purposes of gas gathering line and associated field compression units, any unit of the National Park System, any unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System, a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, or Indian land. Deems the issuance of a sundry notice or right-of-way for a gas gathering line and associated field compression unit located on federal or Indian land and servicing an oil well to be an action categorically excluded for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), if the line and the compression unit are: (1) within a field or unit for which an approved land use plan or an environmental document prepared pursuant to NEPA analyzed transportation of natural gas produced from one or more oil wells in that field or unit as a reasonably foreseeable activity, and (2) located adjacent to or within an existing disturbed area or an existing corridor for a right-of-way. (A "categorical exclusion" is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.) Applies this categorical exclusion to Indian land if the Indian tribe with jurisdiction over the land requests in writing that the exclusion apply. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary to study permissible actions or proposed changes to federal law which would expedite permitting for gas gathering lines and associated field compression units located on federal land or Indian land to transport natural gas associated with oil and gas production on any land, to a processing plant or a common carrier pipeline for delivery to markets. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the appropriate agency head to issue a sundry notice or right-of-way for a gas gathering line and associated field compression unit located on federal land within 90 days after receiving the request for a line and compression unit described in this Act, unless the Secretary or agency head finds that the sundry notice or right-of-way would violate either the National Historic Preservation Act or the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2015
Disapproves and nullifies the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board and published December 15, 2014, relating to representation case procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2015 This bill revises a variety of existing programs to expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act is reauthorized through FY2025. The North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act are reauthorized through FY2020. Components of firearms and ammunition and sport fishing equipment and its components (such as lead sinkers) are exempted from regulations of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act. The proportion of funding from the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act that states may use for public target ranges is increased. Interior must issue permits for the importation of polar bear parts taken in sports hunts in Canada before May 15, 2008, which is the date the species was listed as threatened. The bill revises standards for determining what a baited area is for purposes of the prohibition on taking migratory game birds. Federal public land management officials must facilitate hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on certain federal public land. Land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service must be open for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless the managing agency acts to close the land. This bill provides special rules to expand access to federal land and waterways for film crews of five people or fewer. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may not prohibit individuals from possessing a firearm in public areas of a water resources development project. The National Park Service may not prohibit individuals from transporting bows and crossbows if certain requirements are met. Funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund are allocated for priority projects that secure public access to federal public lands for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
National Right-to-Work Act Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2015
Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2015 Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 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 two-thirds vote of each chamber. The prohibition excludes outlays for repayment of debt principal and receipts derived from borrowing. The amendment prohibits total outlays for any fiscal year from exceeding 18% of the gross domestic product of the United States, unless two-thirds of each house of Congress provides for a specific increase above this amount. The amendment requires a two-thirds vote of each chamber of Congress to impose a new tax, increase the statutory rate of any tax, or increase the aggregate amount of revenue. It requires a three-fifths vote of each chamber to increase the limit on the debt of the United States. The President is required to submit an annual budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts and 18% of the gross domestic product of the United States. The amendment prohibits a court from ordering a revenue increase to enforce the requirements. Congress is authorized to waive specified requirements when a declaration of war is in effect or 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 · 3 February 2015
Freeing Americans from Inequitable Requirements Act of 2015 or the FAIR Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the individual mandate to purchase health care coverage, to delay such requirement from taking effect until the Secretary of the Treasury submits to Congress a certification that the employer mandate to provide health care coverage for employees is being applied and administered without any administratively created exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
ObamaCare Repeal Act This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and restores provisions of law amended by those Acts, effective 180 days after this bill is enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
End Government Shutdowns Act This bill provides specified continuing appropriations to prevent a government shutdown if any appropriations measure for a fiscal year has not been enacted before the beginning of the fiscal year or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect. The appropriations are provided to continue to fund programs, projects, and activities for which funds were provided in the preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
Dollar-for-Dollar Deficit Reduction Act This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to issue a debt limit warning to Congress if Treasury determines that the United States will reach the statutory debt limit within 60 days. The warning must include a determination of when extraordinary measures may be necessary to prolong the funding of the United States government in the absence of a debt limit increase. Any formal Presidential request to increase the debt limit must include: (1) the amount of the proposed increase, and (2) proposed legislation to reduce spending over the sum of the current and following 10 years by at least the amount of the requested increase. The bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to create a point of order in the House and Senate against legislation increasing the debt limit, unless the legislation reduces spending over the sum of the current and following 10 years by at least the amount of the increase.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2015
ObamaCare Repeal Act This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 and restores provisions of law amended by those Acts, effective 180 days after this bill is enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2015
Stewardship End Result Contracting Improvement Act Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to authorize the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to obligate funds to cover any potential cancellation or termination costs (cancellation ceiling) in stages that are economically or programmatically viable with respect to an agreement or contract for a stewardship end result contracting project. Requires the Forest Service and BLM to submit written notice to Congress and the Office of Management and Budget 30 days before entering into a multiyear agreement or contract that includes a cancellation ceiling exceeding $25 million if proposed funding for the costs of cancelling the agreement or contract up to the ceiling is not included. Allows the Forest Service and BLM, if the offset value of the forest products to be removed exceeds the value of the resource improvement treatments, to: (1) use the excess to satisfy any outstanding liabilities for cancelled agreements or contracts; or (2) if there are no such outstanding liabilities, apply the excess to other authorized stewardship projects.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 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 · 29 January 2015
American Job Protection Act Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that: (1) impose fines on large employers (employers with 50 or more full-time employees) who fail to offer their full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential health insurance coverage, and (2) require large employers to file a report with the Department of the Treasury on health insurance coverage provided to their full-time employees. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if those provisions had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
Department of the Interior Tribal Self-Governance Act of 2015 Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to revise the Department of the Interior's process for approving self-governance compacts and funding agreements with Indian tribes. Directs Interior to negotiate contracts and funding agreements in good faith to maximize implementation of the self-determination policy. Adds administrative or other expenses incurred by the governing body of the Indian tribe or tribal organization to the contract support costs eligible to receive funding under the Act. Establishes the Tribal Self-Governance Program and sets forth eligibility requirements. Makes tribes eligible to receive grants for planning to participate in the program or for negotiating the terms of participation. Requires funding agreements to specify services to be provided, functions to be performed, and the responsibilities of the Indian tribe and Interior. Permits a funding agreement to provide for a base budget specifying recurring funds to be transferred to the tribe. Directs Interior to enter into a compact with each tribe participating in self-governance in a manner consistent with the trust responsibility of the federal government, treaty obligations, and the government-to-government relationship between tribes and the United States. Specifies requirements for tribes participating in self-governance with respect to conflicts of interest, audits, redesign and consolidation of programs, retrocession of programs, non-duplication of funding, and records. Requires a funding agreement to include provisions for Interior to monitor the performance of trust functions by the tribe and to reassume a program and funding under specified circumstances. Prohibits a tribe from being obligated to continue performance of a compact or funding agreement with insufficient funds. Sets forth requirements for reports, regulations, and judicial review.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2015
This bill amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to revise provisions governing citizen suits against the Department of the Interior or the Department of Commerce, as appropriate, that allege a failure of the relevant department to perform an act or duty related to an endangered species or threatened species. Interior must publish the complaint in a citizen suit within 30 days of being served. Affected parties shall be given a reasonable opportunity to intervene in the suit. If affected parties intervene, the court must refer the action to a mediation program or magistrate judge to facilitate settlement discussions. The court is prohibited from: (1) awarding litigation costs in a citizen suit that is settled by a consent decree, or (2) awarding litigation costs to a plaintiff in a citizen suit that is settled. Interior must provide notice of a proposed settlement to each state or county in which an affected species occurs. A settlement can only be approved if states or counties approve the settlement or fail to respond.
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 February 28, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015 Expresses the sense of Congress that: it is U.S. policy that Iran not be allowed to develop or acquire nuclear weapon capabilities; Iran does not have an inherent right to enrichment and reprocessing capabilities under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; the goal of international negotiations with Iran should be to conclude a long-term comprehensive solution that will reverse the development of Iran's illicit nuclear infrastructure; and the United States should continue to impose sanctions on Iran and its terrorist proxies, and on Iran and other governments and persons for the procurement, sale, or transfer of technology, services, or goods that support the development of weapons of mass destruction. Directs the President, within five days after entering into a long-term comprehensive solution or any agreement to extend the Joint Plan of Action (signed in 2013 by Iran and the P5-plus-1 countries), to transmit to Congress: (1) the text of the agreement, (2) a verification assessment report, and (3) an economic sanctions relief assessment report. Prohibits the President, except in certain circumstances, from exercising any waiver of sanctions on Iran or taking any other action to alter or limit the application of sanctions until the date that is 30 days of continuous session of Congress after the President transmits these comprehensive solution and assessment reports. Reinstates as of July 6, 2015, any sanctions imposed pursuant to statute or executive action that are deferred, waived, or otherwise suspended by the President if the President has not transmitted the comprehensive solution and reports to Congress by that date. Revises exceptions to certain sanctions with respect to financial transactions for purchases of Iranian-origin petroleum (currently, only crude oil). Declares that it is U.S. policy to seek to ensure that all countries reduce their purchases of crude oil, lease condensates, fuel oils, and other unfinished oils from Iran or of Iranian origin to a de minimis level by the end of the 240-day period beginning on September 7, 2015. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to authorize a country that purchased petroleum from Iran or of Iranian origin during the one-year period preceding September 7, 2015, to continue to receive a sanction exception on or after the date that is 240 days after September 7, 2015, only if the country reduces its purchases of Iranian or Iranian origin petroleum: to a de minimis level by the end of that 240-day period; or during the one-year period beginning 240 days after September 7, 2015, reduces such purchases by at least 30% during that 240-day period, and is expected to reduce them to a de minimis level within 2 years after September 7, 2015. Amends the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 to exclude from U.S. entry: any individual who engages in sanction evasion activities for or on behalf of the government of Iran, any individual acting on behalf of the government of Iran who is involved in corrupt activities of that government or the diversion of humanitarian goods, or any senior official who was involved in the activities of an entity designated for sanctions in connection with Iran's proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or Iran's support for international terrorism. Expands the list of designated senior officials of the government of Iran. Directs the President to block the U.S. or U.S.-controlled property and property transfers of specified senior officials and family members who received such property from a listed official. Directs the President to prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining in the United States, of any correspondent account or any payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducted or facilitated a significant currency transaction (including through another person) with or on behalf of the Central Bank of Iran or another Iranian sanctioned financial institution. Authorizes the President to impose sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act against any other person that knowingly conducts or facilitates such a currency transaction. Excludes from such sanctions any transactions for: (1) the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine or medical devices to Iran; or (2) humanitarian assistance to the people of Iran. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions for 180 days, with additional 180-day waivers, if important to the U.S. national interest, and if notice is provided to Congress. Amends the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 to include the construction, engineering, automotive, and mining sectors of Iran within the scope of sanctions. Designates as entities of proliferation concern, in lieu of certain current entities, any that operate special economic zones, free economic zones, and entities in strategic sectors. Directs the President to block the property of: (1) entities in strategic sectors, and (2) entities that operate special economic zones or free economic zones. Defines "strategic sector" as: (1) the energy, shipping, shipbuilding, and mining sectors of Iran; (2) the construction and engineering sectors of Iran (except for projects to construct or engineer schools or hospitals); and (3) any other sector the President determines to be of strategic importance to Iran. Authorizes the President to suspend the application of sanctions under this Act for 30 days, with additional 30-day waivers, if the President reports to Congress: that the waiver or renewal is in the U.S. national security interest and is necessary to achieving a long-term solution with Iran; that Iran is not making further progress on its nuclear weapons program and is in compliance with all interim agreements; and on the status of the negotiations toward a long-term comprehensive solution. Authorizes the President to make an exception from the imposition of sanctions for reconstruction assistance or economic development for Afghanistan if in the U.S. national interest and if notice is provided to Congress. Expresses the sense of Congress concerning budgetary resources for the enforcement of sanctions against Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2015
Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to state that, except with respect to high-risk or complex medical services requiring direct levels of supervision, if the Secretary of Health and Human Services requires supervision by a physician or non-physician practitioner for Medicare payment for therapeutic hospital outpatient services, that requirement is met if such services are furnished under the physician's or non-physician practitioner's general supervision. Directs the Secretary to establish a process for designating therapeutic hospital outpatient services for which direct supervision may be required for the entire service or direct supervision during the initiation of the service followed by general supervision for the remainder of the service. Declares without force or effect in law regarding Medicare requirements for direct supervision by physicians for therapeutic hospital outpatient services a specified restatement and clarification under the final rulemaking changes to the Medicare hospital outpatient prospective payment system and calendar year 2009 payment rates, which was published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 27 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 · 27 January 2015
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) commence and complete an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the Federal Reserve Banks within 12 months of enactment of this Act, and (2) report findings and conclusions to Congress within 90 days of completing the audit. The bill also repeals certain limitations upon such an audit. GAO shall audit and report on the review of loan files of homeowners in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010, required as part of the enforcement actions taken by the Board against supervised financial institutions. Audit contents shall include: (1) the guidance given by the Board to independent consultants retained by the supervised financial institutions regarding procedures to be followed in conducting the file reviews; (2) the factors considered by independent consultants when evaluating loan files and the results obtained pursuant to those reviews; and (3) the determinations made by such consultants regarding the nature and extent of financial injury sustained by each homeowner, as well as the level and type of remediation offered.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Wendell H. Ford, former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on January 22, 2015, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late Senator Ford.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Small Airport Regulation Relief Act of 2015 Prescribes a special rule to require the Secretary of Transportation for FY2015-FY2017 to apportion amounts for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning and programs to sponsors of primary airports based on the number of passenger boardings at the airport during calendar year 2012 if it had: (1) fewer than 10,000 passenger boardings during the calendar year used to calculate the apportionment for FY2015-FY2017, and (2) 10,000 or more passenger boardings during calendar year 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Regulatory Fairness Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to define the period of time in which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is authorized to restrict or deny a permit for the discharge of dredged or fill materials into navigable waters as the period that: begins on the date that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publishes a notice for the discharge of dredged or fill material into navigable waters at specified disposal sites, and ends on the date that the Army Corps issues the permit. The EPA must make all the information and data that it reviewed in making a determination publicly available. The EPA's authority to withdraw a specification of a defined area as a disposal site for the discharge of dredged or fill materials is eliminated. Any previous action by the EPA that occurred outside of this period to deny or restrict a permit or to prohibit the specification of any defined area as a disposal site is nullified.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2015
Working Families Flexibility Act of 2015 Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee. Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year. Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off. Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation, or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time. Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress every three years on: (1) the extent to which employers provide compensatory time off and employees opt to receive it; (2) the number of complaints filed by an employee with the Secretary of Labor alleging a violation of the requirements as well as enforcement actions commenced by the Secretary on behalf of an aggrieved employee; (3) the disposition of such complaints and actions; and (4) any unpaid wages, damages, penalties, injunctive relief, or other remedies sought by the Secretary in connection with such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 2015 Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to direct the Department of the Interior to provide Indian tribes with technical assistance in planning their energy resource development programs. Makes intertribal organizations eligible for Department of Energy (DOE) Indian energy education planning and management assistance program grants. Makes tribal energy development organizations eligible for DOE energy development loan guarantees. Allows leases and business agreements that pool, unitize, or communitize a tribe's energy resources with other energy resources. Requires an energy-related tribal lease, business agreement, or grant of a right-of-way made without Interior's approval to comply with a tribal energy resource agreement between the tribe and Interior, unless it is a lease with a tribal energy development organization that Interior has certified. Alters the process and conditions for Interior's approval of tribal energy resource agreements. Alters the process for determining whether an interested party has a valid claim to be suffering an adverse environmental impact due to a tribe's noncompliance with such agreement. Directs DOE to collaborate with the Directors of the National Laboratories in making the full array of DOE technical and scientific resources available for tribal energy activities and projects. Amends the Federal Power Act to include Indian tribes, along with states and municipalities, as having preference for the receipt of preliminary hydroelectric licenses. Amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to direct Interior, for land under Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction, or the Department of Agriculture, for land under Forest Service jurisdiction, to enter into agreements with Indian tribes and Alaska Native corporations for the conduct of demonstration projects to promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing them with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands. Amends the Energy Conservation and Production Act to prescribe requirements for direct home weatherization grants to Indian tribes upon request when low-income Indian beneficiaries would not be better served if the grant went to their state. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to allow Interior, an affected Indian tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the Indian tribe to appraise Indian mineral or energy resources involved in a transaction requiring Interior's approval. Amends the Long-Term Leasing Act to authorize the Navajo Nation to enter into commercial or agricultural leases of up to 99 years on their restricted lands without Interior approval. Allows the Navajo Nation to enter into 25-year (renewable) mineral resource leases on its restricted lands without Interior's approval if they are executed under approved tribal regulations. Limits oil and gas leases to terms of up to 10 years if oil or gas is being produced in a paying quantity. Allows the Crow Tribe of Montana to enter into leases on its restricted land for a term of up to 99 years. Requires that any advance payments, bid deposits, or other earnest money received by Interior, subject to a certain restriction, in connection with the review and approval of a sale, lease, permit, or any other conveyance of any interest in any trust or restricted land of any Indian tribe or individual Indian, upon request by the tribe or individual Indian, to be held in the trust fund system, upon receipt and before contract or instrument approval, for the benefit of the Indian tribe and individual Indian from whose land the funds were generated.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2015
American Liberty Restoration Act Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that require individuals to maintain minimum essential health care coverage. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if such provisions had never been enacted.
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 · 21 January 2015
Accurate Budgeting Act This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) to prepare a macroeconomic impact analysis for major revenue legislation. The estimates are required for revenue legislation considered on the floor of the House or Senate or reported by the House Ways and Means Committee or the Senate Finance Committee. The macroeconomic impact analysis, commonly referred to as dynamic scoring, includes: the changes in economic output, employment, interest rates, capital stock, and tax revenues expected to result from the proposal; revenue feedback (changes in revenue resulting from changes in economic growth as a result of the proposal); and the assumptions and data used for the estimate. The bill requires JCT to prepare the analysis as a supplement to the revenue estimates currently required by the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Inventoried Roadless Area Management Act Releases from further study for wilderness designation each of the inventoried roadless areas within the National Forest System (NFS) in Wyoming identified on the maps contained in the Forest Service Roadless Area Conservation, Final Environmental Impact Statement, Volume 2 (November 2000). Declares that such NFS land: (1) is no longer subject to the land use restrictions of the Roadless Area Conservation Rule (or successor regulations), and (2) shall not be managed to preserve roadless or wilderness characteristics.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2015
Condemns the terrorist attacks and murders at the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo and the kosher market Hyper Cacher in Paris. Expresses: (1) condolences to the families of the victims and to the Republic of France; and (2) solidarity with the people of the Republic of France, and pays tribute to our shared values, ideals, and liberties, including the freedom of thought and expression and freedom of the press. Recognizes the statements from Muslim majority nations and leaders across the world that terrorist attacks purportedly conducted in Islam's name, such as the Paris attacks, are an affront to the Muslim faith. Reaffirms the support of the House of Representatives for the government of France to bring the perpetrators of this violence to justice and to prevent future attacks.
![Official portrait of Sen. Barrasso, John [R-WY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001261_200.jpg)