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![Official portrait of Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000555_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
5,611 records where Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2013
Designates October 30, 2013, as a national day of remembrance for U.S. nuclear weapons program workers, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2013
Child Sex Trafficking Data and Response Act of 2013 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require state plans for foster care and adoption assistance to provide that for each child over whom the state has responsibility for placement, care, or supervision, the state agency shall: (1) identify and document in agency records each child identified as a victim of sex trafficking, including severe forms of trafficking in certain persons; and (2) report immediately, within 24 hours, any information on missing or abducted children to the law enforcement authorities for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Requires such plans also to contain a regularly updated description of the specific measures the state agency has taken to protect and provide services to child victims of sex trafficking, including efforts to coordinate with state law enforcement, juvenile justice, and social service agencies such as runaway and homeless youth shelters to serve that population. Requires the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) to provide comprehensive national information with respect to the aggregate number of children in foster care identified as victims of sex trafficking. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require any law enforcement agency that entered a missing child report into the NCIC to notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of each report received relating to a child reported missing from a foster care family home or childcare institution. Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require that the state plan under the Act certifies that the state has in effect and is enforcing a state law, or is operating a statewide program, relating to child abuse and neglect that includes provisions and procedures requiring: (1) identification and assessment of all reports involving child victims of sex trafficking, and (2) training child protective services workers about identifying and providing comprehensive services for such children. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report to Congress on issues related to identifying, and providing services for, victims of labor trafficking within the child welfare system.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2013
Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to equalize and increase to $245, with a cost-of-living adjustment after 2013, the tax exclusion for both transportation and parking fringe benefits. Authorizes agencies to establish a program involving such benefits in lieu of transit passes to encourage commuting by federal employees by means other than single-occupancy motor vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2013
Fallen Firefighters Assistance Tax Clarification Act of 2013 - Treats payments made on or after December 24, 2012, and before December 31, 2013, by a tax-exempt organization on behalf of any firefighter who died or was injured as a result of the ambush of firefighters responding to an emergency on December 24, 2012, in Webster, New York, as related to the purpose or function forming the basis of such organization's tax-exempt status, if such payments are made in good faith using a reasonable and objective formula which is consistently applied.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2013
Assessing Progress in Haiti Act - Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on the status of post-earthquake recovery and development efforts in Haiti, including efforts to prevent the spread of cholera and treat persons infected with the disease.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2013
Local Taxpayer Relief Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to make permanent amendments made to the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies [LEAs] for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their school districts) by the Impact Aid Improvement Act of 2012 that: require the valuation of the federal property located within the boundaries of an LEA by calculating the valuation, for property tax purposes, of all property within the LEA's boundaries and then multiplying that value by the proportion of that property that is federal property; alter the formula for determining the foundation payments due LEAs for federal ownership of property when appropriations for a fiscal year are insufficient to provide them with full compensation; alter the formula for determining the payments due LEAs for eligible federally-connected children who are displaced from federal property or Indian lands due to housing renovation or rebuilding; and direct the Secretary of Education to complete Impact Aid payments to eligible LEAs within three fiscal years of their appropriation. (Such amendments are currently set to expire on January 2, 2015.) Alters the formula for determining the payments due LEAs for eligible federally-connected children. Includes not only children in average daily attendance, but also those enrolled pursuant to a state open enrollment policy. Continues an LEA's eligibility for such payments while activities associated with military base closures and realignments or force structure changes or relocations are ongoing. Allows the calculation of such payments using current student counts instead of prior fiscal year data when LEAs experience a specified influx of new federally-connected students due to federal activities or the closure of an LEA that was receiving Impact Aid due to federally-connected children. Requires the Secretary to allow LEAs to count their federally-connected children using the date they register their students for the fiscal year for which their application is filed. Alters the formula for determining the construction payments due LEAs that are eligible for other Impact Aid payments. Divides 80% of the construction funds evenly between LEAs impacted by military dependent children and LEAs impacted by children residing on Indian lands, with the remainder reserved for emergency repair and modernization grants to LEAs serving Indian lands or experiencing a specified influx of new students due to federal activities. Alters the formula for determining whether a state's plan for equalizing assistance to its LEAs will except it from the prohibition on state aid to LEAs being affected by Impact Aid payments. Requires new LEAs applying for Impact Aid to have boundaries established by state law and the authority to tax or receive an imputed local tax. Reauthorizes appropriations for the Impact Aid program through FY2017.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2013
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 - Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination. Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct made unlawful under this Act. Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them. Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees should they prevail. Authorizes the Attorney General to institute a civil action in any appropriate U.S. district court for a violation of this Act. Deems a state's receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding such program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2013
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Frank R. Lautenberg, a Senator from New Jersey. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on June 4, 2013, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2013
Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2013 - Reauthorizes the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 through FY2019. Revises the Act to allow a joint interagency office, designated by the governor, to serve as the lead agency for a state desiring to receive a community services programs child care and development block grant. Increases from two to three years the period that must be covered by a state child care and development plan. Revises and expands plan requirements to include, among others, compliance with state and local health and safety requirements, compliance with child abuse reporting requirements, protection for working parents, and coordination with other programs. Prescribes early learning and developmental guidelines. Authorizes a state to use funds to establish or support a system of local or regional child care resource and referral organizations. Requires a state receiving funds under such Act to carry out at least two of specified activities affecting the quality of child care. Requires states receiving grant funds under such Act to carry out criminal background checks for child care staff members of child care providers. Makes ineligible for employment by a licensed, regulated, or registered child care provider any individual who: (1) refuses to consent to a criminal background check, (2) knowingly makes a materially false statement in connection with such a background check, (3) is registered or is required to be registered on a state sex offender registry or the National Sex Offender Registry, or (4) has been convicted of one or more specified felonies. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate a national toll-free hotline and website. Defines "child with a disability" as one under age 13 who is eligible for early intervention services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
End Racial Profiling Act of 2013 - Prohibits any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling. Grants the United States or an individual injured by racial profiling the right to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief. Requires federal law enforcement agencies to maintain adequate policies and procedures to eliminate racial profiling and to cease existing practices that permit racial profiling. Requires state or local governmental entities or state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies that apply for grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program and the Cops on the Beat Program to certify that they maintain adequate policies and procedures for eliminating racial profiling and have eliminated any existing practices that permit or encourage racial profiling. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants and contracts for the collection of data relating to racial profiling and for the development of best practices and systems to eliminate racial profiling. Requires the Attorney General to issue regulations for the collection and compilation of data on racial profiling and for the implementation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to direct the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of the Management Conference of the Long Island Sound Study to conduct or commission studies to strengthen the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Long Island Sound. Requires the studies to include: (1) environmental impacts on the Sound watershed; and (2) planning initiatives that identify areas most suitable for various activities in order to reduce conflicts among uses, reduce environmental impacts, facilitate compatible uses, or preserve critical ecosystem services. Requires the Office to: (1) develop and implement strategies to increase education and awareness about the ecological health and water quality of the Sound; and (2) monitor progress toward meeting the goals, actions, and schedules of the Plan. Revises the limit on the federal share for certain grants for projects and studies to help implement the Plan. Increases the limit for grants other than citizen involvement and education grants. Requires the Office's Director to submit a report that includes: (1) an assessment of the progress in implementing the Plan, (2) an assessment of the key ecological attributes that reflect the health of the ecosystem of the Sound watershed, (3) a description of substantive modifications to the Plan, (4) recommendations to improve progress in restoring and protecting the Sound watershed, (5) priority actions for implementing the Plan, and (6) a description of the means for coordinating federal funding and actions with the Long Island Sound states and other entities. Requires the President to submit, with the annual budget, information regarding each federal agency involved in the protection and restoration of the Sound watershed. Requires the EPA Administrator to coordinate the actions of federal agencies to improve the water quality and living resources of the watershed. Requires a federal agency that owns or occupies real property, or carries out activities, within the Sound watershed to: (1) participate in regional and subwatershed planning, protection, and restoration activities; and (2) ensure that the property and activities are consistent with the Plan. Amends the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006 to reauthorize the Long Island Sound Stewardship Advisory Committee through 2018 and exempts the Advisory Committee or any board, committee, or other group established under this Act from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Extends through FY2018 the authorizations to the EPA for the implementation of the Management Conference of the Long Island Sound Study, the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act of 2006, the Long Island Sound Grants, and Long Island Sound Stewardship Grants.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Older Americans Act Amendments of 2013 - Reauthorizes the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) and funding for its programs for FY2014-FY2018. Revises OAA to include lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individuals, HIV-positive individuals, individuals with Alzheimer's disease, veterans, and Holocaust survivors, among others, within the status of greatest social need caused by noneconomic factors. Requires the Director of the Office of Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (in the Administration on Aging [AOA] of the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS]) to collect, analyze, and report on best practices related to screening for elder abuse. Requires the Assistant Secretary for Aging of the AOA to assist states with the development of the Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and Plan for Enforcement (required by this Act). Requires the AOA to work with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Secretary of Labor to identify and address personnel shortages in the field of aging. Establishes an Advisory Committee to Assess, Coordinate, and Improve Legal Assistance Activities to study the legal services activities assistance system for older individuals. Requires the Secretary of Labor, through the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to revise, improve, and report to Congress on the Experimental Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E). Amends OAA to express the sense of the Senate that the amount appropriated under OAA for FY2014 and each subsequent year should be at least $2.675 billion (reflecting a 12% increase over FY2010 levels). Authorizes states to enter into cooperative arrangements with Federally Qualified Health Centers for services for the elderly. Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 for supportive services, congregate nutrition services, home-delivered nutrition services, disease prevention and health promotion services, and family caregiver support. Requires area agencies on aging (AAAs) to develop area plans that provide for modernization of multipurpose senior centers, including a plan to use the skills and services of older adults in paid and unpaid work at such centers. Requires AAA area plans also to: (1) include evidence-based behavioral health services, chronic self-care management programs, and falls prevention programs; (2) describe efforts to increase public awareness of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (3) describe outreach efforts to veterans and coordination of services under OAA with those provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires a state plan, among other things, to: (1) assure an adequately funded State Long-Term Care Ombudsman programprovided with adequate funding; and (2) provide legal assistance through an integrated legal assistance delivery system; and (3) describe efforts for outreach to veterans eligible for OAA services under the Act. Increases from 185% to 200% of the poverty line the self-declared income level of individuals who may be solicited for voluntary contributions for certain services they receive. Includes among supportive services covered by grants to states evidence-based chronic condition self-care management, evidence-based falls prevention programs, screening for elder abuse and neglect, and falls prevention screening. Requires the meals provided under a state nutrition project to be adjusted and appropriately funded, to the maximum extent practicable, to meet any special health-related or other dietary needs of program participants, including needs based on religious, cultural, or ethnic requirements. Declares that older adults should receive the clinical preventive services covered under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Revises caregiver and care recipient requirements for the National Family Caregiver Support Program. Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to make grants to states to assess the needs of family caregivers for targeted support services. Requires the services of AAAs or AAA contractors to include Ombudsman efforts to support family and caregiver councils in long-term care facilities, as well as facilitate and support the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman program. Directs the Assistant Secretary to award grants to carry out or establish: (1) projects to support and promote modern multipurpose senior center models which yield multiservice, multigenerational centers for older individuals, their families, and others to gain needed skills, resources, and connections for continuum of care and quality of life; and (2) a demonstration program on care coordination and service delivery redesign for older individuals with chronic illness or at risk of institutional placement. Directs the HHS Secretary to award competitive grants to or contract with eligible entities to fund the employment costs of professionals who will: (1) coordinate with the provision of medically recommended dental care to eligible individuals by volunteer dentists; and (2) verify the medical, dental, and financial needs of individuals who may be eligible for free medically recommended dental care. Directs the Secretary to award a grant to or enter into a cooperative agreement with a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Family Caregiving. Revises the purposes of the Older American Community Service Employment Program to further the goal of economic security, grow local economies, and improve the quality of life of local communities. Directs the Assistant Secretary and the Secretary of Labor to study the feasibility of transferring the Senior Community Service Employment Program to the AOA from the Department of Labor. Reauthorizes funding for grants for Native Americans for FY2014-FY2018. Requires the Assistant Secretary to ensure that education and public awareness activities under OAA title XI (Allotments for Vulnerable Elder Rights Protection Activities) are fully integrated with OAA programs. Authorizes appropriations for the State Home Care Ombudsman Program, and authorizes the Assistant Secretary to award competitive grants to states for such programs. Requires a state to have a Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights and a Plan for Enforcement. Requires the state Home Care Consumer Bill of Rights to address a home care consumer's right to: (1) basic safety; (2) information access; (3) choice, participation, and self-determination; and (4) redress of grievances. Revises requirements for: (1) state long-term care ombudsman programs; (2) prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (3) state legal assistance development. Amends OAA to require state agencies to carry out a Home Care Ombudsman Program within the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. Amends the Public Health Service Act to include geriatrics and gerontology as primary health services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Disabled Military Child Protection Act of 2013 - Authorizes monthly annuity payments under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to a supplemental or special needs trust established for the sole benefit of a disabled dependent child who is incapable of self-support because of mental or physical incapacity.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Saving Homeowners from Onerous Rate Escalations Act of 2013 or SHORE Act of 2013 - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to phase in, over an eight-year period, any increase in the flood insurance risk premium rate caused by the prohibition against extending subsidies to new or lapsed policies. Extends from a 5-year to a 10-year period the phase-in period for premium adjustment increases in the flood insurance risk rate. Prescribes a phase-in rate of: (1) 5% for each of the first 5 years after the effective date of an update, and 15% for each of the 5 ensuing years; and (2) 5% for each of the first 5 years following the effective date of designation as a special flood area of any area not previously so designated, and 15% for each of the 5 ensuing years.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Every Child Deserves a Family Act - Prohibits an entity that receives federal assistance and is involved in adoption or foster care placements from discriminating against prospective adoptive or foster parents solely on the basis of their sexual orientation, gender identification, or marital status or on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of the child involved. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in order to ensure compliance with, and ensure understanding of the legal, practice, and culture changes required by this Act in making foster care and adoption placement decisions, to provide specified technical assistance to all entities covered by this Act. Requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of whether states have substantially complied with this Act in eliminating policies, practices, or statutes that deny adoption rights on the basis of these criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Innovation Inspiration School Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) promote science, technology, engineering (including robotics), and mathematics (STEM) in secondary schools and after school programs; (2) support the participation of secondary school students in nontraditional STEM teaching methods; and (3) broaden secondary school students' access to STEM careers. Gives priority to grant applications that target: (1) a rural or urban school, (2) a low-performing school or LEA, or (3) an LEA or school that serves students who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches under the school lunch program. Authorizes the Secretary to waive all or part of the matching requirement for financially-strapped LEAs. Directs the Secretary to evaluate the efficacy of the grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers that received loans under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (DL) or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program on or after July 1, 2006, to consolidate those loans as Federal Direct Consolidation Loans. Directs the Secretary of Education to consolidate DLs, and send a completed loan consolidation application to FFEL borrowers, within 90 days of this Act's enactment. Gives FFEL borrowers six months after their receipt of such application to endorse it and submit it to the Secretary if they wish to consolidate their loans. Sets the interest rate on Federal Direct Consolidation Loans at 4% or, if the weighted average of the interest rates of the loans being consolidated is less than 4%, the lesser of: (1) that weighted average, or (2) an interest rate equal to 0.4% of the principal balance of the consolidation loan at the time of consolidation. Adds an origination fee equal to 0.4% of the principal balance of the consolidation loan at the time of consolidation if an FFEL is being consolidated. Reduces the interest rate on a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan by 0.25% if one or more of the loans being consolidated is an FFEL held by an eligible lender. Prohibits any benefit a borrower is receiving or earning when issued a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan from being affected by the consolidation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Effective Teaching and Leading Act - Amends title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to create a new Part E: Building School Capacity for Effective Teaching and Leadership. Directs the Secretary of Education to allot grants to states for subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve teaching and school leadership through a system of teacher and principal induction, professional development, and evaluation that is developed, implemented, and evaluated in collaboration with local teacher, principal, and school leader organizations and preparation programs. Requires LEAs to include in such system: a comprehensive, coherent, high quality formalized induction program for beginning teachers during their first two years of full-time employment; high-quality effective professional development for teachers, principals, school librarians, and other school leaders at their lowest achieving schools; a rigorous, transparent, and equitable teacher and principal evaluation system for all their schools; ongoing high-quality support, coaching, and professional development for principals and other school leaders at their lowest achieving schools; opportunities for teachers and school librarians to assume new school leadership roles and receive training regarding such roles; and significant and sustainable stipends above a teacher's base salary for teachers that serve as mentors, instructional coaches, teacher leaders, or evaluators under these programs. Directs LEA grantees to conduct a valid and reliable full population survey of teaching and learning, at the school and LEA level, the results of which are to inform and be integrated into such systems. Requires a formal evaluation of each system to be conducted by the state, an institution of higher education, or an external agency and the results disseminated widely.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Adoption Tax Credit Refundability Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the tax credit for adoption expenses refundable.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Coast Guard STRONG Act - Directs the Secretary concerned (under current law, the Secretaries of the military departments) to issue regulations to ensure the timely determination of a request for a permanent change of station or unit transfer by a member of the Armed Forces who is the victim of a sexual assault or related offense (thereby including the Coast Guard within such requirement).
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2013
Storage Technology for Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2013 or the STORAGE 2013 Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow, through 2020, a 20% energy tax credit for investment in energy storage property that is directly connected to the electrical grid (i.e., a system of generators, transmission lines, and distribution facilities) and that is designed to receive, store, and convert energy to electricity, deliver it for sale, or use such energy to provide improved reliability or economic benefits to the grid; (2) make such property eligible for new clean renewable energy bond financing; (3) allow a 30% energy tax credit for investment in energy storage property used at the site of energy storage; and (4) allow a 30% nonbusiness energy property tax credit for the installation of energy storage equipment in a principal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2013
Chemical Safety Improvement Act - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to establish an evaluative framework for chemical risk assessment and management. Declares that it is the policy of the United States that: (1) this Act should protect the health of people and the environment from the unmanaged risks of chemicals; (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have the appropriate hazard, use, and exposure information necessary to make safety determinations and the resources and tools necessary to implement TSCA; (3) the Administrator should have the authority to share confidential business information with states; and (4) adequate information should be available with respect to the effect of and exposure to chemicals on health and the environment and the development of such test data and information should be the primary responsibility of those who manufacture or process such chemicals. Replaces current chemical testing requirements for determining whether chemicals present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment with a framework for: (1) making a determination on whether a chemical meets the safety standard established by this Act; and (2) determining the relevance, quality, and reliability of related data and information. Requires such framework to integrate information from multiple sources. Defines “safety standard” as a standard that ensures that no unreasonable risk of harm to human health or the environment will result from exposure to a chemical substance. Directs the Administrator to require submitters of any health and safety study of chemicals to disclose funding sources of any funding used for the study. Requires the Administrator, within a year, to establish a risk-based screening process for identifying existing chemicals that are a high priority for a safety assessment and determination and a low priority for a safety assessment and determination. Directs the Administrator, in implementing the process, to: (1) only consider active chemicals as either high-priority or low-priority chemicals, and (2) only consider inactive chemicals if the Administrator determines that they have not been subject to regulatory or other enforceable action by the Administrator to ban or phase out the chemical and that they demonstrate high hazard and high exposure. Requires the Administrator to complete the prioritization screening process for all active chemicals in a timely manner. Authorizes the Administrator to screen categories or classes of chemicals to ensure an efficient prioritization screening process to allow for timely and adequate safety assessments and determinations. Requires the Administrator, from time to time, to publish a list of chemicals being considered in the prioritization screening process and request the submission of data on the chemicals. Requires the Administrator to publish for public comment a proposed screening process and establish criteria for determining whether a substance is a high or low priority. Requires such proposal to contain an initial list of chemicals that includes those substances prioritized by the Administrator before this Act’s enactment and for which assessments or safety determinations have not been completed. Authorizes the Administrator to defer a prioritization screening decision for a chemical for a reasonable period to allow for the submission and evaluation of additional information. Requires the Administrator to determine the order for performing safety assessments on high-priority chemicals. Prohibits the Administrator from performing a safety assessment on low-priority chemicals. Requires the Administrator to: (1) publish and keep current a list of both high- and low-priority chemicals, and (2) remove a high-priority chemical from the list when a safety determination for the chemical is published. Prohibits a decision by the Administrator to prioritize a chemical from affecting the manufacture, processing, distribution, use, or disposal of the chemical substance, or regulation of those activities. Requires the Administrator to make a prioritized screening decision for a chemical within 180 days of receiving a recommendation and relevant information from a state that an active chemical be identified as a priority. Prohibits decisions to prioritize a chemical by the Administrator from being considered to be a final agency action and from being subject to judicial review. Authorizes the Administrator to require the development of new test data for a chemical if the agency promulgates a rule, enters into a testing consent agreement, or issues an order based on a determination that additional data are needed to perform a safety assessment, make a safety determination, or meet the testing needs of the implementing authority under another federal statute. Requires the Administrator to develop a tiered testing framework. Requires tier one to include both a screening level exposure assessment and screening tests for hazards. Requires, if the Administrator determines that additional testing is necessary, tier two to include an exposure assessment. Requires the Administrator to minimize the use of animals in testing of chemicals. Directs the Administrator to make available to the public all testing consent agreements and orders and all data and information the Administrator requires to be developed by manufacturers and processors of chemicals, except data protected as confidential business information. Establishes notice requirements, including requiring manufacturers and processors to submit notice to the Administrator for the manufacture or processing of a chemical for a significant new use. Directs the Administrator to prohibit the manufacture of a chemical and the manufacture or processing of a chemical for a significant new use if the Administrator determines that the chemical will not likely meet the safety standard. Requires the Administrator to provide an opportunity for additional data to be submitted if the Administrator determines more data is needed in order to conduct a review of a notice to manufacture a new chemical or manufacture or process a chemical for a significant new use. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a safety assessment of each high-priority chemical, (2) establish requirements for risk management of such chemicals based on the assessment’s results, and (3) base such assessment solely on considerations of risk to human health and the environment. Requires the Administrator, as soon as possible after the safety assessment is completed for a high-priority chemical, to determine whether the chemical meets the safety standard under the intended conditions of use of the chemical. Requires the Administrator, after determining that a chemical does not meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, to promulgate a rule establishing necessary restrictions, including if appropriate a ban or phase out of the manufacture, processing, or use of the chemical substance. Requires the Administrator, after making such a determination, to consider and publish a statement on the: (1) availability of technically and economically feasible alternatives for the chemical under the intended conditions of use; (2) risks posed by those alternatives as compared to those of the chemical; (3) economic and social costs and benefits of the proposed regulatory action and options considered, and of potential alternatives; and (4) economic and social benefits and costs of the chemical, alternatives, and any necessary restrictions on the chemical or alternatives. Authorizes the Administrator to exempt the use of a chemical from restrictions for specified reasons, such as exemptions for national security and significant disruption in the national economy, without having to provide clear and convincing evidence for such exemption as currently required under TSCA. Authorizes the Administrator to commence a civil action for: (1) seizure of an imminently hazardous chemical or any article containing the chemical; and (2) relief against any person who manufactures, processes, distributes in commerce, uses, or disposes of an imminently hazardous or any article containing the chemical. Requires the Administrator to promulgate rules requiring the reporting of information known or reasonably ascertainable by the person making the report so that the Administrator has the information necessary to carry out testing of chemicals and safety assessment and determinations. Requires the Administrator to make publicly available a candidate list of active chemicals. Directs the Administrator to issue a rule requiring manufacturers and processors to notify the Administrator that they have manufactured or processed a chemical on such candidate list or on the current inventory list compiled under TSCA for a nonexempt commercial purpose during the last five years. Requires the Administrator to designate chemicals as active or inactive based on the notifications received in response to such rule. Requires the Administrator to designate a chemical as active if it: (1) has been manufactured or processed for a nonexempt commercial purpose at any point during the last five years, (2) is added to the inventory list after this Act’s enactment, (3) is the subject of a notice received by the Administrator stating that a person intends to manufacture or process a chemical designated as inactive, or (4) is reported under the TSCA chemical data reporting requirements after this Act’s enactment. Requires the Administrator to designate a chemical as inactive if it has not been manufactured or processed for a nonexempt commercial purpose in the last five years. Directs: (1) any person who intends to manufacture or process for a nonexempt commercial purpose a chemical designated as an inactive to notify the Administrator before the chemical is manufactured or processed, and (2) the Administrator to then designate the chemical as active and review its priority for a safety assessment. Requires the Administrator to make available to the public specified information about chemicals on the list that designates chemicals as active or inactive. Authorizes any person to submit to the Administrator data reasonably supporting the conclusion that a chemical does not present a substantial risk of injury to health and the environment. Prohibits exempting from TSCA requirements those chemicals manufactured for export if they are new chemicals unlikely to meet the safety standard or existing chemicals that do not meet the safety standard. Requires a person to notify the Administrator if that person is exporting a new chemical not likely to meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, an existing chemical that does not meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use, or a chemical for which the United States is obligated by treaty to provide export notification. Requires the Administrator to: (1) submit to the government of each country to which a chemical is exported a notice that information can be obtained from the Administrator about the substance, and (2) provide notice that satisfies the U.S. obligation under the applicable treaty if the chemical is covered by treaty. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to refuse entry into the customs territory of the United States any chemical if: (1) the Administrator has determined that the chemical does not meet the safety standard under the intended conditions of use of the chemical substance, or (2) the chemical is in violation of a rule or order in effect under TSCA. Establishes exemptions to such rule and notice requirements concerning imports. Revises provisions concerning protection of confidential business information from chemical disclosure requirements, including by: (1) identifying information not protected from disclosure, (2) requiring written documentation justifying why information qualifies for protection from disclosure, and (3) authorizing disclosure of information if the disclosure is necessary to protect human health or the environment. Revises provisions concerning federal preemption, including by preempting new state prohibitions or restrictions for any high-priority and low-priority chemical.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2013
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, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2013
Keep Knives Out of Our Skies Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) from implementing any change to the prohibited items list of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) that would permit passengers to carry small, non-locking knives through passenger screening checkpoints at airports, into sterile areas at airports, or on board passenger aircraft.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2013
Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to repeal the prohibition against provision of flood insurance by the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to prospective insureds at rates less than standard estimates for property purchased after enactment of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters). (Thus allows risk premium rates lower than standard rates for certain property purchased after Biggert-Waters.) Delays the effective date of any flood insurance rate changes until 180 days after FEMA submits: (1) a certain report on methods to establish an affordability framework for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), or (2) notice to the congressional committees concerned of an alternative method of gathering information for such report if the report cannot be submitted by its due date. Directs FEMA to study options, methods, and implementing strategies for making available voluntary community-based flood insurance policies through NFIP. Prohibits FEMA, when determining whether a community has made adequate progress on the construction, reconstruction, or improvement of a flood protection system, from considering the level of federal funding or participation. Deems an action for the repair, restoration, and replacement of a totally destroyed structure or facility located in a coastal high hazard area for which an eligible entity received a contribution under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to be a "substantial improvement" for which grant funds may be used, if specified conditions are met . Requires a replacement structure or facility to be relocated to an alternative site if FEMA determines that a practicable alternative located outside the coastal high hazard area exists and provides better protection against hazards associated with coastal high hazard areas. Prescribes deed restrictions to dedicate and maintain it in perpetuity as open space for the conservation of natural floodplain functions for any property involved in the construction of replacement structures or facilities, either the original site if the replacement structure or facility is relocated, or an alternative parcel of land in the coastal high hazard area if the replacement is rebuilt at the same location.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2013
Free Flow of Information Act of 2013 - Prohibits a federal entity (an entity or employee of the judicial or executive branch or an administrative agency of the federal government with the power to issue a subpoena or other compulsory process), in any proceeding or in connection with any issue arising under federal law, from compelling a covered person to disclose protected information, unless a federal court in the jurisdiction where the compulsory process has been or would be issued determines, after providing notice and an opportunity for the covered person to be heard, that all reasonable alternative sources have been exhausted and that separate specified conditions have been met depending on whether the matter is a criminal investigation or prosecution. Defines a "covered person" as a person (including a supervisor, employer, parent company, subsidiary, or affiliate of such person) who: with the primary intent to investigate events and procure material in order to disseminate to the public news or information concerning matters of public interest, regularly gathers, prepares, collects, photographs, records, writes, edits, reports, or publishes on such matters by conducting interviews, making direct observations of events, or collecting, reviewing, or analyzing original writings, statements, transcripts, photographs, recordings, tapes, data, or other information; has such intent at the inception of the process of gathering the news or information sought; and obtains such news or information to disseminate by print, broadcasting, mechanical, photographic, electronic, or other means. Excludes from the definition of covered person foreign powers and their agents, members or affiliates of foreign terrorist organizations, specially designated global terrorists, and other organizations and people who are reasonably likely to commit, attempt, or provide support for terrorism. Defines "protected information" as: information identifying a source who provided information under a promise or agreement of confidentiality made by a covered person as part of engaging in journalism; or any records, contents of a communication, documents, or information that a covered person obtained or created as part of engaging in journalism and upon a promise or agreement of confidentiality. Requires, in a criminal investigation or prosecution, a determination by the court that: if the party seeking to compel disclosure is the federal government, based on public information or information obtained from a source other than the covered person, there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime has occurred; based on such public or source information, the protected information is essential to the investigation or prosecution or to the defense against the prosecution; the Attorney General certifies that the decision to request compelled disclosure was consistent with federal regulations, if compelled disclosure is sought by a member of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in circumstances governed by regulations specifying DOJ policy with respect to the news media; and the covered person has not established by clear and convincing evidence that disclosure would be contrary to public interest, including the interest in gathering and disseminating information or news as well as maintaining the free flow of information and the public interest in compelling disclosure, including the extent of any harm to national security. Requires, in matters other than criminal investigations or prosecutions, based on public information or information obtained from a source other than the covered person, that: the protected information sought is essential to the resolution of the matter, and the party seeking to compel disclosure establishes that the interest in compelling disclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in gathering and disseminating the information or news at issue and maintaining the free flow of information. Exempts from such requirements: information or items obtained as the result of the eyewitness observations of, or obtained during the course of, alleged criminal conduct by the covered person (provided that the alleged criminal conduct is not the act of communicating the actual documents or information at issue), including any physical evidence or visual or audio recording of the conduct; protected information that is reasonably necessary to stop, prevent, or mitigate a specific case of death, kidnapping, substantial bodily harm, certain offenses against minors, or the incapacitation or destruction of critical infrastructure; and protected information sought by the federal government in a criminal matter under specified circumstances to prevent, mitigate, or identify the perpetrator of an act of terrorism or other acts reasonably likely to cause significant and articulable harm to national security. Sets forth special requirements with respect to criminal investigations or prosecutions of an allegedly unlawful disclosure of properly classified information. Directs federal courts to give appropriate deference to a specific factual showing submitted by the head of any executive branch agency concerned. Sets forth procedures with respect to information sought from electronic communications service providers. Provides for judicial review, submissions under seal, and expedited appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2013
Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), with respect to charges that allege an offense triable by court-martial (with certain exclusions) for which the maximum punishment includes confinement for more than one year, to direct the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to require the Secretaries of the military departments to provide for the determination of whether to try such charges by general or special court-martial to be made by a commissioned officer of grade O-6 or higher with significant experience in such trials and who is outside the chain of command of the accused. Provides that a determination not to proceed to trial shall not preclude a commanding officer from either referring such charges for trial by summary court-martial or imposing non-judicial punishment. Requires Rule 306 (relating to policy on initial disposition of offenses) of the Manual for Courts-Martial to be amended to strike the character and military service of the accused from factors to be considered by the disposition authority. Revises the list of officers authorized to convene general and special courts-martial to include those in grade O-6 or higher assigned such responsibility by their department chief of staff (with the same prohibition against an officer in the same chain of command as the accused). Requires each chief of staff to establish an office which shall convene general and special courts-martial and detail judges and members. Requires a military judge to call a general or special court-martial trial into session within 90 days of the determination of its necessity. Requires a convening authority (the official acting on the sentence of a court-martial), when taking any action other than approving a sentence, to prepare a written justification of such action which shall be made part of the record of the court-martial. Prohibits a convening authority from: (1) dismissing or setting aside a finding of guilty, or (2) reducing a finding of guilty to a finding of guilty to a lesser included offense. Requires a commanding officer who receives a report of a sexual-related offense involving a member in such officer's chain of command to act immediately upon such report by way of referral to the appropriate criminal investigative office or service. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to require an independent panel established by the DOD Secretary to monitor and assess the implementation and efficacy of this Act and its amendments.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2013
Small Business Lending Enhancement Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to prohibit an insured credit union from making any member business loan that would result in the total amount of such loans outstanding at that credit union at any one time exceeding either: (1) 1.75 times the actual net worth of the credit union, or (2) 12.25% of the total assets of the credit union. Authorizes the National Credit Union Administration Board to approve an application by an insured credit union to make one or more member business loans that would result in a total amount of such loans outstanding at any one time of up to 27.5 % of the total assets of the credit union, if the credit union meets specified safety and soundness criteria. Prohibits an insured credit union that has made such a member business loan but that is not well capitalized from making any new member business loans until it becomes well capitalized and obtains Board approval. Directs the Board to develop a tiered approval process, including lending standards, under which an insured credit union gradually increases the amount of member business lending in a manner that is consistent with safe and sound operations. Directs the Comptroller General to study the status of member business lending by insured credit unions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2013
Student Loan Affordability Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend until June 30, 2015, existing interest rates for loans made to undergraduate students under the Federal Direct Stafford Loan program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify rules for required distributions from tax-exempt pension plans to an employee who dies before such employee's entire interest is distributed to require such interest to be distributed within five years after the death of such employee, subject to exceptions for an eligible designated beneficiary and surviving spouse of such employee. Defines "eligible designated beneficiary" to include a disabled or chronically-ill individual. Exempts from such modification a binding annuity contract in effect on the enactment date of this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) limit the deductibility of interest payments made by a corporation which is an expatriated entity to a related person; (2) expand the definition of "crude oil" for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum to include crude oil condensates, natural gasoline, any bitumen or bituminous mixture, and any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture; (3) eliminate the requirement that such crude oil be produced in a well located in the United States; and (4) make permanent the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate. Exempts the budgetary effects of this Act from the requirements of specified PAYGO scorecards.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2013
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover, as medical and other health services, complex rehabilitation technology items designed and configured for a specific qualified individual to meet that individual's unique: (1) medical, physical, and functional needs related to a medical condition; and (2) capacities for basic activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) designate complex rehabilitation technology items (excluding adaptive equipment to operate motor vehicles or certain prosthetic devices and orthotics), and (2) establish eligibility criteria for them. Prescribes requirements for payments for CRT items. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for clinical conditions for CRT item payment as well as quality standards for suppliers of such items. Directs the Secretary to establish a Healthcare Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) coding subset that uses specified HCPCS codes for CRT items. Requires payment for replacement of a CRT item (or any part of one), without regard to certain continuous use or useful lifetime restrictions established for items of durable medical equipment (DME), if a qualified ordering practitioner determines that a replacement item (or part) is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2013
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act - Declares it an unlawful employment practice for employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, and other specified entities to: (1) fail to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of job applicants or employees, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on such an entity's business operation; (2) deny employment opportunities based on the need of the entity to make such reasonable accommodations; (3) require such job applicants or employees to accept an accommodation that they choose not to accept; or (4) require such employees to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to their known limitations. Sets forth enforcement procedures and remedies under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and the rights and protections extended to presidential offices. Directs the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to issue regulations to carry out this Act, including the identification of reasonable accommodations addressing known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2013
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program Reauthorization Act of 2013 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to: (1) extend through FY2018 the authorization of appropriations for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program; (2) transfer to the Treasury, no later than January 15, 2016, all previously appropriated funds for such program that are not expended by September 30, 2015; (3) prohibit a state, local government, or Indian tribe from using any funding under another grant program to pay or defer the cost of the matching fund requirement for the grant program; (4) require a grantee to comply with any established requirements for the use of such grants, have a written policy requiring uniformed patrol officers to wear an armor vest or body armor, and use funds for purchasing vests or body armor that meet performance standards established by the Bureau of Justice Assistance; and (5) allow preferential consideration in grant awards to jurisdictions that provide armor vests to law enforcement officers that are uniquely fitted for such officers, including individual female officers. Expresses the sense of Congress that amounts made available to carry out the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program should be made available through the end of the fiscal year following the one for which the amounts are appropriated and should not be made available until expended by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2013
Recognizes and honors the 20th anniversary of enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Salutes all of the individuals who contributed to its enactment. Encourages all individuals in the United States to celebrate the advance of workplace protections and opportunities made possible by FMLA. Pledges to continue to work on a bipartisan basis to ensure that all such individuals are able to balance work and family responsibilities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2013 - Authorizes a rental company that receives a notification (approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA]) from the manufacturer of a covered rental vehicle about any equipment defect, or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, to rent or sell the vehicle or equipment only if the defect or noncompliance is remedied. Specifies any rental vehicle: (1) rated at 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less, (2) rented without a driver for an initial term of under 4 months, and (3) that is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more motor vehicles used for rental purposes by a rental company. Prescribes a special rule to require rental companies to comply with specified limitations on sale, lease, or rental of a motor vehicle as soon as practicable, but within 24 hours after the earliest receipt of the manufacturer's notification of a defect or noncompliance with vehicle safety standards, whether by electronic means or first class mail. Extends the 24-hour deadline for complying with such limitations to 48 hours if the notification covers more than 5,000 motor vehicles in the rental company's fleet. Permits a rental company to rent (but not sell or lease) a motor vehicle subject to recall if the defect or noncompliance remedy is not immediately available and the company takes any actions specified in the notice to alter the vehicle temporarily to eliminate the safety risk posed. Makes these special rules for rental companies inapplicable to junk automobiles. Prohibits a rental company from knowingly making inoperable any safety devices or elements of design installed on or in a compliant motor vehicle or vehicle equipment unless the company reasonably believes the vehicle or equipment will not be used when the devices or elements are inoperable. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request, to inspect records of a rental company with respect to a safety investigation. Authorizes the Secretary to require a rental company to keep records or make reports for purposes of compliance with federal motor vehicle safety orders or regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to study the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act and of other activities of rental companies. Amends the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to require the mandatory study of the safety of rental trucks during a specified seven-year period to evaluate the completion of safety recall remedies on rental trucks. Directs the Secretary to solicit comments regarding the implementation of this Act from members of the public, including rental companies, consumer organizations, automobile manufacturers, and automobile dealers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Student Right to Know Before You Go Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) to submit to the Secretary of Education data that the Secretary determines to be sufficient to complete all student components of reporting required for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Directs the Secretary to review that determination every five years. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish common definitions for IHEs to follow in submitting the data required under this Act, and (2) determine both collection and reporting requirements. Directs the Secretary to require IHEs to identify student unit records to enable coding and reporting on: (1) students who participate in remedial education; (2) whether, and at what level, the student is seeking a degree; and (3) whether the student is seeking a certificate. (Student unit records are used to collect information at the student, rather than institutional, level.) Requires the Secretary to also calculate, within two years of this Act's enactment, at the institutional and program specific level: the percentage of students who receive federal, state, or institutional grants or loans; the average amount of federal loan debt students have accumulated by graduation; the average amount of total federal loan debt of students who do not complete a program of study two years after their last known enrollment in any IHE; student transfer rates by sector of transfer; rates of continuation to higher levels of education; and the percentage of students who receive the degree level they initially sought. Directs the Secretary to make those student outcome measures and the currently reported student level components of IPEDS available by specified student types that are differentiated on the basis of their: (1) receipt or non-receipt of federal Pell Grants or Stafford Loans, (2) participation in the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program, (3) enrollment status, and (4) enrollment intensity. Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with the Commissioner of Social Security, to establish a system which uses the student components of IPEDS to create earnings metrics that allow the publication of median annual earnings and employment data that is disaggregated by: (1) educational program, credential received, school, and state of employment; and (2) the 2-, 6-, and 15-year periods after educational program completion. Requires the information aggregated by the Secretary under this Act to be made available on IPEDS and posted on a website in a timely and user-friendly manner that protects personally identifiable information. Requires IHEs, within five years of this Act's enactment, to provide a prominently displayed link on their websites to the website containing such information. Eliminates, within five years of this Act's enactment, IHE data reporting requirements under the HEA that are deemed duplicative. Directs the Secretary to create a process through which IHEs and states may request and receive from the Department of Education aggregate student outcome data for the purposes of institutional improvement and program evaluation. Prohibits the unauthorized use of the data collected pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site Improvement Act of 2013 - Amends P.L. 105-378 (relating to the establishment of the Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site in New York City, New York) to add the lower east side tenement at 103 Orchard Street to the Historic Site. Prohibits anything in this Act from authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to acquire the property at 103 Orchard Street.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments Act of 2013 - Amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, with respect to the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program, to: (1) expand the current definition of "battlefield report" to include the report entitled "Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States"; and (2) expand the Program to permit the acquisition not only of an "interest in an eligible site," but also an "eligible site." Requires acquisitions of lands or interests under the Act to be from willing sellers only. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on activities carried out under this Act. Prohibits the use of any acquisition grant program funds for purposes of lobbying.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Safe Building Code Incentive Act of 2013 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to increase the maximum total of contributions for a major disaster by an amount equal to 4% of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made under the Act, if at the time of a declaration of a major disaster the affected state has in effect and is actively enforcing an approved state building code. Requires a state, to be eligible for the increased federal share, to submit its state building code to the President for approval. Directs the President to approve a state building code submitted upon determining that it: (1) is consistent with the most recent version of a nationally recognized model building code, (2) has been adopted by the state within six years of the most recent version of the nationally recognized code, and (3) uses the nationally recognized code as a minimum standard. Requires the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to set appropriate standards for the periodic update, resubmittal, and approval of state building codes, consistent with similar mitigation planning requirements under the Stafford Act. Authorizes the use by states and local governments of technical and financial assistance to implement predisaster hazard mitigation measures to establish and operate a building department and carry out enforcement activities to implement an approved state building code. Directs the President, in determining whether to provide technical and financial assistance to a state or local government, to take into account the extent to which that government is carrying out activities to implement an approved state building code.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
American Dream Accounts Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to eligible entities so each can establish and administer American Dream Accounts for a group of at least 30 low-income public school students who, at the time the entities apply for a grant, are attending a grade no higher than ninth grade. Lists as eligible entities: (1) state educational agencies, (2) local educational agencies, (3) charter schools, (4) charter management organizations, (5) institutions of higher education (IHEs), (6) nonprofit organizations, (7) entities experienced in educational savings or assisting low-income students attain higher education, and (8) consortia of two or more of these entities. Describes an American Dream Account as a personal online account for low-income students that monitors their progress toward higher education and includes a college savings account that provides some tax-preferred accumulation. Requires American Dream Accounts to provide students with opportunities, either online or in person, to: (1) attain financial literacy; (2) learn about preparing for enrollment in an IHE; and (3) identify their skills or interests, including career interests. Requires grantees, subject to federal privacy laws and regulations, to allow vested stakeholders to have secure Internet access to an American Dream Account, but not the college savings account portion of that Account. Prohibits grantees from using their grant to provide the initial deposit into the college savings account portion of a student's American Dream Account. Prohibits the funds in those college savings accounts from being considered in making federal student financial aid determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act of 2013 - 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 · 9 May 2013
Oilheat Efficiency, Renewable Fuel Research and Jobs Training Act of 2013 - Amends the National Oilheat Research Alliance Act of 2000 to: (1) require the National Oilheat Research Alliance to provide the Secretary of Energy (DOE) with a list of qualified nominees for Alliance membership, and (2) revise membership criteria. Includes among Alliance functions research to: (1) develop renewable fuels; and (2) examine the compatibility of different renewable fuels with oilheat fuel utilization equipment, with priority given to research on the development and use of advanced biofuels. Changes the Alliance's proposed budget from annual to biennial. Limits the current assessment rate of 2/10 of 1 cent per gallon of oilheat fuel (currently, of No. 1 distillate and No. 2 dyed distillate) to calendar years 2013 and 2014. Requires subsequent annual assessment rates to be sufficient to cover the costs of Alliance plans and programs. Limits those assessments, however, to a change of no more than 1/2 of 1 cent per gallon of oilheat fuel. Prohibits any assessment increase unless: (1) it is approved by 3/4 of Alliance members voting at a regularly scheduled meeting, and (2) the Alliance notifies certain congressional committees of the proposed increase at least 90 days before the meeting. Prohibits such assessments from being passed through to, or otherwise required to be paid by, residential consumers of oilheat fuel. Requires a qualified state association to deposit funds received under this Act in an account separate from its other funds. Directs the Alliance to ensure that specified percentages of assessments collected for each calendar year are used by qualified state associations or the Alliance to: (1) conduct research, development, and demonstration activities relating to oilheat fuel, including development of energy-efficient heating and the transition and facilitation of the entry of energy-efficient heating systems into the marketplace; and (2) develop consumer education materials. Directs the Alliance to require that at least 20% of the demonstration cost or commercial application program be provided by a source other than the Alliance. Directs the Alliance to ensure that heating system conversion assistance is coordinated with administrators of a specified low-income home energy assistance program and with the Weatherization Assistance Program for Low-Income Persons. Repeals: (1) the requirement for an annual analysis of oilheat price changes relative to other energy sources (market survey); as well as (2) the restriction of Association activities to research and development, training, and safety matters if in any year the five-year average price composite index of consumer grade oilheat exceeds a certain amount. Prohibits the use of funds derived from assessments collected by the Alliance for lobbying purposes. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, in the event of noncompliance with this Act by the Alliance, a qualified state association, or any other person or entity, to notify Congress and the Alliance website. Extends the sunset date for the National Oilheat Research Alliance program to 19 years after the date on which it was established.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2013
Eliminates the time limit for ratification of the equal rights amendment (prohibits discrimination on account of sex) proposed to the states in House Joint Resolution 208 of the 92nd Congress, as agreed to in the Senate on March 22, 1972. Declares that such amendment shall be part of the Constitution whenever ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Iran Sanctions Loophole Elimination Act of 2013 - Amends the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 to direct the President to prohibit the opening, and prohibit or impose strict conditions on the maintaining, in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that is a person described in this Act. Describes such person as a person that on or after May 9, 2013, knowingly: (1) conducted or facilitated a significant transaction involving the currency of a country other than the country in which the person is operating with, for, or on behalf of the Central Bank of Iran or another Iranian financial institution designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the imposition of sanctions, or a person that is involved in the energy, shipping, and shipbuilding sectors of Iran; or (2) transferred funds for, or held funds on behalf of, a person described in the previous paragraph in relation to a transaction without regard to the currency of such funds. Authorizes the President to impose sanctions pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act with respect to any other person. Authorizes the President to waive the provisions of this Act with respect to a person for up to 180 days (and authorizes renewal of such waiver for additional periods of up to 180 days) for reasons of U.S. national security. Requires congressional notification at least seven days prior to a waiver or waiver renewal.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Gestational Diabetes Act or the GEDI Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop a multisite gestational diabetes research project within the diabetes program of the CDC to expand and enhance surveillance data and public health research on gestational diabetes. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand and intensify public health research on gestational diabetes, including; (1) developing and testing novel approaches for improving postpartum testing or screening and for preventing type 2 diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes, and (2) conducting research to further understanding of the factors and health systems that influence the risk of gestational diabetes and the development of type 2 diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes. Requires the Director to: (1) award grants for demonstration projects to reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes, the recurrence of such disease in subsequent pregnancies, and the development of type 2 diabetes in women with a history of gestational diabetes; and (2) work with state and Indian tribal-based diabetes prevention and control programs assisted by the CDC to encourage postpartum follow-up after gestational diabetes to reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes and its recurrence, the development of type 2 diabetes in at-risk women, and related complications.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Strengthening The Resiliency of Our Nation on the Ground Act or STRONG Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish and chair an interagency working group with cabinet-level representation from all relevant federal agencies in order to: (1) provide a strategic vision of extreme weather resilience; (2) conduct a gap and overlap analysis of current and planned federal activities related to achieving short- and long-term resilience to extreme weather and its impacts on the United States, such as flooding and drought; and (3) develop a National Extreme Weather Resilience Action Plan. Requires the Plan to include the establishment of an online, publicly available information portal to be used by federal agencies and other stakeholders that directs users to key data and tools to inform resilience-enhancing efforts and to build off and complement existing federal efforts. Provides for a coordinating entity to establish and maintain such portal. Requires such coordinating entity to coordinate the implementation of the Plan and to track its progress. Requires the submission of specified reports.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Science Laureates of the United States Act of 2013 - Establishes the position of Science Laureate of the United States. Requires the President to appoint a Science Laureate on the basis of: (1) merit, particularly the ability of such individual to foster and enhance public awareness and interest in science and to provide ongoing significant scientific contributions; and (2) recommendations received by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) based on those factors. Encourages each Science Laureate to continue his or her scientific work and directs the NAS to facilitate his or her duties. Requires each Science Laureate to serve a term of one or two years.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2013
Antimicrobial Data Collection Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA), to develop a research program to study the relationship between the sales, distribution, and end-use practices of animal drugs containing an antimicrobial active ingredient in food-producing animals and antimicrobial resistance trends. Requires the Secretary to analyze data from the program to determine the data's contribution to studying antimicrobial resistance and establishing an antimicrobial data collection strategy. Requires the Secretary to: (1) report to Congress on the program's research design and goals, including a needs assessment to improve the FDA's evaluation of antimicrobial resistance; and (2) report to Congress and the public within two years with the comprehensive results of the program and recommendations for developing an antimicrobial data collection strategy. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the requirements for the annual summaries of antimicrobial animal drug information, including by requiring the Secretary to maximize the quality, accuracy, detail, and specificity of the data made publicly available in the summaries. Requires the Secretary to conduct an annual evaluation of the effectiveness of and compliance with relevant FDA programs and policies regarding antimicrobial drug sales for food-producing animals, and the use of such drugs and antimicrobial resistance. Directs the Secretary to publish a final version of voluntary guidance for drug sponsors on new animal drugs and new animal drug combination products administered in or on medicated feed or drinking water of food-producing animals. Requires the Comptroller General (GAO) to evaluate the FDA's approaches to eliminate injudicious use of antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals and the effectiveness of the FDA's data collection activities regarding antimicrobial resistance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2013
Family Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 50% of qualified infertility treatment expenses. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to $12,970 for taxable years beginning in 2013, with a phase-out of such credit for taxpayers based on adjusted gross income. Defines "qualified infertility treatment expenses" as amounts paid for the treatment of infertility via in vitro fertilization if such treatment is provided by a licensed physician, surgeon, or other medical practitioner and is administered with respect to a diagnosis of infertility by a physician licensed in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2013
Fire Police Fairness Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include a fire police officer as a public safety officer for purposes of death benefits provisions. Defines a "fire police officer" as an individual who: (1) is serving in accordance with state or local law as a member of a legally organized public safety agency; (2) is not a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, a chaplain, or a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew; and (3) provides scene security or directs traffic in response to any fire, rescue, or police emergency or at a planned special event. Makes conforming amendments to the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act).
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2013
Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make formula grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish or enhance educational programs and related services that enable pregnant and parenting students to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. Requires state grantees to: (1) designate a Coordinator for Education of Pregnant and Parenting Students who is to develop and implement a state plan for educating pregnant and parenting students, and (2) develop and implement high-quality professional development programs for LEAs and school personnel. Requires subgrantees to: provide academic support services to pregnant and parenting students; assist such students in accessing quality, affordable child care, and early childhood education services; provide transportation services or assistance to such students and their children; educate students, parents, and community members regarding the educational rights of such students; train school personnel regarding the challenges facing pregnant and parenting students and their educational rights; revise school policies and practices that hinder or discourage such students from continuing their education; provide student parents with training and support in parenting, healthy relationship skills, unplanned pregnancy prevention strategies, and other life skills; and provide educational and career mentoring services and peer groups to pregnant and parenting students. Gives subgrant priority to LEAs in geographic areas with teen birth rates that: (1) exceed the state average, or (2) are below the state average but higher than the state average for one or more racial or ethnic groups. Directs the Secretary to conduct national activities that include: (1) providing technical assistance to states and reviewing their plans for educating pregnant and parenting students, (2) evaluating subgrantees' programs and education program service delivery models for such students, and (3) gathering and disseminating information regarding the education of such students and best practices in facilitating it.