United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Global Food Security Act of 2014 - States the policy objective of promoting global food and nutrition security which is reinforced through programs that eradicate hunger and malnutrition, assist foreign countries with agricultural development, and ensure the effective use of U.S. taxpayer dollars to further these objectives. Requires the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to coordinate the development and implementation of a Feed the Future Strategy to accomplish these policy objectives. Requires the Administrator to coordinate the efforts of federal departments and agencies in the implementation of the strategy by: (1) establishing policy coherence, monitoring, and evaluation systems across all relevant U.S. agencies; (2) establishing linkages with other initiatives and strategies at USAID and other departments and agencies; (3) establishing platforms for regular consultation and collaboration with key stakeholders; (4) leveraging the expertise of the Department of Agriculture (USDA); and (5) establishing and leading regular public consultations in partner countries. Requires the Administrator to submit reports to Congress describing the status of the implementation of the Feed the Future Strategy.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
21st Century Energy Workforce Development Jobs Initiative Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a comprehensive program to improve the education and training of workers for energy-related jobs, with emphasis on increasing the number of skilled minorities and women trained to work in such jobs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to report to Congress on the entrepreneurial impact of technology transfer at the National Laboratories. Requires such report to be based on an evaluation of quantitative performance metrics, including: the number of licenses granted to small businesses, the numbers of start-up businesses created, the number of cooperative research and development agreements and collaborations involving small businesses and the total number of businesses involved in those agreements and collaborations, the period of time required for the execution of a license, and the number of jobs created.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014
Commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Commends the work of the individuals and organizations involved in building and maintaining the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Small Airport Regulation Relief Act of 2014 - Prescribes a special rule to require the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) 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 · 17 September 2014
Authorization for Use of Military Force against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant - Authorizes the President for one year, as part of a multinational coalition, to: use all appropriate force to participate in an air campaign in Iraq, and if necessary, in Syria, to degrade and defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL); and provide military equipment and training to forces fighting ISIL in Iraq or Syria, including the Iraqi security forces, Kurdish fighters, and other legitimate non-terrorist opposition groups in Syria. States that such authorization does not include: the use of U.S. ground combat forces, except to provide military equipment and training to forces fighting ISIL in Iraq or Syria, to protect or rescue U.S. Armed Forces members or U.S. citizens from imminent danger posed by ISIL, or for limited operations against high value targets; or the use of force against forces associated with ISIL, unless such forces are identified as fighting alongside ISIL in Iraq and Syria. Declares that this resolution is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization pursuant to section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution. Repeals the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Directs the President to submit to Congress every 90 days a list of those organizations or individuals fighting alongside ISIL for purposes of actions taken pursuant to this joint resolution. States that nothing in this resolution shall be construed as: authorizing support for force in support of, or in cooperation with, the national government of Syria that was in power as of the enactment of this resolution, or its security services; or limiting the constitutional or statutory powers of the President or Congress or any additional powers held by the United States pursuant to international law or treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Recognizes the achievements and goals of Hispanic-serving institutions across the United States. Designates the week beginning September 14, 2014, as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Recognizes the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15-October 15, 2014. Esteems the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Recognizes: (1) the threat that Ebola poses to populations, governments, and economies in Africa; and (2) that the limited capacity of the initial outbreak countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia to combat the epidemic has been exhausted and the potential threat to regions beyond Africa if the Ebola outbreak is not contained. Expresses support for those affected by this epidemic and sympathy for Ebola victims and their families. Supports the governments of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for their efforts to combat the Ebola virus. Urges citizens of affected countries to respect preventative guidelines. Supports the work of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of State, the Forest Service, and other U.S. government agencies providing technical, logistical, and material support. Encourages deepened U.S. and international commitments to the global Ebola response. Welcomes the delivery of assistance and increased engagement from donors such as the Economic Community of West African States, the African Union (AU), the World Bank, the European Union (EU), and Canada. Supports the World Health Organization's Ebola Response Roadmap. Encourages Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone to work together and with other nations and regional and subregional organizations to establish emergency response systems. Recognizes the work of thousands of African, U.S., and international officials and volunteers on the ground in West Africa, and particularly health care workers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Amends the federal charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to describe the organization as a national association of veterans (currently, an association of men) who, as soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen, served this Nation in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign soil or in hostile waters. Expands its purpose of assisting widows to that of assisting surviving spouses.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable James M. Jeffords, former member of the United States Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns September 9, 2014, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Jeffords.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) mint and issue $1 silver coins to commemorate the centennial of the involvement of the United States in World War I, and (2) hold a competition and provide compensation for its winner to design the obverse and reverse of the coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the centennial of the involvement of the United States in World War I. Permits the Secretary to issue such coins only during the period beginning on January 1, 2018, and ending on December 31, 2018. Subjects the coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin, payable by the Secretary to the World War I Centennial Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Ensuring Access to Primary Care for Women and Children Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require that the primary care services furnished in 2015 and 2016 by a physician with a primary specialty designation of family medicine, general internal medicine, or pediatric medicine be paid at a rate that is not less than 100% of the payment rate that applies to such services and physician under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Extends this 100% of Medicare payment floor under certain conditions to the following providers, who are self-attested as Board-certified and at least 60% of whose services billed for under Medicaid must be for primary care services: (1) physicians with a primary specialty designation of obstetrics and gynecology; (2) advanced practice clinicians; (3) rural health clinics, federally-qualified health centers, or other specified health clinics; and (4) nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or certified nurse-midwives. Excludes from coverage of primary care services any such services provided in an emergency department of a hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Women's Small Business Ownership Act of 2014 - Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Office of Women's Business Ownership within the Small Business Administration (SBA) to address issues concerning specified disciplines required for starting, operating, and increasing a small business. Authorizes the SBA Administrator to provide annual training for women's business ownership representatives. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to qualifying entities to conduct projects designed to provide training and counseling meeting the needs of women business owners, especially socially and economically disadvantaged women business owners. Specifies assistance amounts of up to $250,000 per project year. Directs the Administrator to seek advice, input, and recommendations for policy changes from any association of women's business centers to develop: (1) a training program for the staff of such centers, and (2) recommendations to improve the policies and procedures for governing the general operations and administration of the women's business center program. Authorizes the Administrator, upon request by a recipient organization, to waive for a fiscal year (but not more than two consecutive fiscal years) the requirement to obtain matching non-federal funds for the organization's technical assistance and counseling activities carried out using financial assistance under the women's business center program. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study: (1) the unique economic issues facing women's business centers located in predominately rural, urban, or insular areas; and (2) SBA oversight of women's business centers. Authorizes a contracting officer to award a sole source contract under this Act to small businesses owned and controlled by women if each of the businesses is at least 51% owned by one or more women who are economically disadvantaged (and such ownership is determined without regard to any community property law), and meets specified additional criteria. Authorizes a contracting officer to award a sole source contract to a small business owned and controlled by women meeting the same criteria in an industry in which such businesses are substantially underrepresented if the small business also meets specified certification requirements. Extends indefinitely the SBA Intermediary Lending Program (ILP). Replaces requirements governing ILP loan limits, including maximum amounts, with requirements that limit to: (1) $1 million a single loan to an eligible intermediary, (2) $5 million the total amount outstanding and committed to the intermediary by the Administrator under the ILP, and (3) $20 million the total amount of all ILP loans during each of FY2015-FY2017. Revises requirements for the SBA microloan program (direct loans to eligible intermediaries for making fixed interest rate microloans to startup, newly established, or growing small businesses). Increases the ILP's aggregate loan limit for intermediaries after their first year of participation from $5 million to $7 million. Eliminates limitations on an intermediary's use of funds from an accompanying marketing, management, and technical assistance grant to provide information and technical assistance to small businesses that are prospective borrowers. Prohibits the Administrator from collecting the guarantee fee on a guaranteed loan unless amounts are made available to subsidize the cost of guaranteeing such loans for FY2016. Expresses the sense of the Senate on access to capital for small businesses owned and controlled by women.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Medicare CGM Access Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare coverage of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices furnished to a CGM qualified individual. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a fee schedule and ensure that CGM qualified individuals are furnished with appropriate device components.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014 - Expands the TRICARE health care program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to entitle additional female beneficiaries and dependents to care related to the prevention of pregnancy. (Currently, such care is limited to certain female members of the uniformed service or a reserve component performing active duty or certain servicewomen performing inactive-duty training.) Prohibits cost-sharing from being imposed or collected for such pregnancy prevention care, including for any method of contraception provided through a facility of the uniformed services, the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, or the national mail-order pharmacy program. Provides for such pregnancy prevention care to include all methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling. Directs the DOD Secretary to: (1) ensure that every military treatment facility has a sufficient stock of a broad range of FDA-approved methods of contraception to dispense to any women members of the Armed Forces and female covered beneficiaries who receive care through such facility; (2) disseminate clinical practice guidelines and decision support tools to DOD-employed health care providers; (3) ensure that women members of the Armed Forces have access to contraception counseling during health care visits; and (4) establish an education program for all members of the Armed Forces, including both men and women members, consisting of a uniform standard curriculum on family planning. Requires questions regarding family planning services and counseling to be incorporated into DOD health surveys. Requires every military treatment facility, upon request, to provide emergency contraception, or information about FDA-approved methods of emergency contraception, to any woman who: (1) states to personnel that she is a victim of sexual assault or is accompanied by another individual who states that the woman is a victim of sexual assault, or (2) is reasonably believed to be a survivor of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ensuring Effective Discipline Over Monitoring Act of 2014 or the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014 - Title I: FISA Business Records Reforms - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to establish a new process to be followed when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) submits an application to a FISA court for an order requiring the production of tangible things (commonly referred to as business records) for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities. Requires the FBI to include in such tangible thing applications a specific selection term to be used as the basis for production. Provides for applications seeking the production of call detail records to be considered under such revised tangible thing production requirements. Defines "call detail record" as session identifying information (including an originating or terminating telephone number, an International Mobile Subscriber Identity number, or an International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number), a telephone calling card number, or the time or duration of a call. Excludes from such definition: (1) the contents of any communication; (2) the name, address, or financial information of a subscriber or customer; or (3) cell site location information. Establishes two separate frameworks for the production of such call detail records with different standards that apply based on whether the application seeks: production on a daily basis of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of the application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism, in which case the specific selection term is only required to specifically identify an individual, account, or personal device; or production of call detail records in any other manner under revised FISA requirements for the production of all other tangible things, in which case a narrowly limited specific selection term is required to specifically identify a person, account, physical or electronic address, personal device, or another specific identifier to narrowly limit the scope of tangible things sought to the greatest extent reasonably practicable and is prohibited from including a term: (1) based on a broad geographic region, including a city, state, zip code, or area code, when not used as part of a specific identifier; or (2) identifying an electronic communication service provider or a provider of remote computing service when not used as part of a specific identifier, unless the provider is itself a subject of an authorized investigation for which the specific selection term is used as the basis of production. Requires the FBI, in applications seeking the production on a daily basis of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of an application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism, to include a statement of facts showing: (1) reasonable grounds to believe that the call detail records sought to be produced based on the specific selection term are relevant to such investigation; and (2) a reasonable, articulable suspicion that such specific selection term is associated with a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power engaged in international terrorism or activities in preparation for such terrorism. Requires a judge approving the release, on a daily basis, of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism to: limit such production to a period not to exceed 180 days, but allow such orders to be extended upon application with judicial approval; permit the government to require the prompt production of such records using: (1) a specific selection term that satisfies the reasonable, articulable suspicion standard that the term is associated with a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power; and (2) call detail records with a direct connection to such specific selection term as the basis for production of a second set of call detail records (thus limiting the government to what is commonly referred to as two "hops" of call records when the order concerns production on a daily basis of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of the application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism); and direct the government to: (1) adopt minimization procedures requiring prompt destruction of such call records that the government determines are not foreign intelligence information, and (2) destroy all call detail records produced under the order as prescribed by such procedures. Requires applications and orders under FISA for production of call detail records in any other manner (other than in the manner required for a daily production of such records created before, on, or after the date of an application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism) to be considered under the standards applicable to all other applications and orders for the production of tangible things. (Thus, requires a specific selection term but does not subject the production to the additional requirements--including the reasonable, articulable suspicion standard regarding an association with a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power, the 180-day period limitation, the two-hop limitation, and the prompt destruction requirements for records that are not foreign intelligence information--that are applicable only to the daily production of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of the application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism.) Authorizes the Attorney General to require the emergency production of tangible things, without first obtaining a court order, if the Attorney General: (1) reasonably determines that an emergency situation requires the production of tangible things before an order authorizing production can be obtained with due diligence, (2) reasonably determines that a factual basis exists for the issuance of such a production order, (3) informs a FISA judge of the decision to require such production at the time the emergency decision is made, and (4) makes an application to a FISA judge within seven days after the Attorney General requires such emergency production. Terminates the authority for such emergency production of tangible things when the information sought is obtained, when the application for the order is denied, or after the expiration of seven days from the time the Attorney General begins requiring such emergency production, whichever is earliest. Prohibits information obtained or evidence derived from such an emergency production from being received in evidence or disclosed in any proceeding in or before any court, grand jury, department, office, agency, regulatory body, legislative committee, or other authority of the United States, a state, or a political subdivision if: (1) the subsequent application for court approval is denied, or (2) the production is terminated and no order is issued approving the production. Bars information concerning any U.S. person acquired from such production from being used or disclosed in any other manner by federal officers or employees without the consent of such person, except with approval of the Attorney General if the information indicates a threat of death or serious bodily harm. Requires FISA court orders approving the production of tangible things to include each specific selection term used as the basis for such production. Prohibits FISA courts from authorizing the collection of tangible things without the use of a specific selection term. Requires minimization procedures for orders in which the specific selection term does not specifically identify an individual, account, or personal device to prohibit the dissemination, and require the destruction within a reasonable time period specified in the order, of any information that has not been determined to relate to a person: (1) who is a subject of an authorized investigation, a foreign power, or a suspected agent of a foreign power; or (2) who is reasonably likely to have information about the activities of, or who is in contact with or known to, a subject of an authorized investigation or a suspected agent of a foreign power associated with a subject of an authorized investigation. Exempts from such minimization procedures tangible things or information that indicates a threat of death or serious bodily harm or that is disseminated to another element of the intelligence community for the sole purpose of determining whether it relates to such a person. Requires a FISA court, as a condition to approving an application for a tangible thing production order, to find that the minimization procedures submitted with the application meet applicable FISA standards. Removes a requirement that a judge considering a petition to modify or set aside a nondisclosure order treat as conclusive a certification by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, an Assistant Attorney General, or the FBI Director that disclosure may endanger national security or interfere with diplomatic relations. Extends liability protections to: (1) persons required to provide information, facilities, or technical assistance for the production of tangible things; and (2) persons who provide technical assistance to the government for such production or to implement amendments made by this Act to FISA's requirements for such production. (Currently, liability protections are limited to persons who produce such tangible things.) Requires the government to compensate a person for reasonable expenses incurred for: (1) producing tangible things or providing information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with an order issued for the production of daily-basis call detail records created before, on, or after the date of the application or an emergency production that requires an application for such daily-basis call records; or (2) providing such technical assistance to the government or to implement the tangible thing production amendments of this Act. Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to require the Inspector General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to audit the effectiveness and use of FISA authority to obtain production of tangible things from 2012 to 2014, including an examination of whether minimization procedures adopted by the Attorney General adequately protect the constitutional rights of U.S. persons. Directs the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, for the same 2012-2014 period, to assess: (1) the importance of such information to the intelligence community; (2) the manner in which such information was collected, retained, analyzed, and disseminated; and (3) the adequacy of minimization procedures, including an assessment of any minimization procedures proposed by an element of the intelligence community that were modified or denied by the court. Prohibits this Act from being construed to authorize the production of the contents of any electronic communication from an electronic communication service provider under such tangible thing requirements. Title II: FISA Pen Register and Trap and Trace Device Reform - Requires the government's FISA applications for orders approving pen registers or trap and trace devices to include a narrowly limited specific selection term as the basis for the installation or use of the register or device. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that appropriate procedures are in place to safeguard nonpublicly available information concerning U.S. persons that is collected through the use of a pen register or trap and trace device installed with FISA court approval. Requires such procedures to include privacy protections for the collection, retention, and use of information concerning U.S. persons. Title III: FISA Acquisitions Targeting Persons Outside the United States Reforms - Sets forth limitations on the use of information obtained through an authorization by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to target persons outside the United States other than U.S. persons. Requires, if the FISA court orders a correction of a certification or minimization procedures for such targeting, that no information obtained or evidence derived from an acquisition pursuant to the deficient part of the certification or procedures concerning a U.S. person be received in evidence or otherwise disclosed in any proceeding in or before any court, grand jury, department, office, agency, regulatory body, legislative committee, or other authority of the United States, a state, or a political subdivision. Prohibits information concerning any U.S. person acquired pursuant to such part of such certification from being used or disclosed subsequently in any other manner by federal officers or employees without the consent of the U.S. person, except with approval of the Attorney General if the information indicates a threat of death or serious bodily harm. Title IV: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Reforms - Directs the presiding judges of the FISA court and the FISA court of review to jointly appoint at least five attorneys to serve as special advocates. Requires such courts to designate such a special advocate attorney to serve as amicus curiae to assist in the consideration of questions of law that the FISA court certifies for review to the FISA court of review, as well as any application for an order or a review that presents a novel or significant interpretation of the law, unless the court issues a finding that such appointment is not appropriate. Requires such a special advocate to advocate in support of legal interpretations that advance individual privacy and civil liberties. Permits such courts to allow an individual or organization to serve as amicus curiae or provide technical expertise in any other instance as such courts deem appropriate. Allows the FISA court of review to: (1) certify a question of law to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, and (2) designate special advocates to provide briefings as prescribed by the Supreme Court. Requires the DNI to: (1) conduct a declassification review of each decision, order, or opinion issued by the FISA court or the FISA court of review that includes a significant construction or interpretation of law, including any novel or significant construction or interpretation of "specific selection term" as defined in this Act; and (2) make such decisions, orders, or opinions publicly available to the greatest extent practicable, subject to permissible redactions. Authorizes the DNI to waive such review and public availability requirements if: (1) a waiver is necessary to protect the national security of the United States or properly classified intelligence sources or methods, and (2) an unclassified statement prepared by the Attorney General is made publicly available to summarize the significant construction or interpretation of law. Title V: National Security Letter Reform - Amends the federal criminal code, the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require: (1) the FBI to use a term that specifically identifies a person, entity, telephone number, or account as the basis for requests (commonly referred to as "national security letters") to wire or electronic communication service providers for telephone toll and transactional records; (2) government authorities to use a term that specifically identifies a customer, entity, or account when requesting financial records for certain intelligence or protective functions; and (3) the FBI and government agencies to use a term that specifically identifies a consumer or account when requesting consumer reports from consumer reporting agencies for counterintelligence or counterterrorism purposes. Revises nondisclosure procedures relating to such requests, as well as requests under the National Security Act of 1947, to require the FBI or the appropriate agency official to determine annually, and upon closure of an investigation, whether facts no longer support a nondisclosure requirement that prohibits the recipient of a production request from disclosing publicly that it has received such a request. Requires notification to the relevant wire or electronic service provider, financial institution, or consumer reporting agency if a nondisclosure requirement is no longer in effect. Modifies procedures under which a recipient of a request may petition for judicial review of nondisclosure requirements. Removes a requirement that the court treat as conclusive a certification by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, an Assistant Attorney General, or FBI Director that disclosure may endanger U.S. national security or interfere with diplomatic relations. Title VI: FISA Transparency and Reporting Requirements - Requires the Attorney General to expand an annual report to Congress regarding tangible thing applications to include a summary of compliance reviews and the total number of: (1) applications made for the daily production of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of an application relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism; and (2) orders approving such requests. Directs the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to submit annually to Congress, and make available publicly on an Internet website, the number of: (1) FISA applications submitted and orders entered, modified, or denied under specified FISA authorities; and (2) appointments of an individual to serve as amicus curiae for FISA courts, including the name of each appointed individual, as well as any written findings that such an appointment is not appropriate. Makes the Internet availability of such information subject to a declassification review by the Attorney General and DNI. Directs the DNI to make available publicly a report that identifies, for the preceding 12-month period, the total number of: (1) FISA court orders issued for electronic surveillance, physical searches, the targeting of persons outside the United States, pen registers and trap and trace devices, call detail records, and other tangible things; and (2) national security letters issued. Requires specified reports to include the estimated number of: (1) targets affected; (2) individuals whose communications were collected, as well as individuals reasonably believed to have been in the United States at the time of collection; (3) search terms that included information concerning a U.S. person that were used to query a database of the contents of certain communications; and (4) search queries initiated by a U.S. officer, employee, or agent whose search terms included information concerning a U.S. person in any database of noncontents information relating to such communications. Allows a phone number registered in the United States to provide the basis for a reasonable belief that the individual using the number is located in the United States at the time of collection. Permits a person who is subject to a nondisclosure requirement accompanying a FISA order, directive, or national security letter to choose one of three methods to report publicly, on a semiannual or annual basis, the aggregate number of orders, directives, or letters with which the person was required to comply. Specifies the categories of orders, directives, and letters to be itemized, the details authorized to be included with respect to contents or noncontents orders and the number of customer accounts affected, and the ranges within which the number of orders, directives, or letters received may be reported aggregately in bands under each permitted method (i.e., reported in bands of 1000, 500, 250, or 100 depending on the chosen method). Delays the time periods within which persons may make certain FISA-related disclosures by: (1) requiring reports to include information for the period ending not less than 180 days before the information is publicly reported in the case of a semiannual report (or the period ending not less than one year before the information is publicly reported in the case of an annual report); and (2) prohibiting disclosure until 540 days after a new order or directive is received with respect to a platform, product, or service for which a person did not previously receive such an order or directive. Expands the categories of FISA court decisions, orders, or opinions that the Attorney General is required to submit to Congress within 45 days after issuance of the decision to include: (1) a denial or modification of an application under FISA; and (2) a change of the application, or a novel application, of any FISA provision. (Currently, the Attorney General is only required to submit decisions regarding a significant construction or interpretation of any FISA provision.) Revises reporting requirements regarding electronic surveillance, physical searches, and tangible things to include the House Judiciary Committee as a recipient of such reports. Requires the Attorney General to identify in an existing semiannual report each agency on behalf of which the government has applied for orders authorizing or approving the installation and use of pen registers or trap and trace devices under FISA. Title VII: Sunsets - Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to extend until December 31, 2017 (thereby aligning the expiration date of the following provisions with the expiration date of provisions under the FISA Amendments Act of 2008), specified authority concerning: (1) the production of business records and other tangible things, (2) roving electronic surveillance orders, and (3) a revised definition of "agent of a foreign power" to include any non-U.S. person who engages in international terrorism or preparatory activities (commonly referred to as the "lone wolf" provision). (Currently, such provisions are scheduled to expire on June 1, 2015.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 - Expresses the sense of Congress that Israel is a major U.S. strategic partner. Amends the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005 to extend authority to transfer certain obsolete or surplus Department of Defense (DOD) items to Israel. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to extend authority to make additions to foreign-based defense stockpiles for use as war reserve stocks through FY2015. Directs the President to take steps to make Israel eligible for the strategic trade authorization exception to the requirement for a license for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of an item subject to certain export controls. Authorizes the President to carry out U.S.-Israel cooperative activities and to provide assistance for cooperation in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies. Directs the President to report to Congress regarding U.S.-Israel cyber cooperation. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) should designate Israel as a visa waiver program county when Israel meets certain program requirements. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to authorize the Secretary of Energy to: enter into cooperative agreements supporting dialogue and planning involving international partnerships between the Department of Energy (DOE), including DOE National Laboratories, and the government of Israel and its ministries, offices, and institutions; and establish a joint United States-Israel Center based in an area of the United States with offshore energy development expertise to develop academic cooperation in energy innovation technology and engineering, water science, technology transfer, and analysis of geopolitical implications of new natural resource development. Extends, and expands the scope of covered energy, under the grant program to support U.S.-Israel research, development, and commercialization of renewable energy or energy efficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Homeless Children and Youth Act of 2014 - Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to redefine "homeless," "homeless individual," or "homeless person." Modifies requirements relating to an individual or family who will imminently lose their housing, including housing they own, rent, or live in without paying rent. Revises criteria for unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children and youth defined as homeless under other federal statutes to require that they: are certified as homeless by the director or designee of a program funded under any other federal statute; or have been certified by a director of a program funded under this Act or a director of a public housing agency (PHA) as lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which shall include: (1) temporarily sharing the housing of another person due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or other similar reason; or (2) living in a room in a motel or hotel. Requires the information provided to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) from a collaborative applicant about project sponsors in a community-wide homeless management information system (HMIS) to be made publicly available on HUD's website in aggregate, non-personally identifying reports, and updated at least annually. Prohibits the Secretary, in awarding grants for continuum of care programs, from considering or prioritizing the specific homeless populations intended to be served by the applicant if the applicant demonstrates that the project: (1) would meet the priorities identified in the applicant's plan, and (2) is cost-effective in meeting the overall goals and objectives identified in that plan. Repeals certain requirements regarding collaborative applicants. Modifies requirements for selection criteria for the award of grants through a national competition between geographic areas. Requires annual reports to Congress on housing assistance for the homeless to include data: (1) required to be made publicly available in the HMIS report, and (2) on programs funded under other specified federal statutes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Congratulates the Gay, Lesbian, and Allies Senate Staff (GLASS) Caucus association on its 10th anniversary. Commends the late Senator Frank Raleigh Lautenberg of New Jersey for his role in the formation of the association and his support for equality. Recognizes inaugural GLASS Caucus Steering Committee members Lynden Armstrong, Brett Bearce, Jeffrey Levensaler, Josh Brekenfeld, Jason Knapp, John Fossum, Kelsey Phipps, and Mat Young for their vision and work in establishing the association.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Civilian Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2014 or the CEJA - Amends the federal criminal code to grant jurisdiction over and impose penalties on federal contractors and employees who commit certain crimes outside of the United States while employed by or accompanying any agency of the United States other than the Department of Defense (DOD) or while so employed and stationed or deployed in a country outside of the United States pursuant to a treaty or executive agreement in furtherance of a border security initiative with that country. Sets forth the crimes under federal law that are covered by this Act. Provides for an optional venue for offenses under this Act involving federal employees and contractors overseas in the district in which is headquartered the U.S. agency that: (1) employs the offender, or any one or two or more joint offenders; or (2) the offender is accompanying, or that any one or two or more joint offenders is accompanying. Requires the statute of limitations for an offense under this Act to be suspended for the period during which the alleged offender is outside the United States or is a fugitive from justice. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) assign personnel and resources through task forces to investigate allegations of criminal offenses by federal contractors and employees overseas, and (2) report to Congress annually on the number of prosecutions and actions taken. Grants the Attorney General principal authority for the enforcement of this Act. Makes this Act inapplicable to the authorized intelligence activities of the U.S. government.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2014
Reaffirms the support of the Senate for Israel's right to defend its citizens and ensure Israel's survival. Condemns the unprovoked rocket fire at Israel and calls on Hamas to cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel. Calls on Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the unity governing arrangement with Hamas and condemn the attacks on Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
Protect Women's Health From Corporate Interference Act of 2014 - Affirms requirements, notwithstanding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, that: (1) an employer that establishes or maintains a group health plan for its employees must provide coverage of a specific item or service for the employees or their dependents where the coverage is required under federal provisions or regulations pursuant to those provisions; and (2) group health plans sponsored by an employer or employee organization, and any health insurance coverage, must provide coverage required under the Public Health Service Act, including preventive health services. Authorizes the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury to modify regulations concerning coverage of contraceptive services by group health plans of religious employers consistent with the purposes and findings (regarding coverage of birth control services and the Supreme Court decisions in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Burwell ) of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2014
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Alan John Dixon, former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns July 7, 2014, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Dixon.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Colonias Improvement Act of 2014 - Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue, in consultation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), a rule defining colonia (a type of settlement along the border of the United States and Mexico) that: is the same for any program of the EPA, HUD, or USDA that specifically includes assistance for colonias (covered program); is limited to a community that is located within 75 miles of the border or that has applied for or received funding under a covered program before this Act's enactment; reflects and preserves the historic, geographic, and cultural character of the communities served by the covered program; and may be used to determine whether an applicant qualifies for assistance under a program. Directs the EPA, HUD, and USDA to establish and update an online clearinghouse with information relating to covered programs and links to information specific to each state. Requires EPA to establish a working group that includes HUD and USDA to review covered programs, record information relating to each award made under a covered program, hold public hearings, and make recommendations to Congress for improving the programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Supporting Afterschool STEM Act - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish an afterschool STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) grant program awarding competitive grants to afterschool or STEM networks to: develop quality standards for STEM programming in afterschool programs and provide those programs with technical assistance in implementing such standards, work with state education stakeholders to define and promote appropriate measurable outcomes for afterschool programs that include STEM content, provide technical assistance to afterschool programs to start or grow their afterschool STEM efforts and define appropriate learning outcomes for such efforts, coordinate professional development for afterschool program educators, help afterschool program providers form strategic partnerships to advance STEM learning in afterschool programs, create and disseminate tool kits to afterschool programs wanting to form partnerships and incorporate STEM professionals as mentors and role models, and provide technical assistance to federally funded STEM researchers and professionals who wish to engage with afterschool programs. Defines: (1) an "afterschool program" as a structured program offered for elementary, middle, or secondary school students when school is not in session, such as before or after school, on the weekend, or during the summer; and (2) an "afterschool or STEM network" as a coalition that fosters partnerships and provides support to afterschool program providers and STEM education providers. Includes as goals of the grant program: (1) to support the development and delivery of high-quality STEM education to populations underrepresented in STEM fields, and (2) to provide hands-on learning and exposure to STEM research facilities and businesses through in-person or virtual distance-learning experiences. Requires the Director to provide each recipient of a STEM research grant who is under the Director's authority with information on opportunities to engage with students in out-of-school-time programs, such as through mentorships.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Howard H. Baker, Jr., former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns June 26, 2014, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Baker, Jr.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act of 2014 or the DISCLOSE Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidate's character, qualifications, or fitness for office. Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications. Prescribes disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities, including a political committee with an account established for the purpose of accepting donations or contributions that do not comply with the contribution limits or source prohibitions under FECA (but only with respect to such accounts). Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider legislation that sells any federal land and uses the proceeds of the sale to reduce the federal deficit, except for the sale of federal land in a state as part of a program that acquires land in the same state of comparable value or contains exceptional resources. Permits waiver or suspension of such prohibition, or successful appeals from rulings of the Chair, only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths (60) of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2014
Energize Africa Act of 2014 - Directs the President to establish: (1) a multiyear strategy to assist countries in sub-Saharan Africa implement national power strategies and develop an appropriate mix of power solutions, including renewable energy, to provide access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power in order to reduce poverty and drive economic growth; and (2) an African Power Advisory Group. Expresses the sense of Congress that: as the United States deepens its engagement with countries in sub-Saharan Africa priority should be given to countries with credibility in energy sector governance and management, and to private sector and investment climate reforms; and the United States should consider U.S. government and private sector opportunities to contribute to such countries' energy sectors and facilitate regional power trade and access. Requires the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to prioritize assistance to sub-Saharan Africa for national, regional, and local energy and economically sustainable power policy plans, and to expand power access. Urges, with respect to power projects in sub-Saharan Africa, that: USAID prioritize loan guarantees to local financial institutions to facilitate their involvement in power projects and markets, and to fund plans to increase distribution coverage; the Trade and Development Agency promote U.S. private sector participation in energy sector development projects through project preparation activities; the Secretary of the Treasury use U.S. influence in the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank to encourage power sector and electrification investments; the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) prioritize support for private sector investments that will maximize the number of people with new access to power services and expand power transmission and distribution; and the United States African Development Foundation make grants and provide technical support to businesses and organizations that are developing on- and off-grid solutions to meet the power needs of underserved rural communities. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize OPIC to make direct loans and issue investment insurance and investment loan guarantees through September 30, 2019. Urges OPIC, with respect to sub-Saharan Africa, to: streamline the application, approval, and post-approval processes for insuring, financing, or investing in projects, including off-grid efforts, for which OPIC support is less than $20 million; and prioritize OPIC loan, guarantee, and insurance programs for power generation, distribution, and off-grid power and lighting. Requires OPIC to establish five-year pilot programs under which: certain entities that are substantially owned by U.S. citizens shall be eligible investors for receiving OPIC assistance for power projects in sub-Saharan Africa; and OPIC shall make loans to eligible investors for power projects in sub-Saharan Africa for which OPIC support does not exceed $50 million, or issue local currency guarantees to African subsidiaries of foreign financial institutions to facilitate lending for power projects in sub-Saharan Africa. Authorizes OPIC to insure, guarantee, or reinsure an equity investment in a renewable energy project in sub-Saharan Africa for up to 30 years. Requires OPIC to conduct an annual customer satisfaction survey. Authorizes OPIC to employ up to 20 individuals on a limited-appointment basis in support of power production and distribution efforts in sub-Saharan Africa. Expresses the sense of Congress that appropriations for certain OPIC administrative expenses and activities for FY2015-FY2019 should be adjusted to reflect the resources needed to carry out the purposes of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2014
Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2014 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate regulations that prohibit broadband providers, in transmitting network traffic over the broadband Internet access service of an end user, from: (1) entering an agreement with an edge provider (a provider of Internet content, applications, services, or access devices) to give preferential treatment or priority to the traffic of such edge provider in exchange for consideration (commonly referred to as "paid prioritization"); and (2) giving preferential treatment or priority to content, applications, services, or devices that are provided or operated by such broadband provider or an affiliate of such broadband provider. Prohibits this Act from superseding any obligation or authorization of a broadband provider to address the needs of emergency communications, law enforcement, public safety, or national security authorities. Sets forth enforcement authority under the Communications Act of 1934, with modified forfeiture standards.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2014
New Mexico Drought Relief Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation (Secretary), to carry out a water acquisition program in specified basins in New Mexico, under which the Secretary shall: (1) make acquisitions of water; and (2) take any other actions that the Secretary determines would enhance stream flow to benefit fish and wildlife, water quality, and river ecosystem restoration or enhance stewardship and conservation of working land, water, and watersheds. Authorizes the Secretary, in cooperation with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, to provide funding and technical assistance for the installation of metering and measurement devices and the construction of check structures on irrigation diversions, canals, laterals, ditches, and drains to: (1) ensure the conservation and efficient use of water within the District by reducing actual consumptive use or not increasing the use of water, and (2) improve the measurement and allocation of water acquired through the water acquisition program. Requires the Secretary to provide for development of a comprehensive plan for the San Acacia reach to plan, design, construct, and prioritize projects that balance river maintenance, water availability, use, and delivery, and ecosystem benefits. Requires the Secretary of the Army to continue for five years the temporary deviation in the operation of Cochiti Lake and Jemez Canyon Dam that was initiated in 2009 to evaluate the benefits of a potential permanent reauthorization of the reservoirs. Requires the Secretaries to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to study water and reservoir management and operation issues along the Rio Grande. Authorizes financial assistance to be made available for eligible water projects to help New Mexico and other Western states address drought-related impacts to water supplies or any other immediate water-related crisis or conflict. Amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (OPLMA) to: (1) authorize the use of water management improvement grants to assist applicants in planning for or addressing the impacts of drought, (2) authorize the Commissioner of Reclamation to waive any cost-share requirements to address emergency drought situations and to prioritize projects based on drought relief benefits, and (3) authorize appropriations for such grants. Reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991, and (2) Rio Grande Pueblos infrastructure grants under OPLMA. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to allocate certain financial assistance made available under the Food Security Act of 1985 (FSA) to establish special conservation initiatives to assist producers in implementing eligible activities on agricultural land in the western states for: (1) mitigating the effects of drought; (2) improving water quality and quantity; (3) restoring, enhancing, and preserving fish and wildlife habitat; and (4) promoting innovative and collaborative conservation tools and approaches. Amends the FSA to provide that areas eligible for designation as conservation priority areas shall include areas with actual and significant water quantity impacts related to agricultural production activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2014
Designates June 19, 2014, as Juneteenth Independence Day. Recognizes the historical significance of Juneteenth Independence Day and supports the continued nationwide celebration of such Day as an opportunity to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped the United States. Recognizes that the observance of the end of slavery is a part of the history and heritage of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2014
Albuquerque Indian School Land Transfer Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to take into trust 4 tracts of federal land in New Mexico that were historically part of the Albuquerque Indian School for the benefit of 19 specified pueblos immediately after the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) have been satisfied. Requires the land to be used for the educational, health, cultural, business, and economic development of the 19 pueblos. Prohibits any gaming from being carried out on the land.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2014
Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 - Title I: Improvement of Scheduling System for Health Care Appointments - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract for an independent assessment of: the process at each VA medical facility for scheduling appointments for veterans; the staffing level and productivity of each VA medical facility; the organization, processes, and tools used by the VA to support clinical documentation and the subsequent coding of inpatient services; the VA's purchasing, distribution, and use of pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical supplies, and medical devices; and the VA's performance in paying amounts owed to third parties and collecting amounts it is owed. Directs the Secretary: (1) through a technology task force, to review the VA's needs regarding its system and software for scheduling veterans' medical appointments; and (2) to implement task force recommendations the Secretary considers feasible, advisable, and cost-effective. Title II: Training and Hiring of Health Care Staff - Requires the Inspector General of the VA to annually determine the five health care occupations for which there is the largest staffing shortage throughout the VA. Authorizes the Secretary, upon a determination by the Inspector General that there is such a staffing shortage regarding a particular health care occupation, to recruit and directly appoint highly qualified health care providers to serve in that particular occupation for the VA. Directs the Secretary, under the VA's Health Professionals Educational Assistance program, to give scholarship priority to applicants pursuing education or training towards a career in a health care occupation that represents one of the five largest staffing shortages in the VA. Requires the Secretary to submit a biennial report to Congress, until 2024, assessing the staffing of each VA medical facility. Directs the Secretary to establish a clinic management training program to provide in-person, standardized education on health care management to all managers of, and health care providers at, VA medical facilities. Terminates the program after two years. Requires the Secretary, thereafter, to provide health care management training materials to specified VA employees upon the commencement of their employment. Makes specified appropriations to the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that remain unobligated at the end of FY2014 and FY2015 available to the Secretary to hire additional health care providers for the VHA, particularly in VA medical facilities and areas experiencing the greatest shortages. Title III: Improvement of Access to Care from Non-Department of Veterans Affairs Providers - Requires hospital care and medical services to be furnished to veterans through contracts with specified non-VA facilities if the veterans: have been unable to schedule an appointment at a VA medical facility within the VHA's wait-time goals for hospital care or medical services and such veterans opt for non-VA care or services; reside more than 40 miles from a VA medical facility; or reside in a state without a VA medical facility that provides hospital care, emergency medical services, and surgical care and such veterans reside more than 20 miles from such a facility. Provides for such care through contracts with any health care provider participating in the Medicare program, any federally-qualified health center, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Indian Health Service (IHS). Directs the Secretary to provide veterans with information about the availability of care and services at non-VA facilities: (1) when they enroll in the VA patient enrollment system, and (2) when they attempt to schedule an appointment for VA hospital care or medical services but are unable to do so within the VHA's wait time goals. Terminates this Act's requirement that the Secretary furnish care and services through contracts with non-VA facilities two years after the Secretary publishes interim final regulations implementing the program. Requires the Secretary to transfer the authority to pay for health care through non-VA facilities from the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Networks and medical centers to the VHA's Chief Business Office. Directs the Secretary to conduct outreach to each Indian medical facility operated by an Indian tribe or tribal organization through a contract or compact with the IHS to raise awareness of the ability of such facilities, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations to enter into agreements with the VA for reimbursement for providing veterans with health care at such facilities. Requires the Secretary to establish performance metrics for assessing the performance of the VA and IHS under a memorandum of understanding to increase access to, and the quality and coordination of, health care services. Directs the Secretary to enter into agreements for the reimbursement of direct care services provided to veterans with Native Hawaiian health care systems that are in receipt of funds from grants awarded, or contracts entered into, under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary must comply with the prompt payment rule or any similar regulation or ruling in paying for health care under contracts with non-VA providers. Title IV: Health Care Administrative Matters - Directs the Secretary to improve veterans' access to telemedicine and other health care through the use of VA mobile vet centers by establishing standardized requirements for the operation of such centers. Includes among those requirements: (1) the number of days each center is expected to travel each year, (2) the number of locations each center is expected to visit each year, (3) the number of appointments each center is expected to conduct each year, and (4) the method and timing of notification given by each center to individuals in the area to which such center is traveling. Requires each mobile vet center to have the capability to provide telemedicine services. Establishes an Independent Commission on Department of Veterans Affairs Construction Projects to review the VA's current construction and maintenance projects and medical facility leasing program to identify any problems the VA experienced in carrying out such projects and program. Establishes the Commission on Access to Care to examine veterans' access to VA health care and strategically examine how best to organize the VHA, locate health care resources, and deliver health care to veterans over the next 10 to 20 years. Directs the President to require the Secretary and the heads of other relevant federal agencies to implement each recommendation that the President considers feasible and advisable and determines can be implemented without further legislative action. Requires the Secretary to ensure that scheduling and wait-time metrics or goals are not used as factors in determining the performance of: (1) directors, associate directors, assistant directors, deputy directors, chiefs of staff, and clinical leads of VA medical centers; and (2) directors, assistant directors, and quality management officers of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs). Directs the Secretary to modify the performance plans of the directors of the VA medical centers and VISNs to ensure that such plans are based on the quality of care received by veterans at the health care facilities under their jurisdictions. Prohibits the Secretary from including in the performance goals of any VISN or VA medical center employee any goal that might disincentivize the payment of VA amounts to provide health care through a non-VA provider. Requires the Secretary to publish: (1) within 90 days after this Act's enactment, the VA's wait time goals for the scheduling of a veterans' appointment for health care; and (2) within one year after this Act's enactment, the current wait times for an appointment for primary care and specialty care at each VA medical center. Directs the Secretary to develop, update, and make publicly available a comprehensive database containing all applicable patient safety, quality of care, and outcome measures for VA health care that are tracked by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to enter into an agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide the HHS Secretary with the information needed to make VA medical center patient quality and outcome information publicly available through the HHS's Hospital Compare website. Requires: (1) the VA website to include a link to the VA's health care providers database that provides veterans with the location of each VA physician's residency training, and (2) each veteran who is to undergo a surgical procedure by or through the VA to be provided information on the credentials of the surgeon who is to perform the procedure. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit an assessment to Congress of: (1) the manner in which contractors under the VA's Patient-Centered Community Care initiative oversee the credentials of physicians within their networks, (2) the VA's oversight of the contracts under the Patient-Centered Community Care initiative, and (3) the VA's verification of the credentials and licenses of health care providers furnishing hospital care and medical services to veterans in non-VA facilities. Requires the Secretary to implement a plan to address the Comptroller General's findings and recommendations. Requires the annual budget that the President submits to Congress to include specified information regarding: (1) the cost of providing, and the number of veterans receiving, medical care through contracts with non-VA facilities; and (2) the number of VA employees on paid administrative leave during the preceding fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to establish policies penalizing VA employees who knowingly submit, or knowingly require another VA employee to submit, false data concerning health care wait times or quality measures to another VA employee. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) remove any individual from the VA Senior Executive Service if the Secretary determines that the individual's performance warrants such removal, and (2) remove such individual from the civil service or transfer the individual to a General Schedule position at any appropriate grade for which the individual is qualified. Gives an individual seven days to appeal such a removal or transfer to the Merit Systems Protection Board (Board). Requires the Board to conduct an expedited review process that results in a final decision on such an appeal within 21 days after it was submitted. Title V: Health Care Related to Sexual Trauma - Expands eligibility for counseling and treatment for sexual trauma to veterans who were on inactive duty training when they experienced sexual assault or harassment. Authorizes the Secretary to provide such counseling and treatment to active-duty members of the Armed Forces who experienced sexual assault or harassment while serving on active duty or active or inactive duty training. (Under current law, such services are provided only to veterans.) Prohibits such a member from being required to obtain a referral before receiving such services. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the treatment and services available from the VA for male veterans who experience military sexual trauma compared to such treatment and services available to female veterans who experience such trauma. Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs-Department of Defense Joint Executive Committee to submit reports to Congress on the transition of military sexual abuse treatment from the DOD to the VA. Title VI: Major Medical Facility Leases - Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain major medical facility leases at specified locations for up to specified amounts. Directs the Secretary, in exercising the authority to enter into such leases, to record as the full cost of the contractual obligation at the time a contract is executed either: (1) the amount of total payments under the full lease term, or (2) the first-year payments plus the specified cancellation costs if the lease is terminated before its full term. Requires the funding prospectus of a proposed lease to include a detailed analysis of how the lease is expected to comply with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-11 and the Anti-Deficiency Act, including an analysis of: (1) the classification of the lease as a lease-purchase, capital lease, or operating lease; (2) the obligation of budgetary resources associated with the lease; and (3) the methodology used in determining the asset cost, fair market value, and cancellation costs of the lease. Directs the Secretary, at least 30 days before entering into a lease, to submit to Congress: (1) notice of the intention to enter into, and a detailed summary of, such lease; (2) a description and analysis of any differences between the lease prospectus submitted and the proposed lease; and (3) a scoring analysis demonstrating that the proposed lease fully complies with OMB Circular A-11. Requires the Secretary, no more than 30 days after entering into a lease, to report any material differences between the proposed lease and the lease entered. Title VII: Veterans Benefits Matters - Expands the Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship to include surviving spouses (currently, children) of service members who die in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001. Requires a surviving spouse entitled to such assistance and also to veterans' educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill to elect a single coverage. Directs the Secretary to disapprove, for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs, courses of education provided by a public educational institution of higher education (IHE) that charges veterans living in the state higher tuition and fees than it charges in-state residents, regardless of the veteran's state of residence. Makes this provision applicable to: (1) veterans who were discharged or released from at least 90 days of active service less than three years before their date of enrollment in the applicable course, (2) family members eligible for such assistance due to their relationship to such veterans, and (3) courses that commence on or after July 1, 2015. Prohibits the Secretary from disapproving a public IHE's course on the grounds that the IHE conditions a veteran's receipt of in-state tuition rates on such veteran: (1) demonstrating an intent, by means other than physical presence, to establish residency in the state; or (2) satisfying other requirements not related to the establishment of residency. Title VIII: Appropriation and Emergency Designations - Authorizes and appropriates such sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act for FY2014-FY2016. Treats such funding as emergency funding that is not subject to pay-as-you-go spending constraints.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2014
BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to make the Federal Permit Streamlining Project program permanent. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to collect for each of FY2016-FY2026 a fee of $9,500 for each new application for a drilling permit. Allocates specified percentages of such fees to: (1) the field offices that collected the fees used to process protests, leases, and permits; and (2) the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund, now divided into a Rental Account and a Fee Account. Prohibits the Secretary, during FY2016-2026, from implementing a rulemaking that would enable an increase in fees to recover additional costs related to processing applications for drilling permits. Amends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 to make the rate of interest allowed and paid or credited for any royalty overpayment equal to the sum of the federal short-term rate plus one percentage point.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2014
Family Coverage Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretaries of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury have the administrative authority, within their respective jurisdictions, to apply the affordability provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act so as to expand access to affordable health insurance coverage for working families without further legislation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the affordability requirement for the tax credit for health care premium assistance to provide that an employee is eligible for premium assistance if his or her required contribution to an employer-sponsored health care plan does not exceed 9.5% of family household income.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2014
Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a program to refinance the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and late charges on: (1) the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (DLs) of qualified borrowers if the DLs were first disbursed or, in the case of Direct Consolidation Loans, applied for, before July 1, 2013; and (2) the Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) of qualified borrowers as DLs. (FFELs were not disbursed after June 30, 2010.) Refinances the FFELs as Federal Direct Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, or Consolidated Loans depending on the categorization of the FFEL as a Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, or Consolidated Loan. Sets the interest rate on the refinanced loans, other than the Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, at the rate for the 12 months beginning on July 1, 2013, based on: (1) the DL's categorization; and (2) in the case of Stafford Loans, whether the loan was issued to an undergraduate or graduate student. Determines a refinanced Consolidation Loan's interest rate by: (1) weighing the proportion of the unpaid balance of the Consolidation Loan that each component loan represents, (2) setting the interest rate on each component loan at the lesser of the rate on the component loan for the 12 months beginning on July 1, 2013, or its original rate, and (3) applying the weighted average of the interest rates on those loans as the interest rate on the Consolidation Loan. Fixes the interest rate on the refinanced loans for the period of such loans. Directs the Secretary to establish eligibility requirements that are based on a borrower's income or debt-to-income ratio and that take into consideration providing access to refinancing for borrowers who have the greatest financial need. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to refinance the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and late charges on private education loans as Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loans if the private education loans were first disbursed to qualified borrowers before July 1, 2013, and were for their postsecondary educational expenses. Sets the interest rate on Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loans at the rate applicable for the 12 months beginning on July 1, 2013, to: (1) Direct Stafford and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to undergraduates if the private education loan was issued for undergraduate expenses, (2) Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to graduate or professional students if the private education loan was issued for graduate or professional studies, or (3) Direct PLUS Loans if the private education loan was issued for undergraduate and graduate or professional studies. Fixes the interest rate on such loans for the period of such loans. Directs the Secretary to establish eligibility requirements that: (1) are based on a borrower's income or debt-to-income ratio and take into consideration providing access to refinancing for borrowers who have the greatest financial need, (2) ensure eligibility only for borrowers in good standing, (3) minimize inequities between Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loans and other federal student loans, and (4) preclude windfall profits for private educational lenders. Requires qualified borrowers of such loans to undergo loan counseling before their private education loan is refinanced. Requires private educational lenders to report specified loan information to the Secretary, Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in order to allow for an assessment of the private education loan market. Directs the Secretary to undertake a campaign to alert borrowers that they may be eligible for refinancing under this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an individual taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million to pay a minimum tax rate of 30% of the excess of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income over the taxpayer's modified charitable contribution deduction for the taxable year (tentative fair share tax). Establishes the amount of such tax as the excess (if any) of the tentative fair share tax over the excess of: (1) the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) amount, and the payroll tax for the taxable year; over (2) certain tax credits. Provides for a phase-in of such tax. Requires an inflation adjustment to the $1 million income threshold for taxable years beginning after 2015. Requires the Secretary to terminate this Act's refinancing programs on the earlier of the date: (1) when the net cost of carrying out the programs is equal to the Secretary's estimate of the amount of additional revenue generated during the 10-year period beginning on the date of this Act's enactment due to the fair share tax, or (2) that is two years after this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2014
Ensuring Veterans Access to Care Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) implement an upgraded and centralized electronic system for scheduling individuals' appointments for VA health care, and (2) contract for an independent assessment of the process at each VA medical facility for scheduling such appointments. Sets forth measures concerning the training and hiring of VA health personnel that: protect primary care physicians from liability for failing to perform their period of obligated service under the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program due to VA staffing changes or an oversupply of primary care physicians; allow individuals, as part of that Program, to enroll in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to pursue a medical education with a primary care specialization; require the Secretary to annually identify the five VA health care occupations for which there are the largest staffing shortages, to recruit and appoint health care providers to those positions, and to give scholarship priority under the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program to applicants pursuing careers in those occupations; direct the Secretary to implement a clinic management training program to provide in-person, standardized education on health care management to all managers of, and health care providers at, VA medical facilities; and include service at VA medical facilities as obligated service under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs. Establishes measures to improve veterans' access to health care from non-VA providers by: requiring the Secretary to make enhanced use of the Secretary's existing authorities to give veterans access to health care at non-VA facilities if they cannot get timely access to care at VA health facilities; extending a joint Department of Defense (DOD)-VA program to identify, implement, and evaluate creative health care coordination and sharing initiatives at facility, intraregional, and nationwide levels; requiring the Secretary to transfer the authority to pay for health care through non-VA facilities from the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Networks and medical centers to the Veterans Health Administration's Chief Business Office; requiring the Secretary to provide outreach to Indian medical facilities regarding their ability to enter into agreements with the VA for reimbursement for providing veterans with health care; requiring the Secretary to enter into agreements to reimburse Native Hawaiian health care systems for the provision of health care to veterans. Sets forth VA health care administrative matters, which include: requiring the Secretary to improve veterans' access to telemedicine and other health care through the use of VA mobile vet centers by establishing standardized requirements for the operation of such centers, establishing the Commission on Access to Care, establishing the Commission on Capital Planning for Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities, and authorizing the Secretary to remove any individual from the Senior Executive Service if the Secretary determines that the individual's performance warrants such removal. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain major medical facility leases at specified locations for up to specified amounts. Sets forth requirements for the budgetary treatment of such leases.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2014
Restoring Veterans Trust Act of 2014 - Revises veterans' benefit programs to address: veterans' access to medical care, including through measures that address the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) scheduling and performance management systems, VA health facility staffing shortages, and veterans' access to covered care at non-VA facilities; the expansion and extension of certain health care benefits, including caregiver support services, immunizations, chiropractic care, and treatment for traumatic brain injury; health care administration, including by extending the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program; complementary and alternative medicine; mental health care; dental care eligibility and expansion, including by requiring the creation of a program of education to promote veterans' dental health; health care related to sexual trauma, including by requiring the provision of counseling and treatment to members of the Armed Forces and the development of a screening mechanism to detect incidents of domestic abuse; reproductive treatment and services, including by requiring the provision of fertility counseling and adoption assistance to severely wounded veterans; major medical facility leases; survivor and dependent matters, including the provision of benefits to the children of certain veterans who are born with spina bifida; education matters, including the approval of courses for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs; the extension of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs' authority to provide the same rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses as are provided to veterans; veterans' employment, including employment within the federal government; sanctions for federal contractors who repeatedly violate the employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces; small business matters, including contracting and subcontracting participation goals with federal departments and agencies; administrative matters, including by requiring the Secretary to establish regional support centers for Veterans Integrated Service Networks; the processing of disability claims, including those based on military sexual trauma, as well as claims for pensions and dependency and indemnity compensation; the manner in which hearings before the Board of Veterans' Appeals are to be conducted; certain rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including protections regarding the expiration of professional licenses, the denial of credit or the termination of residential leases due to military service, and mortgage foreclosures against surviving spouses; and outreach and miscellaneous matters, including the repeal of a provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces who are under age 62.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2014
Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 - Revises a variety of existing programs to expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. Reauthorizes the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act. Gives the Secretary of the Interior permanent authority to permit states to issue temporary electronic duck stamps (federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl). Exempts components of firearms and ammunition and sport fishing equipment and its components (such as lead sinkers) from regulations of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Increases the proportion of funding from the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act that states may use for public target ranges. Requires the Secretary to issue permits for the importation of polar bear parts taken in sports hunts in Canada before May 15, 2008 (when the species was listed as threatened). Revises standards for determining what a baited area is for purposes of the prohibition on taking migratory game birds. Directs federal public land management officials to facilitate hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on federal public land. Makes land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the Forest Service open for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless the managing agency acts to close the lands. Allocates funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for priority projects that secure public access to federal public lands that have significantly restricted access for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2014
Recognizes May 15, 2014, as National Peace Officers Memorial Day. Acknowledges the dedication and sacrifices of law enforcement officers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2014
Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act of 2014 - Declares that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) prevent Hezbollah's global logistics and financial network from operating in order to curtail funding of its domestic and international activities; and (2) utilize diplomatic, legislative, and executive avenues to combat Hezbollah's criminal activities in order to block that organization's ability to fund its global terrorist activities. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit, or impose strict conditions on, the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution that knowingly: (1) facilitates the activities of Hezbollah or any of its agents or affiliates whose property or property interests are blocked pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; (2) facilitates the activities of a person acting on behalf of or at the direction of, or owned or controlled by such institution; (3) engages in money laundering to carry out such activity; or (4) facilitates a significant transaction or transactions or provides significant financial services to carry out such activity. Directs the Secretary to prescribe reporting, information sharing, and due diligence requirements for domestic financial institutions that maintain a correspondent account or payable-through account in the United States for a foreign financial institution. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements if in U.S. national security interests, and with congressional notification. Directs the Secretary to identify to Congress every 180 days each foreign central bank that carries out an activity prohibited under this Act. Sets forth penalty requirements for specified violations under this Act. Directs the President to report to Congress regarding: (1) satellite, broadcast, Internet, or other providers that knowingly carry al-Manar TV or its affiliates; and (2) countries in which Hezbollah maintains important portions of its global logistics networks, and an assessment of whether a country is taking adequate measures to disrupt Hezbollah's networks within that country. Directs the President to designate Hezbollah as: (1) a significant foreign narcotics trafficker if Hezbollah meets the criteria set forth under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, and (2) a significant transnational criminal organization if Hezbollah meets the criteria set forth under Executive Order 13581. Directs the President to report to Congress which of these criteria the President determines that Hezbollah has not met, if it does not. Declares that nothing in this Act shall apply to authorized U.S. intelligence activities. States that any requirement of this Act shall cease to be in effect 30 days after the President certifies to Congress that Hezbollah: (1) is no longer designated as a foreign terrorist organization, and (2) is no longer listed in the Annex to Executive Order 13224 (blocking property and prohibiting transactions with persons who commit or support terrorism).
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2014
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Harlan Mathews, a former member of the United States Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on May 13, 2014, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Mathews.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2014
Amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to reauthorize appropriations, for FY2015-FY2019, for a grant program to ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2014
Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a program to refinance the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and late charges on: (1) the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (DLs) of qualified borrowers if the DLs were first disbursed or (in the case of Direct Consolidation Loans) applied for before July 1, 2013, and (2) the Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) of qualified borrowers as DLs. (FFELs were not disbursed after June 30, 2010.) Refinances the FFELs as Federal Direct Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, or Consolidated Loans depending on the categorization of the FFEL as a Stafford, Unsubsidized Stafford, PLUS, or Consolidated Loan. Sets the interest rate on the refinanced loans, other than the Federal Direct Consolidation Loans, at the rate for the 12 months beginning on July 1, 2013, applicable to the DL's categorization and, in the case of Stafford Loans, applicable to a loan issued to an undergraduate student or a loan issued to a graduate student. Sets the interest on refinanced Consolidation Loans at the rate on Federal Direct PLUS Loans for the 12-month period beginning on July 1, 2013. Fixes the interest rate on such loans for the period of such loans. Directs the Secretary to establish eligibility requirements based on a borrower's income or debt-to-income ratio that take into consideration providing access to refinancing for borrowers with the greatest financial need. Imposes an administrative fee on the borrowers of such reissued loans that is based on the unpaid principal, and accrued unpaid interest and late charges, of their original loan. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to refinance the unpaid principal, accrued unpaid interest, and late charges on private education loans as Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loans if the private education loans were first disbursed to qualified borrowers before July 1, 2013, and were for their own postsecondary educational expenses. Sets the interest rate on Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loans at the rate applicable for the 12 months beginning on July 1, 2013, to: (1) Direct Stafford and Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to undergraduates if the private education loan was issued for undergraduate expenses, (2) Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loans issued to graduate or professional students if the private education loan was issued for graduate or professional studies, or (3) Direct PLUS Loans if the private education loan was issued for undergraduate and graduate or professional studies. Fixes the interest rate on such loans for the period of such loans. Directs the Secretary to establish eligibility requirements based on a borrower's income or debt-to-income ratio that take into consideration providing access to refinancing for borrowers with the greatest financial need. Requires qualified borrowers of such loans to undergo loan counseling before their private education loan is refinanced. Imposes an origination fee on the borrowers of Federal Direct Refinanced Private Loans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an individual taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million to pay a minimum tax rate of 30% of the excess of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income over the taxpayer's modified charitable contribution deduction for the taxable year (tentative fair share tax). Establishes the amount of such tax as the excess (if any) of the tentative fair share tax over the excess of: (1) the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) amount, and the payroll tax for the taxable year; over (2) certain tax credits. Provides for a phase-in of such tax. Requires an inflation adjustment to the $1 million income threshold for taxable years beginning after 2015. Requires the Secretary to terminate this Act's refinancing programs when the net cost of carrying out the programs is equal to the Secretary's estimate of the amount of additional revenue generated during the 10-year period beginning on the date of this Act's enactment due to the fair share tax.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2014
National Commission on the Future of the Army Act of 2014 - Prohibits the use of funds made available for FY2015 for the Army to: (1) reduce Army personnel below the authorized fiscal year end strengths of 450,000 for active duty personnel of the Army, 345,000 for the Army National Guard, and 195,000 for the Army Reserve; or (2) divest, retire, or transfer any AH-64 Apache aircraft assigned to units of the Army National Guard as of January 15, 2014, or to reduce related personnel below the levels of such personnel as of September 30, 2014. Directs the Secretary of the Army to ensure the continuing readiness of the AH-64 Apache aircraft and crews during FY2015. Permits the use of such funds, after the Commission established by this Act submits its interim report, to prepare for the transfer of not more than 72 AH-64 Apache aircraft from the Army National Guard to the regular Army if the Secretary of Defense (DOD) certifies that such a transfer would not: (1) degrade the strategic depth or regeneration capacities of the Army, (2) degrade the Army National Guard in its role as the combat reserve of the Army, and (3) occur before October 1, 2014. Establishes the National Commission on the Future of the Army, which shall: (1) undertake a comprehensive study of the structure of the Army and policy assumptions related to its size and force mixture in order to make recommendations on how the structure should be modified to best fulfill mission requirements in a manner consistent with available resources, and (2) submit a final report to the President and the congressional defense committees by February 1, 2016. Directs the Commission to study and submit an interim report on the feasibility and advisability of a partial transfer of Army National Guard AH-64 Apache aircraft from the Army National Guard to the regular Army.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2014
Peace Corps Equity Act of 2014 - Amends the Peace Corps Act to subject abortion service coverage by the Peace Corps for volunteers to the same limitations that apply to Peace Corps employees regarding coverage of abortion services. States that such restriction shall not be construed to limit medical evacuation coverage.
![Official portrait of Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001046_200.jpg)