United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Keystone XL Pipeline Act Authorizes TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, connect, operate, and maintain the pipeline and cross-border facilities specified in an application filed by TransCanada Corporation to the Department of State on May 4, 2012. Deems the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement regarding the pipeline issued by the Secretary of State in January 2014 to fully satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and any law that requires federal agency consultation or review, including the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Maintains in effect any applicable federal permit or authorization issued before enactment of this Act. Grants original and exclusive jurisdiction, except for review in the Supreme Court, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit over any civil action for the review of a federal agency action regarding the pipeline and related facilities. Declares that this Act does not alter any federal, state, or local process or condition in effect on the date of enactment of this Act that is necessary to secure access from an owner of private property to construct the pipeline and cross-border facilities. Makes this Act effective January 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Forty Hours is Full Time Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the employer mandate to provide health care coverage, to: (1) modify the formula for calculating the number of full-time employees employed by an applicable large employer subject to the mandate; and (2) define a "full-time employee" as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours per week (currently, 30 hours).
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Executive Needs to Faithfully Observe and Respect Congressional Enactments of the Law Act of 2015 or the ENFORCE the Law Act of 2015 Authorizes either chamber of Congress, upon adoption of a resolution declaring that the President or any officer or employee of the United States has established or implemented a policy, practice, or procedure to refrain from enforcing, applying, following, or administering any federal statute, rule, regulation, program, policy, or other law in violation of the constitutional requirement that the President faithfully execute the laws of the United States, to bring a civil action for a declaratory judgment to that effect. Grants jurisdiction to a three-judge panel of a U.S. district court to hear such civil action and provides for an expedited direct appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Edward W. Brooke, III, former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on January 6, 2015, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Brooke.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2015
Hire More Heroes Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to add a provision to exempt any employee with coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense, including the TRICARE program, or by the Veterans Administration, from classification as an eligible employee of an applicable large employer for purposes of the employer mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to provide such employees with minimum essential health care coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2014
Extends the time period during which both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and any state with a state permit program are prohibited from requiring a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) for a vessel that is less than 79 feet in length or a fishing vessel for any discharge: (1) of effluent from properly functioning marine engines, or of laundry, shower, and galley sink wastes; or (2) that is incidental to the normal operation of those vessels. Ends the prohibition on December 18, 2015, instead of December 18, 2014. (This prohibition does not apply with respect to garbage discharged overboard, other discharges when the vessel is operating in a capacity other than as a means of transportation, ballast water [water held in ships to increase stability] discharges, or any discharge that contributes to a violation of a water quality standard or poses an unacceptable risk to human health or the environment.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Clean Air, Strong Economies Act or the CASE Act - Prohibits the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from lowering its existing national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) until at least 85% of counties that are in nonattainment areas (counties that are exceeding the limit) have attained the standard. Requires the EPA, in promulgating a primary or secondary NAAQS for ozone, to: only consider a county to be a nonattainment area on the basis of direct air quality monitoring (rather than modeling); take into consideration feasibility and cost; and include in the regulatory impact analysis for the proposed and final rule at least one analysis that does not include any calculation of benefits resulting from reducing emissions of any pollutant other than ozone.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Student Visa Integrity Act - Amends the federal criminal code to subject to fine and a 15-year prison term an owner, official, employee, or agent of an educational institution who commits fraud or misuse of visas, permits, and other immigration documents in connection with the institution's participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to require academic institutions (other than seminaries or other religious institutions) to be accredited for F-visa purposes if: (1) the institution is not already required to be accredited, and (2) an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education is able to provide such accreditation. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the accreditation requirement for an established college, university, or language training program that is otherwise in compliance with F-visa requirements and has been a candidate for accreditation for at least one year and continues to progress toward such accreditation. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary to impose a monetary fine and suspend authority to issue a Form I-20 with regard to an institution failing to comply with Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, upon reasonable suspicion that an owner of, or a designated school official at, an approved institution of higher education, another educational institution, or a designated exchange visitor program has committed SEVP-related fraud, to: (1) suspend such certification without prior notification, and (2) suspend such official's or such school's SEVIS access. Disqualifies permanently an owner or school official who is convicted of SEVP-related fraud from filing future petitions and from having an ownership interest or a management role in any U.S. educational institution that enrolls nonimmigrant alien students or nonimmigrant alien vocational students. Prohibits an individual from serving as a designated school official or from being granted access to SEVIS unless the individual: (1) is a U.S. national or a lawful permanent resident alien who, during the most recent three-year period, has undergone a specified background check; and (2) has completed a SEVP and SEVIS training course. Authorizes the Secretary to collect a fee for each such security check. Prohibits any flight school in the United States from accessing SEVIS or issuing a Form I-20 to an alien seeking a student or vocational student visa if the flight school has not been certified to the satisfaction of the Secretary and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Requires: (1) an accrediting agency or association, at the time it is required to notify the Secretary of Education and the appropriate state licensing agency of the final denial, withdrawal, suspension, or termination of an institution's accreditation, to notify the Secretary of such determination; and (2) the Secretary to withdraw the school from the SEVP and prohibit the school from accessing SEVIS. Directs the Secretary to implement both phases of the second generation SEVIS (SEVIS II) within two years.
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 · 8 September 2014
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Organization Called the Islamic State - Authorizes the President to use appropriate force against the threat posed by the organization called the Islamic State (IS), formally known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as any successor organization. States that this resolution is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization pursuant to section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution. Directs the President to report to Congress setting forth: (1) U.S. strategy to defeat IS or any successor organization; and (2) every 90 days thereafter, a description and assessment of such strategy's implementation.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Examination and Reporting Threshold Act of 2014 - Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to raise the examination threshold that brings an insured depository institution or insured credit union within its supervisory purview from assets of $10 billion or more to assets of $50 billion or more. Increases from assets of $10 billion or less to assets of $50 billion or less the size of an insured depository institution or insured credit union that is subject to the Act's reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Sudden Unexpected Death Data Enhancement and Awareness Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to continue activities relating to stillbirth, sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), and sudden unexpected death in childhood (SUDC). Requires the CDC to provide for collection of epidemiologic information on stillbirths, including through existing surveillance systems. Requires the CDC to develop and periodically update a standard data collection protocol and guidelines for postmortem stillbirth evaluation. Directs the CDC to provide for collection of sociodemographic, death scene investigation, clinical history, and autopsy information on SUID and SUDC cases through the review of existing records. Requires the CDC to develop and periodically update standard protocols for data collection and death scene investigation for SUID. Sets forth goals for SUID surveillance, including: (1) collecting information about the environmental and medical circumstances of death, (2) supporting multidisciplinary infant death reviews to classify and characterize SUID, and (3) facilitating information sharing to improve reporting of SUID. Requires the death scene investigation protocol to include the collection of infant and family medical history, circumstances surrounding death, the infant's sleep position and sleep environment, and any accidental or environmental factors associated with the death. Directs the CDC to develop and periodically update guidelines for standard autopsy protocols for SUID and SUDC. Allows the Attorney General to conduct and support training for medical examiners, coroners, and others regarding standard protocols for death scene investigation and autopsies.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Natural Gas Long Haul Truck Competitiveness Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations to allow natural gas vehicles to exceed any federal weight limitations to operate on the Interstate Highway System by an amount equal to the difference between the weight of the vehicle attributable to the natural gas tank and fueling system and the weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling system.
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
Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act of 2014 - Prohibits the federal government, and any state that receives federal funding for any program that provides child welfare services under part B (Child and Family Services) or part E (Federal Payments for Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act (SSA), from discriminating or taking an adverse action against a child welfare service provider that declines to provide, facilitate, or refer for a child welfare service that conflicts with the provider's sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions. Bars such prohibition from applying to SSA requirements that forbid state entities from denying or delaying adoption or foster care placements on the basis of an adoptive parent's or a child's race, color, or national origin. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withhold 15% of the federal funds that a state receives for such programs if the state violates this Act. Allows an aggrieved child welfare service provider to assert such an adverse action violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding and to obtain all appropriate relief (including declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs).
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
Reaffirms the Senate's commitment to promoting and protecting religious freedom around the world and providing relief to minority groups facing persecution. Calls on the Department of State to work with the Kurdistan Regional Government, the Iraqi government, neighboring countries, the diaspora community in the United States, and other key stakeholders for those seeking safety and protection from religious persecution in Iraq. Requests the addition of a Special Representative for Religious Minorities to be included in Iraq's government. Urges the President to ensure timely visa processing for Iraq's minority groups fleeing religious persecution.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
American Burying Beetle Relief Act of 2014 - Removes the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's listing of the American burying beetle as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. Prohibits the beetle from being listed as a threatened or endangered species.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Lesser Prairie Chicken Voluntary Recovery Act of 2014 - Removes the Department of the Interior's listing of the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Prohibits further treatment of the species as threatened or endangered before January 31, 2020. Requires Interior to monitor and submit an annual report on progress in the conservation of the lesser prairie chicken under: the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-Wide Conservation Plan of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, all related Candidate Conservation Agreements (agreements to voluntarily undertake measures to conserve a covered species), all related Candidate Conservation Agreements With Assurances (agreements to voluntarily undertake measures to conserve a covered species with assurances that additional measures will not be imposed if the species becomes listed in the future), conservation programs administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), state conservation programs, and private conservation efforts. Prohibits the lesser prairie chicken from being treated as threatened or endangered beginning on January 31, 2020, unless Interior publishes a determination that conservation efforts under the Range-Wide Plan, agreements, programs, and efforts have not achieved the Plan's conservation goals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Iranian Sanctions Relief Certification Act of 2014 - Prohibits the President from exercising a waiver specified under this Act in connection with the extension of the terms of the Joint Plan of Action beyond July 20, 2014, unless the President certifies to Congress before the waiver takes effect and every 60 days thereafter that any funds made available to the government of Iran as a result of the waiver will not facilitate Iran's ability to: support any individual or entity designated for the imposition of sanctions for international terrorism, any foreign terrorist organization, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria; advance the efforts of Iran or any other country to develop nuclear weapons or ballistic missiles; or commit any violation of the human rights of the people of Iran. (Defines the Joint Plan of Action as the Joint Plan of Action signed on November 24, 2013, by Iran and by France, Germany, the Russian Federation, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States.)
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2014
Urges the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw the proposed rules entitled: (1) "Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Generating Units," and (2) "Carbon Pollution Standards for Modified and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Generating Units."
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2014
21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate, to make publicly available on the Internet the best scientific and commercial data available that are the basis for the determination of whether a species is an endangered species or a threatened species, including each proposed regulation for the listing of a species. Prohibits the Secretary from making the information publicly available when: (1) the public disclosure of the information is prohibited by state law relating to the protection of personal information, and (2) the state makes a request to the Secretary to withhold the information.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2014
UAC State Notification Act of 2014 - Amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to notify the governor of a state within 48 hours before the placement of an unaccompanied alien child in the custody of either HHS or DHS with a facility or sponsor in such state.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Prohibits any federal agency or instrumentality from using federal funding or resources to: (1) consider or adjudicate any new or previously denied application of any alien requesting consideration of deferred action for childhood arrivals, as authorized by Executive memorandum on August 15, 2012; or (2) authorize any alien to work in the United States who was not lawfully admitted into the United States and who is not in lawful status in the United States on the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior from implementing or limiting any modification to a public or private land-related policy or subsurface mineral right-related policy or practice that is in effect on enactment of this Act relating to the listing of the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species or endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Children Returning on an Expedited and Safe Timeline Act or the CREST Act - Prohibits the federal government from providing non-security assistance to El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras until the President certifies that the government of such country is: (1) actively working to reduce the number of unaccompanied alien children who are attempting to illegally enter the United States, and (2) cooperating with the U.S. government to facilitate the repatriation of such children. Requires the Secretary of State to carry out in-country processing of refugee applications in such countries. Authorizes the President to authorize the admission of up to 5,000 refugees from each of such countries in FY2014 and FY2015. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from: (1) knowingly transmitting the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents with intent to further a federal crime relating to immigration, customs, or other border controls; or (2) knowingly, and without authorization, damaging any physical or electronic device used by the government to control the border or making any structure to defeat such a border control device. Applies enhanced penalties for carrying or using a firearm during an alien smuggling crime. Prohibits any person, while acting for financial gain, from knowingly directing or participating in an effort or scheme to assist or cause five or more persons to enter the United States illegally. Applies enhanced penalties for violations of such prohibition that involve: (1) serious bodily injury to, jeopardizing the life of, or the death of any person; (2) ten or more persons; (3) robbery, extortion, or bribery or corruption of a government official; (4) subjecting any person to an involuntary sexual act; (5) confining or restraining any alien; or (6) smuggling an unaccompanied child. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) implement a strategy to deter, detect, and interdict human smuggling; and (2) submit an annual list of high traffic areas of human smuggling across U.S. borders. Amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to: (1) eliminate special rules for the repatriation of unaccompanied alien children from contiguous countries and to subject such children to expedited removal authority; and (2) prohibit unaccompanied alien children from being placed in the custody of a nongovernmental sponsor or otherwise released from the custody of the U.S. government until the child is repatriated or has been adjudicated to be admissible or subject to an exception to removal, with specified exceptions. Directs the DHS Secretary to ensure that U.S. Border Patrol agents receive appropriate training in immigration laws relating to screening, identifying, and addressing vulnerable populations. Declares that it shall be the goal of the Attorney General, the DHS Secretary, and the Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review to use sums appropriated to resolve immigration cases within 30 days from the issuance of a notice to appear. Requires: (1) the Attorney General to designate up to 100 temporary immigration judges; (2) the Secretary to hire 150 new immigration litigation attorneys for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and 100 new asylum officers for Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS); and (3) the Director to establish a separate juvenile docket in every U.S. immigration court, with exceptions. Sets forth reporting and monitoring requirements with respect to unaccompanied alien children who were discharged to parents or placed in a facility while remaining in the legal custody of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) pending resolution of their immigration cases.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, with respect to rollovers to a traditional or Roth individual retirement account (IRA) of payments to qualified airline employees in commercial airline carrier bankruptcy cases, to: (1) extend the period for filing a claim for refund of an overpayment of tax resulting from the receipt of such payments (i.e., by the later of April 15, 2015, or the expiration of the limitation period for filing refund claims); (2) modify the definition of "airline payment amount" to include payments in an airline carrier bankruptcy case filed after September 11, 2001, and before January 1, 2007, or on November 29, 2011; and (3) modify the definition of "qualified airline employee" to include an employee who was a participant in a defined benefit plan maintained by an airline carrier that was frozen effective November 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Secret Science Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Environmental Research, Development, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing, or disseminating a covered action unless all scientific and technical information relied on to support such action is specifically identified and publicly available in a manner sufficient for independent analysis and substantial reproduction of research results. Defines "covered action" as a risk, exposure, or hazard assessment, criteria document, standard, limitation, regulation, regulatory impact analysis, or guidance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2014
Affirms that all children deserve a safe, loving, and permanent family. Recognizes the importance of ensuring that international adoptions of all children are conducted in an ethical and transparent manner. Expresses concern over the impact on children and families caused by the suspension of exit permit issuance within the Democratic Republic of Congo. Requests that the Congolese government resume processing adoption cases and issuing exit permits, prioritize the processing of intercountry adoptions which were initiated before the suspension, and expedite the adoption processing of medically fragile children. Encourages continued cooperation between the Department of State and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to improve the intercountry adoption process and ensure the welfare of all children adopted from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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
Adoption Tax Credit Tribal Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Indian tribes to make the determination that a child is a child with special needs for purposes of the adoption tax credit.
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
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 · 25 June 2014
Commonsense Legislative Exceptional Events Reforms Act of 2014 - Amends the Clean Air Act to revise the requirements for regulations that govern the review and handling of air quality monitoring data influenced by exceptional events. (The Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] may exclude monitored exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards from consideration when designating an area as nonattainment, redesignating an area as nonattainment, or reclassifying an existing nonattainment area to a higher classification if a state demonstrates that an exceptional event caused the exceedances.) Requires the criteria used to determine if an exceptional event was demonstrated to be specific in order to minimize the discretion of the EPA in approving or disapproving the demonstration. Requires the EPA to make a determination within 90 days after the submission of a petition by a state of an exceptional event demonstration. Considers the demonstration approved if the EPA does not make a determination by that deadline. Requires a determination to be based on a preponderance of the evidence and to accord substantial deference to the findings of the state exceptional event demonstration. Establishes an appeal process for reviewing a disapproval of a demonstration.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2014
Protecting Water and Property Rights Act of 2014 - Prohibits the Secretary of the Army and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from: (1) finalizing the proposed rule entitled "Definition of `Waters of the United States' Under the Clean Water Act"; or (2) using the proposed rule, or any substantially similar proposed rule or guidance, as the basis for any rulemaking or any decision regarding the scope or enforcement of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). Provides that the use of the proposed rule, or any substantially similar proposed rule or guidance, as the basis for any rulemaking or any decision regarding the scope or enforcement of the Clean Water Act shall be grounds for vacating the final rule, decision, or enforcement action.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2014
Children in Families First Act of 2014 - Establishes within the Department of State the Office of Vulnerable Children and Family Security which shall: (1) support the implementation in foreign countries of child welfare laws and policies; and (2) address the gap in U.S. diplomacy, policy, and operations with respect to promoting appropriate, protective, and permanent family care for children living without families. States that the Office shall be headed by an Ambassador-at-Large who shall: (1) serve as a primary advisor to the Secretary of State and the President in all matters related to vulnerable children and family security in foreign countries; and (2) represent the United States in matters relevant to international child welfare, family preservation and reunification, and provision of permanent, safe parental care through kinship and domestic and intercountry adoption. Amends the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to carry out the functions prescribed by the Convention regarding the accreditation of U.S. adoption services providers. Establishes databases for internationally adopted children and adoption service providers. Transfers from the Secretary of State to the Field Operations Directorate of USCIS specified adoption-related functions, including accreditation of agencies and approval of persons to provide adoption services and oversight of provider investigations. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, through USCIS, to: (1) be responsible for processing and case-specific decision making on all intercountry adoption cases, (2) ensure that all intercountry adoption suitability and eligibility determinations of prospective adoptive parents are made in compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention, (3) ensure that all non-Convention adoption cases undergo specified preprocessing, and (4) be responsible for all case processing steps in Convention and non-Convention adoption petitions on behalf of children whom U.S. parents propose to immigrate to the United States. Establishes within the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) a Center of Excellence on Children in Adversity. Authorizes the President to provide assistance for programs in developing countries for nutrition, education, care, and protection of children. Requires: (1) the President to establish a system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. aid to children in adversity, and (2) USAID to carry out a priority country demonstration program implementing the (December 2012) Action Plan for Children in Adversity over a period of five years in at least six countries.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2014
Keep Our Communities Safe Act of 2014 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to revise requirements for the detention and removal of aliens ordered removed. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) constitutional rights should be upheld and protected, (2) Congress intends to uphold the constitutional principle of due process, and (3) due process of the law is a right afforded to everyone in the United States. Expands the authority of the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to take a criminal alien into custody pending a determination of removability. Provides that the alien, unless eligible for bond release, may be detained without limitation until subject to a final order of removal. Limits the Attorney General's (DOJ) review of DHS custody determinations to whether the alien may be detained, released with no bond, or released on bond of at least $1,500. Limits the Attorney General's review of DHS custody determinations for an alien in certain categories to whether the alien was properly included in such category. Begins the removal period on the latest of: (1) the date the removal order becomes administratively final; (2) the date the alien is taken into DHS custody if the alien is not in DHS custody on the date the removal order becomes administratively final; or (3) if the alien is detained or confined (except under an immigration process) on the date the removal order becomes administratively final, the date the alien is taken into DHS custody after the alien is released from detention or confinement. Extends the removal (and detention) period beyond 90 days if: (1) the alien fails or refuses to comply with the removal order or to fully cooperate with DHS efforts to establish the alien's identity and carry out the removal order; (2) a court, the Board of Immigration Appeals, or an immigration judge orders a stay of removal of an alien subject to a final removal order; (3) DHS transfers custody of the alien to another federal agency or to a state or local agency; or (4) a court or the Board of Immigration Appeals orders a remand to an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals while the case is pending a decision on remand. Begins a new removal period in the case of such an extended removal on the date: (1) the alien makes all reasonable efforts to comply with the removal order or to cooperate fully with DHS efforts to establish the alien's identity and carry out the removal order, (2) the stay of removal is no longer in effect, or (3) the alien is returned to DHS custody. Requires mandatory detention for an alien who is inadmissible or deportable under specified criminal or terrorist grounds. Directs the Secretary to establish a detention review process for cooperative aliens. Authorizes DHS to detain indefinitely, subject to six-month review, an alien under a removal order who cannot be removed if: (1) the alien will be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future; (2) the alien would have been removed but for his or her refusal to cooperate with DHS identification and removal efforts; (3) the alien has a highly contagious disease that poses a public safety threat; (4) release would have serious adverse foreign policy consequences or would threaten national security; or (5) release would threaten the safety of the community or any person and the alien has been convicted of either one or more aggravated felonies or crimes of violence and, because of a mental or personality condition, is likely to engage in future acts of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2014
Honors Dr. James R. Schlesinger (former Secretary of Defense [DOD], Secretary of Energy [DOE], and Director of Central Intelligence [CIA]) for his commitment to the liberty and security of the United States and Western civilization, the betterment of his local community, and his family. Recognizes his contributions to: (1) U.S. policies and practices in the areas of national defense, energy, and intelligence; (2) bipartisan public discourse and high-level studies after returning to private life; and (3) U.S. military personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2014
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the transfers of detainees Khairullah Khairkhwa, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Mohammed Fazl, Noorullah Noori, and Mohammed Nabi Omari from U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Qatar on May 31, 2014, violated the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014. Declares that Congress should: (1) investigate the actions taken by President Obama and his administration that led to the unlawful transfer of such detainees, and (2) determine the impact of such transfers on the common defense of the United States and measures that should be taken to mitigate any negative consequences.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2014
Local School Board Governance and Flexibility Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the responsibility for education resides with the states and the local educational agencies (LEAs) to which they have delegated authority; and (2) the Secretary of Education should only issue those regulations, rules, guidance materials, grant conditions, or other requirements that are specifically needed to implement federal legislation and are within LEAs' educational, operational, and financial capacity. Prohibits the Secretary, unless specifically authorized by federal law, from issuing regulations, rules, guidance materials, grant conditions, or other requirements pertaining to states or LEAs that: conflict with the authority of LEAs delegated to them by their state; result in additional costs to LEAs for reporting, grant administration, and general operations that are not fully covered by the federal government; conflict with the authority of LEAs to determine how to engage or act upon community participation and advice; impose requirements on LEAs or state educational agencies (SEAs) that would adversely affect their authority to function as legislative, executive, or quasi-judicial agencies; conflict with states' authority to determine the appropriate governance structure of their SEA or LEAs, or their SEA's or LEAs' authority to determine how schools are governed or managed; establish SEA or LEA reporting requirements that duplicate existing federal requirements or are issued without first conducting a fiscal impact statement; or place conditions or requirements on grants to states or LEAs that do not directly relate to, or do not directly support, the intent of the grants or legislation authorizing the grants. Directs the Secretary during each fiscal year to provide LEAs and the major national education organizations at least 60 days to provide written comments regarding the local impact of implementing federal regulations, rules, guidance materials, grant conditions, or other requirements for any applicable program or activity of the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to review existing LEA reporting requirements to identify and eliminate those that are duplicative. Prohibits the Secretary from promulgating federal regulations, rules, guidance materials, grant conditions, or other requirements pertaining to states or LEAs without first: requesting data and recommendations from SEAs, LEAs, and the major national education organizations regarding the educational, financial, and operational costs involved in implementing them; verifying that LEAs will have the financial resources and technical assistance they may need to successfully implement the requirements; giving SEAs, LEAs, and national educational organizations at least 60 days' notice to respond to such requirements before they are issued, except in certain emergencies; and giving SEAs and LEAs maximum flexibility in implementing the requirements. Provides that if an LEA or major national education organization provides the Secretary with a written statement demonstrating that a regulation, rule, guidance material, grant condition, or other requirement does not meet the substantive or procedural requirements of this Act, the Secretary must review the merits of the statement, issue a written response within 60 days, and post that response on the Department of Education's website.
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 · 3 June 2014
Veterans Choice Act of 2014 - Requires hospital care and medical services to be furnished to veterans through contracts with Medicare providers if the veterans: (1) have been unable to schedule an appointment at a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facility within the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA's) wait-time goals for hospital care or medical services, and (2) opt for care or services from such providers. Directs the VA Secretary to provide veterans with information about the availability of care and services from Medicare providers when they: (1) enroll in the VA patient enrollment system, and (2) attempt to schedule an appointment for VA hospital care or medical services but are unable to do so within VHA's wait-time goals. Terminates this Act's requirement that the Secretary furnish care and services through contracts with Medicare providers two years after the Secretary publishes interim final regulations implementing the program. 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. 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 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 jurisdiction. Requires the Secretary to publish: (1) within 90 days after this Act's enactment, 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 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, and (2) VA's oversight of the contracts under the Patient-Centered Community Care initiative. 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 Medicare providers; 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, to another VA employee false data concerning health care wait times or quality measures. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) remove any individual from the VA's 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 appoint the individual to a General Schedule position at any grade the Secretary determines to be appropriate. Requires such removals to be performed in the same manner as removals of professional staff of Members of Congress.
![Official portrait of Sen. Inhofe, James M. [R-OK]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/i000024_200.jpg)