United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2015
Regulatory Accountability Act of 2015 This bill amends the Administrative Procedure Act to revise requirements for federal agency rulemaking by requiring agencies, in making a rule, to consider: (1) the legal authority under which a rule may be proposed, including whether rulemaking is required by statute or is within the discretion of the agency; (2) the nature and significance of the problem the agency intends to address with a rule; (3) whether existing federal laws or rules have created or contributed to the problem; (4) reasonable alternatives for a new rule; and (5) for any major rule or high-impact rule (generally defined as rules having an annual cost to the economy of $100 million or $1 billion or more, respectively), the potential costs and benefits associated with potential alternative rules. The bill requires agencies that initiate a rulemaking that may result in a major rule or a high-impact rule to: (1) establish an electronic docket for that rulemaking, which may have a physical counterpart; and (2) publish a notice of initiation of rulemaking in the Federal Register. The bill requires agencies issuing a rule to notify the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) of the Office of Management and Budget and publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register which shall include: (1) a text of the proposed rule; (2) a summary of rulemaking considerations; and (3) for any major rule or high-impact rule, a preliminary determination that the benefits of the proposed rule justify its costs and a discussion of the costs and benefits of alternatives to the rule. Similar notice requirements apply when an agency adopts a final rule. The bill expands agency requirements for allowing opportunities for public comment and sets forth requirements for providing public hearings for high-impact and major rules and for petitioning for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule. An agency must, in a rulemaking for a major rule or high-impact rule, adopt the least costly rule considered during the rulemaking that meets relevant statutory objectives. The bill requires the OIRA to establish and update guidelines for the assessment of: (1) the costs and benefits of proposed and final rules, and (2) other economic issues and risk assessments that are relevant to rulemaking. The bill revises the scope of judicial review to prohibit review of a determination of whether a rule is a major rule and to establish a substantial evidence standard for affirming agency rulemaking decisions. The bill sets forth criteria for issuing major guidance (agency guidance that is likely to lead to an annual cost to the economy of $100 million or more, a major increase in cost or prices, or significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or ability to compete).
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2015
Commonsense Reporting Act of 2015 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and the Internal Revenue Code to modify the requirements for employers to report health insurance coverage information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by the end of the tax year. The bill changes the information that is required and permits employers to voluntarily report the information prior to the beginning of open enrollment. The Department of the Treasury must develop a prospective reporting system to permit: employers to voluntarily report specified health insurance coverage information before the annual open enrollment period; the exchanges, the Federal Marketplace Data Services Hub, and the IRS to access the information to provide the Department of Health and Human Services with information related to eligibility for advance payment of premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies; the exchanges to communicate with employers and employees regarding eligibility for the tax credits or cost-sharing subsidies; and employers to provide updates to the Federal Marketplace Data Services Hub regarding changes in coverage for employees. At the time of enrollment, exchanges must provide employers the names of employees and dependents that enroll in a qualified health plan for a year. If a health insurance issuer or employer is unable to obtain the Taxpayer Identification Number of a dependent, Treasury may permit the individual's full name and date of birth to be used instead. Employers participating in the reporting system established by this bill are exempt from the requirement to report health insurance coverage information to the IRS by the end of the tax year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2015
Designates the week of September 13, 2015, as National Direct Support Professionals Recognition Week. Commends direct support professionals as integral to long-term support and services for individuals with disabilities. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the successful implementation of the public policies affecting individuals with disabilities depends on the dedication of direct support professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2015
Relationship Lending Preservation Act of 2015 This bill directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue regulations to include as a qualified mortgage any mortgage loan that: (1) is extended by a creditor that, together with its affiliates, has less than $10 billion in total consolidated assets and is a member of a Federal Home Loan Bank; (2) meets qualifying criteria of the Truth in Lending Act; (3) is eligible to be purchased by a Bank pursuant to its underwriting and documentation requirements; and (4) is eligible to be purchased and is held by a Bank pursuant to regulations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The Bureau shall assess these regulations, addressing, among other relevant factors, their usage by community financial institutions, their impact on access to residential mortgage loans, and whether the Banks actually have established underwriting and documentation requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2015
Hunger Free Summer for Kids Act of 2015 This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to establish electronic benefit (EBT) cards and off-site consumption as two alternative delivery options for schools and service institutions in the summer food service program for children. These options shall be available to a child only if the child lives either in a rural area or outside of an area in which poor economic conditions exist, or, in the case of off-site consumption, if the summer program is available to the child at a congregate feeding site but the site is inaccessible, as specified by the bill. A state may not operate the EBT card option and the off-site consumption option simultaneously in the same area. Each state desiring to participate in the summer food service program shall include in its annual management and administration plan the state's plans for using one or both of these alternative delivery options.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2015
Protecting Access to Lifesaving Screenings Act or the PALS Act This bill requires that any provision of law referring to current recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) with respect to breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention be administered as if: (1) the provision referred to USPSTF recommendations last issued before 2009; and (2) those recommendations applied to any screening mammography modality, including any digital modality of such a procedure. (In 2009, USPSTF updated its guidelines to recommend against routine screening mammography for women between 40 to 49 years of age and to recommend biennial, instead of annual, screening mammography for most women between 50 to 74 years of age.) In addition, the bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to preserve Medicare coverage for screening mammography, without a requirement for coinsurance, and expand the definition of screening mammography to include any digital modality of such a procedure. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid may not revise the frequency with which screening mammography may be paid by Medicare for a woman over 39 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2015
Health Care Conscience Rights Act Amends title I of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to declare that nothing in that title requires an individual to purchase individual health insurance coverage that includes coverage of an abortion or other item or service to which the individual has a moral or religious objection, or prevent an issuer from offering coverage excluding such item or service to that individual. Denies that title I requires a health plan sponsor or a health insurance issuer to cover an item or service to which the sponsor or issuer has a moral or religious objection. Denies also that title I authorizes imposition of a tax, penalty, fee, fine, or other sanction, or imposition of coverage of such an item or service, on health insurance coverage that excludes such an item or service. Amends the Public Health Service Act to codify the prohibition against any action by the federal government and any state or local government receiving federal financial assistance to subject a health professional, or health care facility, organization, or plan to discrimination on the basis that the entity refuses to participate in abortion-related activities. Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of HHS to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Creates a cause of action for the Attorney General or any person or entity adversely affected to obtain equitable or legal relief for any violation of this abortion discrimination prohibition. Allows commencement of an action and the granting of relief without a prerequisite pursuit of administrative remedies. Allows such an action against a federal or state governmental entity.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2015
Stopping Medication Abuse and Protecting Seniors Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) authorize a Medicare prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsor to establish a drug management program under which the PDP sponsor may limit an at-risk beneficiary’s access to coverage for frequently abused drugs to include only those drugs that are prescribed by selected prescribers and dispensed by selected pharmacies; and (2) require a PDP sponsor to have in place a utilization management tool to prevent drug abuse. With respect to a drug management program, a PDP sponsor must: (1) provide specified notice to a beneficiary who has been identified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) as “at-risk” and consequently enrolled in the program; and (2) in selecting prescribers and dispensers, ensure that the beneficiary continues to have reasonable access to drugs. These determinations shall be subject to expedited reconsideration and appeal. A PDP sponsor must review and consider an at-risk beneficiary’s preferences regarding prescriber and pharmacy selection. Certain individuals, including those receiving hospice care or residing in a long-term care facility, are exempted from enrollment in a drug management program. CMS must, for purposes of quality or performance assessments, review and consider complaints received from at-risk beneficiaries regarding lack of access due to their enrollment in a drug management program. In addition, CMS must establish rules and procedures requiring a PDP sponsor to provide specified program data.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2015
Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act of 2015 or the JOBS Act of 2015 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish the Job Training Federal Pell Grant Program. The Department of Education must award job training Federal Pell Grants to eligible students. An eligible student is one who does not have a degree, attends an institution of higher education (IHE), is enrolled in a job training program at such IHE, and meets all other eligibility requirements for a Federal Pell Grant. The maximum job training Federal Pell Grant award is 50% of the discretionary base maximum award specified in annual appropriations law. Any period during which a student receives a job training Federal Pell Grant counts toward that student's Federal Pell Grant eligibility period.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015 This bill amends the federal criminal code to create a private civil cause of action for trade secret misappropriation. Specifically, the bill authorizes a trade secret owner to file a civil action in a U.S. district court seeking relief for trade secret misappropriation related to a product or service in interstate or foreign commerce. It establishes remedies, such as an injunction and damages. The statute of limitation is set at five years from the date of discovery of the misappropriation. A trade secret owner may apply for and a court may grant a seizure order to prevent dissemination of the trade secret if the court makes specific findings, including that an immediate and irreparable injury will occur if seizure is not ordered. A court must take custody of the seized materials and hold a seizure hearing within seven days. Any party harmed by the order may move to dissolve or modify the order and may also seek relief against the applicant of the seizure order for wrongful or excessive seizure. The Department of Justice must submit to Congress and publish a biannual report on trade secret theft outside the United States. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) trade secret theft occurs in the United States and around the world, (2) trade secret theft harms owner companies and their employees, and (3) the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 applies broadly to protect trade secrets from theft.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to: (1) redesignate the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking as the Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and (2) require an Assistant Secretary to head the Bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) August 30, 2015, should be designated as 1890 Land-Grant Institutions Quasquicentennial Recognition Day; and (2) the Department of Agriculture and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture should remain committed to supporting the goals of the Second Morrill Act and the Smith-Lever Act, which have helped the United States develop agricultural leaders.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
International Megan's Law to Prevent Child Exploitation Through Advanced Notification of Traveling Sex Offenders This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to establish the Angel Watch Center. The Center must identify outbound sex offender travelers who failed to provide advanced notice of international travel and provide a list of such individuals to the U.S. Marshals Service to investigate. The Department of Justice (DOJ) must designate the Center as the central repository for incoming notifications of sex offender travel. The bill authorizes the Center and the Marshals Service to transmit notification to a destination country of a sex offender's international travel. The Center and the Marshals Service must comply with certain procedures, collect specified data, and establish a complaint process for sex offenders affected by notifications. It amends the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act to require a registered sex offender to report additional information on intended international travel. In addition, the bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a sex offender to knowingly fail to report such intended international travel information. DOJ may notify a destination country of a sex offender's international travel. This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to prohibit the Department of State from issuing a passport to a sex offender applicant, unless the passport contains a unique identifier. A "unique identifier" is any visual sex offender designation that is conspicuously affixed to a passport.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Condemns the attack at the Grand Theatre 16 movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, on July 23, 2015. Honors the memory of the two Louisiana citizens who lost their lives. Recognizes the law enforcement officers, members of the Armed Forces, and first responders who responded to such attack.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2015
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act or the PACT Act Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally engaging in animal crushing in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. (Current law prohibits knowingly creating or distributing an animal crush video.) Adds exceptions for conduct that is for predator or pest control, medical or scientific research, or necessary to protect the life or property of a person from a serious threat caused by an animal.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2015
Efficient Space Exploration Act The Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shall analyze NASA's requirements for radioisotope power system material necessary for planned, high priority robotic missions in the solar system and other surface exploration activities beyond low-Earth orbit, as well as the risk to missions because of a lack of adequate material.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
Northern Border Security Review Act Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit to specified congressional committees a northern border threat analysis, which shall include analyses of: terrorism and criminal threats posed by individuals and organized groups seeking to enter the United States through the northern border or to exploit border vulnerabilities on such border; improvements needed at and between ports of entry along the northern border to prevent terrorists and instruments of terror from entering the United States and to reduce criminal activity, as measured by the total flow of illegal goods and illicit drugs, related to such border; and vulnerabilities in law, policy, cooperation between state, tribal, and local law enforcement, international agreements, or tribal agreements that hinder border security, counterterrorism, anti-human trafficking efforts, and the flow of legitimate trade along the northern border. Directs the Secretary, for such analysis, to consider and examine: technology needs and challenges; personnel needs and challenges; the role of state, tribal, and local law enforcement in general border security activities; the need for cooperation among federal, state, tribal, local, and Canadian law enforcement entities relating to border security; and the geographic challenges of the northern border.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
Condemns the attacks of July 16, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Honors the sacrifice and memory of the five members of the Armed Forces who lost their lives. Recognizes the skill and heroism of the law enforcement officers, members of the Armed Forces, and first responders who came to the aid of others. Commends the efforts of those who are working to care for the injured and investigate this horrific incident. Extends condolences and prayers to the families of the fallen, and to all those affected in Chattanooga and in the United States. Pledges to work together to prevent future attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2015
Accelerating Innovation in Medicine Act of 2015 or the AIM Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop an accelerating innovation in medicine (AIM) list of medical devices (or for any items or services related to furnishing such devices) for which, because of their inclusion on the list, insurance benefits and payments are prohibited under Medicare (either directly or on a capitated basis), with the result that no Medicare claim may be submitted and an individual who consents to receive such a device (or related items or services) is responsible for paying for it and any related items and services. Directs the Secretary to post on a public HHS website or other publicly accessible media an updated list of the medical devices on the AIM list.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2015
Civilian Property Realignment Act of 2015 or CPRA Establishes the Civilian Property Realignment Commission to: (1) identify opportunities to reduce significantly the federal government's inventory and cost of federal real property assets and the number of high-value leases through relocation to less costly properties, (2) identify not fewer than 5 federal properties that have an anticipated sales price of not less that $500 million and that are not currently on the list of surplus or excess properties, (3) carry out an independent analysis of the inventory of federal real property assets, (4) transmit to the President its findings and recommendations for consolidating or otherwise reducing such inventory, and (5) establish and maintain a website for making relevant information about federal real property assets publicly available. Establishes as the goal of the Commission to identify a total savings of not less than $9 billion from the disposal of federal property. Terminates the Commission 10 years after the enactment of this Act. Excludes certain properties from the application of this Act, including military installations, wilderness study areas, Indian and native Eskimo property held in trust, property operated and maintained by the Tennessee Valley Authority, postal properties, and other properties necessary for national security. Requires federal agencies to submit to the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on an annual basis: (1) current data of all federal real property owned, leased, or controlled by such agencies; and (2) recommendations for the disposal of such properties to reduce inventory, for operational efficiencies, for opportunities to pursue enhanced use leasing in under-used buildings, and to reduce the number of high-value leases through relocation to less costly properties. Establishes a process for the review of the Commission's recommendations by the President and Congress. Requires each federal agency to implement the Commission's recommendations after the completion of such process. Exempts properties included in the recommendations for disposal or realignment under this Act from certain public benefit conveyance requirements, including the McKinney-Vento Act (requiring surplus property to be used to assist the homeless). Limits the authority of executive agencies to lease space for the purposes of a public building. Requires the Commission to identify and compile, on an annual basis, a list of assets located outside of the United States and its territories that are owned or managed by the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations of the Department of State and that may be sold to reduce the federal real property inventory or otherwise disposed of, transferred, or consolidated. Requires the OMB and the GSA to: (1) provide specified congressional committees, upon request, access to the Federal Real Property Profile established by Executive Order 13327, dated February 4, 2004; and (2) make such Profile available, upon request, to the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Commission. Requires the GSA to include in the Federal Real Property Profile information relating to the age and condition of a federal real property asset, its size and location, and specified costs of operating such property. Requires each federal agency, not later than three years after the enactment of this Act, to sell, dispose, transfer, exchange, consolidate, co-locate, reconfigure, or redevelop any federal real property that is deemed excess property. Prohibits judicial review of certain actions taken by the Commission or the President under this Act. Requires the GSA to consider the life-cycle cost (i.e., the sum of investment, capital, installation, energy, operating, maintenance, and replacement costs) of certain public buildings that are constructed or leased after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Amends federal shipping law to extend through October 31, 2028, the exemption of certain vessels from the requirement that U.S. passenger vessels having berth or stateroom accommodations for at least 50 passengers be constructed of fire-retardant materials in order to be granted a certificate of inspection. Continues to apply this exemption only to vessels in operation before January 1, 1968, which operate only within the Boundary Line (the dividing point between inland waters and high seas). Requires the owner or managing operator of an exempt vessel to: notify crew members that the vessel does not comply with applicable fire safety standards due primarily to the wooden construction of passenger berthing areas, and make annual structural alterations to at least 10% of vessel areas that are not constructed of fire-retardant materials. Requires any noncombustible material requirements prescribed by the Coast Guard (with which an exempt vessel is still required to comply) to be consistent with the preservation of a vessel's historic integrity in areas carrying or accessible to passengers or generally visible to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2015
Miners Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to address potential shortages in the Multiemployer Health Benefit Plan for payment of health care benefits to retired coal miners by expanding the eligible uses of interest transferable to such plan from the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, and supplemental payments from the General Fund of the Treasury. The calculation of such interest and payments shall be made by taking into account only those beneficiaries who are actually enrolled in the plan as of the enactment of this Act, as well as those retirees whose health care benefits, payable directly by an employer in the bituminous coal industry under a coal wage agreement, would be denied or reduced as a result of a bankruptcy proceeding commenced in 2012. The bill requires the Department of the Treasury to transfer to the trustees of the 1974 United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Pension Plan additional funds to pay pension benefits required under that plan, if the $490 million cap on certain transfers to the UMWA Combined Benefit Fund and distributions to states and Indian tribes exceed the aggregate amount required to be transferred to them. The bill also expands the annual reporting requirements of the trustees of the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan on plan solvency and value of plan assets.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2015
This bill prohibits until January 1, 2016, enforcement against any person of integrated disclosure requirements for mortgage loan transactions under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, the Truth in Lending Act, and regulations issued under such Acts. No suit may be filed against any person for a violation of such requirements occurring before that date, as long as the person has made a good faith effort to comply with them.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Flood Insurance Market Parity and Modernization Act This bill amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to make technical amendments to requirements for flood insurance under either the federal program or private flood insurance. "Private flood insurance" shall include any policy issued by an insurance company eligible as a nonadmitted insurer to provide flood insurance in the state or jurisdiction where the property to be insured is located. The flood insurance program under the Act, including both private and federal flood insurance, shall extend to Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa. The National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 is amended to direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider any period during which a property was continuously covered by private flood insurance to be a period of continuous insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Small Business Healthcare Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to allow an employer with fewer than 50 employees that does not offer group health insurance coverage to establish a health reimbursement arrangement. Under the arrangement, funds contributed by an employer are excluded from the employer's taxable income and are used to pay or reimburse employees for medical care expenses, including premiums for individual health insurance coverage or Medicare supplemental insurance. Such a reimbursement arrangement: (1) must not pay premiums for an employee covered by a family member's coverage, (2) must be offered to all eligible employees on the same terms and may only vary based on the number of individuals covered, and (3) is not required to provide continuation coverage. Employer contributions to a reimbursement arrangement are not included in an employee's gross income if the employee was covered by the reimbursement arrangement for more than nine months of the year. Employees covered for less than nine months have a percentage of employer contributions included in their gross income, with exceptions. An employee offered affordable individual health insurance coverage under a reimbursement arrangement is not eligible for a premium assistance tax credit. Employers must report contributions to a reimbursement arrangement on their employees' W-2. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to exempt reimbursement arrangements from requirements for health insurance coverage. Insurance offered under a reimbursement arrangement remains subject to the requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2015
Designates October 30, 2015, as a national day of remembrance for U.S. nuclear weapons program workers, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2015
Condemns the attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Offers condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed and to the staff and congregation of Mother Emanuel.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015
Expresses support for the bicentennial celebration of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant. Designates the Ulysses S. Grant Association, housed at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University, as the designated institution for organizing and leading the celebration of the bicentennial.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2015
Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2015 Authorizes the President to require an independent regulatory agency to: (1) comply, to the extent permitted by law, with regulatory analysis requirements applicable to other federal agencies; (2) publish and provide the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs with an assessment of the costs and benefits of a proposed or final economically significant rule (i.e., a rule that is likely to have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more and is likely to adversely affect sectors of the economy in a material way) and an assessment of costs and benefits of alternatives to the rule; and (3) submit to the Office for review any proposed or final economically significant rule. Prohibits judicial review of the compliance or noncompliance of an independent regulatory agency with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2015
Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 Directs the President to report to Congress annually identifying: (1) satellite, broadcast, Internet, or other providers that have knowingly entered into a contractual relationship with al-Manar TV and its affiliates; and (2) the identity of those providers that have or have not been sanctioned pursuant to Executive Order 13224. Directs the President 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: facilitates a transaction or transactions for Hizballah, or for a person acting on behalf of, or owned or controlled by Hizballah; engages in money laundering to carry out such an activity; or facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services to carry out such an activity. Applies specified penalties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for violations of this Act. Authorizes the President to waive the application of a prohibition for up to 180 days (with renewable 180-day waivers) if in U.S. national security interests, and with congressional notification. Requires the Department of the Treasury to identify to Congress every 180 days each foreign central bank that carries out a prohibited activity. Exempts from sanctions a foreign financial institution that is no longer engaging in a prohibited activity or is taking significant steps toward terminating such activity. Directs the President to report to Congress on whether Hizballah meets the criteria for designation as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker, and if the President determines that Hizballah does not meet such criteria, a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Hizballah appears to meet the criteria for designation as a significant transnational criminal organization, and (2) the President should designate Hizballah as a significant transnational criminal organization. Directs the President to report to Congress on whether Hizballah meets the criteria for designation as a significant transnational criminal organization, and if the President determines that Hizballah does not meet such criteria, a detailed justification as to which criteria have not been met. Directs the Department of State to report to Congress regarding actions taken through the Department's rewards program to obtain information on Hizballah's fund raising, financing, and money laundering activities. Directs the President to report to Congress regarding: countries that support Hizballah, in which Hizballah maintains important portions of its global logistics networks, or in which Hizballah conducts significant fund raising, financing, or money laundering activities; an assessment of whether a country is taking adequate measures to disrupt Hizballah's networks and activities within that country; and methods that Hizballah, or any of its agents or affiliates, utilizes to raise or transfer funds, including trade-based money laundering, the use of foreign exchange houses, and free-trade zones. Directs the Department of State, Treasury, and the heads of other applicable federal departments and agencies to brief Congress on the disposition of Hizballah's assets and fund raising, financing, and money laundering activities. Declares that nothing in this Act shall apply to authorized U.S. intelligence activities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2082 Stringtown Road in Grove City, Ohio, as the "Specialist Joseph W. Riley Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2015
Competitive Service Act of 2015 Authorizes an appointing authority (i.e., a federal agency appointing an individual to a position in the competitive service), other than the appointing authority that requested the certificate of eligibles for filling a position in the competitive service, to select an individual from that certificate for appointment to a position that is: (1) in the same occupational series as the position for which the certificate of eligibles was issued, and (2) at a similar grade level as the original position. Sets forth requirements relating to the sharing of certificates, notice, and selection of job applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2015
Designates June 19, 2015, 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 2015
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from performing or attempting to perform an abortion except in conformity with this Act's requirements. Requires the physician to first determine the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child. Prohibits an abortion from being performed if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater, except: (1) where necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman; (2) where the pregnancy is the result of rape against an adult woman and, at least 48 hours prior to the abortion, such woman has obtained counseling or medical treatment for the rape; or (3) where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest against a minor and the rape or incest has been reported prior to the abortion to a law enforcement agency or a government agency. Requires the physician, prior to performing such an abortion, to place appropriate supporting documentation in the patient's medical file. Permits a physician to terminate a pregnancy under such an exception only in the manner that provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive. Requires a physician performing an abortion under an exception provided by this Act, if the pain-capable unborn child has the potential to survive outside the womb, to ensure that a second physician trained in neonatal resuscitation is present and prepared to provide care to the child. Makes such requirements and the requirement to obtain an informed consent form inapplicable if compliance would pose a greater risk of the death or the substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman. Requires, when a physician performs or attempts an abortion in accordance with this Act and the child is born alive, that: any health care practitioner present at the time humanely exercise the same professional skill, care, and diligence to preserve the life and health of the child as would be exercised for a child born alive at the same gestational age in the course of a natural birth; the child be immediately transported and admitted to a hospital; and a health care practitioner or any employee of a hospital, a physician's office, or an abortion clinic who has knowledge of a failure to comply with these requirements immediately report the failure to an appropriate state or federal law enforcement agency. Requires the physician who intends to perform an abortion under one of this Act's exceptions to first obtain a signed informed consent authorization form, which shall consist of: a statement by the physician indicating the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child; a statement that federal law allows an abortion after 20 weeks fetal age only if the mother's life is endangered when the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest against a minor; a statement that the abortion must be performed by the method most likely to allow the child to be born alive unless this would cause significant risk to the mother; a statement that in any case in which an abortion procedure results in a child born alive, federal law requires that child to be given every form of medical assistance that is provided to children spontaneously born prematurely; a statement that these requirements are binding upon the physician and all other medical personnel who are subject to criminal and civil penalties and that a woman on whom an abortion has been performed may take civil action if these requirements are not followed; and affirmation that each signer has filled out the informed consent form and understands the information contained in the form. Requires the form to be: (1) signed in person by the woman seeking the abortion, the physician performing the abortion, and a witness; and (2) retained in the patient's medical file for six years from the later of the date of its creation or the date when it last was in effect. Makes this Act's requirements for the exception, where the pregnancy is the result of rape against an adult woman, that the woman has obtained counseling or medical treatment for the rape at least 48 hours prior to the abortion inapplicable if the rape has been reported prior to the abortion to a law enforcement agency or Department of Defense victim assistance personnel. Requires a physician who performs an abortion under an exception provided by this Act to comply with: (1) state laws regarding reporting requirements in cases of rape or incest as the state's Attorney General may designate, and (2) any applicable state laws requiring parental involvement in a minor's decision to have an abortion. Bars prosecution of a woman upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of this Act for violating or conspiring to violate this Act. Authorizes: (1) a woman upon whom an abortion has been performed in violation of this Act to obtain specified appropriate relief in a civil action, and (2) a parent of a minor upon whom an abortion has been performed under an exception and that was performed in violation of this Act to obtain such relief unless the pregnancy resulted from the plaintiff's criminal conduct. Requires any physician who performs an abortion under this Act's exceptions to annually submit a summary of all such abortions to the National Center for Health Statistics, which shall issue a public report annually providing statistics by state for the previous year. Defines "abortion" to mean the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device: (1) to intentionally kill an unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant; or (2) to intentionally terminate a pregnancy, with an intention other than to produce a live birth and preserve the life and health of the child after viability or to remove a dead unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015
Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: allow taxpayers who are liable for not more than $50,000 per year in excise taxes on distilled spirits, wine, or beer to file and pay such taxes quarterly without the requirement of posting a bond covering the operations and withdrawals of such distilled spirits, wines, or beer; allow such taxpayers who reasonably expect to have a tax liability of not more than $1,000 per year and who were liable for not more than $1,000 in taxes in the preceding calendar year to file and pay such taxes annually rather than quarterly; exclude the aging period from the production period for beer, wine, or distilled spirits for purposes of determining whether a taxpayer can expense, rather than capitalize, interest costs paid or incurred during the production period; reduce excise tax rates on beer, wine, and distilled spirits produced in the United States; permit the transfer of beer between bonded facilities without payment of tax; modify the definition of "hard cider" for excise tax purposes; and exempt home distillery establishments that produce distilled spirits solely for personal or family use from excise tax and bonding requirements. Directs the Department of the Treasury to amend applicable Treasury regulations with respect to the use of wholesome products suitable for human consumption in the production of fermented beverages. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to establish funding levels in FY2016-FY2021 for the enforcement and compliance activities of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015
Pet and Women Safety Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit threats or acts of violence against a person's pet under the offenses of stalking and interstate violation of a protection order. Defines "pet" to mean a domesticated animal that is kept for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes. Requires the "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of restitution in domestic violence and stalking offenses to include any costs incurred for veterinary services relating to physical care for the victim's pet. Directs the Department of Agriculture to award grants to eligible entities to carry out programs to provide specified housing assistance, support services, and training of relevant stakeholders to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their pets. Expresses the sense of Congress that states should encourage the inclusion of protections against violent or threatening acts against the pet of the person in domestic violence protection orders.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2015
Proclaims 2022 as the bicentennial year for the celebration of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant. Designates the Ulysses S. Grant Association, housed at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State University, as the designated institution for organizing and leading the celebration of the bicentennial.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2015
Construction Consensus Procurement Improvement Act of 2015 Modifies criteria for the use of design-build selection procedures for civilian and defense contracts for the design and construction of a public building, facility, or work. Requires the use of two-phase selection procedures (i.e., submission of qualifications and then the submission of price and technical proposals in response to a request for proposal) when a contracting officer determines that a contract has a value of $750,000 or greater. Allows a contracting officer to make a determination, based on specified criteria, whether the use of two-phase selection procedures is appropriate for a contract having a value of less than $750,000. Requires a contracting officer to provide written documentation of how a maximum number exceeding five finalists in a solicitation for a contract is consistent with the purposes and objectives of two-phase selection procedures. Requires federal agency heads to report, each year over a five-year period, on each instance in which: (1) the agency awarded a design-build contract in which more than five finalists were selected for phase-two requests for proposals, or (2) a contract was awarded without using two-phase selection procedures. Requires the Government Accountability Office to report on agency compliance with design-build contract procedures. Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to prohibit the use of reverse auctions for awarding contracts for construction and design services. Defines "reverse auction," with respect to procurement by an agency, as: (1) a real-time auction conducted through an electronic medium between a group of offerors who compete against each other by submitting bids for a contract or task order with the ability to submit revised bids throughout the course of the auction, and (2) the award of the contract or task order to the offeror who submits the lowest bid. Provides for the acceptance of a bond from an individual surety that is not subject to existing requirements governing corporate sureties. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase from 70% to 90% the amount of loss resulting from a breach of the terms of a bid, payment, or performance bond that is covered by a guarantee by the Small Business Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Medicare Secondary Payer and Worker's Compensation Settlement Agreements Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) create an exception to Medicare secondary payer requirements for certain workers' compensation settlement agreements, and (2) provide for the satisfaction of such requirements through use of qualified Medicare set-asides under such agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015
Second Chance Reauthorization Act Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to revise and expand requirements for the Department of Justice (DOJ) grant program for adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects, including for planning and implementation and for promotion of employment opportunities, and to extend the program through FY2020. Sets forth criteria and priority considerations for DOJ to use in awarding grants. Amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to extend through FY2020 the authorization of appropriations for grants for: (1) family-based substance abuse treatment, (2) the careers training demonstration program, and (3) the offender reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration program. Renames the program of mentoring grants to nonprofit organizations for offender reentry as the program of community-based mentoring and transitional service grants to nonprofit organizations. Provides for enhanced services under such program to assist in the reintegration of offenders into the community. Extends the authorization of appropriations for such program through FY2020. Requires the DOJ Inspector General to conduct annual audits, beginning in FY2016, of grant recipients under the Second Chance Act of 2007 (covered grantees) to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of grant funds. Prohibits nonprofit organizations that hold money in offshore accounts from receiving grant funds. Imposes restrictions on: (1) DOJ conferences using more than $20,000 in DOJ funds; and (2) lobbying DOJ and other officials regarding the award of grant funding. Amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to: (1) modify and extend through FY2020 grant programs for reentry of federal prisoners into the community, including the program for placing aging offenders in home detention and for offender reentry research; (2) repeal programs under such Act relating to responsible reintegration of offenders, the study of the effectiveness of Depot Naltrexone for heroin addiction, and the satellite tracking and reentry training program; and (3) establish a program for partnering faith-based or community-based nonprofit organizations with prisons to conduct recidivism reduction activities. Directs DOJ, in consultation with specified federal officials and in collaboration with interested persons and entities, to coordinate on federal programs, policies, and activities relating to the reentry of individuals returning from incarceration to the community, with an emphasis on evidence-based practices and protection against duplication of services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015
Fairness for Crime Victims Act of 2015 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish a point of order in the Senate and House of Representatives against any provision in an appropriation measure, amendment, motion, or conference report that: (1) contains a change in mandatory program spending, (2) reduces budget authority in the current year but does not reduce outlays over time, and (3) limits obligations from the Crime Victims Fund during a fiscal year to less than the average amount deposited into the Fund during the previous three fiscal years. The bill permits a Senator to raise a point of order to strike such provision or to prevent its incorporation through amendment or motion. If the point of order is sustained by the Chair, the provision is stricken and may not be offered as an amendment from the floor. A motion to waive or suspend the point of order, or a motion to sustain an appeal of the ruling the Chair on such point of order, requires the affirmative vote of three-fifths of Members. It also prohibits consideration of such provision in the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2015
Ensuring Equal Access to Treatments Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to the prospective payment system for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create certain additional groups of covered OPD services that classify separately, from those that do not utilize such a drug, procedures that utilize a drug (other than contrast agents, diagnostic radiopharmaceutical, or anesthesia drugs) that both has a cost above the drug packaging threshold and functions as a supply when used in a diagnostic test or procedure.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Quality Measure Alignment Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to a contract with a consensus-based entity regarding performance measurement, to require the entity to facilitate increased coordination and alignment between the public and private sector with respect to quality and efficiency measures.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015 This bill amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ban cosmetics that contain synthetic plastic microbeads beginning on January 1, 2018.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2015
Housing for Homeless Students Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify low-income building units that provide housing for homeless students and veterans who are full-time students for the low-income housing tax credit. To qualify for the credit the student must have been a homeless child or youth during any portion of the seven-year period prior to occupying the housing unit and the veteran must have been homeless for a similar five-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2015
State Transportation Flexibility Act Allows a state to elect not to participate in the federal-aid highway program, including any federal highway program under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. Directs the Secretary of Transportation , beginning in FY2015, to carry out a direct federal-aid highway program to permit a state legislature, at least 90 days before the beginning of a fiscal year, to elect to: waive the state's right to receive apportioned or allocated funds under the federal-aid highway program, and receive a prorated amount of taxes appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund (other than for the Mass Transit Account) which are attributable to highway users in the state. Requires a pro rata reduction of such tax-equivalent amount in order to fund contract authority for programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Requires the state making an election to: agree to maintain the Interstate System in accordance with the current Interstate System program; submit a plan describing the purposes, projects, and uses to which such amounts will be put and the federal-aid highway programmatic requirements the state elects to continue; and agree to obligate program amounts exclusively for projects that would be eligible for surface transportation program funding. Directs the Secretary to carry out a similar alternative funding program for public transportation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Bonuses for Cost-Cutters Act of 2015 Expands the awards program for disclosures by federal employees of fraud, waste, or mismanagement that result in cost savings to the employee's agency to include identification of surplus funds or unnecessary budget authority. Directs that any savings resulting from the identification of such funds or budget authority be deposited in the Treasury and used to reduce a budget deficit or the federal debt. Permits the head of an agency to retain up to 10% of such savings for the purpose of paying cash awards to employees who identify surplus funds or unnecessary budget authority. Prohibits the payment of awards to: (1) federal officers who serve in a position at level I of the Executive Schedule; (2) the head of an agency; or (3) a commissioner, board member, or other voting member of an independent establishment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2015
Special Inspector General for Monitoring the ACA Act of 2015 or the SIGMA Act of 2015 Establishes the Office of the Special Inspector General for Monitoring the Affordable Care Act to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the implementation and administration of programs and activities established under, and payment system changes made by, the Affordable Care Act (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010). Requires the Special Inspector General to be appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Requires the Special Inspector General to appoint an Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and an Assistant Inspector General for Investigations. Places the Special Inspector General under the supervision of the Department of Health and Human Services, but prohibits federal agencies involved in implementing or administering the Affordable Care Act from preventing or prohibiting the Special Inspector General from initiating, carrying out, or completing any audit or investigation.
![Official portrait of Sen. Portman, Rob [R-OH]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000449_200.jpg)