Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act of 2014 - Directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish and operate directly, or by grant, contract, or interagency agreement, a 24-hour toll free telephone hotline to provide consumer information regarding advance care planning, which is the process of determining an individual's wishes for care in the future when the individual is no longer able to express his or her wishes. Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop an online clearinghouse to provide comprehensive information on advance care planning and pediatric advance care planning. Directs HHS to develop an online advance care planning toolkit for availability on specified websites. Requires the CDC, directly or through grants, contracts, or interagency agreements, to develop a national campaign to inform the public of the importance of advance care planning and of the right of individuals to direct their health care decisions. Directs HHS and the Social Security Administration to update the online versions of the "Plan Ahead for Long-Term Care" section of the Medicare & You Handbook and the Social Security Handbook to include information about advance care planning and advance directives and provide this information in subsequently published paper and online versions. Amends the Legal Services Corporation Act to authorize financial and legal assistance for advance care planning. Directs HHS to award grants to states for certain state health insurance assistance programs to provide advance care planning services to Medicare beneficiaries, their personal representatives, and their families. Authorizes Medicaid transformation grants for advance care planning and advance care planning community training grants. Directs HHS to make grants to establish new or expand existing state or local programs for orders regarding life sustaining treatment. Directs the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to establish a website for providers under Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Indian Health Service, and other public health providers on each individual's right to make decisions concerning medical care, including the right to refuse treatment, and the existence of advance directives, which are legal documents that indicate an individual's wishes regarding medical treatment in the event of future incompetence (e.g., living will). Requires the Health Resources and Services Administration to develop a curriculum for continuing education that states may adopt for physicians and nurses on advance care planning and end-of-life care. Amends titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (CHIP) of the Social Security Act with respect to inclusion of advance directives in patient medical records, discussion of advance directives with patients, the portability of advance directives, and actual knowledge of a patient's desires. Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to require the CDC to award competitive grants to establish and operate state advance directive registries to store and make available to medical providers advance directive documents. Requires the CDC to award grants to states to establish a mechanism to include notice of an advance directive on driver's licenses. Requires various specified studies and reports to Congress by the Government Accountability Office and HHS. Amends the PHSA to direct HHS to establish within the National Health Service Corps a National Geriatric and Palliative Care Services Corps to provide geriatric and palliative care services in health professional shortage areas. Exempts palliative medicine fellowship training from Medicare graduate medical education caps. Directs HHS to establish guidelines for the imposition by medical schools of a minimum amount of end-of-life training as a requirement for obtaining a Doctor of Medicine degree in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine. Authorizes coverage of advance care planning under Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP. Revises Medicare requirements for hospice payments and related matters. Allows Medicare to make payments for an individual's hospice care and treatments for their terminal illness if the individual is 18 years of age or younger. Makes hospice care a required Medicaid and CHIP benefit. Requires CMS, HHS, and the CDC to survey patient satisfaction with end-of-life care, hospice programs, and end-of-life care, respectively. Directs the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to designate an entity to develop requirements, standards, and procedures for accreditation of hospital-based palliative care programs. Amends the PHSA to establish, within the National Institutes of Health, a National Center on Palliative and End-of-Life Care. Directs HHS to establish a demonstration program for the use of telemedicine services in advance care planning.

Bill· SS. 2964 (113th)referred

Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2014

Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2014 - Amends the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 to repeal the declaration that trade adjustment assistance (TAA) program requirements in effect as of February 13, 2011, under the Trade Act of 1974 shall apply to petitions for certification to apply for TAA for workers, firms, and farmers that are filed before January 1, 2014. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend through December 31, 2020: (1) the TAA program, and (2) the reemployment trade adjustment assistance (RTAA) program. Makes funds available through FY2020, and for the period beginning October 1-December 31, 2020 (first quarter of FY2021), for training of adversely affected workers, employment and case management services, and job search expenses and relocation expenses. Reauthorizes appropriations: (1) through December 31, 2020, for the TAA program for workers; and (2) through FY2020, and for the first quarter of FY2021, for the TAA program for firms, communities, and farmers. Prescribes TAA eligibility requirements for adversely affected workers in public agencies. Revises trade readjustment allowance (TRA) program requirements. Limits to 130 weeks the length of TRA payments for an adversely affected worker who requires a program of remedial education or of prerequisite education in order to complete approved training. Increases from 65 to 78 additional weeks of TRA payments in a 78-week period the length of additional time permissible to complete training. Repeals the authority of a state to use funds for employment and case management services and relocation allowances to allow an adversely affected worker who is certified to file an application for a job search allowance and relocation allowance. (Continues to authorize adversely affected workers to apply for the job search allowance as well as the relocation allowance.) Revises the reemployment trade adjustment assistance (RTAA) program. Increases from: (1) $50,000 to $55,000 the maximum amount an RTAA-eligible worker may earn in wages from reemployment, and (2) $10,000 to $12,000 the maximum payment of RTAA (or wage subsidy) to an eligible older worker. Specifies criteria the Secretary must use to determine the eligibility of workers to apply for TAA if no determination has been made, upon enactment of this Act, as to whether to certify a group of workers or firms as eligible pursuant to a petition filed between January 1, 2014, and enactment of this Act. Requires the Secretary to reconsider any determination made before enactment of this Act not to certify such workers or firms, and to certify them as eligible if they meet the specified requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through calendar 2021, and increase from 72.5% to 80%, the tax credit for the health insurance coverage costs of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) pension and TAA recipients and their dependents. Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Public Health Service Act to extend through December 31, 2020, the TAA pre-certification period rule disregarding, for a specified period, any 63-day lapse in creditable health care coverage for TAA workers. Extends also through December 31, 2020, the continued eligibility of certain qualified TAA-eligible individuals and PBGC pension recipients for COBRA premium assistance.

Bill· SS. 2959 (113th)referred

Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2014

Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Black Lung Benefits Act to revise requirements with regard to miners' claims for pneumoconiosis (black lung) benefits. Requires a mine operator to deliver within 21 days a complete copy of the examining physician's report to any miner required to submit to a medical examination regarding his or her respiratory or pulmonary condition. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an attorneys' fee payment program to pay attorneys' fees of up to $4,500 to the attorneys of prevailing parties on a qualifying black lung benefit claim. Establishes an irrebuttable presumption that a miner is totally disabled due to black lung disease, that the miner's death was due to black lung, or that at the time of death the miner was totally disabled by black lung disease if a chest radiograph, biopsy, autopsy, or other medically accepted test or procedure has diagnosed such miner with complicated black lung or progressive massive fibrosis. Allows a party to rebut this presumption only in cases where: the miner was employed for 15 years or more in one or more coal mines (including surface mines), there is a negative chest radiograph, other evidence demonstrates the existence of a totally disabling respiratory or pulmonary impairment, but no part of the miner's respiratory or pulmonary impairment was caused by black lung disease. Revises requirements for the payment of benefits to miners (including their dependents) totally disabled by black lung disease. Authorizes black lung clinics to use a portion of their federal funding to assist miners, surviving spouses, dependents, and other family members in the filing of black lung benefit claims. Prohibits any claimant, physician, operator, duly authorized agent of such operator, or employee of an insurance carrier, subject to certain civil and criminal penalties, from: knowingly and willfully making a false statement or misrepresentation in obtaining or denying benefits, or threatening or knowingly misleading anyone participating in a proceeding regarding such benefits. Requires the Secretary, upon request, to give a claimant the opportunity to substantiate a claim for benefits through a complete pulmonary evaluation of the miner that includes an initial qualified physician's report and, if certain conditions are met, any supplemental medical evidence developed after the report. Requires the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to establish in NIOSH a pilot program to establish B Reader Panels to assure accurate International Labor Organization classifications for chest radiographs in black lung disease cases where there is a factual dispute regarding a diagnosis of complicated black lung or progressive massive fibrosis. Directs the Secretary, in coordination with NIOSH, to establish a program to educate district directors, claims examiners, administrative law judges and supporting attorney advisors, and Benefits Review Board members about medical evidence relevant to black lung benefit claims. Revises black lung eligibility requirements to replace the terms "wife" and "widow" with "spouse" and "surviving spouse." Allows a covered miner or survivor to file a claim for black lung benefits within one year after enactment of this Act if the claim was been denied before enactment of this Act. Requires adjudication of the claim on its merits and excludes consideration of any negative chest radiograph for simple black lung disease, complicated black lung disease, or progressive massive fibrosis. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress a strategy to reduce the backlog of black lung cases pending before the Office of Administrative Law Judges of the Department of Labor. Directs the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on any barriers to health care faced by coal miners with black lung disease. Amends the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary to conduct a retrospective study evaluating data collected using continuous dust monitors to determine whether to lower the applicable standard for respirable dust concentration for miners, among other possible actions. Establishes in the Department of Labor an Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) (codifying the existing establishment of OWCP in the Department of Labor.)

Bill· SS. 2880 (113th)referred

I Teach Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014

Incentives to Educate American Children Act of 2014 or the I Teach Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a refundable tax credit of $1,000 for: (1) teachers in public or elementary or secondary schools or public kindergartens in rural areas or areas with high poverty, and (2) teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Increases such credit to $2,000 for a teacher meeting both requirements.

Bill· SS. 2879 (113th)referred

Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014

Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act of 2014 - Directs the President to establish an interagency Sustainable Chemistry Program to promote and coordinate federal sustainable chemistry research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, commercialization, education, and training activities. Directs the President to establish an Interagency Working Group that includes representatives from specified federal agencies to oversee the planning, management, and coordination of the Program. Requires the Interagency Working Group to establish an Advisory Council on Sustainable Chemistry to make recommendations to it and provide it with advice and assistance. Requires participating agencies to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Program activities and appropriations. Requires the Interagency Working Group to submit a report to Congress, as well as to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Instructs the Interagency Working Group to lead agencies in awarding grants to institutions of higher education to establish partnerships with companies across the value chain in the chemical industry to: (1) create collaborative research, development, demonstration, technology transfer, and commercialization programs; and (2) train students and retrain professional scientists and engineers in the use of sustainable chemistry concepts and strategies. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to contract with the National Research Council to assess the current status of sustainable chemistry research in the United States. Directs the Interagency Working Group to produce a national strategy for sustainable chemistry that provides a framework for advancing sustainable chemistry research.

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 573 (113th)passed

A resolution commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act.

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014

Commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act. Commends the work of the individuals and organizations involved in building and maintaining the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 570 (113th)referred

A resolution designating October 17, 2014, as "National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day".

United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2014

Designates October 17, 2014, as National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day to promote programs and activities that will lead to the greater use of cleaner, more efficient transportation that uses new sources of energy. Urges the people of the United States to: (1) increase the personal and commercial use of, and promote public sector adoption of, cleaner and more energy-efficient alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles; and (2) encourage the adoption of federal policies to advance and adopt alternative, advanced, and emerging vehicle and fuel technologies to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 557 (113th)passed

A resolution designating the week beginning October 19, 2014, as "National Character Counts Week".

United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014

Designates the week beginning October 19, 2014, as National Character Counts Week.

Bill· SS. 2799 (113th)open

Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014

Satellite Television Access and Viewer Rights Act - Title I: Satellite Television - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend until December 31, 2019, the exemption from retransmission consent requirements for satellite retransmissions of network station signals to subscribers located outside of a station's local market who reside in unserved households (commonly referred to as "distant signals"). Extends until January 1, 2020: (1) the prohibition on exclusive retransmission consent contracts, and (2) the requirement that television broadcast stations and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) negotiate in good faith. Limits the definition of "local market," in the case of both commercial and noncommercial television broadcast stations, to the designated market area in which a television broadcast station is located, but allows the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add communities to or exclude communities from a station's local market following a written request. Requires designated market areas, for purposes of determining a satellite carrier's obligations to carry local television signals, to be determined by Nielsen Media Research or by any FCC-adopted successor system of assigning television broadcast stations to local markets. Directs the FCC, in considering requests to add communities to or exclude communities from a station's local market, to afford particular attention to the value of localism, including the promotion of a consumer's access to television signals that originate in the consumer's state of residence, and to consider: (1) whether the station has been carried historically within such community, (2) the station's coverage of issues of concern or sporting events of interest to the community, and (3) viewing patterns in households that subscribe, and households that do not subscribe, to MVPD services. Permits communities to be part of more than one local market. Prohibits a satellite carrier from deleting from carriage the signal of a commercial television station during the pendency of any such proceeding. Title II: Video Policy Reforms - Directs the FCC to commence a rulemaking proceeding to revise regulations governing the exercise by television broadcast stations of the right to grant retransmission consent. Requires such revised regulations to prohibit television broadcast stations, unless such stations are under common de jure control permitted by the FCC, from: (1) coordinating negotiations or negotiating on a joint basis with another television broadcast station to grant retransmission consent to an MVPD, and (2) limiting the ability of an MVPD to carry a television signal that has been deemed significantly viewed (or any other television broadcast signal such distributor is authorized to carry under current laws governing the carriage of local television signals by satellite carriers or the carriage of local commercial television signals by cable operators) into the local market of such station. Permits the FCC to determine that a party to a retransmission consent negotiation has committed a per se violation of its duty to negotiate in good faith. Requires the FCC's rulemaking to consider whether each of the following constitutes a failure to negotiate in good faith: (1) blocking online content owned or controlled by a television broadcast station or network, or seeking to have another entity block access to online content during retransmission consent negotiations or after the expiration of an agreement; and (2) allowing a television network to review and approve the rates, terms, and conditions of a retransmission consent agreement for any television broadcast station not wholly owned by such network. Directs the FCC to review and update the totality of the circumstances test to encourage negotiating parties to present bona fide proposals and engage in timely negotiations. Requires the FCC's annual report on cable rates to include the aggregate average total amount that cable systems pay for retransmission consent. Terminates, two years after this Act's enactment, the FCC's set-top box integration ban that prohibits MVPDs from placing in service new navigation devices that perform both conditional access and other functions in a single integrated device. Directs the FCC to convene a working group to identify standards for a non-burdensome, uniform, technology-neutral, software-based, downloadable security system that promotes the competitive availability of such devices. Requires the FCC to establish a streamlined process for the filing of effective competition petitions by small cable operators, particularly those that serve primarily rural areas. Prohibits this Act from being construed to have any effect on the duty of a small cable operator to prove the existence of effective competition. Title III: Miscellaneous - Sets forth implementation and severability requirements.

Bill· SS. 2793 (113th)referred

A bill to authorize the award of the Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson.

United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014

Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor to Henry Johnson for acts of valor during World War I for which he was previously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Bill· SS. 2786 (113th)referred

Corporate Inverters Earnings Stripping Reform Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014

Corporate Inverters Earnings Stripping Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose limitations on the tax deduction for interest paid by corporations which are designated as applicable entities (i.e., members of an expanded affiliated group which includes a surrogate foreign corporation which is not treated as a domestic corporation). Prohibits such an entity from claiming a tax deduction for interest that exceeds 25% of its adjusted taxable income and from carrying forward interest which is paid or accrued during the first year in which such entity becomes an applicable entity. Requires an applicable entity to file an annual application for an approval agreement (i.e., a prefiling, advance pricing, or other agreement involving a related-party transaction) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) during the 10-year period after it becomes an applicable entity.

Resolution· SRESS.Res. 539 (113th)passed

A resolution relative to the death of James M. Jeffords, former United States Senator for the State of Vermont.

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.