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
Ensuring Veterans Access to Care Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) implement an upgraded and centralized electronic system for scheduling individuals' appointments for VA health care, and (2) contract for an independent assessment of the process at each VA medical facility for scheduling such appointments. Sets forth measures concerning the training and hiring of VA health personnel that: protect primary care physicians from liability for failing to perform their period of obligated service under the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program due to VA staffing changes or an oversupply of primary care physicians; allow individuals, as part of that Program, to enroll in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to pursue a medical education with a primary care specialization; require the Secretary to annually identify the five VA health care occupations for which there are the largest staffing shortages, to recruit and appoint health care providers to those positions, and to give scholarship priority under the Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program to applicants pursuing careers in those occupations; direct the Secretary to implement a clinic management training program to provide in-person, standardized education on health care management to all managers of, and health care providers at, VA medical facilities; and include service at VA medical facilities as obligated service under the National Health Service Corps Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs. Establishes measures to improve veterans' access to health care from non-VA providers by: requiring the Secretary to make enhanced use of the Secretary's existing authorities to give veterans access to health care at non-VA facilities if they cannot get timely access to care at VA health facilities; extending a joint Department of Defense (DOD)-VA program to identify, implement, and evaluate creative health care coordination and sharing initiatives at facility, intraregional, and nationwide levels; requiring the Secretary to transfer the authority to pay for health care through non-VA facilities from the VA's Veterans Integrated Service Networks and medical centers to the Veterans Health Administration's Chief Business Office; requiring the Secretary to provide outreach to Indian medical facilities regarding their ability to enter into agreements with the VA for reimbursement for providing veterans with health care; requiring the Secretary to enter into agreements to reimburse Native Hawaiian health care systems for the provision of health care to veterans. Sets forth VA health care administrative matters, which include: requiring the Secretary to improve veterans' access to telemedicine and other health care through the use of VA mobile vet centers by establishing standardized requirements for the operation of such centers, establishing the Commission on Access to Care, establishing the Commission on Capital Planning for Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facilities, and authorizing the Secretary to remove any individual from the Senior Executive Service if the Secretary determines that the individual's performance warrants such removal. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out certain major medical facility leases at specified locations for up to specified amounts. Sets forth requirements for the budgetary treatment of such leases.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2014
Restoring Veterans Trust Act of 2014 - Revises veterans' benefit programs to address: veterans' access to medical care, including through measures that address the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) scheduling and performance management systems, VA health facility staffing shortages, and veterans' access to covered care at non-VA facilities; the expansion and extension of certain health care benefits, including caregiver support services, immunizations, chiropractic care, and treatment for traumatic brain injury; health care administration, including by extending the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Professional Scholarship Program; complementary and alternative medicine; mental health care; dental care eligibility and expansion, including by requiring the creation of a program of education to promote veterans' dental health; health care related to sexual trauma, including by requiring the provision of counseling and treatment to members of the Armed Forces and the development of a screening mechanism to detect incidents of domestic abuse; reproductive treatment and services, including by requiring the provision of fertility counseling and adoption assistance to severely wounded veterans; major medical facility leases; survivor and dependent matters, including the provision of benefits to the children of certain veterans who are born with spina bifida; education matters, including the approval of courses for purposes of the All-Volunteer Force and the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance programs; the extension of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs' authority to provide the same rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses as are provided to veterans; veterans' employment, including employment within the federal government; sanctions for federal contractors who repeatedly violate the employment and reemployment rights of members of the Armed Forces; small business matters, including contracting and subcontracting participation goals with federal departments and agencies; administrative matters, including by requiring the Secretary to establish regional support centers for Veterans Integrated Service Networks; the processing of disability claims, including those based on military sexual trauma, as well as claims for pensions and dependency and indemnity compensation; the manner in which hearings before the Board of Veterans' Appeals are to be conducted; certain rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, including protections regarding the expiration of professional licenses, the denial of credit or the termination of residential leases due to military service, and mortgage foreclosures against surviving spouses; and outreach and miscellaneous matters, including the repeal of a provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces who are under age 62.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
East Rosebud Wild and Scenic Rivers Act - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified river segments of the East Rosebud Creek in Montana as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Prohibits the inclusion of any private property within the boundaries of those segments.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
Increasing Medical Oversight in the Department of Veterans Affairs Act of 2014 - Establishes the Office of the Medical Inspector of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) within the Office of the Under Secretary for Health. Includes among the functions of the Office to: review the quality of health care provided to veterans by the VA generally and by the VA through contracts with non-VA health care providers; review offices of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) that have an impact on the quality of health care provided to veterans by the VA and the performance of the VA in providing such care; review VHA offices and facilities to ensure that VA and VHA policies and procedures are applied consistently; investigate any systemic issues that arise within VHA, including improper issuance of credentials and privileges to health care providers, impediments to access to VA health care, wait times for appointments at VA medical facilities in excess of VA goals, and intentional falsification by VA employees of information regarding wait times; establish temporary investigative teams to carry out reviews in response to specific incidents or inquiries, including veterans' complaints and potential systemic issues within VHA that may require the conduct of surveys, the collection of data, and the analysis of VA databases; recommend policies to promote economy and efficiency in the administration of, and to prevent and detect criminal activity, waste, abuse, and mismanagement in, VHA programs and operations; and report on problems or deficiencies encountered in VHA programs and operations and recommend corrective actions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
Native Voting Rights Act of 2014 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make an individual's unexpired tribal identification document issued by an Indian tribe or Native Corporation a valid form of identification in states and political subdivisions that require an individual to present a valid form of identification to vote or register to vote. Authorizes the Attorney General (DOJ) to bring actions against such jurisdictions for declaratory judgement or injunctive relief if the Attorney General finds a disparity between in-person voting opportunities for Indians and in-person voting opportunities for non-Indians. Prohibits states and political subdivisions, without obtaining court approval or the nonobjection of the Attorney General, from: eliminating an Indian reservation's sole polling place or voter registration site; moving or consolidating a polling place or voter registration site one mile or more from the existing polling place or registration site on an Indian reservation; moving or consolidating a polling place or voter registration site on an Indian reservation across a natural boundary such that travel becomes difficult for a voter, regardless of distance; eliminating in-person voting on an Indian reservation by designating the reservation a permanent absentee voting location, unless the entire state is or becomes such a location; removing an early voting location or otherwise diminishing early voting opportunities on an Indian reservation; and decreasing the number of days or hours that an in-person or early voting location is open on an Indian reservation or changing the dates of in-person or early voting on such reservation. Authorizes the Attorney General to assign federal observers to elections on an Indian reservation if the applicable tribe: (1) requests such observers, and (2) provides the Attorney General with a written complaint that efforts to deny or abridge the right to vote may occur on such reservation. Terminates the assignment of such observers after the end of the next presidential election. Provides that if the applicable language of a minority group is not oral or unwritten when voting materials or information become available, states and political subdivisions must provide that material or information in the language of the minority group and in English. Requires federal election observer's reports to be made available to the public within six months after they are submitted to the Attorney General. Directs the Attorney General, to the extent practicable, to consult annually with tribal organization regarding Indian voting issues.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2014
Amends the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary) to enter into contracts under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act with eligible Indian tribes to carry out activities related to them under the Land Consolidation Program. Requires the Secretary to invest the amounts remaining in the Trust Land Consolidation Fund into public debt securities with maturities suitable to the needs of such Fund. Requires invested funds and the interest to be used for the purposes for which the Trust Land Consolidation Fund was established. Makes the Secretary responsible for ensuring that all payments are made to beneficiaries within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2014
Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 - Revises a variety of existing programs to expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. Reauthorizes the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act. Gives the Secretary of the Interior permanent authority to permit states to issue temporary electronic duck stamps (federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl). Exempts components of firearms and ammunition and sport fishing equipment and its components (such as lead sinkers) from regulations of chemical substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). Increases the proportion of funding from the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act that states may use for public target ranges. Requires the Secretary to issue permits for the importation of polar bear parts taken in sports hunts in Canada before May 15, 2008 (when the species was listed as threatened). Revises standards for determining what a baited area is for purposes of the prohibition on taking migratory game birds. Directs federal public land management officials to facilitate hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting on federal public land. Makes land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the Forest Service open for hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting unless the managing agency acts to close the lands. Allocates funds from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for priority projects that secure public access to federal public lands that have significantly restricted access for hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2014
Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (i.e., U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the United States) to provide that during the period beginning after May 8, 2014, and before May 9, 2016, a foreign corporation that acquires the properties of a U.S. corporation or partnership shall be treated as an inverted corporation and thus subject to U.S. taxation if, after such acquisition: (1) it holds more than 50% of the stock of the new entity (expanded affiliated group), or (2) the management or control of the new entity occurs primarily within the United States and the new entity has significant domestic business activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2014
Keeping Public Lands Open Act - Provides that if an appropriations measure for a covered account for a fiscal year is not enacted before the beginning of that fiscal year and a joint resolution making continuing appropriations for such account is not in effect, such sums as necessary shall be made available without further appropriation to continue any activity for which funds were provided from such account in the preceding fiscal year. Defines "covered account" to mean specified appropriation accounts of: (1) the Department of the Interior for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, including amounts for activities of the National Wildlife Refuge System, habitat conservation, the Migratory Bird Conservation Account, the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and land acquisition; (2) the Department of the Interior for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), including amounts for the National Landscape Conservation System, land acquisition, and the activities of recreation management, resource protection, and maintenance; (3) the Department of the Interior for the National Park Service, including amounts for land acquisition and state assistance; and (3) the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Forest Service, including amounts for land acquisition, law enforcement operations, and the activities of recreation, heritage, and wilderness.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2014
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Harlan Mathews, a former member of the United States Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on May 13, 2014, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Mathews.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2014
Removing Repeated Executive Delays to Transboundary Approvals of Pipelines and Engineering Act - Designates and empowers the Secretary of State to receive all applications (except those received by the Secretary of Energy [DOE] under current law) for permits for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance, at the U.S. borders, of facilities for the exportation or importation to or from a foreign country of petroleum, petroleum products, coal, other fuels, certain products, water or sewage, as well as persons or things. Prescribes requirements and procedures for granting a permit. 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. Restricts any legal challenges regarding a federal agency action and such facilities to judicial review on direct appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to review any Executive order issued by the President that is not based on the President's exclusive constitutional authority.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2014
Do Your Job Act - Prohibits either chamber from recessing or standing adjourned, between enactment of this Act and enactment of a concurrent budget resolution setting a deficit level of $0 or a surplus by FY2024, for a period that exceeds 24 hours. Requires each Member of Congress to submit a budget for the fiscal year for official travel by the Member and the Member's employees to: (1) the Secretary of the Senate for a Senator, and (2) the Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representative for a Member of the House. Rescinds, effective on October 1 of each fiscal year, any unobligated amounts made available for official travel by a Member of Congress or his or her employee during the previous fiscal year. Requires rescinded funds to be used for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2014
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to appoint licensed hearing aid specialists in the Veterans Health Administration. Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report on: (1) timely access of veterans to hearing health services through the VA, and (2) contracting policies of the VA with respect to providing hearing health services to veterans in non-VA facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2014
Amends the Native American Programs Act of 1974 to reauthorize appropriations, for FY2015-FY2019, for a grant program to ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2014
Afghan Allies Protection Extension Act - Amends the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to extend: (1) the Afghan special immigrant visa program through FY2015, and (2) unused visa carryover authority through December 31, 2016. Expands the scope of a principal alien's qualifying employment to include employment by or on behalf of: (1) an organization associated with the U.S. mission in Afghanistan that has received U.S. funding through an official and documented contract, grant, or cooperative agreement; or (2) a media or nongovernmental organization headquartered in the United States. Revises family member requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2014
National Commission on the Future of the Army Act of 2014 - Prohibits the use of funds made available for FY2015 for the Army to: (1) reduce Army personnel below the authorized fiscal year end strengths of 450,000 for active duty personnel of the Army, 345,000 for the Army National Guard, and 195,000 for the Army Reserve; or (2) divest, retire, or transfer any AH-64 Apache aircraft assigned to units of the Army National Guard as of January 15, 2014, or to reduce related personnel below the levels of such personnel as of September 30, 2014. Directs the Secretary of the Army to ensure the continuing readiness of the AH-64 Apache aircraft and crews during FY2015. Permits the use of such funds, after the Commission established by this Act submits its interim report, to prepare for the transfer of not more than 72 AH-64 Apache aircraft from the Army National Guard to the regular Army if the Secretary of Defense (DOD) certifies that such a transfer would not: (1) degrade the strategic depth or regeneration capacities of the Army, (2) degrade the Army National Guard in its role as the combat reserve of the Army, and (3) occur before October 1, 2014. Establishes the National Commission on the Future of the Army, which shall: (1) undertake a comprehensive study of the structure of the Army and policy assumptions related to its size and force mixture in order to make recommendations on how the structure should be modified to best fulfill mission requirements in a manner consistent with available resources, and (2) submit a final report to the President and the congressional defense committees by February 1, 2016. Directs the Commission to study and submit an interim report on the feasibility and advisability of a partial transfer of Army National Guard AH-64 Apache aircraft from the Army National Guard to the regular Army.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2014
Carbon Capture and Sequestration Deployment Act of 2014 - Directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to establish a cooperative industry-government research and development program to demonstrate innovative technologies to capture, prevent, or store carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from carbon-based fuels or to enable the beneficial use of CO2. Requires DOE to conduct an annual assessment of existing programs supporting carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology until that technology is available in commerce. (CCS is a three-step process: the capture, transport, and underground injection and geologic sequestration of CO2.) Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for CO2 sequestration, to: (1) impose limitations on the allocation of credit amounts for carbon capture projects, including a 10-year limitation on CO2 capture at a qualified facility (defined as an industrial facility which captures not less than 500,000 metric tons of CO2 in a taxable year); (2) require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish procedures for allocating the national limitation on such credit to projects for placing carbon capture equipment (i.e., equipment to capture and pressurize qualified CO2) in service at qualified facilities and for certifying projects for which an allocation has been made; and (3) identify as eligible for such credit the taxpayer who captures and disposes of the qualified CO2. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to authorize DOE to make loan guarantees to: (1) construct or retrofit coal- or petroleum coke-fired industrial facilities or electric generation facilities to utilize CCS technology, and (2) construct pipelines for the transport of CO2 to sequestration sites or to sites where the C02 will be used for hydrocarbon recovery. Expands the qualifying advanced coal project investment tax credit to include an additional amount for the costs of constructing and retrofitting such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2014
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. Declares any applicable federal permit or authorization issued before enactment of this Act to remain in effect. Restricts any legal challenges regarding a federal agency action and such facilities to judicial review on direct appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2014
Cutting Contractor Use and Taxpayer Savings Act of 2014 - Directs the Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DOD) to submit to the congressional defense committees, and make publicly available, an annual comprehensive analysis of the global inventory of DOD service contractors. Requires the Defense Contract Audit Agency, in conducting audits of defense contracts, to distinguish service contracts in its analysis, including by distinguishing the percentage of payment awarded for service elements on contracts containing both manufacturing and service elements. Directs the Agency to submit to the congressional defense committees, and make publicly available, an annual report on its findings. Directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to submit a plan to the congressional defense committees to improve the acquisition of services by DOD. Requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit to the congressional defense and intelligence committees an annual inventory of the service contractors used by each element of the intelligence community. Prohibits civilian or defense contracts from allowing compensation of contractor and subcontractor employees for a fiscal year to exceed the annual salary of the President (currently, $400,000). Allows an exception to such limitation for scientists, engineers, or other specialists who are needed to ensure that an executive agency has continued access to needed skills and capabilities. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to submit an annual report to specified congressional committees on contractor compensation, including the number of contractor employees who were exempt in the preceding fiscal year from this Act's compensation limits. Prohibits the aggregate amount obligated and expended by DOD for service contracts in each fiscal year through FY2024 from exceeding the lesser of: (1) 67% of the aggregate amount expended for service contracts in FY2014, or (2) 67% of the amount appropriated for DOD for the current fiscal year that is available for service contracts. Makes the latter limitation inapplicable if the Secretary certifies to Congress in writing that DOD will not exceed the prior limitation. Prohibits the aggregate amount obligated and expended by DOD for service contracts in each fiscal year after FY2023 from exceeding the amount obligated or expended by DOD on service contracts in FY2002 (adjusted for inflation).
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2014
Small Business Access to Capital Act of 2014 - Amends the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 to extend for an additional eight fiscal years the State Small Business Credit Initiative to assist participating states to give collateral support and other innovative credit access and guarantee initiatives for small businesses and manufacturers. Prescribes allocations of federal funds to participating states. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to award, on a competitive basis, up to a total of $1 billion in two tranches, according to specified criteria, to participating states and consortiums of participating states for use: (1) for making federal contributions to, or for the account of, an approved state program; and (2) as collateral for a qualifying loan or swap funding facility.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2014
Northern Cheyenne Lands Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to take approximately 1,567 acres of land in Montana depicted on the map entitled "Northern Cheyenne Lands Act - Fee-to-Trust Lands" and dated March 26, 2014, into trust for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. Requires: (1) Great Northern Properties to convey to the Tribe its coal and iron ore mineral interests underlying the land on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation generally depicted on the map entitled "Northern Cheyenne Land Act - Coal Tracts" and dated February 27, 2014, and (2) the Secretary to convey to Great Northern Properties all of U.S. coal mineral interests underlying the land generally depicted as "Bull Mountains" and "East Fork" on the map entitled "Northern Cheyenne Federal Tracts" and dated February 27, 2014. Conditions those conveyances on the Secretary receiving a notice from the Tribe that: (1) it has a revenue sharing agreement with Great Northern Properties regarding future development of the Northern Cheyenne Federal Tracts, and (2) Great Northern Properties has agreed to convey those coal and iron ore mineral interests to the Tribe. Directs the Secretary to ensure that the deed for those federal coal mineral interests includes a covenant, running with the land, that precludes surface mining of the coal: (1) absent the written consent of the surface owner, and (2) except as determined to be acceptable for further consideration for leasing in a specified Bureau of Land Management (BLM) document. Requires the coal and iron ore mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe under this Act to be held, upon the Tribe's request, in trust for the Tribe. Prohibits Montana from taxing the mineral interests this Act conveys to the Tribe. Requires that, in return for this Act's mineral conveyances: the Tribe must waive all of its claims relating to the failure of the United States to acquire those private coal and iron ore mineral interests in trust for the Tribe as part of its Reservation as directed by Congress in 1900, and Great Northern Properties must waive any claim against the United States relating to the value of the coal mineral interests it receives under this Act. Requires the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund (Fund) to be transferred to the Tribe and deposited into the Tribe's Permanent Fund. Requires the Tribe, in return for such transfer, to waive all of its claims arising from U.S. management of the Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2014
Drug-Free Playgrounds Safety Enhancement Act of 2014 - Amends provisions of the Controlled Substances Act prescribing enhanced penalties for distributing or manufacturing drugs in or near certain facilities, such as schools, playgrounds, youth centers, and swimming pools, to: (1) include among such facilities a video amusement game facility (currently, a video arcade facility); (2) define a "video amusement game facility" as any facility that is legally accessible to persons under 18 years of age, that is intended primarily for amusement, and that contains video game machines or other similar youth games; and (3) revise the definition of "playground" to mean any outdoor area that is intended for recreation, that is open to the public, and that contains one or more apparatus intended for the recreation of children, including play structures, sliding boards, swingsets, seesaws, merry-go-rounds, slides, jungle gyms, chin-up bars, sandboxes, spring riders, monkey bars, overhead ladders, trapeze rings, playhouses, rope bridges, and mazes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2014
Leveraging and Energizing America's Apprenticeship Programs Act or the LEAP Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit of $1,500 for hiring an apprenticeship employee who has not attained age 25 at the close of the taxable year or $1,000 for an apprenticeship employee who has attained age 25. Allows such credit for no more than two taxable years with respect to any apprenticeship employee. Defines "apprenticeship employee" as an employee who is employed in an officially-recognized apprenticeable occupation pursuant to an apprentice agreement registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies to: (1) determine which government publications could be available on government websites and no longer printed, (2) devise a strategy to reduce overall government printing costs over the 10-year period beginning with FY2015, (3) establish government-wide guidelines on employee printing, and (4) issue guidelines for publicly disclosing information about the publication of government documents.
United States · United States Congress · 8 April 2014
Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to submit to the congressional defense committees by September 30, 2015, a report on the sexual assault prevention activities of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Armed Forces. Requires such report to include: an assessment of DOD's sexual assault prevention strategy; an assessment of the actions taken by each of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps to implement its sexual assault prevention strategy; a comprehensive description of the current sexual assault prevention activities of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps and those planned for the next 12 months; a comprehensive description of the current and planned sexual assault prevention activities at joint installations and the collaborative efforts of the military departments involved; a comparative assessment of the sexual assault prevention activities of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, including the extent to which any differences arise from unique qualities of a particular Armed Force or the efforts of an Armed Force to pursue an innovative approach; an assessment of the procedures and mechanisms used by each Armed Force to ensure that its sexual assault prevention strategy and training are effective in achieving intended objectives; and an assessment of the report required to be submitted by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the President by December 1, 2014, on efforts of DOD and the Armed Forces to improve the prevention of and response to sexual assault in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 7 April 2014
Military Mental Health Review Board Improvement Act - Requires any medical advisory opinion issued to a civilian board for the correction of a military record, with respect to a current or former member of the Armed Forces diagnosed while serving in the Armed Forces as experiencing a mental health disorder, to include the opinion of a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist if the request for the correction of the records concerned relates to a mental health disorder. Requires any physician on a board for review of a discharge or dismissal of certain former members of the Armed Forces, who after deployment were diagnosed as experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury, or as having a mental health disorder, to have training on mental health issues connected with PTSD or traumatic brain injury (as applicable), or special training on mental health disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2014
Let Me Google That For You Act - Repeals the National Technical Information Act of 1988, effective one year after the enactment of this Act (thus abolishes the National Technical Information Service [NTIS]). Directs: (1) the Secretary of Commerce, the Archivist of the United States, the Comptroller General (GAO), and the Commissioner of Social Security to consult with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine if any NTIS function is critical to the U.S. economy; (2) the Comptroller General to determine which of any such critical functions are not being carried out by any other agency or instrumentality of the federal government; and (3) the Secretary of Commerce, prior to the effective date of this Act, to submit to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Finance a written certification that all NTIS operations have been terminated.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2014
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for, enforcement of, and exceptions to prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages. Revises the exception to the prohibition for a wage rate differential based on any other factor other than sex. Limits such factors to bona fide factors, such as education, training, or experience. States that the bona fide factor defense shall apply only if the employer demonstrates that such factor: (1) is not based upon or derived from a sex-based differential in compensation, (2) is job-related with respect to the position in question, and (3) is consistent with business necessity. Makes such defense inapplicable where the employee demonstrates that: (1) an alternative employment practice exists that would serve the same business purpose without producing such differential, and (2) the employer has refused to adopt such alternative practice. Revises the prohibition against employer retaliation for employee complaints. Prohibits retaliation for inquiring about, discussing, or disclosing the wages of the employee or another employee in response to a complaint or charge, or in furtherance of a sex discrimination investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, or an investigation conducted by the employer. Makes employers who violate sex discrimination prohibitions liable in a civil action for either compensatory or (except for the federal government) punitive damages. States that any action brought to enforce the prohibition against sex discrimination may be maintained as a class action in which individuals may be joined as party plaintiffs without their written consent. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor (Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages in a sex discrimination action. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to conduct studies and provide information to employers, labor organizations, and the general public regarding the means available to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace for an employer who has made a substantial effort to eliminate pay disparities between men and women. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect from employers pay information data regarding the sex, race, and national origin of employees for use in the enforcement of federal laws prohibiting pay discrimination. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to continue to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey, (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity, and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public. Directs the Secretary and the Commissioner [ sic ] of the EEOC jointly to develop technical assistance material to assist small businesses to comply with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2014
Alzheimer's Accountability Act of 2014 - Amends the National Alzheimer's Project Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for each fiscal year through FY2025, to submit to the President for review and transmittal to Congress, after reasonable opportunity for comment (but without change) by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Advisory Council on Alzheimer's Research, Care, and Services, an annual budget estimate (including regarding personnel needs) for the NIH initiatives under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2014
Amends the Indian Reorganization Act to apply the Act to all federally recognized Indian tribes, regardless of when any tribe became recognized. (This effectively overrules the Supreme Court's decision in Carcieri v. Salazar, which held that the Secretary of the Interior could not take land into trust for a specified tribe because that tribe had not been under federal jurisdiction when the Act was enacted.) Ratifies and confirms any action taken by the Secretary pursuant to such Act for any Indian tribe that was federally recognized on the date of that action.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2014
Declares that the Senate: (1) has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Jeremiah Andrew Denton, Jr., former Member of the Senate; (2) honors the legacy and service of the former Senator and retired Rear Admiral for his life of loyalty, duty, integrity, and moral sincerity; (3) extends its deepest condolences and sympathy to his family and friends who have lost an inspiring leader and confidant; (4) honors the dauntless valor of Senator Denton, beloved son of Alabama, for his dedication and life of selfless service to the people of the United States; (5) recognizes that Senator Denton was a champion for humanitarian aid and international assistance programs through his legislative work and initiatives; (6) reiterates his resolute character as a paragon of bravery who lived a life of honor guided by his values and commitment to the defense of the United States; and (7) expresses admiration and profound respect for his legacy as a truly courageous and inspirational leader. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on March 31, 2014, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect for the memory of Senator Denton.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2014
Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act - Extends from 5 to 15 years the period of eligibility for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care for veterans who served on active duty in a theater of combat operations after the Persian Gulf War or against a hostile force during a period of hostilities after November 11, 1998. Requires the Secretaries of the military departments to provide a process by which a covered individual may challenge the terms or characterization of his or her discharge or separation from the Armed Forces. Defines "covered individual" as any individual who: (1) was discharged or separated from the Armed Forces for a personality disorder; or (2) was discharged or separated from the Armed Forces on a punitive basis, or under other than honorable conditions, and who alleges that the basis for such discharge or separation was a mental health injury or disorder incurred or aggravated by the individual during service in the Armed Forces. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Veteran Affairs (VA) to: (1) conduct an evaluation of mental health care and suicide prevention programs carried out in DOD and VA; (2) train all providers of health care in such Departments on recognizing the risk of suicide, treating or referring for treatment an individual who is at risk of suicide, and recognizing the symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder; and (3) ensure that best practices for identifying individuals at risk of suicide and for providing quality mental health care are disseminated to providers of health care in such Departments. Amends the Wounded Warrior Act to require the DOD Secretary and the VA Secretary, in implementing electronic health record systems that provide for the full interoperability of personal health care information between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, to ensure that: (1) a health data authoritative source that can be accessed by multiple providers and that standardizes the input of new medical information is created within 180 days, (2) the ability of patients of both Departments to download their medical records is achieved within 180 days, (3) full interoperability of personal health care information between the Departments is achieved within one year, (4) acceleration of the exchange of real-time data between the Departments is achieved within one year, (5) the upgrade of the graphical user interface to display a joint common graphical user interface is achieved within one year, and (6) current members of the Armed Forces and their dependents may elect to receive an electronic copy of their health care records beginning not later than June 30, 2015. Directs the VA Secretary to carry out a three-year pilot program to repay the educational loans of individuals who: (1) are licensed or eligible for licensure to practice psychiatric medicine in the Veterans Health Administration or are enrolled in the final year of an accredited residency program in psychiatric medicine, and (2) demonstrate a commitment to a long-term career as a psychiatrist in the Veterans Health Administration. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study and report on pay disparities among psychiatrists of the Veterans Health Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2014
Distillery Excise Tax Reform Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the rate of the excise tax on distilled spirits to $2.70 per proof gallon (currently, $13.50 per proof gallon) on the first 100,000 gallons produced by a distilled spirits producer during the calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2014
Advanced Clean Coal Technology Investment in Our Nation Act of 2014 or the ACCTION Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Department of Energy (DOE) to implement a program to demonstrate the integration of systems for the capture, transportation, and injection of carbon dioxide from industrial sources for long-term geological storage or enhanced oil recovery at a commercial scale. Expands the types of activities that must be undertaken under the existing coal and related technologies program. Permits DOE to carry out a Transformational Coal Technology Program. Requires DOE to establish an advisory committee to report on the carbon capture and sequestration program and the coal and related technologies program. Makes projects under the Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program eligible to receive other forms of federal assistance. Directs DOE, within two years, to give final approval to applications for loan guarantees and make loans for advanced fossil energy technology projects under the Program. Sets forth provisions to streamline and expedite review of federal authorizations for clean coal generating projects. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow accelerated amortization of any mechanical or electronic system which is installed on a coal-fired electric generation unit and which reduces carbon dioxide emissions by specified means; (2) allow a new credit for investment in carbon dioxide capture, transport, and storage property; and (3) create a clean energy coal bond. Establishes the Enhanced Recovery Program, a variable price support program, to accelerate the construction and operation of advanced coal-fueled projects that capture carbon dioxide emissions and sell or use the carbon dioxide for enhanced recovery.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2014
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should: (1) hold the Russian Federation accountable for being in material breach of its obligations under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty; (2) demand that the Russian Federation eliminate the military systems that constitute such material breach; (3) not engage in further reductions of U.S. nuclear forces and not engage in nuclear arms reduction negotiations with the Russian Federation until such military systems have been eliminated; and (4) consider, in consultation with U.S. allies, whether it is in U.S. national security interests to remain unilaterally a party to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty if the Russian Federation is still in material breach of it after one year.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2014
Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act Amendments of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to provide Indian tribes with technical assistance in planning their energy resource development programs. Makes intertribal organizations eligible for Department of Energy (DOE) Indian energy education planning and management assistance program grants. Allows such grants to be used to increase tribal capacity to manage energy development and efficiency programs. Makes tribal energy development organizations eligible for DOE energy development loan guarantees. Allows leases and business agreements that pool, unitize, or communitize a tribe's energy resources with other energy resources. Requires an energy-related tribal lease, business agreement, or grant of a right-of-way made without the Secretary's approval to: (1) comply with a tribal energy resource agreement between the tribe and the Secretary, or (2) have been entered into with a tribal energy development organization that the Secretary has certified pursuant to a specified process. Alters the process and conditions for the Secretary's approval of tribal energy resource agreements. Makes such agreements effective, if consistent with federal law, until rescinded by the Secretary or by the tribe. Alters the process for determining whether an interested party has a valid claim to be suffering an adverse environmental impact due to a tribe's noncompliance with such agreement. Requires the Secretary to make available to a tribe, upon its request, the amount the Secretary would have had to expend to carry out an activity that the tribe is now carrying out pursuant to a tribal energy resource agreement. Directs the Secretary of Energy to collaborate with the Directors of the National Laboratories in making the full array of DOE technical and scientific resources available for tribal energy activities and projects. Amends the Federal Power Act to include Indian tribes, along with states and municipalities, as having preference for the receipt of preliminary hydroelectric licenses. Amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to direct the Secretary to enter into agreements with Indian tribes for the conduct of demonstration projects to promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing them with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands. Directs the Secretary, or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to Forest Service land, to enter into an agreement with Alaska Native corporations to carry out demonstration projects that promote biomass energy production on Alaska Native corporation forest land and in nearby communities by providing the corporations with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide home weatherization grants directly to Indian tribes if a tribe requests a direct grant and the Secretary of Energy determines that the Indian beneficiaries would not be better served by providing the grant to their state. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to allow the Secretary of the Interior, an affected Indian tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the Indian tribe to appraise Indian mineral or energy resources involved in a transaction requiring the Secretary's approval. Sets forth the process by which the Secretary is to review and accept or reject such an appraisal prepared by or for an Indian tribe. Amends the Long-Term Leasing Act to authorize the Navajo Nation to enter into commercial or agricultural leases of up to 99 years on their restricted lands without the Secretary's approval, provided they are executed under tribal regulations approved by the Secretary. Allows the Navajo Nation to enter into mineral resource leases on its restricted lands without the Secretary's approval if such leases are executed under approved tribal regulations and do not exceed 25 years, though such leases may include a renewal option for one additional term not exceeding 25 years. Allows such leases for oil and gas to be for terms of up to 10 years, plus any additional period the Navajo Nation determines to be appropriate if oil or gas is being produced in a paying quantity.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2014
Public Safety and Economic Security Communications Act of 2014 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require an intermediate provider that offers the capability to transmit certain voice communications and signaling information from one destination to another, and that charges a rate to any other entity (including an affiliated entity) for the transmission, to: (1) register with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and (2) comply with service quality standards to be established by the FCC. Defines "intermediate provider" as any entity that: (1) carries or processes traffic that is generated from the placement of a call from a connection using a North American Numbering Plan resource or a call placed to a connection using such a numbering resource, and (2) does not itself originate or terminate such traffic in the context of the carriage or processing. Prohibits certain long-distance voice service providers (including local exchange carriers, interexchange carriers, commercial mobile radio services, interconnected voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] services, and certain non-interconnected VoIP services) from using an intermediate provider to transmit voice communications and signals unless the intermediate provider is so registered. Directs the FCC, in promulgating rules for such standards, to: (1) ensure the integrity of the transmission of voice communications to all customers in the United States, (2) prevent unjust or unreasonable discrimination among areas of the United States in the delivery of such voice communications, and (3) make a registry of intermediate providers publicly available on the FCC website.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2014
Designates March 2014 as National Middle Level Education Month. Recognizes the importance of middle level education and the contributions of the individuals who educate middle level students. Encourages people to observe National Middle Level Education Month by visiting and celebrating schools that are responsible for educating young adolescents in this country.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2014
Medicare Protection Act - Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the eligibility age under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act should not be increased, and (2) the Medicare program should not be privatized or turned into a voucher system. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, with respect to extraneous matter in reconciliation legislation, to require a provision to be considered extraneous if it eliminates or reduces guaranteed benefits for individuals entitled to, or enrolled for, benefits under Medicare or restricts the eligibility for such program. (Thus subjects such a provision to a point of order and stricken from the bill.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2014
Yellowstone Community Education Fairness Act - Ratifies and approves all payments made to the school districts serving Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming between the beginning of FY1976 and the enactment of this Act as reimbursement for educational facilities furnished by those districts to certain students who are dependents of persons engaged in the administration, operation, and maintenance of the Park and living at or near it.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2014
Civil Liberties Protection Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to modify the purposes for which the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is authorized to apply to a FISA court for an order requiring the production of tangible things (commonly referred to as "business records"). Authorizes the FBI to apply for such a production order for an investigation to protect against international terrorism, clandestine intelligence activities, or the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (thus removes the FBI's authority to apply for such an order for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a U.S. person and adds authority with respect to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction). Authorizes such production order applications for certain related preparation activities. Requires applications for such production orders to include specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the tangible things sought are relevant to an authorized investigation of a specific individual. (Currently, a general statement of facts must only show that the tangible things are relevant to an authorized investigation without specifying whether the investigation is limited to a specific individual.) Directs the National Security Agency (NSA) to report to Congress regarding its plans for: (1) purging the NSA telephony metadata database of information that does not comply with such revised FISA production order standards, and (2) retaining information relating to ongoing lawsuits. Prohibits tangible things received by the FBI in response to a production order, or any database of such tangible things, from being stored by a private entity or transferred to a private entity for storage. Prohibits officers or employees of the United States from issuing a national security letter (a request to access certain communication service provider records or to obtain specified information from financial institutions or consumer reports) unless the FISA court, a U.S. district court, or a U.S. magistrate judge issues an order approving an application for such a letter with a finding of specific and articulable facts that the information sought is relevant and material to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities. Sets forth an exception under which the requirement to obtain an order approving an application for a national security letter (as a prerequisite to the issuance of such a letter) is inapplicable if the Attorney General (DOJ): (1) reasonably determines that the factual basis exists for the issuance of the letter, (2) reasonably determines that an emergency situation exists with respect to the issuance of the letter before an order approving an application for such letter can be obtained with due diligence, (3) informs the court or judge of the decision to issue the letter at the time such decision is made, and (4) makes an application to the court or judge for approval of the issuance within seven days after the Attorney General's decision to issue such letter. Revises minimization procedures and nondisclosure requirements with respect to orders approving the production of tangible things and the issuance of national security letters. Limits the period of time during which certain orders and related requirements may remain in effect.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2014
21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act - Revises or adds provisions concerning the submission of veterans' claims for benefits administered through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), including by: modifying the Transition Assistance Program to enable online participation; adding a requirement to encourage claimants to use appropriate forms; requiring specified communications to users of the eBenefits website; extending through FY2020 VA authority for the retroactive dating of awards upon the filing of fully developed claims; requiring claim decisions to explain the benefits of filing claim appeals within 180 days; requiring the use of a specified VA form in regional offices for filing notices of disagreement with claim decisions; and requiring hearings before the Board of Veterans' Appeals to be conducted, as the Board considers appropriate or, upon request by an appellant, as the appellant considers appropriate, in person or through picture and voice transmission by electronic or other means. Revises or adds provisions concerning the practices of VA regional offices, including by: requiring the Comptroller General to complete an audit of Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) regional offices, requiring the VA Secretary to complete a study on service-connected disabilities that worsen with age, extending the authority for the performance of medical disability examinations by contract physicians, requiring the Secretary to develop and implement a plan to establish a uniform mail processing and scanning system throughout the regional offices, requiring the VA Inspector General to conduct a review of the practices of regional offices regarding the use of suspense dates during the disability claim assessment process, requiring the Secretary to submit semiannual reports on progress in implementing the Veterans Benefits Management System, requiring the Secretary to submit an annual report on VBA capacity to process benefits claims, requiring the Secretary to include in each Monday Morning Workload Report the number of claims for benefits that have been received by a regional office and that are pending a decision, and requiring the Secretary to make the VA reports entitled "Appeals Pending" and "Appeals Workload By Station" available to the public on a VA website. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the Commissioner of Social Security, and the Archivist of the United States to appoint individuals to act as liaisons with the VA to expedite the timely provision to the VA Secretary of information required to process veterans benefits claims. Requires the DOD and VA Secretaries to jointly submit a report that sets forth a time line with milestones for achieving interoperability between DOD's and VA's electronic health records systems.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2014
Two-Midnight Rule Coordination and Improvement Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop appropriate criteria with regard to the two-midnight rule for payment under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for a short inpatient hospital stay. (The two-midnight rule allows Medicare coverage of only hospital stays for which a physician admits to a hospital a beneficiary expected to require care that crosses two midnights, but generally denies coverage of care expected to require less than a two-midnight stay.) Requires the criteria developed by the Secretary to: (1) account for medical necessity and the appropriateness of an inpatient stay that is less than the two-midnight benchmark, and (2) be developed in consultation with interested stakeholders. Directs the Secretary to develop a budget-neutral Medicare payment methodology for hospitals for short inpatient hospital stays. Allows the methodology to be: (1) a reduced payment amount than would otherwise apply to inpatient hospital services if paid for under the Medicare prospective payment schedule, or (2) an alternative payment methodology. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) general equivalency maps to link the relevant International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)-10 codes (used to report medical diagnoses and inpatient procedures) to relevant Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes, and the relevant CPT codes to relevant ICD-10 codes, in order to permit comparison of inpatient hospital services and hospital outpatient department services; and (2) a second crosswalk between Diagnosis-Related Group (DRG) codes for inpatient hospital services and Ambulatory Payment Class (APC) codes for outpatient hospital services. Prohibits the Secretary from enforcing the two-midnight rule for admissions occurring: (1) before October 1, 2014; and (2) on or after that date until October 1, 2015, or the new two-midnight rule criteria are implemented, if sooner (applicable date). Prohibits a Medicare review contractor from denying a claim for inpatient hospital services furnished by a hospital, or inpatient critical access hospital services furnished by a critical access hospital, on the basis of the two-midnight rule for discharges occurring before the applicable date for: (1) medical necessity due to the length of an inpatient stay in such hospital or due to a determination that the services could have been provided on an outpatient basis; or (2) requirements for orders, certifications, or recertifications, and associated documentation relating to such matters. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude the Secretary from continuing the conduct by Medicare administrative contractors of the Medicare Probe and Educate program for hospital admissions during the delayed enforcement of the two-midnight rule. Prohibits the Secretary from increasing the sample of claims selected for prepayment review under the Medicare Probe and Educate program above the number and type established by the Secretary as of November 4, 2013, such as 10 claims for most hospitals and 25 claims for large hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2014
Small Business Tax Credit Accessibility Act - Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Obama Administration should work to make the small employer health care insurance tax credit more accessible for small employers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the small employer health care insurance tax credit, to: (1) revise the definition of "eligible small employer" to mean an employer with not more than 50 (currently, 25) full-time employees; (2) modify the phaseout formula for such credit to base such phaseout on number of employees and average annual wages; (3) allow a 35% credit in 2014 to small employers who purchase health care coverage outside of the Small Business Health Option Program (SHOP exchange); (4) extend from two to three consecutive taxable years the period during which an employer may claim such credit; (5) eliminate the requirement that employers contribute the same percentage of cost of each employee's health insurance and the cap limiting eligible employer contributions to average premiums paid to a state health insurance exchange; and (6) make such credit available to dependents of a small employer.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2014
Transparency in Assertion of Patents Act - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate rules prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts and practices in the sending of written communications (commonly referred to as "demand letters") stating that the intended recipient, or any person affiliated with the intended recipient: (1) is infringing, or may be infringing, the patent of another; and (2) bears liability or owes compensation. Requires such rules to establish disclosures that such written communications must contain, including: each claim of each patent allegedly infringed; each product, device, business method, service, or technology that allegedly infringes each claim; a notice that the intended recipient may have the right to have the product manufacturer defend against the infringement; contact information necessary to determine the identity of a person with the right to enforce the patent or with a direct financial interest in the patent, including each owner, co-owner, assignee, exclusive licensee, and entity with the authority to enforce the patent, as well as the ultimate parent entity with such authority; any licensing commitment or obligation (such as reasonable and non-discriminatory terms) that applies to the patent or claim; the method used to calculate any proposed compensation; and each current instance of reexamination or other post-grant review of the patent at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), any litigation involving the patent, and the status of such review and any determinations as to the invalidity of the patent or any of its claims. Directs the FTC to: (1) prohibit unfair or deceptive assertions in such written communications, and (2) provide education and awareness to the public regarding deceptive communications. Sets forth the enforcement authority of the FTC and authorizes civil actions by states. Establishes civil penalties applicable to state actions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2014
Critical Access Hospital Relief Act of 2014 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the 96-hour physician certification requirement for inpatient critical access hospital services under which a physician must certify that a patient may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2014
Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) remove any employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from a Senior Executive Service position upon determining such individual's performance warrants removal, and (2) remove such individual from the civil service or appoint the individual to a General Schedule position at any grade that the Secretary deems appropriate. Requires: (1) the Secretary to notify the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees within 30 days after removing such an individual, and (2) such removal to be done in the same manner as the removal of a professional staff member employed by a Member of Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2014
Native Adult Education and Literacy Act of 2014 - Amends the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to include Tribal Colleges or Universities as eligible providers of services under that Act. Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to Tribal Colleges or Universities and Native Hawaiian educational organizations to develop and implement innovative, effective, and replicable programs designed to enhance life skills and transition individuals to employability and postsecondary education. Requires grantees to have a multiyear strategy, including performance measures, for increasing the number of adult American Indians, Native Hawaiians, or Alaska Natives that attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent. Includes among the activities that may be funded by a grant: adult education and literacy services, including workplace literacy services; family literacy services; English literacy programs, including limited English proficiency programs; opportunities for American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives to qualify for a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent; and demonstration and research projects and professional development activities designed to develop and identify the most successful means of addressing the educational needs of American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native adults.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2014
Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 - Title I: Regulatory Reforms - Grants the Secretary of the Interior permanent authority to authorize any state to issue electronic duck stamps. Sets forth state electronic duck stamp application requirements. Allows the Secretary to determine the number of new states permitted per year to participate in the electronic duck stamp program. Instructs the Secretary to require electronic stamp revenue and customer information collected by each state to be transmitted in accordance with a written agreement between the Secretary and the state. Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "chemical substance" for purposes of such Act: (1) any component of any pistol, revolver, firearm, shell, or cartridge the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, including shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers; and (2) any sport fishing equipment the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax and sport fishing equipment components. Amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to: (1) authorize a state to pay up to 90% of the costs of acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public target range; (2) authorize a state to elect to allocate 10% of a specified amount apportioned to it from the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund for such costs; (3) limit the federal share of such costs under such Act to 90%; and (4) require amounts provided for such costs under such Act to remain available for expenditure and obligation for five fiscal years. Shields the United States from any civil action or claim for money damages for injury to or loss of property, personal injury, or death caused by an activity occurring at a public target range that is funded by the federal government pursuant to such Act or located on federal land, except to the extent provided under the Federal Tort Claims Act with respect to the exercise or performance of a discretionary function. Urges the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of BLM to cooperate with state and local authorities and other entities to carry out waste removal and other activities on any federal land used as a public target range to encourage its continued use for target practice or marksmanship training. Amends the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978 to exempt an authorized taking of migratory birds and collection of their eggs by indigenous inhabitants of Alaska from the prohibition on taking under the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act. Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of any polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person who submits proof that the polar bear was legally harvested before May 15, 2008 (currently by February 18, 1997), when polar bears were listed as a threatened species by the Department of the Interior. Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to permit the taking of any migratory game bird, including waterfowl, coots, and cranes, on or over land that: (1) is not a baited area; and (2) contains a standing crop (including an aquatic crop), standing, flooded, or manipulated natural vegetation, flooded harvested cropland, or an area on which seed or grain has been scattered solely as the result of a normal agricultural practice or is land on which a crop during the current or immediately preceding crop year was not harvestable due to a natural disaster that is declared a major disaster by the President in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Requires a federal public land management official, in cooperation with the respective state and fish and wildlife agency, to exercise the authority of the official under law, including regarding land use planning, to facilitate the use of, and access to, federal public land for hunting, recreational fishing, and recreational shooting, except as described in this Act. Requires the heads of federal public land management agencies to exercise their discretion in a manner that supports and facilitates hunting, recreational fishing, and recreational shooting opportunities, to the extent authorized under applicable law. Requires that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service land, excluding land on the Outer Continental Shelf, be open to hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting unless the managing agency acts to close lands to such activity. Permits closures or restrictions on such land for purposes including resource conservation, public safety, energy or mineral production, energy generation or transmission infrastructure, water supply facilities, national security, or compliance with other law. Allows agencies to: (1) lease or permit use of federal public land for recreational shooting ranges, and (2) designate specific land for recreational shooting activities. Excepts from such use or designation land including a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, land designated as a wilderness study area or administratively classified as wilderness eligible or suitable, and primitive or semiprimitive areas. Requires annual reports on closures of federal public lands to hunting, recreational fishing, or recreational shooting. Sets forth requirements for specified closures or significant restrictions involving 1280 or more contiguous acres of federal public land or water to hunting or recreational fishing or related activities. Instructs federal public land agencies to consult with the advisory councils specified in Executive Orders 12962 (relating to recreational fisheries) and 13443 (relating to the facilitation of hunting heritage and wildlife conservation) in carrying out this Act. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), for any film crew of five persons or fewer, to require a permit and assess an annual fee of $200 for commercial filming activities or similar projects on federal land and waterways administered by the Secretary. Makes such a permit valid for such activities or projects that occur in areas designated for public use during public hours on all federal land and waterways administered by the Secretary for a one-year period. Allows an applicable land management agency to deny access to a film crew if: (1) there is a likelihood of resource damage that cannot be mitigated, (2) there would be an unreasonable disruption of the public use and enjoyment of the site, (3) the activity poses public health or safety risks, and (4) the filming includes the use of models or props that are not part of the land's natural or cultural resources or administrative facilities. Title II: Habitat Conservation - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure, from amounts requested for the Land and Water Conservation Fund per fiscal year, that not less than the greater of 1.5% of the requested amounts or $10 million be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act. Requires projects identified on such a list to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes. Amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to revoke provisions that terminate: (1) the authority provided under such Act, and (2) the Federal Land Disposal Account. Makes the FLTFA inapplicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws. Transfers to the Treasury for budget deficit reduction, for each of FY2014-FY2023, $1 million of the amounts deposited in the Federal Land Disposal Account. Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to extend through FY2019 the authorization of appropriations for allocations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects. Reauthorizes and revises the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to appoint 28 directors (currently, 23) who are knowledgeable and experienced in matters relating to conservation of fish, wildlife, or other natural resources and represent a balance of expertise in ocean, coastal, freshwater, and terrestrial resource conservation. Removes limitations on the appointment of such Foundation's officers and employees. Requires the Foundation's Executive Director to be appointed by and serve at the direction of the Board as the chief executive officer and to be knowledgeable and experienced in matters relating to fish and wildlife conservation. Gives the Foundation the power to receive and administer restitution and community service payments, amounts for mitigation of impacts to natural resources, and other amounts arising from legal, regulatory, or administrative proceedings, subject to the condition that the amounts are received or administered for purposes that further the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural resources. Repeals provisions authorizing the Foundation to establish a national whale conservation endowment fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Foundation for FY2014-FY2019. Authorizes the Foundation to: (1) assess and collect fees for the management of amounts received from federal agencies; and (2) use such federal funds for matching contributions made by private persons, state and local agencies, and other entities (current law requires such use).
![Official portrait of Sen. Walsh, John E. [D-MT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000818_200.jpg)