United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
United States Postal Service Shipping Equity Act Authorizes the mailing of alcoholic beverages by a covered entity in accordance with the delivery requirements otherwise applicable to a privately carried shipment. Defines a "covered entity" as an entity (including a winery, brewery, or beverage distilled spirits plant, or other wholesale, distributer, or retailer of alcoholic beverages) that has registered with, obtained a permit from, or obtained approval of an application from the Department of the Treasury pursuant to the Federal Alcohol Administration Act or the Internal Revenue Code provisions regarding alcohol, tobacco, and certain other excise taxes. Directs the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to prescribe regulations: (1) requiring such mailing to be through a means that ensures direct delivery to a duly authorized agent at a postal facility or to the addressee, who must be at least 21 years of age and present a valid, government-issued photo identification at the time of delivery; (2) prohibiting such alcoholic beverages from being for resale or any other commercial purpose; and (3) requiring such covered entity to certify that the mailing is not in violation of applicable laws or regulations and to provide other information as directed by the USPS, including with respect to the prepayment of state alcohol beverage taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Fix Gun Checks Act of 2015 This bill amends the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to revise an eligibility condition for a state to receive a grant under the NICS Act Record Improvement Program and a waiver of the grant match requirement under the National Criminal History Improvement Program. Specifically, it directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish a four-year state implementation plan, including benchmarks, to maximize the automation and submission of mental health and criminal history records to the National Instant Criminal Back Check System (NICS). DOJ must reduce the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance (JAG) Program funding for a state that fails to comply with benchmarks. The bill amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require each federal agency and department, including a federal court, to certify whether it has provided to the Federal Bureau of Investigation disqualifying records of persons prohibited from receiving or possessing a firearm. It amends the federal criminal code and the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 to define the terms "adjudicated as a mental defective" and "committed to a mental institution." The bill extends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act background check requirements to a transfer of a firearm between private parties by prohibiting such a transfer unless a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer has first taken possession of the firearm for the purpose of submitting a background check. A gun owner must report a lost or stolen firearm to DOJ and local law enforcement authorities within 48 hours of discovery.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Rural Economic Vitalization Act This bill authorizes the voluntary waiver of permits or leases for grazing on federal lands managed by the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior. If a permit or lease is waived by a permittee or lessee, the appropriate department must: accept and terminate the permit or lease, refrain from issuing any new grazing permit or lease within the grazing allotment covered by the permit or lease, and ensure a permanent end to livestock grazing on the allotment covered by the permit or lease. If an allotment covered by a waiver is also covered by another permit or lease that is not waived, the department must reduce the level of commercial livestock grazing on the allotment to reflect the waiver. The departments must not accept more than 100 grazing permits and leases per year, in the aggregate, under this authority.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Agent Orange Extension Act of 2015 This bill extends for two years the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure to certain herbicides, including Agent Orange, with respect to veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 is amended to extend for two years the authority of the VA to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the scientific evidence regarding associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides, including the association between exposure to a herbicide used in U.S. and allied military operations in the Republic of Vietnam during the Vietnam era and each disease suspected to be associated with such exposure.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require each retail electric supplier to submit to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) a quantity of federal renewable electricity credits that is equal to at least the annual target of the retail electric supplier established by this Act for each of 2017 through 2040. Requires the target to be equal to the product of the supplier's base amount (electricity sold) for the year and a specified annual percentage for that year, which increases from 8.5% for 2017 to 30% for 2030 through 2040. Sets forth provisions governing the issuance, tracking, verification, trading, banking, and retirement of federal renewable electricity credits. Authorizes alternative compliance payments in lieu of credits. Authorizes states to set the rates for a sale of electric energy by a facility generating electric energy from renewable energy sources pursuant to a voluntary production incentive program. Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) establish a program to implement, enforce, review, and adjust performance standards for specified cumulative electricity and natural gas savings for 2017 through 2030; (2) promulgate regulations establishing performance standards for 2031 through 2040 and for subsequent years by specified deadlines; and (3) set such standards at levels reflecting the maximum achievable level of cost-effective energy efficiency potential. Prohibits standards for any year from being lower than the standard for 2030. Requires the Secretary, at 10-year intervals, to review the most recent standards and increase them if additional cost-effective energy efficiency potential is achievable. Requires each retail electricity and natural gas supplier to submit a report annually demonstrating that it has achieved cumulative required savings, which the Secretary shall review to verify that performance standards have been met. Authorizes suppliers to use electricity or natural gas savings purchased from another supplier, a state, or a third-party efficiency provider to meet such standards. Provides for state administration of an energy efficiency program to meet the requirements of this Act. Requires the Secretary to direct the state to correct deficiencies found in a review and to report to the Secretary on progress not later than 180 days after the date of the receipt of review results. Encourages state utility regulatory commissions to review their rules and regulations to ensure that utilities can recover the direct costs of energy efficiency programs, fully recover authorized fixed costs, and earn an incentive for shareholders if the energy efficiency standards are achieved. Requires the Secretary to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to submit a comprehensive evaluation of all aspects of the program established by this Act by July 1, 2021, and every 10 years thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Quiet Communities Act of 2015 This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reestablish an Office of Noise Abatement and Control and reauthorizes the Office's activities through FY2020. The responsibilities of the Office must include: (1) promoting the development of effective state and local noise control programs, (2) carrying out a national noise control research program, (3) carrying out a national noise environmental assessment program, (4) establishing regional technical assistance centers to assist state and local noise control programs, (5) assessing the effectiveness of the Noise Control Act of 1972, and (6) conducting related outreach and educational activities. The Office must emphasize noise abatement approaches that rely on local and state activities, market incentives, and coordination with other agencies. Using funds made available to the Office, the EPA must carry out a study of airport noise. The bill amends the Noise Control Act of 1972 to expand the quiet communities grant program to include grants for establishing and implementing training programs on use of noise abatement equipment and implementing noise abatement plans.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
School Food Modernization Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue loan guarantees to local educational agencies (LEAs), school food authorities, and other eligible entities to finance infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases to facilitate their provision of healthy meals through the school lunch program. USDA must give preference to applicants that demonstrate a substantial or disproportionate need for food service infrastructure or durable equipment, and shall establish fees for the loan guarantee program that are sufficient to cover the federal government's administrative costs in operating the program. USDA must also award competitive matching grants to assist LEAs, school food authorities, and other eligible entities in purchasing the durable equipment and infrastructure they need to serve healthier meals and improve food safety. In doing so, USDA must give grant priority to applicants that: (1) have identified and are reasonably expected to meet an unmet local or community need, and (2) are located in states that have enacted funding measures to assist them with such purchases. In addition, USDA must award competitive matching grants to experienced third-party training institutions to provide school food service personnel with the training and technical assistance they need to: (1) meet school lunch program nutrition standards, and (2) improve the efficacy and efficiency of the school lunch and breakfast programs. The bill authorizes these grant and loan programs through FY2021 and, as an offset, rescinds $35 million of the Department of Education's unobligated balance available for administrative expenses. USDA must complete a study on the use of state administrative expense funds.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Seniors Have Eyes, Ears, and Teeth Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicare coverage to include eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dental care.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: all efforts to improve Medicare and Medicaid under titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act must support and build upon President Johnson's vision "to assure the availability of and accessibility to the best health care to all Americans, regardless of age or geography or economic status"; Medicare should not be transformed into a voucher program, leaving seniors and people with disabilities vulnerable to higher out-of-pocket costs; and Medicaid should not be dismantled by policies that slash funding, shift costs to states, reduce benefits, and erode the safety net relied on by over millions of individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Sanctuary Regulatory Fairness Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to promulgate a final rule revising federal regulations regarding the importation of nonhuman primates (i.e. chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, macaques, and numerous other species) to expand the categories of uses for which nonhuman primates may be imported and distributed to include live nonhuman primates imported into the United States by a certified primate sanctuary for purposes of providing lifetime shelter and care. Requires such rule to establish a process for the certification of facilities as primate sanctuaries for purposes of the importation, shelter, and care of nonhuman primates.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
End Oil and Gas Tax Subsidies Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: increase to seven years the amortization period for geological and geophysical expenditures; repeal the tax credits for producing oil and gas from marginal wells and for enhanced oil recovery; repeal the tax deduction for the intangible drilling and development costs of oil and gas wells; repeal percentage depletion for oil and gas wells; repeal the tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenses; repeal the passive loss exception for working interests in oil and gas property; deny the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities for oil and gas activities; prohibit the use of the last-in, first-out (LIFO) accounting method by major integrated oil companies; and limit the foreign tax credit for dual capacity taxpayers (i.e., taxpayers who are subject to a levy of a foreign country or U.S. possession and receive specific economic benefits from such country or possession).
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2015
Opposes politically motivated acts of boycott, divestment from, and sanctions against Israel. Calls on the Administration to increase the use of its influence in international organizations and forums to oppose such acts. Supports state efforts to enact measures that oppose such acts. Reaffirms support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
State-Based Universal Health Care Act of 2015 This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to allow states to apply for waivers to health benefits coverage requirements in order to implement a universal health care plan. The state universal health care plan must be at least as comprehensive and affordable as coverage under federal health programs and cover substantially all state residents. States may apply to waive requirements for: health insurance exchanges, plans sold on exchanges, and the program to support nonprofit insurance issuers; reduced cost-sharing for individuals meeting income criteria; health insurance premium subsidies, employer shared responsibility payments, and minimum essential coverage; health benefits under titles XI (General Provisions), XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP) of the Social Security Act; federal employee health benefits; health benefits for members of the military; and health insurance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must pay a state that assumes responsibility for health coverage currently provided under a federal health program the amount that would otherwise have been spent under the program. HHS, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Departments of the Treasury, Defense, and Labor must coordinate and consolidate this state waiver process with existing waiver processes to ensure consistency and avoid duplication of effort.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
Recognizes the 25th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Encourages celebration of the advancement of freedom and the expansion of opportunity made possible by its enactment. Pledges continued work on a bipartisan basis to support opportunity, independent living, economic self-sufficiency, and the full participation of individuals in the United States who have disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
Prevent All Soring Tactics Act of 2015 or the PAST Act This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to establish a new system for inspecting horses for soring, revise penalties for violations of the Act, and modify enforcement procedures. The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must establish requirements to license, train, assign, and oversee persons hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions to detect and diagnose sore horses. A license may not be issued to a person with conflicts of interest, and USDA must give preference to veterinarians. USDA may revoke a license for unsatisfactory performance. USDA must assign licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire the inspectors. An inspector must issue a citation for violations and notify USDA of violations. USDA must publish information on violations of this bill and disqualify a horse that is sore. The bill prohibits a person in any horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning the horse. The bill prohibits the use of specified devices on a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse at a show, exhibition, sale, or auction. The bill increases the maximum criminal and civil liability penalties for certain violations. USDA may disqualify violators from specified activities related to horse shows, exhibitions, sales, and auctions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
Bringing Postpartum Depression Out of the Shadows Act of 2015 This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to make grants to states to establish, expand, or maintain culturally competent programs for screening and treatment of women who are pregnant, or who have given birth within the preceding 12 months, for maternal depression. The HRSA shall make such grants to at least three states and give priority to states proposing to expand or enhance screening for maternal depression in primary care settings. Activities eligible for funding: (1) shall include providing appropriate training and relevant resources, including information on maternal depression screening, treatment, follow-up support, and linkages to community-based resources, to health care providers; and (2) may include enabling health care providers to provide or receive real-time psychiatric consultation to aid in the treatment of pregnant and postpartum women, conducting a public awareness campaign, funding start-up costs, and establishing linkages with and among community-based resources.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2015
Declares that the House of Representatives supports efforts to: provide child care assistance to all working families that need it; make child care affordable; guarantee that all families eligible for child care will receive it; improve the quality of child care; and provide sufficient federal, state, and local investment to ensure resources for both high-quality jobs and affordable child care.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 836 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California, as the "Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis 'Lou' J. Langlais Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Homeless and Foster Youth Achievement Act This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require a state to include additional information in its annual state report card. Under current law, a state must include data regarding student achievement on state academic assessments, both in the aggregate and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as disadvantaged. For purposes of a state's annual report card, the bill expands those categories to include homeless status and status as a child in foster care. Graduation rates for secondary school students must be reported by the same categories by which student achievement data is reported.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the July 16, 2015, attack upon members of the Armed Forces at the Navy Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center and the Armed Forces Career Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, meets the criteria for the award of the Purple Heart, and (2) the Secretary of the Navy should award the Purple Heart to the members of the Marine Corps and Navy who were killed or wounded in the attack.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of Medicare competitive acquisition rates to complex rehabilitative wheelchairs and accessories. (A competitive bidding program has replaced the use of established fee schedule amounts to determine payments under Medicare for certain durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2015
Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act of 2015 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) legislation is necessary to provide consumers information on products that are free of child labor, forced labor, slavery, and human trafficking; and (2) businesses and consumers, by means of publicly available disclosures, can avoid inadvertently promoting or sanctioning these crimes through production and purchase of raw materials, goods, and finished products that have been tainted in the supply chains. The bill amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), within one year after enactment of this Act, to promulgate regulations requiring any covered issuer of a registered security to include in its mandatory annual report a disclosure of whether the issuer has taken any measures during the year to identify and address conditions of forced labor, slavery, human trafficking, and the worst forms of child labor within the issuer's supply chains. The term "covered issuer" means an issuer that has annual worldwide global receipts in excess of $100 million. The regulations shall mandate that the required information be disclosed on such issuer's Internet website through a conspicuous and easily understandable link to the relevant information labeled "Global Supply Chain Transparency." The SEC must make available to the public in a searchable format on its website: (1) a list of covered issuers required to disclose such information, and (2) a compilation of the information disclosed.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2015
Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Department of Education to provide for the use of tax information from the second preceding tax year (the "prior, prior year") to determine a student's financial aid eligibility. It requires data sharing between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Education, pursuant to taxpayer consent.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2015
Equality Act Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity among the prohibited categories of discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation. Defines: "sex" to include a sex stereotype, sexual orientation or gender identity, and pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition; "sexual orientation" as homosexuality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality; and "gender identity" as gender-related identity, appearance, mannerisms, or characteristics, regardless of the individual's designated sex at birth. Expands the categories of public accommodations to include places or establishments that provide: exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, gatherings, or displays; goods, services, or programs, including a store, a shopping center, an online retailer or service provider, a salon, a bank, a gas station, a food bank, a service or care center, a shelter, a travel agency, a funeral parlor, or a health care, accounting, or legal service; or transportation services. Prohibits "establishment" from being construed to be limited to a physical facility or place. Authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ) to bring a civil action if it receives a complaint from an individual who claims to be: denied equal utilization of a public facility owned, operated, or managed by a state (other than public schools or colleges) on account of sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity; or denied admission to, or not permitted to continue attending, a public college by reason of sexual orientation or gender identity, thereby expanding DOJ's existing authority to bring such actions for complaints based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Revises public school desegregation standards to provide for the assignment of students without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity. Prohibits programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance from denying benefits to, or discriminating against, persons based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating based on sexual orientation or gender identity, subject to the same exceptions and conditions that currently apply to unlawful employment practices based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Requires employers to recognize individuals in accordance with their gender identity if sex is a bona fide occupational qualification that is reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise. Provides government employees with protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Authorizes DOJ to intervene in equal protection actions in federal court on account of sexual orientation or gender identity. Requires protections against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin to include protections against discrimination based on: (1) an association with another person who is a member of such a protected class; or (2) a perception or belief, even if inaccurate, that an individual is a member of such a protected class. Prohibits the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 from providing a claim, defense, or basis for challenging such protections. Prohibits an individual from being denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual's gender identity. Amends the Fair Housing Act, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, and jury selection standards to add sexual orientation and gender identity as classes protected against discrimination under such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2015
Preparedness and Risk Management for Extreme Weather Patterns Assuring Resilience and Effectiveness Act of 2015 or the PREPARE Act of 2015 This bill directs the President to establish the Interagency Council on Extreme Weather Resilience, Preparedness, and Risk Management (Council). The Council shall: establish government-wide goals and priorities for, and develop, recommend, coordinate, and track implementation of priority interagency federal government actions related to, extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk management; support regional, state, local, and tribal action to assess extreme weather-related vulnerabilities and cost effectively increase extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk management of communities, critical economic sectors, natural and built infrastructure, and natural resources; facilitate the integration of meteorological and extreme weather science; assess the specific recommendations relating to extreme weather in all relevant provisions of the Government Accountability Office's High-Risk Series, identify the feasibility of revising federal programs to implement such recommendations, and develop a plan to address such recommendations; develop or adopt a framework for evaluating the progress and success of extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk management-related efforts that is complementary to any national indicator system developed as part of the National Climate Assessment; develop or adopt performance metrics that allow tracking of the actions taken and progress made toward meeting and implementing the established government-wide goals and priorities; provide recommendations to the Council on Environmental Quality and OMB on how agencies should update agency extreme weather plans and remove barriers to state and local extreme weather resilience, preparedness, and risk management in agency regulations, guidance, and policy; make information available online for tracking implementation of agency extreme weather plans and government-wide goals and priorities and on recommendations relating to extreme weather in all relevant High-Risk Series provisions; issue guidance to agencies on developing agency extreme weather plans and agency regulations, guidance, and policies to remove barriers to state and local extreme weather resilience; designate one or more agencies to establish a website that provides information on risks related to extreme weather, preparedness, resilience, and risk management to support state, local, tribal, and private decisionmakers; and publish biannually an inventory of all regional agency offices, centers, and programs that assist with extreme weather preparedness and risk management at the state or local level. Each agency shall submit biannually to OMB and to the Council a comprehensive plan that integrates consideration of extreme weather into its operations and overall mission objectives. OMB shall consolidate and submit such plans to Congress. Annual agency performance plans shall include the most recent agency extreme weather plan.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2015
Pay Workers a Living Wage Act This bill amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $9.00 an hour on January 1, 2016, or, if later, on the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act; (2) $10.50 an hour after one year; (3) $12.00 an hour after two years; (4) $13.50 an hour after three years; (5) $15.00 an hour after four years; and (6) the amount the Department of Labor determines (based on increases in the median hourly wage of all employees) after five years, and annually thereafter. The federal minimum wage for tipped employees shall increase to $3.15 an hour for one year on January 1, 2016, or the first day of the third month after enactment of this Act, whichever is later. Subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase, according to a specified formula, shall ensure that it remains equal to the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Employers must notify their employees of the right to retain any received tips. The separate minimum wage requirements for tipped employees shall end, effective one day after the hourly wage established for them under this Act takes effect. Any employer may pay any newly hired employee under age 20, during the first 90 consecutive days after initial employment, a wage at a rate (currently $4.25 per hour) that is not less than the standard minimum rate, reduced by $3.00 per hour. The Secretary must publish the amount of any upwardly adjusted required wage in the Federal Register and on the Department of Labor's website 60 days before it takes effect.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2015
One Social Security Act This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to merge the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund into a new, restructured Social Security Trust Fund to consist of the employment and self-employment taxes imposed with respect to wages and self-employment income. The annual report to Congress on the operation and status of the Trust Fund shall include an actuarial analysis of the benefit cost with respect to disabled beneficiaries and their auxiliaries, to retired beneficiaries and their auxiliaries, and to survivor beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2015
Affordability Is Access Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require health insurance and group health plans to cover, as preventive care for women, over-the-counter oral contraceptives for daily use, regardless of whether an enrollee has a prescription for the contraceptive. (Insurers and plans cannot impose cost sharing for preventive care.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants or contracts for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers. These Centers must improve the training of health professionals in palliative care and establish traineeships for individuals preparing for advanced education nursing degrees, social work degrees, or advanced degrees in physician assistant studies in palliative care. HHS may make grants to, and enter into contracts with, schools of medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, teaching hospitals, and graduate medical education programs to support the training of physicians who plan to teach palliative medicine. HHS must: (1) provide Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards to individuals to promote their career development; (2) award grants or contracts to entities that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center; (3) award incentive grants or contracts to advanced practice nurses, social workers, physician assistants, pharmacists, chaplains, or students of psychology pursuing an advanced degree in palliative care or related fields; and (4) award grants to schools of nursing, health care facilities, or programs leading to certification as a nurse assistant to train individuals in providing palliative care. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality must provide for a national education and awareness campaign to inform patients, families, and health professionals about the benefits of palliative care. The National Institutes of Health must expand national research programs in palliative care.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015
This bill amends the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 to increase the limit from $18.75 billion to $23.5 billion for FY2015 commitments for general business loans authorized under the Small Business Act for a combination of amortizing term loans and the aggregated maximum line of credit provided by revolving loans.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2015
Quarterly Financial Report Reauthorization Act Extends the authority of the Department of Commerce to conduct the quarterly financial report program through September 30, 2030, under which Commerce collects and publishes quarterly financial statistics of business operations, organization, practices, management, and relation to other businesses, including data on sales, expenses, assets, liabilities, and other measures of financial condition.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2015
Fund Essential Menstruation Products Act of 2015 or the FEM Products Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for reimbursements from a health flexible spending arrangement to include amounts paid or incurred for feminine hygiene products.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015
This bill amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Department of Education (ED) to award competitive, three-year grants to states or local educational agencies (LEAs) for the establishment, improvement, and expansion of innovative model programs in world language education for elementary and secondary school students. Of the funds made available for this purpose, at least 75% must be used to expand world language learning in the elementary grades. ED may reserve up to 5% of funds made available for one fiscal year to evaluate the efficacy of assisted programs. In general, the federal share of the cost of such programs shall be 50% for each fiscal year. However, ED may determine the federal share for any LEA that is determined to have inadequate resources to pay the nonfederal share of program costs. ED must give special consideration to grant applications describing programs that: (1) include intensive summer programs for professional development of world language teachers; (2) promote sequential learning, two-way language learning, and innovative activities; (3) make effective use of technology; and (4) are carried out through a consortium comprised of the grant recipient and an elementary or secondary school.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015
Thoroughbred Horseracing Integrity Act of 2015 Establishes the Thoroughbred Horseracing Anti-Doping Authority as an independent organization with responsibility for developing and administering an anti-doping program for Thoroughbred horses (covered horses), the trainers, owners, veterinarians, and employees of such persons and other personnel who are engaged in the care, training, or racing of such horses (covered persons), and horseraces that involve only Thoroughbreds and that are the subject of interstate off-track wagers (covered horseraces). Grants the Authority exclusive jurisdiction for anti-doping matters over all covered horses, persons, and horseraces, effective January 1, 2017. Imposes the jurisdiction and authority of the Authority as conditions upon the privilege to accept, receive, or transmit wagers on, and to participate in, covered horseraces. Vests the Authority with the same powers over Thoroughbred horseracing licensees as the state racing commissions have. Directs the Authority to develop and administer the Thoroughbred horseracing anti-doping program, which shall include: lists of permitted and prohibited substances and methods; a schedule of sanctions for violations; programs relating to anti-doping research and education; testing procedures, standards, and protocols for in-competition and out-of-competition testing; procedures for investigating, charging, and adjudicating violations and for the enforcement of sanctions for violations; and laboratory standards for accreditation and testing requirements, procedures, and protocols. Conditions eligibility to participate in covered horseraces on covered persons agreeing that they and their covered horses shall be bound by the provisions of the program. Directs the Authority to establish: (1) a list of anti-doping rule violations applicable to either horses or covered persons; (2) standards of accreditation for laboratories involved in the testing of samples taken from Thoroughbred horses, the process for achieving and maintaining accreditation, and the standards and protocols for testing of samples; (3) rules for anti-doping results management and the disciplinary process for anti-doping rule violations; and (4) uniform rules imposing sanctions against covered persons and/or covered horses for anti-doping rule violations. Requires funds for the establishment and administration of the anti-doping program to be paid by the Thoroughbred horseracing industry.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2015
Schedules That Work Act Grants an employee the right to request that his or her employer change the terms and conditions of employment relating to: the number of hours or times the employee is required to work or be on call; the location; the amount of notification he or she receives of work schedule assignments; and minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Requires the employer, if the request is made, to engage in a timely, good faith interactive process with the employee that includes a discussion of potential schedule changes that would meet his or her needs. Outlines the process for either granting or denying a change. Requires the employer to grant a request, unless there is a bona fide business reason for denying it, if the request is made because of the employee's serious health condition, his or her responsibilities as a caregiver, or enrollment in a career-related educational or training program, or if a part-time employee requests such a change for a reason related to a second job.++_ Authorizes an employer, if an employee requests a change for any other reason, to deny it for any reason that is not unlawful. Requires the employer to give the employee the reason for the denial, including whether it was a bona fide business reason. Outlines employer requirements for paying reporting time and split shift pay and for giving advance notice of work schedules to retail, food service, or cleaning employees, or the Department of Labor's (DOL) designated employees, except for those in bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacities. Makes it unlawful for any employer or other person to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise or the attempt to exercise any right of an employee specified in this Act; (2) retaliate against an individual for exercising his or her rights, or (3) interfere with proceedings or inquiries with respect to violation of an individual's rights. Sets forth administrative enforcement procedures and civil remedies for violation of these prohibitions. Directs DOL to give information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning compliance with this Act. Directs DOL, acting through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Bureau of the Census to: (1) include in the Current Population Survey questions on, among other things, the amount of fluctuation in the number of hours the employee is scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis; and (2) conduct at regular intervals the Contingent Worker Supplement, the Work Schedules and Work at Home Supplement, and other relevant supplements to the Current Population Survey. Makes this Act inapplicable to any employee covered by a bona fide collective bargaining agreement if its terms govern work scheduling practices.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2015
Restore Honor to Service Members Act Requires appropriate military record correction boards or discharge review boards to review the discharge characterization of any former members of the Armed Forces requesting a review who were discharged because of their sexual orientation. Permits such boards to change a characterization to honorable if such characterization is any characterization except honorable. Directs the Department of Defense to ensure that any such changes are carried out consistently and uniformly across the military departments using specified criteria, including that: (1) the original discharge was based on the policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell (as in effect before it was repealed pursuant to the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010) or a similar earlier policy; and (2) the discharge characterization will be changed if, with respect to the original discharge, there were no aggravating circumstances, such as misconduct, that would have independently led to any discharge characterization except honorable. Prohibits "aggravating circumstances" from including: (1) an offense of sodomy committed by the member against a consenting person of the same sex; or (2) statements, consensual sexual conduct, or consensual acts relating to sexual orientation or identity, or the disclosure of such statements, conduct, or acts, that were prohibited at the time of discharge but that became permitted after such discharge. Directs the Secretary of each military department to ensure that oral historians of the department: (1) review discharges between World War II and September 2011 based on sexual orientation, and (2) receive oral testimony of individuals who personally experienced discrimination and discharge because of actual or perceived sexual orientation so that such testimony may serve as an official record of such discriminatory policies and their impact on American lives. Requires the reissuance of specified military personnel records and discharge forms in a manner that shall not reflect the sexual orientation of the member. Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to remove from the offense of sodomy specified activity referred to as unnatural carnal copulation with another person of the same or opposite sex.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2015
Urges: (1) the Federation Internationale de Football Association to eliminate gender pay inequity and treat all athletes with respect and dignity; and (2) all other local, state, federal, and international organizations to eliminate gender pay inequity. Expresses support for an end to gender pay inequity in the workplace, including athletic competitions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2015
Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to require each covered program to prohibit child abuse and neglect and meet specified minimum standards. A "covered program" is a facility of a program operated by a public or private entity that, with respect to one or more children who are unrelated to the program owner or operator, purports to provide treatment or modify behaviors in a residential environment. HHS shall: (1) implement a review process for overseeing, investigating, and evaluating reports of child abuse and neglect; and (2) establish a process to assist states in the oversight and enforcement of this Act. HHS must refer any violation of such standards to the Attorney General, who shall file a complaint on his or her own initiative regardless of whether such a referral has been made. The bill amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to establish additional eligibility requirements for grants to states to prevent child abuse and neglect at residential programs. States receiving grants must develop policies and procedures to prevent child abuse and neglect at covered programs, including standards that meet or exceed the standards required under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2015
Background Check Completion Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a licensed gun dealer from transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person prior to completion of a background check. (Current law permits a licensed gun dealer to transfer a firearm to an unlicensed person if a submitted background check remains incomplete after three business days.)
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2015
Expresses the sense of Congress that female athletes should be paid the same as their male counterparts and organizers of world class competitions should actively take part in combating the wage gap.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015
Urges the U.S. government to work with European governments and European law enforcement agencies encouraging them to: partner with, share information, and train Jewish community groups to strengthen preparedness and response to anti-Semitic attacks; consider formal partnerships in the United States, United Kingdom, and France between government entities and Jewish community security groups as examples of such partnering; support assessments of the environments of hate crimes and anti-Semitism, including analysis of crimes and law enforcement and community response, and cooperation between European governments and intergovernmental and interorganizational entities; help Jewish communities develop safety standards; implement a standardized pan-European information-sharing and alerting system among governments, inter-governmental agencies, and Jewish communities; ensure that law enforcement personnel are trained to monitor, prevent, and respond to anti-Semitic violence, and that senior officials with commensurate authority and resources have been appointed to combat anti-Semitism; and work with law enforcement associations and other relevant professional entities to combat anti-Semitism. Supports the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism as part of the broader policy priority of fostering international religious freedom. Urges the Department of State to continue U.S. reporting on anti-Semitism by the Department and the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
America's College Promise Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the Department of Education (ED) to award grants to states and Indian tribes to waive tuition and fees at community colleges. To receive a grant, states and Indian tribes must agree to waive tuition and fees at all their community colleges and for all eligible students. An eligible student is a first-time student who: (1) qualifies for resident tuition; (2) enrolls at least half-time; (3) maintains satisfactory academic progress; and (4) enrolls in an academic program with credits that are fully transferable to any public institution of higher education in the state or enrolls in a training program that leads to credentials in an in-demand industry. The bill appropriates $1.4 billion in FY2016 and $79.7 billion over FY2016-FY2025 to make grants under this community college program. This bill also authorizes ED to award grants to four-year historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to waive or reduce tuition and fees for up to 60 credits for low-income students. HBCUs and MSIs that participate must: (1) enroll a student body that contains at least 35% low-income students; (2) maintain or adopt reforms and practices to improve completion rates and student outcomes; (3) set performance goals; and (4) execute an articulation agreement with community colleges, if accepting transfer students. It appropriates $55 million for FY2016 and $10.1 billion over FY2016-FY2025 to make grants under this HBCU/MSI program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Drought Recovery and Resilience Act of 2015 TITLE I--EMERGENCY DROUGHT RESPONSE APPROPRIATIONS FROM RECLAMATION FUND This bill provides emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2015 from the Reclamation Fund to the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Army Corps of Engineers for water projects, programs, grants, or loans in states impacted by drought. Interior is provided additional amounts for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), including amounts for water reclamation and reuse projects, the WaterSMART program under the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991, and water acquisition, water conveyance, and facilities construction under the Refuge Water Supply Program. The EPA is provided additional amounts for cleanup of polluted groundwater supplies, capitalization grants for state water pollution control revolving funds and for drinking water treatment revolving loan funds, and loans under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014. USDA is provided additional amounts for: (1) the Rural Utilities Service for direct and guaranteed loans and grants for rural water, wastewater, and waste disposal programs; and (2) emergency grants, upon declaration of a natural disaster, to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers to address impacts of drought. Additional amounts are also provided to: DOJ for the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist state or local law enforcement agencies in the suppression of cannabis operations; the Army Corps to carry out the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007; and projects under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 in drought-affected states that reduce fire risk, improve water quality or downstream water quantity, or expand ground water recharge capacity. TITLE II--NEW WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM AUTHORIZATIONS National Water Recycling and Reclamation Act of 2015 The EPA must establish a National Water Recycling and Reclamation Program to provide private or governmental entities with grants for up to 80% of the costs for water recycling and reclamation projects for which eligible costs are anticipated to exceed $1 million. Selection criteria for such grants include the extent to which projects address water demand and supply, environmental protection, and federal return on investment through renewable water supplies. Reclamation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act or RIFIA Interior may provide financial assistance, such as secured loans or loan guarantees, to private entities, state or local governments, irrigation districts, water users' associations, or other entities that contract with the United States under federal reclamation law to carry out water projects within the 17 western states served by Reclamation, other states where Reclamation is authorized to provide project assistance, Alaska, and Hawaii. Projects eligible for assistance include: reclamation and reuse of municipal, industrial, domestic, and agricultural wastewater and naturally impaired ground; water infrastructure projects that would contribute to a safe, adequate water supply for domestic, agricultural, environmental, or municipal and industrial use; new water conduits, pipelines, canals, pumping or power facilities; energy efficiency projects; accelerated repair and replacement of aging water distribution facilities; brackish or sea water desalination; or acquisition of real property or an interest therein for water storage, reclaimed or recycled water, or wastewater that is integral to an authorized project. Priority must be given to projects that promote wastewater recycling, agricultural or urban water conservation and efficiency, stormwater capture, or other innovations that reduce reliance on surface and groundwater supplies. To be eligible for assistance, eligible project costs of a project and other projects in a watershed must be reasonably anticipated to be at least $10 million. The interest of a secured loan may not be more than the yield on Treasury securities of a similar maturity. Interior may sell or reoffer into the capital markets a secured loan after the substantial completion of the project. The final maturity date of a secured loan may not be later than 35 years after the expected date of substantial completion of the underlying project. Interior may also enter into cost-shared financial assistance agreements with nonfederal entities in the 17 Reclamation-served western states or Hawaii to carry out the planning, design, and construction of any permanent water storage and conveyance facility used solely to regulate and maximize the water supply arising from a project that is eligible for assistance, including recycled water projects not congressionally authorized, to: (1) recycle wastewater or ground water, or (2) use integrated and coordinated water management on a watershed or regional scale. The federal share of the cost of such a project shall be: (1) nonreimbursable, and (2) the lesser of 50% of the total cost or $15 million (adjusted for inflation). Reclamation Title Transfer Act of 2015 Reclamation may establish a program that: (1) identifies and analyzes the potential for public benefits from the transfer of eligible facilities out of federal ownership, and (2) facilitates the transfer of such facilities to qualifying entities to promote more efficient management of water and water-related facilities. "Eligible facilities" is defined as reclamation projects or facilities (including dams and appurtenant works, infrastructure, recreational facilities, buildings, distribution and drainage works, and associated land or interests in land or water) for which the United States holds title and that meet the criteria for potential transfer. A "qualifying entity" is a state, local government, Indian tribe, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, or other entity (such as a water district) that has the capacity to continue to manage the conveyed property for the same purposes that the property has been managed under the reclamation laws. Reclamation may convey an eligible facility to a qualifying entity if Congress is notified before the conveyance and does not disapprove. A right of first refusal is granted to a qualifying entity that is operating an eligible facility at the time conveyance is being considered. The bill terminates Reclamation's authority to carry out such conveyances 15 years after this Act's enactment. Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2015 The EPA must provide grants to eligible higher education institutions and research institutions to establish and maintain between three and five centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control infrastructure. One of the centers must be the national electronic clearinghouse center and must operate a website and a public database on the infrastructure. The EPA must provide grants for innovative stormwater control infrastructure projects and must give priority to applications from: (1) a community that has combined storm and sanitary sewers in its collection system or is low-income or disadvantaged, or (2) an eligible entity that will use at least 10% of the grant for a low-income or disadvantaged community. The EPA must ensure that: (1) EPA offices promote the use of the infrastructure in, and coordinate its integration into, permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) the EPA's Office of Water supports establishing innovative financing mechanisms in the implementation of the infrastructure. The EPA must: (1) direct EPA regional offices to promote and integrate the use of the infrastructure, and (2) promote sharing information about the infrastructure approaches. The EPA must establish an innovative stormwater control infrastructure portfolio standard consisting of voluntary, measurable goals to increase the percentage of annual water managed by entities that use the infrastructure. TITLE III--IMPROVED INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER MANAGEMENT Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015 The Forest Service must establish a Water Source Protection Program within the region of the National Forest System west of the 100th Meridian. USDA is authorized to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to nonfederal partners. The Forest Service must establish a Watershed Condition Framework within such region to: (1) identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland, and (2) develop and implement a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed. The Forest Service must also establish a Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program within such region to: carry out critical maintenance and urgent repairs and improvements on National Forest System roads, trails, and bridges; restore fish and other aquatic organism passage by removing or replacing unnatural barriers to the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms; and decommission unneeded roads and trails. The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund is reauthorized through FY2024. Five Demonstrations of Advancing Yields by Fixing Operations of Reservoirs to Encompass Climatic and Atmospheric Science Trends Act The Department of the Army must establish up to five pilot projects to implement forecast-based reservoir operations in states with drought emergencies during water year 2015. Interior must establish a wind and solar energy leasing pilot program to conduct lease sales of certain sites located on Reclamation land for purposes of carrying out wind and solar energy projects. The bill sets forth procedures for qualified developers to bid on sites that Interior offers for lease. Interior, within five years after enactment of this Act, must determine whether to expand the pilot program to apply to all authorized Reclamation lands. The general term for issued leases is: (1) an initial term of 25 years, and (2) any additional period after the initial 25-year term during which electricity is being produced annually in commercial quantities from the lease. However, a lease term may not be more than 5 years for the placement and operation of a meteorological or data collection facility or for the development or demonstration of a new wind or solar energy technology. Interior must establish and require payment of a royalty as a condition of issued leases. The royalty must be a percentage of the gross proceeds from the sale of electricity produced on land that is the subject of the lease. Lease royalties and authorized bonuses collected by Interior must be distributed in a manner such that: 25% is paid to the states and 25% is paid to the counties within the boundaries of which the royalties or bonuses are derived; 25% is deposited into a Fish and Wildlife Restoration Fund for Interior to use or make payments to states, federal agencies, or others for protecting fish and wildlife in regions impacted by the development of hydropower by federal agencies and the development of wind or solar energy on Reclamation land; 15% is paid to state Reclamation offices during the first 15 years after enactment of this Act for purposes of reducing the number of renewable energy permits that have not been processed before the enactment of this Act; and the remainder is deposited into the general fund of the Treasury for purposes of reducing the annual federal budget deficit. The Safe Drinking Water Act is amended to require a state to operate an EPA-prescribed injection control program for underground wells if the EPA finds that the state improperly issued permits under the state's underground injection control program. DOJ must maintain a registry of incidents of cultivation of marijuana on government property or while intentionally trespassing on another's property. DOJ is authorized to use amounts from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to pay for costs incurred by state, local, or tribal governments in connection with the remediation of an area formerly used for the production or cultivation of marijuana in which such a government assisted in a federal prosecution related to marijuana. The bill requires court sentences for certain marijuana offenses to include an order requiring the defendant to reimburse federal, state, or local governments for costs incurred for cleanup associated with the cultivation of marijuana by the defendant or on premises or in property that the defendant owns, resides in, or does business in. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is amended to: (1) include "planning for or addressing the impact of drought" among the activities for which Reclamation may make grants and enter cooperative agreements for water management improvement, (2) include Hawaii among the states in which eligible grant and agreement applicants may be located, (3) reauthorize such grants and agreements for FY2015-FY2023, and (4) reauthorize the authority of the U.S. Geological Survey to provide grants to state water resource agencies under the national water availability and use assessment program for FY2014-FY2023. The Internal Revenue Code is amended to establish a refundable tax credit for the purchase and installation of a qualified water-harvesting system. The Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 is amended to authorize Interior, subject to feasibility studies and other specified conditions, to develop additional project benefits (such as additional conservation storage capacity) through the construction of new or supplementary works on a project in conjunction with its authority to modify Reclamation dams and related facilities to preserve their structural safety. Interior may expend available appropriated funds for construction of a project that meets certain environmental standards, but the bill prohibits the federal cost-share from exceeding 25% of the project costs. TITLE IV--PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Water Innovation and Prize Competition Act of 2015 The Department of Energy must establish a program to award prizes for development of water desalination technologies. The Natural Resources Conservation Service must collaborate with Reclamation to provide assistance, upon request, to water or power delivery authorities for purposes of increasing water use efficiency and providing on-farm assistance to address water quantity and water quality conservation practices. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must prepare a California salmon drought plan. The President must update the National Response Plan and the National Disaster Recovery Framework to include a plan for catastrophic drought.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH Woman) Act of 2015 This bill requires the federal government: (1) to ensure coverage for abortion care in public health insurance programs including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Children's Health Insurance Program; (2) as an employer or health plan sponsor, to ensure coverage for abortion care for participants and beneficiaries; and (3) as a provider of health services, to ensure that abortion care is made available to individuals who are eligible to receive services in its own facilities or in facilities with which it contracts to provide medical care. The federal government may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by state or local governments or by private health plans. State and local governments may not prohibit, restrict, or otherwise inhibit insurance coverage of abortion care by private health plans. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the federal government, acting in its capacity as an insurer, employer, or health care provider, should serve as a model for the nation to ensure coverage of abortion care; and (2) restrictions on coverage of abortion care in the private insurance market must end.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Thirteenth Amendment Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue the following coins in commemoration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution: up to 250,000 $50 bi-metallic platinum and gold coins, up to 250,000 $20 gold coins, and up to 500,000 $1 silver coins. Requires such coins to be considered legal tender and numismatic items. Permits Treasury to issue such coins only during the one-year period beginning January 1 of the issuance year, except that sales may be initiated, without issuance, before such date. Requires specified surcharges that Treasury receives from the sale of such coins to be paid to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Directs Treasury to ensure that: (1) the minting and issuing of such coins will not result in any net cost to the U.S. government; and (2) no funds, including applicable surcharges, are disbursed to the Museum until the total cost of designing and issuing all such coins is recovered by the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015
Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), the Social Security Act (SSAct), and other federal laws (including provisions concerning workers' compensation, retirement benefits, disability and death benefits, insurance, inheritances, or immigration) to replace: (1) references to "wife" or "husband" with references to "spouse"; and (2) references to "husband and wife" or "husband or wife" with references to "married couple" or " married person." For purposes of federal laws or regulations, "marriage" is defined as a legal union between two people as spouses. The bill eliminates a definition of "spouse" that refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. Requirements concerning compensation to a surviving wife after the disability or death of a person employed at a military, air, or naval base outside the United States are revised to make surviving spouses eligible for such compensation. Under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, provisions concerning the amount of leave available to a husband and wife employed by the same employer are revised to apply to a married couple employed by the same employer. Requirements under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 that make disability and death benefits payable to the wife or widow of a miner are revised to make the benefits payable to the spouse or surviving spouse of a miner. IRC provisions that require a divorced wife's gross income to include the income of any trust she is entitled to receive that would otherwise be includible in the gross income of her husband, or vice versa, are revised to apply to the gross income of individuals who are divorced from their spouse. The bill revises title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the SSAct to consolidate separate provisions for a wife's insurance benefits and a husband's insurance benefits into a single standard for a spouse's insurance benefits. Criminal penalties that currently apply to persons who threaten to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm upon a former President's wife or widow are revised to apply to threats made to a former President's spouse or surviving spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2015
The bill revises and reauthorizes the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act through FY2020. The cap on the amount that the Department of the Interior may expend from the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Fund on administrative expenses is increased from 3% to 4%.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015
Condemns the practice of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting in China. Calls on China and the Communist Party of China to end the practice of organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience. Encourages the U.S. medical community to help raise awareness of unethical organ transplant practices in China. Demands an end to the persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice and the release of all Falun Gong practitioners and other prisoners of conscience. Calls on the Department of State to: (1) conduct a more detailed analysis on state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the annual Human Rights Report, and (2) report annually to Congress on implementation of the immigration provision prohibiting visas to Chinese and other nationals engaged in coerced organ or bodily tissue transplantation.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lieu, Ted [D-CA-36]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000582_200.jpg)