United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2015
ATF Wrongful Reclassification Act Amends the federal criminal code to modify the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" for purposes of federal firearms provisions to: (1) include a projectile or projectile core that is designed and intended by the manufacturer solely for use in a handgun (currently, a projectile that may be used in a handgun); and (2) exclude a projectile that is primarily intended by the manufacturer to be used for lawful purposes (currently, a projectile that the Attorney General finds is primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes).
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2015 Deems a domestic mine that will provide strategic and critical minerals to be an "infrastructure project" as described in Presidential Order "Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects" dated March 22, 2012. Sets forth the responsibilities of the lead agency (federal, state, local, tribal, or Alaska Native Corporation) with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit with respect to project coordination, agency consultation, project proponents, and contractors. Deems the requirements of National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to have been satisfied if the lead agency determines that any state or federal agency acting pursuant to state or federal statutory or procedural authorities, has or will address specified factors. Requires the lead agency, if it cannot make such a determination, and at a project proponent's request, together with cooperating and other agencies involved in the permitting process to enter into an agreement with the project proponent that sets time limits for each part of the permitting process. Applies this Act to any mineral exploration or mine permit for which an application was submitted before enactment of this Act if the applicant so requests in writing. Requires the lead agency to begin implementing this Act with respect to such application within 30 days after receiving such a request. Requires the lead agency, with respect to strategic and critical minerals within a federally administered unit of the National Forest System, to: (1) exempt from federal regulations governing Special Areas all areas of identified mineral resources in Land Use Designations (other than Non-Development Land Use Designations); (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes and areas that the agency finds necessary to facilitate the construction, operation, maintenance, and restoration of the areas of the identified mineral resources; and (3) continue to apply such exemptions after approval of the Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit. Declares the priority of the lead agency is to maximize mineral resource development while mitigating environmental impacts, so that more of the mineral resource can be brought to the market place. Prescribes the Federal Register notice process for mineral exploration and mining projects. Authorizes the holder of a mineral exploration or mine permit to intervene as of right in any covered civil action by a person affecting rights or obligations of the permit holder under the permit. Bars a civil action claiming legal wrong caused by an agency action unless it is filed by the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final federal agency action to which it relates. Requires the court to hear and determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. Prohibits the court, in a covered civil action, from granting or approving prospective relief unless it finds that such relief is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct such violation. Declares inapplicable to such a civil action specified requirements of the Equal Access to Justice Act relating to award of costs and fees to a prevailing plaintiff. Prohibits payment from the federal government for court costs of a party in such a civil action, including attorneys' fees and expenses. Prohibits construction of this Act as affecting any aspect of Secretarial Order 3324 with respect to potash and oil and gas operators.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Military and Veteran Caregiver Services Improvement Act of 2015 Expands eligibility for the family caregiver program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to include members of the Armed Forces or veterans who are seriously injured or who became ill on active duty prior to September 11, 2001 (currently, limited to service after September 11, 2001). Expands services to caregivers of veterans under such program to include child care services, financial planning services, and legal services. Terminates the support program for caregivers of covered veterans on October 1, 2020, except that any caregiver activities carried out on September 30, 2020, shall be continued on and after October 1, 2020. Authorizes the transfer of entitlement to post 9/11 education assistance to family members by veterans who are retired for a physical disability or who are seriously injured veterans in need of family caregiver services, without regard to length-of-service requirements. Authorizes the VA Secretary to pay monthly special compensation to seriously injured or ill veterans in need of personal care services and to their caregivers. Excludes from gross income, for income tax purposes, such compensation paid to injured or ill veterans. Authorizes flexible work schedules or telework for federal employees who are caregivers of veterans. Amends the Public Health Service Act to designate a veteran participating in the program of comprehensive assistance for family caregivers as an adult with a special need for purposes of the lifespan respite care program. Establishes in the executive branch an interagency working group to review and report on policies relating to the caregivers of veterans and members of the Armed Forces. Directs the Secretary to provide for studies on members of the Armed Forces who commenced service after September 11, 2001, and veterans who have incurred a serious injury or illness, including a mental health injury, and their caregivers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2015
Air Traffic Controllers Hiring Act of 2015 Directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing individuals to the position of air traffic controller, to give preference to: an individual who has successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program (the program) and who has received from the institution either an appropriate recommendation or an endorsement certifying that the individual would have met the requirements in effect as of December 31, 2013, for an appropriate recommendation; a qualified individual who is eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment; a qualified individual who is an eligible veteran maintaining aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience; a preference eligible veteran; and a qualified individual maintaining practical air traffic control experience obtained at civilian installations of the Department of Defense, FAA air traffic control facilities, or contract towers of the FAA. Allows the FAA to consider additional applicants only after completing consideration of such preferred applicants. Provides that a preferred applicant shall not be subject to any biographical assessment as part of FAA hiring practices that apply to applicants for the position of air traffic controller. Directs the FAA to revise its hiring practices to eliminate the use of any biographical assessment that unduly disqualifies applicants. Provides for reconsideration of individuals who applied in response to the FG-01 vacancy announcement of February 10, 2014, who were disqualified on the basis of such an assessment. Requires (currently, allows) the FAA to maintain the program by making new agreements and continuing existing agreements with institutions of higher education under which the institutions prepare students for the position of air traffic controller. Directs the FAA to take into consideration any training initiatives for air traffic controllers that are locally developed at institutions of higher education participating in the program for use in establishing best practices nationwide.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2015
Protecting American Jobs Act Amends the National Labor Relations Act to repeal the authority of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board to issue, and prosecute before the Board, complaints with respect to unfair labor practices. Repeals the prohibition against: (1) review of an administrative law judge's report by any person other than a Board member or legal assistant; and (2) advice to or consultation with the Board by an administrative law judge with respect to exceptions taken to his or her findings, rulings, or recommendations. Limits the Board's rulemaking authority to rules concerning the internal functions of the Board. Prohibits the Board from promulgating rules that affect the substantive rights of a person, employer, employee, or labor organization. Revises Board powers to grant it the authority to investigate unfair labor practices, but repeals its power to prevent any person from engaging in them. Repeals the Board's power to issue a complaint against a person charging an unfair labor practice. Allows an aggrieved party to bring a civil action for relief (including injunctions) in U.S. district court or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in cases where it appears that a person has engaged, is engaging, or is about to engage in an unfair labor practice.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2015
Indian Health Service Health Professions Tax Fairness Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts received under the Indian Health Service Loan Repayment Program and the Indian Health Professions Scholarships Program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2015
Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program for states with a shortage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to streamline state requirements and procedures to assist veterans who completed military EMT training to meet state EMT certification, licensure, and other requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2015
Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to select a VA medical center to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of the biological children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to such exposure. Requires: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) or the head of a federal agency to make available to the VA for review records held by DOD, an Armed Force, or that federal agency that might assist the VA in making determinations regarding individuals and descendents afflicted with a health condition as a result of such exposure; (2) the VA and DOD or such agency head to jointly establish a mechanism for the availability and review of records by the VA; and (3) the national center to employ at least one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate access of individuals to appropriate social and health care programs and to handle case management. Establishes an Advisory Board to oversee and assess the national center and to advise the VA regarding the center's work. Directs DOD to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which at least 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of an associated disability. Directs the VA to conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed toward members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on: (1) incidents of exposure of members of the Armed Forces to toxic substances, health conditions resulting from such exposure, and the potential long-term effects; and (2) the national center. Requires DOD and the Department of Health and Human Services to assist the VA in implementing such campaign.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2015
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Reauthorization Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program Fund indefinitely and index appropriations to the medical care component of the consumer price index for urban consumers. Makes funding available for: a quality assurance program for services delivered by health care providers, the WTC Program annual report, WTC Health Program Steering Committees, and contracts with Clinical Centers of Excellence. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to make individuals (or relatives of deceased individuals) who were injured or killed in the rescue and recovery efforts after the aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, eligible for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Allows individuals to file claims for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 anytime after regulations are updated based on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. Removes the cap on payments under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. Adds the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and World Trade Center Health Program Fund to the list of accounts that are not subject to budget sequestration.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2015
Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program of 2015 Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to award public safety and community policing grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children and elderly and disabled individuals through the use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system. Defines an "elderly individual" as an individual 60 years of age or older. Permits the use of grant funds to: (1) maintain and expand technologies and techniques to ensure the highest level of performance of services; (2) provide both centralized and on-site training and distribute information to law enforcement agency officials about missing individuals and use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system; (3) provide services to Child Abduction Response Teams; (4) assist law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking through the use of rapid telephone and cellular alert calls; (5) share appropriate information on cases with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert, Silver Alert, and Blue Alert programs, and law enforcement; and (6) assist appropriate organizations with education and prevention programs related to missing individuals. Directs the Attorney General to annually: (1) require each grantee to submit the results of monitoring and evaluations of grant recipients, and (2) publish a report regarding such results and the effectiveness of activities carried out under each grant.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Judgment Fund Transparency Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to disclose details after payments are made from the Judgment Fund. The Judgment Fund is a permanent and indefinite appropriation to pay judgments against the United States, including awards, compromise settlements, and related interest and costs. Unless the disclosure is prohibited by law or a court order, Treasury must make available to the public on a website: the name of the agency or entity whose actions gave rise to the claim or judgment, the plaintiff or claimant, the counsel for the plaintiff or claimant, the amount paid, a description of the facts that gave rise to the claim, and the name of the agency that submitted the claim.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Reauthorization Act or the STOP Act Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize the program to reduce underage drinking for FY2016-FY2020. Revises reporting requirements for state programs on underage drinking. Specifies additional requirements for the development of the national media campaign to prevent underage drinking. Directs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to make grants to professional pediatric provider organizations to increase effective practices, including the screening of children and adolescents for alcohol use, to reduce the prevalence of alcohol use among individuals under the age of 21, including college students. Directs the Department of Health and Human Services to collect data and conduct or support new research on underage drinking that carries out and improves public health surveillance of alcohol use and alcohol-related conditions in states among individuals between age 18 and 20 by increasing the use of surveys, such as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, to monitor binge and excessive drinking and related harms.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue in commemoration of the United States Coast Guard: (1) $5 gold coins, (2) $1 silver coins, and (3) half-dollar clad coins. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the traditions, history, and heritage of the Coast Guard, and its role in securing our nation since 1790. Prescribes design requirements. Restricts the issuance of such coins to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2018. Prescribes the sale price of the coins and coin surcharges. Requires such surcharges to be paid by the Secretary to the National Coast Guard Museum Association to help finance the design and construction of the National Coast Guard Museum. Directs the Secretary to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2015
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Protecting Affordable Coverage for Employees Act This bill amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and Public Health Service Act to include employers with 51 to 100 employees as large employers for purposes of health insurance markets. States have the option to treat these employers as small employers. Currently under PPACA, employers with 51 to 100 employees are small employers, but before January 1, 2016, states have the option to treat them as large employers. (Under PPACA, health insurance offered in the small group market must meet certain requirements that do not apply to the large group market, including the requirement to cover the essential health benefits.)
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
Samish Indian Nation Land Conveyance Act of 2015 Directs the Department of the Interior to take into trust for the benefit of the Samish Indian Nation the 17 parcels of approximately 97 acres of specified land owned by the Tribe in Skagit County and San Juan County, Washington. Prohibits the Tribe from conducting gaming on such land.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2015
State Partnership Program Enhancement Act of 2015 Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 to revise and extend indefinitely the authority of the Department of Defense (DOD) to establish exchange programs for members of the National Guard under the National Guard State Partnership Program (SPP). (Currently, the authority is scheduled to terminate on September 30, 2016.) Authorizes DOD, with the concurrence of the Department of State, to establish such programs for exchanges of members of the National Guard of a state or territory and the military forces or security forces or other government organizations of a foreign country to support the national interests and security cooperation goals and objectives of the United States as defined by the current and evolving national global strategic policies of the United States. (Currently, the primary function of the SPP is disaster and emergency response.) Directs DOD, with the concurrence of the State Department, to establish procedures for SPP planning, programming, budgeting, accounting, and performance metrics. Requires the National Guard Bureau to: (1) maintain a list of core competencies of the National Guard to support SPP activities, and (2) designate a director for each state and territory. Requires DOD to coordinate SPP regulations with combatant commanders to ensure that program activities meet theater security cooperation objectives. Requires the State Department to coordinate such regulations with relevant chiefs of mission to meet diplomatic objectives. Establishes the National Guard State Partnership Program Fund in the Treasury, into which appropriated amounts shall be credited and transferred for program activity uses, including payment of costs for personnel, training, operations, and equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits requiring repayment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer's Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover comprehensive Alzheimer's disease care planning services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2015
Social Security Commission Act of 2015 Establishes in the legislative branch the Commission on Long Term Social Security Solvency to make recommendations to Congress, including proposed legislation, for achieving solvency in the Social Security trust funds for a period of at least 75 years. Requires expedited consideration of any proposed legislation approving Commission recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2015
Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Makes an employee of a land management agency serving under a time-limited appointment in the competitive service eligible to compete for a permanent appointment in the agency or any other agency if: (1) the original appointment was competitive, (2) the employee has served under one or more time-limited appointments totaling more than 24 months without a break of two or more years, and (3) the employee's performance has been at an acceptable level.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2015
Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to require the Bureau of Prisons to ensure that each chief executive officer of a federal penal or correctional institution: (1) provides a secure storage area located outside of the secure perimeter of the institution for qualified law enforcement officers employed by the Bureau to store firearms, or allows such officers to store firearms in a vehicle lockbox approved by the Bureau; and (2) allows such officers to carry concealed firearms on the premises outside of the secure perimeter of the institution.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2015
Tribal Adoption Parity Act Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Indian tribes to make the determination that a child is a child with special needs for purposes of the adoption tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall of Remembrance Act of 2015 Authorizes a Wall of Remembrance, as part of the previously authorized Korean War Veterans Memorial, to include: (1) a list by name of members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in action; (2) the number of members who were wounded, listed as missing in action, or prisoners of war; and (3) the number of members of the Korean Augmentation to the U.S. Army, the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, and the other nations of the United Nations (U.N.) Command who were killed, wounded, missing, or prisoners. Prohibits using any federal funds to construct the Wall.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Taking Account of Bureaucrats' Spending Act of 2015 or the TABS Act of 2015 This bill amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to eliminate provisions that fund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) using transfers from the earnings of the Federal Reserve System. The transfers under current law permit the CFPB to be funded outside of the annual appropriations process, and this bill brings the CFPB into the regular process.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2015
Ensuring Access to Quality Complex Rehabilitation Technology Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover, as medical and other health services, complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) items designed or individually configured for a specific qualified individual to meet that individual's unique: (1) medical, physical, or functional needs related to a medical condition; and (2) capacities for basic activities of daily living (ADLs) or instrumental ADLs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) designate CRT items (excluding adaptive equipment to operate motor vehicles or certain prosthetic devices and orthotics); and (2) establish eligibility criteria for them. Prescribes requirements for payments for CRT items. Directs the Secretary to establish standards for clinical conditions for CRT item payment as well as quality standards for suppliers of such items. Directs the Secretary to establish a formal process to allow submission of CRT code set modification requests by stakeholder groups for comprehensive coding changes related to entire policy groups. Requires payment for replacement of a CRT item (or any part of one), without regard to certain continuous use or useful lifetime restrictions established for items of durable medical equipment, if a qualified ordering practitioner determines that a replacement item (or part) is necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2015
Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality and Access Act of 2015 Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require alignment of updates for ambulatory surgical center (ASC) services under a revised prospective payment system (PPS) with updates for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. Revises requirements for the reporting and applying of quality measure data by ASCs and hospital OPDs. Revises requirements for the composition of the expert outside advisory panel the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to consult during the annual review of the clinical integrity of the groups and payment weights in the PPS for OPD services. Requires the panel to include suppliers subject to the PPS as well as at least one ASC representative. Requires the Secretary, when excluding from a final rule updating ASC lists a procedure whose inclusion was requested during the public comment period, to cite in the final rule specific criteria based on which the procedure was excluded. Requires the Secretary also to identify the peer reviewed research or the evidence upon which the exclusion is based if certain of those criteria are cited for it. Prohibits the Secretary from using or citing as a criterion or a basis for an exclusion that the procedure can only be reported using a Current Procedural Terminology unlisted surgical procedure code.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2015
Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2015 or the JOLT Act of 2015 Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 50 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days (in a single 365-day period) if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Revises the secure travel partnership program (the visa waiver program as renamed by this Act) to: (1) authorize DHS to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Expresses the sense of Congress that DHS should, in evaluating countries participating in the secure travel partnership program, give review priority to countries where circumstances indicate that such a review is necessary or desirable. Directs the Department of State to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) set a goal of interviewing 90% of all nonimmigrant visa applicants, worldwide, within 10 days of application receipt. Directs the State Department to: (1) develop and conduct a pilot program for processing visas using secure remote videoconferencing technology, and (2) seek to coordinate enrollment and interview processes for individuals eligible for both a U.S. visa and enrollment in the Global Entry program. Requires an alien at the time of application for U.S. entry under the secure travel partnership program to have a valid, unexpired electronic passport that incorporates biometric and document authentication identifiers that comply with internationally accepted practices.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2015
Honor America's Guard-Reserve Retirees Act Honors as a veteran any person who is entitled to retired pay for nonregular (reserve) service or who, but for age, would be so entitled. Provides that such person shall not be entitled to any benefit by reason of such recognition.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
This bill amends the San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement Act to approve and ratify all provisions of the settlement agreement dated January 30, 2015, and approved by the La Jolla, Rincon, San Pasqual, Pauma, and Pala Bands of Mission Indians (California), the San Luis Rey River Indian Water Authority, the City of Escondido, California, the Vista Irrigation District, and the United States. The Departments of the Interior and Justice are authorized to execute the agreement and any amendments approved by the parties as necessary to make it consistent with such Act. (However, such execution shall not constitute a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.) Interior is authorized to take steps necessary to implement the agreement and such Act. The Bands will continue to possess federally reserved rights and other water rights held in trust by the United States. In any proceeding involving the assertion, enforcement, or defense of such rights, the United States shall not be a required party and and any decision by the United States regarding participation in any such proceeding shall not be subject to judicial review or give rise to any claim for relief against the United States. Congress confirms that the benefits to allottees in the agreement are equitable and fully satisfy their water rights.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
First Responder Anthrax Preparedness Act Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for the purpose of domestic preparedness for and collective response to terrorism, to: (1) make available surplus vaccines and antimicrobials, and vaccines and antimicrobials with short shelf lives, from the strategic national stockpile for administration to emergency response providers who voluntarily consent to such administration; (2) establish any necessary logistical and tracking systems to facilitate making such vaccines and antimicrobials available; and (3) distribute disclosures regarding associated risks to end users. Requires DHS to: (1) support homeland security-focused risk analysis and assessments of the threats posed by anthrax from an act of terror; (2) leverage homeland security intelligence capabilities and structures to enhance prevention, protection, response, and recovery efforts with respect to an anthrax terror attack; and (3) share information and provide tailored analytical support on threats posed by anthrax to state, local, and tribal authorities, as well as other national biosecurity and biodefense stakeholders. Directs DHS to carry out a pilot program, which lasts at least 18 months, to administer such vaccines and antimicrobials to emergency response providers. Requires DHS: (1) prior to implementing such program, to establish a communication platform and education and training modules for the program , to conduct economic analysis of the program, and to create a logistical platform for the anthrax vaccine request process; and (2) to select providers based in at least two states to participate in the program. Requires DHS to provide to each participating provider disclosures and educational materials regarding the risks of any vaccine or antimicrobial administered and of exposure to anthrax.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2015
Community Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act of 2015 or the CLEARR Act of 2015 This bill amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which: (1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, and (2) has not changed its policies and practices regarding disclosures of nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers. The federal banking agencies are directed to study jointly the appropriate capital requirements for mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions. Mortgage servicing assets are those resulting from contracts to service loans secured by real estate, where such loans are owned by third parties. A nonsystemic banking institution is any banking institution other than one identified by the Financial Stability Board as a global systemically important bank. Any regulatory implementation of either Basel III or National Credit Union Administration capital requirements about mortgage servicing assets for nonsystemic banking institutions is prohibited until six months after a report to Congress on the study. The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) is amended to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) to exempt from certain escrow or impound requirements a loan secured by a first lien on a consumer's principal dwelling if the loan is held by a creditor with assets of $10 billion or less. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must provide either exemptions to or adjustments from the mortgage loan servicing and escrow account administration requirements of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 for servicers of 20,000 or fewer mortgage loans. The TILA is also amended to exempt from property appraisal requirements a higher-risk mortgage loan of $250,000 or less if it appears on the loan creditor's balance sheet for at least three years. The Federal Deposit Insurance Act is revised to direct federal banking agencies to issue regulations that allow a reduced reporting requirement for depository institutions meeting certain criteria when making the first and third report of condition for a year. If a depository financial institution receives an order to request a funds transfer (entry) via an automated clearing house, it shall not be required to verify that the entry is not a prohibited monetary transaction if the originating depository financial institution has warranted its compliance with the sanctions programs administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The Federal Reserve Board must revise the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on the Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors to raise its consolidated asset threshold from $1 billion to $5 billion. The TILA is again amended to create a safe harbor from lawsuit for creditors that are depository institutions for any failure to comply with certain requirements with respect to a residential mortgage loan, and the banking regulators are required to treat such a loan as a qualified mortgage, if the creditor has, since the loan's origination, held it on its balance sheet and all prepayment penalties with respect to the loan comply with specified limitations. A safe harbor from lawsuit is also created for mortgage originators for steering a consumer to a residential mortgage loan if: the creditor is a depository institution and has informed the mortgage originator that it intends to hold the loan on its balance sheet for the life of the loan, and the mortgage originator informs the consumer that the creditor intends to do so.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Arbuckle Project Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act of 2015 Authorizes the Department of the Interior to convey to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District in Murray County, Oklahoma, all U.S. interest in the Maintenance Complex and District Office, Arbuckle Project, Oklahoma, consistent with the Agreement between the United States and the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District for Transferring Title to the Federally Owned Maintenance Complex and District Office to the Arbuckle Master Conservancy District. Provides that after such conveyance: (1) the Complex and Office shall not be considered to be a part of a federal reclamation project; and (2) such District shall not be eligible to receive any benefits with respect to any facility comprising that Complex and Office, except benefits that would be available to a similarly situated person with respect to such a facility that is not part of a federal reclamation project.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2015
Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act of 2015 This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive coinsurance for colorectal cancer screening tests (in order to cover 100% of their cost under Medicare part B [Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled]), regardless of the code billed for a diagnosis as a result of a test, or for the removal of tissue or other procedure furnished in connection with, as a result of, and in the same clinical encounter as the screening test.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Prohibits uniformed service agencies or the Department of Defense (DOD) from altering the amount of the locality-based travel and transportation per diem allowances or reimbursements to which certain uniformed service members or civilian DOD employees are entitled based on the duration of temporary duty assignments or official travel in a locality. Nullifies the DOD policy implemented on November 1, 2014, regarding reductions in per diem allowances based on the duration of temporary duty assignments or civilian travel.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2015
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2015 Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (and restores provisions of law amended by those sections) related to the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in spending under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2015 Amends the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to locate the Office on International Religious Freedom in the Office of the Secretary of State. Directs the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to seek to coordinate religious freedom policies and religious engagement strategies across all U.S. programs, projects, and activities. Specifies additional foreign government actions violating religious freedom for the Ambassador's Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, including a Special Watch List of countries or violent nonstate actors that have engaged in or tolerated such violations but do not yet meet the criteria for designation as countries of particular concern for religious freedom. Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary to develop a curriculum for, and the Director of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center to begin, mandatory training on religious freedom for all Foreign Service officers. Amends IRFA to require the Commission on International Religious Freedom to compile and make publicly available regularly updated lists of persons imprisoned, detained, disappeared, placed under house arrest, tortured, or subject to forced renunciations of faith by: (1) a foreign government recommended for designation as a country of particular concern for religions freedom, or (2) a violent nonstate actor. Extends the Commission's termination date. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to direct the President to appoint in the National Security Council a Special Adviser for Global Religion Engagement and International Religious Freedom (in lieu of the Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom) who shall assist the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom to coordinate executive branch international religious freedom policies and global religion engagement strategies. Establishes within the National Security Council: (1) the Interagency Policy Committee on Religious Freedom and Engagement; and (2) the Interagency Policy Committee on Religion, International Religious Freedom, and National Security. Amends IRFA to revise requirements, including reporting requirements, for presidential actions with respect to country and violent nonstate actor designations, in particular those countries on the Special Watch List. Declares the sense of Congress that: ongoing and persistent waivers for designated countries, especially those engaging in particularly severe violations of religious freedom, do not fulfill IRFA purposes; and the President, the Secretary, and other executive branch officials, in consultation with Congress, should seek to find ways to address existing violations, on a country-by-country basis, through specified actions. Repeals the automatic termination of a presidential designation after two years. States that it should be U.S. policy that violent nonstate actors should be eligible for designation as countries of particular concern and that specified presidential actions should apply to them or individual members of such groups. Makes funds available for FY2016-FY2021 for the Human Rights and Democracy Fund. Establishes in the State Department the Religious Freedom Defense Fund, to be administered by the Ambassador at Large. Authorizes the President to take specified actions against foreign persons: (1) responsible for committing or supporting systemic violations of religious freedom, or (2) supporting violence or terrorist acts targeting members of religious groups. Declares the sense of Congress about: (1) adoption of codes of conduct by U.S. institutions of higher education outside the United States, and (2) national security strategy to promote religious freedom through U.S. foreign policy.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2015 Directs the Department of the Interior to take specified lands in Santa Barbara County, California, into trust for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians if the Tribe transfers title to that land to the United States. (Placing that land into trust removes certain restrictions on the property under California law.) Makes that land part of the Santa Ynez Indian Reservation. Prohibits gaming on the land.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Law Enforcement Access to Data Stored Abroad Act Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a governmental entity to require the disclosure by a provider of electronic communication service or remote computing service of the contents of a wire or electronic communication that is in electronic storage with or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider only pursuant to a warrant issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. Authorizes such a warrant to require such disclosure regardless of where such contents may be in electronic storage or otherwise stored, held, or maintained by the provider if the holder of the account the contents of which are sought by the warrant is a U.S. person. Requires a court, on a service provider's motion, to modify or vacate such a warrant upon finding that it would require the provider to violate the laws of a foreign country. Sets forth requirements for government notification of provider customers or subscribers regarding the receipt of communication contents pursuant to such a warrant. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish a form for use by a foreign government filing a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) request; (2) establish an online docketing system for all MLAT requests; and (3) publish statistics annually on MLAT requests made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to foreign governments, and by foreign governments to DOJ, to obtain the contents of communications or other information or records from a provider of electronic communications or remote computing services. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) data localization requirements imposed by foreign governments on data providers are incompatible with the borderless nature of the Internet, an impediment to online innovation, and unnecessary to meet the needs of law enforcement; and (2) DOJ, the Department of State, and the U.S. Trade Representative should pursue open data flow policies with foreign nations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2015
Urges the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and other relevant U.S. government agencies and officials to work with the European Union and European governments to encourage further efforts to address anti-Semitism.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2015
Military Spouse Job Continuity Act of 2015 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces (military spouse) who moves with such member to another state under a permanent change of station order a tax credit for up to $500 of qualified relicensing costs incurred by such spouse. Defines "qualified relicensing costs" as costs for a state license or certification to engage in the profession that such military spouse engaged in while residing in the former state.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
Native American Indian Education Act Directs the Department of Education to pay four-year Native American-serving nontribal institutions of higher education the out-of-state tuition of their Indian students if those schools are required to provide a tuition-free education, with the support of their state, to Indian students in fulfillment of a condition under which the college or state received its original grant of land and facilities from the federal government. Prohibits the amount paid to any such college from exceeding the lower of the following amounts: (1) the charges for tuition for the Indian students of that college who were non-residents of the state in which the college is located and who were enrolled in the college for academic year 2014-2015, or (2) $15 million. Treats such payments as reimbursements to such institutions from their states. Rescinds unobligated discretionary appropriations to offset the costs of this program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2015
21st Century SCASDP Act Revises certain criteria the Secretary of Transportation must apply in selecting communities, or consortia of communities, with an underserved airport for participation in the Small Community Air Service Development Program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2015
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 20 February 2015
Partner with Korea Act Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to create an E-4 treaty trader visa category for up to 15,000 nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) each fiscal year who are coming to the United States solely to perform specialty occupation services and with respect to whom the Secretary of Labor has certified to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of State that the intending employer has filed an attestation concerning U.S. worker protections with the Secretary of Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2015 This bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue orders applicable to manufacturers of concrete masonry products. Any such order must provide for the establishment of a Concrete Masonry Products Board to carry out a program of promotion, research, and information regarding concrete masonry products. Manufacturers and importers shall maintain, and make available, specified records. An order must also provide that assessments be paid by concrete masonry product manufacturers with respect to concrete masonry products manufactured and marketed in the United States. Assessment rates are specified. At least 50% of the assessments paid by a manufacturer must be used to support research, education, and promotion plans and projects in support of the geographic region of the manufacturer. During the 60-day period preceding the proposed effective date of an order, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum for order approval among the manufacturers required to pay assessments under it. Referendum procedures are outlined. The bill allows petition and review of an order, and order enforcement through U.S. district courts. The Secretary: (1) may conduct appropriate investigations in order to administer this Act (with power of subpoena); and (2) must suspend or terminate any order or provision that obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the purposes of this Act, or that is not favored by persons voting in a referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Amends the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study on feasibility of designating as a national historic trail the Chief Standing Bear Trail extending approximately 550 miles from Niobrara, Nebraska, to Ponca City, Oklahoma, which follows the route taken by Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca people during federal Indian removal, and approximately 550 miles from Ponca City through Omaha to Niobrara, Nebraska, which follows the return route taken by Chief Standing Bear and the Ponca people. Requires Interior to consider input from owners of private land within or adjacent to such study area.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2015
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, and who is carrying a valid, government-issued identification document containing that person's photograph and a valid permit issued by any state to carry a concealed firearm, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any other state that permits residents to carry a concealed firearm, in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Makes presentation of facially valid documents prima facie evidence that the individual has a license or permit as required.
![Official portrait of Rep. Cole, Tom [R-OK-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001053_200.jpg)