Defence

To require a regional strategy to address the threat posed by Boko Haram.

United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015

This bill requires: the Department of State and the Department of Defense to develop jointly and submit to Congress a five-year strategy to help Nigeria, members of the Multinational Joint Task Force to Combat Boko Haram, and relevant partners to counter Boko Haram, and to assist Nigeria and its neighbors to address legitimate grievances of vulnerable populations in areas affected by Boko Haram; and the Director of National Intelligence to assess the willingness and capability Nigeria and regional partners to implement such strategy. It is the sense of Congress that lack of economic opportunity and access to education, justice, and other social services contributes to Boko Haram's ability to radicalize and recruit individuals.

A resolution recognizing Connecticut's Submarine Century, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Naval Submarine Base New London, and Connecticut's historic role in supporting the undersea capabilities of the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015

Commends the dedication and contribution to the Navy and submarine force by the people of Connecticut, both through the initial deed of gift that established what would become Naval Submarine Base New London and through their ongoing commitment to support the mission of the base and the Navy personnel assigned to it. Honors the submariners who have trained and served at Naval Submarine Base New London throughout its history. Recognizes the contribution of the industry and workforce of Connecticut in designing, building, and sustaining the Navy's submarine fleet. Encourages the recognition of Connecticut's Submarine Century by Congress, the Navy, and the American people.

Recognizing Connecticut's Submarine Century, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Naval Submarine Base New London, and Connecticut's historic role in supporting the undersea capabilities of the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015

Commends the dedication and contribution to the Navy and submarine force by the people of Connecticut, both through the initial deed of gift that established what would become Naval Submarine Base New London and through their ongoing commitment to support the mission of the base and the Navy personnel assigned to it. Honors the submariners who have trained and served at Naval Submarine Base New London throughout its history. Recognizes the contribution of the industry and workforce of Connecticut in designing, building, and sustaining the Navy's submarine fleet. Encourages the recognition of Connecticut's Submarine Century by Congress, the Navy, and the American people.

A resolution congratulating Army Reserve Major Lisa Jaster on her graduation from the Army Ranger School.

United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015

Honors Major Lisa Jaster for becoming the first Army Reserve woman and first mother to graduate from Ranger School. Commends the groundbreaking achievements of the first three women to graduate from Ranger School, Captain Kristen Griest, First Lieutenant Shaye Haver, and Major Lisa Jaster. Recognizes the Army Reserve's vital role in defending the United States. Celebrates the determination, patriotism, and willingness to lead of all Ranger School graduates.

San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2015

San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act This bill establishes the San Gabriel National Recreation Area in California as a unit of the National Park System, consisting of approximately 51,107 acres of identified federal lands and interests. The Department of the Interior must cooperate with the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop opportunities for the management of the federal lands under DOD jurisdiction that are included within the area. The bill establishes the San Gabriel National Recreation Area Public Advisory Council and the San Gabriel National Recreation Area Partnership. Interior and the San Gabriel National Recreation Area Public Advisory Council shall create a comprehensive management plan for the area. Interior shall develop an integrated visitor services plan for the area and is authorized to construct visitor use facilities. The Department of Agriculture must modify the boundaries of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in California to include approximately 109,143 acres of additional, identified National Forest System lands and administer them as part of the monument.

Global Gateways Trade Capacity Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Global Gateways Trade Capacity Act of 2015 This bill places primary responsibility on the Department of State for coordinating a whole-of-government effort to expand U.S. efforts in trade capacity building. "Trade facilitation" shall mean U.S. bilateral, regional, or multilateral assistance whose primary purpose is to support: implementation by developing countries of the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement, and assistance to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade at national borders in such countries. "Trade capacity building assistance" shall mean U.S. bilateral, regional, or multilateral assistance whose primary purpose is to support technical assistance to developing countries in: implementing international trade agreements; improving governance and transparency with respect to imports, exports, and international investment; establishing and implementing internationally recognized standards; and facilitating trade flows in a recipient country. The President shall establish an interagency coordinating committee to develop a biennial governmentwide joint strategic plan for trade capacity building in developing countries. The State Department shall: establish a trade capacity advisory committee, and establish a pilot project to coordinate a whole-of-government effort to expand U.S. efforts in trade facilitation assistance for developing countries. U.S. embassies in trade facilitation pilot countries shall develop biennially a specific trade facilitation assistance component for their mission plans. The State Department may designate developing countries to participate in the trade facilitation assistance pilot program. The Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to place on the chief of mission to a foreign country responsibility to coordinate and supervise the implementation of all U.S. trade-related and trade capacity assistance among all federal departments and agencies present in that country (except for assistance under the control of a U.S. area military commander). In developing trade capacity embassy mission plans on trade capacity, the trade capacity mission team shall convene local representatives of the U.S. private sector to consult on issues affecting trade capacity at the borders of participating countries. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to exempt from the prohibition against police training in a foreign country any training and technical assistance for customs and transportation authorities and personnel in recipient countries to implement priority trade capacity building assistance.

Sixth Amendment Preservation Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Sixth Amendment Preservation Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to limit the detention authority of the United States. Current law prohibits the indefinite detention of a U.S. citizen by the United States unless it is authorized by an act of Congress. This bill prohibits the indefinite detention of any person by the United States unless it is consistent with the Constitution. Additionally, it specifies that a general authorization to use military force or similar measure, on its own, does not authorize the indefinite detention of a person who is arrested in the United States. Finally, the bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to repeal a provision that affirms the authority of the Armed Forces to detain individuals captured in connection with hostilities pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force pending the end of hostilities.

A resolution designating the week of November 2 through November 6, 2015 as "National Veterans Small Business Week".

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Designates the week of November 2-6, 2015, as National Veterans Small Business Week. Expresses appreciation for the continued service to the United States by the nation's veterans through small business ownership and entrepreneurship.

A resolution designating October 26, 2015, as Day of the Deployed.

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Designates October 26, 2015, as Day of the Deployed. Honors the deployed members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.

THE FUTURE OF DEFENSE REFORM

United States · United States Senate · 21 October 2015

[H.A.S.C. No. 114-57] EXAMINING DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SECURITY COOPERATION: WHEN IT WORKS AND WHEN IT DOESN'T

United States · United States House of Representatives · 21 October 2015

Honor Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2015

Honor Our Fallen Heroes Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to furnish a memorial headstone or marker for an eligible individual whose remains are identified and available but whose gravesite's location is unknown.

Protect America's Credit Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2015

Protect America's Credit Act of 2015 This bill revises the statutory debt limit to: (1) apply the limit only to debt held by the public, and (2) require annual adjustments to the limit to account for increases in the gross domestic product. (Under current law, the debt limit applies to debt held by the public and debt held by government accounts. Debt held by the public consists mainly of securities issued by the Treasury and held by investors. Debt held by the government is debt issued to the federal government's trust funds for programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and military and civil service retirement benefits.)

Export-Import Bank Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2015

Export-Import Bank Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill amends the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 to reduce, for each of FY2015-FY2019, the authorized aggregate amount of loans, guarantees, and insurance the Export-Import Bank may have outstanding at any time. The Bank shall build to and hold in reserve, to protect against future losses, at least 5% of its aggregate amount of disbursed and outstanding loans, guarantees, and insurance. The Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012 (EIBRA) is amended to require the Government Accountability Office's quadrennial review of the adequacy of the design and effectiveness of the Bank's fraud controls to include review of the Bank's compliance with these controls. An Office of Ethics is established within the Bank to recommend administrative actions to establish or enforce standards of official conduct. A Chief Risk Officer of the Bank is established to oversee all issues relating to risk within the Bank. A Risk Management Committee is also established to: oversee periodic stress testing on the entire Bank portfolio and the monitoring of industry, geographic, and obligor exposure levels; and review all required reports on the Bank's default rate. The Bank's Inspector General shall conduct an audit or evaluation of the Bank's portfolio risk management procedures, including its implementation of the duties assigned to the Chief Risk Officer. The Bank may establish a pilot program under which it may enter into contracts and other arrangements to share risks associated with its provision of guarantees, insurance, or credit, or participation in the extension of credit. The Bank shall: (1) increase from 20% to 25% of its lending authority the amount made available to finance direct exports by small business concerns, and (2) include in its annual report to Congress a report on its programs for U.S. businesses with less than $250 million in annual sales. The Bank may use a portion of its surplus through FY2019 to update its information technology systems. The Bank, the Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee, and authority for dual use exports (of nonlethal defense articles or services primarily for civilian use) are reauthorized through FY2019. The principal amounts of medium-term financing by the Bank are limited to $25 million Increased from a minimum of $10 million to a minimum of $25 million are the amounts of: long-term loans or loan guarantees the Bank may insure, working capital export loans and guarantees to small businesses, and long-term support for projects to which certain procedures apply regarding the potential beneficial and adverse environmental effects of goods and services for which direct lending and guarantee support is requested. The Bank may never: deny an application for financing based solely on the industry, sector, or business that the application concerns; or promulgate or implement policies that discriminate against an application based solely on the industry, sector, or business that the application concerns. The EIBRA is amended to require the President instead of the Department of the Treasury to initiate and pursue negotiations to end export credit financing. The President shall propose to Congress a strategy the U.S. government will pursue with other major exporting countries, including Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) members and non-OECD members, to eliminate over a period of 10 years subsidized export-financing programs, tied aid, export credits, and all other forms of government-supported export subsidies. The Bank shall study the extent to which products it offers are available and used by companies that export information and communications technology services and related goods.

Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2015

Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2015 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish FY2016 spending limits of $2.832 trillion for new budget authority and $2.884 trillion for outlays. Spending for Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Benefits and Services, Net Interest, and Military Personnel is exempt from the limits. The chairs of the congressional budget committees may make specified adjustments to the limits for legislation that designates amounts for Overseas Contingency Operations/ Global War on Terrorism. The bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to limit total annual spending for FY2016-FY2025 to a specified percentage of projected annual gross domestic product (GDP), which begins at 19.9% for FY2016 and decreases each year until it reaches 18% for FY2021-FY2025. The bill enforces the spending limits using automatic spending cuts known as sequestration and specifies exemptions. The Department of the Treasury may not exercise additional borrowing authority in subsequent legislation until a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution is submitted to the states that: (1) requires that total outlays not exceed total receipts, (2) contains a spending limitation as a percentage of GDP, and (3) requires tax increases be approved by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress.

Default Prevention Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2015

Default Prevention Act This bill requires the following obligations to be granted priority over all other U.S. obligations if the public debt reaches the statutory limit: principal and interest on debt held by the public; compensations, allowances, and benefits for members of the Armed Forces on active duty; Social Security benefits; and Medicare benefits.

Seniors Deserve A Raise Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2015

Seniors Deserve A Raise Act This bill requires cost-of-living increases in any benefit under title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act as well as military retirement and survivor benefits by any increase in the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly. In addition to any such increase, each such benefit shall be further increased by 2.9% on January 1, 2016, and shall remain in effect every year thereafter.

Final Farewell Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Final Farewell Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to permit the interment or funeral, memorial service, or ceremony of a deceased veteran at a national cemetery during weekends, other than federal holiday weekends, upon the request of the veteran's next-of-kin made for religious or cultural reasons. Any grant to assist a state in establishing a veterans' cemetery shall require that the cemetery permits the interment or funeral, memorial service, or ceremony of a deceased veteran during weekends, other than federal holiday weekends, upon the request of the veteran's next-of-kin made for religious or cultural reasons.

Urging North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries to meet or exceed the two percent gross domestic product commitment to spending on defense.

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Calls on North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries to meet or exceed: (1) the 2% gross domestic product commitment to defense spending, and (2) the 20% commitment to defense expenditures on major equipment spending.

VETS Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act of 2015 or VETS Act of 2015 Allows a health care professional who is authorized to provide health care through the Department of Veterans Affairs and who is licensed, registered, or certified in a state to practice his or her profession at any location in any state, regardless of where the professional or patient is located, if the professional is using telemedicine to provide treatment. Allows such treatment regardless of whether the professional or patient is located in a federally-owned facility.

Proposing a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays of the operating funds of the United States from exceeding total receipts of those funds for a fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths vote of each chamber. The prohibition excludes: outlays for repayment of debt principal, capital investments, and Social Security; and receipts derived from net borrowing or Social Security. The President must submit an annual budget in which total outlays for operating funds do not exceed total receipts for those funds for the fiscal year. Congress may waive the requirements for two years if: (1) a declaration of war is in effect, or (2) the Congressional Budget Office estimates that real economic growth has been or will be less than 1% for two consecutive quarters during the two-year period. Congress may also waive the requirements for any year in which the United States is engaged in military conflict which causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security.

Helping our Rural Veterans Receive Health Care Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Helping our Rural Veterans Receive Health Care Act This bill amends the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 to make permanent and expand the pilot program to provide, through qualifying non-VA health care providers, VA-authorized hospital care or medical, rehabilitative, or preventive health services to veterans in highly rural areas.

Veteran CARE Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Veteran Care Agreements Rule Enhancement Act or Veteran CARE Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), if unable to furnish hospital care, medical services, or extended care at VA facilities or under other authorized contracts or sharing agreements, to enter into a Veterans Care Agreement with an eligible provider to furnish such care and services. The VA shall review agreements exceeding $1 million annually at least once every two years. The VA shall establish a process for the certification of eligible providers. An eligible provider is: a physician or provider of services that has entered into a provider agreement under the Social Security Act; a provider of items and services receiving payments under a state Medicaid plan; an aging and disability resource center, an area agency on aging, or a center for independent living; or any other health care provider the VA considers appropriate. The VA shall establish a system or systems to monitor the quality of care and services furnished to veterans, which shall be used in assessing whether to renew an agreement. An agreement may be made with a health care provider to provide veterans with nursing home care.

Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Equity Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Department of Veterans Affairs Provider Equity Act This bill includes podiatrists within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) definition of physician, and increases their pay grade to match other VA physician compensation.

21st Century Buy American Act

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

21st Century Buy American Act This bill amends the Buy American Act to define the term "substantially all" to mean that articles, materials, or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such articles, materials, or supplies exceeds 60% of the total cost of all such components. The bill prohibits the use of the overseas exception to Buy American requirements unless one of the following criteria is met: (1) the articles, materials, or supplies are needed urgently for national security reasons; or (2) a cost analysis demonstrates that the articles, materials, or supplies to be acquired would be more than 50% more expensive if made in the United States. The bill requires the head of a federal agency, in determining whether to apply the public interest exception to Buy American requirements, to: (1) consider the short-term and long-term effects on employment in the United States, and (2) determine that preserving or increasing employment in the United States is consistent with the public interest. The bill requires each federal agency that applies an exception or grants a waiver to Buy American requirements to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a notification of such exception or waiver and post such notification on the OMB website. The bill: (1) authorizes the Department of Defense to establish and carry out a program to make or guarantee loans to certain business entities, up to $500,000 per entity, under the Defense Production Act; and (2) sets forth eligibility requirements for such entities, including requirements that such an entity is a manufacturer in the United States, is certified as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance, and meets criteria relating to the availability of an item.

Military Enlistment Opportunity Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015

Military Enlistment Opportunity Act of 2015 Amends citizenship and residency qualifications for enlistment in the armed forces to permit enlistment of additional persons who: (1) have resided continuously in a lawful status in the United States for at least two years, or (2) possess an employment authorization document issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under requirements of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy entitled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Requires authorized enlistees who are not citizens or other nationals of the United States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence to be adjusted to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under an exception to specified provisions of Immigration and Nationality Act. (Such enlistees need not establish that they entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972, or comply with other specified requirements.) Directs DHS to rescind such adjusted status if the person is separated from the armed forces under other than honorable conditions before the person served for a period or periods aggregating five years.

Military Enlistment Opportunity Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2015

Military Enlistment Opportunity Act of 2015 Amends citizenship and residency qualifications for enlistment in the U.S. Armed Forces to permit enlistment of additional persons who: (1) have resided continuously in a lawful status in the United States for at least two years, or (2) possess an employment authorization document issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under requirements of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy entitled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Requires authorized enlistees who are not citizens or other nationals of the United States or lawfully admitted for permanent residence to be adjusted to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under an exception to specified provisions of Immigration and Nationality Act. (Such enlistees need not establish that they entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972, or comply with other specified requirements.) Directs DHS to rescind such adjusted status if the person is separated from the armed forces under other than honorable conditions before the person served for a period or periods aggregating five years. Deems any person who has received an award from the U.S. Armed Forces for engagement in active combat or active participation in combat to have satisfied specified naturalization requirements.

Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that, when used appropriately, with respect to federal agency procurement, an auction between a group of offerors who compete against each other by submitting offers for a contract or task or delivery order with the ability to submit revised offers with lower prices throughout the course of the auction (reverse auction) may improve the federal government's procurement of commercially available commodities by increasing competition, reducing prices, and improving opportunities for small businesses. The Small Business Act is amended to prohibit the use of reverse auctions for certain Small Business Administration federal procurement contracts (covered contracts) for: design and construction services; goods purchased to protect federal employees, members of the Armed Forces, or civilians from bodily harm; or goods or services other than these to be awarded based on factors other than price and technical responsibility, or if awarding the contract requires the contracting officer to conduct discussions with the offerors about their offer. This prohibition applies specifically to any covered contract to be made under the procurement programs for women-owned small business concerns and for small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, as well as under the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program. In the case of an award of a non-covered contract, a reverse auction may be used for the award only if specified decisions are made by a contracting officer trained on the appropriate use and supervision of reverse auctions for such contracts. A federal agency may not award such a contract using a reverse auction if: only one offer is received; offerors do not have the ability to submit revised bids with lower prices throughout the course of the auction; or at any time during the procurement process the federal agency misinforms an offeror about the price ranking of the last offer submitted by an offeror.

Small Business Subcontracting Transparency Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Small Business Subcontracting Transparency Act of 2015 This bill amends the Small Business Act to revise requirements with respect to the Small Business Administration (SBA) review and acceptance of subcontracting plans. If a contractor or subcontractor fails to comply in good faith with assurances for the submission of periodic reports and cooperate in any studies or surveys required by the federal agency or the SBA to determine the extent of compliance with the contracting plan, such failure shall be a material breach of the contract or subcontract and may be considered in any past performance evaluation of the contractor. The bill eliminates the limitation that SBA findings submitted to an appropriate federal agency after review of solicitations for procurement contracts be "advisory in nature." A federal agency's procurement center representative (PCR) or commercial market representative (CMR) may delay acceptance of a subcontracting plan for 30 days if the PCR or CMR determines that it fails to provide the maximum practicable opportunity for certain covered small businesses to participate in the performance of the applicable contract. The written notice of such determination to the contracting agency's head of the procuring activity must include recommendations for altering the plan to provide the maximum practicable opportunity. In the case of a Department of Defense PCR or CMR, the acceptance may be delayed for only 15 days. This delayed acceptance authority, however, does not include delay of the award or performance of the contract. A PCR or CMR may not delay acceptance of a subcontracting plan if the head of the contracting agency certifies that the agency's need for the supplies or services is of such an unusual and compelling urgency that the United States would be seriously injured unless the agency is permitted to accept the subcontracting plan. The SBA shall issue regulations providing examples of activities that would be considered a failure to make a good faith effort to comply with the requirements imposed on any entity (other than a small business) awarded a prime contract exceeding a certain amount that contains certain required SBA clauses regarding subcontracting plans.

A resolution welcoming the President of the Republic of Korea on her official visit to the United States and celebrating the United States-Republic of Korea relationship, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Welcomes Her Excellency Park Geun-hye, the President of the Republic of Korea, on her official U.S. visit. Reaffirms the importance of the alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea, as enshrined in the Mutual Defense Treaty of 1953, and welcomes opportunities to strengthen security ties, including on space, cyber, and missile defense. Encourages the U.S. government and the government of the Republic of Korea to enhance cooperation in the security, economic, scientific, health, education, and cultural spheres.

North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2015 Directs the President to investigate information of sanctionable activities involving North Korea and to designate and apply sanctions with respect to any person that knowingly: imported, exported, or reexported to or from North Korea any goods, services, or technology controlled for export by the United States due to their use for weapons of mass destruction and materially contributing to the use, development, production, or acquisition by any persons of a nuclear, radiological, chemical, or biological weapon or any delivery device or system; provided training, advice, or other services or assistance, or engaged in significant financial transactions, relating to the manufacture, maintenance, or use of any such weapon or system to be imported, exported, or reexported to or from North Korea; imported, exported, or reexported luxury goods to or into North Korea; engaged in money laundering, counterfeiting of goods or currency, bulk cash smuggling, or narcotics trafficking that supports the government of North Korea or any of its senior officials; engaged in or was responsible for censorship by North Korea; engaged in or was responsible for serious human rights abuses by North Korea; engaged in significant activities undermining cyber security through the use of computer networks or systems against foreign persons, governments, or other entities; or sold, supplied, or transferred to or from North Korea a precious metal, graphite, or raw or semi-finished metals for integrating industrial processes. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Specifies additional activities for which the President may designate a person for sanctions, foreign exchange prohibitions, and other special measures. Directs the President to exercise all powers granted under IEEPA necessary to block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property of a designated person if that property and those property interests are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a U.S. person. Directs the President to deny or revoke any license for any transaction that lacks sufficient financial controls to ensure that such transaction will not facilitate any prohibited conduct. Subjects to U.S. forfeiture any property involved in an actual or attempted violation of this Act or which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to a violation, of this Act. Exempts the importation of goods from sanctions. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding the designation of North Korea as a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern. Directs the Department of the Treasury to determine whether reasonable grounds exist for concluding that North Korea is a jurisdiction of primary money laundering concern, and if so impose one or more of certain special measures. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should intensify diplomatic efforts to implement a multilateral strategy for protecting the global financial system against risks emanating from North Korea. Directs the Department of State to develop a strategy to improve international implementation and enforcement of United Nations (U.N.) North Korea-specific sanctions. Requires a validated license for exports to North Korea under the Export Administration Act of 1979. Prohibits approval of defense articles for North Korea. Withholds assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to the governments of countries providing lethal military equipment to North Korea. Bars U.S. government contracts with designated persons. Directs the President to identify annually to Congress any foreign ports and airports whose inspections of ships, aircraft, and conveyances originating in North Korea, carrying North Korean property, or operated by the government of North Korea are not sufficient to effectively prevent the facilitation of any of the activities sanctionable under this Act. Authorizes the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to require enhanced inspections of any cargo landed in the United States or entering the stream of interstate commerce that has been transported through any of such ports or airports. Authorizes the seizure or forfeiture of vessels or aircraft used to facilitate sanctionable activities. Authorizes the Department of State to deny a visa, and DHS to deny entry into the United States, to any alien who is a designated person or a corporate officer or principal shareholder with a controlling interest in a designated person. Authorizes the President to waive sanctions for up to one year for national security, law enforcement, or humanitarian reasons. Directs the Department of State to expand the scope and frequency of warnings concerning travel of U.S. citizens to North Korea. Exempts from sanctions under this Act: (1) authorized U.S. intelligence activities; (2) transactions to comply with U.S. obligations under the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations or the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; and (3) certain financial transactions for importing agricultural products, medicine, or medical devices into North Korea. Amends the North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004 to require the President to report to Congress with a plan for making unrestricted and inexpensive electronic mass communications available to the people of North Korea. Requires the Department of State to report to Congress regarding: (1) North Korean prison camps, (2) human rights abuses in North Korea, and (3) a diplomatic strategy to end repatriation of North Korean refugees and forced labor and slavery of North Koreans overseas. Establishes the North Korea Enforcement and Humanitarian Fund in which assets subject to forfeiture or penalties are to be deposited and used to carry out radio broadcasting to, and actions to promote democracy in, North Korea. Prescribes circumstances in which sanctions or measures under this Act may be suspended for up to one year or terminated altogether. Directs the President to report to Congress regarding: (1) North Korea's activities undermining cyber security, and (2) a strategy to counter North Korea's efforts to conduct cyber terrorism against the United States. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should strengthen high-level trilateral mechanisms for policy coordination toward North Korea between the United States, the Republic of Korea, and Japan.

Military Family Stability Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Military Family Stability Act of 2015 This bill allows a member of the Armed Forces undergoing a permanent change of station and the member's spouse to jointly elect that the spouse may relocate to the new location at the time during the covered relocation period as the member and spouse jointly select. The following families are eligible: the spouse is employed, or enrolled in a degree, certificate or license-granting program, at the beginning of the covered relocation period; the member and spouse have one or more children in school; the spouse or children are covered under the Exceptional Family Member Program; the member and spouse are caring for an immediate family member with a chronic or long-term illness; or the member is undergoing a permanent change of station as an individual augmentee or other deployment arrangement. Families with other needs may receive exceptions granted by military commanders on a case-by-case basis. A member undergoing a permanent change of station who has one or more specified dependents and is no longer married to the individual who is or was the parent of such dependents at the beginning of the covered period of relocation may elect that such dependents relocate to the new location as follows: by the member alone if the former spouse is dead or has no custodial rights, or by the member and the former spouse jointly in all other circumstances. Housing provisions are as follows: if a member's spouse relocates first the member shall be assigned to quarters or other U.S. housing facilities as a bachelor until the date of the member's permanent change of station; if a member's spouse and dependents reside in U.S. housing at the beginning of the covered relocation period, the spouse and dependents may continue to reside in such housing throughout the covered period of relocation regardless of the date of the member's permanent change of station; and if a member's spouse and dependents are eligible to reside in U.S. housing following the member's permanent change of station, the spouse and dependents may commence residing in such housing at any time during the covered relocation period regardless of the date of the member's permanent change of station. In the case of a member undergoing a permanent change of station who is paid basic housing allowance at the "with dependents" rate at the beginning of the covered relocation period, the member shall be paid at such rate for months beginning during the covered relocation period regardless of the date on which the member's spouse and dependents relocate or the member is assigned to bachelor's quarters or facilities. The geographic location of the dependents shall govern in determining the portion of basic housing allowance payable to a member with respect to the member's dependents. A member shall be provided with housing reimbursement if quarters are not available for the member's assignment until the date on which the member and the member's spouse reside in the same geographic area after the permanent change of station. Transportation allowances authorized for personal property of a member and spouse may be allocated as the member and spouse select. The Department of Defense shall establish a single application approval process for coverage under this Act which shall apply uniformly among the Armed Forces.

Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Preserving Teacher Loan Forgiveness for Military Spouses Act of 2015 This bill amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify the qualifying service requirement of the teacher loan forgiveness program for certain military spouses. Under current law, an otherwise qualified full-time teacher must complete five consecutive years of service to be eligible for the teacher loan forgiveness program. This bill permits a teacher who completes five full-time years of non-consecutive service to be eligible for loan forgiveness if the teacher was a qualified military spouse during any break in teaching service. A qualified military spouse is an individual who: (1) is a highly-qualified teacher at a high-need school, (2) is the spouse of a servicemember, (3) experienced a break in teaching service to relocate with servicemember spouse pursuant to military orders, and (4) resumed teaching the next academic year. The Department of Education must report to Congress on the number of individuals impacted by this modification.

Veterans Care and Reporting Enforcement Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Veterans Care and Reporting Enforcement Act This bill requires the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), in the case of an investigation involving patient health and safety relating to VA hospital care or medical services, to: provide a copy of the IG's report to Congress and to the Member of Congress in whose district the VA facility is located; within three days make the report available on the IG's website for at least one year; and in the case of an investigation of a medical facility, post a notice of the investigation at an appropriate place and on the facility's website for at least 30 days.

Cuba Agricultural Exports Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Cuba Agricultural Exports Act This bill amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to exempt from prohibitions against U.S. assistance to Cuba any exports under the market access program, the export credit guarantee program, and the foreign market development cooperator program, including any federal commodity promotion program obligations or expenditures of funds. This exemption shall not apply if the U.S. assistance recipient would be an entity controlled by the Cuban government, including the armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior, or any subdivision of either governmental entity. A person subject to U.S. jurisdiction may invest in the development of an agricultural business in Cuba if the Department of State and the Department of Agriculture jointly determine that the agricultural business: is not controlled by the government of Cuba, including the armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior, or any subdivision of either governmental entity; and does not traffic in property of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction which was confiscated by Cuba on or after January 1, 1959. Certain language limiting financing of agricultural sales to Cuba is repealed.

Grow Our Own Directive: Physician Assistant Employment and Education Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2015

Grow Our Own Directive: Physician Assistant Employment and Education Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out the Grow Our Own Directive or G.O.O.D. pilot program to provide educational assistance to certain former members of the Armed Forces for education and training as VA physician assistants. An individual is eligible to participate in the program if the individual: has medical or military health experience gained while serving in the Armed Forces; has received a certificate, associate degree, baccalaureate degree, master's degree, or postbaccalaureate training in a science relating to health care; has participated in the delivery of health care services or related medical services; and does not have a degree of doctor of medicine, doctor of osteopathy, or doctor of dentistry. The VA shall: provide educational assistance to program participants for the costs of obtaining a master's degree in physician assistant studies or a similar master's degree, ensure that mentors are available for program participants at each VA facility at which a participant is employed, and seek to partner with specified government programs and with appropriate educational institutions that offer degrees in physician assistant studies. The VA shall: establish specified standards to improve the education and and hiring of VA physician assistants, and implement a national plan for the retention and recruitment of VA physician assistants that includes the adoption of competitive pay standards. VA physician assistant pay grades are established.

An Act Making Appropriations for National Security and for Other Purposes, 2016

United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2015

An Act Making Appropriations for National Security and for Other Purposes, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations for the Department of Defense, energy and water development, the Department of Homeland Security, military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of State, foreign operations, and related programs. Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to the Department of Defense (DOD) for military activities, including: Military Personnel; Operation and Maintenance; Procurement; Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation; Revolving and Management Funds; Other Department of Defense Programs; Related Agencies; and Overseas Contingency Operations. Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for civil works projects and to the Department of the Interior for the Central Utah Project and the Bureau of Reclamation. Provides appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for Energy Programs, including: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Nuclear Energy, Fossil Energy Research and Development, Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup, and Science. Provides appropriations to DOE for: the Atomic Energy Defense Activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Environmental and Other Defense Activities, and the Power Marketing Administrations. Provides appropriations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other independent agencies. Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security. Provides appropriations for Departmental Management and Operations for the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management, the Office of the Under Secretary for Management, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Analysis and Operations, and the Office of Inspector General. Provides appropriations for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Secret Service. Provides appropriations for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery for the National Protection and Programs Directorate, the Office of Health Affairs, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Provides appropriations for Research, Development, Training, and Services for the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Science and Technology, and the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office. Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to DOD for Military Construction for the Army; Navy and Marine Corps; Air Force; Defense-Wide agencies and activities (other than military departments); the Army and Air National Guard; and the Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves. Provides appropriations to DOD for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Security Investment Program. Provides appropriations to DOD for Construction and Operation and Maintenance of Family Housing for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, Air Force, and Defense-Wide agencies and activities (other than military departments). Provides appropriations for the Department of Defense Base Closure Account. Provides appropriations to the Department of Veterans Affairs for the Veterans Benefits Administration, the Veterans Health Administration, the National Cemetery Administration, and Departmental Administration. Provides appropriations for the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Cemeterial Expenses of the Army, and the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to the Department of State for Administration of Foreign Affairs, International Organizations, International Commissions, Related Agencies and Programs, and Other Commissions. Provides appropriations for the U.S. Agency for International Development. Provides appropriations for Bilateral Economic Assistance, International Security Assistance, Multilateral Assistance, Export and Investment Assistance, and Overseas Contingency Operations. Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.

An Act Making Appropriations to Improve the Nation's Infrastructure and for Other Purposes, 2016

United States · United States Congress · 5 October 2015

An Act Making Appropriations to Improve the Nation's Infrastructure and for Other Purposes, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Energy (DOE), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several independent and related agencies. Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to USDA for Agricultural Programs, including: the Office of the Secretary; the Economic Research Service; the National Agricultural Statistics Service; the Agricultural Research Service; the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the Agricultural Marketing Service; the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; the Food Safety and Inspection Service; the Farm Service Agency; the Risk Management Agency; the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Provides appropriations to USDA for Conservation Programs and Rural Development Programs. Provides appropriations to USDA for the Food and Nutrition Service, including: Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration. Provides appropriations to USDA for the Foreign Agricultural Service, including Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants. Provides appropriations for the Food and Drug Administration and the Farm Credit Administration. Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, including for: Investigations, Construction, Mississippi River and Tributaries, Operation and Maintenance, the Regulatory Program, the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies, Expenses, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. Provides appropriations to the Department of the Interior for the Central Utah Project and to the Bureau of Reclamation. Provides appropriations to DOE for Energy Programs, including Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, Nuclear Energy, Fossil Energy Research and Development, Non-Defense Environmental Cleanup, and Science. Provides appropriations to DOE for: the Atomic Energy Defense Activities of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Environmental and Other Defense Activities, and the Power Marketing Administrations. Provides appropriations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and other independent agencies. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations to the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and several related agencies. Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to DOT for: the Office of the Secretary, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, the Maritime Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Office of Inspector General, and the Surface Transportation Board. Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides appropriations to HUD for: Management and Administration, Program Office Salaries and Expenses, Public and Indian Housing, Community Planning and Development, Housing Programs, the Federal Housing Administration, the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae), Policy Development and Research, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes, the Information Technology Fund, and the Office of Inspector General. Provides appropriations to several related agencies, including the Access Board, the Federal Maritime Commission, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) Office of Inspector General, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, and the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.

Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2015

Reducing Employer Burdens, Unleashing Innovation, and Labor Development Act of 2015 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that increasing the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers will strengthen the national economy. Investing in America's Workforce Act The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 is amended to require state or local workforce investment systems to use youth activities funds allocated to a local area for programs that provide training. The Internal Revenue Code is amended to: (1) extend through 2016 the tax credit for increasing research activities, and (2) increase and make permanent the alternative simplified research tax credit. The Joint Committee on Taxation shall notify Congress of any introduced tax reform bill for: (1) a transition to a more globally competitive corporate tax code, (2) a reduction in the code's complexity, and (3) the elimination of special interest loopholes. The Department of Homeland Security shall establish within the Office of International Trade of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a Trade Remedy Law Enforcement Division (including a National Targeting and Analysis Group) to prevent and counter evasion of antidumping (AD) duty or countervailing duty (CVD) orders with respect to covered merchandise entered into the United States. The Tariff Act of 1930 is amended to permit access to certain proprietary information to a CBP officer or employee investigating possible negligence or gross negligence with respect to covered merchandise entered into the United States. The Department of the Treasury shall negotiate and enter into bilateral agreements with customs authorities of foreign countries to prevent evasion of U.S. and foreign trade remedy laws. This bill prescribes procedures for the administering authority (the Department of Commerce, or any other U.S. officer responsible for such duties) to initiate an AD or CV duty investigation for merchandise imported into the United States upon its own initiation, or the filing of a petition by interested parties or referral by the CBP Commissioner. The weighted average dumping margin or individual CVD rate determined for a new exporter or producer of merchandise in a review by the administering authority as to whether an AD or CVD shall be imposed shall be based solely on the bona fide U.S. sales made by the exporter or producer during the period of review. It is the sense of Congress that the Export Administration Act of 1979 should be reformed and reauthorized. Federal Spectrum Incentive Act of 2015 The National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act is amended to allow federal entities that utilize government station licenses to participate in the incentive auction program under which licensees of electromagnetic spectrum voluntarily relinquish their spectrum rights in order for the spectrum to be auctioned for a repurposed commercial use in exchange for a percentage of the auction proceeds. A Federal Spectrum Incentive Fund is established in the Treasury. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must, before promulgating a final rule that regulates any aspect of the production, supply, distribution, or use of energy (or that provides for regulation by state or local governments) and that is estimated by EPA or OMB to impose aggregate costs of more than $1 billion, to report: (1) an estimate of the rule's total costs and benefits, (2) an estimate of the increases in energy prices that may result, and (3) a detailed description of the employment effects that may result. Electricity Security and Affordability Act The EPA may not issue, implement, or enforce any proposed or final rule under the Clean Air Act that establishes a performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions from any new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit unless the rule meets specified requirements of this Act. The force and effect of specified proposed rules (or similar successor proposed or final rules) are nullified for Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units issued before enactment of this Act. LNG Permitting Certainty and Transparency Act For proposals that must also obtain authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or the U.S. Maritime Administration to site, construct, expand, or operate liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities, the Department of Energy (DOE) shall issue a decision on an application for authorization to export natural gas within 30 days after the later of: (1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct, expand, or operate the LNG facilities required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA); or (2) the enactment of this Act. The Natural Gas Act is amended to set as a condition for approval of any authorization to export LNG that the DOE require the applicant to disclose publicly its specific destination or destinations. Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is amended to require state programs for regulation of surface coal mining to incorporate the necessary rule concerning excess spoil, coal mine waste, and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams published by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement on December 12, 2008. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010 are repealed, effective as of their enactment. The provisions amended or repealed by such Acts are restored or revived. The Public Health Service Act (PHSA), as restored under this Act, is amended to prohibit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage from establishing lifetime limits on the dollar value of benefits for any individual. Each state must mitigate the cost of high risk individuals in the state through: (1) a state reinsurance program, or (2) a state high risk pool. The PHSA is amended to require the laws of the state designated by a health insurance issuer (primary state) to apply to individual health insurance coverage offered by that issuer in the primary state and in any other state (secondary state), but only if the coverage and issuer comply with the conditions of this Act. Conditions are prescribed for lawsuits arising from health care liability claims. The PHSA is amended to deem a hospital or an emergency department and a physician or physician group to be a Public Health Service employee with federal liability protection for purposes of any civil action arising from emergency and post-stabilization services. Nothing in the McCarran-Ferguson Act (which exempts the insurance business generally from federal regulation) shall modify, impair, or supersede the operation of any of the antitrust laws with respect to the business of health insurance. No class action may be heard in a federal or state court on a claim against a person engaged in the business of health insurance for violation of any of the antitrust laws except for actions commenced by: the United States or any state; or a named claimant for an injury only to itself. A health care professional shall not be liable under federal or state law, with certain exceptions, for harm caused by any act or omission if: (1) the professional is serving as a volunteer in response to a disaster; and (2) the act or omission occurs during the period of the disaster, in the professional's capacity as such a volunteer, and in a good faith belief that the individual being treated is in need of health care services. The plaintiff in any civil action or proceeding against a health care professional bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the limitation of liability under the Act does not apply. Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act of 2015 The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) is amended to direct Interior to implement a lease sales program that includes at least 50% of the available unleased acreage within each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning area considered to have the largest undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources. Interior shall develop a five-year oil and gas leasing program with a domestic strategic production goal determined according to a specified formula. Interior shall conduct oil and gas Lease Sale 220 offshore Virginia, subject to a specified condition if the Department of Defense proposes a deferral from a lease offering due to irreconcilable defense-related activities. Interior shall conduct a lease sale within two years after enactment of this Act for certain areas off the coast of South Carolina with the most geologically promising hydrocarbon resources. Interior must: (1) offer for sale leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area, and (2) prepare for all lease sales required under this Act a NEPA multisale environmental impact statement. 37.5% of the amount of new federal leasing revenues shall be allocated to affected coastal states within 200 miles of the leased tract. This bill establishes in Interior: (1) an Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and Minerals; (2) an Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety; (3) an Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management; (4) a Bureau of Ocean Energy; (5) an Ocean Energy Safety Service; and (6) an Office of Natural Resources Revenue. Interior shall establish: (1) a National Offshore Energy Safety Academy, and (2) an OCS Energy Safety Advisory Board. Interior shall also: (1) certify annually that certain of its personnel comply fully with federal employee ethics laws and regulations; and (2) conduct random drug testing of such personnel. The Minerals Management Service is abolished. Interior shall collect non-refundable fees from the operators of facilities subject to inspection. An Ocean Energy Enforcement Fund is established in the Treasury for deposit of such fees. The Bureau of Ocean Energy and the Ocean Energy Safety Service may not implement any limitation on activities under their jurisdictions because of the coastal and marine spatial planning component of the National Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order No. 13547. The OCS is redefined to include all submerged lands lying within the U.S. exclusive economic zone and the Continental Shelf adjacent to any U.S. territory. Interior shall promulgate rules regarding the revenue streams contemplated by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, including the timing and methods of disbursements of certain funds under such Act. For FY2024-FY2055 the maximum amount of qualified OCS revenues distributed to Gulf producing states shall be increased. The South Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf Planning Area is defined. The OCSLA is amended to require the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to enter into partnerships to conduct oil- or gas-related geological and geophysical investigations on the OCS with institutions of higher education nominated by the governors of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act Interior shall encourage the use of U.S. workers and equipment manufactured in the U.S. in all construction related to mineral resource development under this Act. Streamlining Permitting of American Energy Act of 2015 The Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) is amended to direct Interior to revise requirements for the processing of drill permit applications. A permit application shall be deemed approved if Interior has not made a decision by 60 days after its receipt. Interior shall collect specified fees for processing a drill permit application and for documentation to accompany each protest for an application, a lease, or a right of way. Interior shall: establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in every Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office responsible for permitting energy projects on federal land, and provide 50% matching funds for joint projects with states to conduct oil and gas resource assessments on federal lands with significant oil and gas potential. Providing Leasing Certainty for American Energy Act of 201 5 Interior, in conducting lease sales under the MLA, must offer for sale at least 25% of the annual nominated acreage not previously made available for lease. This acreage shall be shielded from protest and eligible for categorical exclusions under NEPA. Interior shall not: withdraw any covered energy project without finding a violation of lease terms by the lessee; delay indefinitely issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic permits, and rights of way for activities under a lease; or cancel or withdraw any lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and a winning bidder has made the last payment for the parcel. The BLM Instruction Memorandum 2010-117 (which establishes a process to ensure orderly, effective, timely, and environmentally responsible leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands) shall have no force or effect. Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act or the PIONEERS Act The final regulations regarding oil shale management published by the BLM on November 18, 2008, as well as a specified resource management plan, are deemed to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements under any law, and Interior shall implement them, including the oil shale leasing program they authorize, without any other administrative action necessary. Interior shall hold a lease sale that offers an additional ten parcels for lease for research, development, and demonstration of oil shale resources, including at least five separate commercial lease sales, in multiple lease blocs, in certain areas of at least 25,000 acres. Planning for American Energy Act of 2015 The MLA is amended to direct Interior to publish every four years a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy. National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act The Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 is amended to require the competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) in Alaska to include at least one lease sale annually in those areas most likely to produce commercial quantities of oil and natural gas each year between 2017-2027. Interior must ensure permits according to a specified time line for all surface development activities, including pipelines and roads construction, to: (1) develop NPR areas subject to oil and gas leases, and (2) transport oil and gas from and through the NPR to existing infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska. Interior must issue: (1) a new proposed integrated activity plan from among the non-adopted alternatives in the NPR Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision dated February 21, 2013. The February 21, 2013, Record of Decision shall have no force or effect. The U.S. Geological Survey shall conduct and complete a resource assessment in cooperation with Alaska and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. BLM Live Internet Auctions Act The MLA is amended to authorize Interior to conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-based live bidding methods. Native American Energy Act The Energy Policy Act of 1992 is amended to allow Interior, an affected Indian tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the Indian tribe to appraise Indian land or trust assets involved in a transaction requiring Interior approval. Tribes may, however, waive such appraisals. The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 is amended to direct Interior to enter into agreements with Indian tribes to carry out demonstration projects involving woody biomass from federal lands to promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities. The Long-Term Leasing Act is amended to authorize the Navajo Nation to enter into mineral resource leases on their restricted lands without Interior's approval. No Interior rule regarding hydraulic fracturing may have any effect on land held in trust or restricted status for Indians, except with the express consent of its specific beneficiaries. Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act Interior may not enforce any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under any land in any state that has regulations, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity. (Hydraulic fracturing is the process by which fracturing fluids, including a fracturing fluid system, are pumped into an underground geologic formation to generate fractures or cracks, thereby increasing rock permeability near the wellbore and improving production of natural gas or oil.) The GAO shall examine the economic benefits of domestic shale oil and gas production resulting from hydraulic fracturing. Interior shall not enforce any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement governing the hydraulic fracturing process, or any of its components, relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on land held either in trust or restricted status for the benefit of Indians except with the express consent of the specific beneficiary. The President shall establish or designate a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Advisory Panel. The National Science Foundation shall establish, within the Directorate for Education and Human Resources, a STEM Education Coordinating Office.

Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 This bill permits a court to reduce the mandatory minimum prison term imposed on certain non-violent defendants convicted of a high-level first-time or low-level repeat drug offense (including unlawful import, export, manufacture, or distribution of, or possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance). It expands safety valve eligibility to permit a court to impose a sentence below the mandatory minimum for certain non-violent, cooperative drug defendants with a limited criminal history. It also reduces the enhanced mandatory minimum prison term for certain defendants who commit a high-level repeat drug offense, use a firearm in a crime of violence or drug offense after a prior conviction for such offense, or unlawfully possess a firearm after three or more prior convictions. It permits retroactive application of such reductions, after a court considers certain factors. The bill makes the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 retroactive to permit resentencing of a convicted crack cocaine offender sentenced before August 3, 2010. The legislation creates new mandatory minimum prison terms for: (1) interstate domestic violence that results in a victim's death, and (2) providing goods and services to terrorists, to any person to develop weapons of mass destruction, or to a country subject to an arms embargo. Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and Eliminating Costs for Taxpayers In Our National System Act of 2015 or the CORRECTIONS Act This bill requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to make available appropriate recidivism reduction programming and productive activities to all eligible prisoners. The Department of Justice must develop the Post-Sentencing Risk and Needs Assessment System.  It requires presentence investigation reports to contain certain information such as substance abuse history, military service, and veteran status. It directs the BOP to issue pepper spray to its officers and employees.  The bill makes permanent the pilot program to release nonviolent elderly offenders from prison facilities to home detention and expands eligibility for such release. Courts must automatically seal and expunge certain records of juvenile nonviolent offenses. It prohibits juvenile solitary confinement, except in limited circumstances.

A resolution commemorating the 25th anniversary of the peaceful and democratic reunification of Germany.

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

Celebrates 25 years of a united Germany. Honors the courage of the people of Germany, the United States, and other countries who served in the Cold War to bring freedom to Central and Eastern Europe. Recognizes the importance of the alliance between the United States and Germany in: (1) common defense, (2) a shared commitment to a free and unified Europe, and (3) an expanding economic prosperity under the rule of law throughout Europe. Expresses to the people of Germany an appreciation for their commitment to the promotion of freedom through leadership in providing international assistance, support for peacekeeping efforts, and acceptance of refugees. Reaffirms the friendship between the government and people of the United States and the government and people of Germany.

Providing for corrections to the enrollment of the bill H.R. 1735.

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to correct the enrollment of H.R. 1735 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016) to change references to section numbers in section 1301 (Specification of Cooperative Threat Reduction Funds) of the bill. Changes references in section 1301(b) to a funding table and authorizations of appropriations that specify funding for the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program that is available for obligation for FY2016-FY2018

21st Century Buy American Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

21st Century Buy American Act This bill amends the Buy American Act to define the term "substantially all" to mean that articles, materials, or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such articles, materials, or supplies exceeds 60% of the total cost of all such components. The bill prohibits the use of the overseas exception to Buy American requirements unless one of the following criteria is met: (1) the articles, materials, or supplies are needed urgently for national security reasons; or (2) a cost analysis demonstrates that the articles, materials, or supplies to be acquired would be more than 50% more expensive if made in the United States. The bill requires the head of a federal agency, in determining whether to apply the public interest exception to Buy American requirements, to: (1) consider the short-term and long-term effects on employment in the United States, and (2) determine that preserving or increasing employment in the United States is consistent with the public interest. The bill requires each federal agency that applies an exception or grants a waiver to Buy American requirements to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a notification of such exception or waiver and post such notification on the OMB website. The bill: (1) authorizes the Department of Defense to establish and carry out a program to make or guarantee loans to certain business entities, up to $500,000 per entity, under the Defense Production Act; and (2) sets forth eligibility requirements for such entities, including requirements that such an entity is a manufacturer in the United States, is certified as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance, and meets criteria relating to the availability of an item.

Veterans Justice Outreach Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

Veterans Justice Outreach Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a program to support veterans in contact with the criminal justice system by discouraging unnecessary criminalization of mental illness and other nonviolent crimes. The program shall be carried out in partnership with local law enforcement, judicial, and community-based treatment and legal assistance organizations. The VA shall establish coordinators to provide program outreach.

Iran Policy Oversight Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

Iran Policy Oversight Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Treasury, and the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress every two years a joint 10-year strategy to counter Iranian activities in the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond. The President is authorized to: take appropriate measures to enhance Israel's qualitative military edge, deter Iranian conventional and nuclear threats, and counter non-peaceful Iranian nuclear activities; provide any additional foreign military financing to Israel in FY2018-FY2028 to address Iranian threats; and accelerate co-development and support Israeli development of missile defense systems, and to engage in discussions to bolster Israel's conventional deterrent and deepen intelligence cooperation. The President shall provide assistance to ensure Israel's qualitative military edge and deter Iranian conventional and nuclear threats. It is the sense of Congress that Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control should be fully funded to ensure strict enforcement of sanctions against Iranian actors in the areas of ballistic or cruise missile proliferation, terrorism, and human rights abuses, and to ensure effective re-imposition of sanctions in the event of Iran's violation or breach of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). U.S. property sanctions shall be continued against Iranian persons/entities engaged in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including missile proliferation, terrorism, or human rights abuses, until the President makes public a notification that justifies lifting sanctions. The President shall report to Congress every 180 days regarding specified uses of funds by Iran received as part of sanctions relief under the JCPOA. If the President determines that Iran has directed or conducted an act of terrorism against the United States or that Iran has substantially increased its operational or financial support for a terrorist organization that threatens U.S. interests or allies, there shall be an expedited procedure for congressional approval of new sanctions against Iran. The Atomic Energy Act of 1954 is amended to require the President to report to Congress every 180 days regarding Iranian research and development and breakout times. The President shall designate within the State Department a special coordinator for implementation of and compliance with the JCPOA regarding the Iran's nuclear program. It is the sense of Congress that: Iran should continue to be prohibited from undertaking any activity related to ballistic or cruise missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons; and the International Atomic Energy Agency must have sufficient funding, manpower, and authority to undertake its verification responsibilities related to the JCPOA or any other related agreement.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the need for reconciliation in Indonesia and disclosure by the United States Government of events surrounding the mass killings during 1965 and 1966.

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2015

Condemns the 1965-1966 mass murder in Indonesia, and expresses concern about the lack of accountability enjoyed by those who carried out such crimes. Urges Indonesian political leaders to consider a truth, justice, and reconciliation commission to address alleged crimes against humanity and other human rights violations. Calls on the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the Central Intelligence Agency, and others involved in developing and implementing policy towards Indonesia during such time period to establish an interagency working group to: locate, recommend for declassification, and make available to the public all classified records and documents concerning such mass killings, including records and documents pertaining to covert operations in Indonesia from January 1, 1964, through March 30, 1966; coordinate with federal agencies and take such actions as necessary to expedite the public release of such records; and submit a related report to Congress.

[H.A.S.C. No. 114-52] IMPLEMENTING THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE CYBER STRATEGY

United States · United States House of Representatives · 30 September 2015

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Sergeant Charles Martland, a decorated member of the Special Forces, should be reinstated in the United States Army.

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015

Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: members of the U.S. Armed Forces should not be punished for standing up to child rapists, putting the interests of Afghan rapists ahead of American war heroes is a national disgrace, the Americans who should be punished are those who created the policy that encourages members of the Armed Forces to ignore child rape, and the Department of Defense should order Sergeant First Class Charles Martland's reinstatement in the Army.

Wounded Warrior Employment Improvement Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015

Wounded Warrior Employment Improvement Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to develop and publish an action plan for improving the training and rehabilitation services and assistance provided by the VA for veterans with service-connected disabilities. Requires such plan to include: a comprehensive analysis of, and recommendations and a proposed implementation plan for remedying, workload management challenges at VA regional offices, including steps to reduce counselor case loads of veterans participating in a rehabilitation program; a comprehensive analysis of the reasons for the disproportionately low percentage of veterans with service-connected disabilities who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, who opt to participate in a VA rehabilitation program relative to the percentage of such veterans who use their entitlement to VA educational assistance; recommendations and a proposed implementation plan for encouraging more veterans with service-connected disabilities who served in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, to participate in VA rehabilitation programs; and a national staff training program for vocational rehabilitation counselors, that includes the provision of training to assist counselors in understanding the very profound disorientation experienced by warriors because of their injury, training to assist counselors in working in partnership with veterans on individual rehabilitation plans, and training on post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions and on moderate to severe traumatic brain injury that is designed to improve the ability of such counselors to assist veterans with such conditions.

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3457) to prohibit the lifting of sanctions on Iran until the Government of Iran pays the judgments against it for acts of terrorism, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 1735) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules.

United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2015

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3457) to prohibit the lifting of sanctions on Iran until the Government of Iran pays the judgments against it for acts of terrorism, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 1735) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules.