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51 records in US in 2015
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Vietnam Helicopter Crew Memorial Act This bill directs the Department of the Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery a memorial honoring helicopter pilots and crew members who served on active duty in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam era.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Border Security and Accountability Act 2015 This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with other specified departments, to submit to Congress and the Government Accountability Office a U.S. border protection strategy. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 is amended to require that international land border control actions accord with that strategy. DHS shall implement: a monitoring and mitigation plan to address the ecological and environmental impacts of security infrastructure along the international land borders of the United States; and a plan to improve coordination among U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other federal, state, local, or tribal authorities to improve efforts to combat human smuggling. CBP shall make available to the public information collected on migrant deaths occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border. Except in a national emergency or when required for specific counterterrorism duties, the Armed Forces may not assist in federal, state, and local and civilian law enforcement of immigration laws. DHS shall establish a Border Communities Liaison Office in every patrol sector at the southern and northern borders. The bill prescribes requirements for enhanced border cooperation with Mexico, including in the areas of: (1) border security, (2) human trafficking and smuggling, (3) drug trafficking, (4) gang membership, and (5) violence and border deaths. DHS shall establish a Southern Border Security Task Force. The bill establishes the Southern Border Security Commission. DHS shall: issue policies regarding the use of force by DHS personnel; establish standards for the conditions of confinement for children in CBP custody; and consider safety and family concerns in any action related to the repatriation or prosecution of individuals apprehended for immigration violations. DHS may not establish any new border crossing fees for individuals crossing at land ports of entry along the southern and northern borders. DHS must certify to Congress every six months, with specified exceptions, that it has only deported or otherwise removed a migrant from the United States through an entry or exit point on the southern border during daylight hours. DHS shall make specified increases to the total number of full-time CBP officers and support staff at U.S. land ports of entry by September 30, 2020. Each component of DHS shall comply with the Department of Justice Guidance for Federal Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding the Use of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, or Gender Identity.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Fiscal Year 2016 Department of Veterans Affairs Seismic Safety and Construction Authorization Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out the following major medical facility projects (each with specified maximum authorized funds): seismic corrections to buildings, including retrofitting and replacement of high-risk buildings, in San Francisco, California; seismic corrections to facilities, including facilities to support homeless veterans, at the medical center in West Los Angeles, California; seismic corrections to the mental health and community living center in Long Beach, California; construction of an outpatient clinic, administrative space, cemetery, and columbarium in Alameda, California; realignment of medical facilities in Livermore, California; construction of a medical center in Louisville, Kentucky; construction of a replacement community living center in Perry Point, Maryland; and seismic corrections and other renovations to several buildings and construction of a specialty care building in American Lake, Washington. A specified amount is authorized to be appropriated to the VA for such projects for FY2016 or the year in which funds are appropriated for the Construction, Major Projects, account. Such projects may only be carried out using specified funds.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans Act of 2015 This bill makes the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Defend America Act of 2015 This bill prohibits, until the President certifies that specified provisions of this Act have been carried out, the refugee admission of any alien (covered alien) who is: applying for admission to the United States as a refugee, and is a national or resident of Iraq or Syria, has no known nationality and whose last habitual residence was in Iraq or in Syria, or has been present in Iraq or in Syria at any time on or after March 1, 2011; not a citizen of Iraq who is or was employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq on or after March 20, 2003, for at least one year, and provided documented, valuable service to the U.S. government; not the spouse or child of such alien; and not an infant child without living parents who is younger than four years of age. In addition to any Department of State or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) screenings, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shall ensure that each covered alien receives a background investigation before U.S refugee admission. A covered alien may: not be admitted as a refugee until the FBI certifies to DHS and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) that he or she has received a background investigation sufficient to determine whether the person is a U.S. security threat, and whether the person has provided support to any foreign terrorist organization; and only be admitted to the United States after DHS, with the unanimous concurrence of the FBI and the DNI, certifies to Congress that the person is not such a threat. The Inspector General of DHS shall conduct annual risk-based reviews of all certifications. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to require the State Department, before a refugee's resettlement in a state, to give the governor specified personal information about the person. The use of social media to promote terrorism shall be a grounds for inadmissibility. Any alien shall be ineligible for visa waiver program participation who: has been present, at any time on or after March 1, 2011, in Iraq or Syria, in a country designated as one that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, or in any other country or area of concern designated by DHS; and regardless of whether the alien is a national of a visa waiver program country, is a national of Iraq or Syria, a country designated as a country that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, or any other country or area of concern. Such prohibitions shall not apply to an alien who was present in such a country to perform military or official government service for a program country. DHS may waive such prohibitions if in U.S. law enforcement or national security interests. DHS shall review annually whether such prohibitions shall apply to any country or area, based on specified considerations. A program country shall: screen travelers to determine if they are using stolen or lost travel documents; report the loss or theft of one of its national's passports to the United States within 24 hours; with certain exceptions, certify to DHS that it is screening each entering or departing non-citizen or non-national for unlawful activity by using Interpol databases and notices, or other means designated by DHS; enter into and comply with an agreement with the United States to assist in the operation of an air marshal program; comply with U.S. aviation and airport security standards; and certify that it issues to its citizens machine-readable, electronic passports that comply with the biometric and document identifying standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. DHS may terminate a country's program status for noncompliance, subject to specified conditions for reinstatement. By April 1, 2016, every citizen or national of a visa waiver program country who is cleared to travel to the United States under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) shall possess a valid, unexpired, tamper-resistant, machine-readable passport that incorporates complying biometric and document authentication identifiers. In determining whether to designate a country as a program country or whether a program country should retain its designation, DHS shall consider specified questions. DHS shall: evaluate program countries to identify those from which the admission of nationals would present a high risk to U.S. national security; research opportunities to incorporate anti-fraud/deception technology into ESTA; and collect from an applicant information on any additional or previous countries of citizenship, and consider such information when making admissions determinations. The bill expresses the sense of Congress concerning establishment of electronic passport standards by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The State Department shall prioritize the issuance of special immigrant visas for certain Iraqi and Afghan translators who worked with the U.S. government or Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Ending Iran's Nuclear Weapon Program Before Sanctions Relief Act of 2015 This bill requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to report to Congress on the military dimensions of of Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. government shall not provide any sanctions relief to Iran until 90 days after: (1) the report's submission; (2) the DNI, the Department of Energy, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense certify jointly to Congress that Iran has ended all military dimensions of its nuclear program; and (3) a joint resolution has been enacted into law approving such sanctions relief.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015
Ukrainian Warfighter Assistance Act This bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 to specify additional security assistance and intelligence support that the Department of Defense (DOD) may provide to the government of Ukraine's military and security forces. It is U.S. policy that DOD, when providing equipment and technical assistance to Ukraine, shall give priority to border protection and monitoring assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015
Catalyst Theory Restoration Act of 2015 This bill defines "prevailing party" for purposes of determining the meaning of provisions in federal laws, federal regulations, or any judicial or administrative rules that provide for recovery of attorney's fees to include a party whose pursuit of a nonfrivolous claim or defense was a catalyst for a voluntary or unilateral change in position by the opposing party that provides any significant part of the relief sought. The bill prohibits this Act from altering special eligibility criteria: (1) established for prevailing defendants, or (2) contained in statutes that expressly limit or qualify who may be considered a prevailing party for purposes of that statute.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015
FEMA Help and Education for Local Partners Act (FEMA HELP Act) This bill directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish and convene a multi-agency federal disaster assistance team to work and coordinate with state, local, tribal, and territorial leaders to develop a comprehensive approach to disaster recovery by using a full range of federal program funding resources through collaboration among FEMA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Highway Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Department of Defense, the Army Corps of Engineers, and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments. FEMA shall: (1) ensure that each coordinating officer is trained in a range of applicable disaster recovery funding programs across the team members, and (2) establish and publish guidelines and criteria for making and communicating decisions regarding funding eligibility and requirements for disaster recovery personnel across the team members.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Liberty Through Strength Act II This bill requires the National Security Agency (NSA) to have access to business records, telephone call records, and other tangible things collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) prior to November 29, 2015, in the same manner and for the same purposes for which the NSA had access to such records prior to such date (thereby allowing the NSA to access such records in the same manner as prior to the effective date of amendments made by the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015). The NSA must maintain such records for five years after they are acquired. The NSA's authority to access such business records under this Act shall be in effect for five years after enactment of this Act. The bill amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to make permanent expiring FISA provisions concerning: (1) roving electronic surveillance orders, (2) a revised definition of "agent of a foreign power" that includes any non-U.S. persons who engage in international terrorism or preparatory activities (commonly referred to as the "lone wolf" provision), and (3) authority for the Department of Justice and the Director of National Intelligence to authorize the targeting of non-U.S. persons located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information. The federal criminal code is amended to: (1) return procedures for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) access to toll and transactional records to how they operated prior to the USA FREEDOM Act in order to allow the FBI (without using a term that specifically identifies a person, entity, telephone, or account) to request the name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records of a person or entity if the FBI certifies to the wire or electronic communication service provider that such information is relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities; and (2) add electronic communications transactional records as information that the FBI may request under such certification procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Constitutional Amendment This joint resolution proposes a constitutional amendment prohibiting total outlays from exceeding total receipts for a fiscal year unless Congress authorizes the excess by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber. The prohibition excludes outlays for repayment of debt principal and receipts derived from borrowing. The President must submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. If the President does not submit a balanced budget for a fiscal year, no executive orders may be issued until the earlier of the submission of a balanced budget or the first day of the fiscal year. A three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber of Congress is required to increase the public debt limit. Congress may waive the requirements for any period during which the United States is engaged in military conflict that causes an imminent and serious military threat to national security.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (which currently is simply authorized) to disclose information about a veteran or dependent to a state controlled substance monitoring program to the extent necessary to prevent misuse and diversion of prescription medicines.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2015
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2029) making appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2016, and for other purposes; providing for proceedings during the period from December 19, 2015, through January 4, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Expresses support for National Aviation Maintenance Technician Day. Recognizes the life and memory of Charles Edward Taylor, who built and maintained the engine used to power the first controlled flying machine of the Wright brothers on December 17, 1903.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Servicemember Higher Education Protection Act This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify provisions related to student loans for members of the military and their spouses. The Department of Education (ED) shall make available a simplified disclosure and enrollment form for student loan borrowers who are performing eligible military service. The bill establishes, within the office of the Student Loan Ombudsman, a military and veteran point of contact. The bill modifies processes for determining disability with respect to discharging a borrower's student loans. A borrower whose loan is discharged under these processes shall not be subject to certain reinstatement provisions. Under current law, borrowers serving on active duty are eligible for certain student loan interest subsidies and deferment. The bill extends such eligibility to borrowers performing other specified military service and their spouses. The bill specifies how lump sum payments made through eligible repayment programs shall be treated for purposes of determining a borrower's eligibility for public service loan forgiveness. Without requiring a request from the borrower, ED must ensure that certain student loan interest does not accrue for an eligible military borrower serving in an area of hostilities. With respect to the National Student Loan Data System, ED must: (1) integrate certain data related to the military and veteran status of borrowers, and (2) include information regarding Public Health Service loans. ED shall use specified information to ensure that an active duty borrower is not charged interest in excess of a maximum rate on certain student loans. The bill limits the allowable interest rate on certain student loan debt incurred during military service for the purpose of consolidating or refinancing student loans incurred before service. The bill establishes a working group to improve resources available from the Department of Defense's tuition assistance programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Recognizes the importance of the negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Commends Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who has demonstrated vision and leadership in seeking a negotiated settlement to end the conflict and lay the foundations for a sustainable peace. Calls on the negotiating parties to address the demands of victims of violence for truth, justice, meaningful reparations, and guarantees that the past violence will not be repeated. Urges President Barack Obama and his Administration to support these negotiations and to develop plans to support the Colombian people in building a just and lasting peace.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Guard and Reserve Equal Access to Health Act This bill directs the military department concerned to provide a physical examination to each requesting member of a reserve component who will not otherwise receive one through that department. The military department concerned shall: (1) provide such examination during the 90-day period before such member's scheduled date of separation, and (2) give the member a record of the examination. A member shall not be entitled to transitional health care benefits through his or her department solely by reason of being given such examination.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2015 This bill amends the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act of 2008 to exempt for an additional four-year period qualifying Armed Forces reserve component and National Guard members (who, after September 11, 2001, are called to active duty or to perform a homeland defense activity for at least 90 days, and remain eligible for an exemption during the 540-day period following such active duty or homeland defense activity service) from the application of the means-test presumption of abuse under chapter 7 (Liquidation) of the Bankruptcy Code.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015 This bill amends the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 to extend through 2017 the one-year period after a service member's military service during which: (1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the service member before such military service; and (2) any sale, foreclosure, or seizure of such property shall be invalid without a court order or waiver agreement signed by the service member. (Currently, the extended one-year period is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015, and return to a nine-month period under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.) Effective January 1, 2018 (currently, January 1, 2016), the old nine-month period in place of the one-year period granted by such Act shall be restored.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 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 elect jointly 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 shall be 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. A member may not make: more than three elections; or any election unless the member's period of obligated service, or the time remaining under the member's enlistment contract, at the time of election is at least 24 months. The bill prescribes related housing and housing allowance requirements. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
COPS Improvements Act of 2015 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to codify the establishment of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services within the Department of Justice (DOJ). It revises and reauthorizes through FY2020 the Community Oriented and Policing Services program. The bill expands the purpose areas of the existing program with respect to community policing and crime prevention grants. Additionally, it establishes three new programs. The bill: (1) directs DOJ to administer a troops-to-cops program to encourage the use of grants to hire and train former members of the Armed Forces as career law enforcement officers, (2) authorizes DOJ to award grants to pay for additional community prosecuting programs, and (3) authorizes DOJ to award grants to develop and use new crime-prevention technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2015
War Powers Amendments of 2015 This joint resolution rewrites the War Powers Resolution. Congressional consultation procedures are included concerning the participation of U.S. Armed Forces in certain military operations of the United Nations. Additional conditions are provided concerning emergency use of the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2015
Tracking Foreign Fighters in Terrorist Safe Havens Act This bill requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit reports to Congress every 180 days for two years regarding foreign fighter flows to and from terrorist safe havens abroad. The reports must include, with respect to each terrorist safe haven, the total number of: (1) foreign fighters who have traveled or are suspected of having traveled to the terrorist safe haven since 2011, including their countries of origin; (2) U.S. citizens present in the terrorist safe haven; and (3) foreign fighters who have left the terrorist safe haven or whose whereabouts are unknown.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Utah Test and Training Range Encroachment Prevention and Temporary Closure Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Air Force to enter into a memorandum of agreement for the continued management by Interior of approximately 625,643 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Utah in a manner that provides for its limited use by the Air Force. Under such Agreement the BLM shall continue to manage the BLM land, subject to use by the Air Force for: the preservation of the Utah Test and Training Range against encroachments incompatible with test and training requirements; the testing of advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic weapons, and the standoff distance for weapons; increased public safety for civilians accessing the BLM land; and other purposes related to meeting national security needs. If military operations, public safety, or national security require the temporary closure of the use of roads, trails, or other portions of the BLM land to the public, the Air Force may take necessary action to carry out such closure. The bill establishes the Utah Test and Training Range Community Resource Group to give input to Interior and the Air Force on matters involving public access to, use of, and management of the BLM land. Interior shall convey to the state of Utah, through the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration in Utah, BLM land in Box Elder, Millard, Juab, Tooele, and Beaver Counties, Utah, in exchange for non-federal land owned by Utah in Box Elder, Juab, and Tooele Counties. Upon conveyance, the non-federal land located: (1) within the Utah Test and Training Range shall be managed according to the memorandum of agreement, and (2) within the Cedar Mountains Wilderness shall be added to and administered as part of such Wilderness. Interior, respecting BLM land, and the Department of Agriculture, respecting Forest Service land, shall convey to Utah and to Box Elder, Juab, and Tooele Counties separate easements for motorized travel rights of way across the federal land for certain highways.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015 This bill amends the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 to extend through 2017 the one-year period after a service member's military service during which: (1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the service member before such military service; and (2) any sale, foreclosure, or seizure of such property shall be invalid without a court order or waiver agreement signed by the service member. (Currently, the extended one-year period is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015, and return to a nine-month period under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.) Effective January 1, 2018 (currently, January 1, 2016), the old nine-month period in place of the one-year period granted by such Act shall be restored.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt Wildlife Trafficking Act This bill directs the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking to: identify countries of concern regarding the supply, poaching, or transit of wildlife and wildlife products; collaborate with the national wildlife service of a country of concern to analyze the threats to wildlife in that country, and to prepare a strategic plan with recommendations for addressing wildlife crime; coordinate efforts to implement strategic plans among federal agencies and non-federal partners; and coordinate with stakeholders qualified to provide assistance regarding anti-poaching activities, law enforcement efforts, and strategies to reduce illicit trade and reduce consumer demand for illegally traded wildlife and wildlife products. The Task Force shall terminate five years after enactment of this Act. The Department of State may provide defense articles, services, and training to security forces of a country of concern to counter wildlife trafficking and poaching. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, with respect to countries of concern, may: provide assistance to carry out strategic plan recommendations, including improving the effectiveness of wildlife law enforcement; design and implement programs to increase the investigational capacity of wildlife law enforcement and customs and border security officers and to combat the transnational trade in illegal wildlife; and take actions to strengthen international cooperation and partnerships to combat the global wildlife crime crisis. The State Department may also provide support in countries of concern to the development and replication of community-owned wildlife conservancies and community-based conservation programs. It is the sense of Congress that the United States should continue to work with foreign countries, including China, Thailand, and Vietnam to combat global wildlife trafficking. The State Department should implement agreements with China and initiate negotiations with Thailand and Vietnam aimed at reducing demand for ivory and rhinoceros horn (Vietnam), and eliminating illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products. It is the sense of Congress that efforts to find funds to carry out this Act should not result in an increase in amounts authorized to be appropriated for a fiscal year to provide additional funds for overseas contingency operations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015
Authority for the Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Act This bill authorizes the President to use the U.S. Armed Forces for three years against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), any closely related successor entity, or associated persons or forces. This bill shall also constitute the sole statutory authority for U.S. military action against ISIL, superseding any prior authorization for the use of military force against ISIL. The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 is repealed.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2015
Fort Ontario Study Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York, which was used as a military installation during the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Interior shall: (1) evaluate the site's national significance, and (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of designating it as a unit of the National Park System.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 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 elect jointly 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 shall be 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. A member may not make: more than three elections; or any election unless the member's period of obligated service, or the time remaining under the member's enlistment contract, at the time of election is at least 24 months. The bill prescribes related housing and housing allowance requirements. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2015
Expresses disfavor regarding Executive Order 13688 (Federal Support for Local Law Enforcement Equipment Acquisition), issued by President Obama on January 16, 2015. (Executive Order 13688 established an interagency working group to recommend improvements to the process through which state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies acquire controlled equipment [e.g., firearms or military-style equipment] from the federal government through excess equipment transfers, asset forfeiture, and grants.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2015
Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 This bill authorizes appropriations for the Coast Guard for FY2016-FY2017 as well as an end-of-year strength for active duty personnel of 43,000 for each of them and specified average military training student loads. The bill amends specified federal law with respect to: the Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and vice admirals; Coast Guard remission of indebtedness; acquisition reform; Coast Guard Auxiliary jurisdiction; Coast Guard communities; Polar icebreakers; air facility closures; discontinuance of an aid to navigation; mission performance measures; communications; Coast Guard graduate maritime operations education; professional development; senior enlisted member continuation boards; Coast Guard member pay; transfer of funds necessary to provide medical care; participation of the Coast Guard Academy in federal, state, or other educational research grants; the National Coast Guard Museum; investigations of misconduct; eligibility of Coast Guard members for combat-related special compensation; and Coast Guard leave policies. The bill also revises shipping and navigation requirements relating to: survival craft, vessel replacement, the model years for recreational vessels, merchant mariner credential expiration harmonization, safety zones for permitted marine events, improvements of marine casualty reporting, recreational vessel engine weights, merchant mariner medical certification reform, an Atlantic Coast port access route study, certificates of documentation for recreational vessels, maritime drug law enforcement, examinations for merchant mariner credentials, the higher volume port area regulatory definition change, recognition of port security assessments conducted by foreign entities, fishing vessel and fish tender vessel certification, the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Oil Pollution Research, and international port and facility inspection coordination. The bill reauthorizes the Federal Maritime Commission for FY2016-FY2017. The bill also makes conveyances of Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station, California, in Tok, Alaska, in the Pribilof Islands, and at Point Spencer, Alaska. The bill prescribes requirements for: modification of certain Coast Guard reports, safe vessel operation in the Great Lakes, the use of vessel sale proceeds, a National Academy of Sciences polar icebreaking icebreaking mission cost assessment, elimination of class actions for seamen's penalty wages, nonrecourse of noncitizen seamen for injury or death claims, coastwise endorsements, the International Ice Patrol, assessment of oil spill response and cleanup activities in the Great Lakes, the status of technology detecting passengers who have fallen overboard, disposition of infrastructure related to E-LORAN, and Coast Guard member and employee parking at the Department of Homeland Security St. Elizabeth Campus in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2015
Glen Anthony Doherty Overseas Security Personnel Fairness Act This bill amends the Defense Base Act to require the death benefits of an individual employed at an overseas military base who dies as a result of a war-risk hazard or act of terrorism occurring on or after September 11, 2001, if there is no surviving spouse, child, or dependent grandchildren, brothers, or sisters of such individual eligible for death benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, to be paid: (1) to a beneficiary designated by the deceased; or (2) if there is no designated beneficiary, to the next of kin or the estate of the deceased. The bill requires the payment of such benefits from the Employees' Compensation Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2015
Designates December 12, 2015, as Wreaths Across America Day. Honors: the Wreaths Across America project; patriotic escort units, including motorcycle units, law enforcement units, and first responder units; the U.S. trucking industry; and the volunteers and donors involved in this tradition. Recognizes the service and sacrifices of veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2015
Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to require that an alien, when applying for program admission, possess a valid unexpired passport that: is machine-readable, tamper-resistant, incorporates document authentication identifiers, and otherwise satisfies the internationally accepted standard for machine readability; and beginning on April 1, 2016, is an electronic passport that is fraud-resistant, contains relevant biographic and biometric information, and satisfies internationally accepted standards for electronic passports. A program country must certify that: it issues passports that satisfy the internationally accepted standard for machine readability, and as of April 1, 2016, passports that satisfy internationally accepted standards for electronic passports; and by October 1, 2016, except for travel between countries within the Schengen Zone (26 European countries that have abolished passport and any other border control at their common borders), it has in place mechanisms to validate such passports at each key port of entry. An alien shall be ineligible for program participation who: has been present, at any time on or after March 1, 2011, in Iraq or Syria, in a country designated as one that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, or in any other country or area of concern designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and regardless of whether the alien is a national of a program country, is not a national of Iraq or Syria, a country designated as a country that has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, or any other country or area of concern. Such prohibitions shall not apply to an alien who was present in such a country to perform military or official government service for a program country. DHS may waive such prohibitions if in U.S. law enforcement or national security interests. DHS shall determine and review annually whether such prohibitions shall apply to any country or area using specified criteria. A program country shall: report the loss or theft of one of its national's passports to the United States within 24 hours; and except in the case of a country without an international airport, and except for travel between countries within the Schengen Zone, certify to DHS that it is screening each entering or departing non-citizen or non-national for unlawful activity by using Interpol databases and notices, or other means designated by DHS. If DHS and the State Department jointly determine that a program country is not sharing information or conducting required screening, DHS shall terminate the country's program status, subject to specified conditions for reinstatement. DHS shall evaluate program countries annually and identify and suspend from program participation any country whose nationals present a high U.S. security risk, taking into consideration specified criteria. DHS shall expand Federal Air Marshal operations. The electronic travel authorization system is renamed the electronic system for travel authorization. It is the sense of Congress that: the International Civil Aviation Organization should establish electronic passport standards and obligate member countries to utilize them as soon as possible, and such passports should be a combined paper and electronic passport that contains biographic and biometric information that can be used to authenticate identity through an embedded chip.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Manufacturing Skills Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Education, Department of Defense and the Director of the National Science Foundation to jointly establish a Manufacturing Skills Partnership to administer and carry out a program to award competitive, three-year grants to enable up to five states and five metropolitan areas to carry out proposals to promote reforms in workforce education and skill training for manufacturing. The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall: acting through the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, conduct an audit of all federal education and skills training programs related to manufacturing to ensure that states and metropolitan areas are able to align federal resources with the labor demands of their primary manufacturing industries; and work with states and metropolitan areas to determine how federal funds can be more tailored to meet their different needs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Defend Our Capital Act of 2015 This bill requires the District of Columbia Chief of Police to issue a five-year license to carry a concealed firearm on or about the person to any qualified individual who completes the application process. The District of Columbia Code is amended to authorize certain individuals to carry firearms in certain places and for certain purposes. The federal criminal code is amended to allow an individual who is not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm, and who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document and a valid license or permit issued pursuant to state law to carry a concealed firearm, or who is otherwise entitled and not prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm in the individual's state of residence, to possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machinegun or destructive device) shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce in any state other than the individual's state of residence (reciprocity) if that other state: has a statute that allows state residents to obtain licenses or permits to carry concealed firearms; or does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms by state residents for lawful purposes. A qualified member of the Armed Forces shall be exempt from the prohibition against knowingly possessing or causing a firearm or other dangerous weapon to be present in a federal facility if that facility is any land or building owned or leased by the Department of Defense. The Uniform Code of Military Justice is amended similarly to declare that the possession of a concealed or open carry firearm by a member of the Armed Forces on a military installation, if lawful under the laws of the state in which the installation is located, shall not be an offense subject to court-martial. The federal criminal code is amended to allow a qualified member of the Armed Forces with required identification to carry a concealed firearm shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce. The D.C. Official Code is amended to declare that nothing in a certain prohibition against killing wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia, or any other provision of law, shall authorize or be construed to permit the District of Columbia Council, the Mayor, or any District governmental or regulatory authority to prohibit or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law from acquiring or using for lawful purposes any firearm neither prohibited by federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. The District shall not have any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms for legitimate purposes. The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (FCRA) is amended to repeal the District's registration requirement for possession of firearms. The current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle shall continue. The bill prohibits dealing, importing, or manufacturing firearms without complying with federal law requirements. In the case of a sale or transfer of a handgun to a District resident, a federally licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer of firearms in Maryland or Virginia shall be treated as a dealer licensed in the District if certain requirements are met. The bill prohibits selling, transferring or otherwise disposing of any firearm or ammunition to any person if the sellers or transferors know that such person is prohibited by federal law from possessing or receiving it. The bill bars any individuals prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm in the District. Specified District policies and requirements regarding the keeping or storing of firearms are repealed. The bill eliminates criminal penalties for possession of unregistered firearms and ammunition. Amends the District of Columbia Code to: (1) allow District property owners to prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms on their property, and (2) prohibit the use of toy and antique firearms to commit a violent or dangerous crime. Authorizes the District to prohibit or restrict the possession of firearms, except to certain lessees, within any building or structure under its control, or in any area of it, which has implemented security measures to identify and exclude unauthorized or hazardous persons or articles. Repeals: (1) FCRA requirements that a gun offender register and verify certain identifiable information with the Chief; and (2) specified District of Columbia Acts, in order to conform with this Act. Restores and revives any provision of law amended or repealed by such Acts as if they had not been enacted into law. The federal criminal code is amended to repeal the federal interstate handgun transfer ban. The ban on possession of firearms and dangerous weapons in federal facilities shall not apply to the lawful storage or possession of one within a publicly accessible, non-sensitive area of real property (without security measures) owned or leased by the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015 This bill amends the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 to extend through 2017 the one-year period after a service member's military service during which: (1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the service member before such military service; and (2) any sale, foreclosure, or seizure of such property shall be invalid without a court order or waiver agreement signed by the service member. (Currently, the extended one-year period is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015, and return to a nine-month period under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.) Effective January 1, 2018 (currently, January 1, 2016), the old nine-month period in place of the one-year period granted by such Act shall be restored.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Private Sector Call Record Retention Act This bill amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to require an electronic communication service provider that has been issued a FISA court order requiring it to produce call detail records (consistent with FISA requirements for the production on an ongoing basis of call detail records created before, on, or after the date of an application by the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism) to notify the Department of Justice if that service provider intends to retain its call detail records for less than 18 months. Such a notification must be made not less than 180 days prior to the date such service provider intends to implement such a policy.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015 This bill amends the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 to extend through 2016 the one-year period after a service member's military service during which: (1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the service member before such military service; and (2) any sale, foreclosure, or seizure of such property shall be invalid without a court order or waiver agreement signed by the service member. (Currently, the extended one-year period is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2015, and return to a nine-month period under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.) Effective January 1, 2017 (currently, January 1, 2016), the old nine-month period in place of the one-year period granted by such Act shall be restored.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and its Associated Forces This joint resolution authorizes the President to use all necessary and appropriate force to defend U.S. national security against the threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), its associated forces, organizations, and persons, and any successor organizations. Congress declares that this joint resolution is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution. Nothing in this joint resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution. The President shall report to Congress at least every 60 days on matters relevant to this joint resolution.
United States · United States Senate · 2 December 2015
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2015
SCRA Rights Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) to allow the use of arbitration to resolve a controversy that arises under a contract with a servicemember (or with a servicemember and spouse jointly) that provides for arbitration, only if all parties to the controversy consent in writing to arbitration after the controversy arises. A servicemember's waiver of any SCRA rights and protections shall be effective only if it is made after a specific dispute has arisen and is identified in the waiver. A representative of members of an aggrieved class, or a member of the class, may bring a private civil action for a violation of any SCRA rights or protections.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2015
Liberty Through Strength Act II This bill requires the National Security Agency (NSA) to have access to business records, telephone call records, and other tangible things collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) prior to November 29, 2015, in the same manner and for the same purposes for which the NSA had access to such records prior to such date (thereby allowing the NSA to access such records in the same manner as prior to the effective date of amendments made by the USA FREEDOM Act of 2015). The NSA must maintain such records for five years after they are acquired. The NSA's authority to access such business records under this Act shall be in effect for five years after enactment of this Act. The bill amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to make permanent expiring FISA provisions concerning: (1) roving electronic surveillance orders, (2) a revised definition of "agent of a foreign power" that includes any non-U.S. persons who engage in international terrorism or preparatory activities (commonly referred to as the "lone wolf" provision), and (3) authority for the Department of Justice and the Director of National Intelligence to authorize the targeting of non-U.S. persons located outside the United States to acquire foreign intelligence information. The federal criminal code is amended to: (1) return procedures for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI's) access to toll and transactional records to how they operated prior to the USA FREEDOM Act in order to allow the FBI (without using a term that specifically identifies a person, entity, telephone, or account) to request the name, address, length of service, and local and long distance toll billing records of a person or entity if the FBI certifies to the wire or electronic communication service provider that such information is relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities; and (2) add electronic communications transactional records as information that the FBI may request under such certification procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2015
Authorizes a Senator, officer, or employee of the Senate to: (1) collect from another such individual, within Senate buildings, nonmonetary donations of clothing, toys, food, and housewares for charitable purposes related to serving persons in need or members of the Armed Forces and the families of those members during the holiday season, if the charitable purposes do not otherwise violate any rule or regulation of the Senate or of federal law; and (2) work with a nonprofit organization with respect to the delivery of such donations.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2015
Regulatory Agency Demilitarization Act This bill prohibits a federal agency from purchasing or using a firearm. The bill excludes the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security, the military departments, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Capitol Police, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, and the Central Intelligence Agency. The Government Accountability Office shall submit to Congress, within 18 months after this Act's enactment, a report that includes: information regarding each federal agency that has specialized units that receive special tactical or military-style training or use hard-plated body armor, shields, or helmets and that respond to high-risk situations that fall outside the capabilities of regular law enforcement officers; a description of each such unit; a description of the training and weapons of each such unit; the criteria for activating each such unit and how often each such unit was activated for each of the previous ten years; the annual cost of equipping and operating each such unit; and any other information that is relevant to understanding the usefulness and justification for the units. The bill amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to repeal provisions authorizing law enforcement powers for an Inspector General, any Assistant Inspector General for Investigations under an Inspector General, and any special agent supervised by such an Assistant Inspector General.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2015
Access to Military Service Records Act of 2015 This bill limits to the cost of mailing the fee that the National Archives and Records Administration may charge a veteran (or, if such individual is deceased, the individual's next of kin or immediate family) who requests his or her military service record.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2015
Department of Veterans Affairs Emergency Medical Staffing Recruitment and Retention Act This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to modify the hours of employment for a full-time VA physician or physician assistant to be more than or less than 80 hours in a biweekly pay period if the total of such employee's hours of employment in a calendar year does not exceed 2,080 hours.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2015
This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to direct a VA employee to repay all or part of the transferee relocation expenses paid to the employee if: (1) the VA determines such repayment is appropriate, and (2) the employee is afforded notice and opportunity for a hearing conducted by another federal department or agency before repayment. A decision regarding employee repayment shall be final and may not be reviewed by any department, agency, or court.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2015
Terrorist Refugee Infiltration Prevention Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the U.S. refugee admission of an alien who is a national of, has habitually resided in, or is claiming refugee status due to events in any country containing terrorist-controlled territory (Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and any other Department of State-designated country). Such an alien may be admitted to the United States as a refugee if the alien: satisfies refugee admission requirements; is a member of a group designated by the State Department or by an Act of Congress as a victim of genocide (and the group does not pose a risk to U.S. security); has undergone the highest level of security screening of any category of traveler to the United States, including full multi-modal biometrics; and the State Department, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) certify that such alien is not a threat to U.S. national security. These requirements shall not apply to the U.S. refugee admission of an alien who: (1) provided substantial assistance to the United States, and (2) would face a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury because of that assistance if not admitted to the United States. The State Department may designate as a country containing terrorist-controlled territory any country containing territory controlled, in substantial part, by a foreign terrorist organization to the exclusion of that country's recognized government. The State Department shall maintain and continually update a list of: (1) the countries containing terrorist-controlled territory, and (2) groups identified as victims of genocide. An alien may not be admitted into the United States under this Act solely based on his or her assertions, and DHS must substantiate any such assertions with the State Department, DOD, the FBI, and the DNI.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2015
Repeal Existing Policies that Encourage and Allow Legal HIV Discrimination Act of 2015 or the REPEAL HIV Discrimination Act of 2015 This bill expresses the sense of Congress that federal and state laws, policies, and regulations regarding people living with HIV/AIDS should: (1) not place unique or additional burdens on such individuals solely as a result of their HIV status; and (2) demonstrate a public health-oriented, evidence-based, medically accurate, and contemporary understanding of HIV transmission, health implications, treatment, and the impact of punitive HIV-specific laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions on public health and on affected people, families, and communities. The bill directs: (1) the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Defense (DOD) to initiate a national review of federal (including military) and state laws, policies, regulations, and judicial precedents and decisions regarding criminal and related civil commitment cases involving people living with HIV/AIDS; and (2) DOJ to transmit to Congress and make publicly available the results of such review with related recommendations. DOJ and HHS must: (1) develop and publicly release guidance and best practice recommendations for states, and (2) establish an integrated monitoring and evaluation system to measure state progress. DOJ, HHS, and DOD must transmit to the President and Congress any proposals necessary to implement adjustments to federal laws, policies, or regulations. The bill prohibits this Act from being construed to discourage the prosecution of individuals who intentionally transmit or attempt to transmit HIV to another individual.