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601 records in US in 2013
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2013
Designates April 23, 2013, as National Adopt A Library Day. Honors organizations that help facilitate donations to schools and libraries. Urges people in the United States who own unused books to donate them to local libraries.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2013
Local School Foods Act of 2013 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a pilot program under which the Secretary will give up to five participating states the option of receiving a grant in an amount equal to the value of the USDA-provided commodities that the participating state would otherwise receive for each of FY2014-FY2018. States that a grant shall be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables for distribution to schools and service institutions that participate in the food service programs under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2013
Earnings Contingent Education Loans Act of 2013 or the ExCEL Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to make students ineligible to receive Direct Loans (DLs) on or after July 1, 2014. Makes certain exceptions for student borrowers who have an outstanding balance on their DLs or Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs), as of that date, and later apply for a Direct Unsubsidized, PLUS, or Consolidation Loan. Establishes an Income Dependent Education Assistance (IDEA) Loan program, effective July 1, 2014, making federal funds available for loans to student borrowers. Sets the interest rate on IDEA Loans at the bond equivalent rate of ten-year Treasury bills, plus 3%. Caps the total amount of interest that can accrue during a borrower's grace and repayment periods at 50% of the total amount of their IDEA Loan. Blocks the accrual of interest on IDEA Loans for active duty military personnel. Allows student borrowers to consolidate FFELs, DLs, and Perkins Loans into IDEA Consolidation Loans that bear interest at an annual rate that equals the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans consolidated. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an IDEA Loan Repayment Program that: (1) repays IDEA loans through wage withholding and quarterly estimated tax payments, and (2) provides the Secretary of Education with the tax return information for each borrower that is necessary to determine the borrower's income-based repayment obligation. Sets the annual repayment obligation for borrowers at an amount equal to 15% of the excess of their taxable income over the sum of: (1) an exemption amount equal to 150% of the federal poverty level for their household; and (2) the lesser of $3,000 or specified income other than wages, salaries, tips and other employee compensation. Sets the income-based repayment obligation of individuals who are not required to file a tax return at zero. Directs the Secretary of Education to provide borrowers, through the Internet, with a tool that has an interface that enables them to manage their IDEA Loans. Allows borrowers to prepay all or part of an IDEA Loan without penalty. Penalizes borrowers who fail to pay their full repayment amount for a taxable year. Amends the Social Security Act to give the Secretary of Education access to the information in the National Directory of New Hires to determine when IDEA borrowers in repayment status are hired and to inform them of their obligation to provide their employer with accurate loan information for wage withholding purposes. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include IDEA loan withholding information on W-2 forms and to require the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose borrowers' tax return information to the Department of Education for IDEA program purposes. Makes specified FFEL and DL loan repayment or forgiveness programs applicable to IDEA Loans. Expresses the sense of Congress that any federal loan repayment or forgiveness program outside of the HEA that is available to students with DLs should be available to students with IDEA Loans.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2013
Securing American Families by Educating and Training Youth (SAFETY) Through Nonviolence Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to state or local governments, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and faith-based entities to prevent or alleviate the effects of community violence by educating, mentoring, and counseling youth regarding the principles and application of nonviolence in conflict resolution. Gives grant priority to applicants that agree to use the funds in communities experiencing an increase in violence, but lacking the resources to address violence prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2013
Designates April 2013 as National 9-1-1 Education Month. (9-1-1 is recognized as the number to call in an emergency to receive immediate help from police, fire, emergency medical services, or other appropriate emergency response entities.) Urges governmental officials, parents, teachers, school administrators, caregivers, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and the people of the United States to observe the month with appropriate ceremonies, training events, and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2013
Designates April 2013 as Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of personal financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2013
Limestone Hills Training Area Withdrawal Act - Withdraws from all forms of appropriation under public land laws, including the mining laws and the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, 18,644 acres of public lands and interests in Broadwater County, Montana, identified on the map titled the "Limestone Hills Training Area Land Withdrawal." Reserves the withdrawn lands for use for: (1) training for regular and reserve components of the Armed Forces; (2) construction and operation of support and maintenance facilities for such components; (3) training by the Montana Department of Military Affairs; (4) training by state and local law enforcement agencies, civil defense organizations, and public education institutions; and (5) other defense-related purposes. Sets forth special rules regarding: (1) mining the Indian Creek Mine and the removal of unexploded ordnance, and (2) grazing permits and leases on withdrawn lands. Directs the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Interior to enter into a specified agreement regarding the removal of unexploded ordnance.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2013
Patient Centered Quality Care for Life Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene a Patient-Centered Health Care and Quality of Life Stakeholder Strategic Summit to: (1) analyze key health system barriers to providing patient-centered health care that integrates symptom management and other aspects of coordinated or palliative care; and (2) identify strategic solutions for collectively addressing quality of life concerns for the rapidly expanding population of patients and survivors facing serious, complex, and chronic illness in the United States and for the families of such patients and survivors. Requires the Secretary to establish a Summit Steering Committee, which shall draft a summary report detailing Summit recommendations for a national strategic action agenda to improve patient-centered care and quality of life. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a national quality of life education and awareness grants program initiative for seriously ill patients, their families, and health professionals who treat them for the purposes of encouraging an increased demand for and delivery of integrated and patient-centered care for managing their pain and symptoms and improving their quality of life. Requires the Director to award competitive grants to develop new and expand existing information, resources, and communication materials about symptom management and other aspects of patient-centered care as an integral part of quality care for serious illnesses. Directs the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish a health care professional workforce training grants program initiative for purposes of promoting and enhancing symptom assessment and management, communications skills, coordinated patient-centered care, and other quality of life focused clinical core competencies across all clinical specialties that serve seriously ill patients and patients with multiple or complex chronic diseases. Requires the Secretary: (1) to update and expand the September 2002 HRSA report, titled "The Supply, Demand and Use of Palliative Care Physicians in the United States"; (2) to establish a Quality of Life Cross-Agency Advisory Committee to assist the CDC and HRSA in conducting the national quality of life education and awareness initiative and the health care professional workforce training initiative and to disseminate initiative findings for cross agency implementation of best practices; and (3) acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop and implement a strategy to be applied across NIH institutes and centers that is in accordance with the Advisory Committee's recommendations to expand national research programs in symptom management, palliative, psychosocial, and survivorship care.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2013
Supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of personal financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2013
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Youth HIV & AIDS Awareness Day. Encourages state and local governments to recognize and support such a day. Promotes effective and comprehensive HIV prevention education programs as a tool to ensure that all people in the United States are educated about HIV. Urges youth-friendly and accessible health care services to better provide for the early identification of HIV through voluntary routine testing and to connect those in need to clinically and culturally appropriate care and treatment as early as possible. Commends the work of AIDS service organizations, community and faith-based organizations, and school-based health centers that are providing youth-friendly, effective, prevention, treatment, care, and support services to young people living with and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Recognizes the importance of interventions that address structural barriers faced by young people to living healthy lives. Prioritizes youth leadership and development in order to ensure youth involvement in decisions that impact their health and well-being and to provide the next generation of HIV/AIDS professionals as a necessary means to achieving an AIDS-free generation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2013
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2014, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2014-FY2023. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2014-FY2023 with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) new budget authority, (3) budget outlays, (4) deficits, (5) public debt, and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority, outlays, and administrative expenses of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds), and specified major functional categories for FY2014-FY2023. Authorizes the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to make certain deficit-reduction reserve funds for legislation for: (1) the sale of unused or vacant federal properties, (2) the sale of excess federal lands, (3) repeal of the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws, (4) reduction of the federal vehicles fleet, and (5) the sale of financial assets purchased through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Authorizes the Chairman to reduce the allocations of committees for any savings achieved by such sales, repeal, and reduction, with the savings used to reduce the deficit. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would cause the discretionary spending limits in this resolution to be exceeded, except by a supermajority waiver. Specifies such discretionary spending limits in the Senate for FY2014-FY2023. Authorizes adjustments to the discretionary spending limits, budgetary aggregates, and allocations for adjustments to support ongoing overseas deployments and other activities. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would require advanced appropriations. Sets forth requirements for the treatment of emergency legislation. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any budget resolution after enactment of this resolution that does not achieve balance within 10 fiscal years, except by a supermajority waiver. Requires Senate committees to: (1) review programs and tax expenditures in their jurisdictions to identify waste, fraud, and abuse or duplication, and to increase the use of performance data to inform committee work; (2) review the matters for congressional consideration identified on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) High Risk list report; and (3) make recommendations to the Senate Budget Committee to improve governmental performance in their annual views and estimates reports. Rescinds any unobligated or unspent adjustments of allocations and aggregates made pursuant to this resolution after 36 months. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the Senate Committees on: (1) Foreign Relations; (2) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (3) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (4) Environment and Public Works; (5) Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; (6) Finance; and (7) Energy and Natural Resources. Declares the policy of Congress on attainment of Social Security solvency, reduction in Medicare unfunded liabilities, and tax reform. Expresses the sense of Congress on: (1) applying regulatory analysis requirements for executive branch agencies to independent agencies, (2) voting on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, (3) the automatic biennial sunsetting of all federal regulations unless repromulgated by Congress, (4) implementing regulatory process reform, and (5) incorporating formal rulemaking procedures for all major regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2013
Improving Cancer Treatment Education Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage to comprehensive cancer patient treatment education services, including a one-hour patient treatment education session delivered, in advance of treatment, by a registered nurse to an individual diagnosed with cancer (or whose course of treatment has been materially modified). Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate research programs to: (1) improve the treatment and management of symptoms and side effects associated with cancer and cancer treatment, and (2) evaluate the role of nursing interventions in the amelioration of such symptoms and side effects.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2013 - Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after enactment of this Act. Prescribes additional periods of required presence in an affected area during atmospheric nuclear testing for individuals filing leukemia or specified disease claims. Increases the amount of compensation an individual filing a claim may receive to $150,000. Expands "affected area" to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as any county in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah. Extends to December 31, 1990, the period during which an individual employed at any time in a uranium mine or uranium mill is made eligible to receive compensation for a disease claim due to radiation exposure. Makes a core driller eligible to receive compensation upon filing of a disease claim. Makes miners, core drillers, and ore transporters who suffer renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury, eligible for compensation due to exposure to radiation while on the job. Requires the Attorney General to accept written affidavits meeting specified requirements regarding employment history, physical presence in an affected area, or participation at a nuclear testing site in determining the eligibility of claimants. Extends until 19 years after enactment of this Act the statute of limitations for the filing of such claims. Increases from 2% to 10% of the payment received by a claimant the maximum amount of attorneys fees that can be charged for the filing of an initial claim. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals, including family members of uranium miners and millers. Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort entitled to compensation with respect to chronic beryllium disease under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program any Department of Energy (DOE) employee or contractor who contracted cancer after beginning employment between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1990, in a uranium mine or mill located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, or any other state the Attorney General includes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Native American Indian Education Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to pay institutions of higher education the out-of-state tuition of their Indian students if the schools are required to provide a tuition-free education, with the support of their state, to Native American Indian students in fulfillment of a condition under which the college or state received its original grant of land and facilities from the federal government. Limits that payment each fiscal year to the institution's total out-of-state tuition for Native American Indian students in academic year 2012-2013. Treats such payments as reimbursements to such institutions from their states. Rescinds unobligated discretionary appropriations to offset the costs of this program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation Act or the LEARN Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award planning grants to states to complete comprehensive planning to carry out activities that improve literacy for children from birth through grade 12. Requires grantees to form or designate a state literacy leadership team, composed of individuals having certain literacy expertise, to guide the development and implementation of the comprehensive, statewide literacy plan. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to implement their comprehensive literacy plans and to award competitive subgrants to: (1) local educational agencies (LEAs) and early childhood education providers that serve high-need children to support certain early literacy initiatives for children from birth through kindergarten entry; and (2) LEAs that serve a high number or proportion of low-income children, children reading or writing below grade level, or schools identified as needing improvement to implement certain literacy initiatives for children in kindergarten through grade 12. Includes among the literacy initiatives: (1) the acquisition and implementation of literacy assessments, (2) efforts targeting students reading and writing below grade level, (3) professional development opportunities for educators, and (4) family literacy services. Requires state grantees to: (1) provide technical assistance to subgrantees, (2) work with the state literacy leadership team and institutions of higher education to include evidence-based literacy methods in preservice courses for students preparing to teach children from birth through grade 12, (3) review and update state licensure or certification standards in literacy instruction, and (4) make information on promising child literacy improvement practices available to the public. Awards the implementation grants to states: (1) if funds appropriated under this Act fall below $500 million, on a competitive basis; and (2) otherwise, on the basis of each state's share of low-income children under age 18. Requires states to use at least: (1) 15% of the grant funds for state and local activities pertaining to children from birth through kindergarten entry, (2) 40% of the grant funds for state and local activities pertaining to children from kindergarten through grade 5, and (3) 40% of the grant funds for state and local activities pertaining to children from grades 6 through 12. Requires states to give subgrant priority to applicants serving a high number or percentage of impoverished children and, for those serving students from kindergarten through grade 12, a high number or percentage of students reading and writing below grade level. Directs the Secretary to arrange for an independent five-year evaluation of this Act's grant and subgrant programs and make the findings and the results of additional research on literacy instruction available to literacy providers. Allows the Secretary to withhold this Act's grants to states, and allows states to withhold this Act's subgrants to LEAs and early childhood education providers, that are not making significant progress in improving student academic achievement in reading and writing from early education through grade 12.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Expresses support for the designation of Saint Louis, Missouri, as the "National Chess Capital" of the United States. Encourages the people of Saint Louis to continue promoting the educational benefits of chess among school-aged children. Encourages all schools and community centers in the United States to engage in chess programs to promote problem-solving, critical thinking, spatial awareness, and goal setting.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Native American Indian Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to pay four-year Native American-serving nontribal institutions of higher education the out-of-state tuition of their Indian students if those schools are required to provide a tuition-free education, with the support of their state, to Indian students in fulfillment of a condition under which the college or state received its original grant of land and facilities from the federal government. Limits that payment each fiscal year to the institution's total out-of-state tuition for Indian students in academic year 2012-2013. Treats such payments as reimbursements to such institutions from their states. Rescinds unobligated discretionary appropriations to offset the costs of this program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Student Non-Discrimination Act of 2013 - Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination. Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct they reasonably believe to be unlawful under this Act. Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them. Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees should they prevail. Deems a state's receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding such program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2013 - Amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after enactment of this Act. Prescribes additional periods of required presence in an affected area during atmospheric nuclear testing for individuals filing leukemia or specified disease claims. Increases the amount of compensation an individual filing a claim may receive to $150,000. Expands "affected area" to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico, as well as any county in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah. Extends to December 31, 1990, the period during which an individual employed at any time in a uranium mine or uranium mill is made eligible to receive compensation for a disease claim due to radiation exposure. Makes a core driller eligible to receive compensation upon filing of a disease claim. Makes miners, core drillers, and ore transporters who suffer renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury, eligible for compensation due to exposure to radiation while on the job. Requires the Attorney General to accept written affidavits meeting specified requirements regarding employment history, physical presence in an affected area, or participation at a nuclear testing site in determining the eligibility of claimants. Extends until 19 years after enactment of this Act the statute of limitations for the filing of such claims. Increases from 2% to 10% of the payment received by a claimant the maximum amount of attorneys fees that can be charged for the filing of an initial claim. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to establish a program of grants to institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals, including family members of uranium miners and millers. Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 to include as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort entitled to compensation with respect to chronic beryllium disease under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program any Department of Energy (DOE) employee or contractor who contracted cancer after beginning employment between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1990, in a uranium mine or mill located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, or any other state the Attorney General includes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act - Requires the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date. Allocates grant funds among states on the basis of the relative portion of school improvement funds provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Reserves 2% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools. Reserves 5% of the grant funds for LEAs serving geographic areas: (1) with significant economic distress, (2) recovering from a natural disaster, or (3) containing a military installation selected for closure. Requires states to reallocate such grant funds to LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of school improvement funds received by LEAs in the state for the previous fiscal year. Allows LEAs to give priority to projects involving the abatement, removal, or interim control of asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, mold, mildew, lead-based hazards, or a proven carcinogen. Requires the iron and steel used in projects funded under this Act to have been produced in the United States, subject to specified exceptions. Directs LEA grantees to use their grants for public school modernization, renovation, repairs, construction, or maintenance that meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System standards, Energy Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over such LEAs. Requires the Secretary to work with grant recipients to promote appropriate opportunities for individuals enrolled in YouthBuild, Job Corps, junior or community college, or preapprenticeship programs to gain employment experience on projects funded under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) grants to institutions of higher education to provide an additional 250,000 part-time work-study jobs; (2) creation of an additional 100,000 Public Lands Corps positions; (3) the retention, rehiring, and hiring of 300,000 education jobs; (4) grants to state, local, and Indian tribal governments to hire and rehire overall an additional 40,000 career law enforcement officers; and (5) the hiring and rehiring of an additional 12,000 firefighters. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible health care and long-term care (LTC) providers to hire and retain 40,000 health care and LTC professionals. Authorizes appropriations for state and local government units to establish a Community Corps to create an additional 750,000 jobs for unemployed individuals to carry out specified activities. Amends the Head Start Act to authorize appropriations to employ an additional 100,000 full-time infant and toddler Head Start specialists.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Cyber Warrior Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to establish in each state and the District of Columbia a separate team of National Guard members to be known as the Cyber and Computer Network Incident Response Team to perform analysis and protection in support of programs to prepare for and respond to emergencies involving an attack or natural disaster impacting a computer, electronic, or cyber network. Authorizes National Guard members to assist the combatant commands in developing and expanding their capacity to prepare for and respond to such events. Prohibits members from performing such duties unless the Secretary certifies to Congress that the members possess the requisite skills, training, and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements. Requires the homeland defense activities for which the Secretary is authorized to provide funds to a governor for National Guard units to include: (1) the National Guard's provision of cyber emergency education and training for state and local law enforcement and governmental personnel; and (2) upon a governor's order, the National Guard's performance of activities undertaken by state and local governments to prepare for and respond to such emergencies. Sets forth requirements for the Secretaries of the Army and the Air Force to provide appropriate cyber training to members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Accessing Military Education Benefits Act - Provides that when a member of the Armed Forces is assigned to duty in an area for which hostile fire, imminent danger, or hazardous duty pay is authorized, the Secretary of Defense (DOD) shall ensure that, if such member has any direct student loans, the member shall automatically obtain the benefits of the Higher Education Act of 1965 which prohibit the accrual of student loan interest for active-duty military personnel. Requires the Secretary to submit to the congressional defense committees a plan for the implementation of such requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Rebuilding America's Schools Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to tax-exempt bond funding for educational facilities, to: (1) reinstate the national qualified school construction bond limitation amount for calendar years after 2013, (2) make permanent the qualified zone academy bond (QZAB) limitation amount, (3) permit private entities to waive the 10% matching requirement for QZABs, and (4) permit QZAB proceeds to be used for constructing a public school facility in which such an academy is established.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Supports the designation of Saint Louis, Missouri, as the "National Chess Capital." Honors the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis as the thought-leader in chess education in the United States. Encourages the "National Chess Capital" to continue promoting the educational benefits of chess among schoolchildren.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2013
Supports the goals and ideals of the National Day of Silence (during which students vow to remain silent to bring attention to the harassment and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in schools). Encourages each state, city, and local educational agency to adopt laws and policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment, and discrimination against students, teachers, and other school staff regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity or gender expression.
United States · United States Senate · 17 April 2013
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Helping Schools Protect Our Children Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include the training of school personnel to recognize child sexual abuse among the uses of grants to states and subgrants to local educational agencies and partnerships under part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or consortiums of such institutions for: (1) initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs; and (2) increasing fire safety awareness among enrolled students. Directs the Secretary to give priority to institutions that plan to use funds to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education programs that include educational material specifically prepared for students with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. Sets forth provisions regarding grant periods, limits on awards, and matching and other requirements. Requires an institution to use grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve a fire safety education program that: (1) reaches all enrolled students; (2) ensures maximum exposure to and increased awareness of, and that effectuates change in behavior regarding, fire safety by students through conducting outreach to students a minimum of twice per academic year and through measures that provide fire safety information to any student upon request; (3) includes minimum instruction regarding fire behavior, fire injury and death, ignition scenarios, fire safety systems and equipment, the importance of means of egress, fire prevention techniques, and actions to be taken if a fire occurs to minimize the potential for death, injury, and property damage; and (4) includes a mechanism for carrying out evaluations of program effectiveness. Requires the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Commends the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for its work serving youth and strengthening thousands of communities. Recognizes the importance of high-impact mentoring of young people in ensuring positive outcomes for young people of all backgrounds. Supports youth mentoring as a strategy to prepare young people for education, careers, and citizenship. Encourages the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to continue and expand programs that expose young people to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Commits to strengthening the partnership between the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and various federal agencies and departments in order to serve an even greater number of young people.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Campus Fire Safety Education Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a program to award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or consortiums of such institutions for: (1) initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs; and (2) increasing fire safety awareness among enrolled students. Directs the Secretary to give priority to institutions that plan to use funds to initiate, expand, or improve fire safety education programs that include educational material specifically prepared for students with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities. Sets forth provisions regarding grant periods, limits on awards, and matching and other requirements. Requires an institution to use grant funds to initiate, expand, or improve a fire safety education program that: (1) reaches all enrolled students; (2) ensures maximum exposure to and increased awareness of, and that effectuates change in behavior regarding, fire safety by students through conducting outreach to students a minimum of twice per academic year and through measures that provide fire safety information to any student upon request; (3) includes minimum instruction regarding fire behavior, fire injury and death, ignition scenarios, fire safety systems and equipment, the importance of means of egress, fire prevention techniques, and actions to be taken if a fire occurs to minimize the potential for death, injury, and property damage; and (4) includes a mechanism for carrying out evaluations of program effectiveness. Requires the Secretary to publish a report of best practices for initiating, expanding, or improving fire safety education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Student Loan Relief Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Thanks and promotes the teaching profession by encouraging students, parents, school administrators, and public officials to participate in National Teacher Appreciation Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act - States that passage of this Act recognizes that the primary tenets of its success depend on securing U.S. sovereignty and establishing a coherent and just system for integrating those who seek to join American society. Establishes a Southern Border Security Commission if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not achieved effective control in all high-risk border sectors within five years after enactment of this Act. States that the Commission's primary responsibility shall be to make border security policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary), and Congress. Directs the Secretary to implement: (1) a Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy for achieving control between the ports of entry in all high-risk sectors along the Southern border, and (2) a Southern Border Fencing Strategy to identify where fencing and technology should be deployed along the Southern border. Establishes in the Treasury the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund. Prohibits the Secretary from processing applications for registered provisional immigrant status (RPI), as established by this Act, until the Secretary has submitted to Congress the notice of commencement of implementation of the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and the Southern Border Fencing Strategy. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting RPI aliens to lawful permanent resident status, with certain exceptions, until the Secretary certifies to the President and Congress that: (1) the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy is substantially operational, (2) the Southern Border Fencing Strategy is substantially completed, (3) a mandatory employment verification system to be used by all employers to prevent unauthorized workers from obtaining U.S. employment has been implemented, and (4) an electronic exit system at air and sea ports of entry that operates by collecting machine-readable visa or passport information from air and vessel carriers is in use. Title I: Border Security - Directs the Secretary to increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers by 3,500 by September 30, 2017. Authorizes the governor of a state, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense (DOD), to order National Guard units or personnel to perform operations in the Southwest border region to assist CBP in securing the southern border. Directs DOD to provide material and logistical assistance as needed. Directs the Secretary to: (1) increase the number of border crossing prosecutions in the Tucson sector of the Southwest border region, (2) enhance border infrastructure, and (3) establish a two-year grant program to improve emergency communications in the Southwest border region. Directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enhance law enforcement and operational readiness along the U.S. borders through Operation Stonegarden. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior to provide CBP personnel with immediate access to federal lands in the Southwest border region in Arizona for security activities. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) to reimburse state, county, tribal, and municipal governments for costs associated with the prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases declined by local offices of the United States Attorneys. Requires CBP to deploy additional mobile, video, and agent-portable surveillance systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Southwest border region. Authorizes appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) through FY2015. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue policies regarding the use of force by DHS personnel; and (2) provide appropriate training for CBP officers, U.S. Border Patrol officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and agriculture specialists stationed within 100 miles of any U.S. land or marine border, or at any U.S. port of entry. Establishes the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Task Force. Title II: Immigrant Visas - Subtitle A: Registration and Adjustment of Registered Provisional Immigrants - Authorizes the Secretary, after conducting the required national security and law enforcement clearances, to grant RPI status to an alien unlawfully in the United States who: (1) meets specified eligibility requirements, (2) applies before the end of the application period, (3) has paid the required fee and penalty if applicable, and (4) has been physically present in the United States since December 31, 2011, and maintains such presence until RPI status has been granted. Sets forth bars to eligibility based upon criminal convictions, terrorist activity, and grounds for excludability. Provides derivative RPI status to the spouse or child of an RPI alien if the spouse or child is physically present in the United States: (1) on the date on which the RPI alien is granted such status and on or before December 30, 2012, and (2) meets specified eligibility requirements. Requires an alien applicant to satisfy federal tax liabilities and security and law enforcement clearances. Grants RPI status for an initial six-year period, which may be extended under specified conditions. Permits an RPI alien to work and travel outside the United States under specified conditions. Enumerates the grounds under which the Secretary may revoke RPI status. Prohibits an RPI alien from being removed unless such person was ineligible for RPI status or RPI status has been revoked. Makes an RPI alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit, and considers such person to be a noncitizen for certain other federal benefits. Authorizes an RPI alien to be issued a Social Security number. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if such person meets specified eligibility requirements, including: (1) evidence of employment or full-time education, and (2) English language skills. Prohibits an RPI alien from applying for legal permanent resident status until the Secretary of State certifies that immigrant visas have become available for all approved petitions filed before the date of enactment of this Act. States that an RPI alien may only adjust status under the merit-based system provided for by this Act. States that a lawful permanent resident who was lawfully present in the United States and eligible for work authorization for not less than 10 years before becoming a lawful permanent resident may be naturalized in three years upon compliance with all requirements if such person, immediately preceding the date of filing a naturalization application, has: (1) been physically present in the United States for at least 50% of the three-year period preceding such filing date, and (2) resided for at least three months in the state or the jurisdiction of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in which the application was filed. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2013 or DREAM Act 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of a lawful permanent resident if the person demonstrates that he or she: (1) has been in RPI status for at least five years; (2) was younger than 16 years of age when such person entered the United States; (3) has earned a high school diploma or obtained a general education development certificate in the United States; (4) has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has completed at least two years in a program for a bachelor's or higher degree in the United States, or has served in the Uniformed Services for at least four years and, if discharged, received an honorable discharge; and (5) has provided a list of each secondary school attended in the United States. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting the status of an RPI alien to lawful permanent resident status unless the person: (1) satisfies citizenship requirements, (2) submits appropriate biometric and biographic data, and (3) undergoes security and law enforcement background checks. Considers for naturalization purposes an RPI alien granted lawful permanent resident status to have been: (1) lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and (2) in the United States as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence during the period the alien was in RPI status. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence. Sets forth RPI program provisions regarding: (1) prohibited and required disclosures, (2) employer protections, (3) audits and information evaluation, (4) administrative review, (5) privacy and civil liberties, and (6) judicial review. Establishes a criminal penalty of up to $10,000 for a person who knowingly uses, publishes, or permits the improper use of RPI application information. Authorizes the Secretary to establish within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services a program to award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist RPI applicants. Establishes a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-only lawful permanent resident status for certain long-term Commonwealth legal residents. Authorizes such aliens to receive an immigrant visa or to adjust to lawful permanent (U.S.) resident status beginning five years after the date of enactment of this Act. Subtitle B: Agricultural Worker Program - Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary to confer "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed specified periods of agricultural employment in the United States or is a qualifying alien's spouse or child, (2) applied for such status during the one-year application period (with a discretionary 18-month extension period), and (3) is not ineligible under the grounds applicable to RPI aliens. Prohibits the Secretary from granting blue card status to an alien (or dependent spouse or child) unless such person submits eligibility-related security and law enforcement biometric and biographic data. States that blue card status expires eight years after the date on which final blue card regulations are published. Permits a blue card alien to work and travel outside the United States under specified conditions. Enumerates the grounds under which the Secretary may revoke blue card status. Makes a blue card alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an alien who has been granted blue card status to RPI status if the alien is unable to fulfill the agricultural service requirement. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to create: (1) a W-3 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a written contract that specifies the wages, benefits, and working conditions of such full-time employment with a designated agricultural employer for a specified period of time; and (2) a W-4 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a full-time employment offer from a designated agricultural employer for such employment. Establishes the nonimmigrant agricultural (W-3 and W-4 visa) worker program. Sets forth employer and worker program provisions and requirements, including penalties for program violations and U.S. worker protections. Establishes a limit for the first five years of the program which may be adjusted annually based upon specified demand and economic factors. Bases subsequent year limitations upon specified demand and economic factors. Provides for a three-year period of admission, with one additional three-year extension without having to leave the United States. Provides for worker portability. Prohibits derivative status for the spouses and children of program aliens. Excludes W-3 and W-4 workers from need-based federal financial assistance programs. Establishes a cut-off date for petitioning for H-2A temporary agricultural workers that is one year after the effective date of the regulations implementing the agricultural worker program under this Act. Subtitle C: Future Immigration - Establishes a merit-based and points immigrant admissions system. Provides for: (1) 120,000 admissions per fiscal year, annual increases based upon specified conditions, and a maximum admissions cap of 250,000; (2) recapture of unused visas; and (3) lawful permanent resident status for such entrants. Provides that: (1) for the first four fiscal years the worldwide level of merit-based immigrant visas shall be available for skilled workers, professionals, and certain other workers; and (2) for subsequent fiscal years preference will be given to tier 1 and tier 2 aliens based upon a point allocation system. Awards tier 1 and tier 2 points to applicants for specified criteria, including: (1) education, (2) employment, (3) entrepreneurship, (4) high demand occupation, (5) English language, (6) age, (7) country of origin, and (8) family relationships. Provides that: (1) RPI aliens may begin accruing points no earlier than 10 years after enactment of this Act, and (2) aliens with a pending or approved petition in another immigrant category are ineligible for a merit-based immigrant visa. Makes specified employment- and family-based applicants and long-term workers eligible for merit-based immigrant visas beginning on October 1, 2014. Sets forth worldwide levels of employment- and family-based immigrants. Includes the spouse or minor child of a lawful permanent resident alien in the definition of "immediate family." Eliminates the per-country limit for employment-based immigrants and increases the per-country limit for family-based immigrants. Revises family-based immigrant visa allocations for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, (2) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (and requires that they be under 31 years old at time of filing, and (3) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. lawful permanent residents. Eliminates the visa category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Includes among immigrants not subject to numerical limitations aliens: (1) who are derivative beneficiaries of employment-based immigrants; (2) with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; (3) who are outstanding professors and researchers; (4) who are multinational executives and managers; (5) who have earned a doctorate degree; (6) who are physicians with completed foreign residency requirements; and (7) who have earned a graduate degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM field) from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education with an offer of U.S. employment. Increases visa allocations for: (1) certain special immigrants, (2) employment creation immigrants, and (3) skilled workers and professionals. Repeals the diversity immigrant program as of October 1, 2014. Permits aliens selected for FY2013 or FY2014 to retain program eligibility. Revises nonimmigrant V-visa (spouses and children of lawful permanent residents coming to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) provisions. Makes fiances of lawful permanent residents eligible for a nonimmigrant K-visa (fiance or fiancee). Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of INA to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Permits children under 18 years old to be adopted. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status, (2) parole eligibility, (3) naturalization, (4) processing of immigrant visas and derivative petitions, (5) waivers of inadmissibility, (6) surviving relative consideration for certain petitions and applications, and (7) immediate relative status. Authorizes an immigration judge, under specified conditions, to: (1) decline to order an alien removed, deported, or excluded; and (2) terminate such proceedings. Revises waiver of inadmissibility provisions, including: (1) waiving inadmissibility for certain persons who entered the United States before they were 16 years old who have earned a degree from a U.S. institution of higher education; (2) adding a three-year limit on immigration-related misrepresentations; and (3) waiving inadmissibility for false claims of U.S. citizenship by persons under 18 years old, or otherwise lacking mental competence. Extends the Iraqi special immigrant visa program and the Afghan special immigrant visa program. Requires application processing improvements. Makes the special immigrant non-minister religious worker and the EB-5 regional center programs permanent. Subtitle D: Conrad State 30 and Physician Access - Makes the J-1 visa waiver (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas) program permanent. Excludes from numerical immigration limitations alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before the date of enactment of this Act and their spouse and children). Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas. Increases the number of alien physicians that a state may be allocated to 35 per fiscal year under specified circumstances. Provides for additional increases or decreases based upon demand. Provides up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers. Permits dual intent for an alien coming to the United States to receive graduate medical education or training, or to take examinations required for graduate medical education or training. Subtitle E: Integration - Renames the Office of Citizenship of DHS as the Office of Citizenship and New Americans. Authorizes the Office to make grants to states and local governments to assist them in integrating immigrants. Authorizes the Secretary, through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to: (1) establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to expand citizenship preparation programs; and (2) award initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for immigration integration programs. Waives, with respect to naturalization: (1) English language and civics requirements for persons over 65 years old who have lived in the United States for at least 5 years as lawful permanent residents, and (2) the English language requirement for persons over 60 years old who have lived in the United States for at least 10 years as lawful permanent residents. Title III: Interior Enforcement - Subtitle A: Employment Verification System - Prohibits an employer from: (1) hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee an alien who is not authorized to work in the United States or failing to comply with E-Verify or document requirements; or (2) continuing to employ an unauthorized alien. Authorizes an employer to rely on a state employment agency's referral of an employee if the agency has certified that it has complied with document requirements. Provides a good faith defense for an employer who has complied with document and E-Verify requirements. Requires an employer to: (1) examine specified documents to verify an individual's identity and employment status and use an identity authentication mechanism once it becomes available, and (2) retain verification records for the later of three years after hiring or one year after termination. Requires an employee to provide an employer with such documents and attest that he or she is authorized to work in the United States. Sets forth employer penalties and civil rights protections. States that these provisions shall not be construed to authorize the establishment of a national identification card. Requires: (1) federal agencies and departments to participate in E-Verify 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, (2) federal contractors to participate as provided for by a final rule, (3) employers with more than 5,000 employees to participate within two years after implementing regulations are published, (4) employers with more than 500 employees to participate within three years after implementing regulations are published, (5) agricultural laborers to participate four years after enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, (6) tribal employers to participate within five years after implementing regulations are published, and (7) all other employers to participate within four years after implementing regulations are published. Provides that one year after implementing regulations are published the Secretary may authorize or direct critical infrastructure employers to participate in E-Verify. States that failure to participate in E-Verify shall constitute a civil violation. Sets forth E-Verify program provisions. Requires that within five years all Social Security cards issued shall be fraud-, tamper-, wear-, and identity theft-resistant. Makes specified forms of Social Security fraud punishable by fine, up to five years' imprisonment, or both. Amends the Social Security Act to direct the Commissioner of Social Security (SSA) establish a secure method to check specified employee data against SSA data in order to confirm identity and employment eligibility. Makes it an unfair immigration-related employment practice for a person, entity, or employment agency to discriminate based upon an individual's national origin or citizenship status with respect to hiring, firing, or verifying employment eligibility. Subtitle B: Protecting United States Workers - Expands the U-visa (crime victims) category to include aliens who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse or harm, or who would suffer extreme hardship upon removal, as a result of having been a victim of the following covered violations: (1) certain workplace abuses, (2) slavery or trafficking in persons, or (3) deprivation of due process or constitutional rights. Provides specified protections for aliens arrested or detained as part of a workplace enforcement action at a facility about which a workplace claim has been filed, including non-removal until interviewed by DHS. Authorizes a U-visa applicant to work in the United States. Limits the disclosure of information provided by alien victims of certain crimes. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Establishes in the Treasury the Interior Enforcement Account. Directs the Secretary, by December 31, 2015, to establish a mandatory exit data system that shall include the collection of data from machine-readable visas, passports, and other travel and entry documents for all aliens who are exiting the United States from air and sea ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to implement an interoperable electronic data system to access database information from federal law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community for purposes of visa issuance or admissibility or deportability. Requires an appropriate official of each commercial aircraft or vessel departing from the United States to any port or place outside the United States to ensure transmission to CBP of identity-theft resistant departure manifest information covering alien passengers, crew, and non-crew. Prohibits federal law enforcement officers, in making routine law enforcement decisions (such as ordinary traffic stops), from using race or ethnicity to any degree, except that officers may rely on race and ethnicity if a specific suspect description exists. Subtitle D: Asylum and Refugee Provisions - Eliminates the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. Permits, and sets forth the requirements for, reopening a claim that was denied because of failure to file within one year. Authorizes the spouse or child of a refugee or asylee to bring his or her accompanying or joining child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. Authorizes the President to designate refugee groups. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to designate specific groups of individuals as stateless persons, (2) the Secretary or the Attorney General to provide conditional lawful status to a qualifying stateless person who is otherwise inadmissible or deportable, and (3) the Secretary or the Attorney General to adjust such person to lawful permanent resident status after one year in conditional lawful status. Sets forth protections for stateless persons in the United States, including work and travel authorizations. Increases the number of annual U-visas, with a set-aside for victims of a covered violation. Subtitle E: Shortage of Immigration Court Resources for Removal Proceedings - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) increase the number of immigration court judges and Immigration Board of Appeals staff attorneys in each of FY2014-FY2016; (2) appoint counsel in certain removal proceedings involving an unaccompanied child, an individual with a serious mental disability, or a particularly vulnerable individual; and (3) establish within the Executive Office for Immigration Review an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop programs to make immigration proceedings more efficient by educating aliens regarding administrative procedures and legal rights. Requires the Board of Immigration Appeals to review decisions of immigration judges. Subtitle F: Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Abuses Involving Workers Recruited Abroad - Requires any person who engages in foreign labor contracting to disclose in writing in English and in the primary language of the worker being recruited specified information, including the identity of the employer and the recruiter, worker protections, and a signed copy of the work contract. Requires a foreign labor contractor to register with the Secretary of Labor. Sets forth registration requirements. Prohibits certain recruitment fees. Prohibits any person who engages in foreign labor contracting from discriminating in hiring based upon race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) maintain a list of all foreign labor contractors registered and a list of all foreign labor contractors whose registration has been revoked; and (2) establish a process for receipt, investigation, and disposition of complaints. Sets forth administrative and civil action enforcement provisions. Subtitle G: Interior Enforcement - Makes an alien who has been convicted of an offense for which an element was active and knowing participation in a criminal street gang inadmissible and deportable. Makes an alien inadmissible who is physically outside the United States and since the age of 18 knowingly and willingly participated in a criminal street gang. Makes an alien who is at least 18 years old ineligible for RPI status for such criminal street gang activities. Makes an alien who has been convicted three or more times for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated inadmissible and deportable. Revises criminal penalty and related affirmative defense provisions regarding illegal entry and reentry. Increases: (1) monetary penalties for owners and operators of vessels and aircraft regarding stowaways and execution of removal orders; and (2) criminal penalties for passport and immigration fraud, including penalties for a passport crime committed to facilitate international terrorism or drug trafficking. Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action to enjoin any fraudulent immigration service provider from continuing to provide services that substantially interfere with the administration of the immigration laws or from continuing to willfully misrepresent such provider's legal authority to provide representation. Makes an alien who is convicted of a passport or visa violation under the federal criminal code inadmissible and removable. Makes certain aliens inadmissible who: (1) refuse to comply with a lawful request for biometric information; (2) have been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment; or (3) are in violation of a domestic protection order by engaging in conduct that constitutes criminal contempt of such order. Prohibits an individual acting for financial gain from directing or participating in an effort to bring or attempt to bring five or more persons unlawfully into the United States. Establishes: (1) monetary and/or prison penalties for such actions; and (2) increased penalties for such actions that result in death or serious bodily injury or that place a life in jeopardy or involve bribery of a government official, robbery, or sexual abuse. Makes it a crime to: (1) transmit to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents while intending to further a federal crime relating to U.S. immigration; and (2) destroy, alter, or damage any physical or electronic device used by the federal government to control the border or any port of entry. Prohibits the carrying or use of a firearm in an alien smuggling crime. Directs the Secretary to establish secure alternatives programs with community-based organizations to ensure appearances at immigration proceedings and public safety. Prohibits a U.S. national from renouncing his or her citizenship during wartime. Authorizes the Secretary to use secure alternatives programs to maintain custody over detained aliens, except for terrorist aliens. Sets forth oversight and related provisions for detention facilities. Directs the Secretary of State, upon notification from the Secretary, to prohibit visas to be granted to persons of a country whose government denies or unreasonably delays accepting their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents back. Makes inadmissible an alien who has committed acts of torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, or systematic attacks on civilians. Title IV: Reforms to Nonimmigrant Visa Programs - Subtitle A: Employment-based Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes: (1) an H-1B visa (specialty occupation) cap of 110,000 for the fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) a market and unemployment based adjustment mechanism that increases or reduces the annual cap by not more than 10,000, with a minimum floor of 110,000 and a maximum ceiling of 180,000. Limits the exemption from H-1B numerical limitations to STEM occupations and increases the annual STEM allocation to 25,000. Authorizes an H-1B spouse to work if he or she is the national of a country that permits reciprocal employment. Provides deference to prior H-1B or L-visa (intra-company transferee) adjudications involving the same employer and nonimmigrant absent material error, changed circumstances, or new information adversely affecting eligibility. Provides a 60-day lawful status period for an H-1B nonimmigrant whose employment is terminated. Authorizes visa revalidation within the United States for specified nonimmigrant visa categories. Establishes: (1) in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account, and (2) a low-income STEM scholarship program. Subtitle B: H-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Revises H-1B requirements for employer applications and application reviews. Revises provisions regarding nonimmigrant nurses (H-1C visa) in health professional shortage areas to: (1) permit a one-time three-year extension of admission, (2) reduce the maximum number of such visas per fiscal year to 300, and (3) authorize such nonimmigrants to accept new employment as a registered nurse at any H-1C-qualifying facility. Revises provisions regarding complaints against H-1B employers, including: (1) extending the statute of limitations on complaint investigations, (2) increasing fines for specified violations, (3) enhancing whistle-blower protections, and (4) authorizing the Department of Labor to initiate investigations. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an H-1B recruitment website. Establishes: (1) specified filing fees for H-1B-dependent employers, and (2) a fee for premium processing of employment-based immigrant petitions. Subtitle C: L Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Authorizes and enumerates the requirements for: (1) outplacement of L-visa nonimmigrants, and (2) 12-month approvals of new office L-visa petitions. Prohibits employers with 50 or more employees in the United States from hiring new or additional H-1B or L-visa workers if their workforce comprises more than 75% H-1B or L-visa workers in FY2015, 65% in FY2016, and 50% H-1B and L-visa workers in FY2017 and thereafter. (Excludes nonprofit institutions of higher education or nonprofit research organizations from such limitation.) Sets forth filing fee provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate complaints against L-visa employers. Sets forth related penalty provisions. Directs the Inspector General of DHS to report to Congress regarding the use of L-visa blanket petitions. Subtitle D: Other Nonimmigrant Visas - Authorizes dual intent for F-1 visa foreign students (and dependents), including students who commute from Canada or Mexico to study in the United States. Establishes additional accreditation requirements for colleges, universities, and language schools. Revises the nonimmigrant E-visa (treaty trader) category to: (1) include aliens seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty or a free trade agreement; (2) establish an E-4 visa for specialty occupation workers (other than from Chile, Singapore, or Australia) to enter the United States pursuant to a free trade agreement; and (3) establish an E-5 visa for specialty occupation workers who are nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Limits E-4 entrants to 5,000 per fiscal year per country. Includes in the nonimmigrant E-3 visa category certain nationals of Ireland coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce to perform specialty occupation services. Extends portability to certain nonimmigrant O-1 visa holders (extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry). Eliminates the 12-month attendance limit for elementary and secondary foreign students. Subtitle E: Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2013 or the JOLT Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish a pilot fee-based premium processing service to expedite visa interview appointments. Authorizes the Secretary to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 55 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Establishes a nonimmigrant Y-visa for: (1) an alien who invests (and maintains) at least $500,000 in U.S. residential real estate, of which at least $250,000 must be for a U.S. primary residence where such person will reside for more than 180 days per year; and (2) such alien's accompanying spouse and children. Makes such visa renewable every three years. Requires a Y-visa alien to: (1) be at least 55 years old, (2) have purchased a qualifying residence, (3) not need public assistance, and (4) live in the United States for more than 180 days per year. Directs the Secretary to make publicly available each month data for the previous two years regarding visa appointment availability for each visa processing post to allow applicants to identify periods of low demand. Revises the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to expand registered traveler programs to include individuals who meet security requirements and are employed and sponsored by an international organization which maintains a strong working relationship with the United States. Prohibits enrollment of an individual who is a citizen of a state sponsor of terror. Directs the Secretary of State to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) explore expanding visa processing capacity in China and Brazil. Subtitle F: Reforms to the H-2B Visa Program - Exempts returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations through FY2018. Includes ski instructors in the nonimmigrant P-visa (athletes, artists, and entertainers). Requires H-2B employers to: (1) attest that they will not displace a U.S. worker in the same metropolitan statistical area where the H-2B worker will be hired within the period beginning 90 days before the start date and ending on the end date of the H-2B employment, (2) pay certain H-2B worker transportation costs, and (3) pay a $500 labor certification application fee. Authorizes the nonimmigrant admission of: (1) multinational executives and managers for up to 90 days to oversee U.S. operations of their related companies, (2) multinational company employees for up to 180 days to participate in leadership and development activities, and (3) certain relief workers for up to 90 days in response to a federal or state declared disaster. Prohibits the receipt of U.S.-sourced salaries for such activities. Establishes a nonimmigrant Z-visa for certain aliens coming to the United States for up to 90 days to perform health and safety-related maintenance or repairs for common carriers on equipment or machinery manufactured outside of the United States. Subtitle G: W Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research which shall: (1) devise a methodology to determine the annual change to the W-visa nonimmigrant cap and use such methodology to set such caps, (2) supplement W-visa recruitment methods, (3) conduct a survey every three months of construction worker unemployment, (4) devise a methodology to designate shortage occupations by job zone, and (5) report to Congress on employment-based and immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs. Establishes: (1) a nonimmigrant W-1 visa for an alien having a foreign residence who is coming to the United States to perform services or labor for a registered employer in a registered position, and (2) a nonimmigrant W-2 visa for the accompanying or joining spouse or children of such alien. Requires such alien to be certified abroad by the Secretary of State as eligible for a W-visa. Provides that: (1) a certified alien may be granted W-visa status for an initial three-year period, with additional three-year extensions which may be made while in the United States; and (2) a W-visa nonimmigrant must leave the United States if unemployed for more than 60 consecutive days. Sets forth employer registration and related provisions. Subtitle H: Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups, and Technologies - Establishes a nonimmigrant X-visa for a qualified entrepreneur: (1) who has secured at least $100,000 in investments from an accredited investor, venture capitalist, or government entity for such alien's U.S. business; or (2) whose U.S. business has created at least three qualified jobs during the previous two years and has generated at least $250,000 in annual revenue in the United States. Provides for an initial three-year period of authorized admission, with three-year extensions based upon job creation, investment, or revenue and up to two one-year extensions based upon performance waivers. Establishes an immigrant investor visa (capped at 10,000 per year) for qualifying entrepreneur aliens (including aliens with advanced STEM degrees) living in the United States whose U.S. business has met specified job creation, revenue, and/or venture capital or investment requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
National Nursing Shortage Reform and Patient Advocacy Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement a staffing plan that includes a minimum direct care registered nurse-to-patient ratio by unit, adjustments above the minimum ratio under appropriate circumstances, and compliance with minimum licensed practical nurse staffing requirements. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a national acuity tool to establish nurse staffing requirements above minimum ratios. Directs the Secretary to adjust Medicare payments to hospitals (including hospitals operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] and long-term care hospitals) to cover additional costs incurred in providing services to Medicare beneficiaries that are attributable to compliance with such ratios. Gives a nurse the right to act as the patient's advocate, including by: (1) initiating action to improve health care or to change decisions or activities that are against the interests and wishes of the patient, and (2) giving the patient an opportunity to make an informed decision about health care before it is provided. Authorizes a nurse to refuse to accept an assignment if it would violate minimum ratios under this Act or if the nurse is not prepared by education, training, or experience to fulfill the assignment without compromising the safety of any patient or jeopardizing the nurse's license. Prohibits a hospital from: (1) taking specified actions against a nurse based on the nurse's refusal to accept an assignment for such a reason; or (2) discriminating against any patient, employee, or any other individual for good faith complaints or grievances relating to the care, services, or conditions of the hospital or of any affiliated or related facilities. Prohibits actions by hospitals to restrain such rights. Makes conforming amendments to titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act as well as to requirements for the VA health benefits program. Includes stipends in the nurse workforce loan repayment and scholarship program. Expands the nurse retention grant program to authorize programs to implement nurse preceptorship and mentorship projects.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
Concrete Masonry Products Research, Education, and Promotion Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue orders applicable to manufacturers of concrete masonry products (concrete). Requires any such order to provide for the establishment of a Concrete Masonry Products Board, which shall carry out a program of promotion, research, and information regarding concrete products. Requires manufacturers and importers to maintain, and make available, specified records. Requires any such order to provide that assessments shall be paid by concrete manufacturers with respect to concrete manufactured and marketed in the United States. Provides assessment rates. Requires at least 50% of the assessments paid by a manufacturer to be used to support research, education, and promotion plans and projects in support of the geographic region of the manufacturer. Directs the Secretary, during the 60-day period preceding the proposed effective date of an order, to conduct a referendum for order approval among the manufacturers required to pay assessments under the order. Outlines referendum procedures. Provides for petition and review of an order, and order enforcement through U.S. district courts. Authorizes the Secretary to conduct appropriate investigations in order to administer this Act (with power of subpoena). Directs the Secretary to suspend or terminate any order or provision that obstructs or does not tend to effectuate the purposes of this Act, or that is not favored by persons voting in a referendum.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish at least one Forest Reserve Revenue Area within each unit of the National Forest System designated for sustainable forest management for the production of national forest materials (the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from System lands) and forest reserve revenues (to be derived from the sale of such materials in such an Area). States that the purpose of an Area is to provide a dependable source of 25% payments and economic activity for each beneficiary county containing System land that was eligible to receive payments through its state under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) manage Areas in the manner necessary to achieve their annual volume requirement, and (2) conduct covered forest reserve projects within those Areas in accordance with this Act. Defines "annual volume requirement" and "covered forest reserve project." Requires a covered project to be implemented consistent with the land and resource management plan for the System unit in which the project will be carried out. Requires forest reserve revenues to be used to make: (1) deposits into the Knutson-Vandenburg Fund and the salvage sale fund in contributions equal to the monies collected under such Acts for projects conducted on System land, and (2) 25% payments to states for the benefit of public schools and public roads of beneficiary counties.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Student Aid Expansion Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to exempt interest-free private education loans that are provided and administered by a state and eligible for complete forgiveness under conditions determined by that state from rules and regulations applicable to preferred lender arrangements between lenders and institutions of higher education (IHE) or IHE-affiliated organizations. (Preferred lender arrangements must comply with certain requirements designed to protect students' best interests when schools choose preferred lenders and recommend, promote, or endorse their loans.)
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Safeguarding American Commerce and Agriculture Act of 2013 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish the Office of Agriculture Inspection within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which shall be headed by an Assistant Commissioner. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), acting through the CBP Commissioner, to: (1) identify career paths for customs and border protection agriculture specialists; (2) provide such specialists the opportunity to acquire the education, training, and experience necessary to qualify for promotion; (3) develop a plan to recruit and retain qualified specialists; and (4) identify, and develop a plan to address, any deficiencies in equipment and other resources that are necessary at CBP agriculture inspection stations and facilities to enable such specialists to carry out their mission. Authorizes the DHS Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish an interagency rotation program. Directs the DHS Secretary to report to Congress regarding: (1) the implementation status of the action plans developed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-U.S. Customs and Border Protection Joint Task Force on Improved Agriculture Inspection, and (2) any additional legal authority the Secretary determines is necessary to carry out the agriculture inspection mission of DHS.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Better Protecting Children in Schools Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, wages received by a full-time, off-duty state or local law enforcement official for providing services as a substitute teacher in an elementary or secondary school.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
National Financial Literacy Act of 2013 - Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to require federal financial supervisory agencies jointly to prescribe regulations establishing: (1) minimum standards to be met by a community-based financial literacy program in order to be eligible for consideration as a qualified community-based financial literacy program; (2) procedures for financial institutions to apply to a federal financial supervisory agency for approval of such a program; and (3) a requirement that financial institutions submit a regular report on how the institution supported and promoted financial literacy in its entire community, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. Authorizes a federal financial supervisory agency to take an institution's direct support of a qualified community-based financial literacy program into account when it assesses the institution's record of meeting the community's credit needs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit to small businesses for 35% of the expenses paid or incurred for providing qualified continuing financial education to their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Student Loan Interest Deduction Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the maximum tax deduction for interest paid on any qualified education loan to $5,000 ($10,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return), and (2) repeal the limitation on such deduction based upon modified adjusted gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. Requires the Committee to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding the manner in which such officials can: (1) ensure interagency coordination and communication and minimize overlap regarding efforts to address tick-borne diseases, (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies and private organizations addressing such diseases, (3) ensure interagency coordination and communication with constituency groups, (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints are represented in public health policy decisions and that information disseminated to the public and physicians is balanced, and (5) advise relevant federal agencies on priorities related to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Directs the Committee to regularly review published public and private treatment guidelines and evaluate such guidelines for effective representation of a wide variety of views. Requires the Secretary, acting as appropriate through various federal officials, to provide for the coordination of all federal programs and activities related to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases and the conduct or support of specified activities, including: (1) developing sensitive and accurate diagnostic tools and tests, (2) improving the efficient utilization of diagnostic testing currently available, (3) surveillance and reporting of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, (4) providing and promoting access to a clearinghouse of information on such diseases, (5) increasing public education related to such diseases, (6) creating a physician education program to educate health professionals on the latest research and diversity of treatment options for Lyme disease, (7) establishing epidemiological research objectives, and (8) determining the effectiveness of different treatment modalities.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education for Alzheimer's Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for comprehensive Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Success in the Middle Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to states, based on their proportion of poor children aged 5 to 17, to: (1) implement state middle grades needs analyses and, on the basis of such analyses, improvement plans that describe what students must master to complete successfully the middle grades and succeed in academically rigorous secondary school coursework; and (2) award competitive subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) or partnerships of LEAs and institutions of higher education, educational service agencies, or educational nonprofit organizations to implement a comprehensive middle school improvement plan for each eligible school. Gives priority to LEAs, or partnerships that include LEAs, that serve high proportions of poor children and children attending eligible schools. Defines "eligible schools" as those where: (1) a high proportion of middle grade students matriculate to secondary schools with graduation rates below 65%; (2) more than 25% of the students who finish grade six, or the school's earliest middle grade level, exhibit key risk factors for failure; and (3) a majority of middle grade students are not rated proficient on required state assessments in mathematics, reading, or language arts. Permits states to make subgrants to LEAs and partnerships that did not receive a competitive subgrant to assist them in applying for competitive subgrants and developing comprehensive middle school improvement plans. Provides the Secretary with funding to: (1) contract for studies that identify promising practices for, and review existing research to identify factors that might lead to, the improvement of middle grades education; (2) create a national clearinghouse in best middle grade educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; (3) require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; (4) create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to the middle grades; and (5) provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing middle grades.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Student Loan Affordability Act of 2013 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Recognizes the celebration of National Student Employment Week at the University of Minnesota Duluth.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Instructional Leadership Act of 2013 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states, local educational agencies (LEAs), nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, or partnerships or consortia which include at least one of those entities to develop and implement innovative programs and sites to train school principals in instructional leadership skills. Requires the Secretary to award additional competitive grants to states or partnerships or consortia which include states for pilot programs that evaluate and promote the incorporation of instructional leadership standards into state principal certification or licensure. Directs the Secretary to establish a definition of "an effective principal" that is based on reports from this Act's grantees and emphasizes instructional leadership standards. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to states and high-need LEAs or partnerships between such LEAs and certain educational entities to develop state-of-the-art principal induction programs that provide new principals a minimum of three years of extensive, high-quality, comprehensive induction into the field of school administration.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Autism Understanding and Training in School Methodologies for Educators Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to carry out a demonstration program to award 5-year grants to eligible local education agencies for the following purposes in schools for children in grades pre-kindergarten through 12: providing training to teachers, paraprofessionals, and other staff on effective ways to teach, communicate, recognize, support, and interact with children with autism spectrum disorders in the classroom; providing technical assistance consisting of consultation on the type of training needed, hands-on opportunities to practice and perform newly acquired skills and methodologies, and post-training support to ensure accuracy of implementation in the classroom; executing strategies for recruiting and retaining skilled personnel participating in the education of children with such disorders; and implementing a program of parental support and involvement in the education of students with such disorders.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
No Hungry Kids Act - Nullifies the rule published by the Department of Agriculture on January 26, 2012, establishing nutrition standards for the school lunch and breakfast programs. (This rule is summarized as requiring most schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free and low-fat fluid milk in school meals; reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat and trans fat in meals; and meet the nutrition needs of school children within their calorie requirements.) Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture's minimum nutritional requirements for school lunches from being construed as establishing a calorie maximum for individual school lunches or prohibiting a child from eating a lunch provided by the child's parent or legal guardian.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Nutrition Education Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require local educational agencies participating in the school lunch or breakfast programs to include in their school wellness policies the requirement that each student receive 50 hours of nutrition education each school year. Requires such instruction to meet specified standards, including that it is consistent with nutritional requirements for food served under the school lunch, school breakfast, and child and adult care food programs.