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151 records in US in 2014
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Supports the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month. Encourages colleges and universities to provide campus safety and other crime awareness and prevention programs to students throughout the year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Online Education Verification Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require recognized accrediting agencies or associations that evaluate the quality of distance or correspondence education programs to require those programs to have a secure login and passcode for Internet coursework.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Constitution and Citizenship Day Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish a Constitution Day Grant Program awarding competitive grants to local educational agencies and charter schools to commemorate, and enhance educational programs that teach students about, the U.S. Constitution and their state constitution. Requires such program to occur annually on Constitution Day, September 17, or the following Monday if that day falls on a weekend, and give students the ability to register to vote.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Assuring Quality Care for Veterans Act - Authorizes (current law requires) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse any full-time board-certified health professional (under current law, physician or dentist) appointed to the VA for continuing professional education expenses incurred, up to $1,600 per year (under current law, $1,000). Directs that the expenses incurred be expenses required to maintain licensure.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Reducing Disparities Using Care Models and Education Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study: (1) health disparities; (2) existing programs and policies intended to reduce disparities; and (3) priorities for, and expansion of, programs targeting disparities. Requires the Secretary to develop guidelines for entities to develop and implement programs to reduce health disparities. Directs the Secretary to incorporate these guidelines into HHS activities. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for programs to reduce health disparities. Requires the Innovation Center of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to test a payment and service delivery model that includes incentives for reducing health disparities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014 - Expands the TRICARE health care program managed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to entitle additional female beneficiaries and dependents to care related to the prevention of pregnancy. (Currently, such care is limited to certain female members of the uniformed service or a reserve component performing active duty or certain servicewomen performing inactive-duty training.) Prohibits cost-sharing from being imposed or collected for such pregnancy prevention care, including for any method of contraception provided through a facility of the uniformed services, the TRICARE retail pharmacy program, or the national mail-order pharmacy program. Provides for such pregnancy prevention care to include all methods of contraception approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling. Directs the DOD Secretary to: (1) ensure that every military treatment facility has a sufficient stock of a broad range of FDA-approved methods of contraception to dispense to any women members of the Armed Forces and female covered beneficiaries who receive care through such facility; (2) disseminate clinical practice guidelines and decision support tools to DOD-employed health care providers; (3) ensure that women members of the Armed Forces have access to contraception counseling during health care visits; and (4) establish an education program for all members of the Armed Forces, including both men and women members, consisting of a uniform standard curriculum on family planning. Requires questions regarding family planning services and counseling to be incorporated into DOD health surveys. Requires every military treatment facility, upon request, to provide emergency contraception, or information about FDA-approved methods of emergency contraception, to any woman who: (1) states to personnel that she is a victim of sexual assault or is accompanied by another individual who states that the woman is a victim of sexual assault, or (2) is reasonably believed to be a survivor of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2014
Student Loan Interest Deduction Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the dollar limitation for the tax deduction for education loan interest to $5,000 in a taxable year for married couples filing joint tax returns (thus eliminating the tax effect known as the marriage penalty).
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Make Student Grants Truly Tax-Free Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the tax exclusion for scholarships to include amounts received: (1) through a scholarship or fellowship grant program administered by the Secretary of Education that is based on financial need, including a Federal Pell Grant, and (2) as an Iraq and Afghanistan Service grant under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Strengthening Forgiveness for Public Servants Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to cancel 15%, 15%, 20%, 20%, and 30% of the amount a borrower owes after 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 years of public service employment, respectively, on a William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan made after this Act's enactment. (Currently, the balance of a borrower's Direct Loan is cancelled if the borrower is not in default and has made 120 monthly payments on such loan while employed as a public service employee.) Requires borrowers availing themselves of such loan cancellation to submit an employment certification form that includes self-certification of employment and employer certification of employment dates. Places the borrower's loan in deferment during the period in which the borrower is employed in an eligible public service job if the borrower submits such form to the Secretary. Cancels the entire amount of interest on such a loan that accrues for any year in which a portion of the loan is cancelled under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Child and Elderly Missing Alert Program of 2014 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to award public safety and community policing grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies in the rapid recovery of missing children and elderly and disabled individuals through the use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system. Defines an "elderly individual" as an individual 60 years of age or older. Permits the use of grant funds to: (1) maintain and expand technologies and techniques to ensure the highest level of performance of services; (2) provide both centralized and on-site training, and to distribute information, to law enforcement agency officials about missing individuals and use of a rapid telephone and cellular alert call system; (3) provide services to Child Abduction Response Teams; (4) assist law enforcement agencies to combat human trafficking through the use of rapid telephone and cellular alert calls; (5) share appropriate information on cases with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the AMBER Alert, Silver Alert, and Blue Alert programs, and law enforcement; and (6) assist appropriate organizations with education and prevention programs related to missing individuals. Directs the Attorney General to annually: (1) require each grantee to submit the results of monitoring and evaluations of grant recipients, and (2) publish a report regarding such results and the effectiveness of activities carried out under each grant.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Prevent Interruptions in Physical Therapy Act of 2014 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require physical therapists furnishing outpatient physical therapy services to use specified locum tenens arrangements for payment purposes in the same manner as such arrangements are used to apply to physicians furnishing substitute physicians services for other physicians. (Locum tenens [place holder], or substitute, physicians usually assume professional practices in the absence of a regular physician for reasons such as illness, pregnancy, vacation, or continuing medical education.)
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Repay Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a simplified income-driven repayment program for students who become new borrowers of William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (DLs) on or after July 1, 2015. Sets a student's annual repayment obligation under the program at: 10% of the borrower's discretionary income (gross income that exceeds 150% of the federal poverty level) that is less than $25,000, adjusted for inflation; plus 15% of the borrower's discretionary income that is equal to or greater than $25,000, adjusted for inflation. Directs the Secretary to cancel the outstanding balance on a DL under the repayment program if the borrower: for 20 years made monthly payments under the program or was in deferment due to economic hardship and had a DL principal balance at the outset of the repayment period that did not exceed a specified amount; or for 25 years made monthly payments under the program or was in deferment due to economic hardship and had a DL principal balance at the outset of the repayment period that exceeded a specified amount. Requires the Secretary to offer borrowers of DLs made on or after July 1, 2015, the following repayment plans: (1) a fixed repayment plan (currently referred to as a standard repayment plan), or (2) a simplified income-driven repayment plan, but this plan is only available to student borrowers. Authorizes the Secretary to provide an alternative repayment plan to a borrower of a DL made on or after July 1, 2015, if the borrower demonstrates that these repayment options do not accommodate the borrower's exceptional circumstances. Continues to allow borrowers of DLs to accelerate, without penalty, their repayment of such loans. Makes public service employees who make 120 monthly payments on their DL under a simplified income-driven repayment plan eligible for the public service employee loan forgiveness program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income debt the Secretary discharges on a borrower's subsidized Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) due to the borrower's death or disability. Directs the Secretary to require servicers of FFELs and DLs to: (1) provide borrowers with information regarding their loan repayment options, and (2) offer to enroll borrowers in alternative plans for which they are eligible.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Recognizes the achievements and goals of Hispanic-serving institutions across the United States. Designates the week beginning September 14, 2014, as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Ravi Thackurdeen Safe Students Study Abroad Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require an institution of higher education (IHE), other than a foreign IHE, that is participating in the programs under title IV to distinguish, in its annual campus security report on crime statistics, crimes that occur while a student is participating in an approved study abroad program, without regard to whether the IHE owns or controls a building or property at the location where the crime occurred. Requires such IHEs to develop and distribute, as part of their annual security report provided to students and employees, a statement that the IHE has adopted and implemented a program to protect students participating in an approved study abroad program from crime and harm. Requires each student protection program to include: a biennial review by the IHE of its study abroad programs to determine their effectiveness in protecting students from crime and harm and the number of deaths and sexual assaults of program participants, accidents and illnesses occurring during program participation, and incidents resulting in police involvement during the preceding 10 years; and the crime statistics IHEs are required to include in their annual campus security report. Requires such IHEs to: provide each student who is interested in participating in an approved study abroad program with a pre-trip orientation session and information regarding the countries in which the programs are located and the incidents and crime statistics they are required to include in their protection program for students studying abroad; and provide each student who returns from such a study abroad program with a post-trip orientation session, including an exit interview that assists the IHE in carrying out its program to protect students studying abroad. Directs the Secretary to periodically review a representative sample of those student protection programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Enhancing Educational Opportunities for all Students Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow a state educational agency to allocate grant funds among local educational agencies based on the number of eligible children (children age 5 to 17 from a family with an income below the poverty level) enrolled in the public schools and the state-accredited private schools within each local agency's geographic jurisdiction. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow payment of home school expenses from Coverdell education savings accounts; (2) remove the dollar limitation on contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts and require such accounts to provide adequate safeguards to prevent contributions from exceeding the amount necessary to provide for the qualified education expenses of the account beneficiary; and (3) allow tax-exempt qualified tuition programs (529 tuition programs) to pay qualified pre-kindergarten, elementary, and secondary education expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to select a medical center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of descendants (i.e., a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to that exposure. Requires the national research center to employ at least one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate the access of individuals to appropriate federal, state, and local social and health care programs and to handle case management. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory board to: (1) advise the national research center, (2) determine which health conditions in the descendants of individuals who were exposed to toxic substances while serving in the Armed Forces result from such exposure for purposes of determining those descendants' eligibility for VA medical care, and (3) study and evaluate claims of service-related exposure to toxic substances by current and former members of the Armed Forces. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which not less than 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of disability. Directs the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the DOD Secretary to jointly conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed at members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on: (1) incidents of exposure to toxic substances, health conditions resulting form such exposure, and the potential long-term effects of such exposure; and (2) the national research center.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Family Asthma Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to collaborate with state and local health departments to: (1) conduct activities regarding asthma, including deterring the harmful consequences of uncontrolled asthma, and disseminating health education and information regarding prevention of asthma episodes and strategies for managing asthma; and (2) develop state plans incorporating public health responses to reduce the burden of asthma, particularly regarding disproportionately affected populations. Revises and expands requirements for asthma surveillance activities. Requires the Director to coordinate data collection activities to maximize the comparability of results. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit an assessment of current activities related to asthma prevention, management and surveillance along with recommendations for the future direction of asthma activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Strengthening Research in Adult Education Act - Amends the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 to revise the mission statement for the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education to ensure access to, and opportunities for, adult education and literacy activities. Revises the composition of presidential appointees to the National Board for Education Sciences to include adult educators. Revises the mission statement for the Institute's National Center for Education Research (Research Center) to include improving the literacy and numeracy skills of individuals who need adult education. Revises also the Research Center's duties to include research on successful state and local adult education and literacy activities that: result in increased literacy, numeracy, and educational attainment for adult learners, or prepare students for postsecondary education or employment. Directs the Research Commissioner to support, through national research and development centers or through other means, research on adult education and digital literacy. Revises duties of the National Center for Education Statistics to require it to include in the statistical data on education in the United States it collects, analyzes, and disseminates data on access to, and opportunity for, adult education and literacy activities. Requires the National Center for Education and Regional Assistance to disseminate widely certain educational information with respect to educational practices that improve digital literacy. Amends the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 to revise the composition of regional advisory committees to include representatives of local or regional adult education providers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Propane Supply and Security Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to publish weekly inventory data on propane storage and propane markets, including pricing data for residential customers in states that voluntarily choose to participate in the State Heating Oil and Propane Program (SHOPP) of the EIA. Directs the Administrator to publish data on storage at: (1) major market centers, and (2) the regions reported in specified weekly and monthly inventory data. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to lead and coordinate federal and state emergency response efforts regarding propane supply emergencies in any state or region characterized by either sudden increases in consumer prices for propane, or propane supply shortages that threaten public safety or livestock safety. Amends the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 to direct the Propane Education and Research Council to develop for propane distributors and consumers training programs on strategies to mitigate negative effects of future propane price spikes. Directs the Secretary to study the effectiveness and feasibility of establishing propane storage facilities operated separately from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Authorizes the Secretary to submit to Congress and the President a plan describing such regional propane reserve. Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to include within the storage facility loan program funding for propane storage and handling facilities used for drying and heating. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study facilities appurtenant to propane pipelines that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to determine: (1) whether the nonjurisdictional nature of the facilities had an impact on the propane price spike during the winter of 2013-2014, or (2) whether such finding demonstrates it would be in the public interest to place such facilities under FERC jurisdiction.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015 - Department of Labor Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 to the Department of Labor. Department of Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 to the Department of Education. Makes appropriations for FY2015 to: (1) the Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, (2) the Corporation for National and Community Service, (3) the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, (4) the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, (5) the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, (6) the Institute of Museum and Library Services, (7) the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, (8) the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission; (9) the National Council on Disability, (10) the National Health Care Workforce Commission, (11) the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), (12) the National Mediation Board, (13) the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, (14) the Railroad Retirement Board, and (15) the Social Security Administration. Specifies certain uses and limits or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Jobs for America Act - Division I: Ways and Means - Title I: Save American Workers - Save American Workers Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to redefine "full-time employee," for purposes of the mandate requiring employers to provide health care coverage for their employees, as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week (currently, at least 30 hours of service a week). Title II: Hire More Heroes - Hire More Heroes Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer, for purposes of determining whether such employer is an applicable large employer and thus required to provide health care coverage to its employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to exclude employees who have coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), including TRICARE, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Title III: American Research and Competitiveness - American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for research expenses, to establish a 20% tax rate for such credit and make such credit permanent. Title IV: America's Small Business Tax Relief - America's Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the expensing allowance for depreciable business property, to make permanent: (1) the increased $500,000 expensing allowance for such property, (2) the increased $2,000,000 threshold amount for such property over which the amount of the expensing allowance is reduced, (3) expensing of computer software, and (4) rules for the expensing of qualified real property (i.e., leasehold improvement, restaurant, and retail improvement property). Allows an inflation adjustment to the dollar amounts of the expensing allowance for taxable years beginning after 2014. Makes air conditioning and heating units eligible for the expensing allowance. Title V: S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief - S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of S corporations, to make permanent: (1) the reduction of the period (from 10 years to 5 years) during which the built-in gains of such corporations are subject to tax, and (2) the rule requiring an adjustment to the basis of a shareholder's stock in an S corporation that makes tax deductible contributions of appreciated property. Title VI: Bonus Depreciation Modified and Made Permanent - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the additional 50% depreciation allowance (bonus depreciation) for qualified property (i.e., property which has a recovery period of 20 years or less and is computer software, water utility property, or qualified leasehold or retail improvement property); (2) make permanent the election to increase the alternative minimum tax (AMT) credit limitation in lieu of bonus depreciation; and (3) allow an additional depreciation allowance for a tree or vine bearing fruits or nuts, in the taxable year in which the tree or vine is planted or grafted to a plant in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's farming business. Title VII: Repeal of Medical Device Excise Tax - Repeals the excise tax on medical devices. Division II: Financial Services - Title I: Small Business Capital Access And Job Preservation - Small Business Capital Access And Job Preservation Act - Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to exempt private equity fund investment advisers from its registration and reporting requirements, provided that each private equity fund has not borrowed and does not have outstanding a principal amount exceeding twice its invested capital commitments. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promulgate final rules that: (1) require such investment advisers to maintain records the SEC may require, taking into account fund size, governance, investment strategy, and risk; and (2) define the term "private equity fund" for purposes of this Act. Title II: Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification - Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2014 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to exempt from its registration requirements certain merger and acquisition brokers and associated persons. Denies such registration exemption, however, to brokers who: (1) receive, hold, transmit, or have custody of any funds or securities to be exchanged by parties to a transfer of ownership of an eligible privately held company; or (2) engage on behalf of an issuer in a public offering of securities that are either subject to mandatory registration, or with respect to which the issuer must file periodic information, documents, and reports. Prohibits this Act from being construed to limit any other authority of the SEC to exempt any person, or any class of persons, from any provision of this Act, including any related rule or regulation. Division III: Oversight - Subdivision A: Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency - Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2014 -Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require Congressional Budget Office (CBO) studies on the costs for state, local, or tribal governments to comply with changes to conditions of federal assistance. Expands the point of order against legislation increasing the costs of federal intergovernmental mandates above the statutory threshold to include private sector mandates. Amends the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to establish principles for agencies to use in assessing the effects of federal regulatory actions. Expands the scope of agency statements accompanying significant regulatory actions to require a more detailed analysis of the effect on state, local, tribal governments, or the private sector. Revises the process for consulting state, local, and tribal governments about proposed regulations to include private sector input. Requires the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to provide guidance and oversight so that each agency's regulations are consistent with this title, other laws, and policies of other agencies. Expands judicial review to include agency assessments of regulations and selection of the least costly or least burdensome regulatory alternative. Subdivision B: Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency - Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency Act of 2014 or the ALERRT Act of 2014 - Title I: All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act - All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2014 or the ALERT Act of 2014 - Requires the head of each federal agency to submit a monthly report to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each rule such agency expects to propose or finalize during the following year. Requires the Administrator to publish in the Federal Register, by October 1 of each year, information that the Administrator receives from each agency under this Act and statistics on each rule proposed by an agency. Requires the Administrator to make publicly available on the Internet, by October 1 of each year, the analysis of the costs or benefits of each proposed or final rule issued by an agency for the previous year and other information pertaining to each such rule. Prohibits a rule from taking effect until the information required by this Act is posted on the Internet for not less than six months, with exceptions. Title II: Regulatory Accountability Act - Regulatory Accountability Act of 2014 - Revises procedures for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to require a federal agency to make all preliminary and final factual determinations based on evidence and to consider other criteria in evaluating a rule. Revises rulemaking notice requirements. Imposes new requirements for issuing any major guidance or guidance that involves a novel legal or policy issue arising out of statutory mandates. Provides for electronic access to transcripts of testimony and exhibits and other papers filed in a rulemaking proceeding. Requires the record of decision in a rulemaking proceeding to include information from a hearing under the Information Quality Act or information on a high-impact rule. Requires an agency to grant a petition for a hearing in the case of a major rule, unless the agency reasonably determines that a hearing would not advance consideration of the rule or would unreasonably delay completion of the rulemaking. Provides that an agency's denial of an Information Quality Act petition, or a failure to grant or deny such petition within 90 days, is reviewable by a court as a final action. Allows immediate judicial review of interim rules issued without compliance with the notice requirements of this Act, other than in cases involving national security interests. Revises standards for the scope of judicial review of agency rulemaking. Defines "substantial evidence" for purposes of evaluating agency adjudications and for rulemaking under APA. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act - Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2014 - Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) to revise the definitions of "rule" and "economic impact" under such Act. Requires initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses to: (1) describe alternatives to a proposed rule that minimize any adverse significant economic impact or that maximize the beneficial significant economic impact on small entities, and (2) include revisions or amendments to a land management plan developed by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior under specified Acts. Requires each federal agency to include in its regulatory flexibility agenda a brief description of the sector of the North American Industrial Classification System that is affected by a proposed agency rule that is likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Requires an agency's detailed statement in an initial regulatory flexibility analysis to include an estimate of the additional cumulative economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities and a description of any disproportionate economic impact on small entities or a specific class of such entities. Requires an agency, in developing an initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis, to provide: (1) a quantifiable or numerical description of the effects of a proposed or final rule and alternatives to such rule, or (2) a more general descriptive statement and a detailed statement explaining why quantification is not practicable or reliable. Repeals provisions allowing a waiver or delay of the completion of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis. Revises requirements for agency notification of the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy prior to the publication of any proposed rule. Provides for judicial review of an agency final rule for compliance with RFA requirements after publication of such rule. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Chief Counsel for Advocacy to specify detailed definitions or standards by which a business may be determined to be a small business (size standard). Amends the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 to require federal agencies, in developing small entity compliance guides, to solicit input from affected small entities or associations of small entities. Requires the Comptroller General to complete and publish a study that examines whether the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy has the capacity and resources to carry out the duties of Chief Counsel under this Act. Title IV: Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act - Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2014 - Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect the rights of: (1) private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" and a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into in a covered civil action; and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to a regulatory action affecting the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action or a state, local, or tribal government. Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner and to provide interested parties an opportunity to intervene and to conduct settlement negotiations through mediation. Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online. Requires a court to grant de novo review to any motion filed by an agency to modify a previously-entered consent decree if the basis of such motion is that the terms of the decree are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances. Division IV: Judiciary - Title I: Regulations From The Executive In Need Of Scrutiny - Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2014 - States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process by requiring Congress to approve all new major regulations. Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule. Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar-day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement. Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. Requires the introduction of a joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. Prohibits any amendments to such a joint resolution at any stage of the legislative process. Provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval and requires a vote on such resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the resolution. Allows a court to review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this Act for a rule to take effect. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this Act affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct and report on a study to determine how many rules and major rules were in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act and the total estimated economic cost imposed by all such rules. Title II: Permanent Internet Tax Freedom - Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. Division V: Natural Resources - Subdivision A: Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities - Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act - Title I: Restoring the Commitment to Rural Counties and Schools - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish at least one Forest Reserve Revenue Area within each unit of the National Forest System (NFS) designated for sustainable forest management for the production of national forest materials (the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from NFS lands) and forest reserve revenues (to be derived from the sale of such materials in such an Area). Title II: Healthy Forest Management and Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to NFS land, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public lands, to implement a hazardous fuel reduction project or forest health project in at-risk forests in a manner that focuses on surface, ladder, and canopy fuels reduction activities. Allows a state governor to designate high-risk areas of federal land in the state for purposes of addressing: (1) deteriorating forest health conditions due to the bark beetle epidemic or drought, with the resulting imminent risk of devastating wildfires; and (2) the future risk of insect infestations or disease outbreaks through preventative treatments to improve forest health conditions. Title III: Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands Trust, Conservation, and Jobs - O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs Act - Establishes the Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands Trust to produce annual maximum sustained revenues in perpetuity for Trust counties by managing the timber resources on Trust lands. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer administrative jurisdiction over all Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands and O&C Region Public Domain lands not designated as O&C Trust lands, except for certain tribal lands, to the Secretary of Agriculture for inclusion in the NFS. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to appoint an Old Growth Review Panel to define old growth as it applies to the ecologically, geographically, and climatologically unique Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands and O&C Region Public Domain lands managed by the O&C Trust or the Forest Service only (but not to tribal lands). Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer management authority over the reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands, with certain exceptions, and their surface resources to the Coos County government in Oregon. Designates certain federal land in Oregon as the Devil's Staircase Wilderness for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified segments of the Molalla River and the Rogue River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Holds in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians all interest of the United States in and to the Council Creek specified land composed of approximately 17,519 acres. Makes that land part of the Tribe's reservation. Holds in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians all interest of the United States in and to approximately 14,804 acres of specified federal land. Makes that land part of the Tribes' reservation. Title IV: Community Forest Management Demonstration - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the community forest demonstration area of a state. Conditions establishment of an area upon: (1) inclusion of at least 200,000 acres of NFS land; (2) a state forest practices law applicable to state or privately owned forest land, or established silvicultural best management practices or other regulations for forest management practices related to clean water, soil quality, wildlife, or forest health; and (3) a revenue-sharing agreement between a county and the state governor requiring the county, in using certain revenues received from the area, to continue to meet obligations for the use of such revenues for the benefit of public schools and roads. Limits to a total of 4 million acres the amount of NFS land that may be established as community forest demonstration areas. Title V: Reauthorization and Amendment of Existing Authorities and Other Matters - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, during February 2015, to distribute to each beneficiary county a payment equal to the amount distributed to the county for FY2010 under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, during February 2015, to distribute to all counties that received a payment for FY2010new payments totalling the difference between: (1) the total amount distributed to all such counties for FY2010, and (2) $27 million. Subdivision B: National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production - National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2014 - Title I: Development Of Domestic Sources Of Strategic And Critical Minerals - Deems a domestic mine that will provide strategic and critical minerals to be an "infrastructure project" as described in Presidential Order "Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects" dated March 22, 2012. Sets forth the responsibilities of the lead agency (federal, state, local, tribal, or Alaska Native Corporation) with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit with respect to project coordination, agency consultation, project proponents, contractors, and the status and scope of any environmental impact statement. Requires the lead agency to determine that any such action does not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 if the procedural and substantive safeguards of the lead agency's permitting process alone, any applicable state permitting process alone, or a combination of the two processes together, provide an adequate mechanism to ensure that environmental factors are taken into account. Requires the lead agency's project lead, at a project proponent's request, to enter into an agreement with the project proponent and other cooperating agencies that sets time limits for each part of the permitting process. Applies this Act to a mineral exploration or mine permit for which an application was submitted before enactment of this Act if the applicant so requests in writing. Requires the lead agency, with respect to strategic and critical minerals within a federally administered unit of the NFS, to: (1) exempt from federal regulations governing Special Areas all areas of identified mineral resources in Land Use Designations (other than Non-Development Land Use Designations); (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes and areas that the agency finds necessary to facilitate the construction, operation, maintenance, and restoration of the areas of the identified mineral resources; and (3) continue to apply such exemptions after approval of the Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit. Title II: Judicial Review of Agency Actions Relating to Exploration and Mine Permits - Authorizes the holder of a mineral exploration or mine permit to intervene as of right in any covered civil action by a person affecting rights or obligations of the permit holder under the permit. Bars a civil action claiming legal wrong caused by an agency action unless it is filed within the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final federal agency action to which it relates. Requires the court to hear and determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. Prohibits the court, in a covered civil action, from granting or approving prospective relief unless it finds that it is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct such violation. Prohibits payment from the federal government for court costs of a party in such a civil action, including attorneys' fees and expenses. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits the construction of this subdivision to affect any aspect of Secretarial Order 3324, issued by the Secretary of the Interior on December 3, 2012, with respect to potash and oil and gas operators.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Working Student Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the income protection allowance for academic year 2015-2016 to: $8,451 for dependent students; $13,135 for independent students without dependents other than a spouse who are single, separated, or married when both spouses are enrolled; and $21,060 for independent students without dependents other than a spouse if only one of the spouses is enrolled. Increases for academic year 2015-2016 the income protection allowances for independent students with dependents other than a spouse. (These allowances vary depending on the number of such dependents.) Provides for cost-of-living adjustments to such income protection allowances after academic year 2015-2016. (An income protection allowance is the amount excluded from a student's income in determining the student's need for assistance under title IV.)
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Career and Technical Education Opportunity Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include as a program that is eligible to participate in the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program and the Federal Perkins Loans program an educational program that: (1) provides students with at least 250 clock hours of instruction over a minimum of five weeks, and (2) leads to an industry-recognized credential. Defines an "industry-recognized credential" as one that: is demonstrated to be of high quality by the institution of higher education offering the educational program in its title IV participation agreement with the Secretary of Education; meets the current or projected needs of a local or regional workforce for recruitment, screening, hiring, retention, or advancement purposes; and is, where applicable, endorsed by a nationally recognized trade association or organization representing a significant part of the industry or sector.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit for up to $5,000 for the training of a qualified individual in a qualified apprenticeship program. Defines a "qualified individual" as an individual who: (1) is an apprentice participating in a qualified apprenticeship program, (2) has been employed in such a program for a period of at least seven months that ends within the taxable year, and (3) is not a highly compensated employee or a seasonal worker. Defines a "qualified apprenticeship program" as a program that: (1) provides qualified individuals with on-the-job training and instruction for a qualified occupation (i.e., a skilled trade occupation in a high-demand mechanical, technical, health care, or technology field); (2) is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor; and (3) maintains records relating to the qualified individual. Allows a premature distribution, without penalty, from a tax-qualified retirement plan to an employee who is serving as a mentor. Defines a "mentor" as a working individual who: (1) has attained age 55; (2) works reduced hours and engages in mentoring activities for at least 20% of such hours; and (3) is responsible for the training and education of employees or students in an area of expertise for which such individual has a professional credential, certificate, or degree.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Building a Health Care Workforce for the Future Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award matching grants to enable states to implement scholarship programs to ensure an adequate supply of health professionals. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to assist medical schools in developing and strengthening primary care mentorship programs and cultivating leaders in primary care among its students. Requires the Secretary to award grants to medical and other health professions schools to promote priority competencies that are selected annually by the Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry in order to foster curricular innovations to improve the education and training of health care providers. Directs the Institute of Medicine to study the documentation requirements for cognitive services (evaluation and management services) required under Medicare and Medicaid and through private health insurers.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Supports the efforts of the President's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy in working with the public and private sectors to: increase financial education for youth in school and for adults in the workplace, increase access to financial services, establish measures of national financial literacy, conduct research on financial knowledge, and strengthen financial education programs. Reaffirms the purposes of the Dodd-Frank Act directing federal financial agencies and the entities they regulate to partner with organizations focused on developing opportunities to place talented young minorities and women in industry internships, summer employment, and full-time positions. Supports the efforts of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to provide consumers with relevant information and decisionmaking tools regarding important financial decisions.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 10 September 2014
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
IDEA Fairness Restoration Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to include expert witness fees, including the reasonable costs of any test or evaluation necessary for the preparation of the parents' or guardians' case in the action or proceeding, within the definition of "attorneys' fees" that may be awarded to the prevailing party in a civil action brought under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
IDEA Full Funding Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to reauthorize and make appropriations through FY2024 for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas to provide special education and related services to children with disabilities. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an individual taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million to pay a minimum tax rate of 30% of the excess of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income over the taxpayer's modified charitable contribution deduction for the taxable year (tentative fair share tax). Establishes the amount of such tax as the excess (if any) of the tentative fair share tax over the excess of: (1) the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) amount, and the payroll tax for the taxable year; over (2) certain tax credits. Provides for a phase-in of such tax. Requires an inflation adjustment to the $1 million income threshold for taxable years beginning after 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Middle School Technical Education Program Act or the Middle School STEP Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to: create a pilot program for career and technical education exploration programs, and award grants to eligible partnerships (local educational agencies, area career and technical education schools, educational service agencies, and other organizations) to develop a middle school career and technical education exploration program that transition to career and technical education programs of study.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Wounded Warrior Workforce Enhancement Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to award grants to eligible institutions to: (1) establish a master's or doctoral degree program in orthotics and prosthetics, or (2) expand upon an existing master's degree program in such area. Requires a grant priority for institutions in partnership with a medical center administered by the VA or a facility administered by the Department of Defense (DOD). Provides grant amounts of at least $1 million and up to $1.5 million. Defines as eligible institutions those either accredited by the National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education or demonstrating an ability to meet such accreditation requirements if receiving a grant. Requires the Secretary to award a grant to an institution with orthotic and prosthetic research and education experience to: (1) establish the Center of Excellence in Orthotic and Prosthetic Education; and (2) improve orthotic and prosthetic outcomes for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, and civilians by conducting orthotic and prosthetic-based research.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Assistance in Gaining Experience, Independence, and Navigation Act of 2014 or the AGE-IN Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award a grant to: (1) analyze existing research on youth and young adults with an autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disabilities as they transition out of the school-based support system; (2) research existing infrastructure for transitioning youth, including access to health care, continuing education programs, and community integration programs; and (3) develop a strategic plan for a Transition Navigator Grant Program to provide transitioning youth with support services. Requires the Secretary to establish a Transition Navigator Grant Program to award grants to provide services based on the strategic plan. Directs the Secretary to contract a third party to evaluate the effectiveness of grantees in meeting the goals of the strategic plan.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Acknowledges the significant impact and value of AmeriCorps members, alumni, and community partners over the past 20 years. Promotes a national effort to salute AmeriCorps members and alumni for their service. Encourages citizens of all ages to find ways to give back to their communities and country through AmeriCorps and other programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Student Visa Integrity Act - Amends the federal criminal code to subject to fine and a 15-year prison term an owner, official, employee, or agent of an educational institution who commits fraud or misuse of visas, permits, and other immigration documents in connection with the institution's participation in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to require academic institutions (other than seminaries or other religious institutions) to be accredited for F-visa purposes if: (1) the institution is not already required to be accredited, and (2) an accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of Education is able to provide such accreditation. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the accreditation requirement for an established college, university, or language training program that is otherwise in compliance with F-visa requirements and has been a candidate for accreditation for at least one year and continues to progress toward such accreditation. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to authorize the Secretary to impose a monetary fine and suspend authority to issue a Form I-20 with regard to an institution failing to comply with Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) reporting requirements. Authorizes the Secretary, upon reasonable suspicion that an owner of, or a designated school official at, an approved institution of higher education, another educational institution, or a designated exchange visitor program has committed SEVP-related fraud, to: (1) suspend such certification without prior notification, and (2) suspend such official's or such school's SEVIS access. Disqualifies permanently an owner or school official who is convicted of SEVP-related fraud from filing future petitions and from having an ownership interest or a management role in any U.S. educational institution that enrolls nonimmigrant alien students or nonimmigrant alien vocational students. Prohibits an individual from serving as a designated school official or from being granted access to SEVIS unless the individual: (1) is a U.S. national or a lawful permanent resident alien who, during the most recent three-year period, has undergone a specified background check; and (2) has completed a SEVP and SEVIS training course. Authorizes the Secretary to collect a fee for each such security check. Prohibits any flight school in the United States from accessing SEVIS or issuing a Form I-20 to an alien seeking a student or vocational student visa if the flight school has not been certified to the satisfaction of the Secretary and by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Requires: (1) an accrediting agency or association, at the time it is required to notify the Secretary of Education and the appropriate state licensing agency of the final denial, withdrawal, suspension, or termination of an institution's accreditation, to notify the Secretary of such determination; and (2) the Secretary to withdraw the school from the SEVP and prohibit the school from accessing SEVIS. Directs the Secretary to implement both phases of the second generation SEVIS (SEVIS II) within two years.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Certainty in Enforcement Act of 2014 - Amends equal employment opportunity requirements under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide that it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, or employment agency (or a joint labor management committee controlling apprenticeships or other training or retraining opportunities) to engage in an employment practice that is required by federal, state, or local law in areas such as health care, childcare, in-home services, policing, security, education, finance, employee benefits, and fiduciary duties.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Bringing Awareness and Knowledge to Exempt Schools Against Legislative Encroachment Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from applying the rule entitled "National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition Standards for All Foods Sold in School as Required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010" to food sold as a fundraiser that takes place on the grounds of a school. (The rule requires the Secretary to set nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools that are not foods sold under the school lunch and breakfast programs.)
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2015 - Provides continuing FY2015 appropriations to federal agencies at the current annual rate until December 11, 2014, or specified conditions are met. Appropriates funds to federal agencies for continuing projects and activities at the rate and under the authority and conditions provided in the applicable divisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014: the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014; the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014; the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2014; the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014; the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2014; the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2014; the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014; the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014; the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2014; the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014; the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2014; and the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014. Provides funding until whichever of the following first occurs: (1) enactment of an appropriation for any project or activity funded in this joint resolution, (2) enactment of the applicable FY2015 appropriations Act without any provision for the project or activity, or (3) December 11, 2014. Extends the operating authority of the Export-Import Bank through June 30, 2015. Provides funding to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to respond to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Africa. Extends the Internet Tax Freedom Act through December 11, 2014. Provides U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with funding flexibility to sustain staffing levels, border security operations, and immigration enforcement activities. Specifies additional changes to existing law and funding levels.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2014
Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2014 - Title I: Extensions of Authority Relating to Health Care - Amends veterans' health benefit provisions to extend through 2015: the requirement that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide nursing home care to certain veterans with service-connected disabilities; the pilot program on counseling in retreat settings for women veterans newly separated from service in the Armed Forces; the pilot program on assistance for child care for certain veterans receiving health care; the requirement for the Director of the Department of Defense-Department of Veterans Affairs Interagency Program Office to report to the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the VA, and Congress on Office activities during the preceding calendar year; and the VA's authority to use physicians other than VA employees to conduct medical disability evaluations of VA benefit applicants. Extends through FY2015: funding for the grant program to provide innovative transportation options to veterans in highly rural areas, the requirement that veterans make specified copayments for each day they receive hospital care and nursing home care from the VA, and the federal government's authority to recover from third parties the cost of care and services furnished to veterans with health insurance contracts for non-service-connected disabilities. Title II: Extensions of Authority Relating to Homelessness - Extends: the current funding level for Comprehensive Service Programs for veterans for FY2015 and each subsequent fiscal year; the authorization of appropriations for Homeless Veterans Reintegration Programs, through FY2015; the authority of the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor to enter into a contract to provide referral and counseling services to certain veterans who are at risk of homelessness, through FY2015; the Secretary's authority to provide treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, through FY2015; the Secretary's authority to enter into agreements with nonprofit organizations, states, or localities to provide housing assistance to homeless veterans, through FY2015; funding for the provision of financial assistance to private nonprofit organizations or consumer cooperatives for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing, through FY2015; funding for the grant program for veterans with special needs, through FY2015; and the authority for the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans, through 2017. Title III: Extensions of Authority Relating to Benefits - Extends: the authority for the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education, through 2017; to loans closed before FY 2015, the method by which the Secretary is to calculate the net value of real property at foreclosure for which there is a veteran's loan, guaranteed by the VA, for the purchase or construction of a home; the upper percentage of the purchases of such foreclosed property that may be financed by a loan from the Secretary, through FY2015; and the Secretary's authority to provide rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses, through 2015. Title IV: Other Extensions of Authority and Other Matters - Extends: the Secretary's authority to transport individuals to and from VA facilities or any other place in connection with vocational rehabilitation, counseling, or health care that is covered by the VA, through 2015; the Secretary's authority to maintain a regional office in the Philippines, through FY2015; the requirement that the Secretary report to Congress on the disposition of each case recommended to the Secretary for equitable relief from the denial of VA benefits due to administrative error, through 2015; the authority for the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans, through 2017; the Secretary's authority to provide specially adapted housing assistance to certain veterans who have lost the use of one or both of their lower extremities, through FY2015; and the Secretary's authority to enter into an agreement with National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a study of the associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides, through 2015. Requires the Office of Special Counsel to provide veterans with assistance in securing the employment and reemployment rights and benefits to which they are entitled with respect to a federal executive agency or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Establishes a process that allows such veterans to file a complaint directly with the Office of Special Counsel. Provides that payments under the Education Debt Reduction Program may be made to the holders of educational loans to cover the principal and interest VA health care personnel owe on such loans. Makes miscellaneous and technical amendments to the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, including those involving: veterans' access to health care from VA and non-VA facilities; collaboration between the VA and the Indian Health Service (IHS) to increase access to, and the quality and coordination of, health care services; and the care provided by the VA's mobile vet centers and mobile medical centers, including readjustment counseling. Requires the Secretary, for purposes of veterans' educational benefits, to disapprove courses of education provided by a public institution of higher learning if the institution charges veterans living in the state higher tuition and fees than it charges in-state residents, regardless of the veteran's state of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2014
Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Act of 2014 - Requires the Administrator of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to award one medical or nursing school a grant to develop best practices for health care professionals to recognize and respond appropriately to victims of severe forms of human trafficking. Requires the grantee to: (1) develop methods or materials to train health care professionals on best practices, (2) make a subgrant to one entity in each of the 10 administrative regions of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a pilot program to test the best practices and training, and (3) analyze the results of the pilot programs and determine which best practices are evidence-based. Directs HHS to disseminate evidence-based best practices on their website and to health care profession schools.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Student Loan Repayment Assistance Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow borrowers of William D. Ford Federal Direct Stafford Loans to opt to extend the period before they must begin to repay such loans to one year after they cease to carry at least one-half the normal full-time academic workload if the unemployment rate is greater than the natural rate of employment (as established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System). (Currently, the repayment period for Direct Stafford Loans begins six months after borrowers cease to carry at least one-half the normal full-time academic workload.) Subsidizes the interest that accrues on Direct Stafford Loans for the first six months of that extended grace period. Makes this Act applicable to Direct Stafford Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2013. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee amounts paid by an employer under a student loan payment assistance program. Requires participating employees to pay at least $50 per month on their student loans (in addition to the amount excluded from their gross income under such program). Limits the amount of such exclusion to $6,000 in a taxable year. Requires an employer student loan payment assistance program to be a separate written plan of an employer to provide employees with student loan payment assistance. Defines "student loan payment assistance" as the payment of principal or interest on any indebtedness incurred by an employee solely to pay qualified higher education expenses that are paid or incurred within a reasonable time before or after such indebtedness was incurred and that are attributable to education furnished during a period in which such employee was a student eligible for federal financial assistance. Allows an employee to take an income tax deduction in an amount equal to the employee's student loan payments that are matched by excludible employer contributions under a student loan payment assistance program. Limits the amount of such deduction to $6,000 in a taxable year and $50,000 over a lifetime.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Department of Education Elimination Act of 2014 - Abolishes the Department of Education (Department) and repeals any program for which it or the Secretary of Education has administrative responsibility. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide grants to states, for FY2015-FY2024, for any: (1) elementary and secondary education purpose permitted by state law, and (2) postsecondary education purpose permitted by state law. Sets the funding level for those grants at the amount of funding provided to states for federal elementary and secondary education programs and the amount provided for federal postsecondary education programs, respectively, for FY2012, minus the funding they were provided for education programs that this Act transfers to other federal agencies. Requires states to contract for an annual audit of their expenditures or transfers of grant funds. Requires the transfer of: each of the Department's job training programs to the Department of Labor; each special education grant program under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); each of the Department's Indian Education programs to the Department of the Interior; each Impact Aid program under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to the Department of Defense (DOD); and the Federal Pell Grant program and the Federal Family Education Loan and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan programs, under the Higher Education Act of 1965, to the Department of HHS. Sets a fiscal year cap on Federal Pell Grant funding.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Protecting Children and America's Homeland Act of 2014 - Division A: Supplemental Appropriations - Provides supplemental FY2014 appropriations for expenses related to the rise in unaccompanied alien children and alien adults accompanied by an alien minor at the southwest border. Makes such supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice (DOJ), science, and related agencies; (2) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and (3) the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Education, and related agencies. Specifies other authorized, restricted, and prohibited uses of appropriated funds. Division B: Unaccompanied Alien Children and Border Security - Amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to declare that any unaccompanied alien child (UAC) who has not been a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons or does not have a credible fear of persecution on returning to his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence shall be: (1) placed in removal proceedings, (2) eligible for voluntary departure at no cost to the child, and (3) provided with access to counsel. (Currently such expedited removal requirements apply only to unaccompanied children from countries that are contiguous to the United States.) Directs the Secretary of State to negotiate agreements regarding the repatriation of children with Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and any other appropriate foreign country. (Currently such agreements are to be negotiated between the United States and countries contiguous to the United States.) Directs the DHS Secretary to place any UAC that is a criminal or gang member in a proceeding for expedited removal. Prohibits removal of a UAC from U.S. custody during preliminary proceedings until repatriation or unless placed in removal proceedings. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a proceeding to expedite due process and screening for UACs. Requires an immigration judge to: conduct and conclude a proceeding to inspect and determine the status of a UAC who applies for U.S. admission within 7 days after screening the child, and issue within 72 hours after the proceeding's conclusion an order for further proceedings, for removal, or for referral to an asylum officer for interview. Prescribes treatment for any UAC who intends to make a claim of asylum or fear of persecution. Prescribes procedures for expedited due process for a UAC present in the United States, including due process protections, among them protective HHS custody. Requires the HHS Secretary and the DHS Secretary to exchange specified information with regard to placement of a UAC. Requires regular inspections of HHS facilities for the care and custody of UACs. Prescribes requirements, especially for nongovernmental sponsors, in connection with the custody of UACs in a formal removal proceeding. Prohibits the HHS Secretary from placing a UAC in the custody of an individual convicted of a sex offense or a crime involving a severe form of trafficking in persons. Requires related biometric criminal background checks. Makes it unlawful for a person to obtain custody of a UAC by fraudulent representations. Requires DHS or HHS to notify the governor of a state within 48 hours before placing a UAC in the care of a facility or sponsor in the state. Requires HHS to monitor regularly and frequently the physical and emotional well-being of each UAC discharged to a sponsor or remaining in HHS custody until resolution of the child's immigration case. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) to designate up to 100 immigration judges to conduct expedited inspection and screening of UACs. Requires the HHS Secretary to report to Congress on the care of UACs. Directs the Secretary of State to carry out in-country processing of refugee applications in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Requires the President to certify annually whether the government of each of these countries: (1) is actively working to reduce the number of UACs from that country attempting to migrate illegally to the United States; (2) is cooperating with the United States to facilitate the repatriation of UACs removed from the United States and returned to their countries; and (2) has negotiated or is actively negotiating an agreement for the repatriation of UACs. Prescribes requirements for treatment and deportation of aliens associated with criminal gangs, especially the expedited removal of dangerous criminals, terrorists, and gang members. Authorizes DHS to: (1) hire 350 ICE detention officers that comprise 50 Fugitive Operations Teams responsible for identifying, locating, and arresting fugitive aliens; and (2) increase by at least 5,000 the number of detention beds available for aliens placed in removal proceedings, including beds available for family units. Prohibits the use of federal funds or resources to issue a new directive, memorandum, or executive order providing for relief from removal or work authorization to a class of individuals not otherwise eligible for it under the Immigration and Nationality Act, including expanding deferred action for childhood arrivals. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, for the federal lands under their jurisdictions, to authorize and grant CBP personnel immediate access to such lands for specified security activities, conducted in a manner that will best protect natural and cultural resources. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to state and local governments in Border Patrol Sectors on the along the U.S.-Mexican border for costs related to enhancing law enforcement preparedness, humanitarian responses, and operational readiness along the southern border through Operation Stonegarden. Makes it a crime to: (1) transmit (spot) to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents with the intent to further a federal crime relating to immigration, customs, controlled substances, agriculture, monetary instruments, or other border controls; 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. Prohibits an individual acting for financial gain from directing or participating in an effort to bring or attempt to bring three or more persons unlawfully into the United States. Prescribes criminal penalties, including enhanced penalties for certain violations. Directs the DHS Secretary to implement a strategy to deter and interdict human smuggling across the international land and maritime borders of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
American Livestock Protection and Ranching Opportunity Act of 2014 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: the majority of consumers in the United States want to know where animals used to produce the meat eaten are born, raised, and slaughtered; country-of-origin labeling provides information that consumers have a right to know; and country-of-origin labeling facilitates supply chain information critical for food safety. Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from allowing or advancing regulations that allow the importation of fresh meat and meat products from a country until the Secretary certifies to Congress that a country is free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination. Amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to establish a USDA livestock disease initiative to provide competitive grants for research and development related to surveillance methods, vaccines, vaccination delivery systems, or diagnostic tests for diseases in domestic livestock that present a potential concern to public health and safety. Makes federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, research institutions, and state agricultural experiment stations eligible for grants. Amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to provide eligible livestock producers with assistance for losses due to brucellosis and to alter the payment rates USDA uses to provide agricultural disaster assistance under the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Older Americans Community Access Revitalization and Education Act or the Older Americans CARE Act - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 (OAA) to redefine Aging and Disability Resource Center as a collaborative network that has a no wrong door single entry point system and a comprehensive and integrated program as part of a state system of integrated long-term care (LTC) for individuals with disabilities and older individuals. (Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a "no wrong door single entry point system" is a statewide system to enable consumers to access all LTC services and supports through an agency, organization, coordinated network, or portal giving information on: (1) the availability of such services, (2) how to apply for them, (3) referral services in the community, and (4) financial and functional eligibility for services and supports, including assistance with eligibility assessment processes.) Includes status as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) individual as a factor indicative of greatest social need. Directs the Assistant Secretary of Aging, through a coordinated public education and outreach campaign carried out by the National Eldercare Locator Service, and in coordination with other appropriate federal agencies, to promote: (1) enhanced public awareness of the importance of advance planning for integrated LTC; and (2) the availability of national, state, and local information and resources to assist in such planning, as well as the existence of area agencies and aging service providers to give direct assistance with it. Directs the Assistant Secretary to make grants to states for the modernization of facilities to serve as multipurpose senior centers. Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to provide funding through area agencies on aging, and other approved entities, to not-for-profit owners or managers of housing for a pilot project service packaged and targeted for residents of federally assisted housing. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish a community care wrap-around support demonstration program of grants to enable eligible entities to: (1) establish community care wrap-around support partnerships; and (2) enable them to carry out specified activities, including longitudinal care plans for each eligible older individual as well as medication management and medical nutrition therapy. Requires a State Long-Term Care Ombudsman to: (1) identify interventions or devices that affect the rights and safety of residents, including the use of chemical and physical restraints; and (2) educate providers, residents, and families about the danger of those interventions and devices. Authorizes appropriations for the prevention of financial abuse, fraud, and other financial exploitation. Directs a state agency, in order to receive an allotment from appropriated funds, to develop and enhance programs to address elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation (including financial abuse, fraud, and other financial exploitation).
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Propane Supply and Security Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) to publish weekly inventory data on propane storage and propane markets, including pricing data for residential customers in states that voluntarily choose to participate in the State Heating Oil and Propane Program (SHOPP) of the EIA. Directs the Administrator to publish data on storage at: (1) major market centers, and (2) the regions reported in specified weekly and monthly inventory data. Directs the Administrator to work with the states participating in SHOPP to develop a comparable program to collect data on wood pellets, firewood, and other biomass. Directs the Secretary of Energy to lead federal and state emergency response efforts regarding propane supply emergencies in any state or region characterized by either sudden increases in consumer prices for propane, or propane supply shortages that threaten public safety or livestock safety. Amends the Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 to direct the Propane Education and Research Council to develop for propane distributors and consumers training programs on strategies to mitigate negative effects of future propane price spikes. Directs the Secretary to study the effectiveness and feasibility of establishing propane storage facilities operated separately from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Authorizes the Secretary to submit to Congress and the President a plan describing such regional propane reserve. Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to include within the storage facility loan program funding for propane storage and handling facilities used for drying and heating. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study facilities appurtenant to propane pipelines that are not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to determine: (1) whether the nonjurisdictional nature of the facilities is injurious to shippers or consumers; and (2) whether the facilities can be placed under FERC jurisdiction or, if not, whether changes in law to place them under FERC jurisdiction are in the public interest.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014 or America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Establishes, revises, and extends specified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, as well as education, research, and training programs. Amends the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2010 to revise requirements for updating the five-year STEM education strategic plan and require the Office of Science and Technology Policy to convene a subcommittee on research productivity. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to revise requirements for prize competitions to stimulate innovation. Establishes requirements for educational and outreach activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Reauthorizes specified National Institute of Standards and Technology programs and amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to modify the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Reauthorizes specified National Science Foundation (NSF) programs and establishes requirements for grants and educational programs. Establishes grants and requirements for specified activities to promote STEM education and teacher training. Requires the NSF to encourage the development of the Innovation Corps and other training programs that focus on graduate student professional development. Establishes grants for traineeship programs. Requires the National Science Board to assess metrics for evaluating science and engineering comprehension in grades K-12. Requires the Department of Education (DOE) to award grants for STEM secondary schools. Reauthorizes the Department of Commerce's Regional Innovation Program and permits loan guarantees for science park infrastructure. National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2014 - Amends the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act to revise requirements for management and review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Increasing Student Achievement by Increasing Student Support Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive, renewable, five-year grants to partnerships between low-income local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools offering graduate programs in school counseling, social work, or psychology to increase the number of program graduates employed by low-income LEAs. Defines "low-income LEAs" as those that: (1) serve students at least 20% of whom are from families with incomes below the federal poverty level; and (2) have no more than 1 school counselor for every 275 students, 1 school psychologist for every 770 students, and 1 school social worker for every 440 students. Allows the use of grant funds to: provide program graduate students with field training at partnership LEA schools; contribute to program graduates' salaries at such schools for up to three years after they graduate; increase the number of school counselors, social workers, and psychologists per student, and from underrepresented backgrounds, in such schools; enhance the capacity of partnership graduate schools to train such professionals; develop course work designed to facilitate such graduates' service to low-income LEAs and at-risk students; and provide tuition credits to such graduate students and student loan forgiveness to program graduates employed as school counselors, social workers, or psychologists by low-income LEAs for at least five consecutive years. Directs the Secretary to establish a program providing student loan forgiveness to non-participants in this Act's grant program who have been employed for at least five consecutive years as school counselors, social workers, or psychologists by low-income LEAs. Requires the Secretary to identify a formula for future use in designating regions as eligible for benefit programs due to their having a shortage of such school personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Protecting Children and America's Homeland Act of 2014 - Division A: Supplemental Appropriations - Provides supplemental FY2014 appropriations for expenses related to the rise in unaccompanied alien children and alien adults accompanied by an alien minor at the southwest border. Makes such supplemental appropriations to: (1) the Department of Commerce, the Department of Justice (DOJ), science, and related agencies; (2) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and (3) the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Education, and related agencies. Specifies other authorized, restricted, and prohibited uses of appropriated funds. Division B: Unaccompanied Alien Children and Border Security - Amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to declare that any unaccompanied alien child (UAC) who has not been a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons or does not have a credible fear of persecution on returning to his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence shall be: (1) placed in removal proceedings, (2) eligible for voluntary departure at no cost to the child, and (3) provided with access to counsel. (Currently such expedited removal requirements apply only to unaccompanied children from countries that are contiguous to the United States.) Directs the Secretary of State to negotiate agreements regarding the repatriation of children with Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and any other appropriate foreign country. (Currently such agreements are to be negotiated between the United States and countries contiguous to the United States.) Directs the DHS Secretary to place any UAC that is a criminal or gang member in a proceeding for expedited removal. Prohibits removal of a UAC from U.S. custody during preliminary proceedings until repatriation or unless placed in removal proceedings. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a proceeding to expedite due process and screening for UACs. Requires an immigration judge to: conduct and conclude a proceeding to inspect and determine the status of a UAC who applies for U.S. admission within 7 days after screening the child, and issue within 72 hours after the proceeding's conclusion an order for further proceedings, for removal, or for referral to an asylum officer for interview. Prescribes treatment for any UAC who intends to make a claim of asylum or fear of persecution. Prescribes procedures for expedited due process for a UAC present in the United States, including due process protections, among them protective HHS custody. Requires the HHS Secretary and the DHS Secretary to exchange specified information with regard to placement of a UAC. Requires regular inspections of HHS facilities for the care and custody of UACs. Prescribes requirements, especially for nongovernmental sponsors, in connection with the custody of UACs in a formal removal proceeding. Prohibits the HHS Secretary from placing a UAC in the custody of an individual convicted of a sex offense or a crime involving a severe form of trafficking in persons. Requires related biometric criminal background checks. Makes it unlawful for a person to obtain custody of a UAC by fraudulent representations. Requires DHS or HHS to notify the governor of a state within 48 hours before placing a UAC in the care of a facility or sponsor in the state. Requires HHS to monitor regularly and frequently the physical and emotional well-being of each UAC discharged to a sponsor or remaining in HHS custody until resolution of the child's immigration case. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) to designate up to 100 immigration judges to conduct expedited inspection and screening of UACs. Requires the HHS Secretary to report to Congress on the care of UACs. Directs the Secretary of State to carry out in-country processing of refugee applications in El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras. Requires the President to certify annually whether the government of each of these countries: (1) is actively working to reduce the number of UACs from that country attempting to migrate illegally to the United States; (2) is cooperating with the United States to facilitate the repatriation of UACs removed from the United States and returned to their countries; and (2) has negotiated or is actively negotiating an agreement for the repatriation of UACs. Prescribes requirements for treatment and deportation of aliens associated with criminal gangs, especially the expedited removal of dangerous criminals, terrorists, and gang members. Authorizes DHS to: (1) hire 350 ICE detention officers that comprise 50 Fugitive Operations Teams responsible for identifying, locating, and arresting fugitive aliens; and (2) increase by at least 5,000 the number of detention beds available for aliens placed in removal proceedings, including beds available for family units. Prohibits the use of federal funds or resources to issue a new directive, memorandum, or executive order providing for relief from removal or work authorization to a class of individuals not otherwise eligible for it under the Immigration and Nationality Act, including expanding deferred action for childhood arrivals. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior, for the federal lands under their jurisdictions, to authorize and grant CBP personnel immediate access to such lands for specified security activities, conducted in a manner that will best protect natural and cultural resources. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to state and local governments in Border Patrol Sectors on the along the U.S.-Mexican border for costs related to enhancing law enforcement preparedness, humanitarian responses, and operational readiness along the southern border through Operation Stonegarden. Makes it a crime to: (1) transmit (spot) to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents with the intent to further a federal crime relating to immigration, customs, controlled substances, agriculture, monetary instruments, or other border controls; 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. Prohibits an individual acting for financial gain from directing or participating in an effort to bring or attempt to bring three or more persons unlawfully into the United States. Prescribes criminal penalties, including enhanced penalties for certain violations. Directs the DHS Secretary to implement a strategy to deter and interdict human smuggling across the international land and maritime borders of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to select a medical center in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve as the national center for research on the diagnosis and treatment of health conditions of descendants (i.e., a biological child, grandchild, or great-grandchild) of individuals exposed to toxic substances while serving as members of the Armed Forces that are related to that exposure. Requires the national research center to employ at least one licensed clinical social worker to coordinate the access of individuals to appropriate federal, state, and local social and health care programs and to handle case management. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory board to: (1) advise the national research center, (2) determine which health conditions in the descendants of individuals who were exposed to toxic substances while serving in the Armed Forces result from such exposure for purposes of determining those descendants' eligibility for VA medical care, and (3) study and evaluate claims of service-related exposure to toxic substances by current and former members of the Armed Forces. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to declassify documents (other than documents that would materially and immediately threaten national security) related to any known incident in which not less than 100 members of the Armed Forces were exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of disability. Directs the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the DOD Secretary to jointly conduct a national outreach and education campaign directed at members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their family members to communicate information on: (1) incidents of exposure to toxic substances, health conditions resulting form such exposure, and the potential long-term effects of such exposure; and (2) the national research center.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Community-Based Medical Education Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2019 at increased levels the program of payments to teaching health centers that operate graduate medical education (GME) programs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) conduct a comprehensive evaluation of such program; and (2) establish a process by which qualified teaching health centers that have received payments under such Act prior to the date on which the primary care teaching centers program is established by this Act under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act may become eligible to participate in such primary care teaching program. Conditions the award of teaching health centers grants on the basis of demonstrated financial need. Reduces from $500,000 to $250,000 the maximum amount of such a grant. Authorizes appropriations for the grant program through FY2018. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary to establish a program of payments to primary care teaching centers for up to 50 new full-time equivalent resident training positions per center at up to 300 centers per year. Sets the minimum per resident payment for 2014 at $150,000, increased each subsequent year by the percentage increase in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (United States city average). Directs the Secretary to establish and implement procedures under which, beginning in FY2018, the amount of payments that a hospital would otherwise receive for indirect medical education (IME) costs for discharges during a fiscal year is adjusted based on the reporting of measures and the hospital's performance on measures of population health priorities specified by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to specify measures of population health priorities, including measures relating to: (1) the extent of training provided in shortage specialities, a variety of settings and systems, the coordination of patient care across settings, interprofessional and multidisciplinary care teams, methods for identifying system errors and implementing system solutions, and the use of health information technology; and (2) the number of graduates practicing in shortage specialties five years after graduation, including in shortage specialties in health professional shortage areas Requires measures of patient care specified by the Secretary to be: (1) adopted or endorsed by an accrediting organization, and (2) consensus-based. Allows them to include any submitted by teaching hospitals and medical schools. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress and the National Health Care Workforce Commission on the GME payments hospitals and primary health training programs receive under Medicare. Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to reauthorize the National Health Care Workforce Commission through FY2019. Amends SSA title XVIII to revise the formula for the indirect teaching adjustment factor to reduce Medicare IME payments on or after October 1, 2016.