Education

Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Manufacturing Universities Act of 2014 - Authorizes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish a program to designate up to 25 institutions of higher education as U.S. manufacturing universities that are to be awarded funds over a four-year period. Requires an institution applying for such program to submit a plan describing its engineering programs, its relationship to manufacturing industries, and its ability to positively impact local and regional economic development. Requires NIST to recommend adaptations to certain Small Business Act programs to assist small businesses that collaborate with such universities.

SAFE PLAY Act

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Supporting Athletes, Families and Educators to Protect the Lives of Athletic Youth Act or the SAFE PLAY Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop public education and awareness materials and resources concerning cardiac health, including: information to increase education and awareness of high risk cardiac conditions and genetic heart rhythm abnormalities that may cause sudden cardiac arrest in children, adolescents, and young adults; sudden cardiac arrest and cardiomyopathy risk assessment worksheets to increase awareness of warning signs of, and increase the likelihood of early detection and treatment of, life-threatening cardiac conditions; training materials for emergency interventions and use of life-saving emergency equipment; and recommendations for how schools, childcare centers, and local youth athletic organizations can develop and implement cardiac emergency response plans. Requires the Director to: (1) provide for dissemination of such information to school personnel, coaches, and families; and (2) develop data collection methods to determine the degree to which such persons have an understanding of cardiac issues. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to enable eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools served by such LEAs to purchase AEDs and implement nationally recognized CPR and AED training courses. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require a state, as a condition of receiving funds under such Act, to certify that it requires: (1) LEAs to implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management for public schools; (2) public schools to post information on the symptoms of, the risks posed by, and the actions a student should take in response to, a concussion; (3) public school personnel who suspect a student has sustained a concussion in a school-sponsored activity to notify the parents and prohibit the student from participating in such activity until they receive a written release from a health care professional; and (4) a public school's concussion management team to ensure that a student who has sustained a concussion is receiving appropriate academic supports. Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop public education and awareness materials and resources to be disseminated to schools regarding risks from exposure to excessive heat and humidity and recommendations for how to avoid heat-related illness. Requires public schools to develop excessive heat action plans for school-sponsored athletic activities. Requires the Director to develop guidelines for the development of emergency action plans for youth athletics. Authorizes the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) to develop information about the ingredients used in energy drinks and their potential side effects, and recommend guidelines for the safe use of such drinks by youth, for dissemination to public schools. Requires the Director to: (1) expand, intensify, and coordinate CDC activities regarding cardiac conditions, concussions, and heat-related illnesses among youth athletes; and (2) report on fatalities and catastrophic injuries among youths participating an athletic activities.

American Indian Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

American Indian Teacher Loan Forgiveness Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness to borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan program or the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program who: (1) are a member of an Indian tribe, and (2) have been employed as a full-time teacher for five consecutive complete school years in an Indian school or in a local educational agency that serves at least 10 Indian students or whose schools have an enrollment of students at least 25% of which are Indians.

Campus Accountability and Safety Act

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Campus Accountability and Safety Act - Amends provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in title IV (Student Assistance) programs to include in their annual campus security reports provided to current and prospective students and employees: the memorandum of understanding that this Act requires IHEs to enter into with local law enforcement agencies (and update every two years) to clearly delineate responsibilities and share information about certain serious crimes, including sexual violence, occurring against students or other individuals on campus; and specified information regarding the disposition of sexual offense cases by the IHE. Requires the crime statistics that IHEs are to compile and provide in such reports to be compiled in accordance with: definitions used by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 for the offenses of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; and definitions for other offenses that are available under the National Incident-Based Reporting System or the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or, if not available there, that are provided by the Secretary of Education. Prohibits the statistics for such other crimes from identifying the victims or persons accused of such crimes. Requires IHEs to provide new students and employees with a statement that identifies domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as crimes which will be reported and with respect to which, based on the victim's wishes, the IHE will cooperate with local law enforcement. Directs the Secretary to develop and administer through an online portal a standardized, online, and annual survey of students regarding their experiences with sexual violence and harassment. Omits survey responses from the annual crime statistics IHEs must report, but requires the Secretary to publish survey information that includes campus-level data for each school on the Department of Education's website annually. Requires the Department to make publicly available guidance regarding the intersection of the campus security and crime statistics reporting requirements under title IV and requirements under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil penalty upon IHEs that fail to carry out campus security and crime statistics reporting requirements. Requires each IHE that receives federal funding to establish a campus security policy that includes: the designation of one or more confidential advisors at the IHE to whom victims of crime can report anonymously or directly; authorization for the IHE to provide an online reporting system to collect anonymous disclosures of crimes; provision on the IHE's website of the telephone number and URL for a hotline providing information to sexual violence victims and the name and location of the nearest medical facility where an individual may have a rape kit administered by a trained sexual violence forensic nurse, including information on transportation options and reimbursement for a visit to such facility; and an amnesty clause for any student who, in good faith, reports sexual violence to a responsible employee, with respect to a student conduct violation revealed in the course of such a report. Amends the Education Amendments of 1972 to require the Secretary to establish a title IX website that includes: the name and contact information for the title IX coordinator at each IHE, including a brief description of the coordinator's role and the roles of other officials who may be contacted regarding sexual harassment; and the Department's pending investigations and the actions it has taken regarding all title IX complaints and compliance reviews related to sexual harassment. Requires each IHE to employ an individual who shall complete minimum training requirements and be responsible for: (1) reporting cases of sexual harassment to the title IX coordinator; and (2) providing students and employees who report having been a victim of sexual harassment on or off campus with a written explanation of their rights and options. Requires each individual who is involved in implementing an IHE's grievance procedures to have training or experience in handling sexual violence complaints and the operations of the IHE's grievance procedures. Sets forth minimum training requirements. Requires each IHE that receives federal funding to establish and carry out a uniform process for disciplinary proceedings relating to claims of sexual violence that shall not vary based on the status or characteristics of a student involved in the process. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary or the Attorney General (DOJ) to impose a civil penalty on IHEs that violate or fail to carry out title IX requirements regarding sexual violence, and (2) individuals to file a complaint regarding such a violation with the Department's Office for Civil Rights. Amends the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 to: (1) increase the minimum grant that may be provided to IHEs to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campuses; and (2) authorize the use of such grants to train campus personnel in conducting victim-centered, trauma-informed (forensic) interviews.

Pathways Out of Poverty Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Pathways Out of Poverty Act of 2014 - Division A: Education - Title I: Strong Start for America's Children - Subtitle A: Access to Voluntary Prekindergarten for Low- and Moderate-Income Families - Directs the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to allot matching grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs), childhood education program providers, or consortia of those entities to implement high-quality prekindergarten programs for children from low-income families. Allots grants to states based on each state's proportion of children who are age four and who are from families with incomes at or below 200% of the poverty level. Defines "high-quality prekindergarten programs." Conditions grant eligibility on a state demonstrating to the Secretary that it: (1) has established or will establish early learning and development standards, (2) has established or will develop the ability to link prekindergarten data with elementary and secondary school data, (3) offers state-funded kindergarten for children, and (4) has established a State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a process to provide Head Start program services to children who are younger than age four in states or regions that provide four-year-olds whose family income is at or below 200% of the poverty level with sustained access to high-quality prekindergarten programs. Subtitle B: Prekindergarten Development Grants - Directs the Secretary to award competitive, matching, capacity-building grants to states that assure that they will use their grant to become eligible, within three years of receiving the grant, for this Act's grants for high-quality prekindergarten programs. Title II: Restoring Summer Pell Grants - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow the Secretary to award a student two Pell Grants during a single award year if the student is enrolled in an associate or baccalaureate degree program or a certificate program at an institution of higher education (IHE) on at least a half-time basis for the equivalent of more than one academic year during the Pell Grant award year. Title III: Restoring Title IV Ability-to-Benefit Eligibility - Allows students who are not high school graduates or have not met certain home schooling requirements to receive student assistance under title IV of the HEA if they demonstrate that they can benefit from the education or training being offered by an IHE through: (1) their performance on an independently administered examination, (2) a state prescribed process, or (3) their satisfactory completion of six credit hours or the equivalent coursework toward a degree or certificate offered by the IHE. Title IV: Youth Promise/Federal Coordination of Local and Tribal Juvenile Justice Information and Efforts - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to establish a PROMISE Advisory Panel to assist the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in assessing and developing standards and evidence-based practices to prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity. Requires the Administrator of the Office to award grants to organizations to collect and use data in designated geographic areas to assess the needs and existing resources for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention. Title V: Promise Grants - Subtitle A: PROMISE Assessment and Planning Grants - Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award grants to local governments and Indian tribes to assist local PROMISE Coordinating Councils (PCCs) with planning and assessing evidence-based and promising practices for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention, especially for at-risk youth. Subtitle B: PROMISE Implementation Grants - Directs the Administrator to award additional grants to assist PCCs to implement PROMISE plans for coordinating and supporting the delivery of juvenile delinquency and gang prevention and intervention programs in local communities. Subtitle C: General PROMISE Grant Provisions - Directs the Administrator, in conjunction with the PROMISE Advisory Panel, to establish and utilize a system for evaluating applications for PROMISE Assessment and Planning grants and for PROMISE Implementation grants. Division B: Housing - Title VI: Common Sense Housing Investment - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax deduction for mortgage interest, to: (1) allow, in lieu of such deduction, a tax credit for 15% of mortgage interest paid in a taxable year for the taxpayer's principal residence and one other residence; (2) provide for a phaseout of the tax deduction for mortgage interest between 2014 and 2018; (3) allow a deduction for interest and taxes relating to land for dwelling purposes owned or leased by cooperative housing corporations; and (4) increase the state housing credit ceiling for the low-income housing tax credit. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to apply the savings from the enactment of this Act to the Housing Trust Fund, for assistance under the Section 8 low-income housing program, and for the Public Housing Capital Fund. Title VII: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit for Homeless Youth - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify low-income building units that provide housing for full-time students who were homeless youth or homeless veterans prior to occupying a low-income housing unit for the low-income housing tax credit. Title VIII: Renters Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for a portion of the rent paid by a qualified renter. Defines "qualified renter" as a family unit with income not greater than the higher of 60% of local median income or 150% of the federal poverty line. Establishes the amount of such credit as the rent reduction amount, which: (1) is the amount by which the fair market rent for a rental unit exceeds the rent charged to the qualified renter; and (2) shall not exceed the excess of the rent charged to the qualified renter (or, if lower, specified modest rent) over 30% of the qualified renter's income (prorated monthly). Division C: Nutrition - Title IX: Improving the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Program - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Act) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to require state TANF plans to address whether and how states will give priority to providing assistance in areas with the greatest need. Extends the TANF program. Establishes matching grants to the states for subsidized employment. Sets a flat minimum participation rate of 50% with respect to all families residing in a state that include a work-eligible individual.. Gives TANF recipients the option to have trained personnel assess certain barriers to employment. Revises the contents of individual responsibility plans. Authorizes a state to develop a modified employability plan for a TANF recipient with, or caring for a family member with, a disability. Prohibits a state from imposing a lifetime sanction or full-family sanction on assistance to any individual or family on the basis of a family member's failure to comply with a program requirement. Prohibits sanctioning individuals for failure to engage in work if the failure results from the inability to secure child care or after-school arrangements for a child under age 13. Prohibits imposing a limit of less than 60 months on duration of TANF assistance. Makes the durational limit inapplicable during a recession. Requires that states establish personnel standards through a merit-based system in the administration of TANF programs. Requires TANF assistance to meet basic family economic needs. Makes reducing child poverty a purpose of the TANF program. Requires that states adopt standards and procedures to address domestic and sexual violence suffered by TANF recipients. Requires a state to guarantee child care services to TANF recipients employed or participating in a work activity. Eliminates the ban on providing assistance to families not assigning certain support rights to the state. Gives states the option to extend TANF eligibility to children through age 21. Prohibits considering financial aid tied to education of a child in determining eligibility for or the amount of TANF. Eliminates bars to TANF assistance for persons convicted of drug felonies, unwed teen parents not in school, and teens not in an adult-supervised living arrangement. Title X: Employment Advancement, Retention, and Navigation Act - Makes it a purpose of TANF to promote employment among needy families. Requires a state to use any funds received under a grant from the TANF Contingency Fund for State Welfare Programs solely to support training programs leading to a credential directly linked to the employment opportunities in the local area or region. Eliminates the maintenance of effort requirement, and related administrative penalty, for state use of amounts from the Contingency Fund. Revises the definition of vocational educational training as a work activity to include up to 24 months of such training for any individual participating in a training program leading to a credential directly linked to employment opportunities in the individual's local area or region. Removes from the limitation on the number of persons who may be treated as engaged in work by reason of participation in educational activities all single heads of household or married individuals under age 20 who maintain satisfactory school attendance. Title XI: Restoring Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs Funding Cuts Instituted in Farm Bill (Heat-and-Eat) - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to remove restrictions on providing standard utility allowances under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) to certain households based on the receipt of nominal benefits under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 or similar energy assistance programs. Title XII: Helping Hungry Students Learn - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand the school lunch program, provide free breakfast to students, and establish a pilot program to provide commodities to state agencies to assist in providing food to at-risk children on weekends and during school holidays. Title XIII: Food Assistance to Improve Reintegration Act - Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to repeal provisions making individuals convicted of certain drug-related offenses ineligible for SNAP benefits. Division D: Labor/Job Training - Title XV [ sic ]: Assistance for the Unemployed and Pathways Back to Work - Subtitle A: Supporting Unemployed Workers - Supporting Unemployed Workers Act of 2014 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before January 1, 2016. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until December 31, 2015, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 30, 2016, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. Amends FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to December 31, 2015, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2015, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Establishes the Reemployment NOW program to facilitate the reemployment of individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation (EUC claimants). Requires a state to submit for approval by the Secretary of Labor a plan meeting certain minimum requirements in order to be eligible for an allotment of federal funds under such program. Authorizes a state to use its allotted funds to establish: (1) a Bridge to Work program to provide EUC claimants with short-term work experience placements with eligible employers; (2) a wage insurance program to pay, for up to two years, an EUC claimant who obtains reemployment up to 50% of the difference between the wages received at the time of work separation and the wages received for reemployment; and (3) a program of enhanced reemployment services to EUC claimants, including unemployed individuals who have exhausted their EUC rights. Prescribes requirements for federal financing of state short-time compensation programs. Subtitle B: Long-Term Unemployed Hiring Preferences - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an increased work opportunity tax credit for long-term unemployed individuals (individuals who are unemployed and receiving unemployment compensation for six months or more). Subtitle C: Pathways Back to Work - Pathways Back to Work Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make certain allocations of federal funds to states with approved plans, qualifying outlying areas (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau), and Native American program grantees to provide: (1) subsidized employment to unemployed, low-income adults; and (2) summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth. Requires the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to local entities for work-based training and other work-related and educational strategies and activities of demonstrated effectiveness to provide unemployed, low-income adults and low-income youths with skills that will lead to employment. Subjects activities funded under this Act to federal labor standards and nondiscrimination protections. Subtitle D: Prohibition of Discrimination in Employment on the Basis of an Individual's Status as Unemployed - Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2014 - Makes it an unlawful practice for certain employers to: (1) publish a job advertisement or announcement that includes provisions indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for employment or that the employer will not consider or hire an individual for employment based on such status, (2) fail or refuse to consider or hire an individual because of such status, or (3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration for employment or when screening or referring employees. Makes it an unlawful practice for an employment agency to commit similar acts, including to: (1) screen, or fail or refuse to consider or refer, an individual for employment because of the individual's unemployed status; or (2) limit, segregate, or classify any such individual in any manner that would limit access to job information or consideration, screening, or referral for jobs. Makes it unlawful for any employer or employment agency to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under this Act; or (2) fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because such individual opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act or asserted any right under it. Prescribes enforcement authorities and legal remedies for violations of this Act. Title XVI: Living American Wage - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to at least the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor according to the formula prescribed by this Act beginning September 1, 2014. Requires the Secretary to determine such minimum wage rate by June 1, 2014, and once every four years thereafter. Prohibits any adjustment if the determination would result in a minimum wage lower than the current one. Requires the minimum wage so determined to be the minimum hourly wage sufficient for a person working for it 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, to earn an annual income 15% higher than the federal poverty threshold for a four-person household, with two children under age 18, and living in the 48 contiguous states, as published for each such year by the Census Bureau. Title XVII: Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SSA, 2008) to extend emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments for eligible individuals to weeks of employment ending on or before January 1, 2015. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until December 31, 2014 requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 30, 2015 from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to December 31, 2014 termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the SSA, 2008 to appropriate funds out of the employment security administration account through FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through December 31, 2014 the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits. Makes a change in application of a certain requirement (nonreduction rule) to a state that has entered a federal-state EUC agreement, under which the federal government would reimburse the state's unemployment compensation agency making EUC payments to individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and meet specified other criteria. (Under the nonreduction rule such an agreement does not apply with respect to a state whose method for computing regular unemployment compensation under state law has been modified to make the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010, less than what would have been paid before June 2, 2010.) Declares that the nonreduction rule shall not apply to a state which has enacted a law before December 1, 2013, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. Allows a state whose agreement was terminated, however, to enter into a subsequent federal-state EUC agreement on or after enactment of this Act if, taking into account this inapplicability of the nonreduction rule, it would otherwise meet the requirements for an EUC agreement. (Thus allows such a subsequent EUC agreement to permit payment of less than the average weekly unemployment compensation benefit paid on or after June 2, 2010.) Division E: Anti-Poverty Tax Provision - Title XVIII: Child Tax Credit Permanency - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) make permanent the reduction (from $10,000 to $3,000) of the eligibility threshold for the refundable portion of such credit, and (2) require an annual inflation adjustment to the allowable amount of such credit (i.e., $1,000) after 2013. Title XIX: Earned Income Tax Credit - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the earned income tax credit, to: (1) increase the rate of such credit for individuals with no qualifying children; (2) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the increased phaseout amount of such credit for taxable years beginning after 2014; and (3) expand eligibility for such credit to individuals who have attained age 21 (currently, age 25) but have not attained the full retirement age under the Social Security Act. Title XX: Child Care Access and Refundability Expansion Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for dependent care expenses, to: (1) make such credit refundable, (2) deny such credit to nonresident aliens, and (3) allow an annual cost-of-living adjustment after 2013 to the amounts used to determine an income-based reduction in the amount of such credit. Division F: Miscellaneous - Title XXI: Poverty Impact Trigger - Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to make it out of order to consider a public bill or joint resolution authorizing an appropriation of $10 million or more, unless: (1) the accompanying committee report includes a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Poverty Impact Division impact statement, or (2) the chair of the committee reporting the legislation submits such statement for publication in the Congressional Record before consideration of the measure. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to establish the CBO Poverty Impact Division to prepare and submit poverty impact statements to the chair of House committees. Title XXII: Half in Ten Act to Create a National Strategy to Reduce Poverty - Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a Federal Interagency Working Group on Reducing Poverty, which shall develop a National Strategy to reduce the number of persons living in poverty in America in half within 10 years after release of the 2012 Census report on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011.

All Students Count Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

All Students Count Act of 2014 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require information on the annual state report cards on student achievement at each proficiency level to be disaggregated by the same major racial groups as the decennial census of the population. (Currently, that information is to be disaggregated by race, but the racial groups are not specified.) Requires the proficiency information which is disaggregated by such racial groups and by ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, and status as economically disadvantaged to be cross-tabulated across all of those subgroups by gender and by disability. Provides that such disaggregation and cross-tabulation shall not be required when the number of students in a subgroup is insufficient to yield statistically reliable information or the results would reveal personally identifiable information about an individual student.

American Manufacturing Workforce Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

American Manufacturing Workforce Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow, through 2020, tax credits for: (1) up to $1,000 of the expenses for tuition, fees, and course materials paid or incurred for the training of a worker to develop or improve skills for a manufacturing position; and (2) up to 20% of the first $1,000 of education or training expenses for manufacturing under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 or a curriculum approved by the Employment and Training Administration for individuals employed in manufacturing positions. Establishes the Presidential Award for Business Leadership in Manufacturing Job Training to recognize companies and other organizations for extraordinary efforts in assisting their employees and members to develop or improve manufacturing skills and training and increase productivity. Directs the Secretary of Labor to periodically collect and disseminate best practices for manufacturing job training.

SAFE PLAY Act

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Supporting Athletes, Families and Educators to Protect the Lives of Athletic Youth Act or the SAFE PLAY Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop public education and awareness materials and resources concerning cardiac health, including: information to increase education and awareness of high risk cardiac conditions and genetic heart rhythm abnormalities that may cause sudden cardiac arrest in children, adolescents, and young adults; sudden cardiac arrest and cardiomyopathy risk assessment worksheets to increase awareness of warning signs of, and increase the likelihood of early detection and treatment of, life-threatening cardiac conditions; training materials for emergency interventions and use of life-saving emergency equipment; and recommendations for how schools, childcare centers, and local youth athletic organizations can develop and implement cardiac emergency response plans. Requires the Director to: (1) provide for dissemination of such information to school personnel, coaches, and families; and (2) develop data collection methods to determine the degree to which such persons have an understanding of cardiac issues. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to enable eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools served by such LEAs to purchase AEDs and implement nationally recognized CPR and AED training courses. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require a state, as a condition of receiving funds under such Act, to certify that it requires: (1) LEAs to implement a standard plan for concussion safety and management for public schools; (2) public schools to post information on the symptoms of, the risks posed by, and the actions a student should take in response to, a concussion; (3) public school personnel who suspect a student has sustained a concussion in a school-sponsored activity to notify the parents and prohibit the student from participating in such activity until they receive a written release from a health care professional; and (4) a public school's concussion management team to ensure that a student who has sustained a concussion is receiving appropriate academic supports. Directs the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop public education and awareness materials and resources to be disseminated to schools regarding risks from exposure to excessive heat and humidity and recommendations for how to avoid heat-related illness. Requires public schools to develop excessive heat action plans for school-sponsored athletic activities. Requires the Director to develop guidelines for the development of emergency action plans for youth athletics. Authorizes the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) to develop information about the ingredients used in energy drinks and their potential side effects, and recommend guidelines for the safe use of such drinks by youth, for dissemination to public schools. Requires the Director to: (1) expand, intensify, and coordinate CDC activities regarding cardiac conditions, concussions, and heat-related illnesses among youth athletes; and (2) report on fatalities and catastrophic injuries among youths participating an athletic activities.

21st Century Classroom Innovation Act

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

21st Century Classroom Innovation Act - Amends part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to use that portion of their part A grant funds reserved for state activities to award competitive grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), charter schools, or consortia of such entities to carry out blended learning projects. Defines a "blended learning project" as a formal education program that: (1) includes an element of online learning and instructional time in a supervised location away from home; (2) includes an element of student control over time, place, path, or pace; and (3) connects the modalities along each student's learning path within a course or subject to provide an integrated learning experience. Requires the competitive grant funds to be used for: (1) planning activities, the purchase of digital instructional resources, initial professional development activities, and one-time information technology purchases; or (2) ongoing professional development for teachers, school leaders, or other personnel involved in the project. Requires each state making such a grant to contribute non-federal funds equal to at least 10% of the grant. Reduces, from 2.5% to 1.5%, that portion of part A grant funds that states must reserve for subgrants to local partnerships between institutions of higher education and high-need LEAs. (This increases the amount reserved for state activities.)

Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act of 2014 - Reauthorizes the Tsunami Warning and Education Act through FY2017. Expands the tsunami forecasting and warning program operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the National Weather Service (NWS). Consolidates separate tsunami warning systems into a single warning system capable of: (1) forecasting tsunami anywhere in the Pacific and Arctic Ocean regions and providing adequate warnings; and (2) forecasting and providing adequate warnings in areas of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Requires the system to support international tsunami forecasting and warning efforts. Requires: (1) NOAA to support or maintain tsunami warning centers as part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and develop uniform operational procedures for the centers, (2) warning centers to maintain a fail-safe warning capability and an ability to perform back-up duties for each other, and (3) the NWS to coordinate with the centers. Modifies the tsunami hazard mitigation program to provide for: (1) technical and financial assistance; (2) the integration of tsunami preparedness and mitigation programs into ongoing state-based hazard warning, resilience planning, and risk management activities; (3) activities to support the development of regional risk assessments; and (4) dissemination of guidelines and standards for community planning, education, and training products, programs, and tools. Expands the tsunami research program, including by adding a standards development component, requiring development of the technical basis for validation of tsunami maps and models, and authorizing NOAA to develop a pilot project for near-field tsunami forecast development for the west coast's Cascadia region. Revises requirements for support of the International Tsunami Warning System and operation of the International Tsunami Information Center. Directs NOAA to: (1) designate its Ocean Exploration Advisory Working Group to serve as the Tsunami Science and Technology Advisory Panel to provide advice on matters regarding tsunami science, technology, and regional preparedness; (2) develop formal outreach activities to improve tsunami education and awareness and foster resilient communities; and (3) convene a coordinating committee to assist in the national tsunami hazard mitigation program.

Servicemembers Access to Justice Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Servicemembers Access to Justice Act of 2014 - Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to the enforcement of uniformed services members' employment or reemployment rights or benefits under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). Makes unenforceable agreements between an employer and employee requiring arbitration of disputes arising under USERRA. Provides exceptions. Requires the validity and enforceability of such an agreement to be determined by a court (as opposed to the arbitrator). Provides increased liquidated damages, and authorizes punitive damages, against state or private employer violations of USERRA. Provides a right to a jury trial in such cases. Requires (under current law, authorizes) the award of attorney fees in actions to enforce USERRA. Requires (under current law, authorizes) a court to use equitable relief, including injunctions and restraining orders when appropriate, for USERRA violations. Requires federal procurement contracts to include a notice that the contractor may have USERRA obligations. Requires a Comptroller General (GAO) study on the effectiveness of federal education and outreach programs on employer obligations under USERRA.

Securing Health Care for Young Americans Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Securing Health Care for Young Americans Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to maintain, upon repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the requirement that health insurers provide coverage to dependents over 18 years of age until the dependent turns 26, marries, or no longer resides at home.

Guaranteed Health Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Guaranteed Health Coverage for Pre-Existing Conditions Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to maintain, upon repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the requirements that: (1) health insurance includes coverage for preexisting conditions; and (2) health insurers accept every employer and every individual in a group that applies for coverage in the group market and every individual that applies for coverage in the individual market.

Protecting Insurance Coverage for Sick Americans Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Protecting Insurance Coverage for Sick Americans Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to maintain, upon repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, restrictions on health insurers rescinding or cancelling an enrollee's coverage.

LATTS Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Label and Transport Tissues Safely Act of 2014 or the LATTS Act of 2014 - Sets forth guidelines for handling human tissue specimens. Prohibits sale of human tissue for research or education unless the seller has a non-transplant tissue bank license and each package of tissue is labeled with specified information. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a process for the approval, suspension, and revocation of non-transplant tissue bank licenses. Prohibits falsely labeling packages of human tissue. Allows HHS or any accrediting body authorized by HHS to enter and inspect any establishment engaged in the preparation of any human tissue specimen. Requires HHS to recall any human tissue specimen that is an imminent or substantial hazard to public health.

Protecting Independence in the Education of Loan Originators Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Protecting Independence in the Education of Loan Originators Act of 2014 - Amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to prohibit the courses offered by lenders for their own employees from satisfying the pre-licensing education or continuing education requirement.

Robotics Competition Resolution of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014

Robotics Competition Resolution of 2014 - Establishes an annual academic competition in the field of robotics to be held among students in each of the congressional districts.

Campus Accountability and Safety Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Campus Accountability and Safety Act - Amends provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act to require institutions of higher education (IHEs) that participate in title IV (Student Assistance) programs to include in their annual campus security reports provided to current and prospective students and employees: the memorandum of understanding that this Act requires IHEs to enter into with local law enforcement agencies (and update every two years) to clearly delineate responsibilities and share information about certain serious crimes, including sexual violence, occurring against students or other individuals on campus; and specified information regarding the disposition of sexual offense cases by the IHE. Requires the crime statistics that IHEs are to compile and provide in such reports to be compiled in accordance with: definitions used by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 for the offenses of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking; and definitions for other offenses that are available under the National Incident-Based Reporting System or the Uniform Crime Reporting Program of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or, if not available there, that are provided by the Secretary of Education. Prohibits the statistics for such other crimes from identifying the victims or persons accused of such crimes. Requires IHEs to provide new students and employees with a statement that identifies domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking as crimes which will be reported and with respect to which, based on the victim's wishes, the IHE will cooperate with local law enforcement. Directs the Secretary to develop and administer through an online portal a standardized, online, and annual survey of students regarding their experiences with sexual violence and harassment. Omits survey responses from the annual crime statistics IHEs must report, but requires the Secretary to publish survey information that includes campus-level data for each school on the Department of Education's website annually. Requires the Department to make publicly available guidance regarding the intersection of the campus security and crime statistics reporting requirements under title IV and requirements under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Authorizes the Secretary to impose a civil penalty upon IHEs that fail to carry out campus security and crime statistics reporting requirements. Requires each IHE that receives federal funding to establish a campus security policy that includes: the designation of one or more confidential advisors at the IHE to whom victims of crime can report anonymously or directly; authorization for the IHE to provide an online reporting system to collect anonymous disclosures of crimes; provision on the IHE's website of the telephone number and URL for a hotline providing information to sexual violence victims and the name and location of the nearest medical facility where an individual may have a rape kit administered by a trained sexual violence forensic nurse, including information on transportation options and reimbursement for a visit to such facility; and an amnesty clause for any student who, in good faith, reports sexual violence to a responsible employee, with respect to a student conduct violation revealed in the course of such a report. Amends the Education Amendments of 1972 to require the Secretary to establish a title IX website that includes: the name and contact information for the title IX coordinator at each IHE, including a brief description of the coordinator's role and the roles of other officials who may be contacted regarding sexual harassment; and the Department's pending investigations and the actions it has taken regarding all title IX complaints and compliance reviews related to sexual harassment. Requires each IHE to employ an individual who shall complete minimum training requirements and be responsible for: (1) reporting cases of sexual harassment to the title IX coordinator; and (2) providing students and employees who report having been a victim of sexual harassment on or off campus with a written explanation of their rights and options. Requires each individual who is involved in implementing an IHE's grievance procedures to have training or experience in handling sexual violence complaints and the operations of the IHE's grievance procedures. Sets forth minimum training requirements. Requires each IHE that receives federal funding to establish and carry out a uniform process for disciplinary proceedings relating to claims of sexual violence that shall not vary based on the status or characteristics of a student involved in the process. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary or the Attorney General (DOJ) to impose a civil penalty on IHEs that violate or fail to carry out title IX requirements regarding sexual violence, and (2) individuals to file a complaint regarding such a violation with the Department's Office for Civil Rights. Amends the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 to: (1) increase the minimum grant that may be provided to IHEs to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking on campuses; and (2) authorize the use of such grants to train campus personnel in conducting victim-centered, trauma-informed (forensic) interviews.

Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to treat part-time teachers as public service employees, for purposes of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan forgiveness program for public service employees, if they: (1) teach at least one course at an institution of higher education, a postsecondary vocational institution, or a Tribal College or University; and (2) do not have another full-time job. (Public service employees must make 120 monthly payments on such loans as public service employees to qualify for Direct Loan forgiveness under the program.)

Education Tax Fraud Prevention Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Education Tax Fraud Prevention Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require: (1) individuals who claim a tax credit for qualified tuition and related expenses under the Hope Scholarship or the Lifetime Learning tax credit to include their social security numbers on their tax returns, and (2) the educational institutions of such individuals to provide their employer identification numbers.

SOS Campus Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in the programs under title IV (Student Assistance) to designate an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response (Advocate) with experience in providing sexual assault victim services. Directs the Secretary of Education to prescribe regulations for IHEs to follow in appointing Advocates. Requires each Advocate to: (1) report to an individual outside the body responsible for investigating and adjudicating sexual assault complaints at the IHE, (2) submit to such individual an annual report summarizing how the resources supplied to the Advocate were used, and (3) represent the interests of each student victim even when they conflict with the IHE's interests. Directs each Advocate to: ensure that sexual assault victims at the IHE receive, with their consent, specified information and services; guide sexual assault victims who request assistance through the reporting, counseling, administrative, medical and health, academic accommodations, or legal processes of the IHE or local law enforcement; attend, at the request of a sexual assault victim, any administrative or IHE-based adjudication proceeding related to such assault as an advocate for the victim; maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the victim and any witness to such sexual assault, without notifying the IHE or any other authority of the identity of the victim or of any such witness or the alleged circumstances surrounding the reported sexual assault, unless otherwise required to do so by state law; and conduct a public information campaign to inform the students enrolled at the IHE of the existence of, contact information for, and services provided by the Advocate.

Protecting Student Privacy Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Protecting Student Privacy Act of 2014 - Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit programs administered by the Department of Education from making funds available to any educational agency or institution that has not implemented information security policies that: (1) protect personally identifiable information (PII) from education records, and (2) require each outside party to whom PII from education records is disclosed to have a comprehensive security program to protect such information. Defines "outside party" as a person that is not an employee, officer, or volunteer of the educational agency or institution or of a government agency. Includes within such term any contractor or consultant acting as a school official or authorized representative or in any other capacity. Prohibits such funds from being made available to any educational agency or institution that has a policy or practice of using, releasing, or providing access to PII to advertise or market a product or service. Requires state agencies receiving such funds, and each educational agency or institution, to ensure that any outside party with access to such records: (1) provides parents access to any PII it holds about their students; (2) provides a process to challenge, correct, or delete any inaccurate, misleading, or inappropriate data through a hearing by the agency or institution providing the outside party with access; (3) maintains a record of all individuals, agencies, or organizations that have requested or obtained access to the education records of a student; and (4) has information security procedures in place. Prohibits funds from being made available to any educational agency or institution, or any state educational agency, unless the agency or institution has a practice that: (1) promotes data minimization by meeting requests for student information with non-PII, and (2) requires that PII held by any outside party be destroyed when the information is no longer needed for the specified purpose. Directs educational agencies and institutions to maintain a record of all outside parties which have requested or obtained access to a student's education records. Requires such record to describe the information shared and to indicate specifically the party's legitimate interest in obtaining this information.

Access to Contraception for Women Servicemembers and Dependents Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 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.

Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Social Security Act to expand the collection and analysis of data in programs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sets forth provisions to improve cultural competence in federal health care programs and services, including by establishing the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Care. Requires the Secretary of HHS (Secretary) to engage in activities to improve health workforce diversity, including by: (1) establishing a working group and a technical clearinghouse; (2) awarding grants to academic institutions; (3) establishing a health and health care disparities education program; and (4) providing for scholarships, student loan repayment and loan forgiveness, and research fellowships. Health Empowerment Zone Act of 2014 - Provides for the establishment of health empowerment zones in communities that experience disproportionate disparities in health status and health care. Requires the Secretary to engage in activities to improve the quality of and access to health care, including by expanding access to health care and health care insurance for immigrants, designating centers of excellence at public hospitals and other health systems serving minority patients, increasing Medicaid payments to territories and to Native Hawaiian health centers, and providing for border health grants. Sets forth programs to reduce health disparities affecting minorities and rural residents. Establishes an Office of Minority Health in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Sets forth provisions to improve health for women and children, including by expanding access to federal programs for immigrant women and children, creating public awareness campaigns, engaging in activities to eliminate disparities in maternal health outcomes, and establishing programs to reduce teenage pregnancies, including contraception education and information programs, programs to support healthy adolescent development, maintaining a database of systematic reviews of maternity care, designating maternity care health professional shortage areas, and establishing a research center on optimal maternity outcomes. Directs the Secretary to develop a multisite gestational diabetes research project within the diabetes program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Requires pharmacies to provide in stock contraceptives to customers without delay. Expands Medicare coverage of marriage and family therapist services, mental health counselor services, and substance abuse counselor services. Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary to implement the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Program to achieve a reduction of at least 25% in the mortality rate of lung cancer by 2020. Prostate Research, Outreach, Screening, Testing, Access, and Treatment Effectiveness Act of 2014 or the PROSTATE Act - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to take action to address prostate cancer, including by establishing the Interagency Prostate Cancer Coordination and Education Task Force. Viral Hepatitis and Liver Cancer Control and Prevention Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary to implement programs to address hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Bone Marrow Failure Disease Research and Treatment Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of CDC to establish the National Acquired Bone Marrow Failure Disease Registry. Requires the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to develop guidelines to screen minority patient populations which have a higher than average risk for many chronic diseases and cancers. Expands Medicaid to cover a beneficiary's routine medical costs when they are in an approved clinical trial. Requires the Secretary to expand HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention activities, including: (1) identification of issues that impede disease status awareness and retention in appropriate care, (2) research into treatment adherence strategies, (3) grants to public health agencies and faith-based organizations, (4) the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, and (5) health workforce training for culturally competent care. Directs the Secretary to award grants for comprehensive sex education programs for adolescents. Eliminates a program that supports abstinence education. Permits community organizations to distribute sexual barrier protection devices (e.g., condoms) and to engage in sexually transmitted infection counseling and prevention education in federal correctional facilities. Stop AIDS in Prison Act - Requires the Bureau of Prisons to develop a comprehensive policy to provide HIV testing, treatment, and prevention for inmates. Requires the Secretary to conduct research and other activities with respect to diabetes in minority populations and the prevention of lung disease. Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Disorders Health Disparities Act - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand research addressing sleep health disparities. Requires the Director of CDC to expand activities regarding sleep disorders. Sets forth provisions regarding the use of health information technology to reduce health disparities, particularly in racial and ethnic minority communities. Prohibits discrimination in federal health care programs or research activities. Requires the Secretary to establish the Office of Health Disparities in the Office for Civil Rights and to establish civil rights compliance offices in each HHS agency that administers health programs. Directs the Secretary to establish a program at the National Center for Environmental Health on health impact assessment (the process of determining the potential effects of a policy, program, or project on health). Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to study the type and scope of health care services provided to racial and ethnic minorities affected by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling unit on April 20, 2010.

SOS Campus Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Survivor Outreach and Support Campus Act or the SOS Campus Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in the programs under title IV (Student Assistance) to designate an independent advocate for campus sexual assault prevention and response (Advocate) with experience in providing sexual assault victim services. Directs the Secretary of Education to prescribe regulations for IHEs to follow in appointing Advocates. Requires each Advocate to: (1) report to an individual outside the body responsible for investigating and adjudicating sexual assault complaints at the IHE, (2) submit to such individual an annual report summarizing how the resources supplied to the Advocate were used, and (3) represent the interests of each student victim even when they conflict with the IHE's interests. Directs each Advocate to: ensure that sexual assault victims at the IHE receive, with their consent, specified information and services; guide sexual assault victims who request assistance through the reporting, counseling, administrative, medical and health, academic accommodations, or legal processes of the IHE or local law enforcement; attend, at the request of a sexual assault victim, any administrative or IHE-based adjudication proceeding related to such assault as an advocate for the victim; maintain the privacy and confidentiality of the victim and any witness to such sexual assault, without notifying the IHE or any other authority of the identity of the victim or of any such witness or the alleged circumstances surrounding the reported sexual assault, unless otherwise required to do so by state law; and conduct a public information campaign to inform the students enrolled at the IHE of the existence of, contact information for, and services provided by the Advocate.

MORE Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Maximizing Opportunities and Retaining Experienced Teachers Act or the MORE Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide up to $17,500 of loan forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan programs to highly qualified elementary and secondary school teachers who are employed in a teacher shortage area.

HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Hold Accountable and Lend Transparency on Campus Sexual Violence Act or the HALT Campus Sexual Violence Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Department to make publicly available on its website: a list of the institutions of higher education (IHEs) under investigation, and a copy of program reviews and resolution agreements entered into with the Secretary of Education or the Attorney General, under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) or title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the letter terminating the Department's monitoring of such agreements; and a list of the IHEs under investigation, and a copy of the program reviews, fines levied, and resolution agreements entered into with the Secretary or Attorney General, under the provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 known as the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to impose a civil penalty on an IHE that has violated a law under the jurisdiction of the Department's Office for Civil Rights. Amends the Clery Act to direct the Secretary to develop an annual sexual violence climate survey and include statistics from such survey in the annual campus security report provided to current and prospective students and employees. Creates a private right of action in a judicial proceeding for individuals allegedly aggrieved by a violation of the Clery Act. Increases the maximum monetary penalty that may be imposed on an IHE for substantially misrepresenting the number, location, or nature of the crimes required to be reported under the Clery Act. Requires an IHE's annual statement of its policy regarding domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking to: use simple and understandable language and clear formatting; be made available and posted on its public website and in conspicuous places in and around student housing and academic buildings; be provided to each student group, team, or organization that has a specified connection to the IHE or is known by the IHE to act on an unaffiliated basis; and ensure that each of those student groups, teams, or organizations distributes a copy of such policy to each of its members or applicants for membership. Directs the Secretary and the Attorney General to create a joint interagency Campus Sexual Violence Task Force, the duties of which include: providing IHEs with recommendations for preventing and responding to campus sexual violence; reviewing the Department's authority to levy intermediate fines for noncompliance with Title IX and the advisability of additional remedies for such noncompliance; and creating a plan for recruiting, retaining, and training a highly qualified Department of Education workforce to investigate alleged violations of and enforce Title IX and the Clery Act with respect to campus sexual violence. Authorizes funding to train, hire, and retain such a workforce.

Investing for Tomorrow's Schools Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Investing for Tomorrow's Schools Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into cooperative agreements with states to establish state and multistate infrastructure banks that make loans to local educational agencies, public libraries, and charter schools or their developers to construct or renovate public elementary or secondary schools and public libraries. Requires loans also to community learning centers to connect and improve broadband services. Grants congressional consent to states for interstate compacts to establish multistate infrastructure banks. Directs the Secretary to make grants to such banks to provide initial capital for such loans. Requires states to contribute from nonfederal sources at least 25% of the amount of each federal capitalization grant made to the state and contributed to the bank. Lists types of projects eligible for such bank loans. Requires borrowers to use, to the maximum extent practicable, green construction or renovation practices that are consistent with: (1) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating standards, (2) Energy Star standards, (3) Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, (4) Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or (5) equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over them.

Post-9/11 Veterans Education Fairness Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Post-9/11 Veterans Education Fairness Act - Allows former members of the Armed Forces and Armed Forces Reserves who are entitled to Post-9/11 Educational Assistance to transfer those benefits to family members within 15 years after their discharge or release from military service. (Currently, this transfer authority is restricted to members of the Armed Forces who transfer such entitlement while serving in the Armed Forces.)

Student Job Protection Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Student Job Protection Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude students who are employed by an institution of higher education (IHE) and carrying what the school considers a full-time academic workload at the IHE from being counted as full-time employees in calculating the IHE's shared responsibility regarding health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Student Worker Exemption Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014

Student Worker Exemption Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude students who are employed by an institution of higher education (IHE) and carrying a full-time academic workload at the IHE from being counted as full-time employees in calculating the IHE's shared responsibility regarding health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

A resolution congratulating the members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. for 100 years of service throughout the United States and the world, and commending Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. for exemplifying the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service while upholding the motto "Culture for Service and Service for Humanity".

United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014

Congratulates Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., for 100 years of service to communities throughout the United States and the world. Commends the Fraternity for a continued commitment to the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2014 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a program providing eligible households with summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards that give children access to food during the summer months to: (1) reduce or eliminate children's food insecurity and hunger, and (2) improve their nutritional status. Defines an "eligible household" as a household that includes one or more children who are eligible to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. Sets the amount on each summer EBT card at $150 per child in 2016, with adjustments thereafter reflecting changes in reimbursement rates for school meals under the school lunch program. Requires children to be enrolled in the program without further application if they are enrolled to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. Requires summer EBT cards to be used only to purchase food from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit the amount of a taxpayer's foreign-related interest expense that is allowed as a deduction for any taxable year. Sets that limit pursuant to a formula that takes into account a domestic corporation's undistributed foreign earnings.

English Learning and Innovation Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014

English Learning and Innovation Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award renewable, competitive grants to states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and public charter schools or charter school management organizations to carry out activities that result in English learners becoming proficient in English so that they can access the knowledge needed to meet state academic content standards and be ready for postsecondary education and careers (innovation grants). Includes among those activities: (1) improving instructional programs, including through the use of dual-language or bilingual education; (2) ensuring that English learners are taught by effective teachers at schools administered by effective principals; (3) increasing the ability of the families of English learners to engage in their child's education and development; and (4) expanding best practices to other schools or LEAs. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive capacity building grants to states and LEAs that have experienced a significant increase in English learners for use in building their capacity to provide quality instruction to English learners and their parents and become competitive in applying for an innovation grant. Directs the Secretary to establish indicators to measure the success of this Act's grant programs. Requires this Act's grantees to: (1) develop, and submit for the Secretary's approval, quantifiable benchmarks for evaluating their grant activities; and (2) provide the Secretary with an annual report on their progress toward those benchmarks.

Supporting Afterschool STEM Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014

Supporting Afterschool STEM Act - Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish an afterschool STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) grant program awarding competitive grants to afterschool or STEM networks to: develop quality standards for STEM programming in afterschool programs and provide those programs with technical assistance in implementing such standards, work with state education stakeholders to define and promote appropriate measurable outcomes for afterschool programs that include STEM content, provide technical assistance to afterschool programs to start or grow their afterschool STEM efforts and define appropriate learning outcomes for such efforts, coordinate professional development for afterschool program educators, help afterschool program providers form strategic partnerships to advance STEM learning in afterschool programs, create and disseminate tool kits to afterschool programs wanting to form partnerships and incorporate STEM professionals as mentors and role models, and provide technical assistance to federally funded STEM researchers and professionals who wish to engage with afterschool programs. Defines: (1) an "afterschool program" as a structured program offered for elementary, middle, or secondary school students when school is not in session, such as before or after school, on the weekend, or during the summer; and (2) an "afterschool or STEM network" as a coalition that fosters partnerships and provides support to afterschool program providers and STEM education providers. Includes as goals of the grant program: (1) to support the development and delivery of high-quality STEM education to populations underrepresented in STEM fields, and (2) to provide hands-on learning and exposure to STEM research facilities and businesses through in-person or virtual distance-learning experiences. Requires the Director to provide each recipient of a STEM research grant who is under the Director's authority with information on opportunities to engage with students in out-of-school-time programs, such as through mentorships.

RDOCS-VA Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014

Restoring the Doctors of Our Country through Scholarships Veterans Affairs Act of 2014 or the RDOCS-VA Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Professionals Educational Assistance Program, to carry out a scholarship program to provide for the increased availability of physicians who provide primary health care services at VA medical facilities, which shall be known as the Restoring the Doctors of Our Country through Scholarships-Veterans Affairs (RDOCS-VA) program. Directs the Secretary, under such program, to award not less than 400 scholarships covering all tuition and costs for an undergraduate medical education for a period of study not exceeding 48 consecutive months, and a cost-of-living stipend, to selected individuals who agree to: be admitted into and maintain enrollment in a participating undergraduate medical program in the scholar's state of residence, maintain a minimum level of academic standing, complete an accredited residency training program in a primary care specialty, become licensed to practice medicine in the scholar's state of residence, receive and maintain board certification in a primary care specialty, and complete a five-year post-graduate period of employment by the VA performing primary care services. Directs the Secretary to give preference to applicants who: (1) are enrolled in an accelerated track family-medicine program, or (2) elect to complete the five-year period of employment at a VA facility that the Secretary designates as having an urgent need for primary care physicians. Sets forth provisions regarding such scholar's liability for breach of agreement.

RDOCS Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014

Restoring the Doctors of Our Country through Scholarships Act of 2014 or RDOCS Act of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration to make matching grants under which states provide RDOCS scholarships, paying all costs of a student's undergraduate medical education, to provide for the increased availability of primary health care services in health professional shortage areas. Requires the scholarship recipient to agree to residency training in a primary care specialty and a five-year post-graduate period of service in a health professional shortage area. Requires that preference be given in awarding scholarships to applicants enrolled in: (1) an accelerated track family-medicine program (an integrated course of study allowing completion of undergraduate medical education and graduate medical education in six years), or (2) a program that includes clinical training in rural or underserved urban communities.

MEND Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014

Making the Education of Nurses Dependable for Schools Act or the MEND Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), for any reimbursements to providers under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for the costs of nursing and allied health education activities, to apply the regulation establishing the payment methodology for such reimbursements by treating a provider as meeting the requirements: for consideration as operating an approved nursing or allied health education program if the provider or a wholly owned subsidiary educational institution singly or collectively meets all such requirements; and for payment for certain nonprovider-operated programs at wholly owned subsidiary educational institutions if the provider meets all such requirements except that the transfer of a nursing or allied health education program to that wholly owned subsidiary educational institution to meet accreditation standards occurred after October 1, 2003. Defines "wholly owned subsidiary educational institution" as one that: (1) is organized as a legal entity distinct from the provider, (2) has the provider as its sole owner or sole member, and (3) is organized in the same state in which the provider is organized or registered to do business.

Avonte's Law Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2014

Avonte's Law Act of 2014 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to law enforcement agencies to: (1) reduce the risk of injury and death relating to the wandering characteristics of some individuals with autism and other disabilities, and (2) safeguard the well-being of individuals with disabilities during interactions with law enforcement. Requires grant awards to be used to: (1) provide education and resources to law enforcement agencies, first responders, schools, clinicians, and the public in order to reduce the risk of wandering by such individuals, help to identify signs of abuse in such individuals, increase their personal safety and survival skills, and facilitate effective communication with individuals who have communication-related disabilities; (2) provide training and emergency protocols for school administrators, staff, and families; (3) provide response tools and training for law enforcement and search-and-rescue agencies, including tracking technology; or (4) provide response tools and training to law enforcement agencies in order to recognize and respond to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Directs the Attorney General to establish standards and best practices relating to the use of tracking technology to monitor children with autism and other disabilities. Requires each law enforcement agency that receives a grant to comply with any such standards and best practices.

THE ROLE OF STATES IN HIGHER EDUCATION

United States · United States Senate · 24 July 2014

Self Determination Commitment to Tribes Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Self Determination Commitment to Tribes Act - Changes from discretionary to mandatory the funding for payments to Indian tribes and tribal organizations for contract support costs arising out of self-determination or self-governance contracts, grants, compacts, or annual funding agreements entered into pursuant to the Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.

Self Determination Contract Reporting Commitment to Tribes Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Self Determination Contract Reporting Commitment to Tribes Act - Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to presume absent fraud or mathematical error that the deficiency amounts reported to Congress for contract support costs accurately reflect the minimum damages due to any Indian tribe or tribal organization filing a claim, appeal, or civil action under the Act. Requires each annual report and accompanying data prepared under the Act to be made available to the public.

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Modernization Act of 2014 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to: (1) modernize the integrated U.S. public alert and warning system to help ensure that under all conditions the President, federal agencies, and state, tribal, and local governments can alert and warn the civilian population in areas endangered by natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters or threats to public safety; and (2) implement such system to disseminate timely and effective warnings and homeland security information. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish common alerting and warning protocols, standards, terminology, and operating procedures for the system; (2) include in such system the capability to adapt the distribution and content of communications on the basis of geographic location, risks, and multiple communication technologies and to alert, warn, and provide equivalent information to individuals with disabilities, access and functional needs, or limited English proficiency; (3) ensure that specified training, tests, and exercises for such system are conducted and that the system is resilient, secure, and can withstand external attacks; and (4) conduct public education efforts and a general market awareness campaign about the system. Requires the system to: (1) be designed to adapt to and incorporate future technologies for communicating directly with the public, provide alerts to the largest portion of the affected population feasible, and improve the ability of remote areas to receive alerts; (2) promote local and regional public and private partnerships to enhance community preparedness and response; (3) provide redundant alert mechanisms; and (4) protect individual privacy. Directs the Administrator to establish the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System Subcommittee to develop and submit recommendations for an integrated public alert and warning system to the National Advisory Council, which shall report the recommendations it approves to agencies represented on the Subcommittee and to specified congressional committees.

EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2019 the Young Women's Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009, which supports: (1) campaigns to educate the public and health care professionals about young women's breast health, (2) research into prevention of breast cancer in young women, and (3) support for young women with breast cancer.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate supporting the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit to be held in Washington, D.C., from August 4 through 6, 2014.

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Values the historic U.S. commitment to Africa, and affirms the partnership of the people and government of the United States with the African people. Affirms a future commitment to increased economic partnership with Africa. Supports African-led efforts to improve peacekeeping, prevent atrocities, and combat violent extremism and terrorism. Encourages African leaders to strengthen good governance, the rule of law, and democracy. Supports efforts to protect and promote women and children, including through investments in education and maternal, newborn, and child health. Reaffirms the U.S. investment in health care in Africa. Commends and supports African investments in preventing wildlife trafficking. Supports the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit to be held in the United States from August 4 through August 6, 2014.

A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate on the importance of the United States-India strategic partnership and the continued deepening of bilateral ties with India.

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Expresses the sense of the Senate that: Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India should address Congress at the earliest opportunity; the U.S. government should hold a strategic dialogue in New Delhi that lays out clear objectives for the U.S.-India relationship; the United States nominate and confirm an Ambassador to India as soon as possible; the United States and India should continue to expand economic engagement, including finalizing a bilateral investment treaty and reviving the Trade Policy Forum; India should continue its economic liberalization reforms, including discussions with other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum nations about Indian membership in APEC; the United States and India should expand energy, defense, and security cooperation; and India should modify its offset regime so funds can flow to a second tier of Indian priorities such as education, skills development, or manufacturing.

EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2014 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize through FY2019 the Young Women's Breast Health Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009, which supports: (1) campaigns to educate the public and health care professionals about young women's breast health, (2) research into prevention of breast cancer in young women, and (3) support for young women with breast cancer.

USA Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Unified Savings and Accountability Act or the USA Act - Title I: Provisions Relating to Federal Property, Federal Contracts and Information Technology - Requires: (1) the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy to issue guidance to federal agencies for reinvigorating the role of the competition advocate, and (2) agency chief information officers to use transparency mechanisms to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), annually, on efforts to identify and eliminate potentially duplicative information technology investment. Requires the Director of OMB to: issue a policy requiring consistency among all agencies in identifying information technology investments in any required reporting, issue government-wide savings goals for the strategic sourcing of goods and services by executive agencies required to have a Chief Financial Officer, require each executive agency to develop a policy consistent with OMB guidance for performing analysis to measure how well each operational/steady state information technology investment is achieving expected goals and to determine whether the investment provides the most cost effective way of delivering business value, issue guidance for specified agencies to complete their commodity IT baselines, require specified agencies to report quarterly on progress in the migration of enterprise IT systems and IT infrastructure to a shared service, and direct the Federal Chief Information Officer (Federal CIO) to require agencies to report on specified IT actions as part of integrated data collection quarterly reporting. Requires: (1) the Federal Acquisition Regulation to be revised to address reverse auctions by federal agencies, and (2) the OMB Director to issue government-wide guidance advising agencies to collect and analyze data on the level of interactive bidding and fees paid to determine the cost effectiveness of using reverse auctions in procurement and on best practices to maximize competition and savings in the use of reverse auctions. Requires the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to develop and use criteria to prioritize potential long-term ownership solutions to current high-value leases among other capital investments and to use this ranking to create long-term cross agency strategy that facilitates consideration of targeted investments in ownership Requires the Federal CIO to develop, implement, and report annually on agency progress in carrying out a Federal Data Center Optimization Initiative. Requires each agency included in the Initiative to: (1) use specified methods to achieve maximum server utilization and maximum energy efficiency for federal data centers, (2) use the most cost-effective measures to implement the Initiative, and (3) report to the Federal CIO annually on resulting costs and savings. Requires agency savings to be used to enhance information technology capabilities and services. Requires OMB to issue, and executive agencies to implement, recommendations for reducing or consolidating the number of federal data centers by at least 40% by the end of FY2018 and by at least 80% by the end of FY2023. Title II: Other Matters - Amends the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report on: (1) efforts to finalize plans and schedules for fully implementing and expanding the use of the Integrated Data Repository and actions taken to define expected financial benefits; and (2) actions taken to plan, schedule, and conduct training on the One Program Integrity System used to analyze and extract data from such Repository and actions taken to define expected financial benefits. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, upon receiving certification by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (IRS) that any individual has a seriously delinquent tax debt in excess of $50,000, with specified exceptions, to transmit such certification and disclose certain tax return information to the Secretary of State for action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport for such individual pursuant to the Passport Act of 1926. Prohibits the Secretary of State, upon receiving such certification, from issuing a passport to such individual, except in emergency circumstances or for humanitarian reasons. Requires the Secretary to revoke a passport previously issued to such individual, but authorizes limiting such a passport to return travel to the United States. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from minting or issuing any circulating coin, or engraving or printing any U.S. currency, that costs more to produce than its denomination. Directs the Public Printer to make any House or Senate document available only in an electronic format that is accessible through the Internet, with specified exceptions. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to: (1) sequester all $1 coins bearing the design common to those $1 coins minted and issued from 1979 through 1981 and in 1999; (2) undertake and report on efforts to improve the circulation of the $1 coin, other than those sequestered; (3) continuously conduct education programs to help businesses using or accepting cash to choose the best mix of $1 coins and bank notes to facilitate and reduce transaction costs; and (4) work with the Departments of State and Treasury to ensure that countries that have adopted the dollar as a base unit of exchange and that place orders for supplies of $1 monetary units are fully briefed on the durability and longevity of $1 coins in high-circulation economies. Declares it to be U.S. policy that after $1 coins achieve sufficient market penetration, $1 coins should replace $1 Federal Reserve notes. Allows Federal Reserve banks to continue to place $1 Federal Reserve notes into circulation until the number of $1 coins placed into circulation exceeds 600 million annually, or until four years after enactment of this Act, whichever is earlier. Directs the IRS Commissioner to develop a long-term strategy to improve web services provided to taxpayers. Directs the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Agriculture (USDA), and Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) analyze, annually, the effectiveness and long-term costs and benefits of their programs, actions, and strategies for avoidance or mitigation of foreclosure losses regarding loans for and mortgages on one- to four-family homes made, insured, or guaranteed by such Department; and (2) provide additional guidance on loss mitigation efforts to servicers of such loans and mortgages.

Pell Grant Accessibility Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014

Pell Grant Accessibility Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to waive the ban on participation in the Federal Pell Grant program by an institution of higher education (IHE) (or an affiliate that controls the IHE) that has filed for bankruptcy if: (1) that filing occurred at least five years before the IHE seeks a waiver of such ban, (2) the IHE submits to the Secretary such information as the Secretary considers appropriate, and (3) the Secretary determines that the IHE should not be subject to the ban.

Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2014

Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act - Reauthorizes the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act through FY2019, generally at FY2009 levels. Modifies the Basic Center Grant (BCG) Program (for short-term emergency shelter and family reunification services to runaway and homeless youth) to require local centers to provide safe shelter and services, including trauma-informed services, for runaway and homeless youth, and (if appropriate) services for their families, including individuals they identify as family. Extends the maximum stay in a BCG shelter from 21 to 30 days, and requires a shelter to provide suicide prevention services. Allows shelter services to include: (1) trauma-informed and gender-responsive services for runaway or homeless youth, including victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation; and (2) an assessment of family engagement in support and reunification (if appropriate), interventions, and services for parents or legal guardians of such youth, or individuals they identify as family. Revises plan applicant record keeping requirements. Requires plan applicants to: (1) provide age, gender, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services to runaway youth; and (2) assist youth in completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Revises the Transitional Living Grant (TLG) Program (for longer-term residential services, life skills, education, and employment support to older homeless youth) to require information and counseling services in basic life skills to be age, gender, and linguistically appropriate. Requires TLG plan applicants to provide suicide prevention services, counseling to homeless youth, and aftercare services. Requires a TLG plan to ensure proper referral of homeless youth to mental health services, including programs providing comprehensive services to victims of trafficking in persons or sexual exploitation. Requires plan applicants to provide age, gender, and culturally and linguistically appropriate services that address the needs of homeless and street youth. Revises plan applicant record keeping requirements. Revises requirements for the coordination of activities among federal agencies, grants for technical assistance and training, and grants for research, evaluation, demonstration, and service projects. Revises the sexual abuse prevention program to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to public agencies (as well as nonprofit private agencies, as under current law) to provide street-based services to runaway and homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, violence, trafficking in persons, or sexual exploitation. Prohibits any person in the United States, on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability, from being excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subject to discrimination under any program or activity funded in whole or in part under such Act, or funded with amounts appropriated for grants, cooperative agreements, or other assistance administered by the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of HHS.