Taxation

Disaster Savings Accounts Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2014

Disaster Savings Accounts Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt disaster savings accounts to pay the expenses of homeowners for disaster mitigation and recovery expenses, (2) allow a deduction from gross income (above-the-line deduction) up to $5,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) in a taxable year for cash contributions to such accounts, (3) exclude from gross income distributions from such accounts to pay disaster mitigation and recovery expenses; and (4) set forth tax rules and penalties for excess contributions to disaster savings accounts and for failure to file required reports on such accounts.

TEAM Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2014

Tax Exemptions for American Medalists Act of 2014 or the TEAM Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal or prize money received on account of competition in the Olympic Games.

Fair Access to Health Care Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2014

Fair Access to Health Care Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the health care insurance premium assistance tax credit, to provide for a cost-of-living adjustment to the 400% poverty line cap used to determine the eligibility of low-income taxpayers whose principal residence is located in a high cost area for such credit.

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014

United States · United States Senate · 31 January 2014

Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015

United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2014

Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that a bona fide volunteer providing firefighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, or ambulance services to a state or local government or a tax-exempt organization shall not be counted in determining the number of full-time employees of an employer for purposes of the employer mandate to provide health care coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Honor Our Promise Act

United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2014

Honor Our Promise Act - Repeals the provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require taxpayers who are claiming the refundable portion of the child tax credit to include the name and taxpayer identification number (e.g., social security number) of their qualifying child on their tax returns.

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide an above-the-line deduction for child care expenses, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who do not otherwise itemize their tax deductions a deduction from gross income (above-the-line deduction) for their employment-related expenses incurred in caring for a child under the age of 13 or a child who is physicaly or mentaly incapable of self care (qualifying child). Limits the dollar amount of such deduction in a taxable year to $7,000 for taxpayers with one qualifying child or $14,000 for taxpayers with two or more qualifying children. Allows an annual inflation adjustment to such amounts for taxable years beginning after 2014.

NEWS Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Nexus of Energy and Water for Sustainability Act of 2014 or NEWS Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish either Committee on Energy-Water Nexus for Sustainability or the Subcommittee on Energy-Water Nexus for Sustainability under the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), co-chaired by the Secretary of Energy (DOE) and Secretary of the Interior. Defines "energy-water nexus" as the link between: (1) energy efficiency and the quantity of water needed to produce fuels and energy; and (2) the quantity of energy needed to transport, reclaim, and treat water. Requires the Committee or Subcommittee to: (1) serve as a forum for developing common federal goals and plans on energy-water nexus issues; (2) promote coordination of the related activities of all federal departments and agencies; (3) coordinate and develop capabilities for data collection, categorization, and dissemination of data from and to other federal departments and agencies; and (4) engage in information exchange between federal departments and agencies. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), by 30 days after the President submits the budget of the U.S. Government each year, to submit to specified congressional committees an interagency budget crosscut report that: (1) displays the budget proposed, including any interagency or intra-agency transfer, for each of the federal agencies that carry out energy-water nexus projects for the upcoming fiscal year; (2) identifies all federal and state expenditures since 2011 on energy-water nexus projects; and (3) lists all energy-water nexus projects to be undertaken in the upcoming fiscal year, with the federal portion of funds for those projects.

Retirement Security Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Retirement Security Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) prescribe final regulations to permit employers to participate in multiple employer pension benefit plans, (2) promulgate regulations or other guidance to simplify and clarify rules relating to the timing of participant notices required under tax-preferred pension plans and the automatic escalation rules, and (3) modify the 1040EZ tax return form to allow taxpayers to claim the tax credit for retirement savings (saver's credit) on such form. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to employer pension benefit plans, to: (1) allow employers to maintain a tax-exempt multiple employer pension benefit plan even if the employers sponsoring the plan share no common interest, (2) modify requirements for secure deferral arrangements with respect to nondiscrimination and employer matching contributions, and (3) allow employers with not more than 100 employees a business-related tax credit to cover increased matching contributions required by this Act.

Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act - Title I: Central Valley Project Water Reliability - Amends the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA) to include among the Act's purposes: (1) to ensure that water dedicated to fish and wildlife purposes is replaced and provided to Central Valley Project (CVP) water contractors by December 31, 2018, at the lowest cost reasonably achievable, and (2) to facilitate and expedite water transfers in accordance with that Act. Redefines "anadromous fish" for purposes of such Act. Defines "reasonable flows" as water flows capable of being maintained taking into account competing consumptive uses of water and economic, environmental, and social factors. Eliminates existing limitations on the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to enter into any new contracts for water supply from the CVP. Directs the Secretary to renew any existing long-term repayment or water service contract, upon request of the contractor, that provides for the delivery of water from the CVP for a period of 40 years (the current contractual term is 25 years). Requires new or renewed contracts to include a provision that requires the Secretary to charge only for water actually delivered. Directs the Secretary to take all necessary actions to facilitate and expedite CVP water transfers in accordance with such Act or any other provision of federal reclamation law and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Grants the Secretary discretion to modify CVP operations to provide reasonable water flows of suitable quality, quantity, and timing to protect all life stages of anadromous fish. Repeals a requirement that not less than 67% of all funds made available to the Restoration Fund under CVPIA be authorized to be appropriated to carry out habitat restoration, improvement, and acquisition provisions of that Act. Requires the CVP and the California State Water Project (SWP) to be operated pursuant to the water quality standards and operational constraints described in the "Principles for Agreement of the Bay-Delta Standards Between the State of California and the Federal Government," dated December 15, 1994 (Bay-Delta Accord of 1994), without regard to the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) or any other law pertaining to the operation of the CVP and the SWP. Prohibits the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce from distinguishing between natural-spawned and hatchery-spawned or otherwise artificially propagated strains of a species in making any determination under ESA that relates to any anadromous fish species that are present in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers or their tributaries and that ascend those rivers and their tributaries to reproduce after maturing in the San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean. Adds the Kettleman City Community Services District as an authorized service area of the CVP. Directs the Secretary to enter into a long-term contract for the delivery of up to 900 acre-feet of CVP water for municipal and industrial use. Directs the Secretary to offer to the Oakdale Irrigation District, the South San Joaquin Irrigation District, and the Calaveras County Water District a contract enabling such districts to collectively impound and store a portion of their Stanislaus River water rights in the New Melones Reservoir in accordance with applicable terms of the Warren Act. Establishes a pilot program to remove non-native predatory fish from the Stanislaus River. Directs the Secretary, if the San Luis Reservoir does not fill by the last day of February, to permit any entity with an agricultural water service or repayment contract for the delivery of water from the Delta Division or the San Luis Unit to reschedule into the immediately following contract year (i.e., March 1 through the last day of February) any unused CVP water previously allocated for irrigation purposes. Title II: San Joaquin River Restoration - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to cease any action to implement the Stipulation of Settlement dated September 13, 2006, in the litigation entitled Natural Resources Defense Council, et al. v. Kirk Rodgers, et al., U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California. Amends the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act to eliminate references to such Stipulation of Settlement and to direct the Secretary, beginning on March 1, 2015, to modify Friant Dam operations to release restoration flows in a manner that improves the fishery in the San Joaquin River between Friant Dam and Gravelly Ford. Directs the Secretary, prior to October 1, 2015, to: (1) identify the impacts associated with the release of such restoration flows; (2) identify measures necessary to mitigate impacts on adjacent and downstream water users, landowners, and agencies as a result of such restoration flows; and (3) implement all such mitigation measures identified before such restoration flows are commenced. Repeals provisions relating to settlement of litigation regarding restoration of the San Joaquin River reintroduction of the California Central Valley Spring Run Chinook salmon into such River. Title III: Repayment Contracts and Acceleration of Repayment of Construction Costs - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, upon request of the contractor, to convert all existing long-term CVP contracts to contracts that require a contractor to pay the remaining balance of construction at a Treasury rate discount. Title IV: Bay-Delta Watershed Water Rights Preservation and Protection - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (notwithstanding the provisions of this Act, federal reclamation law, or the ESA), in the operation of CVP, to: (1) strictly adhere to state water rights law governing water rights priorities by honoring water rights senior to those belonging to CVP, regardless of the source of priority; and (2) strictly adhere to and honor water rights and other priorities that are obtained or that exist under the California Water Code. Requires any action taken by the Secretary or the Secretary of Commerce to protect any species listed under the ESA that affects the diversion of water or involves the release of water from any CVP water storage facility to be applied in a manner that is consistent with water rights priorities established by state law. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce, in implementing the ESA in the Bay-Delta and on the Sacramento River, to apply any limitations on the operation of CVP or to formulate any reasonable prudent alternative associated with CVP's operation in a manner that strictly adheres to and applies water rights priorities for project water and base supply provided for in the Sacramento River settlement contracts. Directs the Secretary, subject to the absolute priority of Sacramento River settlement contractors, to allocate water provided for irrigation purposes to existing CVP agricultural water service contractors within the Sacramento River Watershed. Directs the Secretary to ensure that there are no redirected adverse water supply or fiscal impacts to those within the Sacramento River or San Joaquin River watershed or to the SWP arising from the Secretary's operation of CVP to meet legal obligations. Title V: Miscellaneous - Declares that: (1) coordinated operations between CVP and SWP, previously requested and consented to by the state of California and the federal government, require assertion of federal supremacy to protect existing water rights throughout the system; (2) these circumstances are unique to California; and (3) nothing in this Act shall serve as precedent in any other state. Declares that this Act shall not affect the Proclamation of State of Emergency and the associated executive order issued on January 17, 2014, by the Governor of California. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to: (1) decrease the length of a segment of the Lower Merced River in California designated as a wild and scenic river; and (2) revise provisions concerning the water surface level of Lake McClure in Mariposa County, California.

Making Public Lands Public Access Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Making Public Lands Public Access Act - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure, from amounts requested for the Land and Water Conservation Fund per fiscal year, that not less than the greater of 1.5% of the requested amounts or $10 million be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act. Requires projects identified on such a list to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes.

School Choice Education Savings Account Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

School Choice Education Savings Account Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt qualified tuition programs (529 tuition programs) to pay qualified elementary and secondary education expenses. Defines "qualified elementary and secondary education expenses" to include expenses for: (1) tuition, fees, academic tutoring, special need services, books, and supplies and equipment used by an elementary or secondary school student; (2) room and board, uniforms, transportation, and other supplementary items; and (3) the purchase of any computer technology or equipment or Internet access and related services (excluding computer software designed for sports, games, or hobbies not educational in nature).

Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the $1 million limitation on the deductibility of employee compensation, to: (1) extend such limitation to any individual who is a current or former officer, director, or employee of a publicly-held corporation; (2) eliminate the exemption from such limitation for compensation payable on a commission basis or upon the attainment of a performance goal; and (3) make such limitation applicable to all publicly-held corporations that are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register securities and provide periodic reports to their investors.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2015 the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the increased limitation on the cover over of the tax on distilled spirits to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2015 the increase in the amount of distilled spirits tax covered into the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

PRO Sports Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2014

Properly Reducing Overexemptions for Sports Act or the PRO Sports Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove professional football leagues from the list of tax-exempt organizations. Provides that no organization or entity shall be treated as tax-exempt if it: (1) is a professional sports league, organization, or association, a substantial activity of which is to foster national or international professional sports competitions (including by managing league business affairs, officiating or providing referees, coordinating schedules, managing sponsorships or broadcast sales, operating loan programs for competition facilities, or overseeing player conduct); and (2) has annual gross receipts in excess of $10 million.

National Forest Jobs and Management Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

National Forest Jobs and Management Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct projects that involve the management or sale of national forest material (covered projects) within certain National Forest System (NFS) lands (Forest Management Emphasis Areas). Makes timber sale contracts under the National Forest Management Act of 1976 the primary means for carrying out covered projects under this Act. Requires the Secretary to identify, prioritize, and carry out covered projects in Forest Management Emphasis Areas that mechanically treat a total of at least 7.5 million acres in such areas during a specified 15-year period. Requires the Secretary to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) by completing an environmental assessment of the direct environmental effects of each proposed covered project, limited to the proposed agency action and one alternative. Requires administrative review of covered projects to occur only in accordance with the special administrative review process established by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. Establishes a pilot program in the USDA that: (1) authorizes the use of arbitration instead of judicial review of a decision made following the special administrative process for a covered project, and (2) shall be the only means to challenge a covered project in a Forest Management Emphasis Area during the 15-year period. Directs the Secretary, for FY2015 and each fiscal year until termination of this Act, to make to each county in which a covered project is carried out annual payments of 25% of the amounts received from that project. Requires the Secretary, after making such payments, to use amounts received from covered projects during such period to make deposits into the fund established under the Knutson-Vandenburg Act and the fund established under the National Forest Management Act of 1976 in contributions equal to the amounts collected under those Acts for projects conducted on NFS lands. Requires the Secretary to develop performance measures that evaluate the degree to which this Act's purposes and the minimum acreage requirements are being achieved.

Scholarships for Kids Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Scholarships for Kids Act - Amends part A of title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to give states the option of using their part A allocation to carry out a Scholarships for Kids program. Requires participating states to use their part A allocation to provide a grant to the parents of eligible children for use, as allowed by state law, in: supplementing the budget of any public school their eligible child is able to attend without fees; paying for all or a portion of the fees required for their child to attend another public school in the state; paying for all or a portion of the tuition and fees required for their child to attend an accredited or otherwise state-approved private school; or paying for all or a portion of the fees required for their child to participate in a state-approved supplemental educational services program. Defines an "eligible child" as a child residing in the participating state who: (1) is under age 21, (2) is entitled to a free public education through grade 12, and (3) is from a family with an income below the poverty level. Allows participating states to: (1) treat a child as eligible if the child was an "eligible child" during the previous fiscal year and is from a family whose income is not greater than 200% of the poverty level; and (2) use up to 2% of their part A allocation to provide eligible children with transportation to their public school, private school, or supplemental educational services program. Requires participating states and their local educational agencies to continue to: (1) work toward state academic content and achievement standards; (2) conduct annual assessments of student progress toward those standards; and (3) issue annual report cards of student progress, disaggregated by specified student subgroups, toward those standards. Directs the Secretary of Education to conduct a national assessment of the activities carried out under this Act. Reauthorizes appropriations under part A of title I through FY2020. Repeals: the funding reserved for schools identified as needing improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under part A of title I; the programs under parts B (Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants), C (Education of Migratory Children), D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk), E (National Assessment of Subchapter I), F (Comprehensive School Reform), G (Advanced Placement Programs), and H (School Dropout Prevention) of title I; titles II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals), III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students), IV (21st Century Schools), V (Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs), VI (Flexibility and Accountability), and VII (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education) of the ESEA; a program providing supplemental education grants to Micronesia and the Marshall Islands under the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003; the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006; a program providing grants to states for the education of homeless children and youths under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002; part A (Teacher Quality Partnership Grants) of title II of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA); the Talent Search and Upward Bound programs under title IV (Student Assistance) of the HEA; a program providing grants to youth organizations, under the Agricultural Research Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, to establish pilot projects to expand the programs they carry out in rural areas and small towns; a grant program, under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, to promote and strengthen agriscience and agribusiness education in secondary and postsecondary schools; a grant program, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, for the establishment of school-based health centers; a program providing grants, under the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002, to institutions of higher education and nonprofit organizations to improve elementary and secondary mathematics and science instruction; a grant program, under the Public Health Service Act, for the operation of school-based health centers; and programs, under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, that provide grants to states and educational entities that make significant progress in meeting specified elementary and secondary education goals.

Invest in United States Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Invest in United States Act of 2014 - Title I: American Infrastructure Financing Authority - Establishes the American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) as a wholly-owned government corporation that shall provide direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate the construction, alteration, or repair of transportation, water, and energy infrastructure projects. Requires infrastructure projects assisted under this Act to have costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $100 million ($25 million for rural infrastructure projects). Establishes an Office of the Special Inspector General to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the business activities of AIFA. Prohibits financial assistance from AIFA for any private project for which no public benefit is created. Sets forth terms for loans or loan guarantees for eligible infrastructure projects and for the repayment of such loans. Requires an annual independent audit of AIFA finances. Requires the Chief Executive Officer of AIFA to: (1) establish fees with respect to loans and loan guarantees that are sufficient to cover AIFA's administrative costs; and (2) take actions to make AIFA a self-sustaining entity, with administrative and federal credit subsidy costs fully funded by fees and risk premiums on loans and loan guarantees. Title II: Tax Credit Extensions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the new markets tax credit. Build America Bonds Act of 2014 - Makes permanent the tax credit for investment in the Build America Bonds program. Makes permanent the tax credit for research expenditures. Increases to 17% the rate of the alternative simplified research tax credit. Exempts bonds for water and sewage facilities from the volume cap on tax-exempt private activity bonds. Eliminates tax-exempt interest earned on private activity bonds as an item of tax preference for purposes of calculating the alternative minimum tax (AMT). Title III: Skills Training - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits for: (1) the qualified training expenses of job trainees who have been unemployed for at least 90 days before enrolling in a training program, and (2) investment in a qualified job training partnership between a private business and an institution of higher education or a labor organization. Defines "qualifying training expenses" as an eligible trainee's qualified tuition costs, which may include costs for books and enrollment in a training program at an institution of higher education that may include a single course, multiple courses, or a combination of work training and study that is reasonably necessary for employment. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Qualified Job Training Partnership program to consider and award certifications for qualified investments eligible for credits to qualified job training partnerships. Requires the Secretary to make grants to individuals who make an investment in a qualified job training partnership, in lieu of a tax credit. Title IV: Trade Provisions - Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to the implementation of a trade and investment agreement with the European Union. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend through December 31, 2020: (1) the trade adjustment assistance (TAA) program, and (2) the reemployment trade adjustment assistance (RTAA) program. Makes funds available through FY2020 and for the period beginning October 1-December 31, 2020 (first quarter of FY2021) for training of adversely affected workers, employment and case management services, and job search expenses and relocation expenses. Reauthorizes appropriations: (1) through December 31, 2020, for the TAA program for workers, and (2) through FY2020 and for the first quarter of FY2021 for the TAA program for firms and farmers. Amends the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 to declare that TAA program requirements in effect as of February 13, 2011, under the Trade Act of 1974 shall apply to petitions for certification to apply for TAA for workers, firms, and farmers that are filed before January 1, 2021. Title V: Minimum Wage Increase and Business Tax Relief - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.20 an hour beginning on the first day of the first month beginning 1 year after the enactment of this Act, (2) $9.15 an hour beginning 1 year after that first day, (3) $10.10 an hour beginning 2 years after that first day, and (4) the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (based on increases in the Consumer Price Index) beginning 3 years after that first day and annually thereafter. Increases the federal minimum wage for tipped employees to $3.00 an hour for the 1-year period beginning on the first day of the third month after the enactment of this Act. Provides a formula for subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase to ensure that it remains equal to 50% of the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent: (1) the work opportunity tax credit; (2) the increased expensing allowance for depreciable business assets; and (3) the treatment of qualified leasehold improvement property, qualified restaurant property, and qualified retail improvement property as 15-year property for depreciation purposes.

Community Investment and Empowerment Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Community Investment and Empowerment Act - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make grants on a competitive basis to communities for: the creation of a grant and/or revolving loan fund program that helps develop financing packages for Class 1 commercial investment (defined as retail grocery chains, food service retailers, restaurants and franchises, retail stores, cafes, shopping malls, and other shops); lowering real estate property tax rates; conducting community-wide market analysis to help recruit and/or retain Class 1 commercial investment; creating employment training programs for Class 1 business customer service, sales, and managerial positions; retail marketing strategies to solicit new Class 1 commercial investment starts in the community; program allowances for activities such as the publication of marketing materials, development of economic development web pages, and educational outreach activities with retail trade associations; and hiring business recruitment specialists. Authorizes the Administrator to only make such a grant to communities: (1) whose demographics include a median per capita income no higher than $35,000 and a lack of Class 1 commercial investment; (2) that submit an application that describes the activities the community carries out, and the difficulty the community has faced, to recruit, retain and grow their economy through Class 1 commercial investment; and (3) that agree to match 10% of grant funds with certain non-federal contributions. Allows the Administrator to waive or reduce the non-federal contribution if the community involved demonstrates that it cannot meet the contribution requirement due to financial hardship.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the credits for energy-efficient appliances.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax credit for energy-efficient household appliances.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the credit for energy-efficient new homes.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax credit for new energy efficient homes.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the credit for energy-efficient existing homes.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax credit for residential energy efficiency improvements.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the special rule allowing taxpayers other than C corporations a tax deduction for charitable contributions of food inventory.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements, qualified restaurant buildings and improvements, and qualified retail improvements.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the classification, for depreciation purposes, of leasehold, restaurant buildings, and retail improvements as 15-year property.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the work opportunity tax credit.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the work opportunity tax credit.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the employer wage credit for employees who are active duty members of the uniformed services.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax credit for differential wage payments to employees who are active duty members of the uniformed services.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the business research credit.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax credit for research expenses.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the exclusion from gross income, for income tax purposes, of distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the deduction of State and local general sales taxes.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the taxpayer election to deduct state and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for one year the deduction for mortgage insurance premiums.

United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2014 the tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums.

Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2014

Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2014 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to amend the rules concerning the factors FEMA considers when evaluating a governor's request for a major disaster declaration to provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the need for public assistance: (1) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned to the estimated cost of the assistance (10%), localized impacts (40%), insurance coverage in force (10%), hazard mitigation (10%), recent multiple disasters (10%), programs of other federal assistance (10%), and economic circumstances (10%); and (2) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances of both the local economy of the affected area (including the local assessable tax base and local sales tax, median income, and poverty rate) and the state economy (including the unemployment rate). Requires such rules to provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the severity, magnitude, and impact of the disaster and the evaluation of the need for assistance to individuals: (1) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned to concentration of damages (20%), trauma (20%), special populations (20%), voluntary agency assistance (10%), insurance (20%), average amount of individual assistance by state (5%), and economic considerations (5%); and (2) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances of the affected area (including the local assessable tax base and local sales tax, median income, and poverty rate).

QUIET Act

United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2014

Quell Unnecessary, Intentional, and Encroaching Telephone Calls Act of 2014 or the QUIET Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a a person within the United States, or a person outside the United States if the recipient is within the United States, from knowingly initiating a commercial robocall without the prior express written consent of the recipient. Defines "commercial robocall" to mean a telephone call made for the purpose of soliciting or encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment or enrollment in, property, goods, or services, using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. Exempts telephone calls that: (1) are made for emergency purposes; (2) are by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization; (3) are made by a provider of commercial mobile radio service to subscribers of the service, for which the subscribers are not charged; or (4) deliver a message relating to health care made by, or on behalf of, a covered entity or a business associate of a covered entity. Subjects any person who violates this Act to a fine of not more than $20,000 per violation, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both.

No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2014

No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2014 - Prohibits the expenditure of funds authorized or appropriated by federal law or funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law (federal funds) for any abortion. (Currently, federal funds cannot be used for abortion services, except in cases involving rape, incest, or life endangerment.) Prohibits federal funds from being used for any health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion (thus making permanent existing federal policies). Prohibits the inclusion of abortion in any health care service furnished by a federal or District of Columbia health care facility or by any physician or other individual employed by the federal government or the District. Excludes an abortion from such prohibitions if: (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; or (2) the woman suffers from a physical disorder, injury, or illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, as certified by a physician. Applies such prohibitions to District of Columbia funds. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the definition of "qualified health plan" after December 31, 2014, for purposes of the refundable tax credit for premium assistance for such plans, any plan that includes coverage for abortion. Excludes from the definition of "qualified health plan," for purposes of the tax credit for small employer health insurance expenses, any health plan that includes coverage for abortions. Exempts from the application of such tax provisions: (1) abortions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest or in cases where a woman suffers from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would, as certified by a physician, endanger her life if an abortion were not performed; and (2) the treatment of any infection, injury, disease, or disorder that was caused by or exacerbated by the performance of an abortion. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), when entering into contracts for health insurance, to ensure that no multi-state qualified health plan offered in a state health care exchange provides health benefits coverage for which the expenditure of federal funds is prohibited under this Act. Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, with respect to notice provided to health plan enrollees, to require: disclosure at the time of enrollment of the extent of coverage of abortion services for which the expenditure of public funds is either prohibited or allowed; prominent display in marketing or advertising materials, comparison tools, or summary of benefits and coverage explanation made available by the issuer of the plan, by an exchange, or by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), including information made available through an Internet portal or an exchange; and separate disclosure and identification, in the case of a health plan that includes coverage of abortion services for which public funding is prohibited, and where the premium is disclosed, of the separate payment collected by the plan issuer equal to the actuarial value of such coverage.

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7) to prohibit taxpayer funded abortions, and providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2642) to provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2018, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2014

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7) to prohibit taxpayer funded abortions, and providing for consideration of the conference report to accompany the bill (H.R. 2642) to provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2018.

Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2014

Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act of 2014 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to amend the rules concerning the factors FEMA considers when evaluating a governor's request for a major disaster declaration to provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the need for public assistance: (1) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned to the estimated cost of the assistance (10%), localized impacts (40%), insurance coverage in force (10%), hazard mitigation (10%), recent multiple disasters (10%), programs of other federal assistance (10%), and economic circumstances (10%); and (2) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances of both the local economy of the affected area (including the local assessable tax base and local sales tax, median income, and poverty rate) and the state economy (including the unemployment rate). Requires such rules to provide that, with respect to the evaluation of the severity, magnitude, and impact of the disaster and the evaluation of the need for assistance to individuals: (1) specific weighted valuations shall be assigned to concentration of damages (20%), trauma (20%), special populations (20%), voluntary agency assistance (10%), insurance (20%), average amount of individual assistance by state (5%), and economic considerations (5%); and (2) FEMA shall consider the economic circumstances of the affected area (including the local assessable tax base and local sales tax, median income, and poverty rate). Makes such rules applicable to any major disaster declared on or after January 1, 2013.

HOME Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2014

Helping Owners Mitigate Effectively Act of 2014 or the HOME Act of 2014 - Delays any change in risk premium rates for flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance Program resulting from amendments made by the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters Act) until five years after the enactment date of such Act. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to provide that the maximum annual chargeable flood insurance premium rate for a property shall be the appraised value of the property when purchased by its current owner divided by 30. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $7,500 for flood mitigation expenses in a taxable year for policy holders of flood insurance coverage and small businesses. Terminates such credit after December 31, 2022 Amends the Biggert-Waters Act to authorize the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to use any other amounts available to the Administrator to carry out the the study of participation in the National Flood Insurance Program and of the affordability of risk-based premiums under such Program. Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize increased appropriations for predisaster hazard mitigation for FY2014-FY2018.  Authorizes appropriations for flood risk mitigation assistance for FY2014-FY2018.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2015

United States · United States Senate · 16 January 2014

Partnership to Build America Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014

Partnership to Build America Act of 2014 - Establishes the American Infrastructure Fund (AIF) as a wholly-owned government corporation to provide bond guarantees and make loans to state and local governments, non-profit infrastructure providers, private parties, and public-private partnerships for state or local government sponsored transportation, energy, water, communications, or educational facility infrastructure projects (Qualified Infrastructure Projects [QIPs]). Authorizes AIF also to make equity investments in QIPs . Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, acting through the AIF, to issue American Infrastructure Bonds with an aggregate face value of $50 billion. Requires proceeds from the sale of the bonds to be deposited into the AIF. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow U.S. corporations to exclude from gross income qualified cash dividend amounts received during a taxable year from a foreign-controlled corporation equal to the face value of qualified infrastructure bonds the corporation has purchased. Prohibits allowance of a foreign tax credit to the excluded portion of any dividend received by a U.S. corporation. Prohibits also the allowance of a deduction for expenses related to that excludable portion.

EXPAND Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014

Energy Exploration and Production to Achieve National Demand Act or the EXPAND Act - Title I: Development of Federal Energy Resources - Declares that it is the policy of the United States to reduce or eliminate financial, regulatory, and technical barriers to energy exploration and production. Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to repeal the moratorium upon oil and gas leasing (or any related activity) in: (1) any area east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico; (2) any area in the Eastern Planning Area that is within 125 miles of the Florida coastline; or (3) specified areas within the Central Planning Area and within 100 miles of the Florida coastline. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), regarding the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing program, to direct Secretary of Defense (DOD) to review OCS areas that have been designated as restricted from exploration and operation to determine whether they should remain under restriction. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary in this title) to offer for leasing: (1) the Destin Dome and Pensacola areas, even though they were omitted from a certain 5-year leasing program, (2) any other areas in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area that are made available for leasing under this Act, and (3) include the aforementioned areas in any 5-year leasing program approved after the date of enactment of this Act. Extends, by 24 months, certain deepwater oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico OCS region that were not producing as of April 30, 2010. Directs the Secretary to reinstate certain expired leases and conduct expanded OCS lease sales. Urges the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for a seismic assessment of the oil and natural gas resources offshore the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Requires the Secretary to issue: (1) a Final Programmatic EIS and Record of Decision, assessing the environmental effects of geological and geophysical activities in the Atlantic OCS Planning Area; and (2) a Preliminary EIS to assess the environmental impacts of geophysical activities in the Southern California OCS Planning Area. Requires the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to establish a process to ensure the timely completion of all permit processing activities that meets the requirements of such Act for geologic and geophysical activities in the Atlantic OCS Planning Area. Sets forth an allocation scheme for coastal states to receive funds from OCS leases that are inversely proportional to the respective distances between the point on the coastline of the adjacent state that is closest to the geographic center of the applicable leased tract and the geographic center of the leased tract. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program for exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources of the Arctic Coastal Plain. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) designate special areas on the Coastal Plain to preserve fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values, and (2) exclude leasing or surface occupancy from such areas. Authorizes leasing all or a portion of a Special Area under terms permitting horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located outside the Special Area. Prescribes lease sales procedures and lease terms and conditions. Sets forth requirements for: (1) distribution of federal and state revenues emanating from bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from oil and gas leasing and operations, (2) semiannual payments to the state of Alaska, (3) rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation, and (4) conveyance of surface and subsurface estates to specified Corporations. Federal Land Freedom Act of 2013 - Authorizes a state to establish a program to develop energy resources on available federal land in the state, as long as the land is not held in trust for an Indian tribe, not part of the National Park System or the National Wildlife Refuge System, and not a designated wilderness area. Requires a state permit or lease for the development of energy under the program to be considered to meet all applicable requirements of federal law. Prohibits program activities from being subject to judicial review and the Administrative Procedure Act. Subjects to congressional approval implementation, administration, or enforcement by the BLM of Secretarial Order No. 3310. Prescribes wilderness designation procedures subject to congressional approval. Subjects to congressional approval any future executive branch action that withdraws more than 100 acres in the aggregate of public lands within the United States. Grants FERC, in lieu of the Department of the Interior, exclusive jurisdiction and authority to implement and administer the leasing program for research and development of oil shale and tar sands and all other programs and requirements contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Instructs the Secretary to take actions to ensure that by January 1, 2018, at least 10% of the federal OCS lands and at least 10% of onshore federal lands and interests in lands that are under the Secretary's jurisdiction, are being leased for the production of energy. Confers upon the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over any final agency decision concerning covered oil and natural gas activity. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement to analyze the potential impacts of a program to develop solar and wind energy on National Forest System land. Directs the Secretary of Defense to identify locations on land withdrawn from the public domain and reserved for military purposes that exhibit a high potential for solar, wind, geothermal, or other energy resources production. Instructs the Secretary to establish a wind and solar leasing pilot program on covered land. Instructs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a joint determination on whether to establish a leasing program for wind or solar energy, or both, on land within their respective jurisdictions; and (2) establish a leasing program unless they determine that it is not in the public interest, and does not provide an effective means of developing wind or solar energy. Prescribes a revenue disposition format for such leasing program. Requires the Secretary to consult and work with the Secretary of Defense regarding military operations in OCS waters, including resolution of conflicts that might arise between such operations and leasing under this Act. Deems existing leases issued under the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2007-2012, including any lease issued pursuant to Lease Sale 193 or 213, to be in full compliance with the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2007-2012. Authorizes holders of certain previously approved permits to drill (or to sidetrack) to conduct all operations authorized under such permits: (1) without further review by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and (2) without further review or delay under specified federal environmental protection law. Requires the Secretary to act on oil and natural gas drilling permits within 30 days after an application's submission. Title II: Continental Pipeline Approval - Prohibits presidential permits from being required for the Keystone XL pipeline. Declares that the final EIS issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, and the Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in January 2013 satisfy all the requirements of NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act. Declares that the environmental reviews performed for the Keystone XL pipeline project satisfy the requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Provides that the project will not jeopardize the continued existence of the American burying beetle or destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat. Prohibits any taking of the beetle that is incidental to the construction or operation and maintenance of the pipeline from being considered as a prohibited taking of such species under such Act. Deems the Secretary to have granted or issued a grant of right-of-way and temporary use permit under the Mineral Leasing Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 for the pipeline. Requires the Secretary of the Army to issue, for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the pipeline, all necessary permits under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) concerning discharges into navigable waters of dredged or fill material and permits under the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 concerning excavating or filling navigable waters. Authorizes the Secretary to waive any procedural requirement of law or regulation to accomplish issuing the permits for the pipeline's development. Deems a permit as issued if the Secretary has not issued it within 90 days of receipt the permit application. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from restricting an activity in navigable waters or use of an area that is authorized by permits under this Act for the pipeline's development. Deems the Secretary of the Interior to have issued a special purpose permit under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for the pipeline. Requires pipeline owners or operators that are required under federal law to develop an oil spill response plan for the pipeline to make such plan and updates to it available to the governor of each state in which such pipeline operates to assist with emergency response preparedness. Title III: Radiological Material Repository - Requires the federal government to site and permit at least one radiological material geologic repository for the disposal of radiological material. Retains the repository site at Yucca Mountain as the site for the nation's radiological material repository following full statutory review of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) license application to construct the Yucca Mountain repository. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to continue to review DOE's pending license application to construct the repository at Yucca Mountain until a determination is made on its merits. Instructs the NRC to approve such application within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Removes statutory limitations on the amount of radiological material that can be placed in Yucca Mountain. Requires the NRC to replace such limitations with new limits based on scientific and technical analysis of the full capacity of Yucca Mountain for the storage of radiological material. Title IV: Relief from Regulations and Prohibitions that Cause Artificial Price Increases - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to: (1) require a decision to include a species on the list of threatened and endangered species to be based on the best scientific and economic (currently, commercial) data available at the time, including analysis of the costs and benefits of the matter under consideration; and (2) declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Amends the Clean Air Act to exclude from the definition of "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride (greenhouse gases). Declares that nothing in the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, NEPA, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or the Solid Waste Disposal Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal provisions prohibiting any federal agency from entering into a contract for procurement of an alternative or synthetic fuel for any mobility-related use, other than for research or testing, unless the contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and combustion of the fuel must be less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel. Amends the Clean Air Act to repeal the renewable fuel program. Title V: Refinery Reform - Requires the Administrator to enter into a refinery permitting agreement upon the request of a state or Indian tribe to streamline the process for obtaining all permits licenses, approvals, variances, or other forms of authorization that a refiner is required to obtain for the construction and operation of a facility that refines crude oil into transportation fuel or other petroleum products or a facility that processes coal into synthetic crude oil or any other fuel. Prohibits applications for permits for existing refineries from being considered to be timely if submitted after 120 days after this Act's enactment. Requires the President to designate at least three closed military installations for the siting of a crude oil refinery. Prohibits a site from being used for a refinery if a state objects to the designation, unless Congress overrides the objection. Requires DOE to act as the lead agency for coordinating refinery authorizations and related environmental reviews. Title VI: Repeal of Energy Tax Subsidies - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe reduced corporate and individual income tax rates to reflect revenue increases resulting from the development of energy resources and the repeal of energy-related tax expenditures and subsidies under this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the credit for alcohol fuel, biodiesel, and alternative fuel mixtures; (2) the credit for certain plug-in electric vehicles; (3) the credit for qualified fuel cell motor vehicles; (4) the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit; (5) the credit for alcohol used as fuel; (6) the credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; (7) the enhanced oil recovery credit; (8) the production tax credit; (9) the credit for producing electricity from renewable resources; (10) the credit for producing oil and gas from marginal wells; (11) the credit for production from advanced nuclear power facilities; (12) the credit for carbon dioxide sequestration; (13) the energy credit; (14) the qualifying advanced coal project credit; and (15) the qualifying gasification project credit. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 to repeal the energy grant program under which the Secretary of the Treasury is required to make grants to persons who place in service in 2009 and 2010 certain energy property that is eligible for: (1) the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind, biomass, or solar energy facilities), or (2) the energy tax credit (e.g., fuel cell, geothermal, or microturbine property). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to elect to expense the cost of property used in the production of energy in the taxable year in which such property is placed in service. Title VII: Regulatory Relief - Provides that the following rules shall have no force or effect and be treated as though they had never taken effect: (1) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters; (2) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers; (3) the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and (4) Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That are Solid Waste. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in place of such rules, to promulgate within 15 months regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units subject to such rules, that: (1) establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and (2) identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act. Requires the Administrator to establish compliance dates for such standards and requirements after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts. Sets forth guidelines for such rules and regulations, including requiring the Administrator to: (1) ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category, and (2) impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative for each regulation promulgated. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize states to implement coal combustion residuals permit programs. Requires each state governor to notify the Administrator within six months about whether such state will implement such a program. Requires states that decide to implement such a program to: (1) submit to the Administrator within 36 months a certification that such program meets the specifications of this Act, and (2) maintain either an approved municipal solid waste program for the control of hazardous disposal or an authorized state hazardous waste program. Establishes minimum requirements for coal combustion residuals permit programs. Requires: (1) the revised criteria established by this Act to apply to such programs; (2) landfills, surface impoundments, or other land-based units that may receive coal combustion residuals (structures) to be designed, constructed, and maintained to provide for containment of the maximum volumes of coal combustion residuals appropriate for the structure; (3) such programs to apply such revised criteria to surface impoundments; and (4) new structures that first receive coal combustion residuals after this Act's enactment to be constructed with a base located a minimum of two feet above the upper limit of the natural water table. Authorizes states to: (1) require action to correct structural integrity deficiencies according to a schedule for structures that are classified as posing a high hazard potential pursuant to the guidelines published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) entitled "Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety: Hazard Potential Classification System for Dams," (2) require that such a structure close if such deficiency is not corrected according to such schedule, (3) inspect structures and implement and enforce such permit program, and (4) address wind dispersal of dust from coal combustion residuals by requiring dust control measures. Sets forth revised criteria for such programs with respect to: (1) design, groundwater monitoring, corrective action, and closure and post-closure for structures; (2) location restrictions for new structures in floodplains, wetlands, fault areas, seismic impact zones, and unstable areas; (3) air quality, financial assurance, surface water, and record keeping; (4) run-on and run-off control systems for landfills and other land-based units, other than surface impoundments that receive coal combustion residuals; and (5) run-off control systems for surface impoundments. Authorizes states to determine that such criteria is not needed for the management of their coal combustion residuals permit program. Authorizes the Administrator to treat such state determination as a deficiency if it does not accurately reflect the needs for the management of coal combustion residuals in the state. Requires the time period and method for a structure's closure to be set forth in a schedule in a closure plan that takes into account the site-specific characteristics. Directs the closure plan for a surface impoundment to require the removal of liquid and the stabilization of remaining waste as necessary to support the final cover. Prohibits the Administrator from applying such programs to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal combustion residuals at surface mining and reclamation operations. Prohibits this Act from being construed to alter the EPA's regulatory determination, entitled "Notice of Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels," that the fossil fuel combustion wastes addressed in that determination do not warrant regulation under such Act. Prohibits a federal department or agency from using the social cost of carbon in order to incorporate social benefits of reducing carbon dioxide emissions, or for any other reason, in any cost-benefit analysis. Amends the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act to require the Secretary to issue or deny an eagle take permit for no less than 30 years under regulations that authorize the taking of any bald eagle or golden eagle that is incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity. Deems the failure to issue or deny such a permit within a reasonable time ( not exceeding one year) to constitute issuance of such permit. Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to require that a person, association, partnership, or corporation must knowingly violate such Act in order to be held criminally liable. Title VIII: Attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards - Amends the Clean Air Act to require any designation or redesignation of an area within a state or an interstate area as a nonattainment area for the national primary or secondary ambient air quality standard for a pollutant to be based on monitoring data and not on modeling data. Requires the Administrator to set forth the air quality modeling methodologies required to be used in state implementation plans for purposes of predicting the effect on ambient air quality of emissions of air pollutants for which the Administrator has established national ambient air quality standards. Authorizes a downwind area that is not in attainment with the national ambient air quality standard for ozone within 18 months of the attainment deadline to petition the Administrator for an extension of the time to come into attainment. Authorizes the Administrator, in lieu of reclassifying an area as nonattainment for ozone, to extend such date if the Administrator: (1) determines that the area is a downwind area with respect to such standard, (2) approves a plan revision for such area prior to a reclassification, (3) determines that the petitioning downwind area has demonstrated that it is affected by transport from an upwind area to a degree that affects the area's ability to attain such standard, and (4) provides measures to ensure that no area downwind of the area receiving the extended attainment date will be affected by transport to a degree that affects the other area's ability to attain such standard. Provides for the withdrawal of a reclassification determination. Requires such extended attainment date to provide for attainment of such ozone standard in the downwind area as expeditiously as practicable but no later than the new date that the area would have been subject to had it been reclassified. Title IX: Sub-basin Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Requires the Administrator, in requiring any owner or operator of any facility in the petroleum and natural gas system source category to report greenhouse gas emissions from facilities in such category, to allow such owner or operator to: (1) designate sub-basins consisting of similar fields within a larger basin, and (2) report such emissions from such sub-basins instead of reporting such emissions from the larger basin. Title X: Implementation of National Ocean Policy - Prohibits federal departments and agencies from performing activities to implement Executive Order 13547, entitled "Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes." Title XI: Other Provisions - Requires: (1) the administrative record compiled by an agency regarding an application for a permit, authorization, or other agency action involving a Priority Energy Project to be the sole and exclusive record for any appeal or review of such action, and (2) such record to be closed upon final agency action and subject to no further evidentiary proceedings or requirements unless requested by the applicant. Requires an agency to: (1) prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for each proposed significant energy action; and (2) publish such Statement, or a summary of it, in each related notice of proposed rulemaking and in any resulting final rule. Requires the approval to construct or operate a Priority Energy Project pursuant to any federal permit to remain valid and authorized for the later of: (1) 18 months following the date on which the last permit needed by such Project to commence construction or operation is final and no longer subject to judicial review, (2) three years, or (3) five years in the case of a nationwide permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for activities that impact the aquatic environment. Title XII: Future Nuclear Energy - Streamline America's Future Energy Nuclear Act - Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to implement an expedited procedure for issuing a Combined Construction and Operating License. Requires the NRC to reduce by one-half the time necessary to certify a reactor design and present a certification schedule to Congress within a year of this Act's enactment. Instructs the NRC to outline to Congress an approach that will allow development of technology-neutral guidelines for nuclear plant licensing in the future that would allow for the more seamless entry of new technologies into the marketplace. Directs DOE and the NRC to reevaluate and accelerate the Next Generation Nuclear Power Plant schedule with the purpose of significant acceleration. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from using the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to arbitrarily prevent uranium mining on federal lands. Restricts the collection of additional leasing fees and the application of fees to remediation of damage resulting from government activities.

Immigrant Detainee Legal Rights Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014

Immigrant Detainee Legal Rights Act - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain, within the Executive Office for Immigration Review, an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop and administer a system of legal orientation programs to make immigration proceedings more efficient and cost-effective by educating aliens regarding administrative procedures and legal rights under U.S. immigration law and to establish other programs to assist in providing aliens access to legal information; and (2) submit to Congress within 180 days a plan that includes a schedule to develop and deploy legal orientation programs for all detainees within 1 year after enactment of this Act. Requires the legal orientation programs to: (1) provide programs to assist detained aliens in making decisions regarding their removal and eligibility for relief from removal in order to increase efficiency and reduce costs in immigration proceedings and federal custody processes and to improve access to legal services; (2) ensure that programs and written notice of rights are available in English and the five most common native languages spoken by the detainees held in custody at that location during the preceding fiscal year; and (3) identify unaccompanied alien children, aliens with a serious mental disability, and other particularly vulnerable aliens for right to counsel considerations. Authorizes such programs to provide services to detained aliens in specified immigration (detention and removal) and asylum proceedings. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish procedures: (1) that ensure that legal orientation programs are available for all detained aliens within five days of arrival into custody; and (2) to inform such aliens of the basic procedures of immigration hearings, their rights relating to those hearings, information that may deter such aliens from filing frivolous legal claims, and a contact list of potential legal resources and providers.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to strengthen the rules for approved structured settlement factoring transactions.

United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014

Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax exemption for structured settlement factoring transactions (i.e., transfers of the right to receive periodic payments under a settlement of a legal claim for damages in exchange for a lump sum payment) to require that court orders approving such transfers include additional requirements, including that: (1) the annual discount rate of the consideration for a transfer does not exceed the prime interest rate plus 5%; (2) the aggregate amount of charges, fees, and other expenses payable by the payee of the lump sum payment do not exceed 2% of the value of the consideration to the payee; (3) the payee is not liable for any penalty or forfeiture if the transfer does not satisfy the additional requirements imposed by this Act; (4) the transferee (the entity receiving the right to the periodic payments) has given written notice of its name, address, and taxpayer identification number to the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor and has filed a copy of such notice with the state court or other authority issuing the order approving the transfer; (5) the transfer is fair and reasonable; and (6) the transferee makes certain disclosures to the payee.

Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2014

Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the inclusion of any social security or tier I railroad retirement benefits in gross income. Appropriates funds to cover reductions in transfers to the Social Security and Railroad Retirement Trust Funds resulting from the enactment of this Act. Expresses the sense of Congress against using tax increases to provide revenue necessary to carry out this Act.

Responsible Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2014

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 April 1, 2014. Reauthorizes Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-3, and Tier-4 of the EUC program for weeks ending after December 29, 2013, but reduces the duration of the first two Tiers, to up to six weeks each. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until March 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 September 30, 2014, 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. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2013, to March 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 the first quarter of FY2015 to assist states in providing reemployment and eligibility assessment activities. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act to extend through March 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: (1) 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; and (2) enacted a law before December 1, 2013, that, upon taking effect, would violate the nonreduction rule. (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 such a state, 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.) Repeals a provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 that reduces the cost-of-living adjustment to the retirement pay of members of the Armed Forces under age 62. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act, for any month before an individual reaches retirement age, to reduce the total of the individual's monthly disability insurance benefits and any OASDI benefits based on wages and self-employment income by the total amount of any UC received for that month (but not below zero). (Thus reduces the benefits based on receipt of UC.) Applies this reduction to any past-due monthly disability insurance benefits for any month in which the individual was entitled both to them and to UC. Makes the reduction inapplicable if the individual is entitled to UC for a month following a period of: trial work, participation in the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, or participation in any other program designed to encourage an individual entitled to such benefits to work. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prepare, and the President to issue, a sequestration order on March 1 for each of FY2015-FY2023, in addition to the reduction in direct spending required under the Act, that reduces certain spending by the uniformed percentage necessary to reduce it for the fiscal year by $1.333 billion. Specifies the spending involved as: nonexempt direct spending, not spending for certain Medicare programs, and within the revised nonsecurity category.

Student Loan Borrowers' Bill of Rights Act of 2013

United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2014

Student Loan Borrowers' Bill of Rights Act of 2013 - Removes educational loans from the list of debts that are non-dischargeable in bankruptcy. Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to reinstate the six-year statute of limitations on the recovery by: institutions of higher education (IHEs) of refund amounts owed by students on grants made, or work assistance awarded, under title IV; guaranty agencies of amounts owed on loans made under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program; IHEs that have program participation agreements with the Secretary of Education of amounts owed under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program or Federal Perkins Loans program; and the federal government of amounts owed by students on grants made under title IV or amounts owed by borrowers on loans made under title IV that have been assigned to the Secretary. Prohibits the collection of amounts individuals owe the Department of Education under title IV of the HEA through: (1) offsets of social security, railroad retirement, or black lung benefits; (2) offsets of tax refunds; or (3) wage garnishment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude discharged student loan debt from an individual's gross income. Excludes from gross income distributions from qualified tuition plans that are use to pay the interest or principal on student loans. Amends the HEA to make borrowers of PLUS loans made on behalf of dependent students under: the Direct Loan program eligible for income-contingent repayment plans, including plans based on the President's Pay As You Earn repayment initiative; the Direct Loan or FFEL programs eligible for income-based repayment plans that enable borrowers who have a partial financial hardship to make lower monthly payments; and the Direct Loan or FFEL programs eligible for loan forgiveness for service in areas of national need. Specifies the regulation to be used in determining whether individuals have an adverse credit history that disqualifies them from borrowing a Direct Plus loan (provided to graduate or professional students or the parents of dependent students). Prohibits evidence of an individual's default on a loan made, insured, or guaranteed under title IV of the HEA from being used in a federal or state proceeding involving the individual's professional or vocational license. Prohibits an IHE from blocking students' access to their student records at the IHE due to such students being in default on such loans. Directs the Secretary to cancel 50% of the balance of the interest and principal due on Direct loans that are not in default for borrowers who are employed in a public service job and make 60 monthly payments on such loans after October 1, 2013.

To amend the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to exempt payments made to States and counties under such Act from any reduction pursuant to a sequestration order and to reimburse those States and counties that returned a portion of their January 2013 payment because of sequestration, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2014

Amends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (the Act) to exempt from any presidential sequestration order issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) funds made available under the Act or derived from the other authorized funding sources for the purpose of making payments to eligible states and counties containing certain federal lands (payments in lieu of federal payment of state property taxes). Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, using authorized payment sources, to reimburse each state or county that, in response to a presidential sequestration order issued during FY2013, repaid some of the payment it received during FY2013 either by: (1) returning a portion of it to the Secretary, (2) having funds deducted from other amounts due the state or county under the Act, or (3) providing some combination of returning and deducting funds. Requires the Secretary to waive the repayment requirement for any state or county that did not repay the required portion of the payment it received during FY2013 despite such order.

GROWTH Act

United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2014

Generating Real Opportunities for Workers and Transitional Help Act or GROWTH Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to declare that nothing in the Act shall prevent the commencement or continued payment of first-tier emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) to the extent that it: represents amounts established in an applicant's EUC account (EUCA); and is payable for a week ending on or before January 1, 2015. (Thus provides for a 12-month extension of EUC.) Revises the formula for crediting Tier-1 amounts to an applicant's EUCA to include a week ending after January 1, 2014. Decreases the percentages in the formula (the lesser of which shall be the amount credited): (1) from 80% to 54% of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the benefit year, and (2) from 20 to 14 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer necessary amounts from the Treasury general fund to the EUC account to make payments to states for this extension of EUC. 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.) Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, for FY2014-FY2023, to use any available discretionary appropriations to conduct in-person reemployment and unemployment insurance eligibility assessments for unemployment insurance beneficiaries. Specifies limits in such amount for each fiscal year. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal the excise tax on medical devices. Declares that no presidential permit shall be required for a specified application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Keystone XL pipeline, L.P., to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline, as supplemented to include the Nebraska reroute featured in the Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Nebraska governor. Considers the final environmental impact statement regarding the pipeline issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, coupled with the Final Evaluation Report, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Amends the IRC, as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to redefine "full-time employee," for purposes of the mandate requiring employers to provide health care coverage for their employees, as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week (currently, at least 30 hours of service a week). Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to declare that for any month that an individual is entitled to unemployment compensation (UC) he or she shall be deemed to have engaged in substantial gainful activity and so be disqualified from receiving Social Security disability benefits after a certain period has elapsed. States that, for purposes of determining services rendered by an individual during a period of trial work which will not disqualify the individual for disability benefits, the individual shall be deemed to have rendered services in a month if he or she is entitled to UC or trade adjustment assistance for that month. Amends the IRC to require taxpayers who are claiming the refundable portion of the child tax credit to include their Social Security numbers on their tax returns..

To make permanent the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program.

United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2014

Makes permanent the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program (under which counties or other eligible units of local government in which U.S.-owned entitlement land is located are entitled to certain payments under such program which may be used for any governmental purpose).

Congressional Pay for Performance Act of 2014

United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2014

Congressional Pay for Performance Act of 2014 - Requires the appropriate payroll administrator of each house of Congress to deposit in an escrow account all mandatory payments for compensation of Members of Congress serving in that house if by April 15 of any calendar year, beginning with 2015, that house has not agreed to a concurrent budget resolution for the fiscal year that begins on October 1 of the calendar year. Requires release to those Members of such payments after April 16 of the calendar year, only upon the earlier of: (1) the day on which that house agrees to a concurrent budget resolution for the fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that calendar year, or (2) the last day of Congress during which that calendar year occurs. Sets forth similar requirements if by July 31 of a calendar year, beginning with 2014, a house of Congress has not passed each of the regular appropriation bills for the fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that calendar year. Requires release to the appropriate Members of salary payments after August 1 of the calendar year, only upon the earlier of: (1) the day on which that house has passed each of the regular appropriation bills for the fiscal year which begins on October 1 of that calendar year, or (2) the last day of Congress during which that calendar year occurs. Requires the payroll administrator of a house of Congress, in order to ensure that this Act is carried out in a manner consistent with the Constitution, to release for payments to Members of that house any amounts remaining in any escrow account under this Act on the last day of Congress during which the amounts were deposited in such account.