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Bill· SS. 3272 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require a qualified hazardous duty area to be treated in the same manner as a combat zone for certain tax provisions. A "qualified hazardous duty area" is the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt if a member of the Armed Forces performs services in such location that qualify for special pay for duty subject to hostile fire or imminent danger. The requirement applies to specified tax provisions relating to: the special rule where a deceased spouse was in missing status; the exclusion from gross income of certain combat pay of members of the Armed Forces; income taxes of members of the Armed Forces on death; combat zone-related deaths of members of the Armed Forces; the definition of wages relating to combat pay for members of the Armed Forces; the taxation of phone service originating from a combat zone from members of the Armed Forces; joint tax returns where an individual is in missing status; and additional time for individuals serving in combat zones to file returns, pay taxes, and perform other specified acts.
Bill· SS. 3268 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Closing Loopholes Against Money-Laundering Practices Act or the CLAMP Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require U.S. entities to obtain and have an employer identification number (EIN) assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The bill defines a "U.S. entity" as any business entity created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or of a U.S. state, possession, or territory. The term excludes tax-exempt organizations. The bill establishes: (1) civil penalties for the failure to have an EIN or provide required information, and (2) a criminal penalty for the willful failure to obtain an EIN. The IRS may disclose to federal law enforcement officials taxpayer identify information, including an EIN and information from an application for an EIN, for use in investigations and prosecutions of specified offenses related to money laundering and supporting or financing terrorism. Prior to disclosing the information, the IRS must determine that the disclosure would not seriously impair federal tax administration and consider whether the information requested: (1) is being sought exclusively for use in a federal criminal investigation or proceeding pertaining to the specified offense, (2) is or may be relevant to a matter relating to the offense, and (3) cannot be reasonably obtained from any other source.
Bill· SS. 3267 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Countering Iranian Threats Act of 2016 This bill directs the Departments of State, Defense, Treasury, and the Director of National Intelligence to submit a 10-year strategy to counter Iranian activities and threats. The President shall impose against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) sanctions with respect to: (1) blocking property of, and prohibiting transactions with, foreign persons who commit or support terrorism; and (2) an entity designated as a foreign terrorist organization. The President shall impose asset blocking and U.S. exclusion sanctions against any person that: (1) materially contributes to the sale or transfer to Iran of specified military equipment or that provides related technical or financial assistance, or (2) materially contributes to Iran's ballistic missile or weapons of mass destruction programs. The President shall impose specified sanctions against a person identified by the Department of State in an annual report as having acted to undermine, or as posing a risk of undermining: (1) the peace or stability in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, or Yemen; or (2) the peace process in Syria. Specified sanctions against Iran are continued until the President certifies that the following Iranian activities have ceased: (1) support for terrorism, (2) development of ballistic missile programs or delivery systems for weapons of mass destruction, (3) human rights abuses, and (4) undermining of cyber security. The President shall impose property blocking sanctions against any person that has engaged in significant activities undermining cyber security by or on behalf of Iran. The President may not issue any license under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to an offshore dollar clearing entity to conduct a transaction with an Iranian financial institution in U.S. dollars. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 is amended to subject to sanctions: (1) u-turn transactions (fund transfers from a foreign bank that pass through a U.S. financial institution and are then transferred to a second foreign bank), and (2) book transfers (fund transfers for the benefit of an Iranian financial institution made between accounts of the same financial institution). The President is authorized and encouraged to impose asset blocking and U.S. exclusion sanctions against any Iranian official who is responsible for, or complicit in, directing acts of significant corruption in Iran. The Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 is extended through December 31, 2026. The bill sets forth reporting requirements with respect to: (1) Iran's use of sanction relief funds, (2) offshore U.S. dollar clearing for Iranian transactions, (3) U.S.-European Union sanctions coordination, (4) Iranian nuclear weapons research and development, (5) Iran-North Korea nuclear cooperation, (6) Iranian use of commercial aircraft and related services for illicit military or other activities, and (7) U.S. citizens detained by Iran. Treasury shall publish in the Federal Register an IRGC Watch List. It is the sense of Congress that the President should engage with international partners to ensure that the International Atomic Energy Agency is fully funded in order to undertake its verification responsibilities. The bill exempts certain humanitarian and national security activities from sanctions. Upon receipt of credible information that a person is engaged in sanctionable activity, the President shall initiate an investigation to determine whether such person is subject to sanctions.
Bill· SS. 3266 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Student Loan Tax Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income of an individual the discharge (in whole or in part) of student loans. The student loans covered by the bill include: (1) any loan provided expressly for postsecondary educational expenses and made by specified U.S. entities, states, political subdivisions, the District of Columbia, or any institution of higher education; (2) any private education loan; and (3) loans made by specified educational and tax-exempt organizations that meet certain requirements.
Bill· SS. 3264 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources, to allow a taxpayer to elect the application of such credit to open-loop biomass and trash facilities during the period beginning after December 31, 2016, and ending before January 1, 2018 (in lieu of the 10-year period after the facilities are originally placed in service). The bill limits the aggregate period during which a taxpayer can claim a tax credit with respect to a facility to 10 years. The bill also modifies the definition of "municipal solid waste" to specify that the term does not include solid waste collected as part of a system which commingles commonly recycled paper with other solid waste which is not commonly recycled at any point from the time of collection through any materials recovery. The bill includes exceptions for incidental and residual waste. In the case of a facility that produces electricity both from municipal solid waste and other solid waste that is not a qualified energy resource: (1) the facility is a qualified facility if it otherwise meets the requirements for qualified facilities, and (2) the credit only applies to the portion of the electricity produced from municipal solid waste.
Bill· SS. 3257 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Municipal Bond Market Support Act of 2016 This bill amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the small issuer exemption from interest expense allocation rules for financial institutions to: (1) permanently increase from $10 million to $30 million the annual limit on the amount of tax-exempt obligations that a small issuer may issue, and (2) allow an inflation adjustment to such increased limit amount after 2016.
Bill· SS. 3255 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Blocking Deadly Fentanyl Imports Act This bill amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to include in the definition of "major illicit drug producing country" a country that is a significant source of illicit fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, or fentanyl precursor chemicals. (Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid analgesic typically used to relieve pain.) The bill requires the international narcotics control strategy report to: identify countries that are the most significant exporters of illicit fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and fentanyl precursor chemicals; identify countries that are the most significant sources of the diversion of such chemical for illicit uses; and describe the extent to which an identified country has cooperated with the United States to prevent the export of such chemical to the United States. The bill requires the withholding of bilateral and multilateral assistance from an identified country. The Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2003 is amended to require the President, as part of the report identifying major drug transit countries, to designate each country that: does not utilize specified emergency scheduling procedures for new illicit drugs and other synthetics that are comparable to the procedures used for controlled substances schedules, is incapable of prosecuting criminals for the manufacture or distribution of controlled substance analogues in the same manner that applies to controlled substances, and does not require specified registration of tableting or encapsulating machines.
Bill· SS. 3251 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Relief from Obamacare Mandate Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to exempt individuals with certain premium increases from the requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to maintain minimum essential health coverage. The exemption applies to any individual for any month during a year that the individual resides in a state in which the average premium for self-only or family coverage under the second lowest cost silver plans within the state has increased by more than 10% from the prior year. The bill also requires the cost of annual deductibles to be taken into account in applying the exemption for individuals who cannot afford coverage. The bill repeals provisions added to the IRC by PPACA that: (1) restrict payments from health savings accounts (HSAs), Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs), and health flexible spending and reimbursement arrangements for medications to prescription drugs and insulin only (thus allowing payments for over-the-counter medications); (2) impose a $2,500 limitation on salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan; and (3) impose an additional tax on HSA and Archer MSA distributions not used for qualified medical expenses.
Bill· SS. 3250 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Empowering Citizens Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to revise the public financing system for presidential primary and general elections occurring after January 1, 2018, and to establish a system of public financing of congressional elections. With respect to presidential primary elections, the bill: increases the amount of matching payments from a one-to-one to a six-to-one match for contributions by individuals of $200 or less; limits aggregate contributions to publicly-financed candidates to $1,000; establishes a $300 million limit on payments to publicly-financed candidates; requires primary candidates to certify that they have received matching contributions exceeding $25,000 (currently, $5,000) in each of 20 states, based on individual contributions not exceeding $200; prohibits a candidate and the candidate's authorized committee from accepting bundled contributions; requires publicly-financed candidates nominated for the office of President to apply for and accept payments under the general election financing system; and eliminates the expenditure limitation for candidates under the FECA. With respect to presidential general elections, the bill: revises eligibility requirements for public financing of general election candidates; prohibits general election candidates and their authorized committees from accepting bundled contributions; sets forth requirements for the use of qualified campaign contributions by candidates and their authorized committees; eliminates the expenditure limitation for candidates under the FECA; increases the amount of matching payments to from a one-to-one to a six-to-one match for contributions by individuals giving $200 or less; limits aggregate contributions to publicly-financed candidates to $1,000; establishes a $300 million limit on payments to publicly-financed candidates; and establishes an uniform date for the release of payments to candidates. The bill establishes a system for public financing of congressional elections and sets forth eligibility requirements for participating candidates. Contributions made to a publicly-financed candidate for the House of Representatives which do not exceed $1,000 are excluded in determining the limit on coordinated expenditures by a national committee of a political party. The bill amends the FECA to prohibit federal candidates or office holders from soliciting, receiving, directing, or transferring funds to or on behalf of any political committee that accepts donations or contributions that do not comply with FECA limitations, prohibitions, and reporting requirements (Super PACs), or to or on behalf of any Section 527 organization which accepts such donations or contributions (other than a committee of a state or local political party or a candidate for election for state or local office). The bill: (1) increases to $100 million the limit on coordinated expenditures for publicly-financed presidential candidates by a national committee of a political party; (2) increases the tax return check-off amount to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund; (3) prohibits an authorized committee of a candidate from establishing or participating in a joint fundraising committee; (4) expands reporting requirements for the disclosure of bundled contributions; and (5) sets forth new requirements for judicial review of campaign finance laws and FEC actions.
Bill· SS. 3248 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Agriculture Environmental Stewardship Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow energy tax credits through 2020 for investments in: (1) qualified biogas property, or (2) qualified manure resource recovery property. The bill also permits new clean renewable energy bonds to be used for such properties. "Qualified biogas property" comprises a system that: (1) uses anaerobic digesters or other specified processes to convert biomass into a gas which is at least 52% methane, and (2) captures the gas for use as a fuel. The term includes property that cleans and conditions the gas for use as a fuel. "Qualified manure resource recovery property" comprises a system that uses specified processes to recover the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus from a non-treated digestate or animal manure by reducing or separating at least 50% of the nutrients, excluding any reductions during the incineration, storage, composting, or field application of the non-treated digestate or animal manure. The term also includes certain processing equipment. The Department of the Treasury must enter into an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a study of biogas and report to Congress on the study.
Bill· SS. 3247 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Ending Tax Breaks for Private Prisons Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the definition of "taxable REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) subsidiary" any corporation which directly or indirectly: (1) operates or manages a prison facility or provides services at or in connection with a prison facility; or (2) provides to any other person (under a franchise, license, or otherwise) rights to any brand name under which any prison facility is operated, subject to specified exceptions.
Bill· SS. 3243 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Rebuilding and Renewing Rural America Act of 2016 This bill modifies: (1) tax and regulatory policies that affect certain rural communities, and (2) tax rules that apply to private foundations. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to program-related investments made by private foundations for a charitable purpose, to: modify the definition of and requirements for program-related investments; allow a declaratory judgment remedy to determine whether investments in any entity are program-related investments; expand reporting requirements for for-profit entities that receive program-related investments; and allow public inspection of petitions seeking a determination of program-related investment status and annual information returns. The bill also includes several tax provisions that apply to rural renewal communities, which are low-income communities that: (1) have a population of at least 200 people but not more than 25,000 people, and are not located in a metropolitan area which has a population of 200,000 or more; or (2) are entirely within an Indian reservation. With respect to such communities, the bill: allows tax credits for a portion of the costs of reducing lead, radon, or asbestos hazards in rural commercial structures; expands the new markets tax credit; allows expensing of certain depreciable business assets; reduces payroll taxes; and allows tax-preferred rural renewal community business start-up savings accounts. Reducing Excessive Government in Rural America Act of 2016 Congress must consider legislation to reduce the regulatory cost to rural America by at least 10% over 10 years by repealing certain regulations. The legislation must be considered using expedited legislative procedures specified in the bill.
Bill· SS. 3242 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Responsible Additions and Increases to Sustain Employee Health Benefits Act of 201 6 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax exclusion for distributions from health flexible spending arrangements provided under a cafeteria plan, to: (1) increase the annual limit on employee salary reduction contributions to $5,000, with an additional $500 for each additional employee dependent above two dependents that has not been taken into account by another person for the year; (2) revise the adjustment for inflation after 2017; and (3) allow a carryforward into the next year for unused amounts in such plans.
Bill· SS. 3241 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Refugee Protection Act of 2016 This bill amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to eliminate the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. The bill revises: (1) the definition of "refugee," and (2) the criteria for granting asylum. The bill makes certain currently required detention provisions regarding arriving aliens who request asylum discretionary. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall: (1) establish a secure alternatives to detention program, and (2) establish specified conditions of detention. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom may conduct a study to determine whether certain immigration officers are properly handling asylum and removal/detention authority. The bill: (1) authorizes waiver of the continuous one-year presence requirement for permanent resident status adjustment for a qualifying refugee/asylee who worked for the U.S. government overseas; (2) exempts aliens under the age of 18 from certain restrictions on applying for asylum; and (3) sets forth protections for minors, refugees, aliens interdicted at sea, and stateless persons. The President is authorized to designate refugee groups. The bill authorizes refugee applicants to simultaneously pursue other forms of admission. The spouse or child of a refugee or asylee may bring his or her accompanying or following child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. If the President does not issue a refugee allocation determination before the beginning of a fiscal year, the number of refugees that may be admitted in each quarter shall be 25% of the number of refugees admissible during the previous fiscal year. The bill amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006, with respect to naturalization of an Afghan or Iraqi translator who is a lawful permanent resident, to count a period of absence from the United States working as a translator for the United States or a U.S. contractor in Afghanistan or Iraq towards the accumulation of the required physical presence in the United States. The bill revises: (1) the definition of "terrorist activity" for purposes of alien inadmissibility, including for aliens who were under 18 years of age when they committed certain actions under duress; and (2) the refugee grant and contract assistance allocation formula. The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study of the Office of Refugee Resettlement's domestic refugee resettlement programs. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is amended to extend the eligibility for supplemental security income (SSI) assistance to certain aliens (including asylees and refugees) and trafficking victims. DHS shall grant employment authorization to qualifying T visa aliens (victims of trafficking in persons) and U visa aliens (children who have been granted special immigrant status as a victim of criminal activity). The number of U visas is increased.
Bill· SS. 3238 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Electrochromic Glass Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify that the use of electrochromic glass qualifies for the tax credit for investment in energy property. (Electrochromic glass is able to switch from clear to dark using a switch, sensor, timer, or similar controls.)
Bill· SS. 3237 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the low-income housing credit, to rename the credit "the affordable housing credit" and make several modifications to the credit. The bill increases state allocations for the credit and modifies the cost-of-living adjustments. It also revises tenant eligibility requirements, with respect to: the average income test, income eligibility for rural projects, increased tenant income, student occupancy rules, and tenant voucher payments that are taken into account as rent. The bill revises various requirements to: establish a 4% minimum credit rate for certain projects, permit relocation costs to be taken into account as rehabilitation expenditures, repeal the qualified census tract population cap, require state housing credit agencies to make certain determinations regarding community revitalization plans, prohibit local approval and contribution requirements, increase the credit for certain projects designated to serve extremely low-income households, increase the credit for certain bond-financed projects designated by state agencies, and eliminate the basis reduction for low-income housing properties that receive certain energy-related tax credits and deductions. The bill also modifies requirements regarding the reconstruction or replacement period after a casualty loss, rights related to building purchases, the prohibition on claiming acquisition credits for properties placed in service in the previous 10 years, and projects that assist Native Americans.
Bill· SS. 3233 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Promoting Affordable Childcare for Everyone Act or the PACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for expenses for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment (known as the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit), to: (1) make the credit refundable, (2) increase the rate for the credit, and (3) require the dollar amounts for such credit to be adjusted for inflation after 2016. The bill also increases the amount of employer-provided dependent care assistance which may be excluded from the gross income of an employee and requires the increased exclusion amount to be adjusted for inflation after 2017.
Bill· SS. 3231 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Stronger Way Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to establish a program, through grant agreements with state and local government agencies, that provides eligible unemployed or partially employed individuals with opportunities to work in a transitional job for the purpose of enabling them to gain, through wage-paying jobs, the experience and skills needed to move into regular employment. The Internal Revenue Code is amended to revise the earned income tax credit. The bill eliminates the existing child care tax credit and establishes in its place a refundable child tax credit equal to a specified percentage of the taxpayer's earned income, with limitations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5903 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Transition to Independence Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a demonstration program over five fiscal years, beginning with FY2018, under which a Medicaid Buy-In State meeting certain criteria may receive bonus payments for: meeting specific measurable benchmarks in expanding individual integrated employment and reducing subminimum wage work, congregate setting work, or facility-based day habilitation placements for working-age individuals with a disability receiving Medicaid-funded home or community-based services; and taking other actions conducive to expanding employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities within the state.
Bill· HRH.R. 5872 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Low Alcohol Wine Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require mead and low alcohol by volume wine to be taxed at the same rate as still wines containing not more than 14% of alcohol by volume. Mead is a wine that: (1) contains not more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters of wine with an exception for a limit that is reasonably necessary in good commercial practice, (2) is derived solely from honey and water, (3) contains no fruit product or fruit flavoring, and (4) contains less than 8.5% alcohol by volume. A low alcohol by volume wine is a wine that: (1) contains not more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters of wine with an exception for a limit that is reasonably necessary in good commercial practice, (2) is derived primarily from grapes or from grape juice concentrate and water, (3) contains no fruit product or fruit flavoring other than grape, and (4) contains less than 8.5% alcohol by volume.
Bill· HRH.R. 5852 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
This bill amends the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to revise provisions related to determining a customer's "net equity" (the dollar amount of the customer's accounts) for purposes of a claim. In general, such a determination shall be based on: (1) the information contained in the customer's final statement, and (2) certain additional written confirmations received after the final statement but prior to the filing date. However, the bill establishes exceptions to this requirement: (1) when the debtor's records indicate a higher net value, or (2) in specified cases involving the customer's awareness of fraudulent activity by the debtor. The bill also establishes specified methodologies for allocating a customer's property in a liquidation proceeding. Under current law, a "customer" of a debtor is a person that has a claim on account of certain securities received, acquired, or held by the debtor. The bill expands the definition of "customer" to include a person: (1) that had cash or securities that were converted or otherwise misappropriated by the debtor, irrespective of whether the debtor held or otherwise had custody, possession, or control of such cash or securities; or (2) that is deemed a customer of the debtor by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC may direct the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) to take necessary or appropriate action for the protection of investors. If the balance of the SIPC Fund decreases by more than a specified amount during a fiscal year, the SIPC must establish and carry out a fund replenishment plan. The SEC may transfer amounts from a specified fund established under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 if the SEC determines that payments from the SIPC Fund are required because a debtor committed fraud.
Bill· HRH.R. 5801 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Protect and Grow American Jobs Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the definition of "exempt H-1B nonimmigrant" to eliminate the masters or higher degree requirement and raise the annual salary threshold requirement from $60,000 to $100,000. (An exempt H-1B nonimmigrant is a nonimmigrant H-1B [specialty occupation] worker meeting certain criteria whom an H-1B dependent employer may hire without having to satisfy certain otherwise applicable H-1B hiring criteria. An H-1B dependent employer is generally one whose H-1B workers comprise 15% or more of the employer's total workforce, with different thresholds applying to smaller employers.) The bill requires an inflation adjustment to the salary threshold every third fiscal year.
Bill· HRH.R. 5786 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Community Protection and Preparedness Act of 2016 This bill requires the Department of Transportation (DOT), annually, to impose a $1,500 fee for each DOT-111 specification railroad tank car used to transport Class 3 flammable liquids during the previous fiscal year that did not meet DOT-117, DOT-117P, or DOT-117R specifications at the time it was used. Such fee shall be paid by each person who causes such liquids to be transported by such car in commerce and not by the railroad carrier that transports such liquids. Collected fees shall be deposited into a Rail Account established within the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and shall be available only for: (1) the payment of removal and remediation costs and other costs, expenses, claims, and damages related to an accident or incident involving the transportation of Class 3 flammable liquids by rail; and (2) DOT grants to states and Indian tribes to develop emergency plans and to train regional hazardous material emergency response teams and public employees responding to such an accident or incident. DOT shall issue such regulations as necessary to require each Class I railroad carrier to inspect all track where an accident or incident involving the transportation by rail of flammable liquids or material poisonous or toxic by inhalation could affect a "high consequence area" (a commercially navigable waterway, an area with a high or concentrated population, or an area that is unusually sensitive to environmental damage). The inspections shall be carried out on foot and by a gage restraint measurement system. An inspector who finds a deviation from requirements regarding track safety standards shall immediately initiate remedial action. Necessary amounts are authorized for the Federal Railroad Administration to hire at least two additional track safety specialists per region.
Bill· HRH.R. 5845 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Budgeting for Opioid Addiction Treatment Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a one cent per milligram excise tax on the sale of active opioids by the manufacturer, producer, or importer. The tax excludes prescription drugs used exclusively for the treatment of opioid addiction as part of a medically assisted treatment effort. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must establish a program to provide rebates or discounts to cancer and hospice patients to ensure that they do not pay the tax. The bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require any increase in federal revenues from the tax after rebates and discounts are subtracted to be distributed to states under the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant program to be used exclusively for substance abuse (including opioid abuse) efforts in the states, including specified treatment programs. HHS must report to Congress on the impact of this bill on the retail cost of opioids and patient access to opioid medication, the effectiveness of the discount or rebate for cancer and hospice patients, how the funds are being used to improve substance abuse treatment efforts, and suggestions for improving access to opioids for cancer and hospice patients and substance abuse treatment efforts.
Bill· HRH.R. 5840 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Fishing Equipment Tax Relief Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from 10% to 3% the excise tax rate that applies to the sale of portable, electronically-aerated bait containers by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.
Bill· HRH.R. 5830 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
No Loopholes in Social Security Taxes Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply payroll and self-employment taxes to remuneration up to the Social Security contribution and benefit base and to remuneration in excess of $250,000.
Bill· HRH.R. 5828 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
21st Century Child Care Investment Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for employment-related expenses for services provided by a high quality child care center. The credit applies to taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes below specified levels and is limited to: (1) $14,000 for each qualifying child who is under the age of three by the end of the year; and (2) $5,000 for each qualifying child who has attained the age of three by the end of the year, with adjustments for inflation after 2017. A "qualifying child" is a dependent who is under the age of five. The care must be provided by a facility that: (1) receives a fee, payment, or grant for providing care for children (other than just children who reside at the facility and regardless of whether such facility is operated for profit); and (2) meets state licensing requirements. For taxable years beginning more than five years after enactment of this bill, the facility must also: (1) meet high quality rating requirements under the quality rating and improvement system of the state in which the care is provided, and (2) be certified by the Department of Health and Human Services. A portion of the high quality child care tax credit is refundable, depending on the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer. The Department of the Treasury must establish a program to, at the election of the taxpayer, make monthly advance payments of the credit directly to a high quality child care center. The bill also makes a portion of the dependent care tax credit refundable.
Bill· HRH.R. 5818 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Mandated Expenses Tax Relief Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a taxpayer to elect to expense the cost of federal compliance property and deduct the cost for the taxable year in which the property is placed in service. "Federal compliance property" is any property that: (1) is of a character with respect to which depreciation (or amortization in lieu of depreciation) is allowable, and (2) is used by the taxpayer to comply with any federal law or regulation.
Bill· HRH.R. 5803 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Extra Credit for Working Students Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to accelerate the American Opportunity Tax Credit for qualified tuition and related expenses. A taxpayer may elect to receive the full amount of the credit over the first two years of postsecondary education rather than the four-year period required under current law. Such an election is irrevocable, applies for all subsequent tax years, and may not be made for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2022. The Department of the Treasury must submit to Congress reports that include: the election rate, the demographics of the students making the elections, and an assessment of the effectiveness of the elections and the tax credit in improving college completion times.
Bill· HRH.R. 5783 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for tax-preferred Small Business Start-up Savings Accounts to pay for trade or business expenses, including the purchase of equipment or facilities, marketing, training, incorporation, and accounting fees. The bill allows annual nondeductible contributions to such accounts of up to $10,000, subject to a $150,000 limit on total contributions to the account and adjustments for inflation after 2017. The bill sets forth rules for the tax treatment of contributions to and rollovers or distributions from the accounts, similar to rules governing individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Qualified distributions from the accounts are excluded from gross income.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 828 (114th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Resolves that John Andrew Koskinen, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that specified articles of impeachment be exhibited to the Senate. Sets forth articles of impeachment specifying that John Andrew Koskinen, in his conduct while Commissioner of the IRS: engaged in a pattern of conduct that is incompatible with his duties as an officer of the United States by failing to respond to lawfully issued congressional subpoenas, engaged in a pattern of deception that demonstrates his unfitness to serve by making a series of false and misleading statements to Congress in contravention of his oath to tell the truth, acted in a manner inconsistent with the trust and confidence placed in him as an officer of the United States, and failed to act with competence and forthrightness in overseeing the investigation into IRS targeting of Americans because of their political affiliations.
Bill· HRH.R. 5761 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Train the Future Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an early distribution, without penalty, from a qualified retirement plan to an employee who is serving as a mentor. The bill defines "mentor" as a working individual who: (1) has attained age 55; (2) works reduced hours and engages in mentoring activities for at least 20% of such hours; and (3) is responsible for the training and education of employees or students in an area of expertise for which such individual has a professional credential, certificate, or degree.
Bill· HRH.R. 5773 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Insular Areas Act of 2016 This bill amends the federal criminal code to prohibit in American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam trafficking in contraband cigarettes and contraband smokeless tobacco. "Contraband" means items for which the applicable taxes have not been paid.
Bill· HRH.R. 5747 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
S.O.S. Act of 2016 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to increase the contribution and benefit base for 2017 through 2019. The bill revises the computation of primary insurance amounts to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in determining them, adjust surplus earnings for purposes of determining the surplus AIME, and reduce the third bend point factor. The retirement age shall increase past 67 years by certain formulae. Cost-of-living adjustments shall involve the Chained Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. The bill formulates a minimum monthly insurance benefit, and establishes an increased benefit for beneficiaries on account of long-term eligibility, starting 20 years after they become eligible for monthly OASDI benefits. The bill revises a certain formula to increase benefit computation years for purposes of calculating primary OASDI insurance amounts. This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any: budget resolution that sets forth totals for any fiscal year regarding the Social Security Trust Funds that are less than the totals of the Social Security Trust Funds for that fiscal year as calculated in accordance with a current services baseline, or spending or tax legislation that would cause any totals to be less than the Funds totals for the covered fiscal year. The bill declares that this latter point of order shall not apply to Social Security reform legislation.
Bill· HRH.R. 5770 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Department of Veterans Affairs Dental Insurance Reauthorization Act of 2016 This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and administer a dental insurance plan for veterans enrolled in the system of annual patient enrollment under federal veterans' benefits provisions and for veterans' survivors and dependents who are eligible for medical care under such provisions. The VA shall contract with a dental insurer to administer the plan. Benefits shall include diagnostic services, preventative services, endodontics and other restorative services, surgical services, and emergency services. Enrollment shall be voluntary. The VA shall: (1) prescribe the minimum enrollment period, and (2) prescribe and annually adjust the premiums necessary to cover costs associated with carrying out the plan. Each individual covered by the plan shall pay the entire premium and the full cost of any copayments. The VA shall permit voluntary disenrollment within 30 days after initial enrollment and under other specified circumstances the VA shall prescribe to the extent that such disenrollment does not jeopardize the fiscal integrity of the plan. This bill's provisions terminate on December 31, 2021.
Bill· HRH.R. 5762 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Hazardous Materials Rail Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish, within the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a separate Hazardous Liquids Rail Spill Liability Account to support actions related to preventing and responding to discharges of oil or hazardous substances that result from rail shipments; (2) impose a fee on hazardous flammable liquids transported by rail; and (3) establish a tax credit for qualified tank-car conversion expenses. In addition, the bill: expands liability with respect to discharges of hazardous substances, expands Department of Transportation (DOT) training with respect to accidents arising from rail transportation of flammable liquids or gases, establishes a High Hazard Rail Shipments Preparedness grant program, and establishes a Track Relocation and Railroad Inspection Safety grant program. The Federal Railroad Administration must implement specified recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. DOT, the Department of Commerce, and the Energy Information Administration shall collect specified data related to high hazard rail transportation.
Bill· HRH.R. 5745 (114th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Putting Main Street FIRST Act or the Putting Main Street FIRST: Finishing Irresponsible Reckless Speculative Trading Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a .03% excise tax on the purchase of a security if: (1) such purchase occurs on, or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States; or (2) the purchaser or seller is a U.S. person. A "security" includes: (1) any share of stock in a corporation, (2) any partnership or beneficial ownership interest in a partnership or trust; (3) any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness; and (4) derivatives that meet specified criteria. The tax applies to transactions with respect to a derivative if: (1) the derivative is traded on, or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States; or (2) any party with rights under the derivative is a U.S. person. The bill exempts from such tax: (1) initial issues of securities; (2) any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness which is traded on or is subject to the rules of, a qualified board or exchange located in the United States, and has a fixed maturity of not more than 100 days. The tax applies to transactions by a controlled foreign corporation and must be paid by its U.S. shareholders. The bill allows an offset against such tax for contributions to certain tax-favored savings accounts.
Bill· SS. 3208 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Access to Childcare Expansion Act or the ACE Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for expenses for household and dependent care services necessary for gainful employment (known as the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit), to: (1) make the credit refundable, (2) increase the rate for the credit, and (3) require the dollar amounts of such credit to be adjusted for inflation after 2016.
Bill· SS. 3199 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Agency Accountability Act of 2016 This bill requires any agency that receives a fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement to deposit the amount in the general fund of the Treasury. The funds may not be used unless the funding is provided in advance in an appropriations bill. Any amounts deposited during the fiscal year in which this bill is enacted may not be obligated during the fiscal year and must be used for deficit reduction. The bill amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require offsetting receipts and collections to be treated as revenue. (Offsetting receipts and collections are funds collected by agencies from other government accounts or from the public in businesslike or market-oriented transactions. Under current law, the collections are treated as negative budget authority and outlays rather than revenue and may be used to offset spending for budget enforcement purposes.) The requirements of the bill do not apply to the U.S. Postal Service or the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO must submit annually to Congress a report describing any fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement collected by the USPTO during the previous year.
Bill· SS. 3188 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform and Extension Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify and extend: (1) the income tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel, and (2) the excise tax credit for biodiesel fuel mixtures. The bill: (1) makes the credits available to domestic producers of the fuels rather than the policy under current law of providing a mixture credit to the blender of the fuel, (2) increases the income tax credit for certain small biodiesel producers, and (3) extends the credits through 2019.
Bill· SS. 3182 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Debt Management and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2016 This bill requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide a report to Congress prior to any date on which Treasury anticipates the public debt will reach the statutory limit. The Secretary must appear before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to submit a report including: historic, current, and projected levels of debt; historic levels of revenue; the drivers and composition of future debt; how the United States will meet debt obligations if the debt limit is raised; reduction measures Treasury intends to take to fund obligations if the debt limit is not raised; a recommendation regarding a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution; and contingency plans for any default on Treasury securities or downgrade of the U.S. credit rating. The Secretary must also provide a detailed explanation of: proposals to reduce the debt and a progress report on implementing them; the impact an increased debt limit will have on future spending, debt service, and the position of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency; projections of the fiscal health and sustainability of major entitlement programs; measures Treasury is taking or intends to take to avoid default, including a plan to publicly disclose the details; and Treasury's capability to pay only principal and interest on the debt if the limit is reached. Treasury must make specified information required by this bill available to the public on its website. Upon request, Treasury must submit to Congress specified financial and economic data relevant to determining the amount of the public debt.
Bill· SS. 3181 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
S Corporation Modernization Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of S corporations, to: allow a nonresident alien to be a qualifying beneficiary of an electing small business trust (ESBT), which is a type of trust that is permitted to hold shares in an S corporation; allow S corporations to increase passive investment income from 25% to 60% without incurring additional taxes; eliminate a provision terminating the S corporation status of corporations with excessive passive income for three consecutive years; allow any S corporation bank to have individual retirement account shareholders; allow ESBTs to claim expanded tax deductions for charitable contributions; and allow an adjustment to the basis of an S corporation's assets upon the death of a shareholder, in the form of a 15-year amortization deduction.
Bill· SS. 3179 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the tax credit for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration. The bill modifies the credit to: allow certain new industrial facilities or equipment to qualify for the credit if construction begins before January 1, 2024; allow qualified projects to claim the credit for 12 years, beginning on the date the equipment was originally placed in service; increase the separate credit amounts, with respect to projects placed in service upon or after the enactment of this bill, that apply to captured CO2 that is: (1) disposed of in secure geological storage, and (2) used as a tertiary injectant in an enhanced oil or natural gas recovery project and disposed of in secure geological storage; expand the purposes for which captured CO2 may be used; establish separate CO2 capture thresholds based on whether the facility is an electricity generating facility or used for other purposes; specify that the 75 million metric ton cap on the CO2 that may qualify for the credit applies only to projects placed in service before the enactment of this bill; and allow the credit to be transferred from the entity that owns and uses the capture equipment to the entity that disposes of or uses the CO2.
Bill· SS. 3177 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Public Buildings Renewal Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the tax-exempt financing of certain government-owned buildings by expanding the definition of "exempt facility bond" to include bonds used for qualified government buildings. A qualified government building is a government-owned building or facility that consists of one or more of the following: an elementary or secondary school; facilities of a state college or university used for educational purposes; a public library; a court; hospital, health care, laboratory, or research facilities; public safety facilities; or offices for government employees. The bill excludes buildings or facilities that include specified recreational equipment or are used for the primary purpose of providing retail food and beverage services, recreation, or entertainment. The bill establishes: (1) a $5 billion limit on the amount of tax-exempt financing which may be provided for government buildings, and (2) procedures for allocating and applying for the financing. The bill exempts the bonds for government buildings from the volume cap on private activity bonds.
Bill· SS. 3175 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
First-Time Homebuyer Credit Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify the first-time homebuyer tax credit, which expired in 2010. The bill allows a refundable tax credit for first-time homebuyers of a principal residence in the United States who are at least 18 years of age and not claimed as a dependent by another taxpayer. The credit is equal to 2.5% of the purchase price of the residence, subject to a $10,000 dollar limitation and limits based on the purchase price of the home and the adjusted gross income of the taxpayer. A taxpayer that purchases and disposes of a residence in the same taxable year is not eligible for the credit. Taxpayers that dispose of the residence within five years of claiming the credit are liable for additional taxes based on a specified recapture percentage of the amount of the credit that was allowed. The bill includes several exceptions for a disposal that occurs after circumstances such as a death, divorce, involuntary conversion of the residence, relocation of a military duty station, or changes in employment or health status.
Bill· HRH.R. 5769 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Protect Our Schools from Tax Delinquents Act of 2016 This bill amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require that each housing assistance payments contract entered into under the Section 8 rental assistance voucher program by a public housing agency (PHA) and the owner of a dwelling unit provide that such owner pay, on a timely basis, all covered taxes validly assessed against the property in which the unit is located. A "covered tax" is any tax under state or local law assessed upon real property or the revenue of which is dedicated for use only for schools or for costs of education. The bill allows a contract to provide that, upon notification and identification of a tax delinquency by a taxing authority, the PHA shall abate all of the rental assistance amounts for the property, transferring them monthly to the taxing authority, until the delinquency is eliminated. The bill does not authorize or establish any cause or grounds for the termination of the tenancy of any tenant from any dwelling unit assisted under the rental assistance voucher program. The Department of Housing and Urban Development must maintain a database of information regarding owners of dwelling units: (1) assisted under the program whose housing assistance payments contracts have been terminated for noncompliance with the requirements of this bill, and (2) with respect to whom assistance amounts have been abated and transferred to a taxing authority.
Bill· HRH.R. 5764 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
Pell Grant Flexibility Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any amount received as a Federal Pell Grant awarded under the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Bill· HRH.R. 5754 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2016
S Corporation Modernization Act of 2016 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of S corporations, to: allow a nonresident alien to be a qualifying beneficiary of an electing small business trust (ESBT), which is a type of trust that is permitted to hold shares in an S corporation; allow S corporations to increase passive investment income from 25% to 60% without incurring additional taxes; eliminate a provision terminating the S corporation status of corporations with excessive passive income for three consecutive years; allow any S corporation bank to have individual retirement account shareholders; allow ESBTs to claim expanded tax deductions for charitable contributions; and allow an adjustment to the basis of an S corporation's assets upon the death of a shareholder, in the form of a 15-year amortization deduction.
Bill· HRH.R. 5742 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
Uniting Families Act of 2016 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish a non-immigrant W-visa category for an alien who: (1) is 18 or older and is the genetic son or daughter of a U.S. citizen who served in the Armed Forces on active duty abroad, or (2) is the spouse or child of such alien and is accompanying, or following to join, such alien. A visa shall not be issued until a petition has been filed in the United States by the applicant's citizen parent and approved by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Such petition shall include: DNA evidence establishing that the alien is the petitioner's genetic child, a written agreement that the parent will provide financial support until the alien's status is adjusted to lawful permanent resident status, and information establishing that the petitioner is a U.S. citizen who served in the Armed Forces on active duty abroad. The bill provides that: (1) the period of authorized admission for a W-visa alien is five years, which may be extended for one additional two-year period; and (2) the total number of principal W-visa aliens who may be admitted during any fiscal is 5,000. The bill prescribes the criteria that a W-visa alien must meet in order to adjust to lawful permanent resident status, including an understanding of the English language and U.S. history. (Such language and history requirements for naturalization purposes shall not apply to a person who has satisfied them in adjusting from W-visa status to lawful permanent resident status.)
Bill· SS. 3169 (114th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2016
This bill amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to reauthorize through FY2019 the Department of Energy's Office of Science. The bill also amends the Internal Revenue Code to terminate on January 1, 2017, the tax credit for electricity produced from wind.