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301 records in US in 2014
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Strong Families Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain employers a business-related tax credit for up to 25% of the amount of wages paid to their employees during any period (not exceeding 12 weeks) in which such employees are on family and medical leave. Limits the allowable amount of such credit to $4,000 per employee for any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Fair Share Act of 2014 - Consolidates and amends three federal programs that provide payments to local governments that have federal lands within their borders: the Department of the Interior's Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, the Forest Service's Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Refuge Revenue Sharing (RRS) program. Expands the definition of "entitlement land" eligible for payment under the Department of the Interior's PILT program to include land owned by the U.S. government that was purchased for addition to the National Wildlife Refuge System. Combines the PILT, SRS, and RRS programs into one expanded PILT program, and alters the formulas for allocating payments under the programs. Provides permanent mandatory funding for the PILT program. Provides funding in FY2014-FY2018 for resource advisory committees created under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, and permits them to propose vegetation management projects, including projects authorized under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Unaccompanied Alien Children Assistance Control Act - Directs the President to reduce foreign assistance allocations for Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador: (1) by the number of unaccompanied alien children who are nationals or citizens of any of those countries placed in federal custody in the preceding fiscal year because of their immigration status, and (2) multiplied by $15,000.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 16 July 2014
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, with respect to rollovers to a traditional or Roth individual retirement account (IRA) of payments to qualified airline employees in commercial airline carrier bankruptcy cases, to: (1) extend the period for filing a claim for refund of an overpayment of tax resulting from the receipt of such payments (i.e., by the later of April 15, 2015, or the expiration of the limitation period for filing refund claims); (2) modify the definition of "airline payment amount" to include payments in an airline carrier bankruptcy case filed after September 11, 2001, and before January 1, 2007, or on November 29, 2011; and (3) modify the definition of "qualified airline employee" to include an employee who was a participant in a defined benefit plan maintained by an airline carrier that was frozen effective November 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Strong Families Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain employers a business-related tax credit for up to 25% of the amount of wages paid to their employees during any period (not exceeding 12 weeks) in which such employees are on family and medical leave. Limits the allowable amount of such credit to $4,000 per employee for any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Dynamic Repayment Act of 2014 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to make students ineligible to receive William D. Ford Federal Direct Loans (DLs) on or after July 1, 2015. Makes certain exceptions for student borrowers who have an outstanding balance on their DLs or Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) as of that date and who later apply for a Direct Unsubsidized, PLUS, or Consolidation Loan. Establishes an Income Dependent Education Assistance (IDEA) Loan program, effective July 1, 2015, making federal funds available for loans to student borrowers who: (1) have no outstanding balance due on a DL or FFEL, or (2) consolidate such loans into an IDEA Consolidation Loan. Sets forth the formulae for determining the interest rates on IDEA Loans, which are capped at 8.25% for undergraduate students and 9.25% for graduate or professional students. Blocks the accrual of interest on IDEA Loans for active duty military personnel. Makes an IDEA Loan eligible for loan forgiveness after: (1) 20 years of payments if the borrower begins repayment with an outstanding balance that does not equal or exceed the maximum aggregate amount of Direct Unsubsidized Loans that an undergraduate student borrower would have been eligible to borrow but for this Act; and (2) 30 years if the borrower begins repayment with an outstanding balance equal to or greater than that amount. Allows student borrowers to consolidate FFELs, DLs, and Perkins Loans into IDEA Consolidation Loans that bear interest at an annual rate that equals the weighted average of the interest rates on the loans consolidated. Establishes the IDEA Loan Repayment program under which: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury provides the Secretary of Education with the tax information needed to determine each borrower's income-based repayment obligation; and (2) those obligations are withheld from the borrower's wages. Allows borrowers to opt-out of the withholding process and make payments on a monthly basis. Sets the annual repayment obligation for borrowers at an amount equal to 10% of the excess of their taxable income over the sum of: (1) an exemption amount equal to $10,000, adjusted for inflation; and (2) the lesser of $3,000 or specified income other than wages, salaries, tips, and other employee compensation. Sets the income-based repayment obligation of individuals who are not required to file a federal tax return at zero. Allows borrowers to prepay all or part of an IDEA Loan without penalty. Penalizes borrowers who fail to pay their full repayment amount for a taxable year. Makes specified FFEL and DL loan repayment or forgiveness programs applicable to IDEA Loans. Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide the Secretary of Education with information in the National Directory of New Hires regarding IDEA Loan borrowers for the purpose of improving the collection of such loans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose borrowers' tax return information to the Department of Education for purposes of the IDEA Loan Repayment program. Excludes IDEA Loan forgiveness from a borrower's gross income for income tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Restore Unalienable Rights Act of 2014 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (with respect to the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force under P.L. 107-40) to prohibit U.S. Armed Forces from detaining, pending disposition under the law of war, a U.S. citizen or lawful resident alien of the United States who was captured, detained, or arrested in the United States. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority from authorizing the detention without charge or trial of a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States apprehended in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2014
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2014 - Requires, on March 2 of FY2015 and each subsequent fiscal year, a .5% reduction in the discretionary budget authority of a federal agency that is identified by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as required to have an audited financial statement: (1) that has not submitted a financial statement for the previous fiscal year, or (2) whose statement has not received either an unqualified or a qualified audit opinion by an independent external auditor. Excludes from such reduction accounts for military, reserve and National Guard personnel and the Defense Health Program account of the Department of Defense (DOD). Authorizes: (1) the Secretary of Defense to make such a reduction in the discretionary budget authority of any agency in a manner that minimizes any effect on national security, and (2) the President to waive a reduction in discretionary budget authority if such reduction would harm national security or members of the Armed Forces who are in combat. Requires a report to Congress listing required DOD reports that interfere with DOD's capacity to achieve an audit of its financial statements with an unqualified opinion. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) congressional defense committees and DOD should not endanger the nation's troops by reducing wounded warrior accounts or vital protection for members of the Armed Forces in harm's way, (2) the valuation of legacy assets by DOD should be simplified without compromising essential controls or generally accepted government auditing standards, and (3) this Act should not be construed to require or permit the declassification of accounting details about classified defense programs and DOD should ensure financial accountability in such programs. .
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2014
Marketplace and Internet Tax Fairness Act - Authorizes each member state under the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (the multistate agreement for the administration and collection of sales and use taxes adopted on November 12, 2002) to require all sellers not qualifying for a small-seller exception (applicable to sellers with annual gross receipts in total U.S. remote sales not exceeding $1 million) to collect and remit sales and use taxes with respect to remote sales under provisions of that Agreement, but only if changes to such Agreement made after the enactment of this Act are not in conflict with the minimum simplification requirements of this Act (providing for a single state entity for all tax administration, audits, and returns of remote sales sourced to the state). Defines "remote sale" as a sale of goods or services into a state in which the seller would not legally be required to pay, collect, or remit state or local sales and use taxes unless provided by this Act. Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to extend until November 1, 2024: (1) the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce, and (2) the exemption from such ban for states that generally imposed and actually enforced a tax on internet access prior to October 1, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2014
Assisted Living Pilot Program for Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury Extension Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to extend the pilot program to assess the effectiveness of providing assistance to eligible veterans with traumatic brain injury to enhance their rehabilitation, quality of life, and community integration. Requires that at least one location of the program be in each health care region of the Veterans Health Administration that contains a polytrauma center of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). (Under current law, selected locations also must include any location other than one described above in an area that contains a high concentration of veterans with traumatic brain injuries.) Expands requirements for reports on the pilot program. Replaces references to "assisted living" with the term "community-based brain injury residential rehabilitative care," including rehabilitation services within the meaning of such care. Requires a veteran, in order to be eligible for such services, to have a traumatic brain injury that is classified as complex-mild to severe.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Promise Zone Job Creation Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to designate up to 20 areas as Promise Zones for purposes of priority consideration in federal grant programs and initiatives. Defines a "Promise Zone" as any area with a continuous boundary and a population of not more than 200,000 that is nominated by a local government or Indian tribe and designated on the basis of its unemployment, poverty, vacancy, and crime rates. Requires an application for designation as a Promise Zone to include a competitiveness plan that addresses the need of the area to attract investment and jobs and improve educational opportunities. Allows: (1) a Promise Zone employment tax credit for wages paid to a qualified zone or resident employee, and (2) expensing of Promise Zone property. Defines "Promise Zone property" as property that is: (1) tangible property with a recovery period of 20 years or less for depreciation purposes, water utility property, computer software, or qualified leasehold improvement property; (2) acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business; and (3) originally placed in service in a Promise Zone.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2014
Ensuring Medicaid and Medicare Access to Providers Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from the employer health insurance mandate under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2014 and 2015 employers whose Medicare and Medicaid payments comprise 60% of their total gross receipts during a preceding three-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2014
National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax relief for disasters declared in 2012, 2013, and 2014 by: extending through 2014 the election to expense qualified disaster expenses (i.e., for removal of debris, demolition, and repair of business-related property); increasing the tax deduction for charitable contributions for disaster relief for individual and corporate taxpayers; allowing through 2014 the deduction of losses attributable to disasters; allowing waivers of requirements relating to mortgage revenue bonds; extending through 2014 the additional allowance for depreciation of business property (bonus depreciation); allowing an increase through 2015 of the new markets tax credit limitation amount within a federally-declared disaster area; permitting the use of tax-exempt retirement plan funds in federally-declared disasters without penalty; allowing an additional tax exemption for individuals who are displaced as a result of a federally-declared disaster; allowing an exclusion from gross income of imputed income from the cancellation of indebtedness resulting from federally-declared disasters; providing a special rule to allow individuals affected by a disaster in 2012, 2013, or 2014 to claim a full earned income tax credit; increasing the rehabilitation tax credit for buildings affected by a federally-declared disaster; permitting one additional advance refunding of a tax-exempt bond that is outstanding on the date on which a federally-declared disaster occurs; allowing the issuance of qualified disaster area recovery bonds; allowing an additional allocation of the low-income housing tax credit in 2014 to states affected by a federally-declared disaster occurring in 2012 or 2013; allowing payments of disaster assistance to tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies without affecting their tax-exempt status; allowing an exclusion from gross income for disaster mitigation payments received from state and local governments; and allowing a tax deduction for payments to a tax-exempt natural disaster fund.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2014
Research and Development Efficiency Act - Requires the Director of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to establish a working group under the authority of the National Science and Technology Council that includes the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Makes the working group responsible for reviewing federal regulations affecting research and research universities and making recommendations on how to: (1) harmonize, streamline, and eliminate duplicative federal regulations and reporting requirements; and (2) minimize the regulatory burden on U.S. institutions of higher education performing federally funded research while maintaining accountability for federal tax dollars.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2014
Earnings Advancement and Recovery Now Act or the EARN Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the penalty on paid tax preparers who engage in willful or reckless conduct in understating tax liability or in disregarding tax rules or regulations, (2) extend from two to five years the period during which a taxpayer who claimed an earned income tax credit based on reckless or intentional disregard of rules and regulations is prohibited from receiving such credit, and (3) make applicable to the earned income tax credit the penalty for an erroneous claim for a tax refund or credit. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct a study of, and report on, the effectiveness and impact of the earned income tax credit and the incidence and cause of improper payments with respect to such credit, with recommendations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the credit and reduce improper payments.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2014
Partnership to Strengthen Homeownership Act of 2014 - Amends the National Housing Act to remove the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and establish it as an independent entity, with a Director in place of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Transfers to Ginnie Mae the powers, duties, personnel, and property of Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which is hereby abolished. Establishes within Ginnie Mae the Issuing Platform, available for use only by eligible originators and aggregators of mortgages, to issue standardized mortgage-backed securities. Requires Ginnie Mae to establish: (1) a method of assessing a national average single-family house price for use in calculating the loan limits for single-family mortgage loans, and (2) an insurance fund and insure 100% of each security issued by the Platform. Prescribes requirements for: (1) a participating mortgage originator or aggregator to deliver to the Platform a pool of eligible mortgage loans; and (2) the Platform, upon receiving a pool of eligible mortgages, to create standardized mortgage-backed securities collateralized by such mortgages and transfer them to the mortgage originator or aggregator. Exempts standardized mortgage-backed securities issued by the Platform from federal securities laws. Outlines requirements for: (1) servicing rights, representations, and warranties; (2) insurance for securities issued by the Platform, (3) capital and related solvency standards, and (4) Fund reserve balance. Prescribes requirements for Ginnie Mae's actions if unusual and exigent circumstances have created or threaten to create an anomalous lack of mortgage credit availability within the housing market that could materially and severely disrupt the functioning of the housing finance system of the United States. Prohibits Ginnie Mae, in exercising such authority, from: (1) bailing out approved entities or affiliates, or (2) assisting companies to avoid bankruptcy. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to make any lender of home mortgage loans eligible to become a member of a Federal Home Loan Bank. Requires each such Bank to provide pooling services to both members and non-members who wish to pool eligible mortgages for purposes of securitizing them through the Issuing Platform. Directs the Director of Ginnie Mae to: (1) prohibit the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) (Federal National Mortgage Association [Fannie Mae] and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation [Freddie Mac]) after a specified certification date from issuing, guaranteeing, or purchasing any security backed by mortgages on 1- to 4-family residences except as specifically authorized by this Act; (2) permit a GSE to act until a certain time as a participating aggregator of eligible mortgages for securitization if the business volume of their originators is insufficient to allow them to aggregate and securitize such mortgages; and (3) allow a GSE to act as a reinsurer for a mortgage-backed security until the GSE goes into receivership under this Act. Requires each GSE to establish a risk-sharing pilot program to develop private sector first-loss positions on mortgage-backed securities. Continues the current conservatorships of the GSEs until the commencement of mandatory receivership under this Act. Requires the Director to appoint Ginnie Mae as receiver of the GSEs by a certain date. Prescribes requirements for winding down the GSEs. Directs the Director to direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop a plan to establish a multifamily subsidiary for purposes of providing sufficient multifamily housing financing and establishing a competitive multifamily housing market for multifamily housing guarantors engaging in multifamily covered securities. Makes necessary transfers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac functions to the multifamily subsidiary. Directs the Director to develop, adopt, publish, and enforce standards for the approval of multifamily guarantors to: (1) issue securities collateralized by eligible multifamily mortgage loans, and (2) guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest on such securities collateralized by eligible multifamily mortgage loans and insured by Ginnie Mae. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to allow Ginnie Mae to securitize multifamily loans insured or reinsured under such Act under certain circumstances. Requires the Platform in each fiscal year to: (1) charge and collect a certain fee for the outstanding principal balance of all eligible mortgage loans that collateralize securities insured under this Act and all other mortgage loans collateralizing securities on which Ginnie Mae guarantees the timely payment of principal and interest; and (2) allocate or otherwise transfer on an annual basis specified percentages of such fee amounts to fund the Housing Trust Fund, the Capital Magnet Fund, and the Market Access Fund (which Ginnie Mae is directed to establish). Amends the Safety and Soundness Act with respect to the Housing Trust Fund and housing for Indians. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to authorize Federal Home Loan Banks to make long-term secured advances to their members to provide funds to community development financial institutions. Requires a Federal Home Loan Bank, at the time of origination or renewal of a loan or advance, to obtain and maintain a security interest in collateral eligible pursuant to any secured loan for a community development financial institution.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2014
Disapproves and nullifies the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and published in the Federal Register on July 2, 2014, relating to the garnishment of non-federal wages to collect delinquent non-tax debts owed to the United States without first obtaining a court order.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Infrastructure Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures, to: (1) increase the rate of such credit from 30% to 50% for hydrogen-related alternative fuel vehicles, (2) eliminate the dollar limitation on such credit for hydrogen-related vehicles, (3) allow such credit for off-highway motor vehicles designed for carrying or towing loads, and (4) extend such credit through 2016 for property related to hydrogen. Increases the 30% energy tax credit for investment in fuel cell property to: (1) 40% for fuel cell property used in a combined heat and power system having an energy efficiency percentage of at least 60% but less than 70%, and (2) 50% for fuel cell property having an energy efficiency percentage of 70% or more. Increases the maximum dollar amount of the energy tax credit for investment in qualified fuel cell property.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
Adoption Tax Credit Tribal Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow Indian tribes to make the determination that a child is a child with special needs for purposes of the adoption tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
Stop the EPA Act of 2014 - Amends the Congressional Review Act to require congressional approval of major rules issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (Currently, rules go into effect unless Congress disapproves of the rule.) Nullifies EPA's existing major rules, unless the EPA submits them for congressional review. Lowers the annual economic impact from $100 million to $50 million for a rule is deemed to be a major rule. Expands the criteria for an EPA regulation to be deemed a major rule to include that the regulation will have a significant impact on a substantial number of agriculture entities or it will implement a carbon tax. Expands the EPA's reports to Congress and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to include: a classification of each rule as a major or nonmajor rule with an explanation of the economic effects of the rule, related regulatory actions taken by EPA or another agency, and any jobs added or lost. Allows Congress to consider approval of a major rule only once in a Congress. Gives Congress 70 session days or legislative days to approve a rule. Requires the GAO to estimate the economic cost imposed by all of EPA's rules.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
The Office of Financial Research Accountability Act of 2014 - Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to require the Director of the Office of Financial Research to publish annually, after a period of 60 days for public notice and comment, a detailed work plan concerning the Office priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Requires the Office to develop and implement a cybersecurity plan using adequate safeguards to protect the integrity and confidentiality of the data in Office possession. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to audit annually the cybersecurity plan and its implementation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2014
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5016) making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4718) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify and make permanent bonus depreciation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2014
Bring Jobs Home Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. Requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2014
Allocating for Children's Education Act or the ACE Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to Coverdale education savings accounts, to: (1) increase from $2,000 to $5,000 the maximum allowable contribution to such accounts in a taxable year, and (2) allow distributions from such accounts for the purchase of athletic equipment at elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2014
Helping Working Families Afford Child Care Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for employment-related expenses incurred for the care of a taxpayer's dependent, to: (1) increase to $200,000, the adjusted gross income threshold level above which such credit is incrementally reduced; (2) increase the dollar limit on the allowable amount of such credit; (3) allow an inflation adjustment to the threshold amount and the maximum credit amounts, beginning after 2015; and (4) make such credit refundable.
United States · United States Congress · 2 July 2014
Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2015 - Department of the Treasury Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for the Department of the Treasury. Executive Office of the President Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for the Executive Office of the President. Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts and related offices. District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2015 - Makes appropriations for FY2015 for the District of Columbia. Makes appropriations for FY2015 for: (1) the Administrative Conference of the United States, (2) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), (3) the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), (4) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), (5) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), (6) the Federal Election Commission (FEC), (7) the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA), (8) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), (9) the General Services Administration (GSA), (10) the Merit Systems Protection Board, (11) the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), (12) the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), (13) the Office of Government Ethics, (14) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), (15) the Office of Special Counsel, (16) the Postal Regulatory Commission, (17) the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, (18) the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, (19) the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), (20) the Selective Service System, (21) the Small Business Administration (SBA), (22) the United States Postal Service (USPS), and (23) the United States Tax Court. Specifies certain uses and limits or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Bring Jobs Home Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. Requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Patriot Employer Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a Patriot employer a business-related tax credit for up to 10% of the first $15,000 of wages paid to any employee in a taxable year. Sets forth criteria for designation as a Patriot employer, including requirements that such employer: (1) maintains its headquarters in the United States and does not expatriate to avoid payment of U.S. income taxes, (2) complies with the employer mandate to provide minimum essential health care coverage to its employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, (3) compensates at least 90% of its employees at a level that is 150% of the federal poverty level for a family of three and provides 90% of its employees with a basic level of retirement benefits, (4) provides for differential wage payments to its employees who are members of the Uniformed Services, and (5) increases the number of its employees performing substantially all of their services inside the United States to offset the number of employees who work outside the United States. Sets forth a rule for the deferral of the tax deduction for foreign-related interest expense.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Simplifying the Application for Student Aid Act - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to provide for the use of data from the second preceding tax year to carry out the simplification of the applications used in estimating and determining financial aid eligibility. Requires such simplification to include data sharing between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Education, pursuant to taxpayer consent.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Home Energy Savings Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property expenditures, to: (1) make such tax credit permanent; (2) increase from $500 to $1,000 the dollar limitation on such credit; (3) allow the inclusion of labor costs in amounts eligible for such credit; (4) revise definitions and requirements relating to roofing products and for natural gas, propane, oil furnaces, or hot water boilers and heaters; and (5) set forth documentation requirements for claiming such credit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2014
Stop Corporate Expatriation and Invest in America's Infrastructure Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise rules for the taxation of inverted corporations (i.e., U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the United States) to provide that a foreign corporation that acquires the properties of a U.S. corporation or partnership after May 8, 2014, shall be treated as an inverted corporation and thus subject to U.S. taxation if, after such acquisition: (1) it holds more than 50% of the stock of the new entity (expanded affiliated group), or (2) the management or control of the new entity occurs primarily within the United States and the new entity has significant domestic business activities. Authorizes additional appropriations to the Highway Account and Mass Transit Account in the Highway Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments received by a student under a comprehensive work-learning-service program operated by a work college.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
National Border and Homeland Security Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to give state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) funding priority to: (1) northern or southern border states, or (2) state political subdivisions having one of the four largest populations of unlawfully present aliens for the preceding fiscal year. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to complete the required 700 mile southwest border fencing and priority-area fencing by December 31, 2015. Amends the Secure Fence Act of 2006 to direct the Secretary, in consultation with state and local officials along the U.S.-Mexico border, to achieve operational control over U.S. international land and maritime borders by December 31, 2015. Directs the Secretary to: increase the number of full-time, active-duty Border Patrol agents through FY2018; increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at U.S. ports of entry through FY2018; and establish within 18 months the biometric entry and exit data system required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from impeding border security-related activities by the Secretary on U.S. public lands. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (of DHS), in protecting the United States from a nuclear, fissile material, or radiological attack, to consider potential smuggling routes in land border areas between ports of entry, railcars entering the United States from Canada or Mexico, and private aircraft or small vessels. Directs the Secretary to procure within one year the number of next generation portable radiation detectors (PRDs) and radioactive isotope identification devices (RIIDs) required by the Border Patrol along the southern and northern U.S. borders. Directs the Secretary to develop within one year, and implement within two years of development, a strategic plan to detect and interdict biological and chemical weapons entering the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Charitable Automobile Red-Tape Simplification Act of 2014 or the CARS Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax deduction for charitable contributions, to modify the substantiation rules for donations of qualified vehicles (i.e., motor vehicles manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways and boats or airplanes) to require: (1) a statement with respect to such qualified vehicles and a good faith estimate of their value at the time of donation; and (2) a contemporaneous written acknowledgement of the contribution by the donee organization, with information about the donor and the qualified vehicle.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any electronic communications in the possession of the Secretary, the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA), or any office that reports to the Secretary or the Director that were transmitted to or from any electronic mail accounts used by Lois Lerner, former Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Directs the Attorney General to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any electronic communications in the possession of the Attorney General or the Department of Justice (DOJ) that were transmitted to or from any electronic mail accounts used by Lois Lerner, former Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any electronic communications in the possession of the Secretary or the Department of the Treasury that were transmitted to or from any electronic mail accounts used by Lois Lerner, former Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any electronic communications in the possession of the President or the Executive Office of the President that were transmitted to or from any electronic mail accounts used by Lois Lerner, former Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2014
Directs the Chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to transmit to the House of Representatives copies of any electronic communications in the possession of the Chairman or the FEC that were transmitted to or from any electronic mail accounts used by Lois Lerner, former Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), between January 1, 2009, and April 30, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
College Access Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Education to award competitive planning grants and competitive implementation grants to states to plan and implement comprehensive state plans to: (1) enhance the affordability of postsecondary education; and (2) increase the number and percentage of students attaining a postsecondary credential, particularly first generation and low-income college students. Requires each comprehensive state plan to require the implementation of: specified measures to increase the transparency and accessibility of the information provided to students and their families about the costs and outcomes of attaining a postsecondary credential in the state, including the adoption by each institution of higher education (IHE) of a net price calculator linked to the IHE's website that provides individualized information and meets certain other requirements; and measures to maintain or increase fiscal support for postsecondary education that include increasing need-based grant aid for postsecondary education and restricting tuition increases at public IHEs to a rate that lies below the inflation rate. Requires each comprehensive state plan to require one or more of the following reforms that are not already in place in the state: removing barriers to innovation in postsecondary education by developing innovative education delivery models, promoting the use of technology, and creating or expanding the use of open educational resources; improving the students' transition to and from postsecondary institutions and increasing their graduation rate by increasing their participation in accelerated learning models, reforming postsecondary remediation, improving the credit transfer policies and articulation agreements between or among IHEs, and incentivizing IHEs to increase the number and percentage of Federal Pell Grant recipients who attain a postsecondary credential. Requires applicants for a planning grant and applicants for an implementation grant that have not received a planning grant to establish performance indicators, annual targets, and goals to track their performance in: implementing the reforms that are required by their plans, increasing the graduation rate of first generation and low-income college students and the number and percentage of students from community colleges and postsecondary vocational schools who transfer to a four-year IHE and attain a baccalaureate degree, and reducing the net price of attaining a postsecondary credential. Terminates an implementation grant after two years if the Secretary determines that the state is making insufficient progress in implementing its comprehensive state plan and meeting its annual targets. Directs the Secretary to: (1) evaluate the implementation and impact of this Act's requirements, and (2) disseminate research on best practices for achieving this Act's objectives.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
Holding the IRS Leadership Accountable Act - Prohibits the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from providing any performance awards, including bonuses, step increases, and leave time, to IRS senior-level executives until such time as the Inspector General for Tax Administration of the Department of the Treasury certifies that the IRS has provided all documents, including all electronic communications, requested by the congressional committees investigating the targeting of certain taxpayers who applied for tax-exempt status as a social welfare organization.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
American Energy Opportunity Act of 2014 - Deems the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010-2015 issued by the Secretary of the Interior to be approved as a final oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Deems the Secretary to have issued a final environmental impact statement for the Program under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Directs the Secretary to: conduct a lease sale in each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning area for which there is a commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas production leases; prepare an inventory of U.S. offshore energy resources; and promulgate regulations concerning the production of oil or gas resources of the OCS, including regulating the installation of surface facilities, mitigating the impact of such facilities on coastal vistas, and allowing onshore facilities to draw upon such resources that are within 10 miles of shore. Extends from three geographical miles to nine nautical miles a coastal state's allowable seaward boundary. Repeals the moratorium on oil and gas leasing 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, and (3) specified areas within the Central Planning Area and within 100 miles of the Florida coastline. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue a final leasing plan for the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for all areas where there exists commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas leases for production. Specifies revenue sharing percentages for sums received from leasing offshore pursuant to this Act, including 30% for producing states. Authorizes the President authority to waive requirements relating to the approval of oil and natural gas activity deemed to be important to national interests. Amends the Clean Air Act to: (1) revise the definition of "renewable biomass" to include trees, tree residue, and slash and pre-commercial thinnings that are from forestlands on public lands; and (2) require new source review regulations relating to the construction of a new source or the modification of an existing source to provide that routine maintenance and repair do not constitute a modification of an existing source. Requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: implement a grant and loan program for the construction or modernization of coal fired generation units to enable use of technology to reduce greenhouse gases, publish a plan to exchange a specified amount of light grade petroleum from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for heavy grade petroleum plus additional cash bonus bids that reflect the difference in market value; and set aside net proceeds from such exchange for the Energy Independence and Security Fund (established by this Act). Prescribes Energy Independence and Security Fund allocations to the Energy Transformation Acceleration Fund, specified Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy accounts, the Weatherization Assistance Program, specified Fossil Energy Research and Development accounts, the Basic Energy Sciences account. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: extend through 2019 tax credits for energy conservation and production, including credits for producing electricity from renewable resources, alternative fuel vehicles and refueling property expenditures, residential energy efficiency and solar energy and fuel cell property expenditures, and biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; extend through 2018 the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings; increase the limitation on the issuance of new clean renewable energy bonds; allow an additional tax deduction for the cost of installing mechanical insulation property; extend through 2019 the tax credit for fuel cell motor vehicles, advanced lean burn technology motor vehicles, hybrid motor vehicles, alternative fuel motor vehicles, and plug-in conversions; repeal the limitation on the number of hybrid and advanced lean-burn technology vehicles eligible for such credit; extend through 2019 the tax credit for plug-in electric drive motor vehicles; allow a new tax credit for the purchase of a motor vehicle identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the most efficient vehicle in its class; and allow an excise tax credit through 2019 for alternative fuels and fuel mixtures involving compressed or liquefied natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas. Prescribes requirements for the use of electric drive vehicles and alternative fuel motor vehicles. Requires that at least 10% of the federal fleet be plug-in electric drive vehicles by FY2014, with such percentage increasing by at least 2% (up to 50%) each fiscal year. Directs DOE to: (1) provide grants to assist local governments in the installation of recharging facilities for electric drive vehicles, and (2) guarantee loans for any purchaser of at least 5,000 battery systems that use advanced battery technology. Includes innovative low-carbon technology projects as projects eligible for loan guarantees made by DOE for innovative technologies. Requires programs or directives established by this Act concerning increasing diversification and efficiency of transportation and electric systems, but not extensions of tax credits, to be offset with funds in the Carbon Free Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
Doctors Helping Heroes Act of 2014 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994 to make permanent the J-1 visa waiver program (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas). Excludes from numerical immigration limitations alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before enactment of this Act and any of their spouses or children). Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas. Increases the number of alien physicians that a state may be allocated from 30 to 35 per fiscal year in specified circumstances. Provides for additional increases or decreases based upon demand. Provides up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers. Permits dual intent for an alien coming to the United States to receive graduate medical education or training, or to take examinations required for graduate medical education or training. Exempts from specified entry limitations H-1B nonimmigrant aliens seeking to enter the United States to pursue graduate medical education or training. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize waiver of the two-year foreign residency requirement for an alien who has received graduate medical eduction or training in the United States and seeks to apply for an immigrant visa or permanent resident status if: the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) determines that VA facilities are not capable of furnishing covered health services to eligible veterans because they lack the required personnel or cannot provide timely and reasonable access; and the head of the appropriate state agency determines that the alien will practice medicine in a Veterans Health Administration facility, the alien physician's work is in the public interest, and such waiver would not cause the number of waivers allotted for that state for that fiscal year to exceed five.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
New American Success Act of 2014 - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President a National Office of New Americans which shall: coordinate federal, state, and local efforts to ensure the economic, linguistic, and civic integration of immigrants and their children; advise the President, Congress, and other federal officials on immigrant integration; establish national goals for immigrant integration; cooperate with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other executive agencies to analyze the budget impact of immigration policies and integration efforts; identify the anticipated effects of new federal immigration policies on existing integration efforts; and consult on a biannual basis with state and local government officials. Establishes within the Office a Task Force on New Americans. Requires U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, in consultation with the Office, to award initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants to local government units, private organizations, community-based organizations, or not-for-profit organizations to provide legal assistance to an eligible non-citizen who is seeking: (1) to become a permanent resident or naturalized citizen, or (2) relief from removal. Makes such grants available for 10 fiscal years beginning with FY2016. Establishes in the Treasury the Integration Success Fund. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise the waiver of the English language naturalization requirement for senior individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2014
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4899) to lower gasoline prices for the American family by increasing domestic onshore and offshore energy exploration and production, to streamline and improve onshore and offshore energy permitting and administration, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4923) making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2014
Child Tax Credit Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the child tax credit, to: (1) increase from $110,00 to $150,000 the threshold amount applicable to married couples fiing joint tax returns ($75,000 for individual taxpayers and married taxpayers filing separately) above which such tax credit is reduced, and (2) allow an inflation adjustment to the threshold amounts and the $1,000 credit amount beginning in calendar years after 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2014
Promise Zone Job Creation Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to designate up to 20 areas as Promise Zones for purposes of priority consideration in federal grant programs and initiatives. Defines a "Promise Zone" as any area with a continuous boundary and a population of not more than 200,000 that is nominated by a local government or Indian tribe and designated on the basis of its unemployment rate, poverty rate, household income, labor force participation, and educational attainment. Requires an application for designation as a Promise Zone to include a competitiveness plan that addresses the need of the area to attract investment and jobs and improve educational opportunities. Allows: (1) a Promise Zone employment tax credit for wages paid to a qualified zone or resident employee, and (2) expensing of Promise Zone property. Defines "Promise Zone property" as property that is: (1) tangible property with a recovery period of 20 years or less for depreciation purposes, water utility property, computer software, or qualified leasehold improvement property; (2) acquired by purchase for use in the active conduct of a trade or business; and (3) originally placed in service in a Promise Zone.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2014
Tax Equality for Entrepreneurs Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent: (1) accelerated depreciation (15-year cost recovery) of qualified leasehold and retail improvement property and qualified restaurant property; and (2) the election to expense such property.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2014
Protection Against Wasteful Spending Act of 2014 - Requires the head of a federal agency to: (1) implement in each of fiscal years 2014-2020 all of the recommendations of the agency's inspector general (IG) regarding wasteful and excessive spending, or duplicative programs causing wasteful and excessive spending, except for any recommendation that would violate an existing law; and (2) report to Congress on such implementation. Prohibits an agency that fails to implement an IG recommendation in a timely manner from obligating funds for: (1) convention or seminar attendance and international or domestic travel by any politically-appointed official, or (2) any bonus or salary increase for such official. Directs that such funds that are prohibited from being obligated and amounts saved by the implementation of IG recommendations be credited or transferred equally to: (1) the Highway Trust Fund, and (2) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for capitalization grants for state water pollution control revolving funds under the Clean Water Act.