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Bill· SS. 2819 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2014 - Authorizes a rental company that receives a notification (approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA]) from the manufacturer of a covered rental vehicle about any equipment defect, or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, to rent or sell the vehicle or equipment only if the defect or noncompliance is remedied. Specifies any rental vehicle: (1) rated at 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less, (2) rented without a driver for an initial term of under 4 months, and (3) that is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more motor vehicles used for rental purposes by a rental company. Prescribes a special rule to require rental companies to comply with specified limitations on sale, lease, or rental of a motor vehicle as soon as practicable, but within 24 hours after the earliest receipt of the manufacturer's notification of a defect or noncompliance with vehicle safety standards, whether by electronic means or first class mail. Extends the 24-hour deadline for complying with such limitations to 48 hours if the notification covers more than 5,000 motor vehicles in the rental company's fleet. Permits a rental company to rent (but not sell or lease) a motor vehicle subject to recall if the defect or noncompliance remedy is not immediately available and the company takes any actions specified in the notice to alter the vehicle temporarily to eliminate the safety risk posed. Makes these special rules for rental companies inapplicable to junk automobiles. Prohibits a rental company from knowingly making inoperable any safety devices or elements of design installed on or in a compliant motor vehicle or vehicle equipment unless the company reasonably believes the vehicle or equipment will not be used when the devices or elements are inoperable. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request, to inspect records of a rental company with respect to a safety investigation. Authorizes the Secretary to require a rental company to keep records or make reports for purposes of compliance with federal motor vehicle safety orders or regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to study the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act and of other activities of rental companies. Amends the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to require the mandatory study of the safety of rental trucks during a specified seven-year period to evaluate the completion of safety recall remedies on rental trucks. Directs the Secretary to solicit comments regarding the implementation of this Act from members of the public, including rental companies, consumer organizations, automobile manufacturers, and automobile dealers. Declares that nothing in this Act shall: (1) be construed to create or increase any liability for a manufacturer who manufactures or imports a motor vehicle that is subject to defect or noncompliance recall requirements; or (2) supersede or otherwise affect the contractual obligations, if any, between such manufacturer and a rental company.
Bill· HRH.R. 5493 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Amends the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1989 to expand the Coast Guard Junior Reserve Officers Training Program Pilot Program by authorizing the Coast Guard to establish and maintain a junior reserve officers training program in cooperation with the Pinellas County School District of Pinellas County, Florida.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 727 (113th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2014
Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2) to remove Federal Government obstacles to the production of more domestic energy; to ensure transport of that energy reliably to businesses, consumers, and other end users; to lower the cost of energy to consumers; to enable manufacturers and other businesses to access domestically produced energy affordably and reliably in order to create and sustain more secure and well-paying American jobs; and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4) to make revisions to Federal law to improve the conditions necessary for economic growth and job creation, and for other purposes; and providing for proceedings during the period from September 22, 2014, through November 11, 2014.
Bill· HRH.R. 5467 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Metropolitan Planning Enhancement Act - Revises metropolitan transportation planning organization (MPO) requirements. Prescribes requirements for the designation of new and consolidation of multiple MPOs within a metropolitan statistical area. Defines "consolidated metropolitan planning organization" to mean a sole MPO that serves a metropolitan statistical area. Allows an MPO for an urbanized area with a population over 200,000 to request a high-performing MPO designation from the Secretary of Transportation (DOT). Specifies criteria the Secretary shall consider in making such designation. Revises certain allocations of surface transportation program funds to states for: (1) any areas with a population of fewer (under current law, non-urban areas with more) than 5,000, and (2) urbanized areas with a population over 200,000 that have a high-performing MPO. Makes similar changes to the transportation alternatives program. Extends permanently a state's obligational authority to distribute a specified amount of surface transportation program funds for federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs in urbanized areas with a population over 200,000, including those areas that have a high-performing MPO. Makes permanent a special rule authorizing a state to obligate up to 15% of its apportionment of surface transportation program funds for each fiscal on roads functionally classified as minor collectors in areas of less than 5,000 population. Revises requirements for the apportionment of state planning funds to MPOs. Requires a state's apportionment to be distributed in accordance with a formula that prioritizes the needs of high-performing MPOs. Requires metropolitan planning organizations to involve public port authorities in metropolitan freight transportation planning. Revises the statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning process for the development of statewide transportation plans and statewide transportation improvement programs for federal-aid highway projects. Makes certain changes from discretionary to mandatory with respect to such process. Requires the Secretary to certify at least once every four years that each state has met certain requirements; and other federal laws, regulations, and orders applicable to the statewide and nonmetropolitan and the metropolitan processes. Authorizes the Secretary to withhold up to 20% of a state's apportionment of funds for federal-aid highway projects and public transportation projects if the state fails to meet such certification. Makes similar changes to requirements for public transportation program projects. Eliminates the requirement that the congestion management process be addressed in the metropolitan transportation planning and statewide and nonmetropolitan transportation planning of such projects in: urbanized transportation management areas with a population over 200,000 individuals, and certain nonattainment areas for ozone or carbon monoxide. Revises requirements authorizing a MPO to voluntarily elect to develop multiple scenarios for consideration as part of the development of the metropolitan transportation plan for a metropolitan planning area. Requires a MPO to offer certain interested parties a reasonable opportunity to participate in the development and consideration of those scenarios as well as provide input during the development and implementation of the transportation plan. Prescribes requirements to require MPOs to create a performance-based target achievement process for adding projects to a transportation improvement program.
Law· HRH.R. 5462 (113th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Revises aviation passenger security fee requirements to limit per round trip fees to $11.20.
Bill· HRH.R. 2 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act - Division A: Energy and Commerce - Northern Route Approval Act - Declares that a presidential permit shall not be required for a certain pipeline application filed by TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline (including the Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and approved by the Nebraska governor). Deems a certain final environmental impact statement issued by the Secretary of State, coupled with such Final Evaluation Report, to satisfy the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and the National Historic Preservation Act. Deems the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary in this Act, unless otherwise indicated) to have issued a written opinion that the Keystone XL pipeline project will neither jeopardize the American burying beetle, nor destroy or adversely modify its critical habitat. Requires the Secretary of the Army to issue by a specified deadline certain permits under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and the Rivers and Harbors Appropriations Act of 1899 for pipeline construction, operation, and maintenance. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from prohibiting or restricting any activity or use of an area authorized under this Act. Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act - Amends the Natural Gas Act to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve or deny a certificate of public convenience and necessity for a prefiled project within 12 months after receiving a complete application that is ready to be processed. Requires the agency responsible for issuing any federal license, permit, or approval regarding the siting, construction, expansion, or operation of a project to approve or deny the certificate within 90 days after FERC issues its final environmental document. Declares that, if the agency fails to approve or deny a permit, license, or approval within the prescribed time-frame, the license, permit, or approval shall take effect upon expiration of 30 days after the period's end. North American Energy Infrastructure Act - Declares a certificate of crossing under this Act to be a prerequisite for construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of a cross-border segment of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission facility at the national boundary of the U.S. for the import or export of oil, natural gas, or electricity to or from Canada or Mexico. Amends the Natural Gas Act to declare that a FERC order is not required for the export or import of natural gas to or from Canada or Mexico. Amends the Federal Power Act to repeal the requirement that the transmission of electric energy to a foreign country necessitates prior FERC authorization. Declares that no Presidential permit shall be necessary for the construction, connection, operation, or maintenance of an oil or natural gas pipeline or electric transmission facility, including any cross-border segment. Energy Consumers Relief Act of 2014 - Prohibits EPA from promulgating a final rule governing production, supply, distribution, or use of energy that is estimated to impose aggregate costs of more than $1 billion if the Department of Energy (DOE) determines that it will cause significant adverse effects to the economy. Requires EPA, before promulgating such a final rule, to report on: (1) an estimate of the total costs and benefits of the rule, (2) an estimate of the increases in energy prices that may result from the rule, and (3) a detailed description of the employment effects that may result from the rule. Directs DOE to: (1) determine whether such rule will increase consumer energy prices, or impact fuel diversity of the nation's electricity generation portfolio or electric reliability; (2) cause an adverse effect on energy supply, distribution, or use; and (3) determine whether the rule will cause significant adverse effects to the economy. Prohibits EPA from using the social cost of carbon in any cost-benefit analysis relating to an energy-related rule estimated to cost more than $1 billion unless a federal law is enacted authorizing such use. Electricity Security and Affordability Act - Prohibits EPA from issuing, implementing, or enforcing any rule under the Clean Air Act that establishes a performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions from a new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit unless the rule meets specified requirements of this Act. Requires EPA to separate sources fueled with coal and natural gas into separate categories. Prohibits EPA from setting a standard based on the best system of emission reduction for new sources within a fossil-fuel category unless the standard meets certain criteria. Precludes from taking effect, unless a federal law is enacted specifying an effective date, any EPA rule or guideline that: (1) establishes any performance standard for greenhouse gas emissions from a modified or reconstructed source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit, or (2) applies to greenhouse gas emissions from such an existing source. Nullifies specified proposed rules for Standards of Performance for Greenhouse Gas Emissions for New Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units that are issued before enactment of this Act. Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act - Directs DOE to issue a decision on an application to export natural gas within 30 days after the later of: (1) the conclusion of the review to site, construct, expand, or operate the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities required by NEPA; or (2) the date of enactment of this Act. Deems any NEPA review to be concluded: (1) 30 days after publication of a required Environmental Impact Statement; (2) 30 days after DOE publication of a Finding of No Significant Impact if the project needs an Environmental Assessment; and (3) upon a determination by the lead agency that an application is eligible for a categorical exclusion pursuant to NEPA regulations. (A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an environmental assessment [EA] nor an environmental impact statement [EIS] is required.) Confers exclusive jurisdiction upon the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the LNG export facility will be located regarding any civil action for the review of: (1) a DOE order regarding the application, or (2) DOE failure to issue a final decision on the application. Amends the Natural Gas Act to require DOE to require, as a condition for approval to export LNG, that the applicant make public disclosure of the export's specific destination. Division B: Natural Resources Committee - Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America That Works Act of 2014 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to direct the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary in this Act) to implement a leasing program that includes at least 50% of the available unleased acreage within each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning area considered to have the largest undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources. Sets the production goal as an increase by 2032 of at least: (1) 3 million barrels of oil produced daily, and (2) 10 billion cubic feet of natural gas produced daily. Directs the Secretary to: (1) submit to Congress a new proposed oil and gas leasing program for the five-year period from July 15, 2015, to July 15, 2021, and (2) approve a final oil and gas leasing program by July 15, 2016. Directs the Secretary to conduct offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 220 on the OCS offshore Virginia within one year after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to conduct a lease sale within two years after enactment of this Act for areas off the coast of South Carolina with the most geologically promising hydrocarbon resources and constituting at least 25% of the leasable area within the South Carolina offshore administrative boundaries. Directs the Secretary to offer for sale by December 31, 2015, leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area. Allocates 37.5% of the amount of new federal leasing revenues to coastal states affected by the leases under which those revenues are received by the U.S. Prescribes an allocation schedule for coastal states within 200 miles of the leased tract. Establishes in the Department of the Interior: (1) an Under Secretary for Energy, Lands, and Minerals; (2) an Assistant Secretary of Ocean Energy and Safety; (3) an Assistant Secretary of Land and Minerals Management; (4) a Bureau of Ocean Energy; (5) an Ocean Energy Safety Service; and (6) an Office of Natural Resources Revenue. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a National Offshore Energy Safety Academy as an agency of the Ocean Energy Safety Service, and (2) an Outer Continental Shelf Energy Safety Advisory Board. Abolishes the Minerals Management Service. Establishes in the Treasury the Ocean Energy Enforcement Fund as depository for non-refundable fees collected from the operators of facilities subject to inspection. Redefines the OCS to include all submerged lands lying within the U.S. exclusive economic zone and the Continental Shelf adjacent to any U.S. territory. Directs the Secretary to promulgate rules regarding the revenue streams contemplated by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006, including the timing and methods of disbursements of certain funds under such Act. Prescribes requirements for judicial review of any action or decision by a federal official regarding the issuance of an energy lease. Federal Lands Jobs and Energy Security Act - Directs the Secretary to encourage the use of U.S. workers and equipment manufactured in the U.S. in all construction related to mineral resource development under this Act. Streamlining Permitting of American Energy Act of 2014 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) to direct the Secretary to decide whether to issue a permit to drill within 30 days after receiving a permit application, with specified allowable deadline extensions. Deems a permit application approved if the Secretary has not made a decision by 60 days after its receipt. Directs the Secretary to collect: (1) a single $6,500 permit processing fee per application; and (2) a $5,000 documentation fee to accompany each protest for a lease, right of way, or application for permit to drill. Requires the Secretary to establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in every Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office responsible for permitting energy projects on federal land. Prescribes procedures for judicial review of an agency action affecting leasing federal lands for energy activities. Requires the Secretary to provide matching funding of up to 50% for joint projects with states to conduct oil and gas resource assessments on federal lands with significant oil and gas potential. Providing Leasing Certainty for American Energy Act of 2014 - Requires the Secretary, in conducting lease sales under the MLA, to offer for sale at least 25% of the annual nominated acreage not previously made available for lease. Shields such acreage from protest or the test of extraordinary circumstances. Amends the MLA to prohibit the Secretary from: (1) withdrawing any covered energy project without finding a violation of lease terms by the lessee; (2) delaying indefinitely issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic permits, and rights of way for activities under a lease; or (3) cancelling or withdrawing any lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and a winning bidder has made the last payment for the parcel. Declares without force or effect BLM Instruction Memorandum 2010-117 (which establishes a process to ensure orderly, effective, timely, and environmentally responsible leasing of oil and gas resources on federal lands). Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act or the PIONEERS Act - Deems the final regulations regarding oil shale management published by the BLM on November 18, 2008, to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements. Deems the November 17, 2008, BLM Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments/Record of Decision for Oil Shale and Tar Sands Resources to Address Land Use Allocations in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to satisfy all legal and procedural requirements. Directs the Secretary to hold, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, a lease sale that offers for lease additional ten parcels for research, development, and demonstration of oil shale resources under terms offered in specified bid solicitations. Requires the Secretary, by January 1, 2016, to hold at least five separate commercial lease sales, in multiple lease blocs, in areas of at least 25,000 acres, which: (1) have been nominated through public comment, and (2) are considered to have the most potential for oil shale development. Planning for American Energy Act of 2014 - Amends the MLA to direct the Secretary to publish a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy to direct federal land energy development and department resource allocation. Directs the Secretary to determine a domestic strategic production objective for the development of energy resources. Expresses the sense of Congress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to set their own production objectives as part of such strategy. National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act - Amends the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to require the mandatory program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) to include at least one lease sale annually in areas deemed most likely to produce commercial quantities of oil and natural gas each year in the period 2014-2024. Directs the Secretary to ensure permits according to a specified timeline for all surface development activities, including pipelines and roads construction, to: (1) develop and bring into production areas within the NPR that are subject to oil and gas leases, and (2) transport oil and gas from and through the NPR to existing transportation or processing infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska. Directs the Secretary to ensure that any federal permitting agency issue permits for construction for transportation of oil and natural gas under existing federal oil and gas leases with drilling permits within 60 days after enactment of this Act. Requires approval of drilling permits under new federal oil and gas leases within six months after submission of a permit request to the Secretary. Nullifies the February 21, 2013, Record of Decision, including its integrated activity plan and environmental impact statement. Requires the Secretary to assess all technically recoverable fossil fuel resources within the NPR, including conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas. BLM Live Internet Auctions Act - Amends the MLA to authorize the Secretary to conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales, within seven days, through Internet-based live bidding methods. Native American Energy Act - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to allow either the Secretary, an affected Indian tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the Indian tribe to appraise Indian land or trust assets involved in a transaction requiring the Secretary's approval. Amends NEPA to make the environmental impact statement for major federal action on Indian lands available for review and comment only to the affected Indian tribe and individuals residing within the affected area. Prescribes requirements for judicial review of energy-related actions. Amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to direct the Secretary to enter into agreements with Indian tribes to carry out demonstration projects that promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing tribes with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands. Amends the Long-Term Leasing Act to authorize the Navajo Nation to enter into commercial or agricultural leases of up to 99 years on their restricted lands without the Secretary's approval if they are executed under tribal regulations approved by the Secretary. Permits the Navajo Nation to enter into mineral resource leases on their restricted lands without the Secretary's approval if they are executed under approved tribal regulations and do not exceed 25 years, though they may include a renewal option for one additional term not exceeding 25 years. Prohibits any Department of the Interior rule regarding hydraulic fracturing used in oil and gas development or production, from having any effect on land held in trust or restricted status for Indians, except with the express consent of its Indian beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to establish an Office of Energy Employment and Training. Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act - Amends the Water Conservation and Utilization Act (WCUA) to authorize the Secretary, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to enter into 40-year leases of power privileges for electric power generation in connection with any project constructed under such Act. Requires the Bureau to apply its categorical exclusion process under NEPA to small conduit hydropower under WCUA, excluding siting of associated transmission facilities on federal lands. Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to modify the boundary of the Crooked River, Oregon. Requires the developer for any hydropower development at Bowman Dam to analyze any impacts to the Outstanding Remarkable Values of the Wild and Scenic River that may be caused by such development and propose impact mitigationas part of any license application submitted to FERC. Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act - Amends the MLA to prohibit the Department of the Interior from enforcing any federal regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing (including any component of that process), relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on or under any land in any state that has regulations, guidance, or permit requirements for that activity. Extends that prohibition, with an exception, to land held either in trust or restricted status for the benefit of Indians. Requires the Department to recognize and defer to state regulations, permitting, and guidance for hydraulic fracturing relating to oil, gas, or geothermal production activities on federal land. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to examine the economic benefits of domestic shale oil and gas production resulting from hydraulic fracturing. EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Improvement Act - Requires EPA to adhere to prescribed requirements when conducting its study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources. Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America - Amends the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to require state programs for regulation of surface coal mining to incorporate the necessary rule concerning excess spoil, coal mine waste, and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams published by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. Division C: Judiciary - Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development Act of 2014 or the RAPID Act - Authorizes a project sponsor, upon the request of a lead agency, to prepare any document required for environmental review if the agency furnishes oversight and independently evaluates, approves, and adopts the document before taking action on it. Prohibits requiring more than one EIS and one EA for a project, except for supplemental environmental documents prepared under NEPA or pursuant to court order. Requires the lead agency to prepare the EIS or EA. Prohibits the lead agency from using the social cost of carbon in any environmental review or environmental decision making process. Requires the Council on Environmental Quality and each federal agency to amend NEPA implementing regulations to implement this Act.
Bill· HRH.R. 4 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2014
Jobs for America Act - Division I: Ways and Means - Title I: Save American Workers - Save American Workers Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to redefine "full-time employee," for purposes of the mandate requiring employers to provide health care coverage for their employees, as an employee who is employed on average at least 40 hours of service a week (currently, at least 30 hours of service a week). Title II: Hire More Heroes - Hire More Heroes Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit an employer, for purposes of determining whether such employer is an applicable large employer and thus required to provide health care coverage to its employees under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, to exclude employees who have coverage under a health care program administered by the Department of Defense (DOD), including TRICARE, or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Title III: American Research and Competitiveness - American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for research expenses, to establish a 20% tax rate for such credit and make such credit permanent. Title IV: America's Small Business Tax Relief - America's Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the expensing allowance for depreciable business property, to make permanent: (1) the increased $500,000 expensing allowance for such property, (2) the increased $2,000,000 threshold amount for such property over which the amount of the expensing allowance is reduced, (3) expensing of computer software, and (4) rules for the expensing of qualified real property (i.e., leasehold improvement, restaurant, and retail improvement property). Allows an inflation adjustment to the dollar amounts of the expensing allowance for taxable years beginning after 2014. Makes air conditioning and heating units eligible for the expensing allowance. Title V: S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief - S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxation of S corporations, to make permanent: (1) the reduction of the period (from 10 years to 5 years) during which the built-in gains of such corporations are subject to tax, and (2) the rule requiring an adjustment to the basis of a shareholder's stock in an S corporation that makes tax deductible contributions of appreciated property. Title VI: Bonus Depreciation Modified and Made Permanent - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the additional 50% depreciation allowance (bonus depreciation) for qualified property (i.e., property which has a recovery period of 20 years or less and is computer software, water utility property, or qualified leasehold or retail improvement property); (2) make permanent the election to increase the alternative minimum tax (AMT) credit limitation in lieu of bonus depreciation; and (3) allow an additional depreciation allowance for a tree or vine bearing fruits or nuts, in the taxable year in which the tree or vine is planted or grafted to a plant in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's farming business. Title VII: Repeal of Medical Device Excise Tax - Repeals the excise tax on medical devices. Division II: Financial Services - Title I: Small Business Capital Access And Job Preservation - Small Business Capital Access And Job Preservation Act - Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to exempt private equity fund investment advisers from its registration and reporting requirements, provided that each private equity fund has not borrowed and does not have outstanding a principal amount exceeding twice its invested capital commitments. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promulgate final rules that: (1) require such investment advisers to maintain records the SEC may require, taking into account fund size, governance, investment strategy, and risk; and (2) define the term "private equity fund" for purposes of this Act. Title II: Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification - Small Business Mergers, Acquisitions, Sales, and Brokerage Simplification Act of 2014 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to exempt from its registration requirements certain merger and acquisition brokers and associated persons. Denies such registration exemption, however, to brokers who: (1) receive, hold, transmit, or have custody of any funds or securities to be exchanged by parties to a transfer of ownership of an eligible privately held company; or (2) engage on behalf of an issuer in a public offering of securities that are either subject to mandatory registration, or with respect to which the issuer must file periodic information, documents, and reports. Prohibits this Act from being construed to limit any other authority of the SEC to exempt any person, or any class of persons, from any provision of this Act, including any related rule or regulation. Division III: Oversight - Subdivision A: Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency - Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2014 -Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require Congressional Budget Office (CBO) studies on the costs for state, local, or tribal governments to comply with changes to conditions of federal assistance. Expands the point of order against legislation increasing the costs of federal intergovernmental mandates above the statutory threshold to include private sector mandates. Amends the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 to establish principles for agencies to use in assessing the effects of federal regulatory actions. Expands the scope of agency statements accompanying significant regulatory actions to require a more detailed analysis of the effect on state, local, tribal governments, or the private sector. Revises the process for consulting state, local, and tribal governments about proposed regulations to include private sector input. Requires the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to provide guidance and oversight so that each agency's regulations are consistent with this title, other laws, and policies of other agencies. Expands judicial review to include agency assessments of regulations and selection of the least costly or least burdensome regulatory alternative. Subdivision B: Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency - Achieving Less Excess in Regulation and Requiring Transparency Act of 2014 or the ALERRT Act of 2014 - Title I: All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act - All Economic Regulations are Transparent Act of 2014 or the ALERT Act of 2014 - Requires the head of each federal agency to submit a monthly report to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for each rule such agency expects to propose or finalize during the following year. Requires the Administrator to publish in the Federal Register, by October 1 of each year, information that the Administrator receives from each agency under this Act and statistics on each rule proposed by an agency. Requires the Administrator to make publicly available on the Internet, by October 1 of each year, the analysis of the costs or benefits of each proposed or final rule issued by an agency for the previous year and other information pertaining to each such rule. Prohibits a rule from taking effect until the information required by this Act is posted on the Internet for not less than six months, with exceptions. Title II: Regulatory Accountability Act - Regulatory Accountability Act of 2014 - Revises procedures for rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to require a federal agency to make all preliminary and final factual determinations based on evidence and to consider other criteria in evaluating a rule. Revises rulemaking notice requirements. Imposes new requirements for issuing any major guidance or guidance that involves a novel legal or policy issue arising out of statutory mandates. Provides for electronic access to transcripts of testimony and exhibits and other papers filed in a rulemaking proceeding. Requires the record of decision in a rulemaking proceeding to include information from a hearing under the Information Quality Act or information on a high-impact rule. Requires an agency to grant a petition for a hearing in the case of a major rule, unless the agency reasonably determines that a hearing would not advance consideration of the rule or would unreasonably delay completion of the rulemaking. Provides that an agency's denial of an Information Quality Act petition, or a failure to grant or deny such petition within 90 days, is reviewable by a court as a final action. Allows immediate judicial review of interim rules issued without compliance with the notice requirements of this Act, other than in cases involving national security interests. Revises standards for the scope of judicial review of agency rulemaking. Defines "substantial evidence" for purposes of evaluating agency adjudications and for rulemaking under APA. Title III: Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act - Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act of 2014 - Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 (RFA) to revise the definitions of "rule" and "economic impact" under such Act. Requires initial and final regulatory flexibility analyses to: (1) describe alternatives to a proposed rule that minimize any adverse significant economic impact or that maximize the beneficial significant economic impact on small entities, and (2) include revisions or amendments to a land management plan developed by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior under specified Acts. Requires each federal agency to include in its regulatory flexibility agenda a brief description of the sector of the North American Industrial Classification System that is affected by a proposed agency rule that is likely to have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. Requires an agency's detailed statement in an initial regulatory flexibility analysis to include an estimate of the additional cumulative economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities and a description of any disproportionate economic impact on small entities or a specific class of such entities. Requires an agency, in developing an initial and final regulatory flexibility analysis, to provide: (1) a quantifiable or numerical description of the effects of a proposed or final rule and alternatives to such rule, or (2) a more general descriptive statement and a detailed statement explaining why quantification is not practicable or reliable. Repeals provisions allowing a waiver or delay of the completion of an initial regulatory flexibility analysis. Revises requirements for agency notification of the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy prior to the publication of any proposed rule. Provides for judicial review of an agency final rule for compliance with RFA requirements after publication of such rule. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Chief Counsel for Advocacy to specify detailed definitions or standards by which a business may be determined to be a small business (size standard). Amends the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 to require federal agencies, in developing small entity compliance guides, to solicit input from affected small entities or associations of small entities. Requires the Comptroller General to complete and publish a study that examines whether the SBA Chief Counsel for Advocacy has the capacity and resources to carry out the duties of Chief Counsel under this Act. Title IV: Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act - Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2014 - Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect the rights of: (1) private persons other than the person bringing the action; or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered consent decree" and a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into in a covered civil action; and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to a regulatory action affecting the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action or a state, local, or tribal government. Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the notice of intent to sue and the complaint in a readily accessible manner and to provide interested parties an opportunity to intervene and to conduct settlement negotiations through mediation. Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered consent decree or settlement agreement to publish such decree or agreement in the Federal Register and online. Requires a court to grant de novo review to any motion filed by an agency to modify a previously-entered consent decree if the basis of such motion is that the terms of the decree are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances. Division IV: Judiciary - Title I: Regulations From The Executive In Need Of Scrutiny - Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2014 - States that the purpose of this Act is to increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process by requiring Congress to approve all new major regulations. Revises provisions relating to congressional review of agency rulemaking to require a federal agency promulgating a rule to include in its report to Congress and to the Comptroller General a classification of the rule as a major or nonmajor rule. Requires a joint resolution of approval of major rules to be enacted before such rules may take effect. Provides that if a joint resolution of approval is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days, as applicable, after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the major rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Permits a major rule to take effect for one 90-calendar-day period without such approval if the President determines it is necessary because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, for the enforcement of criminal laws, for national security, or to implement an international trade agreement. Sets forth the congressional approval procedure for major rules and the congressional disapproval procedure for nonmajor rules. Requires the introduction of a joint resolution addressing a report classifying a rule as a major rule within three legislative days in the House of Representative and three session days in the Senate. Prohibits any amendments to such a joint resolution at any stage of the legislative process. Provides for expedited consideration of a joint resolution of approval and requires a vote on such resolution in the Senate within 15 session days after it is reported by the committee to which it was referred, or after such committee has been discharged from further consideration of the resolution. Allows a court to review whether an agency has completed the necessary requirements under this Act for a rule to take effect. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to provide that any congressional approval procedure set forth in this Act affecting budget authority, outlays, or receipts shall be assumed to be effective unless it is not approved in accordance with this Act. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to conduct and report on a study to determine how many rules and major rules were in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act and the total estimated economic cost imposed by all such rules. Title II: Permanent Internet Tax Freedom - Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. Division V: Natural Resources - Subdivision A: Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities - Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act - Title I: Restoring the Commitment to Rural Counties and Schools - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish at least one Forest Reserve Revenue Area within each unit of the National Forest System (NFS) designated for sustainable forest management for the production of national forest materials (the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from NFS lands) and forest reserve revenues (to be derived from the sale of such materials in such an Area). Title II: Healthy Forest Management and Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to NFS land, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to public lands, to implement a hazardous fuel reduction project or forest health project in at-risk forests in a manner that focuses on surface, ladder, and canopy fuels reduction activities. Allows a state governor to designate high-risk areas of federal land in the state for purposes of addressing: (1) deteriorating forest health conditions due to the bark beetle epidemic or drought, with the resulting imminent risk of devastating wildfires; and (2) the future risk of insect infestations or disease outbreaks through preventative treatments to improve forest health conditions. Title III: Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands Trust, Conservation, and Jobs - O&C Trust, Conservation, and Jobs Act - Establishes the Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands Trust to produce annual maximum sustained revenues in perpetuity for Trust counties by managing the timber resources on Trust lands. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer administrative jurisdiction over all Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands and O&C Region Public Domain lands not designated as O&C Trust lands, except for certain tribal lands, to the Secretary of Agriculture for inclusion in the NFS. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to appoint an Old Growth Review Panel to define old growth as it applies to the ecologically, geographically, and climatologically unique Oregon and California Railroad Grant lands and O&C Region Public Domain lands managed by the O&C Trust or the Forest Service only (but not to tribal lands). Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer management authority over the reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant lands, with certain exceptions, and their surface resources to the Coos County government in Oregon. Designates certain federal land in Oregon as the Devil's Staircase Wilderness for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified segments of the Molalla River and the Rogue River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Holds in trust for the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians all interest of the United States in and to the Council Creek specified land composed of approximately 17,519 acres. Makes that land part of the Tribe's reservation. Holds in trust for the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians all interest of the United States in and to approximately 14,804 acres of specified federal land. Makes that land part of the Tribes' reservation. Title IV: Community Forest Management Demonstration - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the community forest demonstration area of a state. Conditions establishment of an area upon: (1) inclusion of at least 200,000 acres of NFS land; (2) a state forest practices law applicable to state or privately owned forest land, or established silvicultural best management practices or other regulations for forest management practices related to clean water, soil quality, wildlife, or forest health; and (3) a revenue-sharing agreement between a county and the state governor requiring the county, in using certain revenues received from the area, to continue to meet obligations for the use of such revenues for the benefit of public schools and roads. Limits to a total of 4 million acres the amount of NFS land that may be established as community forest demonstration areas. Title V: Reauthorization and Amendment of Existing Authorities and Other Matters - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, during February 2015, to distribute to each beneficiary county a payment equal to the amount distributed to the county for FY2010 under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Directs the Secretary of the Interior, during February 2015, to distribute to all counties that received a payment for FY2010new payments totalling the difference between: (1) the total amount distributed to all such counties for FY2010, and (2) $27 million. Subdivision B: National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production - National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2014 - Title I: Development Of Domestic Sources Of Strategic And Critical Minerals - Deems a domestic mine that will provide strategic and critical minerals to be an "infrastructure project" as described in Presidential Order "Improving Performance of Federal Permitting and Review of Infrastructure Projects" dated March 22, 2012. Sets forth the responsibilities of the lead agency (federal, state, local, tribal, or Alaska Native Corporation) with responsibility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine permit with respect to project coordination, agency consultation, project proponents, contractors, and the status and scope of any environmental impact statement. Requires the lead agency to determine that any such action does not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 if the procedural and substantive safeguards of the lead agency's permitting process alone, any applicable state permitting process alone, or a combination of the two processes together, provide an adequate mechanism to ensure that environmental factors are taken into account. Requires the lead agency's project lead, at a project proponent's request, to enter into an agreement with the project proponent and other cooperating agencies that sets time limits for each part of the permitting process. Applies this Act to a mineral exploration or mine permit for which an application was submitted before enactment of this Act if the applicant so requests in writing. Requires the lead agency, with respect to strategic and critical minerals within a federally administered unit of the NFS, to: (1) exempt from federal regulations governing Special Areas all areas of identified mineral resources in Land Use Designations (other than Non-Development Land Use Designations); (2) apply such exemption to all additional routes and areas that the agency finds necessary to facilitate the construction, operation, maintenance, and restoration of the areas of the identified mineral resources; and (3) continue to apply such exemptions after approval of the Minerals Plan of Operations for the unit. Title II: Judicial Review of Agency Actions Relating to Exploration and Mine Permits - Authorizes the holder of a mineral exploration or mine permit to intervene as of right in any covered civil action by a person affecting rights or obligations of the permit holder under the permit. Bars a civil action claiming legal wrong caused by an agency action unless it is filed within the end of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the final federal agency action to which it relates. Requires the court to hear and determine any covered civil action as expeditiously as possible. Prohibits the court, in a covered civil action, from granting or approving prospective relief unless it finds that it is narrowly drawn, extends no further than necessary to correct the violation of a legal requirement, and is the least intrusive means necessary to correct such violation. Prohibits payment from the federal government for court costs of a party in such a civil action, including attorneys' fees and expenses. Title III: Miscellaneous Provisions - Prohibits the construction of this subdivision to affect any aspect of Secretarial Order 3324, issued by the Secretary of the Interior on December 3, 2012, with respect to potash and oil and gas operators.
Bill· SS. 2797 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Clean Water Affordability Act of 2014 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to revise and reauthorize through FY2019 a grant program to intercept, transport, control, or treat combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a comprehensive and integrated planning approach to the obligations under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) of a publicly owned treatment work (POTW) or a publicly owned municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). Allows approval of a NPDES permit under a state-administered program with a term of between 5 and 25 years if a POTW or MS4 has an integrated plan approved under this Act. Requires the EPA to: (1) amend the CSO control policy to allow a POTW with an approved long-term control plan to modify the plan to incorporate green infrastructure and energy-efficient technologies if they are cost-effective, and (2) allow a POTW 30 years to meet compliance obligations under a modified plan. Requires the EPA to: (1) promote the use of green infrastructure in permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) establish a voluntary green infrastructure portfolio standard to increase the percentage of annual water managed by eligible entities that use green infrastructure. Requires the EPA to update the guidance entitled "Combined Sewer Overflows - Guidance for Financial Capability Assessment and Schedule Development" to ensure that the evaluations of financial capability assessment and schedule development meet specified criteria.
Bill· HRH.R. 5449 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Passenger Rail Reform and Investment Act of 2014 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2015-FY2018 to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for: the Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund account, the National Network account, the Office of the Inspector General, and national infrastructure investment capital grants. Directs Amtrak to establish internal controls to ensure its costs and revenues are allocated to either the Northeast Corridor or the National Network. Directs the Secretary to establish substantive and procedural requirements for Northeast Corridor and National Network investment capital grant requests. Directs Amtrak to establish: a Northeast Corridor Improvement Fund account for Northeast Corridor capital improvement projects, and a National Network account for capital expenses and operating costs of the National Network. Requires the Northeast Corridor Infrastructure and Operations Advisory Commission to: develop an annual capital investment plan for the Northeast Corridor main line between Boston, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia, and the Northeast Corridor branch lines connecting to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Spuyten Duyvil, New York; and update, once every 10 years, a Northeast Corridor service development plan. Requires Amtrak, and states and public entities that own infrastructure supporting or providing intercity rail passenger transportation on the Northeast Corridor, to develop and update asset management plans for the Northeast Corridor main line and the Northeast Corridor branch lines. Requires the Amtrak Board of Directors to prepare a five-year capital and operating plan for the Northeast Corridor and National Network. Directs the Secretary to establish a State-Supported Route Advisory Committee. Amends the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 to revise requirements with respect to methodologies for Amtrak route and service planning decisions. Requires Amtrak, as a condition of receiving a grant, to obtain the services of an independent entity to develop and recommend objective methodologies for Amtrak to use in the planning of intercity rail passenger transportation routes and services. Revises alternate passenger rail service pilot program requirements. Requires the Surface Transportation Board, within 120 days after submission of a dispute between Amtrak and a rail carrier (or carriers) awarded the right to provide rail service over a route in which Amtrak is to grant access to its reservation system, stations, and facilities, to issue an order requiring Amtrak to provide such facilities and services to those carriers if certain criteria are met. Directs Amtrak to develop a plan to eliminate the operating loss for food and beverage service on board its trains. Directs Amtrak to request proposals from private sector persons or entities to utilize Amtrak-owned rights-of-way for telecommunications systems, energy distribution systems, and other appropriate activities. Authorizes Amtrak to enter into an agreement to implement any such proposal or proposals. Requires Amtrak to report to Congress on options to enhance development around Amtrak stations. Amends the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 to extend indefinitely specified authority to restructure long-term Amtrak debt and capital leases. Directs Amtrak to develop a pilot program to allow passengers to transport domesticated cats or dogs on certain Amtrak trains. Directs the Amtrak Inspector General to evaluate Amtrak's boarding procedures at the 10 stations through which the most people pass. Directs the Secretary to develop a program to issue competitive grants for capital improvement projects included in the Northeast Corridor Priority Project List. Amends the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 to revise Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing program requirements. Modifies application procedures for direct loans and loan guarantees for railroad improvement projects. Requires the Secretary, in granting applications for such loans and guarantees, to give priority to projects for the installation of a positive train control. Directs the Secretary to make direct loans and loan guarantees or capital improvement projects in the Northeast Corridor (NEC Fast Forward Program). Prescribes requirements for the award of grants in excess of $1 billion. Directs the Secretary to study the availability and use of small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)-funded intercity rail passenger transportation projects. Directs the FRA to convene a working group to evaluate the restoration of intercity rail passenger service in the Gulf Coast region between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Orlando, Florida. Directs the Secretary to begin a rulemaking to govern the federal review, permitting, and approval or disapproval of freight railroad and intercity and commuter rail passenger transportation infrastructure projects. Directs the Secretary to: (1) pursue program alternatives to promote a consistent approach in the treatment of railroad and rail-related properties for historic preservation review, and (2) develop mechanisms for streamlining compliance with specified requirements.
Bill· HRH.R. 5455 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2014
Scan Containers Absolutely Now Act or the SCAN Act - Amends the Security and Accountability For Every Port Act of 2006 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) conduct a one-year pilot program at two domestic ports to evaluate the process of 100% scanning of cargo containers and its potential for use at all domestic ports, (2) achieve a full-scale implementation of the program within one year after enactment of this Act, and (3) evaluate and report on such program within one year after program completion. Requires the Secretary to: (1) purchase the equipment necessary to conduct the pilot program, (2) make information about the equipment available to domestic ports as part of the application process, and (3) permit such equipment to remain with the selected ports upon completion of the program.
Bill· SS. 2784 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2014 - Reauthorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for FY2015-FY2020 to carry out rail safety activities for the safe transportation of hazardous materials (hazmat). Authorizes the Secretary to promulgate regulations or issue orders to require, in cases where two or more railroads jointly operate within a small geographic area, all such host railroads to develop uniform operating rules for all operations within the area. Reauthorizes appropriations for the railroad safety technology grants program for FY2015-FY2020. Directs the Secretary and the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission to coordinate to assess electromagnetic spectrum needs and availability for implementing positive train control systems. Requires a working alerter in the controlling locomotive of each intercity rail passenger train. Requires each Class I railroad carrier and each railroad carrier that provides intercity rail passenger or commuter rail passenger transportation to install inward- and outward-facing audio and image recording devices in all controlling locomotive cabs and cab car operating compartments. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to implement the requirement for a fatigue management plan. Prescribes certain requirements for the operation of high-hazard flammable trains, including installation of wayside defective bearing detectors. Directs the Secretary to require approval of each oil spill prevention and response plan submitted to the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) (for tank cars) to ensure it meets all Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements. Revises positive train control systems requirements. Requires each Class I railroad carrier and each entity providing intercity or commuter rail passenger carrier transportation to develop and submit to the Secretary a plan for implementing a positive train control system by December 31, 2015, on its main line over which 20 or more tank cars loaded with petroleum crude oil are transported. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to private or nonprofit organizations involved in, or affiliated with, transportation by regional (Class II) railroads and shortline (Class III) railroads for research, development, evaluation, and training efforts to enhance rail safety practices and safety culture. Requires the Secretary to conduct accident analysis and mitigation research on the safety risks of transporting energy products by rail. Prescribes requirements for: repair and replacement of damaged track inspection equipment; high density commuter rail track, automated track geometry, and automated train control inspections; and the securement of unattended freight train and vehicle equipment. Directs the Secretary to develop: an implementation plan for oversight of railroad safety risk reduction programs, and a long-range strategic human capital plan for the FRA. Revises and increases civil penalties for violations of rail safety regulations, DOT orders, accident and incident reporting or investigation requirements, as well as employee hours of service and sleeping quarters requirements. Requires reports to Congress on the progress of Metro-North Commuter Railroad in implementing certain directives and recommendations. Repeals the requirement for an FRA study of the use of reports and studies. Requires each Class I railroad carrier, each railroad carrier that has inadequate safety performance, and each railroad carrier that provides intercity rail passenger or commuter rail passenger transportation to establish a confidential close call reporting system. Prohibits a freight train or light engine used to move freight from operating unless it has a crew of at least two individuals of which: one is certified as a locomotive operator, and one is certified as a train conductor.
Bill· HRH.R. 5440 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Verified And Legitimate ID (VALID) Act of 2014 - Prohibits the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) from accepting an I-862 Notice to Appear form as identification in the course of a passenger screening.
Bill· HRH.R. 5436 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2014
Assistance in Gaining Experience, Independence, and Navigation Act of 2014 or the AGE-IN Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award a grant to: (1) analyze existing research on youth and young adults with an autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disabilities as they transition out of the school-based support system; (2) research existing infrastructure for transitioning youth, including access to health care, continuing education programs, and community integration programs; and (3) develop a strategic plan for a Transition Navigator Grant Program to provide transitioning youth with support services. Requires the Secretary to establish a Transition Navigator Grant Program to award grants to provide services based on the strategic plan. Directs the Secretary to contract a third party to evaluate the effectiveness of grantees in meeting the goals of the strategic plan.
Bill· SS. 2780 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2014
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to evaluate the significance of the Mill Springs Battlefield in Kentucky (relating to the Battle of Mill Springs fought on January 19, 1862, in Pulaski and Wayne Counties during the Civil War) and the feasibility of its inclusion in the National Park System (NPS). Requires such study, among other things, to analyze: (1) the effect of the Battlefield's designation as a unit of the NPS on existing commercial and recreational activities, energy production and transmission infrastructure, and the authority of state and local governments to manage those activities; and (2) the identification of any authorities, including condemnation, that will compel or permit the Secretary to influence or participate in local land use decisions (such as zoning) or place restrictions on non-federal lands if the Battlefield is designated as an NPS unit. Requires owners of private property adjacent to the Battlefield to be notified of the commencement and scope of this study.
Bill· SS. 2777 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2014
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Removes the Surface Transportation Board from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish it as an independent U.S. agency. Increases Board membership from three to five members. Prescribes requirements for discussions at Board meetings not open to the public. Authorizes the Board to investigate rail carrier and pipeline carrier violations on its own initiative as well as on complaint (as under existing law). Requires proceedings to determine the reasonableness of a rate charged by a carrier to be initiated only upon complaint. Requires the Board to: (1) maintain a simplified and expedited method for determining the reasonableness of challenged rail rates in cases where a full stand-alone cost presentation is too costly, given the value of the case; and (2) maintain procedures to ensure expeditious handling of challenges to the reasonableness of rail rates. Prescribes time limits for Board review of rail rate reasonableness cases. Requires the Board to initiate an ex parte proceeding on whether contract proposals for multiple origin-to-destination movements (rate bundling) have adversely impacted Congress's intent that the Board's rate challenge procedures remain available to shippers subject to railroad market dominance as well as how it can prevent such practices in the future. Requires the Board to establish a binding arbitration process to resolve rail rate, practice, and common carrier service disputes. Requires the Board to: (1) establish a database of rail service complaints it has received, and (2) post a quarterly report of such complaints on its website. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Board, as part of Docket No. EP 722, should: (1) consider the costs and benefits of the annual determinations of revenue adequacy for Class I railroads, (2) review the methodology employed to define the business cycle in its determinations and consider, if necessary, a rulemaking to define the business cycle; (3) consider if a rulemaking proceeding on mandatory competitive switching is needed to ensure a viable competitive national rail system; and (4) ensure that if such rulemaking proceeding is needed that it is completed in a timely manner. Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2015-FY2019 for the Board.
Law· HRH.R. 5404 (113th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2014
Department of Veterans Affairs Expiring Authorities Act of 2014 - Title I: Extensions of Authority Relating to Health Care - Amends veterans' health benefit provisions to extend through 2015: the requirement that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide nursing home care to certain veterans with service-connected disabilities; the pilot program on counseling in retreat settings for women veterans newly separated from service in the Armed Forces; the pilot program on assistance for child care for certain veterans receiving health care; the requirement for the Director of the Department of Defense-Department of Veterans Affairs Interagency Program Office to report to the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the VA, and Congress on Office activities during the preceding calendar year; and the VA's authority to use physicians other than VA employees to conduct medical disability evaluations of VA benefit applicants. Extends through FY2015: funding for the grant program to provide innovative transportation options to veterans in highly rural areas, the requirement that veterans make specified copayments for each day they receive hospital care and nursing home care from the VA, and the federal government's authority to recover from third parties the cost of care and services furnished to veterans with health insurance contracts for non-service-connected disabilities. Title II: Extensions of Authority Relating to Homelessness - Extends: the current funding level for Comprehensive Service Programs for veterans for FY2015 and each subsequent fiscal year; the authorization of appropriations for Homeless Veterans Reintegration Programs, through FY2015; the authority of the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor to enter into a contract to provide referral and counseling services to certain veterans who are at risk of homelessness, through FY2015; the Secretary's authority to provide treatment and rehabilitation services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans, through FY2015; the Secretary's authority to enter into agreements with nonprofit organizations, states, or localities to provide housing assistance to homeless veterans, through FY2015; funding for the provision of financial assistance to private nonprofit organizations or consumer cooperatives for supportive services for very low-income veteran families in permanent housing, through FY2015; funding for the grant program for veterans with special needs, through FY2015; and the authority for the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans, through 2017. Title III: Extensions of Authority Relating to Benefits - Extends: the authority for the Veterans' Advisory Committee on Education, through 2017; to loans closed before FY 2015, the method by which the Secretary is to calculate the net value of real property at foreclosure for which there is a veteran's loan, guaranteed by the VA, for the purchase or construction of a home; the upper percentage of the purchases of such foreclosed property that may be financed by a loan from the Secretary, through FY2015; and the Secretary's authority to provide rehabilitation and vocational benefits to members of the Armed Forces with severe injuries or illnesses, through 2015. Title IV: Other Extensions of Authority and Other Matters - Extends: the Secretary's authority to transport individuals to and from VA facilities or any other place in connection with vocational rehabilitation, counseling, or health care that is covered by the VA, through 2015; the Secretary's authority to maintain a regional office in the Philippines, through FY2015; the requirement that the Secretary report to Congress on the disposition of each case recommended to the Secretary for equitable relief from the denial of VA benefits due to administrative error, through 2015; the authority for the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans, through 2017; the Secretary's authority to provide specially adapted housing assistance to certain veterans who have lost the use of one or both of their lower extremities, through FY2015; and the Secretary's authority to enter into an agreement with National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for a study of the associations between diseases and exposure to dioxin and other chemical compounds in herbicides, through 2015. Requires the Office of Special Counsel to provide veterans with assistance in securing the employment and reemployment rights and benefits to which they are entitled with respect to a federal executive agency or the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). Establishes a process that allows such veterans to file a complaint directly with the Office of Special Counsel. Provides that payments under the Education Debt Reduction Program may be made to the holders of educational loans to cover the principal and interest VA health care personnel owe on such loans. Makes miscellaneous and technical amendments to the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014, including those involving: veterans' access to health care from VA and non-VA facilities; collaboration between the VA and the Indian Health Service (IHS) to increase access to, and the quality and coordination of, health care services; and the care provided by the VA's mobile vet centers and mobile medical centers, including readjustment counseling. Requires the Secretary, for purposes of veterans' educational benefits, to disapprove courses of education provided by a public institution of higher learning if the institution charges veterans living in the state higher tuition and fees than it charges in-state residents, regardless of the veteran's state of residence.
Bill· SS. 2776 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Ten in Ten Act - Establishes in the Treasury a Carbon Capture and Sequestration Deployment Acceleration Fund to be administered by the Department of Energy for promoting the establishment of at least 10 commercial-scale carbon capture and sequestration units in the next 10 years. (Carbon capture and sequestration is a three-step process: the capture, transport, and underground injection and geologic storage of carbon dioxide.) Includes as eligible projects carbon capture and sequestration units that are designed for: (1) new, retrofitted, or upgraded coal-fired power plants; and (2) certain nonmodular power plants using integrated gasification combined cycle technology.
Bill· SS. 2774 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2014
Boating Capacity Standards Act of 2013 - Directs the Commandant of the Coast Guard to: (1) establish standards for determining the maximum passenger capacity for recreational vessels, expressed in the number of passengers and in pounds; (2) require manufacturers and operators of passenger vessels to permanently display such maximum capacity in a legible manner that is clearly visible to passengers; and (3) require operators to post notice of the need to balance vessel weight to avoid capsizing. Defines a "recreational vehicle" as any vessel that is manufactured or used primarily for pleasure, excluding any vessel that is subject to Coast Guard inspection and engaged in commercial use.
Law· SS. 2759 (113th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to release the city of St. Clair, Missouri, from all restrictions on the use, encumbrance, conveyance, and closure of the St. Clair Regional Airport. Prohibits such release from being executed before the city transfers to the Missouri Department of Transportation: (1) specified amounts to be used for capital improvements for airport development consistent with such Department's obligations under the FAA's state block grant program; and (2) for no consideration, all airport and aviation-related equipment of the Airport owned by the city and determined to be salvageable. Describes such specified amounts as: (1) the fair market value for the highest and best use of the Airport property; (2) the unamortized portion of any federal development grants other than land paid to the city for use at the airport, which may be paid with, and shall be an allowable use of, airport revenue; and (3) the airport revenues remaining in the Airport's account and otherwise due to or received by the city. Directs the FAA to remove the runway end indicator lighting system at the Airport.
Bill· SS. 2771 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Water in the 21st Century Act or W21 - Establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services. Requires the EPA to identify other voluntary approaches to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to improve water efficiency or lower water use and to implement those approaches, if appropriate. Establishes a State Residential Water Efficiency and Conservation Incentives Program to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase and install products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled under the WaterSense program. Requires the EPA to make grants to owners or operators of water systems to address, mitigate, and adapt to any ongoing or forecasted impact of climate change on a region's water quality or quantity. Authorizes the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for water recycling, water infrastructure, enhanced energy efficiency in water systems, desalination projects, permanent water storage, and integrated water management in specified states. Authorizes the transfer of title to nonfederal entities of reclamation projects in need of rehabilitation that are authorized before enactment of this Act under certain conditions. Requires the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish an open water data system. Reauthorizes the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 and the Water Desalination Act of 1996 through FY2020. Requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after receiving a request from a nonfederal sponsor, to review the operation of a reservoir and update the water control manual to incorporate improved weather and runoff forecasting methods, if appropriate. Directs the EPA to develop voluntary national drought resilience guidelines relating to preparedness planning and investments for water users and providers. Requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a salmon drought plan for California.
Bill· SS. 2768 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Emergency Fuel Reduction Act of 2014 - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to categorically exclude an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project from the environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) if the project: involves the removal of insect-infested trees, dead or dying trees, trees presenting a threat to public safety or electrical reliability, or the removal of other hazardous fuels near certain infrastructure; is intended to treat 10,000 acres or less of public land or National Forest System land that contains threatened and endangered species habitat, or provides conservation benefits to a state-listed species, a special concern species, or candidates for a listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973; or is proposed to be conducted on federal land that is adjacent to non-federal land and on which conditions are determined to pose a risk to the non-federal land, or is recommended in a community wildfire protection plan if certain conditions are met. Excludes from treatment under this Act land: (1) that is a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, (2) on which the removal of vegetation is specifically prohibited by federal law, or (3) that is within a national monument.
Bill· SS. 2761 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Local Empowerment Act - Revises requirements for the apportionment of state planning funds to metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs). Requires a state's apportionment to be distributed in accordance with a formula that prioritizes the needs of high performing MPOs. Revises certain allocations of surface transportation program funds to states for: (1) any areas with a population of fewer (under current law, non-urban areas with more) than 5,000, and (2) urbanized areas with a population of more than 200,000 that have a high performing MPO. Extends for FY2015-FY2018 a state's obligational authority to distribute a specified amount of surface transportation program funds for federal-aid highways and highway safety construction programs in urbanized areas with a population over 200,000, including those areas that have a high performing MPO. Makes permanent a special rule authorizing a state to obligate up to 15% of its apportionment of surface transportation program funds for each fiscal on roads functionally classified as minor collectors in areas of less than 5,000 population. Defines "consolidated metropolitan planning organization" to mean a sole MPO that serves a metropolitan statistical area. Prescribes requirements for the designation of new and consolidation of multiple MPOs within a metropolitan statistical area. Allows a MPO for an urbanized area with a population of more than 200,000 to request that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) designate it as a high performing MPO. Specifies criteria the Secretary shall consider in making such designation. Makes similar changes to requirements for the transportation alternatives program.
Bill· SS. 2760 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Motor Vehicle and Highway Safety Enhancement Act of 2014 - Authorizes appropriations out of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) for specified National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety programs (including administrative expenses) for FY2015-FY2020. Revises uniform guidelines for state highway safety programs to require programs to: (1) reduce injuries and deaths to older drivers, and (2) improve emergency medical services response to crash sites. Revises grant eligibility requirements for states that adopt and enforce mandatory alcohol-ignition interlock laws to allow them to make certain exceptions to the requirement. Declares that the federal share of costs for highway safety research and development projects may be up to 100% if so specified in the project agreement. Revises the allocation of grant amounts to a state for a fiscal year for motorcyclist safety programs. Extends for FY2015-FY2020 the authorization of appropriations for NHTSA motor vehicle safety programs in general. Revises and increases civil and criminal penalties for persons who violate motor vehicle safety regulations. Raechel and Jacqueline Houck Safe Rental Car Act of 2014 - Authorizes a rental company that receives a notification (approved by NHTSA) from the manufacturer of a covered rental vehicle about any equipment defect, or noncompliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards, to rent or sell the vehicle or equipment only if the defect or noncompliance is remedied. Specifies any rental vehicle: (1) rated at 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less, (2) rented without a driver for an initial term of under 4 months, and (3) that is part of a motor vehicle fleet of 5 or more motor vehicles used for rental purposes by a rental company. Prescribes a special rule to require rental companies to comply with specified limitations on sale, lease, or rental of a motor vehicle as soon as practicable, but within 24 hours after the earliest receipt of the manufacturer's notification of a defect or noncompliance with vehicle safety standards, whether by electronic means or first class mail. Extends the 24-hour deadline for complying with such limitations to 48 hours if the notification covers more than 5,000 motor vehicles in the rental company's fleet. Permits a rental company to rent (but not sell or lease) a motor vehicle subject to recall if the defect or noncompliance remedy is not immediately available and the company takes any actions specified in the notice to alter the vehicle temporarily to eliminate the safety risk posed. Makes these special rules for rental companies inapplicable to junk automobiles. Prohibits a rental company from knowingly making inoperable any safety devices or elements of design installed on or in a compliant motor vehicle or vehicle equipment unless the company reasonably believes the vehicle or equipment will not be used when the devices or elements are inoperable. Authorizes the Secretary, upon request, to inspect records of a rental company with respect to a safety investigation. Authorizes the Secretary to require a rental company to keep records or make reports for purposes of compliance with federal motor vehicle safety orders or regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to study the effectiveness of the amendments made by this Act and of other activities of rental companies. Amends the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to require the mandatory study of the safety of rental trucks during a specified seven-year period to evaluate the completion of safety recall remedies on rental trucks. Directs the Secretary to solicit comments regarding the implementation of this Act from members of the public, including rental companies, consumer organizations, automobile manufacturers, and automobile dealers. Declares that nothing in this Act shall: (1) be construed to create or increase any liability for a manufacturer who manufactures or imports a motor vehicle that is subject to defect or noncompliance recall requirements; or (2) supersede or otherwise affect the contractual obligations, if any, between such manufacturer and a rental company.
Bill· SS. 2757 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2014 or America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 2014 - Establishes, revises, and extends specified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs, as well as education, research, and training programs. Amends the America Competes Reauthorization Act of 2010 to revise requirements for updating the five-year STEM education strategic plan and require the Office of Science and Technology Policy to convene a subcommittee on research productivity. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to revise requirements for prize competitions to stimulate innovation. Establishes requirements for educational and outreach activities of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Reauthorizes specified National Institute of Standards and Technology programs and amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to modify the Manufacturing Extension Partnership. Reauthorizes specified National Science Foundation (NSF) programs and establishes requirements for grants and educational programs. Establishes grants and requirements for specified activities to promote STEM education and teacher training. Requires the NSF to encourage the development of the Innovation Corps and other training programs that focus on graduate student professional development. Establishes grants for traineeship programs. Requires the National Science Board to assess metrics for evaluating science and engineering comprehension in grades K-12. Requires the Department of Education (DOE) to award grants for STEM secondary schools. Reauthorizes the Department of Commerce's Regional Innovation Program and permits loan guarantees for science park infrastructure. National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2014 - Amends the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act to revise requirements for management and review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative.
Bill· SS. 2750 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Airport Public-Private Partnership Act of 2014 - Revises provisions regarding a pilot program on airport privatization to delete provisions: (1) limiting the number of airports in the pilot program to not more than 10; (2) requiring that if applications are approved with respect to 5 airports, 1 of the airports must be a general aviation airport; and (3) prohibiting the approval of more than 1 application submitted by an airport that had 1% or more of the total passenger boardings in the United States in the preceding calendar year.
Bill· SS. 2741 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 - Title I: Intelligence Activities - Authorizes FY2015 appropriations for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the: (1) Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI); (2) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); (3) Department of Defense (DOD); (4) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA); (5) National Security Agency (NSA); (6) Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (7) Coast Guard; (8) Departments of State, the Treasury, Energy (DOE), and Justice (DOJ); (9) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (10) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (11) National Reconnaissance Office; (12) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and (13) Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Specifies that the amounts authorized and the authorized personnel ceilings as of September 30, 2015, for such activities are those in the classified Schedule of Authorizations, which shall be made available to the congressional appropriations committees and the President. Allows the DNI to authorize employment of civilian personnel in excess of the number authorized for FY2015 when necessary for the performance of important intelligence functions. Requires notification to the intelligence committees on the use of such authority. Requires the DNI to establish guidelines to govern the treatment under such authorized personnel levels of employment or assignment in: (1) a student or trainee program; (2) a reserve corps or as a reemployed annuitant; or (3) details, joint duty, or long term, full-time training. Authorizes appropriations for the Intelligence Community Management Account for FY2015, as well as for personnel positions for elements within such Account. Title II: Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System - Authorizes appropriations for FY2015 for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. Title III: General Provisions - Subtitle A: General Matters - Permits appropriations authorized by this Act for salary, pay, retirement, and other benefits for federal employees to be increased by such additional or supplemental amounts as necessary for increases in such compensation or benefits authorized by law. Prohibits the authorization of appropriations by this Act from being deemed to constitute authority to conduct any intelligence activity not otherwise authorized by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to require the DNI to conduct a quadrennial intelligence strategic review that delineates a national intelligence strategy addressing capabilities, structure, policies, infrastructure, budget plans, and other aspects of U.S. intelligence activities to meet national security objectives for the next 10 years. Requires consultation with federal agencies; each element of the intelligence community; state, local, and tribal governments; Congress; private sector representatives; and academics. Requires the DNI to prepare plans for financial intelligence activities and the application of private sector best practices to employee access and monitoring systems. Requires each element of the intelligence community to adopt Attorney General-approved procedures to prohibit retention for a period in excess of five years of nonpublic telephone or electronic communications to or from a U.S. person that are acquired without a court order and without the consent of a person who is a party to the communication unless: the communication constitutes, or is necessary to understand or assess, foreign intelligence or counterintelligence; the communication constitutes evidence of a crime and is retained by a law enforcement agency; the communication is enciphered or reasonably believed to have a secret meaning; all parties to the communication are reasonably believed to be non-U.S. persons; retention is necessary to protect against an imminent threat to human life or for technical assurance or compliance purposes ; or the head of an element of the intelligence community approves retention for a longer period if necessary to protect U.S. national security and upon a certification to Congress. Requires the DNI to report to Congress regarding the feasibility of consolidating classified cyber threat indicator and malware sample databases in the intelligence community. Expresses the sense of Congress concerning U.S.-Ukraine cooperation on cybersecurity policies and extradition of cybercriminals. Urges the President to take certain actions regarding Ukraine's anti-cybercrime efforts and U.S. cooperation and assistance in those efforts. Requires the Secretary of State to ensure that every supervisory position at a U.S. diplomatic facility in the Russian Federation is occupied by a U.S. citizen who has passed, and is subject to, a thorough background check. Directs the Secretary to submit to Congress a plan to further reduce the reliance on locally employed staff in such facilities. Requires restricted access space to be included in each U.S. diplomatic facility that is constructed in, or undergoes a construction upgrade in, the Russian Federation, any country that shares a land border with the Russian Federation, or any country that is a former member of the Soviet Union. Subtitle B: Reporting - Requires the DNI to report to Congress regarding: (1) the declassification process of the intelligence community, (2) violations of law or executive orders by personnel of an element of the intelligence community, and (3) political prison camps in North Korea. Requires the DHS Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis to report to Congress regarding a plan to enhance the coordination of department-wide intelligence activities to achieve greater efficiencies in the performance of DHS intelligence functions. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President, working with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), should provide the government and armed forces of Ukraine with intelligence sharing support. Directs the DNI and the DOD Secretary to report to Congress every 180 days with an assessment of U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
Bill· SS. 2737 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Invest in American Jobs Act of 2014 - Revises Buy American requirements with respect to federal-aid highways, capital investment grants to support intercity passenger rail service (rail grants), and Amtrak, particularly the handling of waiver requests. Revises similar Buy American requirements with respect to public transportation, particularly rolling stock. Requires the cost of rolling stock components and subcomponents produced in the United States to increase from 60% in FY2013 by 10% annual increments up to 100% for FY2017 and ensuing fiscal years. Revises waiver requirements as well to mirror those for federal-aid highways. Applies the rail grant Buy American requirements under this Act to recipients of rail loans and loan guarantees with respect to railroad rehabilitation and improvement. Prescribes Buy American requirements for procurement of a facility or equipment under federal aviation programs similar to those for rolling stock. Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to report annually to Congress on: (1) each project for which a waiver of Buy American requirements was issued; and (2) the country of origin and product specifications for steel, iron, or manufactured goods acquired pursuant to each waiver. Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to prescribe Buy American requirements for steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the construction of a public water system. Adds similar Buy American requirements to the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965, with respect to economic development programs, and to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, with respect to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Amends the Truman-Hobbs Act to prescribe Buy American requirements for steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in the alteration of a bridge over U.S. navigable waters.
Bill· SS. 2721 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Natural Gas Long Haul Truck Competitiveness Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations to allow natural gas vehicles to exceed any federal weight limitations to operate on the Interstate Highway System by an amount equal to the difference between the weight of the vehicle attributable to the natural gas tank and fueling system and the weight of a comparable diesel tank and fueling system.
Bill· SS. 2720 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Route to Opportunity And Development Act of 2014 or the ROAD Act of 2014 - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, as amended, to revise the high priority Raleigh-Norfolk Corridor of the National Highway System between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Norfolk, Virginia, to include Rocky Mount, Williamston, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
Bill· HRH.R. 5363 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Water in the 21st Century Act or W21 - Establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services. Requires the EPA to identify other voluntary approaches to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to improve water efficiency or lower water use and to implement those approaches, if appropriate. Establishes a State Residential Water Efficiency and Conservation Incentives Program to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase and install products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled under the WaterSense program. Requires the EPA to make grants to owners or operators of water systems to address, mitigate, and adapt to any ongoing or forecasted impact of climate change on a region's water quality or quantity. Authorizes the Department of the Interior to provide financial assistance for water recycling, water infrastructure, enhanced energy efficiency in water systems, desalination projects, permanent water storage, and integrated water management in specified states. Authorizes the transfer of title to nonfederal entities of reclamation projects in need of rehabilitation that are authorized before enactment of this Act under certain conditions. Requires the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to establish an open water data system. Reauthorizes the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 and the Water Desalination Act of 1996 through FY2020. Requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, after receiving a request from a nonfederal sponsor, to review the operation of a reservoir and update the water control manual to incorporate improved weather and runoff forecasting methods, if appropriate. Directs the EPA to develop voluntary national drought resilience guidelines relating to preparedness planning and investments for water users and providers. Requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a salmon drought plan for California.
Bill· HRH.R. 5337 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Safe Aviation and Flight Enhancement Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to require all commercial passenger aircraft ordered by an air carrier on or after January 1, 2016, to be equipped with a deployable recorder system as the second combination FDR/CVR recorder system installed under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) flight recorder standards. Defines: (1) "commercial passenger aircraft" to mean a jet aircraft with a maximum certificated take-off mass over 15,000 kilograms that is required to be equipped with two combination recorder systems in accordance with ICAO requirements; and (2) "deployable recorder system" to mean a flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder, and emergency locator transmitter housed in one crash protected, floatable unit that meets the performance specifications under specified standards of the FAA and the European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment.
Bill· HRH.R. 5318 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Label and Transport Tissues Safely Act of 2014 or the LATTS Act of 2014 - Sets forth guidelines for handling human tissue specimens. Prohibits sale of human tissue for research or education unless the seller has a non-transplant tissue bank license and each package of tissue is labeled with specified information. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a process for the approval, suspension, and revocation of non-transplant tissue bank licenses. Prohibits falsely labeling packages of human tissue. Allows HHS or any accrediting body authorized by HHS to enter and inspect any establishment engaged in the preparation of any human tissue specimen. Requires HHS to recall any human tissue specimen that is an imminent or substantial hazard to public health.
Bill· HRH.R. 5312 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2014
Safe Aviation and Flight Emergency Tracking Act of 2014 - Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to: (1) issue regulations to ensure that a covered aircraft is equipped with technology that provides for the continuous tracking of information regarding the aircraft during flight and the timely and cost effective recovery of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder in the event of a crash or other serious incident; (2) investigate automatic dependent surveillance, automatic deployable flight recorders, emergency locator transmitters, and satellite navigation and communications; and (3) work collaboratively with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other relevant stakeholders to develop and implement international standards that improve the tracking of aircraft in flight. Defines "covered aircraft" to mean a passenger aircraft: (1) able to carry at least 120 passengers, (2) ordered on or after January 1, 2016, and (3) providing scheduled passenger air transportation.
Bill· SS. 2705 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Renewable Energy Environmental Research Act of 2014 - Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), within three years, to: (1) develop a plan for a comprehensive and integrated ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmosphere science program to support renewable energy development and smart grid technology; and (2) establish the program that is based on the plan and designed to collect, synthesize, and distribute data in a manner that can be used by resource managers responsible for making decisions about renewable energy projects. Requires the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Commerce, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Minerals Management Service, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Department of Energy (DOE) to consider this information when making planning, siting, and permitting decisions about renewable energy. Requires NOAA to establish within three years a renewable energy information library and data portal to function as a cross-agency repository of data pertinent to renewable energy development. Gives NOAA the discretion to allow any offshore exploration and production facility to execute a memorandum of understanding authorizing the use of offshore platforms and infrastructure for the placement of meteorological and oceanographic observation sensors of a type to be designated by NOAA in support of the Integrated Ocean Observing System. Requires information collected by the sensors to be readily available for use in hazard response as well as available to the National Weather Service, other NOAA programs, and the general public.
Bill· HRH.R. 5259 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Investing for Tomorrow's Schools Act of 2014 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into cooperative agreements with states to establish state and multistate infrastructure banks that make loans to local educational agencies, public libraries, and charter schools or their developers to construct or renovate public elementary or secondary schools and public libraries. Requires loans also to community learning centers to connect and improve broadband services. Grants congressional consent to states for interstate compacts to establish multistate infrastructure banks. Directs the Secretary to make grants to such banks to provide initial capital for such loans. Requires states to contribute from nonfederal sources at least 25% of the amount of each federal capitalization grant made to the state and contributed to the bank. Lists types of projects eligible for such bank loans. Requires borrowers to use, to the maximum extent practicable, green construction or renovation practices that are consistent with: (1) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating standards, (2) Energy Star standards, (3) Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, (4) Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or (5) equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over them.
Bill· HRH.R. 5295 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Small Airport Regulation Relief Act of 2014 - Prescribes a special rule to require the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for FY2015 and FY2016 to apportion amounts for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning and programs to sponsors of primary airports based on the number of passenger boardings at the airport during calendar year 2012 if it had: (1) fewer than 10,000 passenger boardings during the calendar year used to calculate the apportionment for FY2015 or FY2016, and (2) 10,000 or more passenger boardings during calendar year 2012.
Bill· HRH.R. 5270 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Growing American Shipping Act of 2014 - Amends the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2006 to expand the directive to the Department of Transportation (DOT) to develop and implement a program to promote the transportation of imports of liquefied natural gas to the United States on U.S.-flag vessels to include the promotion of the transportation of exports of the gas from the United States. Amends the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 to require DOT to give top priority to the processing of a license for liquefied natural gas facilities at a deepwater port that will supply the gas to be exported on U.S.-flag vessels in addition to the priority currently given to the processing of licenses for imports of the gas.
Bill· HRH.R. 5290 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2014
Creating Opportunities for Military Members to Use Transportation Efficiently Act of 2014 or the COMMUTE Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Office of Economic Adjustment, to establish a Military Community Infrastructure Program to provide grants to a state or political subdivision, a public transportation owner or operator, a local governmental authority, a metropolitan planning organization (MPO), or a regional transportation planning organization for transportation infrastructure improvement projects in military communities. Directs the Secretary to conduct a traffic impact study for any urbanized area that expects a significant increase in traffic due to a military installation within or abutting such area.
Bill· SS. 2682 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Made in the U.S.A. Act - Prohibits the head of a federal agency from obligating or expending funds or providing financial assistance for projects for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless substantially all of the iron, steel, wood products, cement, and manufactured goods used in the project are produced in the United States (Buy American requirements). Authorizes the head of an agency to waive such prohibition in certain circumstances. Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the Build America Bond program, to: (1) extend permanently the authority to issue such bonds and the authority for payments to issuers of such bonds, (2) reduce the bond holder tax credit percentage, and (3) treat as bonds qualified for the tax credit any bond (or series of bonds) issued to refund a qualified bond if certain criteria are met. Revises Buy American requirements with respect to federal-aid highways, particularly the handling of waiver requests. Revises similar Buy American requirements with respect to public transportation and Amtrak, particularly rolling stock. Requires the cost of rolling stock components and subcomponents produced in the United States to increase from 60% in FY2015 by 10% annual increments up to 100% for FY2019 and ensuing fiscal years. Prescribes Buy American requirements for procurement of a facility or equipment under federal aviation programs similar to those for rolling stock. Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to report annually to Congress on: (1) each project for which a waiver of Buy American requirements was issued; and (2) the country of origin and product specifications for steel, iron, or manufactured goods acquired pursuant to each waiver.
Bill· HRH.R. 5251 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2014
Incentivizing Foreign Investment to Upgrade America's Infrastructure Act of 2014 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt a qualified foreign pension fund from taxation of gain or loss from, or tax withholding requirements on, the disposition of U.S. real property interests. Defines "qualified foreign pension fund" as any trust, corporation, or other organization or arrangement that: (1) is created or organized outside the United States; (2) is established to provide employee retirement or pension benefits; (3) does not have a single participant or beneficiary with a right to more than 5% of its assets; (4) is subject to regulation and tax reporting requirements in the country in which it is established or operates; and (5) is provided favorable tax treatment by the laws of the country in which it is established or operates.
Bill· SS. 2672 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2014
Sanction Iran, Safeguard America Act of 2014 or the SISA Act - Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, and the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 to eliminate authority to waive sanctions relating to: transportation of crude oil from Iran; financial institutions that engage in certain transactions; the financial sector of Iran; persons that support or conduct certain transactions with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and other sanctioned persons; the sale, supply, or transfer of certain materials to or from Iran; the provision of underwriting services or insurance or reinsurance for activities or persons with respect to which sanctions have been imposed; and foreign financial institutions that facilitate financial transactions on behalf of specially designated nationals. Amends the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 to direct the President to prohibit any correspondent account or a payable-through account opened and maintained in the United States by a foreign financial institution that has knowingly conducted or facilitated any significant financial transaction, on or after July 31, 2012, for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical products from Iran. Requires the imposition on violators of specified sanctions under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. Requires the President to block and prohibit all transactions in property and interests in property in or that enter the United States (or the possession or control of a U.S. person) of any person that has, on or after July 31, 2012, materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial support or related goods or services for the National Iranian Oil Company, the Naftiran Intertrade Company, or the Central Bank of Iran. Requires the President also to block and prohibit similar transactions involving the purchase or acquisition of U.S. bank notes or precious metals by the government of Iran. Amends the Iran Freedom and Counter-Proliferation Act of 2012 to direct the President to block and prohibit similar transactions involving any Iranian person included on the list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury. Directs the President to impose specified sanctions with respect to: (1) a person that has, on or after June 1, 2013, knowingly engaged in a significant financial transaction in connection with the automotive sector of Iran; (2) any related correspondent account or a payable-through account held by a foreign financial institution that has knowingly facilitated such a transaction; and (3) any foreign financial institution that has knowingly facilitated a significant financial transaction on behalf of any blocked person or specially designated Iranian national. Requires revision of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to require a certification from each prospective federal contractor that is part of the automotive sector of any foreign country, that the prospective contractor (and any person owned or controlled by it): (1) does not have a business relationship with the government of Iran; and (2) has not, in the previous 90 days, conducted any transaction with an Iranian person or any entity owned or controlled by one. Amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to prohibit importation into the United States of refined petroleum products made using Iranian origin crude oil regardless of whether the crude oil was commingled with crude oil not of Iranian origin. Prohibits any regulatory exception to the prohibition on direct or indirect imports from Iran. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 with respect to sanctions on petroleum transactions. Directs the President to block and prohibit all activities or transactions that contribute materially, or pose a risk of material contribution, to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction or the means to deliver them. Prohibits any obligation or expenditure of authorized appropriations for negotiations with Iran until a join resolution has been enacted making specified certifications.
Bill· SS. 2657 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Reclassification to Ensure Smarter and Equal Treatment Act of 2014 or the RESET Act - Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) to reduce penalties (to not greater than a one-year term of imprisonment and/or a $1,000 fine) for simple possession of a controlled substance by a person who has one or more prior convictions for a controlled substance offense. Repeals a provision providing for up to three years' imprisonment for the possession of flunitrazepam. Reduces the maximum term of imprisonment (to one year) for the sale, use of the mails to transport, or importation or exportation of drug paraphernalia. Eliminates provisions of the CSA and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act that apply the same penalties applicable to offenses involving a specified amount of a substance containing cocaine to offenses involving a lesser amount of a substance containing cocaine base. Amends the CSA to provide that in determining the weight of a controlled substance or mixture of controlled substances that is in a compound with a food product for purposes of provisions concerning controlled substance offenses, the weight of the food product shall not be included.
Bill· HRH.R. 5201 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Right to Haul Act of 2014 - Exempts certain agricultural loads traveling on federal highways from federal vehicle weight limitations. Makes individual state weight limitations for agricultural commodities on state highways applicable to federal highways within the state's borders.
Bill· HRH.R. 5196 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Unified Savings and Accountability Act or the USA Act - Title I: Provisions Relating to Federal Property, Federal Contracts and Information Technology - Requires: (1) the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy to issue guidance to federal agencies for reinvigorating the role of the competition advocate, and (2) agency chief information officers to use transparency mechanisms to report to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), annually, on efforts to identify and eliminate potentially duplicative information technology investment. Requires the Director of OMB to: issue a policy requiring consistency among all agencies in identifying information technology investments in any required reporting, issue government-wide savings goals for the strategic sourcing of goods and services by executive agencies required to have a Chief Financial Officer, require each executive agency to develop a policy consistent with OMB guidance for performing analysis to measure how well each operational/steady state information technology investment is achieving expected goals and to determine whether the investment provides the most cost effective way of delivering business value, issue guidance for specified agencies to complete their commodity IT baselines, require specified agencies to report quarterly on progress in the migration of enterprise IT systems and IT infrastructure to a shared service, and direct the Federal Chief Information Officer (Federal CIO) to require agencies to report on specified IT actions as part of integrated data collection quarterly reporting. Requires: (1) the Federal Acquisition Regulation to be revised to address reverse auctions by federal agencies, and (2) the OMB Director to issue government-wide guidance advising agencies to collect and analyze data on the level of interactive bidding and fees paid to determine the cost effectiveness of using reverse auctions in procurement and on best practices to maximize competition and savings in the use of reverse auctions. Requires the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to develop and use criteria to prioritize potential long-term ownership solutions to current high-value leases among other capital investments and to use this ranking to create long-term cross agency strategy that facilitates consideration of targeted investments in ownership Requires the Federal CIO to develop, implement, and report annually on agency progress in carrying out a Federal Data Center Optimization Initiative. Requires each agency included in the Initiative to: (1) use specified methods to achieve maximum server utilization and maximum energy efficiency for federal data centers, (2) use the most cost-effective measures to implement the Initiative, and (3) report to the Federal CIO annually on resulting costs and savings. Requires agency savings to be used to enhance information technology capabilities and services. Requires OMB to issue, and executive agencies to implement, recommendations for reducing or consolidating the number of federal data centers by at least 40% by the end of FY2018 and by at least 80% by the end of FY2023. Title II: Other Matters - Amends the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to report on: (1) efforts to finalize plans and schedules for fully implementing and expanding the use of the Integrated Data Repository and actions taken to define expected financial benefits; and (2) actions taken to plan, schedule, and conduct training on the One Program Integrity System used to analyze and extract data from such Repository and actions taken to define expected financial benefits. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury, upon receiving certification by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (IRS) that any individual has a seriously delinquent tax debt in excess of $50,000, with specified exceptions, to transmit such certification and disclose certain tax return information to the Secretary of State for action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport for such individual pursuant to the Passport Act of 1926. Prohibits the Secretary of State, upon receiving such certification, from issuing a passport to such individual, except in emergency circumstances or for humanitarian reasons. Requires the Secretary to revoke a passport previously issued to such individual, but authorizes limiting such a passport to return travel to the United States. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from minting or issuing any circulating coin, or engraving or printing any U.S. currency, that costs more to produce than its denomination. Directs the Public Printer to make any House or Senate document available only in an electronic format that is accessible through the Internet, with specified exceptions. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to: (1) sequester all $1 coins bearing the design common to those $1 coins minted and issued from 1979 through 1981 and in 1999; (2) undertake and report on efforts to improve the circulation of the $1 coin, other than those sequestered; (3) continuously conduct education programs to help businesses using or accepting cash to choose the best mix of $1 coins and bank notes to facilitate and reduce transaction costs; and (4) work with the Departments of State and Treasury to ensure that countries that have adopted the dollar as a base unit of exchange and that place orders for supplies of $1 monetary units are fully briefed on the durability and longevity of $1 coins in high-circulation economies. Declares it to be U.S. policy that after $1 coins achieve sufficient market penetration, $1 coins should replace $1 Federal Reserve notes. Allows Federal Reserve banks to continue to place $1 Federal Reserve notes into circulation until the number of $1 coins placed into circulation exceeds 600 million annually, or until four years after enactment of this Act, whichever is earlier. Directs the IRS Commissioner to develop a long-term strategy to improve web services provided to taxpayers. Directs the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Agriculture (USDA), and Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) analyze, annually, the effectiveness and long-term costs and benefits of their programs, actions, and strategies for avoidance or mitigation of foreclosure losses regarding loans for and mortgages on one- to four-family homes made, insured, or guaranteed by such Department; and (2) provide additional guidance on loss mitigation efforts to servicers of such loans and mortgages.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 682 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2014
Calls on: (1) the United States to prioritize the rights of migrant workers in their relations with Qatar by offering technical assistance and expertise in combating human trafficking and the provision of victim-centered services, and (2) U.S. corporations involved in constructing World Cup related infrastructure in Qatar to ensure that working conditions are in compliance with international human rights standards by holding subcontractors accountable for labor violations and incorporating mechanisms for enforcement of such contractual obligations. Calls on the Qatari authorities to implement existing legislation and enact new legislation to prevent human rights violations. Calls on the migrant laborers' countries of origin, notably Bangladesh, India, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka, to protect their nationals from deceptive recruitment agencies in their countries and intervene on behalf of their nationals whose rights are abused when working in Qatar and other Persian Gulf states. Urges the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) to: (1) ensure that the World Cup is a symbol of global cooperation, (2) deliver a strong message to Qatar to make sure that the 2022 World Cup is not staged with the assistance of modern slavery by continuing the organization's involvement in Qatar, and (3) advocate for fair labor practices on all World Cup related projects.
Bill· HRH.R. 5164 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2014
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument Correction Act - Prohibits construing either the national monument designation or any management plan in furtherance of the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, New Mexico (designated on May 21, 2014) as: (1) preventing the Secretary of Homeland Security from undertaking law enforcement and border security activities within the areas designated as the Monument, including the ability to use motorized vehicles within it; (2) limiting the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding among the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding cooperative national security and counterterrorism efforts on federal land along U.S. borders; (3) preventing the DHS Secretary from conducting low-level overflights over the Monument for law enforcement and border security purposes; or (4) preventing the Secretary of the Interior from allowing within the Monument the installation and maintenance of communication or surveillance infrastructure necessary for law enforcement or border security activities. Makes the route excluded from the Potrillo Mountains, identified as "Restricted--Administrative Access" on the map entitled "Potrillo Mountains Complex," dated December 10, 2013, available for administrative and law enforcement uses, including border security activities. Specifies that nothing in the national monument designation or any management plan in furtherance of the Monument shall restrict or preclude low-level overflights of military aircraft, the designation of new units of special airspace, or the use or establishment of military flight training routes, over the Monument.
Resolution· SRESS.Res. 507 (113th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Designates August 7, 2014, as National Lighthouse and Lighthouse Preservation Day.
Bill· HRH.R. 5149 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Smart Water Management Conservation and Efficiency Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish and carry out a smart water management pilot program to award grants to three to five eligible entities (authorities that provide drinking water, wastewater treatment, or water reuse services) to demonstrate and deploy novel and innovative technology-based solutions that will: (1) increase the energy and water efficiency of drinking water, wastewater treatment, and water reuse systems; (2) improve such systems to help communities make significant progress in conserving water, saving energy, and reducing costs; and (3) support the implementation of innovative processes and the installation of advanced automated systems that provide real-time data on energy and water. Directs the Secretary, in selecting grant recipient, to consider: energy and cost savings; the novelty of the technology to be used; the degree to which the project integrates next-generation sensors, software, analytics, and management tools; the anticipated cost-effectiveness of the pilot project in terms of energy efficiency savings, water savings or reuse, and infrastructure costs averted; whether the technology can be deployed in a variety of geographic regions and the degree to which the technology can be implemented on a smaller or larger scale; and whether the project will be completed in five years or less. Requires the Secretary to evaluate, annually, each project for which a grant is provided and make best practices identified available to the public.
Bill· HRH.R. 5152 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
Savings, Accountability, Value, and Efficiency III Act of 2014 - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue software licensing policies for federal agencies. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to expand the definition of "energy or water conservation measure" under such Act to include, in the case of a contract in which the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) is a party: (1) the purchase or lease of low emission and fuel efficient vehicles; (2) the upgrade of USPS vehicles to increase average fuel economy and reduce carbon dioxide emissions; or (3) the construction of infrastructure to support such vehicles, including electric vehicle charging stations. Directs the Postmaster General to develop guidelines for USPS vehicles that provide for specified carbon dioxide emissions and fuel economy standards. Requires the head of each federal agency to ensure that agency desktop computers are shut down for at least 4 hours out of each 24-hour time period, except for certain computers that are in use for 16 or more hours per day. Denies payment of civil service retirement benefits and requires forfeiture of thrift saving plan (TSP) agency contributions for federal employees who are convicted of certain public corruption offenses. Requires the Secretary of Defense to implement specified criteria in requests for overseas contingency operations. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to direct each federal facility energy manager, not later than two years after completion of a comprehensive energy evaluation of a federal agency's facilities, to consider: (1) implementing any energy-saving or conservation measure that the agency identified in the evaluation that is life cycle cost-effective, and (2) bundling individual measures of varying paybacks together into combined projects. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to examine, and report to Congress on, which payments may be made under both the Medicare Advantage Program and the veterans health care system or the TRICARE program for health care furnished to individuals eligible under such health care programs. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare beneficiaries with an option to receive statements of benefits in a electronic format.
Bill· HRH.R. 5150 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2014
WaterSense Efficiency, Conservation, and Adaptation Act of 2014 - Establishes within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a WaterSense program to identify and promote water efficient products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services so as to: reduce water use; reduce the strain on water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure; conserve energy used to pump, heat, transport, and treat water; and preserve water resources through the voluntary labeling of, or other forms of communications about, products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services that meet the highest water efficiency and performance criteria. Requires the Administrator of EPA to identify other voluntary approaches to encourage recycling and reuse technologies to improve water efficiency or lower water use and to implement those approaches, if appropriate. Establishes a State Residential Water Efficiency and Conservation Incentives Program to provide financial incentives for consumers to purchase and install products, buildings, landscapes, facilities, processes, and services labeled under the WaterSense program. Requires the Administrator to make grants to owners or operators of water systems to address, mitigate, and adapt to address any ongoing or forecasted impact of climate change on the water quality or quantity of a U.S. region.