zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
FTC Robust Elderly Protections and Organizational Requirements to Track Scams Act or the FTC REPORTS Act

This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to publish and submit to Congress annually: (1) the FTC's plan for the next calendar year, and (2) a report on FTC enforcement actions involving allegations of fraud targeting individuals who are 65 or older during the previous year.

The FTC's annual plan must describe:

 its projected activities, priorities, rulemakings, guidelines, restructuring plans, and projects; how its activities combat fraud against individuals who are 65 or older; and the projected dates and timelines for such activities. The FTC's annual report about enforcement actions involving allegations of fraud targeting individuals who are 65 or older during the previous year must include:

 a description of each FTC enforcement action involving allegations of fraud against such individuals; the disposition of such enforcement actions, broken down by category; and the proportion of enforcement actions involving allegations of fraud against such individuals as a percentage of all enforcement actions relating to unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce brought by the FTC.

Date: 2016-04-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Commerce
Clarifying Legality and Enforcement Action Reasoning Act or the CLEAR Act

This bill amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to submit an annual report to Congress about its investigations concerning unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce. The reports must detail:

 the number of such investigations the FTC has commenced and the disposition of investigations that concluded with official agency action; and the number of investigations the FTC has closed with no official agency action, along with a description that indicates the legal analysis supporting the FTC's decision not to continue such investigations, and the industry sectors of the entities subject to each such investigation. The bill prohibits the FTC from identifying a person who is the subject of an investigation in its description of an investigation that closed with no official agency action.

Date: 2016-04-28
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Commerce
Americans Giving Care to Elders (AGE) Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow caregivers a tax credit for up to $6,000 of the eldercare expenses incurred for their parents (or ancestors of such parents).

It also amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to: (1) increase and extend through FY2020 the authorization of appropriations for the National Family Caregiver Support Program, and (2) require the Department of Health and Human Services to award a grant to or enter into a cooperative agreement with a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Family Caregiving to provide information on and support for family caregiver support programs.

Date: 2016-05-11
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Senior Accessible Housing Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a nonrefundable personal tax credit for senior citizens who modify their residences to enhance their ability to remain living safely, independently, and comfortably in the residences.

The credit applies to up to $30,000 of the expenses that individuals who are at least 60 years old incur over their lifetime to make modifications to their residences, including:

 the installation of entrance and exit ramps, the widening of doorways, the installation of handrails or grab bars, the installation of non-slip flooring, and other modifications that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) includes on a list of modifications that would enhance the ability of the individuals to remain living safely, independently, and comfortably in their residences. The IRS must establish and maintain the list of acceptable modifications after consulting with the Department of Health and Human Services and receiving input from the public

Date: 2016-05-16
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Safeguarding Economic Needs Important to Our Retirees through Creating an Ongoing Living Adjustment Guarantee (SENIOR COLA Guarantee) Act of 2016

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise cost-of-living computation requirements.

Annual minimum and maximum cost-of-living increases for Social Security beneficiaries shall range between:

 3% and 4% for individuals whose adjusted gross income (AGI) for the preceding calendar year did not exceed $18,000 ($20,000 in a joint return), 1.5% and 3% for individuals whose AGI ranged from $18,000 to $48,000 ($20,000 to $50,000 in a joint return), or 1% and 2% for individuals whose AGI exceeded $48,000 ($50,000 in a joint return).

Date: 2016-05-19
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Fair COLA for Seniors Act of 2016

This bill directs the Social Security Administration to make a one-time cost-of-living increase of 3.9%, effective with the month of June 2016, to benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act.

Such increase shall not be considered a general annual benefit cost-of-living increase in calendar years 2016-2017.

"Consumer Price Index" shall mean Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish the CPI-E authorized by the Older Americans Amendments Act of 1987 for each calendar month beginning with July of the calendar year following the calendar year in which this bill is enacted.

Date: 2016-05-26
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors Security Act of 2016

 This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to require the computation of cost-of-living adjustments to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish the CPI-E for each calendar month.

 The CPI-E shall also be used for cost-of-living adjustments for federal civilian employee annuities and for the retired and retainer pay of members of the armed forces.

 SSAct title XVIII (Medicare) is amended to prohibit any increases in Medicare part B premiums for calendar years beginning with 2017 to the extent they would exceed 30% of the difference between the amount of benefits payable to an individual for that December and the amount of benefits payable for that November (both amounts determined before the deduction of a premium). This change shall allow premium increases of up to 30% of that difference.

Date: 2016-05-26
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Guarantee Act of 2016 

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to issue a benefit guarantee certificate to each individual entitled to benefits under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act.

Any such certificate constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts, and represents the obligation of the federal government to provide for payment of OASDI benefits named on the certificate, as adjusted (for inflation or otherwise), to the individual to whom it is issued.

Date: 2016-07-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Senior Citizen Protection Act of 2016

This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to establish guidelines for states to design and implement elder abuse registries. DOJ may award state grants to establish and operate such registries.

Additionally, DOJ must establish and maintain a national database that contains information from state elder abuse registries.

Date: 2016-07-08
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
S.O.S. Act of 2016

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to increase the contribution and benefit base for 2017 through 2019.

 The bill revises the computation of primary insurance amounts to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in determining them, adjust surplus earnings for purposes of determining the surplus AIME, and reduce the third bend point factor.

The retirement age shall increase past 67 years by certain formulae.

Cost-of-living adjustments shall involve the Chained Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.

 The bill formulates a minimum monthly insurance benefit, and establishes an increased benefit for beneficiaries on account of long-term eligibility, starting 20 years after they become eligible for monthly OASDI benefits.

 The bill revises a certain formula to increase benefit computation years for purposes of calculating primary OASDI insurance amounts.

 This bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any:

 budget resolution that sets forth totals for any fiscal year regarding the Social Security Trust Funds that are less than the totals of the Social Security Trust Funds for that fiscal year as calculated in accordance with a current services baseline, or spending or tax legislation that would cause any totals to be less than the Funds totals for the covered fiscal year. The bill declares that this latter point of order shall not apply to Social Security reform legislation.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Retirement Savings Lost and Found Act of 2016 

This bill requires the Department of the Treasury and the Social Security Administration (SSA) to create an online Retirement Savings Lost and Found (RSLF) to assist individuals in locating certain employer-sponsored retirement accounts. The RSLF must provide plan participants or beneficiaries only with the ability to view contact information for the administrator of a plan that is sufficient to locate an individual's account.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to set forth additional reporting and notification requirements for retirement plans.

Treasury and the SSA must take precautions to: (1) safeguard the privacy and security of participants' plan information, and (2) permit plan participants to opt out of inclusion in the RSLF.

The bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the IRC to revise provisions that permit mandatory distributions of the balances of small retirement accounts using a rollover into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The bill modifies the investment options available for the distributions and increases the maximum account balance that may be subject to such a distribution.

A plan must transfer unclaimed mandatory distributions that are $1,000 or less to the RSLF or to an IRA established by the Department of the Treasury. The RSLF must invest funds received in Treasury securities and distribute the balance upon receiving an application from a plan participant or beneficiary.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Labor and employment
This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to revise the widow's or widower's insurance benefit for any month to equal the greater of: (1) the primary insurance amount of a deceased individual (as under current law); or (2) in the case of a fully-insured widow or surviving divorced spouse, 75% of the sum of any old-age or disability insurance benefit to which the widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse is entitled plus the primary insurance amount of the deceased individual.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Strengthening Social Security Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of taxable wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2016.

Title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) is amended to: (1) increase from 90% to 95% over five years the first bend point factor used in determining the primary OASDI insurance amount; and (2) include surplus average indexed monthly earnings in the determination of such amounts.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States who have attained early retirement age for purposes of an old-age, wife's, or husband's insurance benefit. The bill amends the SSAct to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.

 The bill revises OASDI benefits for a widow or widower to provide benefits at a level equal to at least 75% of the amount received prior to the death of a spouse.

The bill prevents any decrease in the benefit level of supplemental security income recipients resulting from any increase in other social security benefits in this bill.

Date: 2016-09-08
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
USA Retirement Funds Act 

This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require employers who do not already offer specified retirement plans to provide tax-exempt retirement funds (USA Retirement Fund arrangements) to their employees. The bill includes exemptions for certain small or new employers, governments, and churches.

Employees may elect to contribute to the funds using payroll deductions (or other periodic direct deposits) or to receive payments directly in cash. Unless employees opt out of a fund or elect a different contribution amount, they are automatically enrolled to make contributions that begin with 3% of annual compensation in 2017 and eventually increase to 6% after 2019.

The Department of Labor must review and select retirement plans that qualify for the funds. The bill establishes a board of trustees to administer the funds and a commission to advise Labor regarding the funds.

An employee may not contribute more than $15,000 per year to a fund. Employers may contribute up to $5,000 per year on behalf of an employee. The limits must be adjusted annually for inflation.

The funds must pay benefits to employees in the form of an annuity, in accordance with specified requirements.

The bill establishes limits on withdrawals and transfers from the funds. It also establishes civil and criminal penalties to enforce the requirements for the funds and prevent fraud.

The funds are tax-exempt, and the bill specifies requirements for the tax treatment of contributions, rollover contributions, and distributions. The bill also specifies reporting and disclosure requirements for the funds.

Date: 2016-09-22
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Labor and employment
Social Security Reform Act of 2016

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to:

 phase in (from 2023 to 2032) a new benefit formula for retired and disabled worker beneficiaries becoming eligible in 2023 and later; repeal the windfall elimination provision; raise the full retirement age; extend the maximum age for entitlement to delayed retirement credit; limit eligibility for the cost-of-living adjustment and tie increases in benefits to the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers; cap the nonworking spouse benefit and the child's benefit; lower the age requirement in or after 2019 for school attendance by child beneficiaries; provide a new minimum benefit for workers with more than 10 years of covered earnings; repeal the retirement earnings test; provide an option to split the delayed retirement credit to offer a lump sum benefit at initial entitlement for workers attaining age 62 in 2023 and later; increase after 2022 the monthly benefit of beneficiaries who have been eligible for at least 20 years; eliminate the seven year limitation on widow's and widower's benefits for disabled surviving spouses and the requirement that such spouses attain age 50 to be eligible for benefits; and waive the two-year duration of the divorce requirement for benefit eligibility in cases of remarriage to someone other than the claimant before the two-year period has elapsed. The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to phaseout and eliminate after 2053 the tax that is credited to the Old Age, Survivors, Insurance (OASI) and Disability Income (DI) Trust Funds.

Date: 2016-12-08
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Lock-Box Act of 2015 

 Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide a point of order against consideration of any: (1) budget resolution that sets forth totals for any fiscal year with respect to the Social Security Trust Funds that are less than the totals of the Social Security Trust Funds for that fiscal year as calculated in accordance with a current services baseline, or (2) spending or tax legislation that would cause any totals to be less than the Funds totals for the covered fiscal year.

Makes the point of order described in (2) above inapplicable to Social Security reform legislation.

Requires any federal budget submitted by the President that recommends totals for any fiscal year with respect to the Funds that are less than the totals of the Funds for that fiscal year to include a detailed proposal for Social Security reform legislation. Makes this Act inapplicable upon the enactment of such legislation. Defines "Social Security reform legislation" as a bill or joint resolution to save Social Security that specifies that it constitutes reform legislation.

Date: 2015-01-06
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Dependent Care Savings Account Act of 2015

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt dependent care savings accounts to pay the employment-related expenses of caring for a dependent of the taxpayer, (2) allow a deduction from gross income (above-the-line deduction) of up to $5,000 in a taxable year for cash contributions to such accounts, (3) set forth rules for the tax treatment of account distributions and for excess contributions to an account, and (4) impose a tax on employers who fail to make comparable contributions to a dependent savings account for all participating employees.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Notch Fairness Act of 2015 

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979, and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977.

("Notch" refers to birth in the United States between 1917 and 1921, as a result of which a retiree born between those years received lower cost-of-living increases in Social Security than others after Congress readjusted Social Security benefits in 1977.)

Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55% to 5% and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988.

Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000.

Date: 2015-01-07
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Stop Punishing Innocent Americans Act 

Reinstates the 10-year statute of limitations period applicable to the collection of amounts paid to Social Security beneficiaries by administrative offset. (This former statute of limitations was repealed effective May 22, 2008.)

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct), with respect to overpayments under OASDI or SSAct title XVI (Supplementary Security Income) (SSI), to prevent the recovery of any such overpayments made to or on behalf of individuals under age 18 by shielding such individuals from liability for the repayment of such amounts.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit any tax refund offset of Social Security overpayments made to or on behalf of a minor (under age 18).

Date: 2015-01-21
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Disability Insurance and Unemployment Benefits Double Dip Elimination Act

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to declare that for any week in whole or in part within a month that an individual is paid or determined to be eligible for unemployment compensation he or she shall be deemed to have engaged in substantial gainful activity and so be disqualified from receiving Social Security disability benefits after a certain period has elapsed.

States that, for purposes of determining services rendered by an individual during a period of trial work which will not disqualify the individual for disability benefits, the individual shall be deemed to have rendered services in a month if he or she is entitled to unemployment compensation or trade adjustment assistance for that month.

Date: 2015-02-12
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors' Tax Simplification Act of 2015 

This bill directs the Internal Revenue Service to make available to taxpayers who have turned age 65 at the close of the taxable year a new federal income tax Form 1040SR (similar to the existing Form 1040EZ). Such taxpayers can use this new form even if their income includes: (1) social security benefits; (2) distributions from qualified retirement plans, annuities, or other such deferred payment arrangements; (3) interest and dividends; or (4) capital gains and losses.

Date: 2015-03-11
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Social Security Expansion Act

 Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to:

 increase the primary insurance amount for all eligible beneficiaries, beginning in 2021; revise computation of cost-of-living adjustments to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers; increase the special minimum primary insurance amount for lifetime low earners based on years in the workforce. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) apply employment and self-employment taxes to remuneration up to the contribution and benefit base and to remuneration in excess of $250,000; and (2) increase the tax on investment gain from 3.8% to 10% of the lesser of net investment income for such taxable year or the excess (if any) of the modified adjusted gross income for such taxable year, over the threshold amount, with 62% of such tax allocated to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and 9% allocated to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund.

Date: 2015-03-12
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Americans Giving Care to Elders (AGE) Act of 2015

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow caregivers a tax credit for up to $6,000 of the eldercare expenses incurred for their parents (or ancestors of such parents).

Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to: (1) increase and extend funding for the National Family Caregiver Support Program through FY2019, and (2) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to or enter into a cooperative agreement with a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Family Caregiving to provide information on and support for family caregiver support programs.

Date: 2015-03-26
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Taxation
Protecting and Preserving Social Security Act

Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish for each calendar month a Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in consumption expenditures typical for individuals in the United States age 62 or older.

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2015.

Amends SSAct title II to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings in the determination of primary OASDI amounts.

Date: 2015-04-15
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security Fairness Act of 2015

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal the government pension offset requirement applicable to and reducing husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and divorced mother's and divorced father's insurance benefits with respect to federal, state, or local government employees who receive a government pension and did not pay Social Security taxes during their years of government service, and so did not earn entitlement to Social Security benefits for those years.

Repeals also the windfall elimination requirement with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount under which OASDI retirement or disability benefits are reduced if the individual receives a federal, state, or local government pension, did not pay Social Security taxes during the years of government service, and so did not earn entitlement to Social Security benefits for those years.

Date: 2015-06-23
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Social Security 2100 Act

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) to:

 increase the primary insurance amount formula factor from 90% to 93% for all eligible beneficiaries, beginning in 2016; revise computation of cost-of-living adjustments to use the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers; increase the special minimum primary insurance amount for lifetime low earners based on years in the workforce. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to increase the gross income threshold for taxation of Social Security benefits from $25,000 to $50,000 for single taxpayers and from $32,000 to $100,000 for married taxpayers filing joint returns, beginning in 2016.

Amends the IRC and SSAct title II to impose the employment tax on all wage income above $400,000, effective in 2016. Requires incremental increases, up to 15.3% in 2084, in the employment and self-employment taxes.

Amends SSAct title II to include 2% of an individual's excess average indexed monthly earnings (over $400,000 per annum) in the formula for determining primary insurance amounts.

Amends IRC to increase the Social Security tax rate on employees and employers and with respect to self-employment income.

Requires reallocation of a portion of employment tax revenues from the OASDI Trust Fund to the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund for wages paid after 2014.

Date: 2015-07-30
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Safeguarding American Families and Expanding Social Security Act of 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe special rules for the determination of taxable wages and self-employment income above the contribution and benefit base after 2015.

Title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSAct) is amended to include surplus average indexed monthly earnings in the determination of primary OASDI amounts.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor shall prepare and publish the Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-EC) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals in the United States who have attained early retirement age for purposes of an old-age, wife's, or husband's insurance benefit.

SSAct title II is also amended to make the CPI-EC the applicable Consumer Price Index for computation of cost-of-living increases in OASDI benefits for such individuals.

Date: 2015-08-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Seniors And Veterans Emergency Benefits Act or the SAVE Benefits Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to disburse a payment equal to 3.9% of the average amount of annual benefits to certain individuals (except prisoners, fugitive felons, or aliens) who are entitled to a specified benefit under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA), an annuity under the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974, a veterans benefit, or are eligible for a cash benefit under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income), including a special benefit for individuals who perform substantial gainful activity despite severe medical impairment.

A refundable income tax credit is allowed for the first taxable year beginning in 2015 in an amount equal to $581 for certain eligible government retirees who do not receive such a payment.

The Internal Revenue Code is amended, with respect to the $1 million limitation on the deductibility of employee compensation, to:

 eliminate the exemption from that limitation for compensation payable on a commission basis or upon the attainment of a performance goal; extend the limitation to any individual who is a current or former officer, director, or employee of a publicly-held corporation; and apply the limitation to all publicly-held corporations required by the Securities and Exchange Commission to register securities and provide periodic reports to their investors.

Date: 2015-11-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Retirement and Income Security Enhancements (RAISE) Act

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to entitle divorced spouses to OASDI benefits after 5 (currently 10) years of marriage. Makes the monthly divorced spouse's benefits equal to one-half of the former spouse's primary insurance amount, reduced 10% for each year less than 10 the individual was married to the former spouse.

Revises the widow's or widower's insurance benefit for any month to equal the greater of: (1) the primary insurance amount of a deceased individual (as under current law); or (2) in the case of a fully-insured widow or surviving divorced spouse, 75% of the sum of any old-age or disability insurance benefit to which the widow, widower, or surviving divorced spouse is entitled plus the primary insurance amount of the deceased individual.

Reduces a widow's or widower's insurance benefits for any month if that individual is also entitled to an old age or disability insurance benefit greater than the widow's or widower's insurance benefit. Sets the benefit in such a case at the level of the primary insurance amount of the deceased individual.

Amends SSA title II and the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to extend benefits for full-time students up to age 23 (currently age 19) who are enrolled at an educational institution.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an OASDI surtax of: (1) 2% on an employee's income over $400,000 and 2% on the employer, and (2) 4% on an individual's self-employment income over $400,000. Adjusts the $400,0000 threshold each year according to a specified indexing formula.

Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to apply a similar 2% additional tier 1 tax on railroad employees earning over $400,000 as well as 2% on their railroad employers. Imposes a 4% additional tier 1 tax on representatives of railroad employees earning over $400,000. Specifies a formula to index the $400,000 annually after 2015.

Amends SSA title II to: (1) include 2% of the individual's surplus average indexed monthly earnings (AIME) in OASDI primary insurance amounts; and (2) prescribe a formula for computing an individual's surplus AIME that accounts for the total of the individual's additional wages paid in and additional self-employment income credited to the benefit computation year, up to $500,000, indexed after 2015 according to a specified formula.

Date: 2015-11-17
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Elder Protection and Abuse Prevention Act 

This bill amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Administration on Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services to: (1) ensure that all programs funded under such Act include appropriate training in elder abuse prevention and services addressing elder justice and exploitation; and (2) update periodically the need for such training related to prevention of abuse, neglect, and exploitation (including financial exploitation) of older adults.

The Administration has a duty and function to: (1) establish priority information and assistance services for older individuals; and (2) develop a National Eldercare Locator Service, with a nationwide toll free number.

The Administration shall establish a National Adult Protective Services Resources Center.

Each area plan shall provide that the area agency on aging: (1) increases public awareness of elder abuse and financial exploitation, and removes barriers to elder abuse education, prevention, investigation, and treatment; and (2) reports instances of elder abuse.

The Administration shall make grants to states with approved plans for elder abuse and neglect screening.

A state operating a nutrition project shall encourage distributors of nutrition services to distribute information on diabetes, elder abuse, neglect, financial exploitation, and the annual Medicare wellness exam.

A state, an area agency on aging, a nonprofit organization, or a tribal organization shall use a grant for an older individuals' protection from violence project to replicate successful prevention and training models.

The Administration shall award grants to and contract with eligible organizations for projects to engage volunteers over age 50 in supporting older adults (and their families or caretakers) who have experienced or are at risk of elder abuse.

A state may use funds under the National Family Caregiver Support Program to support the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

Date: 2016-04-05
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Health
Senior Home Modification Assistance Initiative Act

This bill amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Administration on Aging to:

 carry out an initiative to coordinate federal resources to provide home modifications for older individuals to support enabling them to live independently and safely in a home environment; and identify and publish an educational brochure on home modifications and repairs for use by older individuals attempting to live independently and safely in their homes and by their caregivers.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Social Welfare (Elderly Assistance)
Subject: Social welfare
Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act - Amends the Lacey Act to add specified species of black, bighead, and silver carp to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being shipped or imported into the United States.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Great Lakes Migratory Bird Research and Management Act - Amends the Great Lakes Fishery Act of 1956 to authorize the Great Lakes Fishery Commission to carry out activities relating to the investigation of migratory bird depredation on commercial and sport fisheries in the Great Lakes. Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits to cooperating state, Provincial, Tribal, First Nation, and U.S. and Canadian federal agencies with migratory bird management authority, and signatory to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, to manage and take migratory birds, for the purpose of control of depredation by such birds on commercial and sport fisheries in the Great Lakes.

Date: 2007-01-12
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Water resources development
Working Waterfront Preservation Act of 2007 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to award a grant to a state or local government of a coastal state, a nonprofit organization, or a fishing cooperative for projects to: (1) acquire real property in a coastal state to provide access to commercial fishermen or persons in the aquaculture industry to coastal waters in working waterfront areas; or (2) make improvements to real property owned by an eligible entity in a coastal state to provide access to such persons to coastal waters in working waterfront areas.

Date: 2007-06-05
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Prohibits the commercial harvesting of Atlantic striped bass in the coastal waters or the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Imposes penalties and allows civil forfeiture of vessels for violations. Requires the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director to take actions reflecting the prohibition.

Date: 2007-06-07
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Atlantic Blackfish Conservation Act - Prohibits the commercial harvesting of Atlantic blackfish, popularly known as tautog, in the coastal waters or the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) or the sale of blackfish taken in violation of that prohibition. Imposes penalties and allows civil forfeiture of vessels for violations. Requires the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to take actions reflecting the prohibition.

Date: 2007-06-28
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
South Pacific Tuna Fleet Act of 2007 - Declares that a fishery endorsement is not required for a United States documented purse seine tuna fishing vessel home ported in American Samoa while fishing exclusively for highly migratory species under a license issued under the 1987 Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America in the treaty area or in U.S. exclusive economic zones bordering the treaty area.

Date: 2007-09-26
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Makes it unlawful to engage, or to attempt to engage, in commercial harvesting of Atlantic menhaden for reduction purposes in Atlantic coastal waters or in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Requires a related report to Congress from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Date: 2007-10-16
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2007 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require fishery management plans, amendments, or regulations for overfished fisheries to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable. (Current law requires that the time period be as short as possible.) Modifies the exceptions to the requirement that such period not exceed ten years. Requires, when the Secretary of Commerce extends the period under specified provisions, that the maximum rebuilding time not exceed the sum of the initial ten-year period, the expected time to rebuild the stock absent any fishing mortality and under prevailing environmental conditions, and the mean generation time of the stock.

Date: 2007-11-06
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2008 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require fishery management plans, amendments, or regulations for overfished fisheries to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable (currently, as short as possible). Modifies the exceptions to the requirement that such period not exceed ten years. Requires consideration, in evaluating progress to end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks, of factors other than commercial and recreational fishing. Requires, when the Secretary of Commerce extends the period under specified provisions, that the maximum rebuilding time not exceed the sum of the initial ten-year period, the expected time to rebuild the stock absent any fishing mortality and under prevailing environmental conditions, and the mean generation time of the stock.

Date: 2008-02-13
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Charter and Recreational Fishing Collective Marketing Act of 2008 - Authorizes persons engaged in the fishery industry as charter boat or recreational fishermen catching aquatic products to act together in associations in collectively catching, producing, and marketing such aquatic products, including implementing a vessel capacity reduction program, improving the operational and economic efficiency of a fishery, undertaking research, and improving the conservation and management of a fishery resource.

Date: 2008-04-17
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior, notwithstanding any other provision of law, from issuing any permit or in any other way authorizing any person to conduct commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Working Waterfront Preservation Act of 2007 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to award a grant to a state or local government of a coastal state, a nonprofit organization, or a fishing cooperative for projects to: (1) acquire real property in a coastal state to provide access to commercial fishermen or persons in the aquaculture industry to coastal waters in working waterfront areas; or (2) make improvements to real property owned by an eligible entity in a coastal state to provide access to such persons to coastal waters in working waterfront areas.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Fisheries Fuel Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow commercial fishermen a tax credit for excessive fuel costs (the excess amount paid for such fuel over an adjusted base price).

Date: 2008-07-09
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Taxation
Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act - Amends the Lacey Act to add specified species of black, bighead, and silver carp to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being shipped or imported into the United States.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Prohibits the commercial harvesting of Atlantic striped bass in the coastal waters or the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Imposes penalties and allows civil forfeiture of vessels for violations. Requires the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director to take actions reflecting the prohibition.

Date: 2009-03-06
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require fishery management plans, amendments, or regulations for overfished fisheries to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable (currently, as short as possible). Modifies the exceptions to the requirement that such period not exceed ten years. Requires consideration, in evaluating progress to end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks, of factors other than commercial and recreational fishing. Requires, when the Secretary of Commerce extends the period under specified provisions, that the maximum rebuilding time not exceed the sum of the initial ten-year period, the expected time to rebuild the stock absent any fishing mortality and under prevailing environmental conditions, and the mean generation time of the stock.

Date: 2009-03-18
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
New York Fair Fishing Act of 2009 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to add New York State as a member of the New England Fishery Management Council.

Date: 2009-07-21
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study of the population of the South Atlantic red snapper fishery and report to Congress. Prohibits the Secretary from promulgating any interim rule under specified provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that prohibits fishing in the South Atlantic red snapper fishery before such report demonstrates the need for interim rules. Prohibits any interim rule that was promulgated before enactment of this Act from having any force or effect.

Date: 2009-07-23
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Transparency in Job Loss from Fishery Closures Act of 2010 - Prohibits the Secretary of Commerce from implementing a closure of a fishery pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that would have a direct or indirect effect of at least $50,000 on each of more than 25 small businesses that do business related to the recreational, charter, or commercial fishing industries involved in the fishery being closed, unless the Secretary has certified that: (1) the closure is the only option available for maintaining the fishery at a sustainable level; (2) the stock assessment of the fishery has been updated and peer reviewed within the preceding three years; and (3) such assessment was developed using at least two models that were subjected to outside peer review. Requires the Secretary to review, in order to meet such requirements, any fishery closure for which notice was published within 12 months prior to the date of enactment of this Act, and to include in such review the effects of the closure on coastal communities. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on fishery closures established within five years prior to the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2010-02-22
Topic: Agriculture (Fisheries & Fishing)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources