zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Community Regeneration, Sustainability, and Innovation Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a demonstration program, under multiyear cooperative agreements with local governments meeting certain criteria (or consortia of them), to encourage and test innovative vacant property reclamation and urban infrastructure renewal strategies in older industrial cities, their suburbs, and metropolitan areas with a history of severe population and employment loss, blight, and decay caused by vacant properties. Limits such agreements to local governments experiencing: (1) at least 15% population loss since 1970, or (2) prolonged population, income, and employment loss resulting in substantial levels of housing vacancies and abandonments concentrated in more than one neighborhood or geographic area within a jurisdiction or jurisdictions. Specifies as vacant property and program capacity activities establishment of: (1) local or regional land banks; (2) recovered building materials reuse and recycling infrastructure, facilities, and technical support; (3) local government purchasing requirements for deconstruction to make use of existing building materials stock in new and rehabilitation construction; and (4) the ability of state and local courts and administrative agencies to address problems caused by vacant and abandoned properties, and to facilitate their transfer to public control under a local or regional land bank. Enumerates other related activities, including: (1) expansion and improvement of code enforcement capabilities; (2) development of data and information systems such as comprehensive real property systems, early warning systems, and vacant property inventory and tracking systems; and (3) amendment or reform of state and local property tax foreclosure procedures. Specifies stabilization, design, development, reuse, and planning and policy innovation activities. Prohibits the use of grant funds for specified other activities, including: (1) demolition of public housing or historic properties, or (2) clean-up or redevelopment of brownfield sites. Requires an applicant local government or consortium to establish a regeneration plan for the community or region. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to local governments (and consortia of them) for development of regeneration plans and for sustainability demonstration projects. Directs the Secretary to convene a Federal Interagency Regeneration Communities Coordinating Council to develop federal agency support plans for communities receiving such grants.

Date: 2011-02-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Housing and community development
Equal Access to COBRA Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and Public Health Service Act to expand COBRA coverage (health insurance continuation benefits) to include an employee's domestic partner and any dependent child of the domestic partner.

Date: 2011-03-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend to all domestic corporations, including S corporations, provisions allowing deferral of tax on gain from the sale of employer securities to an S corporation-sponsored employer stock ownership plan (ESOP); and (2) allow a tax deduction for 50% of the interest incurred on loans to S corporation-sponsored ESOPs for the purchase of employer securities. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the S Corporation Employee Ownership Assistance Office to foster increased employee ownership of S corporations. Amends the Small Business Act to define "ESOP business concern" and allow such a concern to continue to qualify for loans, preferences, and other programs under such Act.

Date: 2011-03-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Earned Retiree Healthcare Benefits Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish an enforceable obligation on sponsors of group health plans to restore health benefits previously taken away from plan participants to the extent such benefits were cancelled or altered after their retirement. Prohibits group health plans from reducing retiree health benefits after the retirement of a plan beneficiary. Requires such plans to adopt provisions barring post-retirement reductions in retiree health benefits. Requires group health plan sponsors to grant benefit restoration to retired plan participants. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to waive or vary requirements for benefit restoration if compliance with such requirements would: (1) be adverse to the interests of plan participants in the aggregate, (2) not be administratively feasible, and (3) cause substantial business hardship to plan sponsors. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties for violations of this Act.

Date: 2011-04-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Health
Housing Recovery Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a premature distribution from a tax-exempt retirement plan without penalty if such distribution is used to acquire a residence which has been in foreclosure for one year prior to the date of such acquisition and such residence is not sold or otherwise disposed of for two years beginning on the date of such acquisition.

Date: 2011-04-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Small Businesses Add Value for Employees Act of 2011 or the SAVE Act of 2011 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to employer-established simple individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to: (1) repeal certain restrictions on rollovers from simple IRAs, (2) allow employers to elect to terminate qualified salary reduction arrangements at any time during the year, (3) repeal the enhanced 25% penalty on premature withdrawals made from simple IRAs within the first two plan years, (4) allow additional nonelective employer contributions to simple IRAs, (5) establish automatic deferral IRAs, (6) allow a transfer of unused balances in flexible spending arrangements to a qualified retirement or eligible deferred compensation plan, (7) increase the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs, and (8) establish multiple small employer retirement plans that provide for automatic employee contributions. Requires the Office of Financial Education of the Department of the Treasury to develop and implement an outreach plan to educate small businesses on the types and benefits of available retirement plans. Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and Labor to develop recommendations for small businesses to improve retirement outcomes. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to develop age-appropriate financial literacy curricula for elementary and secondary schools. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to: (1) permit payroll deduction plans for individual retirement accounts or annuities, and (2) require disclosures relating to lifetime income from pension plans and annuities.

Date: 2011-04-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Dave Thomas Adoption Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans if used to pay adoption expenses, including an enhanced allowance for expenses related to the adoption of a special needs child.

Date: 2011-04-15
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2012 - Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis. Makes this Act effective on January 1 of the 2nd year that begins after the enactment of this Act. Renders this Act inapplicable to any tax obligation that accrues before the effective date of this Act.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Pilots Equitable Treatment Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), with regard to both single-employer and multiemployer plan guaranteed benefits, to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) , in the case of commercial airline pilots required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation to retire before age 65, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at the required retirement age.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit. Allows employees to use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members; or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Grants the same authority, for employees under their jurisdiction, to the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this Act. Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to a suit brought by an employee of a federally-assisted state program or activity for relief authorized under this Act. Requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics annually to compile information annually on paid sick time, and the Comptroller General to study related matters. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.

Date: 2011-05-12
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Seniors Financial Security Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the inclusion in gross income for income tax purposes of social security and tier 1 railroad retirement benefits.

Date: 2011-05-23
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Ready Employers Willing to Assist Reservists' Deployment Act of 2011 or the REWARD Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a tax credit for 50% of the wages paid to their employees on active military duty for more than 90 days as Ready Reserve or National Guard and for 50% of the wages paid to temporary replacement employees.

Date: 2011-05-23
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Small Business Tax Equalization and Compliance Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax credit for social security taxes paid for employee cash tips to employers of cosmetologists. Requires employers of cosmetologists to report income and tips of their cosmetologist employees and to provide income and tip information to self-employed cosmetologists to whom they pay more than $600 in the taxable year. Imposes similar reporting requirements upon individuals who rent chairs to cosmetologists. Requires such employers to provide their cosmetologist employees and self-employed cosmetologists with information on the tax and tip reporting obligations of employees and self-employed individuals.

Date: 2011-05-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), provided certain conditions are met, to allow the sponsor of an underfunded multiemployer benefit plan to accept from an employer a ratified collective bargaining agreement that provides for a reduction in plan employer contributions as well as appropriate reduction in the level of future benefit accruals for plan participants for up to five years during the plan funding adoption period, funding improvement period, rehabilitation adoption period, and rehabilitation period. Conditions such an allowance upon the PBGC's determination that: (1) the contributing employer will be unable to pay its debts when due and to continue business without a reduction in its contribution rates; (2) the contributing employer's aggregate withdrawal liability with respect to all multiemployer pension plans exceeds $750 million (or an appropriate lower amount as the PBGC may determine); (3) the collectability of the withdrawal liability is very doubtful if the contributing employer were to withdraw from the plan; (4) the reduced contributions are not reasonably expected to have an adverse effect on the PBGC deficit; and (5) other creditors, stakeholders, and parties to which the contributing employer is obligated have accepted comparable reductions.

Date: 2011-05-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny payment of unemployment compensation to employees who are discharged from employment for: (1) being under the influence of, or consuming or otherwise using, alcohol or any controlled substance while performing services for an employer; (2) possessing any controlled substance on the premises of an employer; (3) refusing a request to take a drug test; or (4) testing positive for illegal use of a controlled substance.

Date: 2011-05-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act of 2011 - Prohibits a state or local government from receiving federal financial assistance for a minimum of one year if such jurisdiction restricts or prohibits a government entity or official from: (1) sending to or receiving from the responsible federal immigration agency information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status, or (2) maintaining or exchanging information about an individual's status. Restores assistance eligibility upon a determination by the Attorney General (DOJ) that the jurisdiction no longer restricts or prohibits such actions. Directs the Attorney General to report each year to Congress regarding state or local jurisdictions that restrict or prohibit such actions.

Date: 2011-05-31
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Tax Parity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from an employee's gross income employer-provided accident and health plan benefits extended to a domestic partner or non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiary eligible to receive such benefits under an employer plan (i.e., "eligible beneficiary"); (2) exempt such benefits paid to eligible beneficiariees from otherwise applicable employment and unemployment taxes; (3) allow self-employed individuals a tax deduction for the health insurance costs of their eligible beneficiaries; (4) allow tax-exempt voluntary employees' beneficiary associations to provide sick and accident benefits to the domestic partners and non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiaries of their members; (5) allow reimbursement of the medical expenses of an eligible beneficiary from a health savings account (HSA); and (6) extend tax-exempt medical benefits to the eligible beneficiaries of retired employees Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide guidance relating to reimbursements from a flexible spending arrangement and a health reimbursement arrangement attributable to an eligible beneficiary as defined by this Act.

Date: 2011-06-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
SSI Savers Act of 2011 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) increase resource limits for aged, blind, or disabled individuals who do not have an eligible spouse; (2) require an inflation adjustment for such individuals, regardless of whether a spouse is eligible; (3) provide a limited exclusion from resources of certain deferred compensation and education savings arrangements; (4) set forth income rules imputing income from certain deferred compensation arrangements; and (5) eliminate the requirement that SSI recipients apply for periodic payments from certain deferred compensation arrangements.

Date: 2011-06-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Social welfare
Savings Account for Every American Act of 2011 - Allows employees and self-employed individuals with a Social Security number to elect to participate in a S.A.F.E. account. Defines such an account as a trust created exclusively for the benefit of an individual or his or her beneficiaries. Requires: (1) employers of electing employees to establish a payroll deduction program to make employee contributions (6.2% of wages) to such accounts, and (2) employer matching contributions after a participating employee has maintained an account for 15 years. Imposes penalties on employers who fail to make required payroll deductions or pay deducted wages to S.A.F.E. accounts. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to study how to extend S.A.F.E. Accounts to federal civilian and military employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt S.A.F.E. Accounts from income taxation. Allows a tax deduction from gross income for cash contributions to such an account. Includes distributions from such an account in employee gross income, with specified exceptions for distributions after the Social Security retirement age or death, for purchase of certain insurance contracts, and for rollovers. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to exempt S.A.F.E. Account participants from Social Security taxes and exclude such participants from OASDI coverage.

Date: 2011-06-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring a 99er (defined by this Act as an individual who has exhausted all rights to emergency unemployment compensation under the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 during the period beginning on December 1, 2007, and ending on the individual's hiring date). Reduces the amount of such credit (40% to 25%) for employees who remain employed for 120 hours, but less than 400 hours, and in the second year of employment.

Date: 2011-06-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Empowering More Productive and Lasting Opportunity Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow states, for a five-year period, to implement an employment assistance voucher program, in lieu of paying unemployment compensation directly to employees, under which an individual who is eligible for unemployment compensation and is likely to exhaust such compensation is issued an employment assistance voucher and is hired by a participating employer who receives a subsidy from the state for the wages paid to the employee.

Date: 2011-06-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Auto Enroll Repeal Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to repeal provisions requiring employers that have more than 200 full-time employees and that offer employees enrollment in one or more health plans to automatically enroll new full-time employees in a health care plan and provide notice of the opportunity to opt-out of such coverage.

Date: 2011-06-16
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Unemployment Assistance Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts distributed from tax-exempt retirement plans, health savings accounts, Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and qualified tuition programs to pay for certain living, health care and education or job training expenses of a taxpayer during a period of unemployment not exceeding two years.

Date: 2011-06-21
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Unemployed Tax Relief Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee who is separated from employment due to a reduction in force the last regular payment of wages prior to such separation and any severance pay received in connection with such separation. Exempts such wages and severance pay from employment-related taxation. Requires transfers from the Treasury to employment-related trust funds to compensate for revenues lost by such trust funds due to this Act.

Date: 2011-06-21
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Layoff Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements relating to short-time compensation programs to allow employers to reduce the workweek of their employees in lieu of layoffs. Provides for federal financing of state short-time compensation programs. Requires the Secretary of Labor to: (1) award grants to states that enact such programs; (2) develop model legislative language for use by states in developing, enacting, and implementing such programs; and (3) report to Congress and the President on their implementation.

Date: 2011-07-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2011- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income distributions from individual retirement accounts for certain charitable purposes.

Date: 2011-07-12
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from $50,000 to $350,000 the amount of employer-provided group term life insurance that an employee can exclude from gross income. Indexes the $350,000 amount for inflation for taxable years beginning after 2012.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to waive minimum distribution requirements for tax-exempt retirement plans for calendar years 2011 and 2012.

Date: 2011-07-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Entrepreneurship Tax Cut Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts distributed from tax-exempt retirement plans, health savings accounts, Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and qualified tuition programs to acquire an ownership interest (at least 40%) in an entity in connection with beginning an active trade or business.

Date: 2011-07-21
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Pension Technical Modifications Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the formula for the target normal plan cost element in the larger formula for determining the minimum required employer contribution for a plan year of a single-employer defined benefit pension plan. Revises the formula for the target normal cost to allow a plan sponsor to elect to exclude plan investment expenses from the amount of plan-related expenses expected to be paid from plan assets during the plan year. Makes technical amendments to ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 (PACMBPRA), regarding the election to apply specified requirements in an eligible plan year with respect to the shortfall amortization base in minimum funding standards for such plans. Treats a plan as eligible for such an election only if: (1) the plan sponsor is not a debtor in a case under bankruptcy law or similar federal or state law, (2) there are no unpaid minimum required contributions with respect to the plan for purposes of the excise tax when minimum required contributions are not paid when due, (3) there are no outstanding liens in favor of the plan for a person's failure to make required contributions, and (4) the plan sponsor has not initiated a distress termination of the plan. Amends the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), as amended by PACMBPRA, to allow plan sponsors to elect to treat a certain kind of plan as an eligible charity plan instead of requiring them to, as under current law. Permits such an election to be revoked, however, only with the consent of the Secretary of the Treasury. Postpones to plan years beginning after December 31, 2010, the authorization for such an election. Amends the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 to extend through plan years beginning during the period October 1, 2008-December 31, 2011, certain funding-based limits on benefit accruals for single-employer plans with severe funding shortfalls. Revises the adjusted funding target attainment percentage factor in such limits for that period. Amends ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the allowance of a one-time prohibited payment by a single-employer plan. Declares that payments under a Social Security leveling option shall be treated as not in excess of the monthly amount paid under a single life annuity (plus an amount not in excess of a Social Security supplement). Extends from September 1, 2011, through December 31, 2011, the special rule and ratio for certain years of eligible charity plans which excludes such plans from the authority of a plan sponsor to elect to credit against the minimum required contribution for the current plan year all or a portion of the prefunding balance or the funding standard carryover balance for the year.

Date: 2011-07-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Keeping Social Security Solvent Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the taxes on employment and self-employment compensation, to repeal the limit on the amount of compensation subject to such taxes (i.e., the contribution and benefit base, currently $106,800 in 2011).

Date: 2011-07-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
HIRE Now Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until January 1, 2012, the exemption from payment of employment taxes for individuals who begin employment after December 31, 2010.

Date: 2011-07-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Individual Recovery Assistance Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) suspend for a one-year period the penalty on premature distributions from tax-exempt pension plans for mortgage payments or as unemployment compensation, and (2) increase from 70-1/2 to 75 the age at which taxpayers must begin taking taxable distributions from their pension plans.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to extend through FY2013 the special rule relating to eligibility for benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act for certain aliens and victims of trafficking.

Date: 2011-08-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Social welfare
Small Business Expansion and Hiring Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow nongovernmental employers who employ an average of fewer than 100 employees during a taxable year a retained worker tax credit until December 31, 2012, for the lesser of $4,000 ($6,000 for a long-term unemployed individual) or 6.2% of the wages paid to a retained worker during a period of not less than 52 consecutive weeks of employment.  Limits the amount of such credit with respect to any business location of the employer to $400,000 and provides that the number of retained workers taken into account for such credit shall not exceed the excess of the number of employees of the taxpayer at the end of the taxable year over the number of such employees at the beginning of the taxable year. Defines "retained worker" to mean any qualified individual who was employed on any date during the taxable year for a period of not less than 52 weeks and whose wages during the last 26 weeks of such period equaled at least 80% of such wages for the first 26 weeks of such period.  Defines "qualified individual" as any individual who: (1) begins employment after 2010 and before 2014, (2) certifies by signed affidavit that such individual has not been employed for 40 hours or more per week during the 60-day period ending on the date such individual begins employment, (3) is not replacing another employee, and (4) is not disqualified for such credit by a relationship to the employer.

Date: 2011-09-08
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to exclude Members of Congress, except the Vice President, from further CSRS and FERS retirement coverage. Prohibits further government contributions or deductions from such Member's basic pay for deposit in the Treasury to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. States that nothing in this Act shall: (1) be considered to nullify, modify, or otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under CSRS for any Member covering any period before the enactment of this Act; or (2) affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) in accordance with otherwise applicable law.

Date: 2011-09-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Congress
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit the treatment of certain employer contributions made to public retirement plans as picked up by an employing unit regardless of whether the participating employee is allowed to make an irrevocable election between the application of two alternative benefit formulas involving the same or different levels of employee contributions.

Date: 2011-09-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Federal Employees Leave Transfer Act of 2011 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to modify by regulation the program for voluntary transfer of unused leave to allow federal employees to transfer unused sick leave and contribute such leave to agency leave banks for the use of other employees, on the same basis as is allowed for annual leave.

Date: 2011-09-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Retirement Income Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to declare that no person shall be considered a fiduciary to an employee benefit plan (special entity) by reason of that person's performing any service, act, or duty as a swap dealer, major swap participant, security-based swap dealer, or major security-based swap participant with respect to such entity. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to redefine "special entity" to exclude from its meaning as well as from certain business conduct standards: (1) employee benefit plans, and (2) any collective investment vehicle in which one or more special entities invest. Declares that no swap dealer shall be treated as an advisor to a Special Entity (and thus subject to specified duties and restrictions related to fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative behavior) if: (1) the Special Entity represents in writing that it will not rely on recommendations of the swap dealer, but will rely on advice from an independent representative; and (2) the swap dealer discloses to the Special Entity that it is not undertaking to act in the Special Entity 's best interests. Declares further that no swap dealer shall be considered to act as an advisor to a Special Entity solely by reason of providing information to an independent representative of a Special Entity. Prescribes criteria for considering a representative of a Special Entity to be independent of a swap dealer.

Date: 2011-09-23
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Hardship Outlays to protect Mortgagee Equity Act of 2011 or the HOME Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to withdraw amounts from their tax-exempt pension and retirement plans, without incurring the 10% penalty otherwise imposed on such withdrawals, to make mortgage payments on their principal residences.

Date: 2011-10-05
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends title IV (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act to reestablish for FY2012-FY2013 the Emergency Contingency Fund for State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Programs for the purpose of grants to states by the Secretary of the Treasury related to: (1) increases in TANF caseloads, (2) increased expenditures for non-recurrent short term benefits, and (3) increased expenditures for subsidized employment. Modifies for FY2011-FY2012 the formula for the pro rata reduction credit in the calculation of the minimum participation rate of all families of a state receiving TANF assistance for any reduction in such rate owing to caseload reductions not required by federal law and not resulting from changes in state eligibility criteria.

Date: 2011-10-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Social welfare
Unemployed Worker Assistance Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow unemployed individuals who have exhausted all rights to unemployment compensation under federal or state law to make penalty-free withdrawals from tax-exempt pension and retirement plans.

Date: 2011-10-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA), and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to treat certain small employer benefit arrangements (SEBAs) as employers for the purpose of providing qualified retirement and accident and health plans or group-term life insurance. Defines a SEBA as a member owned, democratically controlled cooperative organization that: (1) has at least 21 shareholders of whom 90% percent are in the same or similar line of business; (2) sponsors an accident and health plan for shareholder-members and any of their employees; (3) sponsors a qualified retirement plan meeting specified requirements and available to shareholder-members and their employees; (4) provides employee benefits pursuant to a written agreement; and (5) requires all benefit eligible employees of a shareholder-member to participate according to the same statutory eligibility criteria normally accorded them. Treats the shareholder-members of a SEBA as employers for purposes of administering and allocating items of income, credits, deductions, or exclusions associated with the provision of employee benefits. Prohibits treatment as a SEBA of any organization or related entity that is owned, in whole or in part, or managed or controlled in whole or in part, by any management agreement or certificates of indebtedness, directly or indirectly, or by: (1) any agents, brokers or providers of a health, life, or disability insurer; (2) a retirement plan service provider; (3) claim administrators; or (4) investment advisors. Requires any group health plan established or maintained by a SEBA to be fully insured (thus prohibiting self-insurance).

Date: 2011-10-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Savings Enhancement by Alleviating Leakage in 401(k) Savings Act of 2011 or the SEAL 401(k) Savings Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to loans made from a qualified employer plan, to extend the period for repayment of loans if a plan terminates or a plan participant becomes unemployed. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to modify regulations governing hardship distributions from qualified employer plans to allow participants to make additional contributions to a plan during the six month period following a hardship distribution.

Date: 2011-11-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Startup Technical Assistance for Reemployment Training and Unemployment Prevention Act or the STARTUP Act - Amends the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 to authorize states to establish a self-employment assistance program (a program to provide unemployed individuals with an allowance in lieu of extended unemployment compensation to establish a business and become self-employed). Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to allow individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation to participate in a self-employment assistance program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) award grants to states for self-employment assistance programs; (2) develop model language that may be used by states in enacting such programs and provide technical assistance to states in establishing, improving, and administering such programs; (3) establish reporting requirement for states that have established such programs; and (4) report to Congress on the effectiveness of such programs. Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to repeal the program for investment in microentrepreneurs. Limits and rescinds funding for the Loan Modernization and Accounting System established by the Small Business Administration (SBA). Directs the Administrator of SBA to terminate the Special Purpose Counseling Grant program under the Small Business Act.

Date: 2011-11-15
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Helping Individuals Return to Employment Act or HIRE Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to award competitive grants to eligible entities to hire unemployed individuals age 16 and older to perform a minimum of 20 hours per week of work to benefit certain communities, including activities such as public works, beautification, historic restoration, tutoring, and adult education. Restricts such grants to eligible entities located in or primarily serving in a community designated either as a renewal community, an empowerment zone, or a historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone), if the unemployment rate in the area is higher than 7% during the 3-month period preceding award of the grant. Requires that priority in the award of grants be given to individuals who have been unemployed for more than a year. Prescribes certain grant limitations.

Date: 2011-11-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Mobilizing Opportunities for Veterans Employment Act of 2011 - Requires recipients of federal assistance for federal-aid highway projects and capital public transportation projects to give preference to the hiring of veterans with the requisite skills and abilities to perform construction work on such projects. Exempts from these requirements federal-aid highway projects on Indian reservation roads in which preference in the hiring of Indians living on or near a reservation on such projects is authorized.

Date: 2011-11-18
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Transportation and public works
End Pensions in Congress Act or EPIC Act - Amends the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to exclude Members of Congress, except the Vice President, from further CSRS and FERS retirement coverage. Prohibits further government contributions or deductions from such Member's basic pay for deposit in the Treasury to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. States that nothing in this Act shall: (1) be considered to nullify, modify, or otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under CSRS for any Member covering any period before the enactment of this Act; or (2) affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) in accordance with otherwise applicable law. Allows Members covered by such exclusion, within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to elect to remain subject to CSRS or FERS, as the case may be.

Date: 2011-11-18
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Congress
Small Business Pension Promotion Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to take steps to address any significant and broadly applicable decrease in the value of investments held by defined contribution plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), including by allowing: (1) taxpayers to use a later asset valuation date than otherwise required, and (2) additional time for making distributions from such plans and accounts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a deduction in computing the net earnings from self-employment income for pension and IRA contributions, (2) allow a determination of the adjusted funding target attainment percentage for tax-exempt retirement plans without regard to the reduction for credit balances for funding-based limits on benefits under single employer plans, (3) repeal the excise tax on nondeductible contributions to qualified employer plans, and (4) provide a  special rule for determining normal retirement age for certain existing defined benefit plans. Makes conforming amendments to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Requires the Secretary to revise administrative rules governing interim amendments of qualified pension plans to provide greater flexibility and reduce plan sponsor burden.

Date: 2011-12-05
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Retirement Savings Security Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a qualified participant loan protection arrangement to allow a participant or beneficiary who receives any amount as a loan from an eligible retirement plan (i.e., a qualified trust, an annuity plan, or an annuity contract) the option to obtain protection against death and disability through: (1) a group insurance policy issued to the plan for the sole purpose of providing participant and beneficiary loan death and disability insurance, or (2) a debt protection product in which debt protection is provided through appropriate commercial contractual liability insurance.

Date: 2011-12-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
One New Employee Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain business entities, including S corporations, partnerships, trusts, estates, tax-exempt cooperatives, or sole proprietorships, a business-related tax credit for hiring individuals who received federal or state unemployment compensation for not less than one week in the one-year period prior to hiring.  Limits the maximum amount of such credit for each entity to $5,000. Terminates such credit after 2016.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural workers) from annual numerical limitations.

Date: 2011-12-15
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Tax Cuts for the Middle Class Act - Reduces by 2% employment tax rates for employees and self-employment tax rates in calendar year 2012 (payroll tax holiday period). Appropriates funds from the Treasury to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund established by title II (Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Social Security Equivalent Benefit Account established by the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to compensate for any revenue loss to such funds resulting from the tax rate reductions of this Act.

Date: 2011-12-20
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Health Freedom for Seniors Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-free transfers of required distributions after age 70 1/2 from an individual retirement account (IRA) and other tax-exempt retirement accounts to a health savings account.  Exempts such transfers from the excise tax on excess contributions to tax-favored accounts and annuities.

Date: 2012-01-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Allows a current or former employee of a commercial passenger airline who receives a payment of any money or other property payable by an airline pursuant to a court order filed in a bankruptcy case after September 11, 2001, and before January 1, 2007 (airline payment amount), to: (1) make a tax-free rollover of such amount to a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) within 180 days of receipt (or within 180 days of the enactment of this Act, if later); and (2) transfer, without tax penalty, an airline payment amount contributed to a Roth IRA to a traditional IRA if such transfer is made within 180 days after the enactment of this Act. Excludes from the gross income of an airline employee amounts transferred to a traditional IRA under this Act. Imposes a limit on the aggregate amount transferrable to a traditional IRA.

Date: 2012-02-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Automatic IRA Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain employers who do not maintain qualifying retirement plans or arrangements to make available to their eligible employees a payroll deposit individual retirement account (IRA) arrangement (automatic IRA arrangement) which grants such employees the right to opt-out of participation; (2) require the Secretary of the Treasury to provide employers with a model notice for notifying employees of their opportunity to participate in such an arrangement and to provide participants with an annual statement setting forth arrangement payments, earnings, value, and other specified information; (3) impose a penalty on employers who fail to provide eligible employees access to such an arrangement; (4) establish an Automatic IRA Advisory Group to make recommendations regarding investment options; and (5) allow employers who do not have more than 100 employees a tax credit for costs associated with establishing an automatic IRA arrangement. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Labor to jointly conduct feasibility studies on extending spousal consent requirements to automatic IRAs, promoting the use of low-cost lifetime income arrangements, and using investment data to notify individuals with multiple small balance retirement accounts of consolidation options.

Date: 2012-02-16
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation