Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases federal employee contributions to federal retirement programs, amends health-care related lawsuit provisions, and reduces discretionary spending for fiscal year 2013.

Highlights:

• Increases the contributions of federal employees to the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System as follows (Sec. 501):
• By 1.5 percent in calendar year 2013;
• By 0.5 percent in calendar year 2014; and
• By 1.0 percent in each calendar year 2015 through 2017.

• Increases the contributions of members and employees of Congress to the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System as follows (Sec. 501):
• By 2.5 percent in calendar year 2013; and
• By 1.5 percent in each calendar year 2014 through 2017.

• Requires excess funds from employee contributions to retirement programs to be applied toward reducing the unfunded liability of the Civil Service Retirement System, until the unfunded liability is eliminated (Sec. 501).

• Limits eligibility for receipt of the annuity supplement paid in addition to Federal Employees’ Retirement System benefits to individuals hired before December 31, 2012 (Sec. 502).

• Authorizes an enrolled employee or member of a federal retirement program to contribute accumulated and accrued annual or vacation leave to the Thrift Savings Plan, effective 1 year after the date of enactment of the act (Sec. 503).

• Prohibits any sequestration order issued by the President that reduces defense spending for fiscal year 2013 from being put into effect (Sec. 706).

• Reduces the $1.05 trillion discretionary appropriations for fiscal year 2013 by $19.10 billion on January 2, 2013 (Sec. 703).

• Repeals certain provisions of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 that establish fixed appropriation percentages for the Consumer Financial Protections Bureau issued by the Board of Governors for each fiscal year (Sec. 331).

• Appropriates $200 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for fiscal years 2013 and 2014 (Sec. 331).

• Repeals certain funding provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act including, but not limited to, the funding for states to establish American Health Benefit Exchanges and the Prevention and Public Health Fund (Secs. 201 & 202).

• Repeals the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 provision that appropriates bonuses to states that demonstrate “high or most improved” performance in carrying out the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Sec. 105).

• Repeals the Social Services Block Grant program (Sec. 621).

• Repeals certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act including, but not limited to, the Office of Financial Research and requirements for the liquidation process for financial entities by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (Sec. 311).

• Repeals the authority of the Troubled Asset Relief Program to provide new assistance under the Home Affordability Modification Program to purchase “troubled assets” from a financial institution (Sec. 323).

• Requires health care lawsuits to be initiated by 1 of the following timeframes (Sec. 402):
• 3 years after the date of the manifestation of the injury; or
• 1 year after the date of the discovery of the injury.

• Specifies that nothing in the provisions of this bill limits a claimant’s recovery of the full amount of available economic damages in a health-care related lawsuit (Sec. 403).

• Limits noneconomic damages awarded to a claimant in a health-care related lawsuit to no more than $250,000 regardless of the number of claimants or defendants (Sec. 403).

• Prohibits punitive damages from being awarded to a claimant in a health-care related lawsuit unless it is proven by “clear and convincing evidence” that the defendant acted with “malicious intent” to injure the claimant or failed to avoid “unnecessary” injury to the claimant (Sec. 405).

• Limits the amount of attorney fees for representing a claimant in a health-care related lawsuit to the following amounts (Sec. 404):
• 40 percent of the first $50,000;
• 33 and one-third percent of the next $50,000;
• 25 percent of the next $500,000; and
• 15 percent of any amount more than $600,000.

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text