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United States · Official source
7,306 records where Rep. Pallone, Frank [D-NJ-6] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Indonesian Family Refugee Protection Act - Authorizes a qualifying Indonesian citizen whose asylum claim was denied solely upon a failure to meet the one-year application filing deadline to file a motion to reopen such claim. Requires that such motion be filed during the two-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act - Requires a business enterprise that employs 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, or 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, exclusive of overtime, in a call center to notify the Secretary of Labor at least 120 days before relocating such center outside of the United States. Subjects violators to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 a day. Directs the Secretary to maintain and make publicly available a list of all such employers that relocate a call center. Requires such an employer to remain on the list for up to three years after each relocation. Makes such an employer ineligible for federal grants or federal guaranteed loans for five years after being added to the list, except where the employer demonstrates that a lack of such loan or grant would threaten national security, result in substantial job loss in the United States, or harm the environment. Requires the head of federal or state executive agency or military department, when awarding a civilian or defense-related contract, to give preference to a U.S. employer that does not appear on the list. Requires a business entity that initiates or receives a customer service communication to require each of its employees or agents participating in the communication to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each such communication unless all involved employees or agents are located in the United States. Exempts any communication: (1) initiated by a consumer if the consumer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or agent is located outside the United States, or (2) related to the provision of emergency services. Requires such a business entity, upon request, to transfer a customer to a customer service agent who is physically located in the United States. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to exclude certain classes or types of business entities or customer services communications from the requirements of this Act under exceptionally compelling circumstances. Sets forth enforcement provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2011
Native Culture, Language, and Access for Success in Schools Act - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to facilitate the inclusion of Indian tribes in the school improvement process. Establishes an Indian School Turn Around grant program to assist tribes in implementing transformation, restart, or turnaround school intervention models at low-performing Indian schools. Requires states to develop standards-based assessments and classroom lessons that accommodate diverse learning styles. Excepts Native language teachers from the requirement that teachers be highly qualified. Requires states to develop alternative licensure or certification requirements for those teachers. Amends part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk) of title I of the ESEA to facilitate the participation of Indian tribes in part D programs. Establishes: (1) an Indian Children and Youth At-Risk Education grant program to assist tribes in providing education and other services to Indian youth in correctional facilities, and (2) a grant program to assist tribes in providing educational alternatives for Indian youth who have been sentenced to incarceration or juvenile detention. Amends part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the ESEA to enhance teacher and principal training and recruiting for Indian schools. Establishes an Indian Educator Scholarship program for Indians who are studying to be elementary or secondary school teachers and agree to serve in an Indian school or public school serving a significant number of Indian students. Includes Indian schools in the program to recruit and train mathematics and science teachers under part B and in the Troops-to-Teachers program under part C of title II. Amends title III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students) of the ESEA to require the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to award grants to Indian and educational organizations for Native American language programs. Authorizes tribes to enter into agreements with states to assume state responsibilities and receive a portion of their funding for administering and implementing specified education programs on tribal lands. Requires the Secretary to establish a Safe and Healthy Schools for Native American Students program under title IV (21st Century Schools) of the ESEA. Amends part A (Indian Education) of title VII (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education) of the ESEA to facilitate the participation of Indian tribes in Indian elementary and secondary education grant programs and fund Native American Language programs. Authorizes tribes to enter into a cooperative agreement with a state or local educational agency (LEA) to assume the role of the state or LEA with respect to schools on Indian land. Establishes the Tribal Education Agency Pilot Project that provides selected Indian tribes with federal funding, and allows them to administer all state functions authorized under the ESEA, for Indian schools, or schools on Indian lands or serving Indian students. Establishes a program awarding grants to LEAs, institutions of higher education (IHEs), or nonprofit organizations to create or expand teacher and administrator pipelines for teachers and administrators of Native American students. Establishes the National Board Certification Incentive Demonstration program to cover the costs teachers of Indians incur in obtaining such certification and boost their compensation. Establishes the Tribal Language Immersion Schools program to assist elementary and secondary schools and Tribal Colleges or Universities in using an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian language as the primary language of instruction at the schools. Establishes a grant program to improve the collection, coordination, and electronic exchange of Indian student records between states, LEAs, and Indian schools. Reauthorizes appropriations under part A through FY2017. Amends the Impact Aid program to require the Secretary to complete Impact Aid payments to eligible LEAs that claim children residing on Indian lands within three fiscal years of their appropriation. Considers teachers of Native American language, history, or culture in a state or any Indian school to be highly qualified for purposes of the ESEA if they are certified by a tribe as highly qualified to teach those subjects. Gives Indian schools the same eligibility and consideration for any competitive program under the ESEA as LEAs are given. Requires all ESEA public school assistance programs to reserve 1% of their funding to provide Indian schools with the technical expertise and capacity to compete for such assistance. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to require the Secretary to reserve for Indian schools a portion of the amounts appropriated for the State Incentive Grants and Innovation Fund programs. Requires states to ensure that high-quality early learning services are provided to Indian children. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude certain educational benefits provided to members of Indian tribes from gross income. Amends the Education Amendments of 1978 to require the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Tribal Education Policy Advisory Group. Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a qualified school construction bond escrow account. Amends the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 to make Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College a 1994 Land Grant Institution. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish an American Indian Tribal College or University Adult Education and Family Literacy program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) expand programs for Native American school children that support learning in their Native language and culture and provide English language instruction, and (2) conduct research on culture- and language-based education. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish: (1) a grant program to assist Native Americans in ensuring the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages, and (2) an in-school facility innovation program contest to encourage IHEs to solve the problem of how to improve Indian school facilities for problem-based learning. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Department of the Interior and Department of Education Joint Oversight Board to coordinate Indian education policies and assistance. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the feasibility of transferring the Bureau of Indian Education from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Education. Requires the Secretary of Education to study the feasibility of entering into self-governance compacts and contracts with Indian tribal governments that wish to operate public schools on their lands. Establishes the Center for Indigenous Excellence to support the development and demonstration of Native American language and culture-based education.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2011
Native Culture, Language, and Access for Success in Schools Act - Amends part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to facilitate the inclusion of Indian tribes in the school improvement process. Establishes an Indian School Turn Around grant program to assist tribes in implementing transformation, restart, or turnaround school intervention models at low-performing Indian schools. Requires states to develop standards-based assessments and classroom lessons that accommodate diverse learning styles. Excepts Native language teachers from the requirement that teachers be highly qualified. Requires states to develop alternative licensure or certification requirements for those teachers. Amends part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk) of title I of the ESEA to facilitate the participation of Indian tribes in part D programs. Establishes: (1) an Indian Children and Youth At-Risk Education grant program to assist tribes in providing education and other services to Indian youth in correctional facilities, and (2) a grant program to assist tribes in providing educational alternatives for Indian youth who have been sentenced to incarceration or juvenile detention. Amends part A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund) of title II of the ESEA to enhance teacher and principal training and recruiting for Indian schools. Establishes an Indian Educator Scholarship program for Indians who are studying to be elementary or secondary school teachers and agree to serve in an Indian school or public school serving a significant number of Indian students. Includes Indian schools in the program to recruit and train mathematics and science teachers under part B and in the Troops-to-Teachers program under part C of title II. Amends title III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students) of the ESEA to require the Secretary of Education (Secretary) to award grants to Indian and educational organizations for Native American language programs. Authorizes tribes to enter into agreements with states to assume state responsibilities and receive a portion of their funding for administering and implementing specified education programs on tribal lands. Requires the Secretary to establish a Safe and Healthy Schools for Native American Students program under title IV (21st Century Schools) of the ESEA. Amends part A (Indian Education) of title VII (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education) of the ESEA to facilitate the participation of Indian tribes in Indian elementary and secondary education grant programs and fund Native American Language programs. Authorizes tribes to enter into a cooperative agreement with a state or local educational agency (LEA) to assume the role of the state or LEA with respect to schools on Indian land. Establishes the Tribal Education Agency Pilot Project that provides selected Indian tribes with federal funding, and allows them to administer all state functions authorized under the ESEA, for Indian schools, or schools on Indian lands or serving Indian students. Establishes a program awarding grants to LEAs, institutions of higher education (IHEs), or nonprofit organizations to create or expand teacher and administrator pipelines for teachers and administrators of Native American students. Establishes the National Board Certification Incentive Demonstration program to cover the costs teachers of Indians incur in obtaining such certification and boost their compensation. Establishes the Tribal Language Immersion Schools program to assist elementary and secondary schools and Tribal Colleges or Universities in using an American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian language as the primary language of instruction at the schools. Establishes a grant program to improve the collection, coordination, and electronic exchange of Indian student records between states, LEAs, and Indian schools. Reauthorizes appropriations under part A through FY2017. Amends the Impact Aid program to require the Secretary to complete Impact Aid payments to eligible LEAs that claim children residing on Indian lands within three fiscal years of their appropriation. Considers teachers of Native American language, history, or culture in a state or any Indian school to be highly qualified for purposes of the ESEA if they are certified by a tribe as highly qualified to teach those subjects. Gives Indian schools the same eligibility and consideration for any competitive program under the ESEA as LEAs are given. Requires all ESEA public school assistance programs to reserve 1% of their funding to provide Indian schools with the technical expertise and capacity to compete for such assistance. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to require the Secretary to reserve for Indian schools a portion of the amounts appropriated for the State Incentive Grants and Innovation Fund programs. Requires states to ensure that high-quality early learning services are provided to Indian children. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude certain educational benefits provided to members of Indian tribes from gross income. Amends the Education Amendments of 1978 to require the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Tribal Education Policy Advisory Group. Amends the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a qualified school construction bond escrow account. Amends the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 to make Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College a 1994 Land Grant Institution. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to establish an American Indian Tribal College or University Adult Education and Family Literacy program. Directs the Secretary to: (1) expand programs for Native American school children that support learning in their Native language and culture and provide English language instruction, and (2) conduct research on culture- and language-based education. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish: (1) a grant program to assist Native Americans in ensuring the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages, and (2) an in-school facility innovation program contest to encourage IHEs to solve the problem of how to improve Indian school facilities for problem-based learning. Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Department of the Interior and Department of Education Joint Oversight Board to coordinate Indian education policies and assistance. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the feasibility of transferring the Bureau of Indian Education from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Education. Requires the Secretary of Education to study the feasibility of entering into self-governance compacts and contracts with Indian tribal governments that wish to operate public schools on their lands. Establishes the Center for Indigenous Excellence to support the development and demonstration of Native American language and culture-based education.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2011
Wireless Innovation and Public Safety Act of 2011 - Increases the allocation of electromagnetic spectrum for use by public safety entities by: (1) directing the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reallocate to such entities specified frequencies of the 700 MHz D block spectrum, and (2) amending the Communications Act of 1934 to increase public safety services allocation and reduce commercial use allocation by 10 megahertz within a specified range. Authorizes the establishment of a private, nonprofit Public Safety Broadband Corporation to deploy a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband network based on a single, national network architecture. Requires the FCC to: (1) revoke the license for the public safety broadband spectrum and specified guard band spectrum; and (2) assign a new, single license for such spectrum ranges to the Corporation for a renewable 10-year term to ensure the construction, management, maintenance, and operation of such network. Revises the definition of "public safety services," with respect to the allocation and assignment of new public safety services licenses, to: (1) specify that the sole purpose of such services is to provide law enforcement, fire and rescue response, or emergency medical assistance, including such assistance provided by ambulance services, hospitals, and urgent care facilities (currently, the sole purpose is to protect the safety of life, health, or property); and (2) include services provided by tribal organizations or nongovernmental organizations authorized by a tribal organization (currently, only state or local government entities or nongovernmental organizations authorized by a government entity). Prohibits the FCC from renewing a license to use the narrowband spectrum, or granting an application for an initial license more than three years after enactment of this Act, unless the failure to renew or grant such license would cause considerable economic hardship or adversely impact public safety services. Authorizes the FCC to allow flexible use of the narrowband and guard band spectrum, including for public safety broadband communications. Establishes a grant program for states that establish a State Public Safety Broadband Office. Requires that such grants assist state, local, and tribal public safety entities in: (1) integrating the spectrum, infrastructure, equipment, and other network architecture to satisfy the wireless communications and data services needs of such entities; (2) creating consortium among states to develop proposals serving common network requirements; and (3) identifying assets (available towers and infrastructure) and specialized needs of the public safety entities for inclusion in radio access network proposals. Allows the Corporation, with FCC approval, to: (1) upon such an Office's request, enter agreements with non-public safety entities in the respective states to permit access to the public safety broadband spectrum on a secondary, preemptible basis in order to facilitate interoperability between non-public safety entities and public safety entities during emergencies; and (2) permit a private entity with whom the Corporation contracts on behalf of public safety entities (to construct, manage, maintain, or operate the core network or the radio access network) to obtain access to such spectrum for non-public safety services or share equipment or infrastructure of the public safety broadband network. Directs the Corporation to enter into any written agreements necessary to permit federal agencies to have shared access to the public safety broadband spectrum on an equivalent basis to protect the safety of life, health, and property. Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act (NTIA Organization Act) to reestablish and extend matching grants, for a five-year period, to eligible state or local governments or tribal organizations for the implementation, operation, and migration of various 9-1-1, E9-1-1 (wireless telephone location), Next Generation 9-1-1 (voice, text, video), and IP-enabled emergency services and public safety personnel training. Directs the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce and the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish a 9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office. Provides immunity and liability protection, to the extent consistent with specified provisions of the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, to various users and providers of Next Generation 9-1-1 and related services, including for the release of subscriber information. Directs the FCC to: (1) initiate a proceeding to create a specialized Do-Not-Call registry for public safety answering points, and (2) establish penalties and fines for autodialing (robocalls) and related violations. Sets forth timetables within which the FCC, for specified spectrum ranges, is required to: (1) assign licenses for nonfederal use through competitive bidding auctions, or (2) reallocate spectrum for unlicensed use. Extends, until September 30, 2021, the FCC's authority to grant a license or permit under applicable competitive bidding provisions. Authorizes the FCC, if it is consistent with the public interest in spectrum utilization for a licensee to voluntarily relinquish licensed spectrum usage rights in order to permit, through competitive bidding, the assignment of initial licenses subject to new service rules (on a flexible-use basis to the extent technologically feasible) or to permit the allocation of spectrum for unlicensed use, to disburse to such licensee, from the competitive bidding proceeds from such relinquishments, an amount based on the value of the licensee's relinquished rights. Requires the FCC, in order to create a geographically contiguous band of spectrum across the United States, to: (1) create a framework to make appropriate portions of the television broadcast spectrum available, and (2) require television broadcast station licensees and other licensees to relocate. Requires that the reclamation or modification of spectrum usage rights of a television broadcast station licensee for the purpose of providing spectrum usage rights to carry out such incentive auctions be on a voluntary basis, except that the FCC, subject to limitations, may: (1) reclaim such rights if it assigns the licensee an identical amount of contiguous spectrum in the same geographic market; and (2) modify such rights, if it is in the public interest, and compensate the licensee for reduced rights. Establishes an Incentive Auction Relocation Fund from which television broadcast station licensees are compensated for specified relocation costs and reduced spectrum usage rights. Requires that certain mobile satellite service spectrum be repurposed for terrestrial broadband use through competitive bidding incentive auctions. Directs the proceeds from specified auctions to be deposited in a Public Safety Trust Fund and used for disbursals to certain licensees voluntarily relinquishing licensed spectrum and deposits to various other funds established to carry out activities required by this Act. Requires remaining amounts to be deposited in the Treasury's general fund for deficit reduction. Amends the NTIA Organization Act to: (1) provide for payment of relocation and sharing costs incurred by federal agencies for certain potential or planned auctions, sharing of spectrum frequencies, or reallocation from federal use to exclusive nonfederal or shared use; and (2) permit federal entities to allow nonfederal entities access to frequency assignments with NTIA approval.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2011
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2011 - Amends provisions of federal civil service law to extend employment-related and retirement benefits to domestic partners of federal employees and to set forth requirements for establishing a domestic partnership, including the filing of an affidavit attesting to the existence and legitimacy of the partnership. Modifies provisions relating to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to extend eligibility for annuity and survivor benefits to domestic partners of federal employees on the same basis as married employees. Requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations to provide that domestic partners and former domestic partners shall be considered as spouses or former spouses for purposes of creditable service determinations under CSRS and FERS. Makes domestic partners of federal employees eligible for: (1) the federal employee group life insurance (FEGLI) program, (2) federal employees health benefits (FEHB), (3) dental and vision benefit plans, and (4) long-term care insurance coverage. Grants the head of an federal agency authority to reimburse an employee for taxes incurred the domestic partner of such employee for travel or transportation reimbursements. Modifies provisions of the Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) to make domestic partners of federal employees eligible for worker compensation benefits under such Act. Adds "domestic partner" to the list of relatives subject to restrictions on federal employment of relatives and related prohibitions. Includes a biological, adopted, or foster child of a domestic partner as a "son or daughter" for purposes of federal employee family and medical leave provisions. Allows a federal employee family and medical leave to care for a domestic partner. Requires the President to prescribe regulations necessary to ensure that specified provisions relating to the following are administered in a manner consistent with the purposes of this Act: (1) the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; (2) travel, transportation, and related payments and benefits under the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and for civilian employees of the Department of Defense (DOD); (3) certain benefits for members of the commissioned officer corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and (4) benefits related to federal employees or annuitants and benefits necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to make provisions of that Act applicable to domestic partners of federal employees to the same extent as married employees, including provisions relating to financial disclosure, government-wide limitations on outside earned income and employment, gifts to superiors and to federal employees, bribery, acceptance of travel expenses from nonfederal sources, taxes on self-dealing, and disqualification of a justice, judge, or magistrate judge. Requires reporting by: (1) the President on the implementation of this Act, and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the effect of this Act on premiums or other periodic charges under FEHB and the impact of extending benefits to domestic partners on federal employee retention and recruitment efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2011
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that the rights protected by the Constitution are the rights of natural persons and do not extend to for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, or other private entities established for business purposes or to promote business interests under the laws of any state, the United States, or any foreign state. Declares that such corporate and other private entities are subject to regulation by the people through the legislative process so long as such regulations are consistent with the powers of Congress and the states and do not limit the freedom of the press. Prohibits such corporate and other private entities from making contributions or expenditures in any election of any candidate for public office or the vote upon any ballot measure submitted to the people. Grants Congress and the states the power to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures, including a candidate's own spending, and to authorize the establishment of political committees to receive, spend, and publicly disclose the sources of those contributions and expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2011
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified maps as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character. Authorizes the Forest Service to modify such maps for the sole purpose of improving their accuracy or inclusiveness. Requires any substantial modification of those maps to be made through the national forest management planning process and documented in an environmental impact statement.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2011
Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act or STOP Act - Establishes a Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Council, composed mainly of civilians, as an independent entity from the chain of command of the Department of Defense (DOD). Directs the Council to: (1) appoint personnel to the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office, and advise such Office; (2) appoint the Director of Military Prosecutions (Director); (3) review each request of the Director with respect to a case stemming from a sexual-related offense that has been referred to a military appellate court or to the Department of Justice (DOJ); and (4) submit to the Secretary of Defense, Congress, and the Attorney General a report on each Director request for referral to a higher court. Requires the Council to advise on the development of sexual assault reporting protocols, risk-reduction and response training, and policy. Establishes within DOD the Sexual Assault Oversight and Response Office, headed by an Executive Director, to undertake specified duties and responsibilities relating to the investigation, prevention, and reduction of sexual assault incidents within the Armed Forces. Requires the Office to establish protocols to ensure that all reports of sexual assault are taken out of the chain of command and reported directly to the Office. Establishes the position of Director of Military Prosecutions, appointed by the Council, to have independent and final authority to oversee the prosecution of all sexual-related offenses committed by a member of the Armed Forces, and to refer such cases to trial by courts-martial. Amends the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 to require the Secretary to implement a centralized database, known as the Military Sexual Registry, for the collection of information regarding sexual assaults within the military, including the nature of the assault, the victim, the offender, and the outcome of associated legal proceedings. Requires the Registry to be housed and maintained within the Office.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2011
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.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2011
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of congressional gold medals in honor of the men and women who perished as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, and the Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medals, with amounts received from the sale to be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2011
Stillbirth and SUID Prevention, Education, and Awareness Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants for: (1) improving state comprehensive death scene investigations for sudden unexplained infant death (SUID) and sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC), and (2) increasing the rate of comprehensive and standardized autopsies for such deaths. Requires the Director to: (1) develop national guidelines for a standard autopsy protocol for such deaths, and (2) commission a study on the benefits and appropriateness of genetic testing for infant and early childhood deaths that remain unexplained after investigation and autopsy. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) award grants for death scene investigation training specific for SUID and SUDC, (2) establish a population-based case registry for SUID and SUDC deaths, (3) conduct a needs assessment for investigations and determinations of such deaths, and (4) develop public education and prevention programs to reduce stillbirths and address the racial and ethnic disparities in occurrence. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to: (1) award grants for child death review programs and prevention strategies; (2) establish a public health awareness and education campaign on SUID and SUDC; and (3) award grants for support services to families who have experienced SUID, SUDC, or stillbirth. Provides for surveillance and data collection on stillbirths. Requires the Secretary to establish a task force to develop a national research plan to determine the causes of, and how to prevent, stillbirths.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2011
Equity and Access for Podiatric Physicians Under Medicaid Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2011
Prohibits issuance of a specified letter of offer with respect to the proposed sale of defense articles and defense services to Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2011
Recognizes the importance labor unions play in ensuring a strong middle class by advocating for more equitable wages, humane working conditions, improved benefits, and increased civic engagement by everyday workers.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 2011
Local Flexibility for Transit Assistance Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to make urbanized area formula grants for the operating costs of equipment and facilities for use in public transportation in an urbanized area with a population over 200,000 to a designated recipient, direct recipient, or subrecipient that provides public transportation in the area operating less than 100 buses in fixed-route service in the area during peak service hours. Authorizes a designated recipient or direct recipient that operates at least 100 buses in fixed-route service during peak service hours in an urbanized area with a population of more than 200,000 to use grant funds for the operating costs of public transportation equipment and facilities in such projects if: (1) the recipients are certified by the Secretary as being in a crisis period; and (2) the recipients' percentage of revenue for the operating costs of public transportation equipment and facilities from non-federal sources (excluding system-generated revenue) is equal to the previous fiscal year's revenue, or the revenue is derived from dedicated sources. Specifies percentage limitations on the use of funds for urbanized areas with populations between 200,000 and 500,000, between 500,000 and 1 million, and over 1 million. Defines "crisis period" to mean that: (1) the unemployment rate within the recipients' service area is 7% or higher for the preceding month, or (2) the national average retail price of regular gasoline during a quarter has increased by more than 10%.
United States · United States Congress · 11 October 2011
Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2011 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act [CWA]) to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to nonprofit organizations to provide: (1) technical assistance to rural and small municipalities and tribal governments for planning, developing, and financing eligible state water pollution control revolving fund projects; and (2) technical assistance and training to enable rural, small, and tribal publicly owned treatment works and decentralized wastewater systems to protect water quality and comply with the CWA. Authorizes annual appropriations for FY2012-FY2016 for: (1) grants to states for administering programs for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of pollution; (2) watershed pilot projects (currently called wet weather watershed pilot projects); (3) grants to states for water pollution control revolving funds; (4) a pilot program for alternative water source projects; and (5) sewer overflow control grants. Expands the types of watershed pilot projects eligible for technical assistance and grants. Revises: (1) the eligibility requirements for grants for sewage collection systems; and (2) provisions concerning state water pollution control revolving funds, including by expanding the types of projects eligible for assistance. Requires states to: (1) establish affordability criteria to identify municipalities that would experience a significant hardship raising revenue for state water pollution control revolving fund projects, (2) establish a list of such projects that prioritizes water quality improvement projects for FY2013 and thereafter, and (3) provide financial assistance to only projects on such list. Requires the Administrator to report annually on the performance of the projects and activities carried out with assistance made available by a state water pollution control revolving fund. Prohibits state water pollution control revolving funds from being used for a project for the construction of publicly owned treatment works unless the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in such project are produced in the United States, with specified exceptions. Requires the Administrator to prohibit the use of steel, iron, and manufactured goods produced in a foreign country in a project funded with amounts made available from such fund if such country is in violation of the terms of an agreement with the United States by discriminating against such goods that are produced in the United States. Authorizes the Administrator to waive the requirement that a state deposit an amount equal to 20% of the state's annual capitalization grant into the state's water pollution control revolving fund if the Administrator determines that the state is experiencing economic hardship and that providing such a deposit would adversely impact the state's ability to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of its waters. Revises provisions concerning: (1) state water pollution control revolving fund amounts reserved for Indian tribes, and (2) the use of such amounts. Changes the tonnage duty (currently, a tax) on specified vessels entering or returning to a U.S. port. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish the Clean Water Trust Fund for: (1) capitalization grants to states for water pollution control revolving funds; (2) grants to states for water pollution control programs; (3) grants for research for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution; and (4) direct loans or guaranteeing obligations authorized under provisions of this Act entitled the Water Pollution Control Investment Act. Water Pollution Control Investment Act - Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) make a direct loan to a state infrastructure financing authority for use in the same manner as a capitalization grant made under the CWA for state water pollution control revolving funds, and (2) guarantee obligations for construction of large water infrastructure projects.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2011
Flexibility and Access in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2011 - 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 (under current law, as short as possible). Modifies the exceptions to the requirement that such period not exceed 10 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 10-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. Directs Regional Fishery Management Councils to consider data on recreational fishermen when specifying annual catch limits in a fishery management plan. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend application of the annual catch limits to a fishery for any period that: (1) the fishery is neither overfished nor approaching such condition, (2) any stock previously affected by overfishing is rebuilt, and (3) scientific advice of the relevant Council committee is insufficient to ensure consistency with the national standard. Requires the fishery impact statement of a fishery management plan to address the impacts and possible mitigation measures for coastal businesses dependent on recreational and commercial fishing industries. Directs: (1) each Council to submit an annual impact statement to the Secretary describing whether each fishery management plan is projected to have any adverse economic impact (and the estimated dollar amount of any impact) on such recreational and commercial fishermen and coastal businesses, and (2) the Secretary to mitigate any such impacts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation on behalf of Congress of a gold medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or personal representative of Raoul Wallenberg in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
American Jobs Act of 2011 - Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in such project are produced in the United States (Buy American). Waives such prohibition in cases where: (1) the prohibition would be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%. Requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on federally-assisted projects to be paid wages at the locally prevailing rates (Davis-Bacon Act). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce employment and self-employment tax rates in 2012 to 3.1%; (2) allow employers a tax credit for payroll increases in the last quarter of 2011 and in 2012; (3) extend the 100% bonus depreciation allowance through 2012; (4) delay until 2014 the 3% withholding requirement on payments due to vendors who provide services to federal, state, and local governmental entities; and (5) increase the work opportunity tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase from $2 million to $5 million the limit on the guarantee for contract surety bonds and on the liability for bonds obtained by fraud or misrepresentation. Directs the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the costs of retaining, recalling, rehiring, or hiring employees to provide early childhood, elementary, or secondary education and related services. Requires LEAs and state-funded early learning programs to obligate such funding by September 30, 2013. Prohibits the use of such grants to supplant state funding for education. Directs the Attorney General to carry out a competitive grant program pursuant to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 for the hiring, rehiring, or retention of career law enforcement officers. Makes appropriations to the Community Oriented Policing Stabilization Fund to carry out such program and for transfer to a First Responder Stabilization Fund from which the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) shall make competitive grants for hiring additional firefighters pursuant to the Federal Fire Prevention Control Act of 1974. Directs the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to modernize, renovate, or repair early learning or elementary or secondary education facilities. Requires the Secretary to allocate grants directly to the 100 LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged 5-17 living in poverty. Requires states to give subgrant priority to projects that comply with certain green building standards. Prohibits the use of such grants for new construction, routine maintenance costs, or on facilities used for events for which the public is charged admission. Allows private, nonprofit elementary or secondary schools with a rate of child poverty of at least 40% to participate in the program on a limited basis. Directs the Secretary to allocate grants to states to modernize, renovate, or repair existing facilities at community colleges. Prohibits the use of such grants: (1) for routine maintenance costs, (2) on facilities used for events for which the public is charged admission, or (3) on facilities which are used for sectarian purposes. Requires states, in providing assistance to community college projects, to consider the extent to which the project complies with certain green building standards. Makes specified funds available to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for: (1) grants-in-aid for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning projects under the airport improvement program (AIP); (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Next Generation air traffic control system advancements; (3) highway and bridge restoration, repair, and construction projects and for passenger and freight rail transportation and port infrastructure projects; (4) grants for high-speed rail projects, capital investment grants for intercity passenger rail service, and grants to reduce congestion on intercity rail passenger transportation; (5) capital grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak); (6) transit capital assistance grants; (7) capital projects for existing fixed guideway system modernization, replacement and repair of buses and bus-related equipment, and construction of bus-related facilities; and (8) discretionary capital investment grants for surface transportation infrastructure. Authorizes the Secretary to establish standards under which contracts for construction projects contain requirements for the local hiring of individuals to perform construction work under such contracts. Requires projects to comply with Buy American requirements. Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development Act - Establishes the American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) as a wholly-owned government corporation to make direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate transportation, water, or energy infrastructure projects. Requires infrastructure projects assisted under this Act to have costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $100 million ($25 million for rural infrastructure projects). Sets forth special requirements for infrastructure projects in rural areas. Requires the AIFA Chief Lending Officer to establish: (1) an Office of Rural Assistance to provide technical assistance in the development and financing of rural infrastructure projects, and (2) a Center for Excellence to provide such assistance to public sector borrowers for the same purpose. Establishes an Office of Special Inspector General to audit and investigate the business activities of AIFA. Makes private projects for which no public benefit is created ineligible for financial assistance. Sets forth terms for loans or loan guarantees for infrastructure projects. Requires the Chief Executive Officer of AIFA to establish and collect fees sufficient to cover AIFA administrative costs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2012 the exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for certain tax-exempt private activity bonds. Appropriates funds for assistance to eligible entities including state and local governments, and qualified nonprofit organizations, businesses or eligible consortia for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed-upon properties and for stabilization of affected neighborhoods (Project Rebuild). Allows the use of funds to: (1) establish financing mechanisms for the purchase and redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed-upon properties; (2) purchase and rehabilitate such properties; (3) establish and operate land banks for them; (4) demolish blighted structures (except public housing); and (5) redevelop abandoned, foreclosed, demolished, or vacant properties. Requires each state to receive at least $20 million of formula funds, all of which shall be used with respect to low and moderate-income individuals and families. Requires each state and local government grantee to establish procedures to create preferences for development of affordable rental housing. Allows a grantee to use up to 10% to create jobs by establishing and operating a program to maintain eligible neighborhood properties. Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to permit: (1) payments from the Spectrum Relocation Fund to reimburse certain federal entities for relocation or sharing costs incurred by planning for a potential or planned auction of spectrum frequencies or the reallocation of spectrum from federal use to exclusive nonfederal (currently, required) or shared federal and nonfederal use, and (2) federal entities to allow nonfederal entities access to frequency assignments with National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approval. Revises the categories of relocation and sharing costs. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), if it is consistent with the public interest in spectrum utilization for a licensee to voluntarily relinquish licensed spectrum usage rights in order to permit the assignment of new initial licenses through a competitive bidding process subject to new service rules, or to permit the designation of new spectrum for unlicensed use, to pay to such licensee a portion of any auction proceeds attributable to the licensee's relinquished spectrum usage rights. Permits the FCC, if it is in the public interest to modify the spectrum usage rights of any incumbent licensee to facilitate such new assignments and designations, to pay a portion of auction proceeds to incumbent licensees relocating to designated alternative frequencies or locations. Requires the FCC to: (1) notify Congress of the methodology (considering the value of spectrum vacated in its current use and the timeliness of clearing) for calculating such payments to licensees at least three months before the relevant auction, and (2) assign at least the first 84 megahertz from certain specified bands through a competitive bidding process. Extends permanently (currently, expires on September 30, 2012) the FCC's authority to grant a license or permit under applicable competitive bidding provisions. Sets forth requirements concerning: (1) terrestrial broadband rights on spectrum primarily licensed for mobile satellite services, and (2) domestic satellite communications services licenses. Directs: (1) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the FCC or the President to identify specified frequencies for competitive bidding or other reallocation or sharing, and (2) the FCC to auction specified frequency ranges. Modifies competitive bidding system design requirements. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the FCC to establish and collect annual user fees for: (1) initial spectrum licenses or construction permits that are not granted through competitive bidding; and (2) renewals or modifications of initial licenses or other authorizations, whether or not granted through competitive bidding. Sets forth required minimum collection amounts for FY2012-FY2021. Requires that all such proceeds be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. Directs the FCC to: (1) establish, by regulation, a fee-collection methodology and schedule; and (2) exempt broadcast television and public safety services licensees from such fees. Increases the allocation of electromagnetic spectrum for public safety entities by: (1) directing the FCC to reallocate to such entities specified frequencies of the 700 MHz D block spectrum; and (2) amending the Communications Act of 1934 to increase public safety services allocation and reduce commercial use allocation by 10 megahertz within a specified range. Authorizes flexible use of narrowband spectrum, including for public safety broadband communications, subject to exceptions. Establishes the Public Safety Broadband Corporation as a private, nonprofit corporation required to: (1) hold the single public safety wireless license (a license to be reallocated and granted by the FCC for an initial 10-year term renewable, upon application, for subsequent terms, each term a maximum of 15 years) for the 700 MHz D block and existing public safety broadband spectrums; and (2) build, deploy, and operate a nationwide public safety interoperable broadband network. Supporting Unemployed Workers Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SSA, 2008) with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through January 3, 2013. Postpones the termination of the program until June 8, 2013. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 4, 2013, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 9, 2013, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 with respect to a state's authority to apply certain requirements of the FSEUCA of 1970, with specified substitutions, for determining an extended unemployment compensation period. Requires the state's "on" and "off" indicators to be based on its rate of insured unemployment and rate of total unemployment for the period beginning on the enactment of the FSEUCA of 1970 (or, if later, the date established pursuant to state law) and ending on or before December 31, 2012 (currently, December 31, 2011). Amends the SSA, 2008 to include in a federal-state agreement under the EUC program a requirement that a state provide reemployment services and reemployment eligibility assessment activities to certain recipients of EUC. Conditions an individual's continuing eligibility for EUC for any week on whether such individual has been referred to such services or activities and participated, or has completed such participation, unless there is justifiable cause for failure to do so. Authorizes the federal-state agreement to require that a state agency administering EUC establish a self-employment assistance program to provide for the payment of EUC for up to 26 weeks as self-employment assistance allowances to individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Allows a participant in a self-employment assistance program to opt to discontinue such participation. Requires any state that establishes a Bridge to Work program under the Supporting Unemployment Workers Act of 2011 to deduct from an individual's EUC account necessary sums to pay wages for such individual. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and as amended by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, to extend through December 31, 2012, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits for employees with 10 or more years of service as well as for those with less than 10. Establishes the Reemployment NOW program to facilitate the reemployment of individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation (EUC claimants). Requires a state to submit for approval by the Secretary of Labor a state plan meeting certain minimum requirements in order to be eligible for an allotment of federal funds under the program. Authorizes a state to use its allotted funds to establish a Bridge to Work program to provide EUC claimants with short-term work experience placements with eligible employers to increase opportunities for such individuals to move to permanent employment. Authorizes a state to use its allotted funds to provide a wage insurance program to pay, for up to two years, an EUC claimant who obtains reemployment up to 50% of the difference between the wages received by the worker at the time of work separation and the wages the worker received for reemployment. Authorizes a state to its allotted funds to provide: (1) a program of enhanced reemployment services to EUC claimants, including unemployed individuals who have exhausted their EUC rights; (2) for the administrative costs associated with starting up certain self-employment assistance programs; and (3) for additional innovative programs designed to facilitate the reemployment of EUC claimants. 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 the implementation of such programs. Allows an increased work opportunity tax credit for long-term unemployed individuals (individuals who are unemployed and receiving unemployment compensation for six months or more). Pathways Back to Work Act of 2011 - Establishes the Pathways Back to Work Fund, with an initial appropriation of $5 billion. Requires the Secretary of Labor to make certain Fund allocations to states with approved plans, qualifying outlying areas (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau), and Native American program grantees to provide: (1) subsidized employment to unemployed, low-income adults; and (2) summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to local entities for work-based training and other work-related and educational strategies and activities of demonstrated effectiveness to provide unemployed, low-income adults and low-income youths with skills that will lead to employment. Subjects activities funded under this Act to federal labor standards and nondiscrimination protections. Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Makes it an unlawful practice for certain employers to: (1) publish an advertisement or announcement for a job with provisions indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for employment, or that the employer will not consider or hire an individual for employment based on such status; (2) fail or refuse to consider or hire an individual because of such status; or (3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration for employment, or when screening or referring employees. Makes it an unlawful practice for an employment agency to commit similar acts, including to: (1) screen, or fail or refuse to consider or refer, an individual for employment because of the individual's unemployed status; or (2) limit, segregate, or classify any individual in any manner that would limit access to job information, or consideration, screening, or referral for jobs. Makes it unlawful for any employer or employment agency to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under this Act; or (2) fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because such individual opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act or asserted any right under it. Prescribes enforcement authorities with respect to violations of this Act. Authorizes an individual, or any person acting on the individual's behalf, who files a claim in the appropriate U.S. court alleging violation of the prohibitions of this Act to receive: (1) an order enjoining the unlawful employment practice, (2) the reimbursement of costs expended as a result of such practice, (3) liquidated damages of at least $1,000 for each day of the violation, and (4) reasonable attorney's fees (including expert fees) and court costs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) limit tax deductions and other tax exclusions for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 ($250,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), (2) treat income received by a partner from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income for income tax purposes, and (3) treat all general aviation aircraft (including corporate jets) as seven-year property for depreciation purposes. Repeals, after 2012, certain tax expenditures for the oil and gas industry, including: (1) the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells; (2) the tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenditures; (3) percentage depletion for oil and gas wells; (4) the tax deduction for income from activities relating to oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof; (5) the exemption from limitations on passive activity losses; and (6) the tax credits for enhanced oil recovery and for producing oil and gas from marginal wells. Increases the amortization period for geological and geophysical expenditures. Denies the foreign tax credit for amounts paid or accrued by a dual capacity taxpayer to a foreign country or U.S. possession. Defines "dual capacity taxpayer" as a person who is subject to a levy of a foreign country or U.S. possession and who receives a specific economic benefit from such country or possession. Sets forth a special rule for the treatment of taxes paid on foreign oil and gas income for purposes of the foreign tax credit. Amends the Budget Control Act of 2011 to: (1) increase the deficit reduction target of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction from $1.5 trillion to $1.95 trillion, and (2) provide that the revenue enhancement provisions of this Act will not take effect if a Committee bill achieving greater than $1.65 trillion in deficit reduction is enacted by January 15, 2012. Amends the Budget Control Act of 2011 to increase the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's targeted deficit reduction goal from $1.5 trillion to $1.95 trillion or more over FY2012-FY2021. States that if a joint committee bill achieving an amount greater than $1.65 trillion in deficit reduction (as provided for in the Act) is enacted by January 15, 2012, then the amendments to the Internal Revenue Code made by subtitles A through E of title IV of this Act, shall not be in effect for any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2011
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition. Increases the cap on the amount of appropriations that may be used to carry out such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2011
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 369 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the "Judge Shirley A. Tolentino Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2011
Mechanical Insulation Installation Incentive Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional tax deduction for the cost of installing mechanical insulation property. Limits the amount of such deduction to the lesser of 30% or the reduction in energy loss from the installed mechanical insulation property compared to property that meets the minimum requirements of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard 90.1-2007. Allows the cost of replacing mechanical insulation property to be treated as a deductible business expense in the current taxable year. Defines "mechanical insulation property" as insulation materials, facings, and accessory products: (1) placed in service in connection with a mechanical system which is located in the United States and of a character subject to an allowance for depreciation; and (2) utilized for thermal, acoustical, and personnel safety requirements for mechanical piping and equipment, hot and cold applications, and heating, venting and air conditioning applications which can be used in a variety of facilities. Allows a tax deduction for capital expenditures related to mechanical insulation property.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2011
Condemns the extremist violence, lack of religious freedom, and human rights violations committed against Kashmiri Pandits, which they have endured for more than two decades. Insists that terrorist infrastructure in the region be dismantled and terrorists held accountable for their actions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2011
Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to impose restrictions on foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions operating in the United States that are of prime money laundering concern or that impede U.S. tax enforcement. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a rebuttable presumption against the validity of transactions by institutions that do not comply with reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), (2) treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes, (3) require tax withholding agents and financial institutions to report certain information about beneficial owners of foreign-owned financial accounts, (4) treat credit default swap payments sent offshore as taxable U.S. source income, (5) allow the use of tax return information to evaluate foreign financial account reports, (6) increase penalties for promoting abusive tax shelters and for aiding and abetting the understatement of tax liability, (7) prohibit tax advisor contingent fee agreements for obtaining a tax savings or benefit, and (8) impose additional requirements for third party summonses used to obtain information in tax investigations that do not identify the person with respect to whose liability the summons is issued (i.e., John Doe summons). Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) require corporations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to report annually, on a country-by country basis, on employees, sales, financing, tax obligations, and tax payments; and (2) authorize a fine of up to $1 million for failure to disclose any holding or transaction involving equity or debt instruments known to involve a foreign entity that would otherwise be subject to disclosure requirements. Requires the Secretary to publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register requiring unregistered investment companies, including hedge funds or private equity funds, to establish anti-money laundering programs and submit suspicious activity reports. Extends anti-money laundering requirements to persons engaged in the business of forming new businesses or other legal entities. Requires federal banking agencies and the SEC to develop examination techniques to detect and prevent abusive tax shelter activities or the aiding or abetting of tax evasion by financial institutions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) disclose tax return information to federal financial regulators for purposes of tax shelter investigations; (2) disclose to Congress documents relating to a determination to grant, deny, revoke, or restore the tax-exempt status of an organization; and (3) expand the standards applicable to tax practitioners for issuing written advice on transactions which have a potential for tax avoidance or evasion.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2011
Medigap Medical Loss Ratio Improvement Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies to increase the minimum loss ratio required of such policies. (A loss ratio is the ratio of total losses paid out in insurance claims, plus adjustment expenses, divided by the total earned insurance premiums.) Prohibits the issuance or renewal of a Medigap policy in any state unless the policy can be expected to return to policyholders in the form of aggregate benefits: (1) at least 85% (currently 75%) of the aggregate amount of premiums collected in the case of group policies, and (2) at least 80% (currently 65%) in the case of individual policies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2011
Global Democracy Promotion Act - States that in determining eligibility for assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not: (1) be ineligible for such assistance solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States, and (2) be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving assistance under part I of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2011
Asset Forfeiture Fund Reform and Distribution Act of 2011 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) or the Secretary of the Treasury, after September 30, 2011, to use each of the sums received as fines, penalties, and forfeitures of property for violations of any provisions of such Act, or of any other fishery resource law enforced by the Secretary, to make a payment to: (1) the state in which the violation occurred, (2) the state in which the vessel involved in the violation is homeported if the violation did not occur in a state, or (3) the state most directly affected by a violation neither occurring in a state nor involving a vessel. (Current law authorizes using such sums for certain civil and criminal enforcement costs.) Directs states to use such amounts for specified research and monitoring activities. Sets forth transitional rules authorizing the Secretary to use such amounts received before October 1, 2011, to reimburse appropriate legal fees and costs, up to $200,000 per person, to specified persons the Secretary directed to receive a remittance of at least a portion of a fisheries enforcement penalty. Prohibits the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from assigning specified rulemaking or adjudication proceedings to an individual who has served as an NOAA administrative law judge for at least a five-year period if such proceeding pertains to the same fishery management region to which the majority of such proceedings that the individual presided over within the period pertained.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2011
Designates room HVC 215 of the Capitol Visitor Center as the "Gabriel Zimmerman Meeting Room."
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2011
American-Owned Property in Occupied Cyprus Claims Act - Amends the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 to urge the President to authorize the Secretary of State to begin negotiations with Turkey to allow for certain claims by U.S. nationals respecting real property in the Turkish-held portions of Cyprus. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to establish in the Treasury a Claims Fund for the payment of unsatisfied claims of U.S. nationals against Turkey. Sets forth payment procedures. Grants U.S. district court jurisdiction for civil actions against any private person by a U.S. national who owns property in the Turkish-held portion of Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2011
Medical Waste Management Act of 2011 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) revise the definition of "medical waste"; (2) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations listing types of medical waste; and (3) require the Administrator to conduct a medical waste management program to protect human health and the environment from medical waste and promulgate regulations on tracking, labeling, packaging, storing, handling, monitoring, and disposing of medical waste. Requires generators of medical waste (including tattoo and body art establishments) to: (1) provide waste transporters with written assurance that the generator has complied with labeling, packaging, and storage requirements and a manifest form for transporting such waste; (2) register with the Administrator; and (3) provide the Administrator with the names of all waste transporters. Requires transporters to: (1) not accept medical waste from a generator without receiving such assurance; (2) register with the Administrator; and (3) disclose to the Administrator the number and type of vehicles used to transport medical waste and the equipment and methods used to ensure segregation and handling of such waste. Requires owners or operators of storage and disposal facilities to: (1) provide notice of the disposal of medical waste to the generator; and (2) register with the Administrator. Sets forth provisions concerning inspections, public records, and enforcement under this Act. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish a program to educate the public about, and increase access to, acceptable methods for disposal of used syringes; (2) study and report on medical waste generated and its management and disposal; and (3) consult with the International Joint Commission on tracking medical waste entering the United States from Canada.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2011
Shareholder Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: (1) describe the specific nature (to the extent known) and total amount of expenditures proposed for political activities for the forthcoming fiscal year but not yet authorized by a vote of the issuer's shareholders, and (2) provide for a separate shareholder vote to authorize such proposed expenditures. Prohibits an issuer from making an expenditure for political activities in any fiscal year unless: (1) such expenditure is of the nature of those proposed by the issuer according to the requirements of this Act; and (2) authorization for such expenditure has been granted by votes representing a majority of outstanding shares. Deems a violation of this requirement to be a breach of the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors who authorized such expenditure. Subjects officers and directors who authorize the expenditure without prior shareholder authorization to joint and several liability to any shareholder or class of shareholders for the amount of such expenditure. Requires certain institutional investment managers to disclose annually in mandatory reports how they voted (proxies) in certain shareholder votes. Prohibits any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against an institutional investment manager, or any of its employees, officers, or directors, based solely upon the investment manager's decision to divest from, or not to invest in, securities of an issuer because of expenditures for political activities made by that issuer. Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not expressly provide for a vote of the issuer's directors on any individual expenditure for political activities in excess of $50,000. Requires an issuer to make public, within 48 hours, the individual votes of the directors regarding any such expenditure. Directs the SEC to: (1) require issuers to disclose expenditures for political activities made during the preceding quarter and the individual votes by board members authorizing such expenditures; and (2) make such reports publicly available through the SEC website. Requires the SEC to make annual assessments of the compliance by public corporations and their management with the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, and the Comptroller General (GAO) to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2011
Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act of 2011 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit any person from knowingly attending an animal fighting venture or causing a minor (a person under the age of 18) to attend such a venture. Subjects any person who: (1) knowingly attends such venture to a fine and/or imprisonment for up to a year for each violation, and (2) causes a minor to attend such venture to a fine and/or imprisonment for up to three years for each violation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2011
Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Mark Twain. Limits issuance of such coins to calendar year 2016. Requires specified surcharges in the sale of such coins, which shall be promptly paid, in specified percentages, to: (1) the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut, to support the continued restoration of the house and grounds, and ensure continuing growth and innovation in museum programming to research, promote, and educate on the legacy of Mark Twain; (2) the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library of University of California, Berkeley, California, to support programs to study and promote Mark Twain's legacy; (3) the Center for Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, New York, for the same purposes; and (4) the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Missouri, to preserve historical sites related to Mark Twain and help support study and promotion programs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2011
Authorizes the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to collectively honor the Montford Point Marines, U.S. Marine Corps, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II. (Camp Montford Point, North Carolina, was the site for the training of the first African-American Marines.) Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2011
Supports the creation of a bipartisan Presidential Commission to study the establishment of a National Museum of the American People to tell the immigration and migration stories of all people in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2011
Authorizes the American Legion under its federal charter to provide guidance and leadership to the individual Departments and Posts. Prohibits it from controlling or otherwise influencing the specific activities and conduct of independent, autonomous Departments and Posts.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2011
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.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2011
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits denying or abridging equality of rights under the law by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2011
Urges the government of Turkey to honor its obligations under international treaties and human rights law and: (1) end all forms of religious discrimination; (2) allow church and lay owners of Christian church properties to organize and administer religious and social activities; and (3) return to their rightful owners all Christian churches, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments, relics, and other religious properties, and allow their preservation and reconstruction as necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2011
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President to: (1) ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide; and (2) accurately characterize in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2011
Lions Clubs International Century of Service Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue as legal tender $1 coins in commemoration of the centennial of the founding of the Lions Clubs International. Requires the design of the coins to be emblematic of the centennial. Permits the Secretary to issue such coins only during calendar 2017. Requires sales of the coins to include a surcharge of $10 per coin, to be paid by the Secretary to the Lions Clubs International Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2011
Military Access to Reproductive Care and Health for Military Women Act or the MARCH for Military Women Act - Amends the prohibition on using funds available to the Department of Defense (DOD) to perform abortions by adding an exception for cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. (Current law provides an exception only where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to term.) Repeals a statutory restriction on using a medical treatment facility or other facility of the DOD to perform an abortion.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2011
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 beneficiaries 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.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2011
Safe Building Code Incentive Act of 2011 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to increase the maximum total of contributions for a major disaster by an amount equal to 4% of the estimated aggregate amount of grants to be made under the Act, if at the time of a declaration of a major disaster the affected state has in effect and is actively enforcing an approved state building code. Requires a state, to be eligible for the increased federal share, to submit its state building code to the President for approval. Directs the President to approve a state building code submitted upon determining that it: (1) is consistent with the most recent version of a nationally recognized model building code, (2) has been adopted by the state within six years of the most recent version of the nationally recognized code, and (3) uses the nationally recognized code as a minimum standard. Requires the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to set appropriate standards for the periodic update, resubmittal, and approval of state building codes, consistent with similar mitigation planning requirements under the Stafford Act. Authorizes the use by states and local governments of technical and financial assistance to implement predisaster hazard mitigation measures to establish and operate a building department and carry out enforcement activities to implement an approved state building code. Directs the President, in determining whether to provide technical and financial assistance to a state or local government, to take into account the extent to which that government is carrying out activities to implement an approved state building code.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2011
Combating Autism Reauthorization Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and reauthorize through FY 2014: (1) the surveillance and research program for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities; (2) the education, early detection, and intervention program for autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities; and (3) the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2011
Gold Star Mothers National Monument Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Gold Star Mothers National Monument Foundation to establish a monument in the District of Columbia area, as a unit of the National Park System, to be known as the Gold Star Mothers National Monument. Prohibits using federal funds to pay the expenses of establishing the monument.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2011
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2011
Iran Threat Reduction Act of 2011 - Declares that it is U.S. policy to deny Iran the ability to support acts of foreign terrorist organizations and develop unconventional weapons and ballistic missiles. Urges the President to initiate diplomatic efforts to expand the multilateral sanctions regime regarding Iran. Directs the President to initiate an investigation into the imposition of sanctions upon receipt of credible information that a person is engaged in a sanctionable activity under this Act. Directs the President to impose specified sanctions on a person who knowingly: (1) makes specified investments with respect to Iran's ability to develop petroleum resources; (2) sells, leases, or provides to Iran goods, services, technology, information, or support that could facilitate Iran's domestic production of refined petroleum products; (3) sells or provides to Iran refined petroleum products, or provides goods, services, technology, information, or support that could contribute to Iran's ability to import refined petroleum products; or (4) exports or otherwise facilitated transshipment to Iran of any goods, services, technology, or other items that would contribute to Iran's ability to acquire or develop chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons, or acquire or develop destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons. Sets forth exceptions to such sanctions for: (1) the procurement of certain defense articles or services; (2) eligible products to designated countries or instrumentalities; (3) products, technology, or services under contracts entered into before the date on which the President publishes in the Federal Register the name of the person on which the sanctions are to be imposed; (4) spare or component parts, or information and technology that are essential to U.S. products or production, and related servicing and maintenance; or (5) medicines, medical supplies, or other humanitarian items. Defines sanctions to include: (1) prohibitions on Export-Import Bank assistance, (2) prohibitions on loans from U.S. financial institutions and other financial services, (3) prohibitions on foreign exchange and other banking transactions, (4) prohibitions on property transactions, and (5) export and procurement sanctions. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary of State to issue, upon request, an advisory opinion with respect to whether a proposed activity would be sanctionable, and (2) a person to rely in good faith on such opinion and proceed without being subject to sanctions. Imposes sanctions under this Act for at least two years. Authorizes the President to terminate sanctions after one year if the sanctioned person is no longer engaging in a sanctionable activity and the President has received reliable assurances that the person will not knowingly engage in such future activity. Authorizes the President to waive imposition of sanctions if in the national security interest of the United States. States that a determination to impose sanctions under this Act shall not be reviewable in any court. Repeals the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996. Authorizes the President to provide financial and political assistance to certain foreign and domestic individuals, organizations, and entities that support democracy in Iran. Imposes visa, property, and financial sanctions on persons identified as officials of the government of Iran, security services, or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who were complicit in the commission of serious human rights abuses against citizens of Iran or their family members on or after June 12, 2009, regardless of whether such abuses occurred in Iran. Directs the Secretary of State to submit an annual report to Congress regarding the promotion of Internet freedom and information access in Iran. Imposes specified sanctions on a person that knowingly assisted in the exportation of petroleum, oil, or natural gas produced by the IRGC or its affiliates. Blocks the U.S. property interests of foreign persons or their affiliates that have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of violence threatening the peace or economic stability of Iraq or Afghanistan. Directs the President to develop a National Strategy to Counter Iran. Amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to require any person owned or controlled by a domestic financial institution to certify that such person is not engaged in corresponding relations or business activity with the IRGC. Requires a report on the Central Bank of Iran's activities to facilitate Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear missile capacities and promote terrorism. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require securities issuers to disclose in their mandatory annual or quarterly reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) whether they or their affiliates have: (1) engaged in certain activities relating to Iran, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; (2) knowingly engaged in specified activities, or knowingly violated certain regulations prescribed under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010; (3) knowingly conducted any transaction or dealing with a person whose property and interests in property are blocked by certain Executive Orders; or (4) knowingly conducted a transaction or dealing with any person listed in the Iranian Transactions Regulations. Requires the President to: (1) initiate an investigation into the possible imposition of sanctions when the SEC receives a report that an issuer or its affiliate has engaged in the cited activities, and (2) determine whether sanctions should be imposed on the issuer or the affiliate concerned. States that, except to meet U.S. international obligations, the Secretary of State shall deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) shall exclude from U.S. entry, a person who is an agent, official, or a representative of the government of Iran; and (2) presents a threat to the United States or is affiliated with terrorist organizations. Restricts the movement of such persons in the United States. Terminates the provisions of this Act when Iran: (1) has dismantled its efforts to develop or acquire nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons; (2) no longer provides support for acts of international terrorism; and (3) poses no threat to U.S. national security, interests, or allies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2011
Make It in America Block Grant Program Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Make It in America Block Grant Program under which the Secretary is authorized to make grants to eligible entities to support the U.S. manufacturing industry. Allows such grants to be used, with respect to small and medium-sized manufacturers, for: (1) retooling or retrofitting, (2) business plan diversification, (3) improving energy efficiency, (4) employee training and retraining, and (5) the provision of capital and technical expertise. Outlines provisions concerning eligible entities, the allocation of grant funds, and requirements for grant recipients, including the submission of a proposed manufacturing enhancement strategy. Directs the Secretary to establish an advisory committee for advice in implementing and evaluating the program. Authorizes the Secretary to review and evaluate recipient performance under the program. Requires the Comptroller General to study the program, and report study results to Congress. Expresses the sense of Congress that program amounts should supplement and not replace other funding provided by federal departments and agencies to support the manufacturing industry.