United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2012
Condemns the Lord's Resistance Army's (LRA) continued atrocities and calls for renewed efforts by the United States, governments in the affected region, and the international community to end the LRA's terror and bring Joseph Kony to justice. Calls for the United States to place restrictions on individuals or governments, including the Republic of Sudan, found to be supporting in any way Joseph Kony or the LRA. Stresses the importance that civilian protection be prioritized. Urges Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of Sudan, and Central African Republic to work together to address the LRA threat.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the President to develop and transmit to Congress a comprehensive strategy to end serious human rights violations in Sudan and promote a comprehensive peace and democratic reform strategy. Requires the strategy to include an interagency framework to plan, coordinate, and review the diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military actions and capabilities of U.S. policy regarding Sudan. Directs the President to impose specified visa, development assistance, security assistance, property, credit, financial assistance, export, cultural, or scientific sanctions on any person or government that: (1) supported or assisted Sudan in the commission of serious human rights violations in Sudan, including by selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring military equipment to Sudan or providing property, goods, technology, services, or other support in the amount of $500,000 or more that directly and significantly contributes to Sudan committing or assisting in the commission of serious human rights violations; (2) is interfering or has interfered with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Sudan; (3) is impeding the peace process or threatening the stability of any part of Sudan or the region; or (4) failed to execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against any Sudanese official if such person or government had the jurisdictional authority to execute the warrant and failed to make the arrest without reasonable justification. Prohibits the imposition of sanctions or other prohibitions on any government or person that is: (1) acting on behalf of the government of South Sudan in connection with the shipment or payment for oil from South Sudan or the advancement of peace between Sudan and South Sudan, or (2) providing humanitarian aid to Sudan. Amends: (1) the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 to make its asset and visa sanctions applicable to Sudan, and (2) the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 to impose such sanctions on Janjaweed commanders and coordinators threatening peace and stability in Sudan. Terminates sanctions upon certification by the President that specified conditions have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a 10/10 Loan Repayment Plan that allows borrowers of Federal Family Education Loans (FFELs) and Direct Loans (DLs) to limit their monthly payment on such loans to one-twelfth of 10% of the amount by which their adjusted gross income and that of their spouse (if applicable) exceeds 150% of the federal poverty level. Requires the Secretary of Education to determine a borrower's repayment obligation under that plan on a case-by-case basis if the repayment formula would result in the borrower paying nothing and the borrower is not in deferment due to an economic hardship. Establishes a 10/10 Loan Forgiveness Program that provides FFEL and DL forgiveness to borrowers who, after the date that is 10 years before the date of this Act's enactment, have made 120 monthly payments under the 10/10 Loan Repayment Plan or under another repayment plan that required them to make payments at least as large as those they would have made under the 10/10 Loan Repayment Plan. Credits the months during which an individual is in deferment due to an economic hardship as months for which payment was made for purposes of the 10/10 Loan Forgiveness Program. Caps the amount of loan forgiveness that the program will provide to individuals who become new borrowers after this Act's enactment. Caps the interest rate on new DLs at 3.4% Amends the public service employee loan forgiveness program to forgive the DLs of participants who have made 60 (currently, 120) monthly payments on such loans pursuant to specified repayment plans. Includes primary care physicians in medically underserved areas in the public service employee loan forgiveness program. Allows certain borrowers to consolidate their private education loans as Direct Consolidation Loans, provided the private loans were made on or before the date of this Act's enactment. Limits such borrowers to those who: (1) were students eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans or PLUS loans under the FFEL or DL programs for their enrollment at an institution of higher education, or would have been had they been enrolled on at least a half-time basis; (2) borrowed at least one private education loan for such enrollment; and (3) have an average adjusted gross income that does not exceed their total education debt. Caps the interest rate on those Direct Consolidation Loans at 3.4% Requires borrowers to apply for such loans within one year of this Act's enactment. Funds this Act's programs from funds available for Overseas Contingency Operations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Caring for the Fallen Act - Makes the American Battle Monuments Commission responsible for Clark Veterans Cemetery in the Philippines, including ensuring its ongoing maintenance.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Expresses the sense of Congress that programs broadcast by the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) should reflect the values, including equality, freedom, and service, to which members of the Armed Forces and Americans aspire, and that the AFRTS should avoid airing programming that has a history of being contrary to such values. Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to certify annually to Congress that such AFRTS-broadcast programming represents best-faith efforts to communicate the DOD's policies, priorities, programs, goals, and initiatives while avoiding airing programming with values contrary to Armed Forces and U.S. values.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
CT Colonography Screening for Colorectal Cancer Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide Medicare coverage for screening computed tomography colonography (CTC) as a colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test, and (2) exclude screening CTC from the meaning of "imaging services" for which there is a special rule regarding outpatient services department (OPD) fee schedule payments. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to submit a preliminary report to Congress on the status of coverage of CTC as a CRC screening test under Medicare, including the extent to which such coverage as required by this Act has been implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Due Process and Military Detention Amendments Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to provide that, in the case of a person detained in the United States pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force, disposition under the law of war shall only mean transfer for trial and proceedings by a court established under article III of the Constitution. Requires such trial and proceedings to have all due process provided under the Constitution. Repeals the requirement of detention in military custody pending disposition under the law of war for individuals determined to be a member or part of al Qaeda or an associated force who has participated in planning or carrying out an attack or attempted attack against the United States or its coalition partners.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons and Stop War Through Diplomacy Act - Directs the President to appoint a high-level U.S. representative or special envoy who shall: (1) seek to ease tensions and normalize relations between the United States and Iran, (2) lead U.S. diplomatic efforts with regard to Iran, and (3) act as liaison with U.S. and international intelligence agencies. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) rescind the no contact policy with Iran, and (2) establish an office in the Department of State to support the work of the representative or special envoy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2012
United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 - States that it is U.S. policy to: (1) reaffirm the commitment to Israel's security as a Jewish state, (2) provide Israel with the military capabilities to defend itself and help preserve its qualitative military edge, (3) expand military and civilian cooperation, (4) assist in a negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that results in two states living side by side in peace and security, and (5) encourage Israel's neighbors to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should take specified actions to assist in Israel's defense.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2012
Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 regarding the imposition of countervailing duties on imports into the United States from a country subsidizing, directly or indirectly, the manufacture, production, or export of merchandise which materially injures a U.S. industry or threatens to. Declares that merchandise on which countervailing duties must be imposed includes merchandise from a nonmarket country, unless the administering authority cannot identify and measure subsidies provided by the government of the nonmarket economy country (or a public entity within its territory) because the economy of that country is essentially composed of a single entity. Requires the administering authority to reduce the antidumping duty on a class or kind of merchandise from a nonmarket economy country in cases where: (1) such country (or a public entity within its territory) has provided the merchandise with a countervailable subsidy (other than an export subsidy); (2) the subsidy has reduced the average price of imports of that class or kind of merchandise during the relevant period; and (3) the extent to which the subsidy, in combination with the use of normal value, has increased the weighted average dumping margin for such merchandise can be reasonably estimated. Requires the administering authority, in such cases, to reduce the antidumping duty by the amount of the increase in the weighted average dumping margin estimated (but not by more than the portion of the countervailing duty rate attributable to the countervailable subsidy).
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2012
Recognizes the significance of Black History Month as an important time to recognize the contributions of African-Americans in the nation's history. Encourages the continued celebration of this month to provide an opportunity for all peoples of the United States to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped the nation. Recognizes that the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States enriches and strengthens the nation. Encourages states to include in their year-round educational curriculum the history and contributions of African-Americans in the United States and around the world.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2012
Shield Our Streets Act of 2012 - Authorizes the Attorney General to carry out a program, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, to award grants to assist eligible local law enforcement agencies with hiring and training new law enforcement officers and with rehiring career law enforcement officers who have been laid off as a result of budget reductions. Defines an "eligible" local law enforcement agency as one that has jurisdiction over all or part of a county or other unit of local government that has a violent crime rate at or above the national average and that has had budget reductions during the most recent five-year period (elevated need locality). Authorizes the Attorney General to carry out a program to award grants to units of local government that have jurisdiction over all or part of an elevated need locality to enhance public safety in such jurisdictions, including by: (1) purchasing public safety equipment, (2) funding public safety programs, (3) making infrastructure improvements, (4) purchasing and installing lights to deter crime, (5) funding activities related to crime labs, and (6) funding public defender programs. Authorizes such grants to nonprofit organizations that operate in elevated need localities to carry out programs designed to reduce crime in such areas.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2012
National Heritage Area Act of 2012 - Establishes a system of National Heritage Areas through which the Secretary of the Interior may provide technical and financial assistance to local coordinating entities to support the establishment, development, and continuity of the National Heritage Areas. Provides for such system to be composed of National Heritage Areas designated by Congress before enactment of this Act or under this Act. Prohibits National Heritage Areas from being: (1) considered to be units of the National Park System, or (2) subject to the authorities applicable to such units. Specifies the criteria that the Secretary shall apply to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating proposed National Heritage Areas. States that designation of a National Heritage Area shall be by Act of Congress and contingent on the prior completion of a management plan and an affirmative determination by the Secretary that the area meets such criteria. Sets forth requirements for National Heritage Area management plans.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2012
Recognizes: (1) that no ethnic, demographic, religious, or cultural group has been unaffected by our economic struggles; and (2) the significance of the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). Supports adequate funding for SNAP as a means of preventing hunger and strengthening the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2012
Social Security Administration Accountability Act of 2012 - Amends title VII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to submit an annual budget estimate of the Social Security Administration (SSA) (instead of a budget) directly to Congress and the President (instead of first to the President, who would submit it to Congress). Revises requirements for the general contents of the SSA budget, requiring inclusion of the number of cases pending at each hearing office and the average processing time. Prohibits the Commissioner from closing or consolidating SSA field or hearing offices, or otherwise limiting public access to one, until 180 days after submitting to specified congressional committees a detailed report outlining and justifying the process for selecting field offices to be closed, consolidated, or otherwise have limited access. Prohibits the Commissioner from closing an SSA field or hearing office, consolidating two or more such offices, or otherwise imposing any new limitation on public access to any such office unless the Commissioner follows certain administrative procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2012
Condemns Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities and its continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Calls for Iran to release Youcef Nadarkhani and all other individuals held or charged on account of their religion. Recognizes that religious freedom is a universal human right and a fundamental individual freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2012
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Jack Nicklaus in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike such gold medal and to strike and sell duplicate bronze medals at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the gold and bronze medals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2012
Help Entrepreneurs Create American Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the increase (from $5,000 to $10,000) in the tax deduction for the start-up expenditures of an active trade or business permanent (currently, limited to taxable years beginning in 2010).
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2012
Disclosure of Information on Spending on Campaigns Leads to Open and Secure Elections Act of 2012 or DISCLOSE 2012 Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to redefine the term "independent expenditure" as an expenditure by a person that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate, or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy because it can be interpreted by a reasonable person only as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate, taking into account whether the communication involved mentions a candidacy, a political party, or a challenger to a candidate, or takes a position on a candidates, qualifications, or fitness for office. Expands the period during which certain communications are treated as electioneering communications. Prescribes: (1) disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and certain other entities; and (2) disclaimer requirements for campaign-related disbursements and for certain communications. Requires any communication transmitted through radio or television to include an individual or organizational disclosure statement, together with: (1) the Top Two Funders List of the persons providing the largest and second largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a radio communication, and (2) the Top Five Funders List of the five persons providing the largest aggregate payments of $10,000 or more for a television communication. Repeals the prohibition against political contributions by individuals age 17 or younger. Requires a covered organization which submits regular, periodic reports to its shareholders, members, or donors on its finances or activities to include in each report, in a clear and conspicuous manner, the information included in the statements it has filed about campaign-related disbursements the organization has made during the period covered by the report. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require semiannual reports on certain election campaign contributions filed with the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House of Representatives by registered lobbyists (or persons or organizations required to register as lobbyists) to contain: (1) the amount of any independent expenditure of $1,000 or more made by each such person or organization, along with the name of each candidate being supported or opposed and the amount spent supporting or opposing that candidate; and (2) the amount of any electioneering communication of $1,000 or more made by such person or organization, along with the name of the candidate referred to in the communication and whether the communication involved was in support of or in opposition to the candidate.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2012
For the People Voter Protection Initiative - Condemns the passage of legislation that would unduly burden an American's ability to register and vote. Opposes any state election law or proposed legislation that would have a disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities across the country.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2012
Paying a Fair Share Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require an individual taxpayer whose adjusted gross income exceeds $1 million to pay a minimum tax rate of 30% of the excess of the taxpayer's adjusted gross income over the taxpayer's modified charitable contribution deduction for the taxable year (tentative fair share tax). Establishes the amount of such tax as the excess (if any) of the tentative fair share tax over the excess of: (1) the sum of the taxpayer's regular tax liability, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) amount, and the payroll tax for the taxable year; over (2) certain tax credits. Provides for a phase-in of such tax. Requires an inflation adjustment to the $1 million income threshold for taxable years beginning after 2013. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should enact tax reform that repeals unfair and unnecessary tax loopholes and expenditures, simplifies the tax system, and makes sure that the wealthiest taxpayers pay a fair share of taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2012
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the award of a Congressional Gold Medal to collectively honor the pioneers and participants of the civil rights movement in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to their country. Directs that the Medal be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be displayed. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian should make the Medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations associated with the civil rights movement.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2012
Drug Shortage Prevention Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) define the term "critical drug" based on the medical necessity and vulnerability to shortage of a drug or biological product; (2) establish, make publicly available, and update semiannually a list identifying each critical drug and its manufacturers; (3) promptly remove from such list any drug or biological product that no longer meets such definition; and (4) establish, make publicly available, and update monthly a list identifying each critical drug that is in a critical drug shortage in the United States, the severity of and reason for the shortage, alternate therapies and regions particularly affected, and an estimated date by which the necessary quantities of the drug will begin reaching providers. Allows manufacturers to request removal of a drug from such lists on the basis that it doesn't meet the definition of "critical drug" or is not in a critical drug shortage. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a proactive system for giving notice to the public concerning modifications to the critical drug shortage list, (2) establish a system for giving notice of any imminent critical drug shortage to critical drug manufacturers and wholesale distributors and manufacturers of alternative therapies, (3) notify the Attorney General of any critical drug shortage, (4) study the feasibility of creating a national contingency plan addressing critical drug shortages, (5) expedite the review of applications for approval of critical drugs and requests by sponsors of such drugs to approve manufacturing process changes or alternate suppliers of active ingredients, and (6) improve the process for regulating critical drugs. Express the sense of Congress that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should increase the number of personnel responsible for identifying and addressing critical drug shortages. Amends the Controlled Substances Act to direct the Attorney General to increase a quota as appropriate for a drug listed in a critical drug shortage that is or contains a controlled substance.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2012
Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to make the 3.4% interest rate on Direct Stafford loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012, applicable to Direct Stafford loans first disbursed to undergraduate students on or after July 1, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
Sympathizes with the families of women and children victimized by sexual and other forms of gender-based violence in Haiti. Urges treatment of the issue of violence against women and children as a priority for U.S. humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Haiti. Supports passage of Haiti's first comprehensive law on the prevention, punishment, and elimination of gender-based violence.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2012
Honors: (1) those who lost their lives due to the tragic earthquake of January 12, 2010; and (2) the sacrifice of the men and women of the government of Haiti, the U.S. government, the United Nations (U.N.), and the international community for their response to the calamity. Expresses solidarity with the people of Haiti as they work to rebuild their neighborhoods, livelihoods, and country. Reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to support long-term Haitian reconstruction. Supports the Administration's efforts to prevent the spread of cholera, treat persons who contract the disease, provide technical assistance to the Haitian Ministry of Public Health, and improve water, sanitation, and health systems. Urges the President and the international community to: (1) focus assistance on Haiti's public sector capacity to provide basic services, (2) develop and improve communications and participatory mechanisms to more substantially involve Haitian civil society at all stages of the cholera and post-earthquake responses, and (3) give priority to programs that protect vulnerable populations. Urges the President to: (1) make necessary resources available to U.S. and U.N. agencies, nongovernmental organizations, private volunteer organizations, and regional institutions; (2) assess long-term needs for investing in public health and building water and sanitation infrastructure, particularly in relation to the cholera epidemic; (3) lead humanitarian and development efforts with the government of Haiti, the Haitian Diaspora, and international actors; and (4) work with Haitian authorities and private landowners to prevent the forced eviction of internally displaced person communities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 December 2011
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of two gold medals to the First Special Service Force (a joint American-Canadian unit), collectively, in recognition of their World War II service. Directs one such gold medal to be given to the Smithsonian Institution and the other to the First Special Service Force Association in Helena, Montana. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates with proceeds deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund. Declares that medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes of specified coins and currency provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2011
America Realizing the Informational Skills and Initiative of New Graduates Act of 2011 or America RISING Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a program of grants to: (1) eligible small business employers to defray the cost of compensation they pay to recent graduates from institutions of higher education; and (2) such graduates to enable them to defray the cost of undertaking further education for up to 24 months in subjects relating to mathematics, science, engineering, or technology.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2011
Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 - Title I: Temporary Payroll Tax Relief - Amends the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 to: (1) extend through 2012 the 2% reduction in the self-employment tax rate for self-employment income not exceeding the excess of $18,350 over any wages and compensation paid to a self-employed taxpayer, and (2) extend through February 29, 2012, the 2% reduction in employment tax rates for employee wages and compensation not exceeding $18,350. Title II: Temporary Extension of Unemployment Compensation Provisions - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 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 March 6, 2012. Postpones the termination of the program until August 15, 2012. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until March 7, 2012, 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 August 15, 2012, 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 FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2011, to February 29, 2012, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, to extend through February 29, 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 years. Title III: Temporary Extension of Health Provisions -Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to set the update to the single conversion factor in the formula for the physicians' fee schedules for the first two months of 2012 at zero (thus freezing the physician payment update for the first two months of 2012). Requires the conversion factor for the remaining portion of 2012 and subsequent years to be computed as if the zero update for the first two months of 2012 had never applied. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, as modified by other federal law, to extend section 508 hospital reclassifications for two months through November 30, 2011. ("Section 508" refers to Section 508 of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 [MMA], which allows the temporary reclassification of a hospital with a low Medicare area wage index, for reimbursement purposes, to a nearby location with a higher Medicare area wage index, so that the "Section 508 hospital" will receive the higher Medicare reimbursement rate.) Extends through February 29, 2012, the 1.0 floor on geographic indexing adjustments to the work portion of the physician fee schedule. Extends through February 29, 2012, the process allowing exceptions to limitations on medically necessary therapy caps. Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act of 2000 to extend until February 29, 2012, an exception to a payment rule that permits laboratories to receive direct Medicare reimbursement when providing the technical component of certain physician pathology services that had been outsourced by certain (rural) hospitals. Amends SSA title XVIII to extend the bonus and increased payments for ground ambulance services until March 1, 2012. Amends the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 (MIPPA) to extend the payment of certain urban air ambulance services until February 29, 2012. Extends increased payments for super rural ambulance services until March 1, 2012. Amends MIPPA to extend the physician fee schedule mental health add-on payment provision through February 29, 2012. Extends through February 29, 2012, hold harmless provisions under the prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services. Extends the minimum payment for bone mass measurement through the first two months of 2012. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to extend the Qualifying Individual (QI) Program through February 29, 2012, at specified allocations. xtends the Transitional Medical Assistance (TMA) Program through February 29, 2012. Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to extend the TANF program through February 29, 2012. Title IV: Mortgage Fees and Premiums - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to require the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to require each government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) (the Federal National Mortgage Association [Fannie Mae] and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation [Freddie Mac]) to charge a guarantee fee in connection with any guarantee of the timely payment of principal and interest on securities, notes, and other obligations based on or backed by mortgages on residential real properties designed principally for the occupancy of from one to four families. Requires the FHFA Director to prohibit a GSE from consummating any offer for a guarantee to a lender for mortgage-backed securities if: (1) the guarantee is inconsistent with the requirements of this Act; or (2) the risk of loss is allowed to increase, through the lowering of the underwriting standards or other means, for the primary purpose of meeting the requirements of this Act. Requires direct deposit into the Treasury of any amounts received from fee increases imposed by this Act that are necessary to comply with the minimum increase required by this Act. Requires the Director to require each GSE, as part of its annual report, to: (1) describe changes made to up-front fees and annual fees as part of the guarantee fees negotiated with lenders, changes to the riskiness of the new borrowers compared to previous origination years or book years, and any adjustments required to improve for future origination years or book years, in order to be in complete compliance with guarantee fee requirements; and (2) assess how the changes in such guarantee fees met the requirements of this title. Amends the National Housing Act with respect to requirements for each mortgage secured by a 1- to 4-family dwelling that is an obligation of the Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in addition to other required or authorized premiums, to establish and collect through FY2021 annual premium payments of up to 10 basis points of the remaining insured principal balance for any mortgage for which the Secretary collects an annual premium on the remaining insured principal balance. Title V: Other Provisions - Subtitle A: Keystone XL Pipeline - Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of State, to grant a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project application filed on September 19, 2008. Waives such requirement if the President determines that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest. Requires the President, in that case, to report to certain congressional committees and officials a justification for his determination, including consideration of economic, employment, energy security, foreign policy, trade, and environmental factors. Declares that a permit for such pipeline shall take effect by operation of law if after 60 days following enactment of this Act the President fails to: (1) determine that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest, or (2) grant the permit. Subtitle B: Budgetary Provisions - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the Senate to consider a bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that includes an emergency designation. Permits waiver or suspension of such prohibition, or successful appeals from a ruling of the Chair, only by an affirmative vote of three-fifths (60 votes) of the Senate. Prohibits the budgetary effects of this Act from being entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2011
Riya Wilson Act - Amends title IV (Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services) of the Social Security Act to require an approved state plan that is required in order to be eligible for federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance to provide that such state has in effect procedures that require the state child welfare agency to promptly report information on missing or abducted children to law enforcement authorities for entry into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to require a state reporting a missing child under the age of 21 to the NCIC to: (1) require the state law enforcement agency that entered the report to include a recent photograph in information updating a record, and (2) notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children of each report received relating to a child reported missing from a foster care family home or childcare institution.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2011
Due Process Guarantee Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to specify that an authorization to use military force, a declaration of war, or any similar authority shall not authorize the detention without charge or trial of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident apprehended in the United States, unless an Act of Congress expressly authorizes such detention. Applies this Act to any such authorizations or declarations enacted before, on, or after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2011
Contingency Operations Oversight and Interagency Enhancement Act of 2011 - Establishes as an independent entity the United States Office for Contingency Operations (Office), which shall report to the Department of Defense (DOD) and the State Department. Transfers to the Office various authorities, functions, personnel, and assets of specified federal departments and agencies. Provides for an Office Director, Deputy Director, Associate Directors, and an Inspector General. Requires the Office, among other duties, to: (1) monitor political and economic instability worldwide in order to anticipate the need for mobilizing U.S. and international assistance for the stabilization and reconstruction of a foreign country or region that is at risk of, in, or in transition from, conflict or civil strife in the wake of violence or cataclysmic disaster; (2) develop contingency plans and procedures to mobilize and deploy civilian and military personnel to conduct appropriate foreign stabilization and reconstruction operations (operations); (3) execute, administer, and enforce laws, rules, and regulations relating to the preparation, coordination, and execution of operations; and (4) evaluate, and report to Congress on, the impact of operations. Gives the Director sole control over such operations. Requires the Director to: (1) coordinate with the Secretary of Defense and commanders of unified and specified combatant commands regarding Office plans for operations, and (2) prescribe a Contingency Federal Acquisition Regulation. Establishes the Stabilization and Reconstruction Fund. Outlines duties and responsibilities of the Inspector General of the Office, including special audit and investigative authority and reporting requirements. Transfers to the Inspector General all functions vested in the Offices of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the extent possible, the Director and Office staff should partner with the country in which an operation is taking place, other foreign government partners, international organizations, and local nongovernmental organizations throughout the planning, implementation, and particularly during the transition stages of such operations, in order to facilitate long term capacity building and sustainability of initiatives.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2011
Restore the American Dream for the 99% Act or Act for the 99% - Title I: Emergency Job Creation to Rebuild America - Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for: (1) subgrants to local education agencies (LEAs) to modernize, renovate, or repair public school facilities; and (3) grants to pay maintenance costs. Requires LEAs to use such funds, to the maximum extent practicable, for green schools. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for grants to institutions of higher education for an additional 250,000 part-time work-study jobs for students (Student Jobs Corps). Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the Secretary of the Interior to create additional 100,000 positions in the Public Lands Corps. Authorizes the President to establish a Civilian Conservation Corps for specified activities in federal or state lands. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) a Teacher Corps in elementary and secondary schools; (2) a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to hire an additional 40,000 state, local, and tribal career law enforcement officers; (3) a Firefighters Corps program to hire an additional 12,000 firefighters; and (4) a Community Corps to create an additional 750,000 jobs to perform energy audits, conservation upgrades, recycling, initial demanufacturing activities, urban land reclamation, rural conservation, public property maintenance and beautification, housing rehabilitation, and new housing construction. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to grant financial assistance to health care or long-term care (LTC) providers to pay the costs of hiring and retaining additional health care or LTC professionals (Health Care Corps). Amends the Head Start Act to direct the Secretary of HHS to provide funds to Early Head Start programs to hire additional infant and toddler specialists. Makes appropriations to the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor solely for on-the-job training. Buy American Enhancement Act of 2011 - Prescribes Buy American requirements for items purchased under this Act. Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act of 2011 - Amends the Small Business Act to redefine independently owned and operated small business concerns to exclude publicly traded business concerns and subsidiaries as well as foreign-owned business concerns and subsidiaries. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to report annually on prime federal contracts awarded to small business concerns for the purposes of achieving specified small business contracting goals of the federal government. National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2011 - Establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank (NIDB) as a wholly owned government corporation to provide financial assistance for transportation, environmental, energy, and telecommunications infrastructure projects of regional or national significance contributing to economic growth and job creation. Wounded Veteran Job Security Act - Amends the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) to include as service in the uniformed services any period for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment for a service-connected injury or illness or one for which a "line of duty" document has been granted by the Secretary of Defense (DOD). Prescribes documentation requirements for an applicant for reemployment due to an absence for the purpose of obtaining such medical treatment. Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend until January 4, 2013, any federal-state agreement to make emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 4, 2013, full federal funding of extended unemployment compensation. Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to authorize a state, if implementation of first-tier EUC would unduly delay the prompt EUC payments, to elect to pay second-tier, third-tier, or fourth-tier EUC. Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include as a "countervailable subsidy" requiring action under a countervailing duty or antidumping duty proceeding the benefit conferred on merchandise imported into the United States from foreign countries with fundamentally undervalued currency. Prioritize Emergency Job Creation Act - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) with respect to the designation of FY2012-FY2021 appropriations for discretionary accounts for emergency job creation. Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Declares it an unlawful practice for certain employers with at least 15 employees for each working day in each of at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year to: (1) refuse to consider or offer employment to an individual based on present or past unemployment regardless of the length of time such individual was unemployed; (2) publish an advertisement or announcement for any job with provisions indicating that such an unemployed status disqualifies an individual and that an employer will not consider an applicant based on such status; and (3) direct or request that an employment agency account for such status when screening or referring applicants. Prohibits an employment agency (including agents and persons maintaining a website publishing job advertisements or announcements), based on such an individual's status as unemployed, from: (1) refusing to consider or refer an individual for employment; (2) limiting, segregating, or classifying individuals in any manner limiting access to job information; or (3) publishing an advertisement or announcement for any job vacancy that includes provisions indicating that such an individual is disqualified and that an employer will not consider such individuals. New Jobs for America Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, subject to the availability of appropriations, to make grants to state and local governments and Indian tribes to carry out employment training programs to aid unemployed individuals in securing employment in a new area of expertise, particularly in emerging markets and industries (such as green technologies). Makes certain funds available to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for restoration, repair, construction, and other eligible surface transportation activities as well as for passenger and freight rail transportation and port infrastructure projects. Jobs NOW Act - Amends title IV part A (Grants to States for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish in the Treasury the Emergency Contingency Fund for State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Programs. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to repeal new discretionary spending limits. Title II: Responsible Savings and Fair Taxation - Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act - Limits the obligation and expenditure of funds for operations of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan to the safe and orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan of all members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DOD) contractor personnel. Defense and Deficit Reduction Act - Freezes the aggregate amount of funds made available for DOD-administered military functions (other than military personnel pay, health benefits, and drug interdiction and counter-drug activities) at: (1) the FY2008 level for FY2011, and (2) the previous fiscal year level for each of FY2012-FY2016. Places a permanent ceiling of 30,000 per fiscal year (with certain exceptions) on the end strength level of members of the Armed Forces assigned to permanent onshore duty in Europe and corresponding general end strength reductions. Specifies the breakdown of end strength levels for each of the services. Terminates the V-22 Osprey aircraft program as of FY2012. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise the basic range of income taxed at: (1) 15% from a maximum of $36,900 to a maximum of $69,000, (2) 28% from $36,900-$89,150 to $69,000-$139,350, (3) 31% from S89,150-$140,000 to $212,300-$379,150, (4) from $140,000-$ 250,000 to $379,150-$1 million, and (5) $39.6% from $250,000-and-over to $1 million-$10 million. Prescribes new tax rates of 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, and 49% for specified income levels above $10 million to $1 billion-and-over. Specifies the breakdown of such tax rates for heads of households, unmarried individuals, and married individuals filing separate returns. Prescribes a special rule for recapture of lower capital gains rates for individuals subject to at least a 45% rate bracket. End Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act of 2011 - Revises requirements for the amortization of geological and geophysical expenditures to convert the special tax rule for major integrated oil companies into a special rule for covered large oil companies (a major integrated oil company or a taxpayer with taxable year gross receipts exceeding $50 million. Denies taxpayers who are not small, independent oil and gas companies: (1) the tax credit for production of oil and gas from marginal wells, (2) the enhanced oil recovering tax credit, (3) the deduction for the intangible drilling and development costs of oil and gas wells, (4) the percentage depletion allowance, (5) the deduction for tertiary injectant expenses, (6) the exclusion from (and consequently subjection to) the disallowance passive activity losses and credits, and (7) the deduction for a portion of income derived from domestic production activities. Prohibits a major integrated oil company from using last-in, first-out (LIFO) tax accounting. Prescribes a special rule to deny to a dual capacity taxpayer a foreign tax credit for certain amounts paid or accrued to a foreign country or U.S. possession with respect to combined foreign oil and gas income. Superfund Reinvestment Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to authorize the use of amounts in the Hazardous Substance Superfund for environmental cleanup costs authorized by such Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate until December 31, 2018, the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax and extend the borrowing authority of the Superfund through 2021. Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a .03% excise tax on the purchase of a security: (1) if such purchase occurs on a trading facility located in the United States, or (2) the purchaser or seller is a U.S. person. Extends through calendar year 2012 the making work pay tax credit. Employee Misclassification Prevention Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to require every person to: (1) keep records of non-employees (contractors) who perform labor or services (except substitute work), including through an entity such as a trust, estate, partnership, association, company, or corporation, for remuneration; and (2) provide certain notice to each new employee and new non-employee, including classification as an employee or non-employee and information concerning their rights under the law. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) discharge or otherwise discriminate against an individual (including an employee) who has opposed any practice, or filed a complaint or instituted any proceeding related to this Act, including with respect to an individual's status as an employee or non-employee; and (2) fail to classify accurately an employee or non-employee. Doubles the amount of liquidated damages for maximum hours, minimum wage, and notice of classification violations by an employer. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a page on the Department of Labor website that summarizes the rights of employees under this Act. Amends SSA to require, as a condition for a federal grant for the administration of state unemployment compensation, for the state's unemployment compensation law to include a provision for: (1) auditing programs that identify employers that have not registered under the state law or that are paying unreported compensation where the effect is to exclude employees from unemployment compensation coverage, and (2) establishing administrative penalties for misclassifying employees or paying unreported unemployment compensation to employees. Corporate Assets Should be Used to Hire Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on domestic corporations in taxable years beginning in 2011 or 2012 an additional 40% tax on the excess of their retained earnings over their average retained earnings for the preceding 3 taxable years. Exempts certain corporations from such tax, including corporations with retained earnings of less than $5 million in a taxable year. Title III: Protect and Strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - Public Option Deficit Reduction Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer through Exchanges a health benefits plan (public health insurance option) that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high-quality coverage throughout the United States. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish an office of the ombudsman for the public health insurance option, and (2) establish geographically adjusted premiums at a level sufficient to fully finance the costs of the health benefits provided and related administrative costs. Requires repayment of start-up costs for the public health insurance option. Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2011 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the prices that may be charged to Medicare part D prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors and MedicareAdvantage (MA) organizations for covered part D drugs for part D eligible individuals who are enrolled under a PDP or under an MA-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plan. Medicaid Enhancement and Emergency Job Creation Act of 2011 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2011 (ARRA) to extend through FY2012 the increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid). Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply employment and self-employment taxes to remuneration up to the contribution and benefit base and to remuneration in excess of $250,000.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2011
Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2011 - Directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (with respect to drugs, devices, cosmetics, and biological products), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (with respect to consumer products), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (with respect to chemical substances, new chemical substances, and pesticides), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (with respect to a motor vehicle or motor vehicle products) to require foreign manufacturers and producers of such products (or components used to manufacture them), in excess of a minimum value, quantity, and frequency of importation, to register an agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on their behalf for the purpose of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court. Deems a foreign manufacturer or producer of products covered under this Act that registers an agent to consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts of the state in which the agent is located for the purpose of any judicial proceeding. Requires any person who imports into the United States a covered product manufactured or produced outside the United States to make to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a declaration that, to the best of the person's knowledge, with respect to the importation of each covered product, the foreign manufacturer or producer of the product has registered an agent in the United States. Subjects to certain penalties an importer who fails to provide this or files a false declaration. Requires foreign manufacturers or producers of a covered product to report within five business days to the head of the applicable agency their determination to conduct a safety recall or other safety campaign of a covered product that is identical or substantially similar to a covered product offered for sale in the United States. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to study jointly the feasibility and advisability of requiring foreign producers of food distributed in commerce to register an agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such producers for the purpose of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court. Requires the head of an applicable agency similarly to study the feasibility of methods requiring foreign manufacturers or producers of component parts of covered products distributed in U.S. commerce to register agents in the United States for purposes of such service of process. Requires the Comptroller General to study methods to enforce judgments of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court against Chinese manufacturers that exported defective drywall to the United States during 2004-2007.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2011
No Budget, No Pay Act - Prohibits the payment of any pay to any Member of Congress (excluding the Vice President): (1) if both houses of Congress have not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year before October 1 of that fiscal year and have not passed all the regular appropriations bills for the next fiscal year by such date, or (2) until both houses of Congress approve such a budget resolution and pass all such appropriations bills. Prohibits any retroactive pay for such a period.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2011
Investing in America's Small Businesses Act of 2011 - Amends the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to require the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to make grants to community development financial institutions to enable such institutions to establish a loan-loss reserve fund to defray the costs of a small business loan program. Defines "small business loan program" as a program in which a community development financial institution offers loans to small businesses that: (1) are made in amounts up to $25,000, (2) have no prepayment penalty, and (3) meet any affordability requirements established by Administrator of the Fund. Requires a community development financial institution to provide non-federal matching funds equal to 50% of the amount of any grant received. Prohibits the use of such grants to make direct loans to small businesses. Permits a community development financial institution to use such a grant to: (1) help recapture a portion or all of a defaulted loan made under its small business loan program, and (2) designate and utilize a fiscal agent for services the agent normally provides. Requires the Fund to make technical assistance grants to community development financial institutions to create, support, or maintain such a program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2011
End Racial Profiling Act of 2011 - Prohibits any law enforcement agent or agency from engaging in racial profiling. Defines "racial profiling" to mean the practice of a law enforcement agent or agency relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or religion in selecting which individual to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities, or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial investigatory activity, except when there is trustworthy information relevant to the locality and timeframe that links a person of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, or religion to an identified criminal incident or scheme. Authorizes the United States or an individual injured by racial profiling to enforce this Act in a civil action for declaratory or injunctive relief. Requires: (1) federal law enforcement agencies to maintain adequate policies and procedures to eliminate racial profiling and to cease existing practices that permit racial profiling; and (2) state or local governmental entities or state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies that apply for grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program and the Cops on the Beat Program to certify that they maintain adequate policies and procedures for eliminating racial profiling and have eliminated any existing practices that permit or encourage racial profiling. Requires the Attorney General to issue regulations to ensure that administrative complaint procedures and independent audit programs provide an appropriate response to allegations of racial profiling by law enforcement agents or agencies. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants and contracts for the collection of data relating to racial profiling and for the development of best practices and systems to eliminate racial profiling. Requires: (1) the Attorney General to issue regulations for the collection and compilation of data on racial profiling, and (2) the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics to analyze the data collected for any statistically significant disparities. Requires the Attorney General to submit annual reports on racial profiling by law enforcement agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2011
Part D Beneficiary Appeals Fairness Act - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to a prescription drug plan (PDP) that provides for any tiered cost-sharing within a formulary (including a structure that provides for different co-payment or coinsurance amounts for drugs in different tiers included within the formulary), to authorize a Medicare part D eligible individual enrolled in the plan to request an exception to the tiered cost-sharing structure. States that in no case may the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) allow a PDP sponsor to make any element of the tiered cost-sharing structure (including a tier used for very high cost or unique items) ineligible for lower-cost sharing through an exception.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2011
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2011- Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
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
Condemns the crackdown in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam against community organizers, bloggers, and democracy activists. Calls on the government of Vietnam to: (1) repeal articles 79 and 88 of the Vietnamese penal code and similar vague national security measures used to persecute peaceful political dissent; and (2) release all political prisoners, especially activists, writers, and bloggers who have been detained or sentenced under articles 79 and 88. Urges the Department of State to monitor rule of law developments in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Medicaid Enhancement and Emergency Job Creation Act of 2011 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2011 (ARRA) to extend through FY2012 the increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid).
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Safe Roads for America Act of 2011 - Requires the Secretary of Transportation to modify the target compliance dates for the following minimum retroreflectivity level standards: (1) implementation and continued use of an assessment or management method that is designed to maintain traffic sign retroreflectivity at or above the established minimum levels; (2) replacement of regulatory, warning, and post-mounted guide (except street name) signs identified using the assessment or management method as failing to meet the established minimum levels; and (3) replacement of street name signs and overhead guide signs that are identified using the assessment or management method as failing to meet the established minimum levels. Requires the Secretary to revise the notice of proposed amendments published in the Federal Register on August 31, 2011, to incorporate the new target compliance dates. Includes measures designed to meet a state-established performance standard, federal regulation, or requirement contained in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices relating to minimum levels of retroreflectivity as projects for purposes of the highway safety improvement program. Allows a maximum 100% federal share of the costs of construction related to maintaining minimum levels of retroreflectivity of highway signs or pavement markings. Directs the Secretary to issue standards for the use of funds apportioned to a state for highway safety improvement projects to upgrade highway signs and pavement markings in order to meet or exceed minimum maintained levels of retroreflectivity. Requires such standards to prohibit fund use for maintenance activities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2011 - Directs the Bureau of Prisons to develop a comprehensive policy to provide HIV testing, treatment, and prevention for inmates in federal prisons and upon reentry into the community. Requires such policy to include provisions for: (1) testing of inmates upon intake and counseling; (2) HIV/AIDS prevention education; (3) HIV testing of prisoners annually upon request or upon exposure to HIV; (4) HIV testing of pregnant inmates; (5) comprehensive medical treatment of inmates who test positive for HIV and confidential counseling on managing their medical condition and preventing its transmission to other persons; (6) protection of confidentiality; (7) testing, counseling, and referral prior to reentry into the community; (8) allowing inmates the right to refuse routine HIV testing; (9) excluding as "routine" the testing of an inmate who may have transmitted HIV to any U.S. officer or employee or to any person lawfully present but not incarcerated in a correctional facility; and (10) timely notification of test results. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) require HIV testing for all federal prison inmates upon intake regardless of length of sentence or risk factors, (2) allow inmates to decline testing prior to release from incarceration, and (3) make HIV testing part of the routine health screening conducted at intake. Requires the Bureau to report on: (1) testing, treatment, and prevention education programs for hepatitis and other diseases transmitted through sexual activity and intravenous drug use; and (2) the incidence among prison inmates of diseases transmitted through sexual activity and intravenous drug use.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2011
Requires at least 10% of the amounts made available for any program under the jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration to be expended through small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
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
Veterans Education Equity Act of 2011 - Revises the formula for the payment by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) of tuition and fees for individuals entitled to educational assistance under the Post-9/11 Educational Assistance Program and pursuing programs of education at public institutions of higher learning to include, as an additional payment formula, the greater of: (1) the actual net costs for in-state tuition after applying the receipt of any tuition waivers, reductions, scholarships, or other assistance; or (2) $17,500 for the academic year beginning on August 1, 2011 (such amount to be increased each subsequent year by the average percentage increase in undergraduate tuition costs).
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank" [D-GA-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/j000288_200.jpg)