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 · 16 February 2012
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of John Glenn's historic orbital space flight with Project Mercury aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962. Honors and praises John Glenn on the occasion of this anniversary and for his lifetime of service. Acknowledges and affirms that John Glenn, pilot, astronaut, soldier, Senator, and statesman, has faithfully served Ohio and the nation in war and peace and is truly and will always remain a U.S. hero.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2012
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) tax incentives for retirement savings plans play an important role in encouraging employers and employees to participate in such plans, (2) existing incentives have increased the number of Americans covered by a retirement plan, and (3) a reformed and simplified tax code should include incentives to maintain and contribute to such plans and to strengthen retirement security for all Americans.
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
Schoolchildren's Health Protection Act - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the provision of federal education funding to state or local educational agencies that: (1) provide, or permit the provision of, postcoital emergency contraception or prescriptions for such contraception on the premises of elementary or secondary schools; or (2) contract with a school-based health center to provide students with health services, unless the center agrees to deny students postcoital emergency contraception or prescriptions for such contraception pursuant to the contract.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2012
Pass a Budget Now Act - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to reduce the rate of pay for a Member of Congress for failure to agree to a concurrent resolution on the budget. Reduces the rate of pay during each pay period of any year, if there is no agreement by April 15 on a budget resolution for the following fiscal year, by an amount equal to the product of the average daily rate of pay involved and the number of days during the pay period which occur after April 15 and before Congress does reach agreement on a budget resolution. Requires all unpaid compensation to be used for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2012
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays (except those for payment of debt) for a year from exceeding the average annual revenue (except that derived from borrowing) collected in the three prior years, adjusted in proportion to changes in population and inflation. Requires a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber to declare an emergency and provide by law for specific outlays in excess of such limit. Requires the declaration to specify reasons for the emergency designation and to limit the period in which outlays may exceed such limit to no longer than one year. Requires all revenue in excess of outlays: (1) to reduce the federal debt; and (2) upon the retirement of such debt, to be held by the Treasury to be used for the specific outlays in excess of such limit. Prescribes a formula for reducing outlays over seven years.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2012
Energizing America through Employment Act - Authorizes TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline facilities for the import of crude oil and other hydrocarbons at the United States-Canada Border at Phillips County, Montana, in accordance with a certain application filed with the Department of State on September 19, 2008. Declares that no permit pursuant to Executive Order 13337 or any other similar Executive Order regulating such activities at the U.S. border, and no additional environmental impact statement (EIS), shall be required for such Pipeline. Deems a certain EIS issued by the Department of State to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as well as any other law requiring federal agency consultation or review regarding such cross-border facilities. Sets forth conditions governing construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of the cross-border facilities in connection with the Pipeline. Deems sufficient for the purposes of this Act any route and construction, mitigation, and reclamation measures for the Pipeline in the state of Nebraska that is identified by Nebraska and submitted to the Secretary of State. States that any action taken to implement this Act does not constitute a major federal action requiring an EIS under NEPA. Restricts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit any federal judicial review over actions and facilities implemented under this Act. Instructs the Secretary of State, for purposes of making a national interest determination under Executive Order 13337 (or any successor Executive Order) regarding a pipeline application, to solicit the views of specified congressional committees regarding such application and pertinent information.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2012
Small Business Protection Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), when establishing small business size standards, to establish or approve a single standard for a grouping of four-digit North American Industrial Classification codes only if the Administrator makes publicly available, no later than the date on which it is established or approved, a justification that such standard is appropriate for each individual industry classification in the grouping. Requires the Administrator, in conducting rulemaking to revise, modify, or establish size standards, to consider and address: (1) the industry for which the new standard is proposed, (2) the competitive environment for that industry, (3) the approach used to develop the proposed standard, and (4) the anticipated effect of the proposed rulemaking on the industry.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2012
Building Better Business Partnerships Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a mentor-protege program for all small businesses. (Under current law, the SBA mentor-protege program is limited to small businesses participating in the section 8(a) guaranteed loan program.) Prohibits a federal department or agency from carrying out a mentor-protege program for small businesses unless the head of such department or agency submits a program plan to the Administrator and the Administrator approves it. Requires the Administrator to approve or disapprove a plan based on whether the proposed program: (1) will assist proteges to compete for federal prime contracts and subcontracts, and (2) complies with program regulations as issued by the Administrator under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2012
Small Business Opportunity Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to replace the position of breakout procurement representative within the Small Business Administration (SBA) with the position of procurement center representative. Requires such representatives to, among other things, review any acquisition plan with respect to a procurement requirement, and make recommendations regarding procurement method determinations and acquisition plans. Removes the requirement that such representatives review restrictions on competition, instead requiring them to review barriers to small business participation in federal contracting, as well as any bundled or consolidated solicitation or contract. Requires such representatives to: (1) have electronic access to any acquisition plan developed or in development with respect to a procurement activity, (2) be an advocate for the maximum practicable utilization of small businesses in federal contracting, and (3) be notified of and included in all applicable acquisition planning processes. Directs the Defense Acquisition University and the Federal Acquisition Institute to each provide a course on contracting requirements under the Small Business Act. Requires each federal department or agency having contracting authority to: (1) enumerate opportunities for participation by small businesses during all acquisition planning processes and in all acquisition plans, and (2) invite the participation of the appropriate Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and procurement representative in such planning processes and provide Director and representative access to all acquisition plans in development.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2012
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit any guideline or regulation issued relating to the coverage of preventive health services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or any other provision of PPACA to: (1) require any individual or entity to offer, provide, or purchase coverage for a contraceptive or sterilization service, or related education or counseling, to which that individual or entity is opposed on the basis of religious belief; or (2) require any individual or entity opposed by reason of religious belief to provide coverage of a contraceptive or sterilization service or to engage in government-mandated speech regarding such a service. Declares that nothing in PPACA and no regulations or guidelines issued under PPACA shall be construed to authorize the imposition of a sanction or otherwise disadvantage an individual or entity on the basis of a religiously based decision made by that individual or entity to not offer, provide, or purchase coverage or a contraceptive or sterilization service, or to engage in a government-mandated speech regarding such service.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2012
Subcontracting Transparency and Reliability Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to prohibit a small business receiving a guaranteed loan through the Small Business Administration (SBA) from expending more on subcontractors than: (1) 50% of the loan amount received, in case of a contract for services other than construction; (2) 85%, in the case of a contract for general construction; (3) 75%, in case of a contract for construction by a special trade contractor; and (4) 50%, in the case of a contract for supplies (other than from a regular dealer in such supplies). Requires the small business, in case of a contract for supplies from a regular dealer, to supply the product of a domestic small business manufacturer or processor, unless the SBA grants a waiver. Authorizes the SBA Administrator to: (1) modify the above percentage limits when necessary to reflect conventional industry practices; and (2) establish a subcontractor percentage limit for contracts not covered by (1) through (4), above. Provides penalties for violations of such limits. Requires each subcontracting plan submitted to federal agencies to contain assurances that the offeror or bidder will: (1) report on subcontracting activities throughout the life of the contract, and (2) cooperate with any study or survey required by the federal agency or SBA to determine the extent of compliance with the subcontracting plan. Directs the Administrator to ensure that the federal subcontracting reporting system to which such reports are submitted is modified to notify the Administrator, the appropriate contracting officer, and the appropriate Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization if an entity fails to submit a required report. Makes such failure a breach of contract for which appropriate action may be taken. Provides that if an agency procurement center or commercial market representative determines that a subcontracting plan fails to provide the maximum practicable opportunity for small businesses to participate, such representative may delay acceptance of the plan for a 30-day period for plan alteration. Allows a federal agency to convert a function from performance by a small business to performance by a federal employee only if: (1) the agency has made publicly available the procedures for such a decision, and (2) the procedures require such decisions to be reviewed by the appropriate Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization and procurement representative.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2012
Amends the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 to impose sanctions on a foreign financial institution that employs a member of the board of directors of an entity that provides, or facilitates access to, services relating to secure communications, electronic funds transfers, or cable transfers to the Central Bank of Iran or a sanctioned financial institution. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from prohibiting or conditioning the opening or maintaining in the United States of a correspondent account or a payable-through account by a foreign financial institution for employing a member of the board of directors of such an entity if the services relate to petroleum-related transactions from Iran that occur before the date on which specified sanctions apply.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2012
Budget or Bust Act - Repeals requirements that the President submits annual budgets, including supplemental budget estimates and changes to Congress. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise accordingly congressional procedures for considering budget resolutions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit all payments otherwise required to be made for Members of Congress' compensation in an escrow account to be released to the Members only upon the adoption of a budget resolution, if on or before April 1 of any year Congress does not adopt a budget resolution for the fiscal year that begins on October 1 of that year.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2012
Small Business Advocate Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act (the Act) to require the Director of the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (established in each federal agency having procurement powers) to be compensated at least at the GS-15 rate and allows such position to be compensated at up to a Senior Executive Service level. Includes as additional duties of each Director: (1) reviewing and advising on decisions to convert an activity performed by a small business to an activity performed by a federal employee; (2) providing advice and comments on acquisition strategies, market research, and justifications related to small business; (3) providing training to small businesses and contract specialists; (4) carrying out exclusively the duties enumerated under the Act and, while Director, not holding any other title, position, or responsibility, except as necessary to carry out such duties; and (5) reporting annually to the congressional small business committees on the provision of small business and contract specialist training. Amends the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 to require the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council to: (1) conduct reviews of each Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to determine compliance with Small Business Administration (SBA) requirements, (2) identify best practices for maximizing small business utilization in federal contracting, and (3) report annually to the small business committees on such reviews and best practices.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2012
Government Efficiency through Small Business Contracting Act of 2012 - Amends the Small Business Act to raise from 23% to 25% the governmentwide prime contract award goal for participation by small business concerns and to make the governmentwide subcontract participation award goal 40% for such businesses. Revises percentage goals for awards to small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, qualified HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) small businesses, small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and small businesses owned by women (small business categories). Requires the small business procurement goals established by the head of each federal agency participating in federal procurement contracts to: (1) be in the same format as the goals established by the President; (2) address both prime contract and subcontract awards; and (3) meet or exceed the government-wide goals for each small business category. Requires each agency head to: (1) consult with the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) in establishing agency goals, and (2) develop a plan for achieving agency goals. Revises requirements concerning information required to be included in annual reports from: (1) agency heads to the Administrator concerning the extent of small business participation in that agency's procurement contracts; and (2) the Administrator to the President and Congress on whether individual agency goals were achieved, as well as reasons for any failure to achieve such goals. Requires, in the latter reports, information concerning the number and dollar amounts of prime contracts awarded to small businesses owned by an Alaska Native Corporation. Requires training programs established for the development of federal senior executives to include training with respect to federal procurement requirements, including those under the Small Business Act. Prohibits the granting of sabbaticals or incentive awards to a senior executive whose agency did not achieve its small business procurement contracting and subcontracting goals in the preceding fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2012
Visa Waiver Program Enhanced Security and Reform Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act regarding the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2012
Keystone For a Secure Tomorrow Act - Approves a specified permit regarding certain energy-related facilities and land transportation crossings on the international boundaries of the United States for the Keystone XL pipeline project. Prescribes permit requirements, including: (1) reconsideration of routing of the Keystone XL pipeline within Nebraska; (2) a review period during which routing within Nebraska may be reconsidered and the route of the Keystone XL pipeline through the state altered with any accompanying modification to a specified Plan; and (3) the obligation of the President to coordinate review with the state of Nebraska, provide necessary data and reasonable technical assistance material to the review process, and approve the route within Nebraska submitted by its governor to the Secretary of State. Deems approved, within 10 days after its date of submission, the route submitted by the governor of Nebraska pursuant to the permit approved under this Act if the President does not approve that route.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from performing or attempting to perform an abortion within the District of Columbia except in conformity with this Act's requirements. Requires the physician to first make a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child, or reasonably rely upon such a determination made by another physician, by making inquiries of the pregnant woman and performing such medical examinations and tests as a reasonably prudent physician would consider necessary. Prohibits the abortion from being performed if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater. Makes an exception where necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, excluding psychological or emotional conditions or any claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct intended to result in her death. Permits a physician to terminate a pregnancy under such exception only in the manner which provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive, unless termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk of the death or substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions, of the pregnant woman than would other available methods. Prescribes penalties for violations. Bars prosecution of a woman upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of this Act, but authorizes such a woman or the father or maternal grandparent of the unborn child to obtain appropriate relief through a civil action. Provides for injunctive relief to prevent violations. Sets forth specified privacy protections in court proceedings for the woman upon whom an abortion has been performed. Requires any physician who performs an abortion within the District to report it to the Department of Health of the District of Columbia, which shall issue annual public reports.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
Ultrasound Informed Consent Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require abortion providers, before a woman gives informed consent to any part of an abortion, to perform an obstetric ultrasound on the pregnant woman, provide a simultaneous explanation of what the ultrasound is depicting, display the ultrasound images so the woman may view them, and provide a complete medical description of the images, including the dimensions of the embryo or fetus, cardiac activity if present and visible, and the presence of external members and internal organs if present and viewable. Prohibits construing this Act to require a woman to view the images or penalizing the provider or the woman if she declines to look at the images. Exempts an abortion provider if the abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. Requires the provider to include in the woman's medical file a truthful and accurate certification of the specific medical circumstances that support such determination. Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action in federal court against any abortion provider who knowingly violates this Act. Prescribes penalties. Directs the Attorney General to notify the appropriate state medical licensing authority of penalties assessed. Authorizes a woman upon whom an abortion has been performed in violation of this Act to commence a civil action against the provider for actual and punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
Do Your Job Act - Prohibits the disbursement of funds for salaries and expenses for specified congressional offices and committees, if on or before May 15 of any year Congress does not adopt a budget resolution for the fiscal year that begins on October 1 of that year. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit all payments otherwise required to be made for Members' compensation in an escrow account to be released to the Members only upon the adoption of such a resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2012
Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to use all elements of national power to counter Iran's growing presence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere. Directs the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a strategy to address Iran's growing presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2012
Disapproves of the President's appointment of four federal officers or employees during a period when no congressional recess of more than three days was authorized by concurrent resolution. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that those appointments were made in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
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
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to authorize the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to take actions to ensure the viability of innovative technology projects to avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases that are eligible for loan guarantees with potential applicants for such guarantees. Requires a person that fails to achieve technical criteria that is provided in such a loan guarantee agreement to surrender to the Secretary any property leased from the Secretary or otherwise acquired or used using funds provided for such guarantees.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2011
Amends detainee and military custody provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, with respect to the authority of the President and the U.S. Armed Forces pursuant the Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107-40), to specify that no U.S. citizen may be detained against his or her will without all the rights of due process afforded to the citizen in a court ordained or established by or under Article III of the U.S. Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2011
Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2012 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct: (1) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to designate a Global Water Coordinator to coordinate and oversee water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance, and (2) the Secretary of State to designate a Special Advisor for Water Resources to coordinate and oversee policy relating to water and sanitation assistance. Sets forth principles to ensure that water, sanitation, and hygiene projects carried out under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 achieve maximum impact. Amends the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 regarding the strategy to further the U.S. foreign assistance objective to provide access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries to: (1) transfer primary authority from the Secretary to USAID, (2) include hygiene, and (3) include designation of high priority countries. Directs the Administrator to maintain a webpage for information on U.S. water, sanitation, and hygiene foreign assistance programs.
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 · 7 December 2011
Second Amendment Protection Act of 2011 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not adopt any treaty that poses a threat to national sovereignty or abridges the rights guaranteed by the Constitution, such as the right to bear arms, and should cease the provision of financial support to any entity that does so. Prohibits the United States from providing any funding to the United Nations (U.N.) for a fiscal year unless the President certifies to Congress that the U.N. has not taken action to infringe on the rights of individuals in the United States to possess a firearm or ammunition, or abridge any of the other constitutionally protected rights of U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2011
The Cameras in the Courtroom Act of 2011 - Requires the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless it decides by majority vote that allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2011
North American Energy Access Act - Prohibits construction, operation, or maintenance of the oil pipeline and related facilities described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project issued by the Department of State on August 26, 2011 (including any modified version of that pipeline and related facilities), unless it is in compliance with the terms of a permit prescribed under this Act. Instructs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to issue, within 30 days after receipt of an application, a permit for such pipeline and related facilities implemented in accordance with such Final EIS. Deems a permit to have been issued if FERC has not acted upon a permit application within 30 days after receipt. Declares FERC approval a prerequisite to authorization for a permit applicant to make substantial modifications to either the pipeline route or any other term of the Final EIS. Directs FERC to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the state of Nebraska for review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 of any modification to the proposed pipeline route, and (2) complete consideration and approval of such modification within 30 days after receiving the governor's approval. Deems approval to have been issued if FERC has not acted within 30 days after receiving an application for approval of a modification. Declares a permit issued under this Act to be the sole legal authority to construct, operate, and maintain the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and related facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011 - Imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to: (1) perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent; (2) use force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion; (3) solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the United States or across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion. Authorizes civil actions, for verifiable money damages for injuries and punitive damages, by: (1) fathers, or maternal grandparents if the mother is an unemancipated minor, of unborn children who are the subject of an abortion performed or attempted through any of the above violations; and (2) women upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted with a knowing or attempted use of force or threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion. Authorizes, to prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further abortions in violation of this Act, injunctive relief to be obtained by the women upon whom such an abortion is performed or attempted, spouses or parents of a woman upon whom such an abortion is performed, or the Attorney General (DOJ). Deems a violation of this Act to be prohibited discrimination under title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Violators of title VI lose federal funding.) Requires a medical or mental health professional to report known or suspected violations to law enforcement authorities. Imposes criminal penalties for a failure to so report. Prohibits a woman having such an abortion from being prosecuted or held civilly liable. Excludes from the definition of "abortion" actions taken to terminate a pregnancy if the intent is to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion, or remove an ectopic pregnancy.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Amends the Railway Labor Act to require the National Mediation Board to apply the same procedures, including voting standards, to the direct decertification of a labor organization as are applied to elections to certify a representative.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2011
Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand immunity from civil liability related to automated external defibrillator devices (AEDs), including by giving immunity to: (1) a person who owns, occupies, or manages the premises from which an AED is taken or at which an AED is used or attempted to be used on a victim of a perceived medical emergency; and (2) the owner-acquirer of an AED for any harm resulting from the use or attempted use of such device, unless the harm was proximately caused by the failure of the owner-acquirer to properly maintain the device according to the guidelines of the device manufacturer. Applies immunity regardless of whether: (1) the AED is marked with cautionary signage or registered with any government; or (2) the person who used or attempted to use the AED complied with such signage, had received training on such use, or was assisted or supervised by any other person, including a licensed physician.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2011
Speak Out to Stop Child Abuse Act or SOS Child Abuse Act - Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to require the state plan under a grant from the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for child abuse and neglect prevention and treatment programs to contain an assurance in the form of a certification by the state governor that the state has in effect and is enforcing a state law prescribing a criminal penalty against an individual age 18 or older who fails to report to a state or local law enforcement official or child protective services that the individual has witnessed another individual in the state engaging in sexual abuse of a child.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2011
Pays tribute to the members of the U.S. Armed Forces and civilians who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Honors the thousands of men and women of the Armed Forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom and liberty during World War II. Acknowledges the continued peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Japan. Appreciates the efforts of Japan as one of the most reliable security partners of the United States in the global war on terrorism. Encourages Japan to continue to develop strategic and economic policies, in partnership with the United States, that promote stability throughout Asia and reduce trade barriers between the two countries.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2011
Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act - Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require a federal financial institutions regulatory agency to make a final examination report to a financial institution within 60 days of the later of: (1) the exit interview for an examination of the institution, or (2) the provision of additional information by the institution relating to the examination. Sets a deadline for the exit interview if a financial institution is not subject to a resident examiner program. Sets forth examination standards for financial institutions. Prohibits federal financial institutions regulatory agencies from requiring a well capitalized financial institution to raise additional capital in lieu of an action prohibited by the examination standards. Establishes in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council an Office of Examination Ombudsman. Grants a financial institution the right to appeal a material supervisory determination contained in a final report of examination. Requires the Ombudsman to determine the merits of the appeal on the record, after an opportunity for a hearing before an independent administrative law judge. Declares the decision by the Ombudsman on an appeal to: (1) be the final agency action, and (2) bind the agency whose supervisory determination was the subject of the appeal and the financial institution making the appeal. Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to require: (1) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an independent intra-agency appellate process in connection with the regulatory appeals process; and (2) appropriate safeguards to protect an insured depository institution or insured credit union from retaliation by the CFPB, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board, or any other federal banking agency for exercising its rights.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2011
Cut the Unnecessary Tab Resolution or CUT Resolution - Amends Rule XIII (Calendars and Committee Reports) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit the Committee on Rules from reporting a rule or order that would limit any amendment that would otherwise be in order to a rescission bill. Amends Rule X (Organization of Committees) to require the House Budget Committee, whenever a rescission bill passes the House, to reduce the applicable committee allocations by the total amount of resulting reductions in budget authority and outlays. Amends Rule XIII to require the Majority Leader to introduce a rescission bill by certain dates in each quarter of each session. Makes any motion to discharge the committee from consideration of such a bill privileged 10 legislative days after its introduction, if it was not introduced by one of the deadlines. Makes it out of order to offer any amendment to a rescission bill unless it increases the amount of budget authority to be rescinded. Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) to make it out of order to consider any rescission bill, its conference report, or amendment, unless: (1) such bill or conference report is made available to Members and the general public on the Internet for at least 48 hours before its consideration, (2) an amendment to such measure made in order by a rule is available within one hour after the rule is filed, or (3) an amendment under an open rule is made available immediately after being offered in a format searchable and sortable. Requires amendments to rescission bills to be germane.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2011
Supports the designation of a Small Business Saturday. Supports efforts to: (1) encourage consumers to shop locally, and (2) increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2011
Send Equipment for National Defense Act or SEND Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense, within one year after eligible equipment returns to the United States from Iraq, to transfer at least 10% of such equipment to federal and state agencies, with a preference to agencies that will use the equipment primarily for U.S. southern border security purposes. Defines as "eligible equipment" that equipment determined to be suitable for use in law enforcement activities, including surveillance unmanned aerial vehicles, night-vision goggles, and high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicles (humvees). Authorizes the Secretary to waive the transfer requirement in the case of equipment needed for immediate use, after certification to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2011
Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2011 or the ABLE Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt ABLE accounts to assist an individual with a disability in building an account to pay for qualified disability expenses. Defines "qualified disability expenses" to include expenses for education, a primary residence, transportation, obtaining and maintaining employment, health and wellness, and other personal support expenses. Treats a qualified ABLE program and an ABLE account in the same manner as a qualified tuition program for income tax purposes (i.e., allowing a tax exemption for such program and an exclusion from gross income of amounts attributable to a contributor to or a beneficiary of a program account). Defines "qualified ABLE program" as a program established and maintained by a state agency under which a person may make contributions to an ABLE account established to pay for qualified disability expenses. Requires amounts in ABLE accounts to be disregarded in determining eligibility for Medicaid and other means-tested federal programs. Suspends the payment of supplemental security income benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to an individual during any period in which such individual has excess resources attributable to an ABLE account.
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 · 10 November 2011
Jobs Through Growth Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for individual taxpayers after 2010, (2) allow an individual taxpayer to elect an alternative income tax system in lieu of existing rates, (3) allow an inflation adjustment to the cost of certain capital assets for purposes of determining gain or loss from the sale or exchange of such assets, (4) reduce the top income tax rate on corporations to 25%, (5) extend through 2012 the election allowed to a U.S. corporation to deduct dividends received from a controlled foreign corporation and reduce the amount of such deduction for corporations that fail to maintain specified employment levels for full-time U.S. employees, and (6) repeal the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes and make permanent the maximum 35% gift tax rate and a $5 million lifetime gift tax exemption. Requires the House Committee on Ways and Means to report legislation to broaden the tax base for the corporate income tax and to transition to a territorial tax system (taxation of domestic income but not income earned overseas). Prohibits a federal agency from taking any significant regulatory action (generally, an action having an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or otherwise adversely affecting the economy) until the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports a monthly unemployment rate equal to or less than 7.7%. Authorizes the President to waive such prohibition if the President notifies Congress that a waiver is necessary on the basis of national security or a national emergency. Allows judicial review of a significant regulatory action by a person adversely affected or aggrieved by such action. Exempts businesses with 200 or fewer employees from federal regulation. Revises provisions for congressional review of agency rulemaking to require congressional approval of major rules of the executive branch before they may take effect (currently, major rules take effect unless Congress passes and the President signs a joint resolution disapproving them). Provides that if a joint resolution of approval of a major rule is not enacted by the end of 70 session days or legislative days after the agency proposing the rule submits its report on such rule to Congress, the rule shall be deemed not to be approved and shall not take effect. Sets forth House and Senate procedures for joint resolutions approving major rules and disapproving non-major rules. Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) to revise the regulatory process (rulemaking) with respect to small entities (i.e., small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions). Defines "economic impact" with respect to a proposed or final rule to mean: (1) any direct economic effect of a rule on small entities, and (2) any indirect economic effect on such entities, including potential job creation or job loss. Expands judicial review of agency rulemaking to permit small entities to seek judicial review of initial regulatory flexibility analyses and to obtain an injunction of a proposed rule that is noncompliant with RFA requirements. Requires each federal agency to establish a plan for the periodic review (every eight years) of: (1) its rules that have a significant adverse economic impact on small entities, and (2) any small entity compliance guide required to be published by an agency. Sets forth criteria for review of a rule, including the continued need for the rule, the complexity of the rule, and the impact of the rule on small entities. Terminates any rule if the issuing agency has failed to complete a required periodic review. Expands to all federal agencies the procedures for gathering comments on rules that will have a significant economic impact on small entities. Extends RFA requirements to informal agency guidance documents. Amends the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 to require each federal agency to review on a periodic basis its policies or programs for imposing regulatory penalties on small entities. Allows a small business concern to elect to be exempt from any rule or regulation issued on or after January 1, 2008. Sets forth a deadline for action on certain permit applications under existing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leases. Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to repeal the moratorium on oil and gas leasing in certain areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to offer for leasing areas made available as a result of such repeal. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) offer specified areas for oil and gas leasing pursuant to certain Lease Sale Schedules, (2) conduct OCS lease sales in specified Planning Areas, (3) share OCS receipts derived from all leases with states and local governments, (4) implement a leasing program for certain land within the Arctic Coastal Plain, and (5) issue rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to designate certain Coastal Plain lands, including the Sadlerochit Spring area, as Special Areas requiring special management and regulatory protection. Revokes a specified Secretarial Order relating to protecting wilderness characteristics on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Amends the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal the prohibition on the use of funds for either a commercial oil shale leasing program or for oil shale lease sales. Directs the Secretary to offer leases for oil shale resources. Confers exclusive jurisdiction upon the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for covered energy projects under this Act. Establishes the Office of the Federal Oil and Gas Permit Coordinator. Instructs the Secretary to establish and maintain, in coordination with the Mayor of the North Slope Borough of Alaska, a separate Alaska Offshore Continental Shelf Coordination Office to coordinate the leasing program. Amends the Clean Air Act to redefine "air pollutant" to exclude carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride (greenhouse gases). Declares that nothing in specified statutes addressing pollution control shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal the prohibition against federal procurement of alternative or synthetic fuel. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), upon request of the governor of a state or the governing body of an Indian tribe, to enter into a streamlined refinery permitting agreement. Sets forth deadlines for: (1) approval or disapproval of consolidated permits for construction of new or expansion of existing refineries, and (2) submission of existing refinery permit applications. Requires the EPA Administrator to conduct a research and demonstration program to evaluate the air quality benefits of ultra-clean Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, including diesel and jet fuel. Directs the Secretary to extend by one year the term of any lease that was: (1) not producing as of April 30, 2010; or (2) suspended from operations, permit processing, or consideration in accordance with the moratorium set forth in a May 30, 2010, Minerals Management Service Notice, or the Secretary's decision memorandum dated July 12, 2010. Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of Energy (DOE), to coordinate with specified federal agencies to ensure an expedited schedule for construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States must decrease its dependence on oil from countries hostile to its interests; and (2) Canada has long been a strong trading partner, and increased access to its energy resources will create jobs in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2011
Disapproves the Agricultural Marketing Service rule relating to the establishment of a Christmas tree promotion, research, and information program. States that such rule shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2011
Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from applying a multiple procedure payment reduction policy to the professional component of imaging services furnished: (1) in 2012; or (2) in 2013 or a subsequent year unless the reduction is based on the data, analysis, and conclusions of a study completed by an expert panel of physician members from a national medical speciality society expert in the field of diagnostic imaging services.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2011
Stop Online Piracy Act - Authorizes the Attorney General (AG) to seek a court order against a U.S.-directed foreign Internet site committing or facilitating online piracy to require the owner, operator, or domain name registrant, or the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to be found, to cease and desist further activities constituting specified intellectual property offenses under the federal criminal code including criminal copyright infringement, unauthorized fixation and trafficking of sound recordings or videos of live musical performances, the recording of exhibited motion pictures, or trafficking in counterfeit labels, goods, or services. Sets forth an additional two-step process that allows an intellectual property right holder harmed by a U.S.-directed site dedicated to infringement, or a site promoted or used for infringement under certain circumstances, to first provide a written notification identifying the site to related payment network providers and Internet advertising services requiring such entities to forward the notification and suspend their services to such an identified site unless the site's owner, operator, or domain name registrant, upon receiving the forwarded notification, provides a counter notification explaining that it is not dedicated to engaging in specified violations. Authorizes the right holder to then commence an action for limited injunctive relief against the owner, operator, or domain name registrant, or against the site or domain name itself if such persons are unable to be found, if: (1) such a counter notification is provided (and, if it is a foreign site, includes consent to U.S. jurisdiction to adjudicate whether the site is dedicated to such violations), or (2) a payment network provider or Internet advertising service fails to suspend its services in the absence of such a counter notification. Requires online service providers, Internet search engines, payment network providers, and Internet advertising services, upon receiving a copy of a court order relating to an AG action, to carry out certain preventative measures including withholding services from an infringing site or preventing users located in the United States from accessing the infringing site. Requires payment network providers and Internet advertising services, upon receiving a copy of such an order relating to a right holder's action, to carry out similar preventative measures. Provides immunity from liability for service providers, payment network providers, Internet advertising services, advertisers, Internet search engines, domain name registries, or domain name registrars that take actions required by this Act or otherwise voluntarily block access to or end financial affiliation with such sites. Permits such entities to stop or refuse services to certain sites that endanger public health by distributing prescription medication that is adulterated, misbranded, or without a valid prescription. Expands the offense of criminal copyright infringement to include public performances of: (1) copyrighted work by digital transmission, and (2) work intended for commercial dissemination by making it available on a computer network. Expands the criminal offenses of trafficking in inherently dangerous goods or services to include: (1) counterfeit drugs; and (2) goods or services falsely identified as meeting military standards or intended for use in a national security, law enforcement, or critical infrastructure application. Increases the penalties for: (1) specified trade secret offenses intended to benefit a foreign government, instrumentality, or agent; and (2) various other intellectual property offenses as amended by this Act. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review, and if appropriate, amend related Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Requires the Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce to appoint at least one intellectual property attache to be assigned to the U.S. embassy or diplomatic mission in a country in each geographic region covered by a Department of State regional bureau.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 2011
Small Business Investment Company Modernization Act of 2011 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase the maximum amount of outstanding leverage that the Small Business Administration (SBA) is authorized to make available to any one small business investment company (SBIC), as a condition to the SBA's purchase or guarantee of debentures or participating securities issued by certain licensed SBICs, if a majority of the managers of a company are experienced in managing at least one such SBIC. Increases the maximum leverage amount for such SBICs to the lesser of: (1) 300% of such company's private capital, or (2) $200 million. (Current law, subject to exceptions, prohibits the maximum amount of such leverage from exceeding the lesser of 300% of private capital or $150 million for any SBIC.) Increases to $350 million (currently, $225 million) the maximum amount of outstanding leverage that may be made available to two or more SBICs that are commonly controlled and not under capital impairment. Prohibits the material capital impairment of one licensed company in a group under common control from reducing the maximum amounts of outstanding leverage that is made available to the other licensed companies in that group.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2011
Foreign Aid Transparency and Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the President to establish: (1) goals, performance, and evaluation guidelines for U.S. foreign assistance programs, country assistance plans, and international and multilateral assistance programs; and (2) a website to make publicly available information on U.S. foreign assistance programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2011
Honors Reverend Fred Lee Shuttlesworth (established the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, helped organize the march from Selma to Montgomery to protest voting discrimination in Alabama, and worked with the Congress of Racial Equality to organize the Freedom Rides) for his efforts in the fight against segregation and commitment to the civil rights of all people.
![Official portrait of Rep. Chabot, Steve [R-OH-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000266_200.jpg)