United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
Raoul Wallenberg Centennial Celebration Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation on behalf of Congress of a gold medal of appropriate design to the next of kin or personal representative of Raoul Wallenberg in recognition of his achievements and heroic actions during the Holocaust.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
Veteran's I.D. Card Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to issue a veteran's identification card to any veteran who requests such card and is neither entitled to military retired pay nor enrolled in the VA system of patient enrollment. Requires such card, among other things, to: (1) display their name and photograph, and (2) serve as proof that the veteran honorably served in the Armed Forces and has a DD-214 form or other official document in their personnel file that describes their military service. Directs the Secretary to charge a card fee. States that such card shall not serve as proof of entitlement to any benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Dr. Balazs "Ernie" Bodai in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the nation, including a tireless commitment to breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
Helping Devastated Farmers Act of 2011 - Makes supplemental appropriations to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for FY2011 for expenses resulting from any event occurring in 2011 that is designated as a major disaster pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act for: (1) the Farm Service Agency's Emergency Conservation Program, and (2) the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Emergency Watershed Protection Program. Designates each amount made available by this Act as emergency spending.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2011
American Jobs Act of 2011 - Prohibits the use of funds made available by this Act for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public building or public work unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in such project are produced in the United States (Buy American). Waives such prohibition in cases where: (1) the prohibition would be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) iron, steel, and the relevant manufactured goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of iron, steel, and manufactured goods produced in the United States will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%. Requires all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors and subcontractors on federally-assisted projects to be paid wages at the locally prevailing rates (Davis-Bacon Act). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce employment and self-employment tax rates in 2012 to 3.1%; (2) allow employers a tax credit for payroll increases in the last quarter of 2011 and in 2012; (3) extend the 100% bonus depreciation allowance through 2012; (4) delay until 2014 the 3% withholding requirement on payments due to vendors who provide services to federal, state, and local governmental entities; and (5) increase the work opportunity tax credit for hiring unemployed veterans. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase from $2 million to $5 million the limit on the guarantee for contract surety bonds and on the liability for bonds obtained by fraud or misrepresentation. Directs the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for the costs of retaining, recalling, rehiring, or hiring employees to provide early childhood, elementary, or secondary education and related services. Requires LEAs and state-funded early learning programs to obligate such funding by September 30, 2013. Prohibits the use of such grants to supplant state funding for education. Directs the Attorney General to carry out a competitive grant program pursuant to the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 for the hiring, rehiring, or retention of career law enforcement officers. Makes appropriations to the Community Oriented Policing Stabilization Fund to carry out such program and for transfer to a First Responder Stabilization Fund from which the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) shall make competitive grants for hiring additional firefighters pursuant to the Federal Fire Prevention Control Act of 1974. Directs the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to modernize, renovate, or repair early learning or elementary or secondary education facilities. Requires the Secretary to allocate grants directly to the 100 LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged 5-17 living in poverty. Requires states to give subgrant priority to projects that comply with certain green building standards. Prohibits the use of such grants for new construction, routine maintenance costs, or on facilities used for events for which the public is charged admission. Allows private, nonprofit elementary or secondary schools with a rate of child poverty of at least 40% to participate in the program on a limited basis. Directs the Secretary to allocate grants to states to modernize, renovate, or repair existing facilities at community colleges. Prohibits the use of such grants: (1) for routine maintenance costs, (2) on facilities used for events for which the public is charged admission, or (3) on facilities which are used for sectarian purposes. Requires states, in providing assistance to community college projects, to consider the extent to which the project complies with certain green building standards. Makes specified funds available to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for: (1) grants-in-aid for airport planning and development and noise compatibility planning projects under the airport improvement program (AIP); (2) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Next Generation air traffic control system advancements; (3) highway and bridge restoration, repair, and construction projects and for passenger and freight rail transportation and port infrastructure projects; (4) grants for high-speed rail projects, capital investment grants for intercity passenger rail service, and grants to reduce congestion on intercity rail passenger transportation; (5) capital grants to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak); (6) transit capital assistance grants; (7) capital projects for existing fixed guideway system modernization, replacement and repair of buses and bus-related equipment, and construction of bus-related facilities; and (8) discretionary capital investment grants for surface transportation infrastructure. Authorizes the Secretary to establish standards under which contracts for construction projects contain requirements for the local hiring of individuals to perform construction work under such contracts. Requires projects to comply with Buy American requirements. Building and Upgrading Infrastructure for Long-Term Development Act - Establishes the American Infrastructure Financing Authority (AIFA) as a wholly-owned government corporation to make direct loans and loan guarantees to facilitate transportation, water, or energy infrastructure projects. Requires infrastructure projects assisted under this Act to have costs that are reasonably anticipated to equal or exceed $100 million ($25 million for rural infrastructure projects). Sets forth special requirements for infrastructure projects in rural areas. Requires the AIFA Chief Lending Officer to establish: (1) an Office of Rural Assistance to provide technical assistance in the development and financing of rural infrastructure projects, and (2) a Center for Excellence to provide such assistance to public sector borrowers for the same purpose. Establishes an Office of Special Inspector General to audit and investigate the business activities of AIFA. Makes private projects for which no public benefit is created ineligible for financial assistance. Sets forth terms for loans or loan guarantees for infrastructure projects. Requires the Chief Executive Officer of AIFA to establish and collect fees sufficient to cover AIFA administrative costs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2012 the exemption from the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for certain tax-exempt private activity bonds. Appropriates funds for assistance to eligible entities including state and local governments, and qualified nonprofit organizations, businesses or eligible consortia for the redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed-upon properties and for stabilization of affected neighborhoods (Project Rebuild). Allows the use of funds to: (1) establish financing mechanisms for the purchase and redevelopment of abandoned and foreclosed-upon properties; (2) purchase and rehabilitate such properties; (3) establish and operate land banks for them; (4) demolish blighted structures (except public housing); and (5) redevelop abandoned, foreclosed, demolished, or vacant properties. Requires each state to receive at least $20 million of formula funds, all of which shall be used with respect to low and moderate-income individuals and families. Requires each state and local government grantee to establish procedures to create preferences for development of affordable rental housing. Allows a grantee to use up to 10% to create jobs by establishing and operating a program to maintain eligible neighborhood properties. Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to permit: (1) payments from the Spectrum Relocation Fund to reimburse certain federal entities for relocation or sharing costs incurred by planning for a potential or planned auction of spectrum frequencies or the reallocation of spectrum from federal use to exclusive nonfederal (currently, required) or shared federal and nonfederal use, and (2) federal entities to allow nonfederal entities access to frequency assignments with National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) approval. Revises the categories of relocation and sharing costs. Authorizes the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), if it is consistent with the public interest in spectrum utilization for a licensee to voluntarily relinquish licensed spectrum usage rights in order to permit the assignment of new initial licenses through a competitive bidding process subject to new service rules, or to permit the designation of new spectrum for unlicensed use, to pay to such licensee a portion of any auction proceeds attributable to the licensee's relinquished spectrum usage rights. Permits the FCC, if it is in the public interest to modify the spectrum usage rights of any incumbent licensee to facilitate such new assignments and designations, to pay a portion of auction proceeds to incumbent licensees relocating to designated alternative frequencies or locations. Requires the FCC to: (1) notify Congress of the methodology (considering the value of spectrum vacated in its current use and the timeliness of clearing) for calculating such payments to licensees at least three months before the relevant auction, and (2) assign at least the first 84 megahertz from certain specified bands through a competitive bidding process. Extends permanently (currently, expires on September 30, 2012) the FCC's authority to grant a license or permit under applicable competitive bidding provisions. Sets forth requirements concerning: (1) terrestrial broadband rights on spectrum primarily licensed for mobile satellite services, and (2) domestic satellite communications services licenses. Directs: (1) the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the FCC or the President to identify specified frequencies for competitive bidding or other reallocation or sharing, and (2) the FCC to auction specified frequency ranges. Modifies competitive bidding system design requirements. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the FCC to establish and collect annual user fees for: (1) initial spectrum licenses or construction permits that are not granted through competitive bidding; and (2) renewals or modifications of initial licenses or other authorizations, whether or not granted through competitive bidding. Sets forth required minimum collection amounts for FY2012-FY2021. Requires that all such proceeds be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. Directs the FCC to: (1) establish, by regulation, a fee-collection methodology and schedule; and (2) exempt broadcast television and public safety services licensees from such fees. Increases the allocation of electromagnetic spectrum for public safety entities by: (1) directing the FCC to reallocate to such entities specified frequencies of the 700 MHz D block spectrum; and (2) amending the Communications Act of 1934 to increase public safety services allocation and reduce commercial use allocation by 10 megahertz within a specified range. Authorizes flexible use of narrowband spectrum, including for public safety broadband communications, subject to exceptions. Establishes the Public Safety Broadband Corporation as a private, nonprofit corporation required to: (1) hold the single public safety wireless license (a license to be reallocated and granted by the FCC for an initial 10-year term renewable, upon application, for subsequent terms, each term a maximum of 15 years) for the 700 MHz D block and existing public safety broadband spectrums; and (2) build, deploy, and operate a nationwide public safety interoperable broadband network. Supporting Unemployed Workers Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SSA, 2008) with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through January 3, 2013. Postpones the termination of the program until June 8, 2013. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 4, 2013, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and June 9, 2013, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA of 1970) against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 with respect to a state's authority to apply certain requirements of the FSEUCA of 1970, with specified substitutions, for determining an extended unemployment compensation period. Requires the state's "on" and "off" indicators to be based on its rate of insured unemployment and rate of total unemployment for the period beginning on the enactment of the FSEUCA of 1970 (or, if later, the date established pursuant to state law) and ending on or before December 31, 2012 (currently, December 31, 2011). Amends the SSA, 2008 to include in a federal-state agreement under the EUC program a requirement that a state provide reemployment services and reemployment eligibility assessment activities to certain recipients of EUC. Conditions an individual's continuing eligibility for EUC for any week on whether such individual has been referred to such services or activities and participated, or has completed such participation, unless there is justifiable cause for failure to do so. Authorizes the federal-state agreement to require that a state agency administering EUC establish a self-employment assistance program to provide for the payment of EUC for up to 26 weeks as self-employment assistance allowances to individuals who meet specified eligibility criteria. Allows a participant in a self-employment assistance program to opt to discontinue such participation. Requires any state that establishes a Bridge to Work program under the Supporting Unemployment Workers Act of 2011 to deduct from an individual's EUC account necessary sums to pay wages for such individual. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and as amended by the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, to extend through December 31, 2012, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits for employees with 10 or more years of service as well as for those with less than 10. Establishes the Reemployment NOW program to facilitate the reemployment of individuals receiving emergency unemployment compensation (EUC claimants). Requires a state to submit for approval by the Secretary of Labor a state plan meeting certain minimum requirements in order to be eligible for an allotment of federal funds under the program. Authorizes a state to use its allotted funds to establish a Bridge to Work program to provide EUC claimants with short-term work experience placements with eligible employers to increase opportunities for such individuals to move to permanent employment. Authorizes a state to use its allotted funds to provide a wage insurance program to pay, for up to two years, an EUC claimant who obtains reemployment up to 50% of the difference between the wages received by the worker at the time of work separation and the wages the worker received for reemployment. Authorizes a state to its allotted funds to provide: (1) a program of enhanced reemployment services to EUC claimants, including unemployed individuals who have exhausted their EUC rights; (2) for the administrative costs associated with starting up certain self-employment assistance programs; and (3) for additional innovative programs designed to facilitate the reemployment of EUC claimants. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements relating to short-time compensation programs to allow employers to reduce the workweek of their employees in lieu of layoffs. Provides for federal financing of state short-time compensation programs. Requires the Secretary of Labor to: (1) award grants to states that enact such programs; (2) develop model legislative language for use by states in developing, enacting, and implementing such programs; and (3) report to Congress and the President on the implementation of such programs. Allows an increased work opportunity tax credit for long-term unemployed individuals (individuals who are unemployed and receiving unemployment compensation for six months or more). Pathways Back to Work Act of 2011 - Establishes the Pathways Back to Work Fund, with an initial appropriation of $5 billion. Requires the Secretary of Labor to make certain Fund allocations to states with approved plans, qualifying outlying areas (U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau), and Native American program grantees to provide: (1) subsidized employment to unemployed, low-income adults; and (2) summer and year-round employment opportunities to low-income youth. Requires the Secretary to award competitive grants to local entities for work-based training and other work-related and educational strategies and activities of demonstrated effectiveness to provide unemployed, low-income adults and low-income youths with skills that will lead to employment. Subjects activities funded under this Act to federal labor standards and nondiscrimination protections. Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Makes it an unlawful practice for certain employers to: (1) publish an advertisement or announcement for a job with provisions indicating that an individual's status as unemployed disqualifies the individual for employment, or that the employer will not consider or hire an individual for employment based on such status; (2) fail or refuse to consider or hire an individual because of such status; or (3) direct or request that an employment agency take an individual's status into account to disqualify an applicant for consideration for employment, or when screening or referring employees. Makes it an unlawful practice for an employment agency to commit similar acts, including to: (1) screen, or fail or refuse to consider or refer, an individual for employment because of the individual's unemployed status; or (2) limit, segregate, or classify any individual in any manner that would limit access to job information, or consideration, screening, or referral for jobs. Makes it unlawful for any employer or employment agency to: (1) interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of any right provided under this Act; or (2) fail or refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because such individual opposed any practice made unlawful by this Act or asserted any right under it. Prescribes enforcement authorities with respect to violations of this Act. Authorizes an individual, or any person acting on the individual's behalf, who files a claim in the appropriate U.S. court alleging violation of the prohibitions of this Act to receive: (1) an order enjoining the unlawful employment practice, (2) the reimbursement of costs expended as a result of such practice, (3) liquidated damages of at least $1,000 for each day of the violation, and (4) reasonable attorney's fees (including expert fees) and court costs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) limit tax deductions and other tax exclusions for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 ($250,000 for married taxpayers filing a joint return), (2) treat income received by a partner from an investment services partnership interest as ordinary income for income tax purposes, and (3) treat all general aviation aircraft (including corporate jets) as seven-year property for depreciation purposes. Repeals, after 2012, certain tax expenditures for the oil and gas industry, including: (1) the tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs for oil and gas wells; (2) the tax deduction for tertiary injectant expenditures; (3) percentage depletion for oil and gas wells; (4) the tax deduction for income from activities relating to oil, natural gas, or any primary product thereof; (5) the exemption from limitations on passive activity losses; and (6) the tax credits for enhanced oil recovery and for producing oil and gas from marginal wells. Increases the amortization period for geological and geophysical expenditures. Denies the foreign tax credit for amounts paid or accrued by a dual capacity taxpayer to a foreign country or U.S. possession. Defines "dual capacity taxpayer" as a person who is subject to a levy of a foreign country or U.S. possession and who receives a specific economic benefit from such country or possession. Sets forth a special rule for the treatment of taxes paid on foreign oil and gas income for purposes of the foreign tax credit. Amends the Budget Control Act of 2011 to: (1) increase the deficit reduction target of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction from $1.5 trillion to $1.95 trillion, and (2) provide that the revenue enhancement provisions of this Act will not take effect if a Committee bill achieving greater than $1.65 trillion in deficit reduction is enacted by January 15, 2012. Amends the Budget Control Act of 2011 to increase the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's targeted deficit reduction goal from $1.5 trillion to $1.95 trillion or more over FY2012-FY2021. States that if a joint committee bill achieving an amount greater than $1.65 trillion in deficit reduction (as provided for in the Act) is enacted by January 15, 2012, then the amendments to the Internal Revenue Code made by subtitles A through E of title IV of this Act, shall not be in effect for any taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2011
Stop Excessive Taxpayer Payments to Government Contractors Act of 2011 - Limits the amount of compensation payable to employees of government contractors to the rate payable for level I of the Executive Schedule.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2011
Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Benefits) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to extend the months of coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant patients. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to make eligible for enrollment in Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), solely for the purpose of such drug coverage, every individual whose insurance benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) have ended by reason of a kidney transplant or the end of any requirement for a regular course of dialysis. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine a monthly premium rate for such individuals equal to 35% of the monthly actuarial rate for enrollees age 65 and over. Prescribes a formula for detemination of a government contribution to such a premium.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2011
American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition. Increases the cap on the amount of appropriations that may be used to carry out such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2011
Fix America's Schools Today (FAST) Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Education to allocate grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to modernize, renovate, or repair early learning or elementary or secondary education facilities. Requires the Secretary to allocate grants directly to the 100 LEAs with the largest numbers of children aged 5-17 living in poverty to modernize, renovate, or repair such facilities. Requires allocation of such funds among these LEAs in proportion to each LEA's respective share of school improvement funds under part A of title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Requires states to give subgrant priority to projects that comply with certain green building standards. Prohibits the use of such grants for new construction or routine maintenance costs. Reserves funds for a survey, by the National Center for Education Statistics, of nationwide public school construction, modernization, renovation, and repair needs. Directs the Secretary to allocate grants to states to modernize, renovate, or repair existing facilities at community colleges. Prohibits the use of such grants: (1) for routine maintenance costs, (2) on facilities used for events for which the public is charged admission, or (3) on facilities which are used for sectarian purposes. Requires states, in providing assistance to community college projects, to consider the extent to which the project complies with certain green building standards. Limits the amount of time states and LEAs have to obligate this Act's grants and subgrants. Requires, with certain exceptions, the iron, steel, and manufactured goods used in projects funded by this Act to be domestic. Applies the prevailing wage rate requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act to projects assisted pursuant to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2011
Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act - Requires the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date. Allocates grant funds among states on the basis of the relative portion of school improvement funds provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Reserves 2% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools. Reserves 5% of the grant funds for LEAs serving geographic areas: (1) with significant economic distress, (2) recovering from a natural disaster, or (3) containing a military installation selected for closure. Requires states to reallocate such grant funds to LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of school improvement funds received by LEAs in the state for the previous fiscal year. Allows LEAs to give priority to projects involving the abatement, removal, or interim control of asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, mold, mildew, lead-based hazards, or a proven carcinogen. Requires the iron and steel used in projects funded under this Act to have been produced in the United States, subject to specified exceptions. Directs LEA grantees to use their grants for public school modernization, renovation, repairs, construction, or maintenance that meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System standards, Energy Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or equivalent standards adopted by the entities that have jurisdiction over such LEAs. Requires the Secretary to work with grant recipients to promote appropriate opportunities for individuals enrolled in YouthBuild, Job Corps, junior or community college, or preapprenticeship programs to gain employment experience on projects funded under this Act. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) grants to institutions of higher education to provide an additional 250,000 part-time work-study jobs; (2) creation of an additional 100,000 Public Lands Corps positions; (3) the retention, rehiring, and hiring of 300,000 education jobs; (4) grants to state, local, and Indian tribal governments to hire and rehire overall an additional 40,000 career law enforcement officers; and (5) the hiring and rehiring of an additional 12,000 firefighters. Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to eligible health care and long-term care (LTC) providers to hire and retain 40,000 health care and LTC professionals. Authorizes appropriations for state and local government units to establish a Community Corps to create an additional 750,000 jobs for unemployed individuals to carry out specified activities. Amends the Head Start Act to authorize appropriations to employ an additional 100,000 full-time infant and toddler Head Start specialists.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2011
Detroit Jobs Trust Fund Act - Establishes in the Treasury the Detroit Jobs Trust Fund to finance projects and activities undertaken by the city of Detroit, Michigan, including payment of debt obligations and projects for jobs development, public safety, education, business infrastructure, or public infrastructure. Requires the city to create a five-year plan describing development goals.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2011
Waives the risk management purchase requirement for an agricultural producer in a designated disaster county adversely impacted by Hurricane Irene or Tropical Storm Lee for assistance eligibility under: (1) the supplemental revenue assistance program; (2) the emergency assistance for livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish program; and (3) the tree assistance program. Sets forth the conditions to be met in order for a producer to receive such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2011
Constitutional Amendment - States that nothing in the U.S. Constitution shall prohibit Congress and the states from imposing content-neutral regulations and restrictions on the expenditure of funds for political activity by any corporation, limited liability company, or other corporate entity, including but not limited to contributions in support of, or in opposition to, a candidate for public office.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2011
Emergency Medic Transition (EMT) Act of 2011 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to state emergency medical services offices or other state entities with jurisdiction over emergency medical personnel to provide for the expedited training and licensing, as emergency medical technicians (EMTs), of veterans who received training as EMTs while serving in the Armed Forces. Directs an eligible entity to give priority to providing training to individuals who will serve as EMTs in areas that provide a high volume of emergency medical services and trauma care.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2011
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to provide emergency conservation program assistance and emergency watershed protection program assistance to agricultural producers in qualifying counties adversely affected by Hurricane Irene and related weather conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 16 August 2011
Revises the federal judicial code to remove provisions: (1) exempting any U.S. attorney or assistant U.S. attorney appointed for the Northern Mariana Islands who at the same time is serving in the same capacity in another district from the requirement that such attorney reside in the district for which he or she was appointed, and (2) allowing any U.S. marshal appointed for the Northern Mariana Islands to serve as marshal in another judicial district at the same time. Requires each U.S. marshal for the Northern Mariana Islands to reside within such district.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2011
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to designate one city in the United States each year as an "American World War II City" based on: (1) contributions to the war effort during World War II; and (2) efforts to preserve the history of such contributions, including preservation organizations or museums, restoration of World War II facilities, and recognition of World War II veterans. Designates Wilmington, North Carolina, as the first such city.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2011
Medicare Diabetes Self-Management Training Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to recognize state-licensed or -registered health care professionals who are certified diabetes educators in an outpatient setting as authorized providers of Medicare diabetes outpatient self-management training services, including as part of telehealth services, under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Directs the Comptroller General to study the barriers that exist for Medicare beneficiaries with diabetes in accessing diabetes self-management training services under the Medicare program. Directs the Director of the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a series of recommendations on effective outreach methods to educate primary care physicians and the public about the benefits of diabetes self-management training.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2011
Preventing Diabetes in Medicare Act of 2011 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend Medicare coverage to medical nutrition therapy services for people with pre-diabetes and risk factors for developing type-2 diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2011
Buy American Improvement Act of 2011 - Requires the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy: (1) to promulgate regulations to standardize and simplify federal agency compliance with, and reporting on, Buy American requirements; (2) in developing Buy American guidelines, to consider any significant decrease in U.S. employment resulting from the granting of waivers of Buy American requirements to be inconsistent with the public interest; and (3) to impose certain notice requirements on federal agency heads after receiving a request for a waiver and to require publication of the determination for why a waiver was granted. Revises Buy American reporting requirements to require: (1) federal agencies to report to the Administrator, for the period FY2011-FY2016, on the amount of their acquisitions of articles, materials, or supplies purchased from entities outside the United States; and (2) the Administrator to submit to Congress a consolidated report on all agency reports received and make such report publicly available on a web site. Imposes limits on waiver determinations, including that a project cost determination will not be deemed unreasonable unless compliance with Buy American requirements causes an increase of overall project costs by more than 25%. Defines "substantially all" for purposes of Buy American requirements to mean that articles, materials, or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such items exceeds 75% of the total cost of all such items. Requires the Comptroller General to report on the extent to which, in FY2007-FY2011, articles, materials, or supplies acquired by the federal government were manufactured, mined, or produced outside of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2011
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) any deficit reduction plan put forward by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction should not balance the budget by eroding America's hard-earned retirement plan and social safety net; (2) Medicare's ability to deliver high quality health care in a cost-efficient manner should be strengthened and its benefits should be preserved for current and future retirees; (3) appropriate reform to strengthen Social Security's long-term outlook should ensure that it remains a critical source of protection for the people of the United States and their families without further increasing the retirement age or otherwise decreasing benefits; and (4) federal funding for the Medicaid program should be maintained so that senior citizens, poor and disabled children, and others with disabilities are able to gain and retain access to affordable health care.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2011
Education for All Act of 2011 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to state that it is U.S. policy to work with foreign countries and international and civil society organizations to achieve universal basic education by: (1) assisting developing countries and nongovernmental and multilateral organizations to provide all children with a quality basic education, and (2) promoting education as the foundation for communities' development. Directs the President to develop a comprehensive U.S. strategy to promote quality universal basic education. Authorizes the President to provide funds and other assistance to qualifying foreign countries to create the policies, processes, and infrastructure to develop national basic quality education plans. Directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to designate a Coordinator of United States Government Actions to Provide Basic Education Assistance who shall have primary responsibility for the oversight and coordination of all U.S. government resources and international activities to promote quality universal basic education.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2011
Condemns: (1) the terrorist attacks that occurred in Norway on July 22, 2011, causing many deaths and injuries; and (2) all terrorist actions motivated by hatred and religious or cultural intolerance. Expresses sympathy to the victims of the atrocious acts, their families, and the people and government of Norway. Emphasizes the bonds of friendship and shared heritage between the United States and Norway. Calls on all nations to join together to denounce acts of hatred and fear and promote peace and tolerance around the world.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2011
Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to impose restrictions on foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions operating in the United States that are of prime money laundering concern or that impede U.S. tax enforcement. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a rebuttable presumption against the validity of transactions by institutions that do not comply with reporting requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), (2) treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations for tax purposes, (3) require tax withholding agents and financial institutions to report certain information about beneficial owners of foreign-owned financial accounts, (4) treat credit default swap payments sent offshore as taxable U.S. source income, (5) allow the use of tax return information to evaluate foreign financial account reports, (6) increase penalties for promoting abusive tax shelters and for aiding and abetting the understatement of tax liability, (7) prohibit tax advisor contingent fee agreements for obtaining a tax savings or benefit, and (8) impose additional requirements for third party summonses used to obtain information in tax investigations that do not identify the person with respect to whose liability the summons is issued (i.e., John Doe summons). Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to: (1) require corporations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to report annually, on a country-by country basis, on employees, sales, financing, tax obligations, and tax payments; and (2) authorize a fine of up to $1 million for failure to disclose any holding or transaction involving equity or debt instruments known to involve a foreign entity that would otherwise be subject to disclosure requirements. Requires the Secretary to publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register requiring unregistered investment companies, including hedge funds or private equity funds, to establish anti-money laundering programs and submit suspicious activity reports. Extends anti-money laundering requirements to persons engaged in the business of forming new businesses or other legal entities. Requires federal banking agencies and the SEC to develop examination techniques to detect and prevent abusive tax shelter activities or the aiding or abetting of tax evasion by financial institutions. Requires the Secretary to: (1) disclose tax return information to federal financial regulators for purposes of tax shelter investigations; (2) disclose to Congress documents relating to a determination to grant, deny, revoke, or restore the tax-exempt status of an organization; and (3) expand the standards applicable to tax practitioners for issuing written advice on transactions which have a potential for tax avoidance or evasion.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2011
Stop Outsourcing Security Act - Directs the Secretary of State to ensure that only U.S. government personnel provide diplomatic security services to personnel working on behalf of the United States at U.S. diplomatic or consular missions in areas of: (1) contingency operations; and (2) other significant military operations, other than combat operations, where security personnel may be called upon to use deadly force. Requires the President to report to Congress, by June 1, 2012, on the status of planning for the transition away from the use of private contractors for specified mission critical or emergency essential functions by January 1, 2013, in all areas of such operations. Directs any individual or entity under contract with the federal government to provide mission critical or emergency essential functions after such date to allow Congress to examine their accounting practices. Outlines additional requirements relating to renewals of such contracts. Authorizes specified congressional access to contracts and task orders in excess of $5 million entered into by the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of State, the Department of the Interior, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the period beginning October 1, 2001, and ending on the last day of the month during which this Act is enacted for work to be performed in areas of such operations. Requires certain reports to Congress regarding contracts for the performance of work in areas of such operations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2011
Access to Birth Control Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require pharmacies to comply with certain rules related to contraceptives, including: (1) providing a customer a contraceptive without delay if it is in stock; (2) immediately informing a customer if the contraceptive is not in stock and either transferring the prescription to a pharmacy that has the contraceptive in stock or expediting the ordering of the contraceptive and notifying the customer when it arrives, based on customer preference, except for pharmacies that do not ordinarily stock contraceptives in the normal course of business; and (3) ensuring that pharmacy employees do not take certain actions relating to a request for contraception, including intimidating, threatening, or harassing customers, interfering with or obstructing the delivery of services, intentionally misrepresenting or deceiving customers about the availability of contraception or its mechanism of action, breaching or threatening to breach medical confidentiality, or refusing to return a valid, lawful prescription. Provides that a pharmacy is not prohibited from refusing to provide a contraceptive to a customer if: (1) it is unlawful to dispense the contraceptive to the customer without a valid, lawful prescription and no such prescription is presented; (2) the customer is unable to pay for the contraceptive; or (3) the employee of the pharmacy refuses to provide the contraceptive on the basis of a professional clinical judgment. Provides that this Act does not preempt state law or any professional obligation of a state board that provides greater protections for customers. Sets forth civil penalties and establishes a a private cause of action for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2011
Medigap Medical Loss Ratio Improvement Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to Medicare supplemental (Medigap) policies to increase the minimum loss ratio required of such policies. (A loss ratio is the ratio of total losses paid out in insurance claims, plus adjustment expenses, divided by the total earned insurance premiums.) Prohibits the issuance or renewal of a Medigap policy in any state unless the policy can be expected to return to policyholders in the form of aggregate benefits: (1) at least 85% (currently 75%) of the aggregate amount of premiums collected in the case of group policies, and (2) at least 80% (currently 65%) in the case of individual policies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2011
Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act - Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to prohibit the use or possession of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Imposes on persons who possess or use such traps in the System: (1) for a first offense, a civil fine of up to $500 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used; and (2) for subsequent offenses, a civil fine of up to $1,000 for each body-gripping trap possessed or used, imprisonment for up to 180 days, or both such a civil fine and imprisonment. Makes any body-gripping traps that are possessed or used in violation of this Act, and any wildlife captured by the use of such traps, including the pelts and raw fur, subject to civil forfeiture. Requires persons found to be in violation of such prohibition to pay all associated court costs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2011
New Markets Tax Credit Extension Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the new markets tax credit through 2016, (2) provide for an inflation adjustment to the limitation amount for such credit after 2012, and (3) allow an offset against the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for such credit (determined with respect to qualified equity investments made before January 1, 2017).
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2011
Global Democracy Promotion Act - States that in determining eligibility for assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 foreign nongovernmental organizations shall not: (1) be ineligible for such assistance solely on the basis of health or medical services provided by such organizations with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States, and (2) be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving assistance under part I of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2011
Authorizes Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center to be used on August 27, 2011, for a ceremony to celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and recognize the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity for its work to erect a monument to the civil rights leader. Directs all physical preparations for the conduct of the ceremony to be carried out in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed by the Architect of the Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2011
PACE Assessment Protection Act of 2011 - Requires the Director of the Federal Housing Agency (FHA) to direct the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) to issue guidance providing that the levy of a PACE (property assessed clean energy) assessment and the creation of a PACE lien do not constitute a default on any loan secured by one of its uniform instruments, and do not trigger the exercise of remedies with respect to any provision of the instrument, if the PACE assessment and the PACE lien meet specified requirements. Lists as PACE improvements any qualified clean energy improvements, energy conservation and efficiency improvements, and water conservation and efficiency improvements. Prohibits the FHA Director, the Comptroller of the Currency, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and all federal agencies and entities chartered or otherwise established under federal law from discriminating in any manner against state or local governments implementing or participating in a PACE program, or against any property that is obligated to pay a PACE assessment or is subject to a PACE lien. Specifies requirements a PACE program, and any related PACE assessment and PACE lien, must meet to be entitled to the protections of this Act. Details obligations of property owners with respect to PACE assessments, and requires the local government to disclose to the participating property owner the costs and risk associated with participating in the PACE program. Prescribes requirements for: (1) non-residential properties; and (2) qualifying PACE improvements, qualifying contractors, and financing terms for residential properties. Limits the total amount of PACE assessments for a property to 10% of its estimated value. Requires the property owner to have equity in the property of at least 15%.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2011
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow nonrecognition of gain in a corporate reorganization for corporations that exchange property solely for stock other than nonqualified preferred stock.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2011
Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the next of kin or personal representative of Father Mychal Judge, O.F.M., in recognition of his example to the nation of selfless dedication to duty and compassion for one's fellow citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2011
Elder Abuse Victims Act of 2011 - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) an Office of Elder Justice, which shall address issues relating to elder abuse. Requires the Director of such Office to: (1) provide information, training, and technical assistance to assist states and local governments in preventing, investigating, prosecuting, and mitigating the impact of elder abuse, exploitation, and neglect and in addressing the physical and psychological trauma to victims of such abuse; (2) evaluate the efficacy of measures intended to prevent, detect, respond to, or redress elder abuse and the extent to which the needs of the victims in each state are met by crime victim services, programs, and sources of funding; (3) evaluate training models to determine best practices for investigating elder abuse, addressing evidentiary and legal issues, and interacting with victims; and (4) conduct, and regularly update, a study of state laws and practices relating to elder abuse. Directs the Attorney General to annually: (1) collect from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices statistical data relating to the incidence of elder abuse; (2) identify common data points among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutor offices that would allow for the collection of uniform national data related to elder abuse; (3) publish a summary of the data collected; (4) identify the types of elder abuse data that should be collected and what entity is most capable of collecting it; and (5) develop recommendations for collecting additional data. Authorizes the Director to provide grants and technical assistance to assist not more than 15 states in establishing and operating programs designed to improve: (1) the response to elder abuse in a manner that limits additional trauma to victims, and (2) the investigation and prosecution of cases of elder abuse. Requires eligible states to: (1) have a qualified crime victims compensation program; and (2) establish or designate a multidisciplinary task force on elder justice. Amends the Social Security Act to include the Director as the alternate for the Attorney General as a member of the Elder Justice Coordinating Council.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2011
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding the manner in which they can: (1) ensure interagency coordination and communication and minimize overlap regarding efforts to address tick-borne diseases; (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies and private organizations addressing such diseases; (3) ensure interagency coordination and communication with constituency groups; (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints is represented in public health policy decisions and that information disseminated to the public and physicians is balanced; and (5) advise relevant federal agencies on priorities related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2011
National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 50,000 $5 gold coins, 400,000 $1 silver coins, and 750,000 half-dollar coins in recognition of the National Baseball Hall of Fame during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2015. Directs the Secretary to hold a competition to design the obverse of the coins. Requires the design on the reverse side to depict a baseball similar to those used by Major League Baseball. Requires all sales of such coins to include specified surcharges, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the National Baseball Hall of Fame to help finance its operations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2011
No Child Left Inside Act of 2011 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states, as a prerequisite to receiving implementation grants, to develop environmental literacy plans, approved by the Secretary of Education, for pre-kindergarten through grade 12 that include environmental education standards and teacher training. Directs the Secretary to award Environmental Education Professional Development Grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to partnerships that include a local educational agency (LEA) and, permissibly, institutions of higher education (IHE), other educational entities, or federal, state, regional, or local natural resource or environmental agencies, for activities involving, among other things, teacher training and the development of more rigorous environmental education curricula that advance the teaching of interdisciplinary courses. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to partnerships that include an LEA and, permissibly, IHEs, other educational entities, federal, state, regional, or local natural resource or environmental agencies, or park and recreation departments, for activities to improve and support environmental education that include: (1) advancing content and achievement standards, and (2) developing or disseminating innovations or model programs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2011
Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services Act - Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate rules to prohibit, as an unfair and deceptive act or practice, a person from advertising with the intent to deceptively create the impression that: (1) such person is a provider of abortion services if such person does not provide such services, or (2) such person is not a provider of abortion services if such person does provide such services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2011
Shareholder Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any solicitation of a proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any security of an issuer: (1) describe the specific nature (to the extent known) and total amount of expenditures proposed for political activities for the forthcoming fiscal year but not yet authorized by a vote of the issuer's shareholders, and (2) provide for a separate shareholder vote to authorize such proposed expenditures. Prohibits an issuer from making an expenditure for political activities in any fiscal year unless: (1) such expenditure is of the nature of those proposed by the issuer according to the requirements of this Act; and (2) authorization for such expenditure has been granted by votes representing a majority of outstanding shares. Deems a violation of this requirement to be a breach of the fiduciary duty of the officers and directors who authorized such expenditure. Subjects officers and directors who authorize the expenditure without prior shareholder authorization to joint and several liability to any shareholder or class of shareholders for the amount of such expenditure. Requires certain institutional investment managers to disclose annually in mandatory reports how they voted (proxies) in certain shareholder votes. Prohibits any person from bringing any civil, criminal, or administrative action against an institutional investment manager, or any of its employees, officers, or directors, based solely upon the investment manager's decision to divest from, or not to invest in, securities of an issuer because of expenditures for political activities made by that issuer. Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any equity security of an issuer whose corporate bylaws do not expressly provide for a vote of the issuer's directors on any individual expenditure for political activities in excess of $50,000. Requires an issuer to make public, within 48 hours, the individual votes of the directors regarding any such expenditure. Directs the SEC to: (1) require issuers to disclose expenditures for political activities made during the preceding quarter and the individual votes by board members authorizing such expenditures; and (2) make such reports publicly available through the SEC website. Requires the SEC to make annual assessments of the compliance by public corporations and their management with the reporting and disclosure requirements of this Act, and the Comptroller General (GAO) to evaluate periodically the effectiveness of SEC oversight of these requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2011
Declares that, for mortgages originated during FY2012 and FY2013, if the dollar amount limit on the maximum original principal obligation of a mortgage that may be purchased by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) for any size residence for any area is less than the limit in effect for 2008 under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, the maximum dollar amount limit on the principal obligation of such a mortgage shall be such maximum limit in effect for 2008 (in effect, an increase in the limit on the maximum original mortgage principal obligation from the FY2012 or FY2013 level to the 2008 level). Makes a similar declaration (and mortgage principal limit increase), for mortgages for which the mortgagee issues credit approval during FY2012 and FY2013, about the dollar amount limit on the maximum original principal obligation of a mortgage that may be insured by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2011
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Exposure Elimination Act of 2011 - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, as part of the National Toxicology Program, to: (1) establish and implement a research program designed to strengthen the scientific basis of information used by federal agencies to understand the effects of, and reduce human exposure to, endocrine-disrupting chemicals; (2) establish an Endocrine Disruption Expert Panel to report to the Director on issues related to identification, classification, or evaluation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals; (3) for each chemical determined by the Director to be a potential or actual endocrine-disrupting chemical, identify the level of evidence that such chemical is or may be an endocrine-disrupting chemical, the level of concern that such chemical may disrupt the human endocrine system, and the pathways of exposure to the chemical for humans and animals; and (4) provide to Congress and each relevant federal agency and make publicly available every two years an up-to-date list of potential or actual endocrine-disrupting chemicals and a report on the Program's activities and on federal agencies' activities with respect to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Requires the Panel to: (1) report to the Director on issues related to identification, classification, or evaluation of not more than 10 endocrine-disrupting chemicals or groups of chemicals; (2) evaluate existing research aimed at understanding the biological pathways in humans by which such chemicals operate and identify future research priorities; and (3) maintain a list that identifies chemicals of concern for endocrine disruption effects. Authorizes any state, tribe, local government, federal agency, or person to petition the Director to: (1) determine whether a chemical should be identified by the Program as a potential or actual endocrine-disrupting chemical and included in the list; or (2) reclassify a chemical, revise a finding, or amend any other determination of the Program based upon new information. Provides that a listing, finding, or other determination shall not be subject to judicial review or to correction under the Information Quality Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director to conduct and support an Endocrine Disruption Research Program. Authorizes the Director to conduct workshops and fora and provide information on the health effects associated with chemicals that may disrupt the endocrine system. Requires each federal agency with regulatory authority over any chemical included on the list to prepare and publish a written response to each biennial list. Specifies actions each such agency must take if: (1) the Director determines there is a minimal level of concern that a chemical may disrupt the human endocrine system (e.g., developing a strategy for reducing human exposure to the chemical, including methods to promote voluntary actions by industry for reducing such exposure), and (2) the Director determines there is a high level of concern (e.g., prohibiting the use of the chemical in a manner in or affecting interstate commerce unless the pathway to human exposure is mitigated before or in conjunction with such use). Provides for citizen suits to restrain the prohibited use of chemicals under this Act. Requires: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to include findings and determinations of the Program in the Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource databases to the extent permitted by law, and (2) the Director to establish a program to support graduate and postdoctoral training in fields related to the study and prevention of endocrine disruption.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2011
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. Allows consideration of an individual's status as unemployed where an individual's employment in a similar or related job for a period of time reasonably proximate to the hiring of such individual is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to successful performance of the job being filled. Authorizes, subject to termination upon the filing of certain complaints by the Secretary of Labor, one or more persons for and in behalf of the affected individual, or the affected individual and other individuals similarly situated, to bring actions in federal or state court for specified actual damages and equitable relief including employment and compensatory and punitive damages. Directs the Secretary to: (1) receive, investigate, and attempt to resolve complaints according to specified provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938; and (2) pay directly to each affected individual applicable sums recovered in any civil actions brought by the Secretary under this Act. Sets forth a two-year statute of limitations period (three years for willful violations) for specified civil actions under this Act, subject to tolling when the Secretary is considering certain complaints.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2011
Equal Access and Parity for Multi-Campus Hospitals Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA), with respect to payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services, to prescribe a special rule for applying Medicare electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments, at the election of a qualified main hospital, to its remote inpatient locations. Prohibits administrative or judicial review of: (1) the methodology and standards for determining a remote inpatient location, a qualified remote inpatient location, a component facility, a qualified component facility, a main provider, and a qualified main provider, and which such locations, facilities, and providers are qualified; and (2) the methodology and standards for the election in connection with such special rule. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to set forth a special rule for applying Medicaid EHR incentive payments, at the election of a qualified main hospital, to its remote locations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2011
Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) establish the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Advisory Board, (2) develop a system to collect data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases, and (3) establish the National PF Registry. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in developing the Registry, to: (1) expand and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure; and (2) provide for research access to pulmonary fibrosis data. Directs the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information are made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires the Director of CDC to prepare the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Education and Awareness Plan, which shall: (1) focus on strategies to increase public education and awareness of pulmonary fibrosis, (2) address the need for new physician education strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment standards, and (3) assess and monitor the costs of pulmonary fibrosis and its burden on patients and families. Encourages the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute pulmonary fibrosis research activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2011
Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax exclusion of distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes to: (1) make such exclusion permanent; (2) eliminate the $100,000 cap on such exclusion; (3) permit tax-free distributions from IRAs to a split-interest entity (i.e., a charitable remainder annuity or unitrust, a pooled income fund, and a charitable gift annuity); and (4) allow distributions to a split-interest entity to be made when the account beneficiary attains age 59-1/2 (otherwise, age 70-1/2 for IRA distributions to a charitable organization).
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2011
American Battlefield Protection Program Amendments of 2011 - Amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009, with respect to the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program, to: (1) expand the current definition of "battlefield report" to include the report entitled "Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States"; and (2) expand the Program to permit the acquisition not only of an "interest in an eligible site," but also an "eligible site." Requires acquisitions of lands or interests under the Act to be from willing sellers only. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit to Congress a report on activities carried out under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2011
Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act of 2011 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit any person from knowingly attending an animal fighting venture or causing a minor (a person under the age of 18) to attend such a venture. Subjects any person who: (1) knowingly attends such venture to a fine and/or imprisonment for up to a year for each violation, and (2) causes a minor to attend such venture to a fine and/or imprisonment for up to three years for each violation.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hinchey, Maurice D. [D-NY-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h000627_200.jpg)