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United States · Official source
2,891 records where Rep. Issa, Darrell [R-CA-48] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to exempt traditional large and premium cigars from regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and from user fees assessed on tobacco products by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2013
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to honor collectively the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in recognition of their military service and exemplary record during World War II. Requires the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the CAP. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2013
Credit Union Small Business Jobs Creation Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to prohibit an insured credit union from making any member business loan that would result in the total amount of such loans outstanding at that credit union at any one time exceeding either: (1) 1.75 times the actual net worth of the credit union, or (2) 12.25% of the total assets of the credit union. Authorizes the National Credit Union Administration Board to approve an application by an insured credit union to make one or more member business loans that would result in a total amount of such loans outstanding at any one time of up to 27.5 % of the total assets of the credit union, if the credit union meets specified safety and soundness criteria. Prohibits an insured credit union that has made such a member business loan but that is not well capitalized from making any new member business loans until it becomes well capitalized and obtains Board approval. Directs the Board to develop a tiered approval process, including lending standards, under which an insured credit union gradually increases the amount of member business lending in a manner consistent with safe and sound operations. Directs the Comptroller General to study the status of member business lending by insured credit unions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Designates the U.S. exclusive economic zone (as established by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983) as the "Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States."
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Requires the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to submit an annual report to Congress on the use of official time by federal employees. Defines "official time" as any period of time granted to a federal employee to perform representational or consultative functions and during which the employee would otherwise be in a duty status.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Protecting Victims on Campus Act of 2013 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions that require each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in a title IV (Student Assistance) program to comply with certain crime reporting requirements. Requires IHEs to provide students and employees with a list of the titles, in each department of the IHE, of each individual who is a campus security authority to whom they should report specified criminal offenses. Includes criminal offenses involving minors that are reported to campus security authorities or the local police among the criminal offenses that are to be included in: (1) the annual campus security report provided to current and prospective students and employees, and (2) the timely reports to the campus community on crimes considered to be a threat to the community. Requires the personally identifiable information of victims to be kept confidential when IHEs are making timely reports to the campus community on crimes considered to be a threat to the community. Requires IHEs, in carrying out their obligation to make such timely reports, to: (1) designate an individual to serve as campus security authority coordinator, and (2) provide for the training of that coordinator and the campus security authorities. Directs the Secretary of Education, when imposing civil penalties on IHEs for substantial violations of the crime reporting requirements, to distinguish between IHEs that intentionally violated those requirements and those whose violations are attributable to institutional neglect. Requires the Secretary to provide each IHE that is to be investigated for violating such reporting requirements with a timeline of the investigation and a preliminary report that includes the reasons for the investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Respecting States' Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, who is entitled and not prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence or who is carrying a valid state license or permit to carry a concealed weapon, and who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document, to carry a concealed handgun (which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, other than a machine gun or destructive device) in any state in accordance with the restrictions of that state. Provides that in a state that allows the issuing authority for licenses or permits to carry concealed firearms to impose restrictions on the carrying of firearms by individual license or permit holders, an individual carrying a concealed handgun under this Act shall be permitted to carry it according to the same terms authorized by an unrestricted license or permit issued by such state.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2013 - Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam its territorial seas for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Expedited LNG for American Allies Act of 2013 - Amends the Natural Gas Act to deem consistent with the public interest an expedited application and approval process without modification or delay for the exportation of natural gas to a foreign country that is: (1) a nation with which there is in effect a free trade agreement requiring national treatment for trade in natural gas (as under existing law); (2) a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); (3) Japan, as long as the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan remains in effect; and (4) any other foreign country if the Secretary of State determines that such exportation promotes U.S. national security interests.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2013
Protect Medical Innovation Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on medical device manufacturers and importers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2013
Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act or the Small BREW Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce the rate of the excise tax on beer produced within or imported into the United States for brewers who produce not more than 6 million barrels of beer a year.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2013
Real Unemployment Calculation Act - Treats the measure of unemployment issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (known as U5) as the official and primary measure of unemployment in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2013
STEM Jobs Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 55,000 visas available in FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years to qualified immigrants who: (1) have a doctorate degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a U.S. doctoral institution of higher education; and (2) have taken all doctoral courses in a STEM field, including all courses taken by correspondence or by distance education, while physically present in the United States. Defines "United States doctoral institution of higher education" as an institution that: (1) is defined under the Higher Education Act of 1965, (2) was classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching on January 1, 2012, as a doctorate-granting university with a very high or high level of research activity or classified by the National Science Foundation as having research activity equivalent to such institutions, and (3) is accredited by an accrediting body that is itself accredited either by the Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Makes any such unused visas available to aliens who: (1) hold a master's degree in a STEM field from a U.S. doctoral institution of higher education that was either part of a master's program that required at least two years of enrollment or part of a five-year combined baccalaureate-master's degree program in such field; and (2) have taken all master's degree courses in a STEM field, including all courses taken by correspondence or by distance education, while physically present in the United States. Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) from approving an employer petition on behalf of a STEM alien unless the Secretary receives a determination by the Secretary of Labor that there are not sufficient American workers available for the job. Requires DHS to: (1) adjudicate a petition on behalf of a STEM alien within 60 days, and (2) notify a petitioner within 30 days if the petition does not meet approval standards and needs to be resubmitted. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, and (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days. Requires the Department of Labor to: (1) adjudicate a STEM application within 180 days, and (2) notify an applicant within 60 days if the application does not meet approval standards and needs to be resubmitted. Makes unused STEM visas in FY2015 through FY2017 available for use in future years under specified conditions. Eliminates the diversity immigrant program. States that: (1) the permanent priority date for any employment-based petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed, unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date; and (2) an alien who is the beneficiary of an employment-based petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed employment-based petition. Revises foreign student visa (F-visa) provisions to establish: (1) an F-1 visa for a foreign student who is pursuing a full course of STEM field study at a U.S. institution of higher education or a proprietary institution of higher education which has agreed to report the attendance termination of each nonimmigrant student to DHS, or who is participating in related temporary optional practical training following completion of such studies; (2) an F-2 visa for a foreign student who has an actual residence in a foreign country and who seeks to enter the United States temporarily and solely to pursue a course of study at an established college, university, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, elementary school, or in a language training program in the United States, which has agreed to report the attendance termination of each nonimmigrant student to DHS; (3) an F-3 visa for the spouse or minor child of an F-1 or F-2 foreign student; and (4) an F-4 visa for a Canadian or Mexican foreign student who maintains an actual residence in such country and commutes to a U.S. institution for full or part-time (F-1 or F-2 related) study.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2013
Fallen Heroes Family Act of 2013 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include as a nonimmigrant alien an alien who is the parent of a child who: (1) is a U.S. citizen; (2) was born outside the United States and its outlying possessions; and (3) had a natural parent who served honorably in an active-duty status in the U.S. Armed Forces and died on or after September 11, 2001, from an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by that service. Defines "parent" to include a legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis for purposes of: (1) such nonimmigrant alien; and (2) immediate relative status with respect to aliens who are not subject to direct numerical limitations. Sets forth related conditions concerning: (1) employment, (2) period of authorized admission, and (3) number of aliens to be admitted for each such child.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2013
Criminal Alien Accountability Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish minimum imprisonment terms for specified categories of aliens subject to criminal fines, imprisonment, or both, for reenrty as removed aliens. (Such provision does not apply to aliens removed for security or terrorist grounds.) Subjects an individual who knowingly aids or conspires to allow, procure, or permit any such alien to reenter the United States to criminal penalty, the same imprisonment term as applies to the alien so aided, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2013
Tax Code Termination Act - Terminates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after December 31, 2017, except for self-employment taxes, Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, and railroad retirement taxes. Requires a two-thirds majority vote in Congress to change such termination date. Declares that any new federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that: (1) applies a low rate to all Americans, (2) provides tax relief for working Americans, (3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses, (4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment, (5) promotes economic growth and job creation, and (6) does not penalize marriage or families. Requires that the new federal tax system be approved by Congress in its final form by July 4, 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2013
Realize America's Maritime Promise Act or RAMP Act - Requires the total budget resources for expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for harbor maintenance programs to equal the level of receipts plus interest credited to such Fund for that fiscal year. Limits the use of such resources to such programs only. Declares that it shall be out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report that would cause total budget resources for the Fund in a fiscal year for harbor maintenance programs to be less than the level of receipts plus interest credited to the Fund for that fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
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 volunteer 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 · 18 January 2013
Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "chemical substance" for purposes of such Act: (1) any component of any pistol, revolver, firearm, shell, or cartridge the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, including shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers; and (2) any sport fishing equipment the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax and sport fishing equipment components.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to revise the contents of the concurrent resolution on the budget to include a heading entitled "Debt Increase as Measure of Deficit" to set forth the amounts by which the current $14.294 trillion public debt limit shall increase in each of such years. Declares that, upon passage in the House of Representatives of the conference report on any concurrent budget resolution, it shall be immediately in order for the House to consider a privileged bill offered by the chairman of the Committee on the Budget amending the public debt limit at the level proposed under the "Debt Increase as Measure of Deficit" heading for the budget resolution's fiscal year. Limits to one hour any debate on the bill. Prohibits the measure from being amendable and a motion to commit from being in order. Applies similar procedures for Senate consideration of the House passed bill. Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider the bill before the passage of the conference report on the budget resolution for its fiscal year. Increases the public debt limit from $14,294,000,000,000 to $17,072,810,000,000.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2013
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) joint outpatient clinic to be constructed in Marina, California, as the "General William H. Gourley Federal Outpatient Clinic: A Joint VA-DOD Health Care Facility."
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2013
Stolen Valor Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to rewrite provisions relating to fraudulent claims about military service to subject to a fine, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both an individual who, with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, fraudulently holds himself or herself out to be a recipient of: a Congressional Medal of Honor, a distinguished-service cross, a Navy cross, an Air Force cross, a silver star, a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantryman's Badge, a Combat Action Badge, a Combat Medical Badge, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Combat Action Medal, or any replacement or duplicate medal for such medal as authorized by law.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2013
Amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011, as amended by the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2013 (P.L. 112-175), to extend through December 31, 2013: (1) the freeze on statutory pay adjustments for federal employees and officials, and (2) the prohibition against any member of the Senior Executive Service or any senior level employee in the executive branch from receiving an increase in his or her rate of basic pay absent a change of position that results in a substantial increase in responsibility or a promotion. Eliminates the delayed statutory pay adjustment contained in the Resolution that was permitted to take effect with the first applicable pay period beginning after March 27, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Death Tax Repeal Act - Repeals the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Fair Tax Act of 2013 - Repeals the income tax, employment tax, and estate and gift tax. Redesignates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as the Internal Revenue Code of 2013. Imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services. Sets the sales tax rate at 23% in 2015, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. Allows exemptions from the tax for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes, and for state government functions. Sets forth rules relating to: (1) the collection and remittance of the sales tax, and (2) credits and refunds. Allows a monthly sales tax rebate for families based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines. Grants states the primary authority for the collection of sales tax revenues and the remittance of such revenues to the Treasury. Sets forth administrative provisions relating to: (1) the filing of monthly reports and payments of tax; (2) accounting methods; (3) registration of sellers of goods and services responsible for reporting sales; (4) penalties for noncompliance; and (5) collections, appeals, and taxpayer rights. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate sales tax revenues among: (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund. Prohibits the funding of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after FY2017. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury: (1) an Excise Tax Bureau to administer excise taxes not administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and (2) a Sales Tax Bureau to administer the national sales tax. Terminates the sales tax imposed by this Act if the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber to increase the public debt limit. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority of each chamber by rollcall vote. Authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict. Requires any such waiver to identify and be limited to the specific excess or increase for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Limits total outlays for any fiscal year to one-fifth of the U.S. economic output, unless two-thirds of each house of Congress provides for a specific increase above this amount. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber to increase the limit on U.S. debt held by the public. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by three-fifths of each chamber by rollcall vote. Authorizes waivers of these requirements and prohibitions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict. Requires any such waiver to identify and be limited to the specific excess or increase for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2012
Video Privacy Protection Act Amendments Act of 2012 - Amends provisions of the federal criminal code authorizing a video tape service provider to disclose personally identifiable information concerning any consumer to any person with the informed, written consent of the consumer to: (1) allow such consent to be provided through an electronic means using the Internet; (2) require such consent to be in a form distinct and separate from any form setting forth other legal or financial obligations of the consumer; (3) allow such consent to be given in advance for a set period of time, not to exceed two years or until consent is withdrawn by the consumer, whichever is sooner; and (4) require the video tape service provider to provide an opportunity for the consumer to withdraw such consent on a case-by-case basis or to withdraw from ongoing disclosures, at the consumer's election.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2012
Violence Against Indian Women Act of 2012 - Amends the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 to give Indian tribes criminal jurisdiction over domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protective orders that occur on their lands. Makes that jurisdiction concurrent with federal and state jurisdiction. Prohibits a tribe from exercising such jurisdiction if neither the defendant or alleged victim is an Indian, or the defendant lacks certain ties to the tribe. Requires Indian tribes prosecuting those crimes to: (1) provide defendants the right to a trial by an impartial jury; and (2) notify detainees of their rights, including the right to file a writ of habeas corpus in federal court. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist Indian tribes in exercising such jurisdiction, providing indigent defendants with free legal counsel, and securing the rights of victims of such crimes. Authorizes appropriations for such grant program and to provide participating Indian tribes with training, technical assistance, data collection, and an evaluation of their criminal justice systems. Authorizes defendants charged with domestic violence, dating violence, and violations of protective orders to petition the appropriate federal district court for the removal of their case from tribal court. Prohibits a case from being removed from tribal court unless a defendant proves by a preponderance of evidence that a constitutional right guaranteed under the Act has been violated, the tribal court has not adequately remedied the violation, and the violation is prejudicial to the defendant.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Internet Radio Fairness Act of 2012 - Amends federal copyright law to direct the President, with advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the three Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJs) who serve on the Copyright Royalty Board. (Currently, the Librarian of Congress appoints CRJs after consultation with the Register of Copyrights.) Increases the years of legal experience and other qualifications necessary to serve as a CRJ. Amends the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with respect to the standards applied by CRJs to establish compulsory licensing royalty rates for the public performance of sound recordings by noninteractive digital audio services. Replaces the standard that CRJs apply to establish rates for eligible nonsubscription transmissions (including Internet radio, commonly referred to as webcasting) and new subscription services with the standard currently used to establish rates for subscription services (digital cable radio) and satellite digital audio radio services (satellite radio) existing on or before July 31, 1998. (Replaces a standard based on the rates and terms that would have been negotiated in the marketplace between a willing buyer and seller with a standard that requires CRJs to consider a broader set of objectives.) Authorizes a minimum annual administrative fee of up to $500 to be included in such rates. Sets forth a similar rate-setting methodology for compulsory licenses of ephemeral recordings (reproductions of sound recordings used by licensees to facilitate transmission) with authorization for a minimum annual fee (currently, a requirement for a fee of unspecified duration). Places the burden of proof on sound recording copyright owners to establish that the fees and terms they are seeking satisfy the requirements amended by this Act and do not exceed the fees to which most copyright owners and users would agree under competitive market circumstances. Defines "competitive market circumstances" as circumstances in which a licensee enters into a license for the noninteractive performance of sound recordings with a licensor that does not possess market power resulting from the aggregation of copyrights, either by a licensing collective or individual copyright owners. Directs CRJs to consider: (1) the public's interest in both the creation of new sound recordings of musical works and in fostering online and other digital performances of sound recordings; (2) the income necessary to provide a reasonable return on all relevant investments, including investments in prior periods for which returns have not been earned; (3) the value of any promotional benefit or other non-monetary benefit conferred on the copyright owner by the performance; and (4) the contributions made by the digital audio transmission service to the content and value of its programming. Requires CRJs to establish license fee structures that foster competition among the licensors of sound recording performances and between sound recording performances and other programming. Prohibits CRJs from: (1) disfavoring percentage of revenue-based fees, and (2) taking into account the rates and terms in licenses for interactive services or the determinations rendered by CRJs prior to the enactment of the this Act. Permits certain transmitting organizations entitled to transmit a performance to the public to make more than one (currently, no more than one) copy or phonorecord embodying a performance or display of a work for its own transmissions, archival preservation, or security. (Removes a requirement that such a copy or phonorecord be destroyed within six months from the first transmission to the public unless preserved exclusively for archival purposes.) Sets forth limitations on the antitrust exemptions for sound recording copyright owners acting jointly or through common agents or collectives. Specifies activities to be deemed a restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Act. Requires common agents or collectives representing copyright owners of sound recordings, in order to obtain authority to negotiate certain statutory licenses for digital sound recordings, to make available via the Internet the list of sound recording copyright owners represented and sound recordings licensed by the organization. Revises evidentiary, procedural, and judicial review standards applicable to CRJs' proceedings and determinations. Requires, in proceedings to determine the terms and rates of royalty payments for digital performances of sound recordings, that participants in the voluntary negotiation period disclose: (1) previous license agreements entered into by the participant, its members, or participant-represented licensors or licensees during a specified preceding five-year period; or (2) other documents relied upon in their ratemaking proposals. Directs the Librarian of Congress to submit recommendations to Congress on how the federal government can facilitate, and possibly establish, a global music registry that is sustainably financed and consistent with World Intellectual Property Organization obligations. Sets forth transitional rules for proceedings pending and CRJs in office during the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2012
STEM Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 55,000 visas available to qualified immigrants who: (1) have a doctorate degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a U.S. university; (2) agree to work for at least five years for the petitioning employer or in the United States in a STEM field upon being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; and (3) have taken all doctoral courses in a STEM field, including all correspondence courses, while physically present in the United States. Makes any such unused visas available to aliens who: (1) hold a master's degree in a STEM field from a U.S. university; (2) agree to work for a total of at least five years for the petitioning employer or in the United States in a STEM field upon being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; (3) have taken all master's degree courses in a STEM field, including all correspondence courses, while physically present in the United States; and (4) hold a baccalaureate degree in a STEM field or in the biological and biomedical sciences. Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) from approving an employer petition on behalf of either of the above class of aliens unless the Secretary receives a determination by the Secretary of Labor that there are not sufficient American workers available for the job. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, and (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days. Requires DHS to make available on its website specified information regarding foreign STEM employers, the number of aliens granted STEM status, and their occupations. Eliminates the diversity immigrant program. States that: (1) the permanent priority date for any employment-based petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed, unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date; and (2) an alien who is the beneficiary of an employment-based petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed employment-based petition. Revises student visa provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 211 Hope Street in Mountain View, California, as the "Lieutenant Kenneth M. Ballard Memorial Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Wildfire Suppression Aircraft Transfer Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) 14 C-27J aircraft that are excess to DOD needs and that acceptable for use by the Forest Service for wildfire suppression purposes. Grants the USDA Secretary priorty over other federal agencies regarding such transfers. Allows the DOD Secretary during FY2013-FY2017 to sell aircraft and aircraft parts that are excess to DOD needs to persons or entities contracting with the federal government for wildfire suppression purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012
Expresses support for the designation of National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2012
Designates the U.S. exclusive economic zone (as established by Presidential Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983) as the "Ronald Wilson Reagan Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States."
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2012
Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs Act of 2012 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from finalizing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise taking any action to give effect to the Information Memorandum dated July 12, 2012 (Transmittal No. TANF-ACF-IM-2012-03), or to any administrative action relating to the same subject matter or that reflects the same or similar policies. Prohibits the Secretary also from authorizing, approving, modifying, or extending any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project under the Social Security Act (SSA) that: (1) waives compliance with mandatory work requirements of SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF), or (2) authorizes an expenditure not otherwise allowable under a state TANF program with respect to compliance with such work requirements. Rescinds and nullifies any waiver relating to the subject matter of the Information Memorandum granted before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2012
Religious Freedom Tax Repeal Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt an employer opposed by reason of adherence to a religious belief or moral conviction from the tax penalty imposed for failure of a group health plan to cover required women's preventive care and screenings. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from bringing an action against a plan to enforce any requirement to provide such coverage to which an employer is opposed by reason of adherence to a religious belief or moral conviction. Exempts group health plans from penalties under state and federal enforcement provisions of the Public Health Service Act for failure to meet such women's health requirements insofar as they concern coverage to which an employer is opposed on the basis of religious belief or moral conviction.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012
Healthcare Tax Relief and Mandate Repeal Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) terminate the requirement, added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), that individuals maintain minimum essential health insurance coverage for themselves and dependents; and (2) repeal provisions added by PPACA requiring certain employers who have a workforce of 50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance coverage for their employees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012
Supports the designation of a National Eagle Scout Day to commemorate the contributions made by Eagle Scouts of the Boy Scouts of America.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012
Finds Eric H. Holder, Jr., Attorney General of the United States, to be in contempt of Congress for failure to comply with a congressional subpoena. Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives to certify the report of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, detailing the refusal of Mr. Holder to produce documents to the Committee as directed by subpoena, to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, to the end that Mr. Holder be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law. Directs the Speaker to otherwise take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2012
Authorizes the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings in any federal court of competent jurisdiction on behalf of the Committee to seek declaratory judgments affirming the duty of Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., to comply with any subpoena that is a subject of the resolution accompanying H.Rept. 112-546 issued to him by the Committee as part of its investigation into the Department of Justice (DOJ) operation known as "Fast and Furious" and related matters, and to seek appropriate ancillary relief, including injunctive relief. Requires the Committee to report as soon as practicable to the House with respect to any such judicial proceedings it initiates or in which it intervenes. Directs the House Office of General Counsel, at the authorization of the Speaker, to represent the Committee in any litigation pursuant to this resolution. Requires the Speaker, in giving such authorization, to consult with the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2012
Disapproves and nullifies the rule relating to the health insurance premium tax credit submitted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2012
Regrets the passage of legislation that adversely affected people of Chinese origin in the United States because of their ethnicity. States that nothing in this resolution may be construed or relied on to authorize or support any claim, including but not limited to constitutionally based claims, claims for monetary compensation or claims for equitable relief against the United States or any other party, or serve as a settlement of any claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions providing for the use of funds from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for presidential nominating conventions. Requires that any amount which is returned by the national committee of a major or minor party to the Treasury from an account established under the Fund to make payments for conventions to be used solely for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2012
Protecting Victims on Campus Act of 2012 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions that require each institution of higher education (IHE) participating in a title IV (Student Assistance) program to comply with certain crime reporting requirements. Requires IHEs to provide students and employees with a list of the titles, in each department of the IHE, of each individual who is a campus security authority to whom they should report specified criminal offenses. Includes criminal offenses involving minors that are reported to campus security authorities or the local police among the criminal offenses that are to be included in: (1) the annual campus security report provided to current and prospective students and employees, and (2) the timely reports to the campus community on crimes considered to be a threat to the community. Requires the personally identifiable information of victims to be kept confidential when IHEs are making timely reports to the campus community on crimes considered to be a threat to the community. Requires IHEs, in carrying out their obligation to make such timely reports, to: (1) designate an individual to serve as campus security authority coordinator, and (2) provide for the training of that coordinator and the campus security authorities. Directs the Secretary of Education, when imposing civil penalties on IHEs for substantial violations of the crime reporting requirements, to distinguish between IHEs that intentionally violated those requirements and those whose violations are attributable to institutional neglect. Requires the Secretary to provide each IHE that is to be investigated for violating such reporting requirements with a timeline of the investigation and a preliminary report that includes the reasons for the investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Midnight Rule Relief Act of 2012 - Prohibits a federal agency (excluding the Federal Election Commission [FEC], the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC], and the U.S. Postal Service [USPS]) from proposing or finalizing any midnight rule that would likely result in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete internationally. Defines "midnight rule" as an agency statement of general applicability and future effect that is issued during the moratorium period, that is intended to have the force and effect of law, and that is designed to: (1) implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy; or (2) describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency. Defines the "moratorium period" as the day after the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in every fourth year succeeding a presidential election through January 20 of the following year in which a President is not serving a consecutive term. Exempts any midnight rule that the President determines is necessary: (1) because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, (2) to enforce criminal laws, (3) to protect U.S. national security, or (4) to implement an international trade agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 19 East Merced Street in Fowler, California, as the "Cecil E. Bolt Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2012
Federal Employee Phased Retirement Act - Allows a retirement-eligible federal employee, with the concurrence of the head of the employing agency, to make a one-time election to enter phased retirement status under which such employee shall be appointed to a position for which the working percentage (the number of hours worked by such employee per pay period divided by the number of hours worked by a full-time employee in a comparable position) is 50%. Authorizes the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to provide for a different working percentage which shall not be less than 20% or more than 80%. Imposes certain requirements for and limitations on the employment of such a phased retiree, including that such retiree: (1) must have been employed on a full-time basis for not less than the three-year period ending on the date of an election under this Act; (2) may not be employed in more than one position at any time, but may transfer to another position in the same or different agency; and (3) must devote not less than 20% of working hours to mentoring other employees. Sets forth rules for the computation of: (1) a phased retirement annuity, which shall be paid in addition to the basic pay for the position to which a phased retiree is appointed; and (2) a composite annuity, which a phased retiree shall be entitled to receive upon electing to enter full retirement status.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2012
Recess Appointment Restoration Act - Prohibits payment from the Treasury to any individual who is appointed to fill a vacancy that must be filled by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, until such appointee has been confirmed by the Senate, unless such individual was appointed while the Senate was adjourned for at least 10 days.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President exercised the recess appointment power despite the fact that neither the House nor the Senate have been adjourned for a period in excess of three days during the Second Session of the 112th Congress.