United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2011
Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the charitable tax deduction for contributions of qualified vehicles (i.e., highway motor vehicles, boats, or airplanes) to: (1) set forth revised acknowledgment requirements for vehicles valued at $2,500 or less and vehicles valued at more than $2,500; and (2) revise the penalty for submitting a fraudulent acknowledgment.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2011
Condemns the government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Baha'i minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. Calls on the government of Iran to release seven specified imprisoned Baha'i leaders and all other prisoners held on account of their religion, including: Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm, Ms. Raha Sabet, and Mr. Navid Khanjani. Calls on the President and Secretary of State, in cooperation with the international community, to condemn Iran's continued violation of human rights and demand the release of prisoners held on account of their religion, including the above-named individuals. Urges the President and Secretary to utilize all available measures, such as those available under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 and Executive Order 13553, to sanction Iranian government officials and other individuals directly responsible for human rights violations in Iran, including against the Baha'i community.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2011
Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to define a "high volume retail breeder" as a person who, in commerce, for compensation or profit: (1) has an ownership interest in or custody of one or more breeding female dogs; and (2) sells, via any means of conveyance, more than 50 of the offspring of such dogs for use as pets in any one-year period. Considers such a breeder of dogs to be a dealer. Requires dealers to include on licensing applications and annual renewals the total number of dogs exempted from exercise on the premises of the dealer in the preceding year by a licensed veterinarian. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to promulgate requirements for the exercise of dogs at facilities owned or operated by a dealer, including requiring daily access to exercise that: (1) allows the dogs to move sufficiently in a way that is not forced, repetitive, or restrictive; and (2) is in an area that is spacious, cleaned at least once a day, free of infestation by pests or vermin, and designed to prevent the dogs from escaping. Allows an exemption if: (1) a licensed veterinarian determines that a dog should not exercise because of the health, condition, or well-being of the dog; and (2) such determination is reviewed and updated at least once every 30 days by the veterinarian, unless the basis for the determination is a permanent condition. Subjects such a determination to review and approval by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2011
National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to authorize a person who is carrying a government-issued photographic identification document and a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state, and who is not prohibited from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm under federal law, to carry a concealed handgun (other than a machinegun or destructive device) in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2011
Spending Control Act of 2011- Establishes the Grace Commission II to conduct a review of cost control in the federal government every two years with respect to improving management and reducing costs. Directs the Commission to conduct in-depth studies to evaluate potential improvements in the operations of executive agencies and to develop recommendations regarding: (1) opportunities for increased efficiency and reduced costs that can be realized by executive action or legislation, (2) areas where managerial accountability can be enhanced and administrative control can be improved, (3) opportunities for managerial improvements over the short and long terms, (4) specific areas where further study can be justified by potential savings, and (5) ways to reduce governmental expenditures and indebtedness and improve personnel management. Requires the Commission to submit final reports within 18 months after enactment of this Act and every two years thereafter until it submits its third final report. Requires such reports to contain the Commission's findings, conclusions, and recommendations for legislative and administrative actions and proposed legislation to carry out those recommendations. Sets forth congressional procedures for considering such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2011
Urges the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to: (1) give the greatest weight in making critical policy decisions to readily available hard science data; and (2) avoid paternalistic policy decisions not grounded in hard science.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2011
Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for railroad track maintenance, to: (1) expand the types of maintenance expenditures eligible for such credit, and (2) extend such credit through 2017.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2011
Floodplain Maps Moratorium Act - Amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to delay for five years the requirement to purchase flood insurance for properties in a new flood hazard area if the area's state or local government has developed a flood evacuation plan and meets other specified criteria. Makes the preferred risk rate method premium available for flood insurance coverage of such properties. Directs the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish and implement a plan to notify annually residents of areas having special flood hazards regarding the mandatory purchase requirement. Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to require the Director to: (1) notify the pertinent Members of Congress as well as the affected communities and their state and local governments about any decision to make a floodplain area or flood-risk zone revision, and (2) provide each such community and state and local government with an opportunity to review and propose modifications to a flood insurance map change or revision. Requires the Comptroller General to review the methodology used to issue or revise flood insurance rate maps. Requires the Director to notify a local television and radio station about proposed or published flood elevation determinations. Directs the Administrator of FEMA to report to Congress a plan for repaying within 10 years all unpaid presidentially approved flood insurance program debt.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2011
Federal Trade Commission and National Gallery of Art Facility Consolidation, Savings, and Efficiency Act of 2011 - Requires the Administrator of General Services (GSA), not later than December 31, 2014, to transfer administrative jurisdiction, custody, and control of the building located at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, in Washington, DC, to the National Gallery of Art and to name such building as the North Building of the National Gallery of Art. Requires the National Gallery of Art to pay the costs of remodeling, renovating, or reconstructing such building. Requires the GSA Administrator to relocate the offices of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) housed in such building to other buildings in Washington, DC, owned by the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2011
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the income and excise tax credits for biodiesel used as fuel to: (1) allow a $1.00 tax credit for each gallon of biodiesel produced; (2) provide for an increased income tax credit for small biodiesel producers; (3) revise the definitions of "biodiesel" and "small biodiesel producer"; (4) treat renewable diesel in the same manner as biodiesel for income tax purposes; and (5) treat biodiesel as a taxable fuel for excise tax purposes. Extends the biodiesel income and excise tax credits through December 31, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2011
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 3% withholding requirement on payments due to vendors providing services to federal, state, and local governmental entities.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2011
Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include as a "countervailable subsidy" requiring action under a countervailing duty or antidumping duty proceeding the benefit conferred on merchandise imported into the United States from foreign countries with fundamentally undervalued currency. Defines "benefit conferred," in cases where the currency of a foreign country is exchanged for foreign currency (i.e., U.S. dollars) obtained from export transactions, as the difference between: (1) the amount of currency provided by a foreign country in which the subject merchandise is produced; and (2) the amount of currency such country would have provided if the real effective exchange rate of its currency were not fundamentally undervalued. Declares that the fact that such a subsidy is also provided in circumstances not involving export shall not, for that reason alone, mean it cannot be considered export contingent and actionable under a countervailing duty and antidumping duty proceeding. Requires the administering authority to determine that the currency of a foreign country is fundamentally undervalued if for an 18-month period: (1) the government of the country engages in protracted, large-scale intervention in one or more foreign exchange markets; (2) the country's real effective exchange rate is undervalued by at least 5%; (3) the country has experienced significant and persistent global current account surpluses; and (4) the country's government has foreign asset reserves exceeding the amount necessary to repay all its debt obligations falling due within the coming 12 months, 20% percent of the country's money supply, and the value of the country's imports during the previous 4 months. Requires the use, for calculating a country's "real effective exchange rate undervaluation," of certain guidelines of the Consultative Group on Exchange Rate Issues of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or, if those guidelines are not available, generally accepted economic and econometric techniques and methodologies. Requires the use, also, of inflation-adjusted, trade-weighted exchange rates. Applies the amendments made by this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2011
United States-Afghanistan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) Act of 2011 - Directs the President to seek to enter into a bilateral status of forces agreement with the government of Afghanistan which shall: (1) prohibit the permanent basing or military presence of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan; (2) provide, no later than one year after the date on which such agreement is entered into, for the complete redeployment from Afghanistan of the U.S. Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees and contractors; and (3) establish that the temporary presence of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan is at the request of the government of Afghanistan. Authorizes such agreement to provide for specific activities or missions of the U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should submit such agreement to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification as a treaty or alternatively the President should request statutory authorization for such agreement by Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2011
Suspending Travel After Years of Pleasure Trips on Unwitting Taxpayers Act of 2011 or STAY PUT Act of 2011 - Prohibits the use of appropriated funds, including official funds of the House of Representatives or funds available under any federal law, rule, or regulation, to pay for official travel outside of the United States by any Member, officer, or employee of the House, until the Comptroller General studies and reports to the Speaker of the House and the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and of State on the use of certain appropriated funds for such travel and recommendations for appropriate restrictions on, and reporting requirements applicable to, such travel which will promote transparency and cost savings. Exempts from the prohibition and requirements of this Act any travel: (1) to a military installation or to a theater of operations of the Armed Forces; and (2) by Members and employees of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, if the travel is for official committee business.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2011
Federal Program Sunset Commission Act - Establishes the Federal Program Sunset Commission to evaluate the efficiency and public need for each federal program using specified criteria. Requires the Commission to: (1) submit to Congress and the President an annual report containing a list of federal programs that the Commission recommends to be abolished or reorganized and draft legislation to carry out the Commission's recommendations, and (2) monitor the implementation of laws relating to its recommendations for the abolishment or reorganization of such programs. Requires that all federal programs the Commission recommends for abolishment be abolished, unless reauthorized by Congress. Requires the Comptroller General and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in consultation with the Director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS), to prepare an annual inventory of programs within each federal agency to advise and assist Congress and the Commission in carrying out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011 - Directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2012, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress. Repeals specified limitations on such an audit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Medicare Decisions Accountability Act of 2011 - Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (and restores provisions of law amended by such sections) related to the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop and submit detailed proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending to the President for Congress to consider.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Assessment Accuracy and Improvement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to allow states to require the use of adaptive assessments of student progress toward state academic performance standards that accurately assess student achievement above and below grade level while also measuring grade-level performance. Defines an "adaptive assessment" as one that changes in difficulty in accordance with a student's performance, but reports its outcome on a scale common to all students.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Restoring Assistance for Families' and Seniors' Health Expenses Act of 2011- Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that: (1) increase from 7.5% to 10% the adjusted gross income threshold for claiming the tax deduction for medical expenses; (2) restrict payments from health savings accounts, medical savings accounts, and health flexible spending arrangements for medications solely to prescription drugs or insulin; (3) increase to 20% the penalty for distributions from a health savings or Archer medical savings account not used for qualified medical expenses; and (4) limit to $2,500 the annual salary reduction contribution to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan. Amends PPACA to treat a high deductible health plan as a qualified health plan under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2011 - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals aged 62 years of age or older. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to provide for the use of such new CPI in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Prohibits the use of federal funds to transfer to the United States any individual who is: (1) detained by the United States at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; or (2) a foreign national who is captured or detained outside the United States as an enemy belligerent, and in the custody or control of the Department of Defense (DOD).
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Urges the Secretary of State to remove the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from the Department of State's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations and to lift all restrictions imposed on the MEK, its members, and its affiliates.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2011 - Provides a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record any firearm acquired before October 31, 1968, by a veteran while a member of the Armed Forces stationed outside the continental United States. Grants such an individual limited immunity under the federal criminal code and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the acquisition, possession, transportation, or alteration of such firearm before or concurrent with such registration. Extends such immunity to a veteran who attempts to register a qualifying firearm outside of the amnesty period if the veteran surrenders the firearm within 30 days after being notified of potential criminal liability for continued possession. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) transfer each firearm qualifying as a curio or relic which has been forfeited to the United States to the first qualified museum that requests it, and (2) publish information identifying each such firearm which is available to be transferred to a museum. Prohibits the Attorney General from destroying any such firearm which has been forfeited until five years after the forfeiture. Requires that any firearm transferred to a qualified museum be registered to the transferee. Makes a prohibition against transfer or possession of a machine-gun inapplicable to a transfer to or by, or possession by, a museum which is open to the public and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under applicable state law.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Expresses the sense of Congress that an appropriate site on Chaplains Hill in Arlington National Cemetery be provided for a memorial marker, to be paid for with private funds, to honor the memory of the Jewish chaplains who died while on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, so long as the Secretary of the Army has exclusive authority to approve the design and site of the memorial marker.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2011
Constitutional Amendment - Preserving Capitalism in America Amendment - Prohibits the United States from owning, subscribing to, or otherwise having any interest in the stock or equity of any company, association, or corporation, except for any investments through any pension funds.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2011
Protect Life Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to prohibit federal funds from being to used to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion services. (Currently, federal funds cannot be used for abortion services and plans receiving federal funds must keep federal funds segregated from any funds for abortion services.) Requires any qualified health benefit plan offered through an Exchange that includes coverage for abortions to also offer a qualified health benefit plan through the Exchange that is identical in every respect except that it does not cover abortions. Prohibits a federal agency or program and any state or local government that receives federal financial assistance under PPACA from requiring any health plan created or regulated under PPACA to discriminate against any institutional or individual health care entity based on the entity's refusal to undergo training in the performance of induced abortions, require or provide such training, or refer for such training. Creates a cause of action for any violations of the abortion provisions of PPACA. Gives federal courts jurisdiction to prevent and redress actual or threatened violations of such provisions by issuing any form of legal or equitable relief, including injunctions and orders preventing the disbursement of all or a portion of federal financial assistance until the prohibited conduct has ceased. Gives standing to institute an action to affected health care entities and the Attorney General. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive and investigate complaints alleging a violation of PPACA abortion provisions. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to ensure that no multistate qualified health plan offered in an Exchange provides coverage of abortion services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2011
Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to require any employer contribution made on behalf of the President, Vice President, or any political appointee to be paid only to the issuer of a plan through an American Health Benefit Exchange (a state health insurance exchange created under PPACA), and not through the federal employees health benefit program. (Currently, this requirement applies to Members of Congress and congressional staff.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2011
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act - Prohibits the expenditure of funds authorized or appropriated by federal law or funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law (federal funds) for any abortion. (Currently, federal funds cannot be used for abortion services, except in cases involving rape, incest, or life endangerment.) Prohibits federal funds from being used for any health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion. (Thus making permanent existing federal policies.) Disallows any tax benefits for amounts paid or incurred for an abortion or for a health benefits plan that includes coverage of abortion, including any medical deduction for such amounts or any credit for such an employer-sponsored plan. Prohibits the inclusion of abortion in any health care service furnished by a federal or District of Columbia health care facility or by any physician or other individual employed by the federal government or the District. Provides that such prohibitions shall not apply to an abortion if: (1) the pregnancy is the result of forcible rape or, if the pregnant woman is a minor, incest; or (2) the woman suffers from a physical disorder, injury, or illness, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, that would place her in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, as certified by a physician. Makes such prohibitions applicable to District funds. Codifies the prohibition against a federal agency or program or any state or local government that receives federal financial assistance from subjecting any individual or health care entity to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions. Creates a cause of action for any violations of such provisions. Gives federal courts jurisdiction to prevent and redress actual or threatened violations of such provisions by issuing any form of legal or equitable relief, including an injunction or order preventing the disbursement of all or a portion of federal financial assistance until the prohibited conduct has ceased. Gives standing to institute an action to affected health care entities and the Attorney General. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate the Director of the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive, investigate, and refer to the appropriate federal agency complaints alleging a violation of such provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2011
Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2011 - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to revise the requirements for consideration as rural areas with respect to assistance for farm housing. States that any area classified as "rural" or a "rural area" before October 1, 1990, and determined not to be "rural" or a "rural area" as a result of data received from or after the 1990, 2000, or 2010 (currently, only the 1990 or 2000) decennial census shall continue to be so classified until the receipt of data from the decennial census in the year 2020 (currently, 2010), if, as under current law, such area has a population of between 10,000 and 25,000, is rural in character, and has a serious lack of mortgage credit for lower and moderate-income families.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2011
Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal a provision (added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) that extends to corporations that are not tax-exempt the requirement to report payments of $600 or more.
United States · United States Congress · 7 January 2011
Social Security Preservation Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require the Managing Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds) to ensure that the annual surplus of the Social Security Trust Funds is invested in: (1) marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed by the United States; or (2) certificates of deposit in insured depository institutions. Outlines requirements for determining the annual surplus of the Trust Funds. Prohibits disinvestment of Social Security Trust Fund amounts from public debt obligations, any refraining from making such investments, or any delay in making normal deposits in such Trust Funds for public debt limit-related purposes. Authorizes, with certain conditions, the sale of Social Security Trust Fund public debt obligations for the payment of cash benefits and administrative expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2011
Expresses the sense of Congress that the current federal income tax deduction for mortgage interest paid on a first or second home should not be further restricted.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2011
Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act - Designates specified lands within Alaska in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2011
Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal a provision (added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) that extends to corporations that are not tax-exempt the requirement to report payments of $600 or more.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2011
Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require: (1) biennial (instead of annual) budget resolutions, (2) biennial appropriations Acts, and (3) biennial government strategic and performance plans. Makes conforming amendments to the Rules of the House of Representatives. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Requires: (1) a federal agency, upon request by a congressional committee, to provide appropriate information regarding its appropriations requests and program administration, (2) the Comptroller General to furnish to such committee summaries of any audits or reviews of such program which the Comptroller General has completed during the preceding six years, and (3) the Comptroller General, Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and the Director of the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to furnish such committee appropriate information, studies, analyses, and reports. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine and report to Congress on the impact and feasibility of changing the definition of a fiscal year, and the budget process based on that definition, to a two-year fiscal period with a biennial budget process based on such period. Requires the President's budget submission for FY2014 to include: (1) an identification of the budget accounts for which an appropriation should be made for each fiscal year of the FY2014-FY2015 biennium, and (2) budget authority that should be provided for each such fiscal year for the budget accounts. Directs: (1) the House and Senate committees, during the first session of the 113th Congress, to work with the Comptroller General to develop plans to transition program authorizations to a multi-year schedule, and (2) the Comptroller General, during such Congress, to continue to provide assistance to Congress with respect to programmatic oversight, and in particular to assist the congressional committees in designing and conforming programmatic oversight procedures for FY2014-FY2015 biennium.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2011
Realize America's Maritime Promise Act or the 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 · 5 January 2011
Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2011
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits 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.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2010
Recognizes that National POW/MIA Recognition Day is one of the six days specified by law as a day on which the POW/MIA flag is to be flown over specified federal facilities and national cemeteries, military installations, and post offices. Extends the gratitude of the House of Representatives and the nation to those who have served the United States in captivity to hostile forces as prisoners of war. Recognizes and honors the more than 84,000 members of the Armed Forces who remain unaccounted for and their families. Recognizes the untiring efforts of national POW/MIA organizations in ensuring that America never forgets the contribution of the nation's prisoners of war and unaccounted for military personnel. Applauds the personnel of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, the Armed Forces Identification Laboratory, the Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory, and the military departments for continuing their mission of achieving the fullest possible accounting of all Americans unaccounted for as a result of the previous conflicts of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2010
Congressional Foreign Travel Reform Act of 2010 - Authorizes the House of Representatives and the Senate to obtain local currencies of foreign nations to provide a per diem allowance to a Member, officer, or employee of each chamber on official foreign travel, if the individual obtains an authorization to receive such an allowance from the appropriate specified congressional officer or committee chairman. Limits such local currency to up to the equivalent of $75 per day per person, or the authorized maximum per diem allowance for federal employees while traveling in a foreign country, whichever is greater, exclusive of the actual cost of transportation. Prohibits any Member or employee of the House from undertaking any official foreign travel unless, within 14 days before and within 14 days after such travel, the individual prepares and makes available for public inspection a specified statement containing certain travel-related information. Prohibits a vacation stopover for annual leave at any point during official foreign travel. Specifies restrictions on official foreign travel by Member and House committee employees, except travel to a military installation or to a theater of operations of the Armed Forces. Requires Members of the House and employees who undertake official foreign travel to: (1) take necessary actions to reduce travel costs; and (2) return any per diem remaining unexpended at conclusion of the travel.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2010
No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act - Prohibits: (1) the expenditure of funds authorized or appropriated by federal law or funds in any trust fund to which funds are authorized or appropriated by federal law for any abortion or for health benefits coverage that includes coverage of abortion; (2) any tax benefits for amounts paid or incurred for an abortion or for a health benefits plan (including premium assistance) that includes coverage of abortion; and (3) the inclusion of abortion in any health care service furnished by a federal health care facility or by any physician or other individual employed by the federal government. Exempts from such prohibitions an abortion if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest with a minor, or if the woman suffers from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would, as certified by a physician, place the women in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself. Makes such prohibitions applicable to federal funding within the budget of the District of Columbia. Prohibits federal agencies or programs and states and local governments that receive federal financial assistance from discriminating against any individual or institutional health care entity on the basis that such entity does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions. Designates the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to receive, and coordinate the investigation of, discrimination complaints.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2010
Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act of 2010 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to permit an individual debtor to exempt from the property of the estate in bankruptcy a single rifle, shotgun, or pistol of any value or any combination of rifle, shotgun, or pistol in aggregate value not to exceed $1,500. Declares the date of enactment as the effective date of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2010
Renewable Fuels Marketing Act of 2010 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue guidelines for determining whether underground storage tanks and associated dispensing equipment are compatible with any fuel or fuel additive that is authorized by the Administrator or by statute for use in a motor vehicle, nonroad vehicle, or engine. Deems tanks and equipment that have been listed by a nationally recognized testing laboratory as compatible with such a fuel or fuel additive as of the date of enactment of this Act to be compatible under the guidelines. Declares that no person shall be liable under any federal or state law, and no provider of financial assurance may deny payment for a claim, on the basis that a tank (or associated dispensing equipment) is not compatible with such fuel or fuel additive if such tank or equipment has been determined to be compatible pursuant to the guidelines issued under this Act. Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator to promulgate regulations that establish requirements for the labeling of associated dispensing equipment to prevent the introduction into a motor vehicle, nonroad vehicle, or engine of transportation fuel that contains a fuel or fuel additive that is authorized, after January 1, 2010, by the Administrator or by statute for use in motor vehicles, nonroad vehicles, or engines but that is not compatible with such vehicle or engine. Shields a person selling such fuel who complies with such regulations from liability for: (1) a self-service purchaser's introduction of such a fuel into a vehicle or engine that is not compatible with such fuel; or (2) the voiding of the manufacturer's warranty of such vehicle or engine from introduction of such fuel. Sets penalties for violation of such regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2010
Recognizes the legacy of Bob Sheppard and his distinctive announcements as a revered tradition not only to the New York Yankees and the New York Giants, but also to the games of baseball and football and the field of sports announcing. Commends Bob Sheppard for his 52 years of service as a public-address announcer and his long tenure as a speech professor.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2010
Private Property Rights Protection and Government Accountability Act - Makes any state or political subdivision thereof that carries out a public taking for any private purpose in or affecting interstate commerce ineligible for any federal economic development funds for ten fiscal years. Entitles any owner of private property subject to such a taking to injunctive and declaratory relief.