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United States · Official source
3,364 records where Rep. Myrick, Sue Wilkins [R-NC-9] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on Octanoyl chloride.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on acetyl chloride.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on Chloroacetic acid, sodium salt.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on certain window shade material.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on certain window shade material.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on Reactive Orange 131.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on Reactive Black 005.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on Reactive Red 266.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on artificial staple fibers of viscose rayon, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on artificial staple fibers of viscose rayon, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on staple fibers of rayon, carded, combed, or otherwise processed for spinning.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on staple fibers of viscose rayon, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension of duty on staple fibers of viscose rayon, not carded, combed, or otherwise processed for spinning.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2012
Amends Rule III (Calendars and Committee Reports) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require the report accompanying each public bill or joint resolution reported by any committee to contain: (1) an analysis by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to determine if the bill or joint resolution creates any new federal program, office, or initiative that would duplicate or overlap any existing federal entity with similar mission, purpose, goals, or activities, along with a listing of all such overlapping or duplication; and (2) an explanation provided by the committee as to why the creation of each new program, office, or initiative is necessary if a similar program, office, or initiative exists. Makes it out of order to consider such a measure unless the committee of jurisdiction has prepared and posted on its website an overlapping and duplicative program analysis and explanation for the legislation that contains the same CRS analysis and committee explanation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Budget for Disasters Act of 2012 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to eliminate mandatory adjustments to discretionary disaster appropriations for FY2012-FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2012
Amends the Electronic Fund Transfer Act with respect to mandatory fee disclosures on automated teller machines (ATMs) operated by a person other than a financial institution holding a consumer's account. Repeals the requirement that such a fee disclosure appear in a prominent and conspicuous location on or at the ATM. Limits such requirement to appearance of a fee disclosure on the ATM screen.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require individuals who claim a tax credit for qualified tuition and related expenses under the Hope Scholarship tax credit or the Lifetime Learning tax credit to include their social security numbers on their tax returns, (2) require the educational institutions of such individuals to provide their employer identification numbers, and (3) make permanent the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose tax return information relating to inmates in federal or state prisons whom the Secretary has determined may have filed or facilitated the filing of a false tax return.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2012
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that U.S. policy toward China should be guided by the following strategic objectives to: (1) deploy defense and intelligence capabilities to resist any force or coercion that would jeopardize the peace of the Asia-Pacific region and the security of U.S. friends and allies; (2) treat Taiwan in strict accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act, the three United States-People's Republic of China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances; (3) pursue a diversified U.S. economy as the surest means of providing for leverage in interactions with China; (4) deploy counterintelligence capabilities to protect U.S. national security in the face of significant Chinese espionage efforts; (5) prevent the transfer of technology, intellectual property, or equipment that would substantially contribute to Chinese military or space capabilities; (6) encourage China to utilize its economic, political, and military power to contribute to the international system; (7) encourage China to support political reform and religious freedom; (8) encourage the peaceful resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea; and (9) convey to China that responsible behavior will create the possibility for a genuine U.S. partnership on matters of mutual interest, while unacceptable behavior will incur costs that would outweigh any gains.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Energy Exploration and Production to Achieve National Demand Act or EXPAND Act - Title I: Development of Federal Energy Resources - Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to repeal the moratorium upon oil and gas leasing (or any related activity) in: (1) any area east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico; (2) any area in the Eastern Planning Area that is within 125 miles of the Florida coastline; or (3) specified areas within the Central Planning Area and within 100 miles of the Florida coastline. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) regarding the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing program to direct Secretary of Defense (DOD) to review OCS areas that have been designated as restricted from exploration and operation to determine whether they should remain under restriction. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary in this title) to offer for leasing: (1) the Destin Dome and Pensacola areas, even though they were omitted from a certain 5-year leasing program, (2) any other areas in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area that are made available for leasing under this Act, and (3) include the aforementioned areas in any 5-year leasing program approved after the date of enactment of this Act. Extends, by 24 months, certain deepwater oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico OCS region that were not producing as of April 30, 2010. Directs the Secretary to: (1) reinstate certain expired leases, and (2) conduct expanded OCS lease sales. Sets forth an allocation scheme for coastal states to receive funds from OCS leases that are inversely proportional to the respective distances between the point on the coastline of the adjacent state that is closest to the geographic center of the applicable leased tract and the geographic center of the leased tract. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program for exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources of the Arctic Coastal Plain. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) designate special areas on such Coastal Plain to preserve fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values, and (2) exclude leasing or surface occupancy from such areas. Authorizes, however, leasing all or a portion of a Special Area under terms permitting horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located outside the Special Area. Prescribes: (1) lease sales procedures, (2) lease terms and conditions, and (3) Coastal Plain environmental protection. Sets forth requirements for: (1) distribution of federal and state revenues emanating from bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from oil and gas leasing and operations, (2) semiannual payments to the state of Alaska, (3) rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation, (4) conveyance of surface and subsurface estates to specified Corporations, and (5) local government aid and community service assistance. Establishes in the Treasury the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding establishment of regional offices and regional permit coordinators to coordinate review of federal permits for oil and gas projects on federal lands onshore and on the OCS, including the appointment of a Regional Permit Coordinator. Prescribes federal agency schedules for permit decisionmaking. Designates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to act as lead agency for any agency action regarding a Priority Energy Project pursuant to this Act. Amends federal law governing congressional review of agency rulemaking to add: (1) congressional approval procedures for major rules, and (2) congressional disapproval procedures for nonmajor rules. Requires the Secretary invite the governor of any state in which either an oil and gas operation may require a federal permit, or whose coastline is in immediate geographic proximity to OCS oil and gas operations, to be a signatory to a specified memorandum in order to fulfill any state responsibilities regarding federal oil and gas permitting decisions. Authorizes a federal agency with jurisdiction over a Priority Energy Project to delegate to the state in which the Project is located the agency's statutory responsibilities regarding the Project. Removes from further administrative review within the federal agency responsible for decisionmaking any oil and gas permitting decision for federal lands onshore or on the OCS. Subjects to congressional approval implemention, administration, or enforcment by the BLM of Secretarial Order No. 3310. Prescribes wilderness designation procedures subject to congressional approval. Subjects to congressional approval any future executive branch action that withdraws more than 100 acres in the aggregate of public lands within the United States. Grants FERC, in lieu of the Department of the Interior, exclusive jurisdiction and authority to implement and administer the leasing program for research and development of oil shale and tar sands and all other programs and requirements contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Instructs the Secretary to take actions to ensure that by January 1, 2018, at least 10% of the federal OCS lands and at least 10% of onshore federal lands and interests in lands that are under the Secretary's jurisdiction, are being leased for the production of energy. Confers upon the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over any final agency decision concerning covered oil and natural gas activity. Requires the Secretary to complete and finalize the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States to analyze the potential impacts of developing solar energy on land administered by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement to analyze the potential impacts of a program to develop solar and wind energy on National Forest System land. Directs the Secretary of Defense to identify locations on land withdrawn from the public domain and reserved for military purposes that exhibit a high potential for solar, wind, geothermal, or other energy resources production. Instructs the Secretary to establish a wind and solar leasing pilot program on covered land. Instructs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a joint determination on whether to establish a leasing program for wind or solar energy, or both, on land within their respective jurisdictions; and (2) establish a leasing program unless they determine that it is not in the public interest, and does not provide an effective means of developing wind or solar energy. Prescribes a revenue disposition format for such leasing program. Requires the Secretary to consult and work with the Secretary of Defense regarding military operations in OCS waters, including resolution of conflicts that might arise between such operations and leasing under this Act. Deems existing leases issued under the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2007-2012, including any lease issued pursuant to Lease Sale 193 or 213, to be in full compliance with the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2007-2012. Authorizes holders of certain previously approved permits to drill (or to sidetrack) to conduct all operations authorized under such permits: (1) without further review by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and (2) without further review or delay under specified federal environmental protection law. Requires the Secretary to act on oil and natural gas drilling permits within 30 days after an application's submission. Title II: Continental Pipeline Approval - Approves a certain permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Deems approved a specified route within the state of Nebraska submitted by the governor of Nebraska if the President does not approve such route within 10 days after its date of submission. Title III: Radiological Material Repository - Requires the federal government to site and permit at least one radiological material geologic repository for the disposal of radiological material. Retains the repository site at Yucca Mountain as the site for the nation's radiological material repository following full statutory review of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) license application to construct the Yucca Mountain repository. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to continue to review DOE's pending license application to construct the repository at Yucca Mountain until a determination is made on its merits. Instructs the NRC to approve such application within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Removes statutory limitations on the amount of radiological material that can be placed in Yucca Mountain. Requires the NRC to replace such limitations with new limits based on scientific and technical analysis of the full capacity of Yucca Mountain for the storage of radiological material. Title IV: Relief from Regulations and Prohibitions that Cause Artificial Price Increases - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to: (1) require a decision to include a species on the list of threatened and endangered species to be based on the best scientific and economic (currently, commercial) data available at the time, including analysis of the costs and benefits of the matter under consideration; and (2) declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Amends the Clean Air Act to exclude from the definition of "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride (greenhouse gases). Declares that nothing in the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or the Solid Waste Disposal Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming. Provides that such provisions shall not prohibit: (1) implementation and enforcement of the rule entitled "Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards" and finalization, implementation, enforcement, and revision of the proposed rule entitled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles"; (2) statutorily authorized federal research, development, and demonstration programs and voluntary programs addressing climate change; (3) implementation and enforcement of stratospheric ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act to the extent that such implementation or enforcement only involves class I or II substances; or (4) implementation and enforcement of requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 for monitoring and reporting of carbon dioxide emissions. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal provisions prohibiting any federal agency from entering into a contract for procurement of an alternative or synthetic fuel for any mobility-related use, other than for research or testing, unless the contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and combustion of the fuel must be less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel. Amends the Clean Air Act to repeal the renewable fuel program. Title V: Refinery Reform - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter into a refinery permitting agreement upon the request of a state or Indian tribe to streamline the process for obtaining all permits licenses, approvals, variances, or other forms of authorization that a refiner is required to obtain for the construction and operation of a facility that refines crude oil into transportation fuel or other petroleum products or a facility that processes coal into synthetic crude oil or any other fuel. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a research and demonstration program to evaluate the air quality benefits of Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, (2) evaluate the use of such fuel as a mechanism for reducing engine exhaust emissions, and (3) recommend the most effective use and associated benefits of such fuels for reducing public exposure to exhaust emissions. Requires such program to consider: (1) the use of neat (100%) Fischer-Tropsch fuel and blends with conventional crude oil-derived fuel for heavy-duty and light-duty diesel engines and the aviation sector, and (2) the production costs associated with domestic production of fuel and prices for consumers. Prohibits applications for permits for existing refineries from being considered to be timely if submitted after 120 days after this Act's enactment. Title VI: Repeal of Energy Tax Subsidies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the credit for alcohol fuel, biodiesel, and alternative fuel mixtures; (2) the credit for certain plug-in electric vehicles; (3) the credit for qualified fuel cell motor vehicles; (4) the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit; (5) the credit for alcohol used as fuel; (6) the credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; (7) the enhanced oil recovery credit; (8) the credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources; (9) the credit for producing oil and gas from marginal wells; (10) the credit for production from advanced nuclear power facilities; (11) the credit for carbon dioxide sequestration; (12) the energy credit; (13) the qualifying advanced coal project; and (14) the qualifying gasification project credit. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to repeal the energy grant program under which the Secretary of the Treasury is required to make grants to persons who place in service in 2009 and 2010 certain energy property that is eligible for: (1) the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind, biomass, or solar energy facilities), or (2) the energy tax credit (e.g., fuel cell, geothermal, or microturbine property). Title VII: Regulatory Relief - Provides that the following rules shall have no force or effect and shall be treated as though they had never taken effect: (1) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters; (2) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers; (3) the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and (4) Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That are Solid Waste. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in place of such rules, to promulgate within 15 months regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units subject to such rules, that: (1) establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and (2) identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act. Requires the Administrator to establish compliance dates for such standards and requirements after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts. Sets forth guidelines for such rules and regulations, including requiring the Administrator to: (1) ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category, and (2) impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative for each regulation promulgated. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to elect to expense the cost of property used in the production of energy in the taxable year in which such property is placed in service. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize states to implement coal combustion residuals permit programs. Requires each state governor to notify the Administrator within six months about whether such state will implement such a program. Requires states that decide to implement such a program to: (1) submit to the Administrator within 36 months a certification that such program meets the specifications of this Act, and (2) maintain either an approved municipal solid waste program for the control of hazardous disposal or an authorized state hazardous waste program. Establishes minimum requirements for coal combustion residuals permit programs. Requires: (1) the revised criteria established by this Act to apply to such programs; (2) landfills, surface impoundments, or other land-based units that may receive coal combustion residuals (structures) to be designed, constructed, and maintained to provide for containment of the maximum volumes of coal combustion residuals appropriate for the structure; (3) such programs to apply such revised criteria to surface impoundments; and (4) new structures that first receive coal combustion residuals after this Act's enactment to be constructed with a base located a minimum of two feet above the upper limit of the natural water table. Authorizes: (1) state agency heads to require action to correct structural integrity deficiencies according to a schedule for structures that are classified as posing a high hazard potential pursuant to the guidelines published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) entitled "Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety: Hazard Potential Classification System for Dams," (2) state agency heads to require that such a structure close if such deficiency is not corrected according to such schedule, (3) states to inspect structures and implement and enforce such permit program, and (4) states to address wind dispersal of dust from coal combustion residuals by requiring dust control measures. Sets forth revised criteria for such programs with respect to: (1) design, groundwater monitoring, corrective action, and closure and post-closure for structures; (2) location restrictions for new structures in floodplains, wetlands, fault areas, seismic impact zones, and unstable areas; (3) air quality, financial assurance, surface water, and record keeping; (4) run-on and run-off control systems for landfills and other land-based units, other than surface impoundments that receive coal combustion residuals; and (5) run-off control systems for surface impoundments. Authorizes states to determine that such criteria is not needed for the management of their coal combustion residuals permit program. Authorizes the Administrator to treat such state determination as a deficiency if it does not accurately reflect the needs for the management of coal combustion residuals in the state. Requires the time period and method for a structure's closure to be set forth in a schedule in a closure plan that takes into account the site-specific characteristics of such structure. Directs the closure plan for a surface impoundment to require the removal of liquid and the stabilization of remaining waste as necessary to support the final cover. Prohibits the Administrator from applying such programs to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal combustion residuals at surface mining and reclamation operations. Prohibits this Act from being construed to alter the EPA's regulatory determination, entitled "Notice of Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels," that the fossil fuel combustion wastes addressed in that determination do not warrant regulation under such Act. Title VIII: Attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards - Amends the Clean Air Act to require any designation or redesignation of an area within a state or an interstate area as a nonattainment area for the national primary or secondary ambient air quality standard for a pollutant to be based on monitoring data and not on modeling data. Requires the Administrator to set forth the air quality modeling methodologies required to be used in state implementation plans for purposes of predicting the effect on ambient air quality of emissions of air pollutants for which the Administrator has established national ambient air quality standards. Authorizes a downwind area that is not in attainment with the national ambient air quality standard for ozone within 18 months of the attainment deadline to petition the Administrator for an extension of the time to come into attainment. Authorizes the Administrator, in lieu of reclassifying an area as nonattainment for ozone, to extend such date if the Administrator: (1) determines that the area is a downwind area with respect to such standard, (2) approves a plan revision for such area prior to a reclassification, (3) determines that the petitioning downwind area has demonstrated that it is affected by transport from an upwind area to a degree that affects the area's ability to attain such standard, and (4) provides measures to ensure that no area downwind of the area receiving the extended attainment date will be affected by transport to a degree that affects the other area's ability to attain such standard. Provides for the withdrawal of a reclassification determination. Requires such extended attainment date to provide for attainment of such ozone standard in the downwind area as expeditiously as practicable but no later than the new date that the area would have been subject to had it been reclassified. Title IX: Sub-basin Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Requires the Administrator, in requiring any owner or operator of any facility in the petroleum and natural gas system source category to report greenhouse gas emissions from facilities in such category, to allow such owner or operator to: (1) designate sub-basins consisting of similar fields within a larger basin, and (2) report such emissions from such sub-basins instead of reporting such emissions from the larger basin. Title X: Implementation of National Ocean Policy - Prohibits federal departments and agencies from performing activities to implement Executive Order 13547, entitled "Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes." Title XI: Other Provisions - Requires: (1) the administrative record compiled by an agency regarding an application for a permit, authorization, or other agency action involving a Priority Energy Project to be the sole and exclusive record for any appeal or review of such action, and (2) such record to be closed upon final agency action and prohibits such record from being subject to any further evidentiary proceedings or requirements unless requested by the applicant. Requires an agency to: (1) prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for each proposed significant energy action; and (2) publish such Statement, or a summary of it, in each related notice of proposed rulemaking and in any resulting final rule. Requires the approval to construct or operate a Priority Energy Project pursuant to any federal permit to remain valid and authorized for the later of: (1) 18 months following the date on which the last permit needed by such Project to commence construction or operation is final and no longer subject to judicial review, (2) three years, or (3) five years in the case of a nationwide permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for activities that impact the aquatic environment. Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce the cap on the maximumpenalty for violations of such Act from $15,000 to $1,000.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Consolidate Heavy-handed and Outdated Programs Act of 2012 - Consolidates the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish the Department of Energy and the Environment (DEE), with the primary mission of ensuring U.S. security and prosperity by: (1) protecting human health; (2) safeguarding the natural environment; and (3) addressing U.S. energy, environmental, and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. Transfers to the DEE Secretary all of the functions of the EPA Administrator and the Secretary of Energy. Establishes within the Department: (1) an Energy and Environmental Information Administration, (2) an Office of Science, (3) an Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, (4) an Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, and (5) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as an independent regulatory commission. Transfers to the Commission specified functions of the Federal Power Commission (FPC). Preserves the Southeastern Power Administration, the Southwestern Power Administration, and the Bonneville Power Administration as distinct organizational entities within DEE, each headed by an Administrator. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish policy for the National Nuclear Security Administration, (2) assess annually the vulnerability of Department's facilities to terrorist attack, and (3) establish an enterprise-wide strategic sourcing program to improve efficiencies and economies in EPA's acquisition programs. Requires the President to: (1) submit a proposed National Energy Policy Plan to Congress by April 1, 2013, and biennially thereafter; and (2) issue an executive order that provides for administrative cost savings across the federal government. Repeals provisions providing for the weatherization assistance program, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, sustainable energy resources for consumers grants, the low income community energy efficiency pilot program, the Ultra-Deepwater and Unconventional Natural Gas and Other Petroleum Resources Research and Development Program, the fossil energy research and development program, state energy conservation plans, diesel emissions reduction grants, and grants to states for radon programs. Rescinds specified unobligated balances of the amounts made available for energy efficiency and renewable energy. Terminates the state water pollution control revolving funds program, grants for water pollution control programs, nonpoint source management programs, the state drinking water revolving loan funds program, public water system supervision programs, the state underground injection control program, and the diesel emissions reduction grant program. Terminates EPA's grant program for coastal recreation water quality monitoring and notification, Clean Automotive Technology program, targeted watershed grants program, performance partnership grants program, U.S. Mexico border water infrastructure program, tribal assistance grants programs, Chemical Risk Management Fibers program, Environmental Education program, and program to automatically transfer funds from its Hazardous Substance Superfund account to other federal agencies. Limits appropriations available: (1) for activities within DOE's fossil energy research and development account for FY2013, (2) to carry out the Second Line of Defense radiation detection equipment installation activities, and (3) to carry out EPA's Superfund remedial program. Prohibits funds from being made available for the construction of the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement facility in FY2013-FY2017. Prohibits the Secretary from providing in FY2013-FY2017: (1) grants to communities to develop plans and implement projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions; (2) targeted airshed grants to California; and (3) grants for the construction of drinking water, wastewater, or storm water infrastructure or for water quality protection. Limits the amount that the Secretary may transfer to the Great Lakes Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Recognizes Israel's independence as a significant event in providing refuge and a national homeland for the Jewish people and congratulates Israel's people as they celebrate the 64th anniversary of Israel's independence. Commends the bipartisan commitment of all U.S. administrations and congresses since 1948 to stand by Israel and work for its security and well-being. Supports Israel's right to confront and eliminate nuclear threats posed by Iran, including the use of military force if no other peaceful solution can be found within a reasonable time. Congratulates the United States and Israel for the strengthening of bilateral relations in the fields of defense, diplomacy, and homeland security.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2012
Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone (Pool SAFE) Act - Prohibits any suit brought for violations of the revised regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 concerning the requirements to provide an accessible means of entry to pools for places of public accommodation and commercial facilities that occurred on or after March 15, 2012, and before the date that is one year after enactment of this Act. Bars the Attorney General (AG) from investigating or initiating a compliance review of an alleged violation occurring during such period. Requires dismissal of any suit brought against a place of public accommodation or commercial facility for such a violation brought on or after March 15, 2012, and before the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the AG to revise accessibility regulations to provide that a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility is in compliance with the requirement to have an accessible means of entry to a pool when such a place or facility uses a portable pool lift on request, even if: (1) installation of a permanent lift is readily achievable, and (2) a single portable pool lift is used for multiple pools.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2012
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should not interpret or construe the Defense Production Act of 1950 to authorize the President or any federal department or agency to confiscate personal or private property, to force conscription into the Armed Forces on the American people, to force civilians to engage in labor against their will or without compensation, or to force private businesses to relinquish goods or services without compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2012
Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization, and (2) report to Congress on IRGC terrorist activities.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2012
Small Business Tax Cut Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow domestic businesses a tax deduction for 20% of the lesser of their qualified domestic business income (income effectively connected with a trade or business in the United States) or their taxable income for the taxable year. Limits the amount of such deduction to 50% of the the greater of the W-2 wages (payroll) paid to business non-owners or the sum of the W-2 wages paid to non-owner family members of direct owners (i.e., stockholders), plus any W-2 wages paid to direct owners who have a 10% or less interest in a business.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Sudan Peace, Security, and Accountability Act of 2012 - Directs the President to develop and transmit to Congress a comprehensive strategy to end serious human rights violations in Sudan and promote a comprehensive peace and democratic reform strategy. Requires the strategy to include an interagency framework to plan, coordinate, and review the diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military actions and capabilities of U.S. policy regarding Sudan. Directs the President to impose specified visa, development assistance, security assistance, property, credit, financial assistance, export, cultural, or scientific sanctions on any person or government that: (1) supported or assisted Sudan in the commission of serious human rights violations in Sudan, including by selling, leasing, or otherwise transferring military equipment to Sudan or providing property, goods, technology, services, or other support in the amount of $500,000 or more that directly and significantly contributes to Sudan committing or assisting in the commission of serious human rights violations; (2) is interfering or has interfered with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Sudan; (3) is impeding the peace process or threatening the stability of any part of Sudan or the region; or (4) failed to execute an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against any Sudanese official if such person or government had the jurisdictional authority to execute the warrant and failed to make the arrest without reasonable justification. Prohibits the imposition of sanctions or other prohibitions on any government or person that is: (1) acting on behalf of the government of South Sudan in connection with the shipment or payment for oil from South Sudan or the advancement of peace between Sudan and South Sudan, or (2) providing humanitarian aid to Sudan. Amends: (1) the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 to make its asset and visa sanctions applicable to Sudan, and (2) the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006 to impose such sanctions on Janjaweed commanders and coordinators threatening peace and stability in Sudan. Terminates sanctions upon certification by the President that specified conditions have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Maintaining the President's Commitment to Our Nuclear Deterrent and National Security Act of 2012 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States is committed to: (1) ensuring the safety, security, reliability, and credibility of its nuclear forces; (2) proceeding with a robust stockpile stewardship program and maintaining and modernizing nuclear weapons production capabilities and capacities; (3) reinvigorating and sustaining its nuclear security laboratories and preserving their core nuclear weapons competencies; and (4) providing the resources needed to achieve these objectives. Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 to direct the President, upon determining that an appropriations Act fails to meet the resource levels needed to carry out the President's 10-year nuclear resources modernization plan, to submit to Congress a plan to remedy the shortfall, together with related information. Prohibits any reduction in the number of deployed nuclear warheads until 120 days after the President certifies that the identified shortfall has been addressed. Provides warhead reduction exceptions. Prohibits, during FY2012-FY2021, any funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) from being used to carry out decisions made pursuant to the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review Implementation Study until the President certifies, among other things, inclusion in that year's budget of necessary resources to carry out such implementation, and that the resources have been provided in an appropriations Act. Directs the President to annually certify to Congress whether plans to modernize or replace strategic delivery systems are fully resourced and being executed at planned levels. Requires the President, during any year in which the President recommends to reduce by more than 1% the number of nuclear weapons in the active and inactive U.S. stockpiles, to certify to Congress whether such reduction will cause the number of such weapons to be fewer than the number of such weapons in the active and inactive stockpiles of the Russian Federation. Prohibits, for FY2012 and thereafter, DOD or National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) funds from being used to carry out any reductions in nuclear forces unless the President includes in a report covering each country with nuclear weapons consideration of the expansion of the nuclear forces of any such country. Requires the President, beginning with FY2013, to annually certify whether: (1) construction of both the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement building and the Uranium Processing Facility with be completed by no later than 2021, and (2) both facilities will be fully operational by no later than 2024. Prohibits the use of DOD or NNSA funds for FY2012 or thereafter to reduce to only one the number of nuclear warheads contained on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) unless the President certifies that the Russian Federation and China are both carrying out a similar reduction. Provides an exception. Expresses U.S. policy on the reduction of Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons and the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to Europe. Provides a limitation, for FY2012 and thereafter, on the reduction, consolidation, or withdrawal of U.S. nuclear forces based in Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2012
Expanding and Promoting Expertise in Review of Rare Treatments Act of 2012 or EXPERRT Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program for consultation with external experts to inform and strengthen the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) review of drugs and biologic products for rare diseases and drugs and biologic products that are genetically targeted. Requires, under such program, each review division within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research to seek the opinion of external experts on topics that may include: (1) rare diseases; (2) the severity of rare diseases; (3) the unmet medical need associated with rare diseases; (4) the willingness and ability of individuals with a rare disease to participate in clinical trials; (5) an assessment of the benefits and risks, including side effects, of current and investigational therapies; (6) the design of clinical trials for rare disease populations and subpopulations; and (7) demographics and the clinical description of patient populations. Allows external experts to request the opportunity to meet with a review division regarding any such topic. Authorizes the Secretary to determine the timing of each consultation, which may occur prior to, or following, the filing of an investigational new drug application, a new drug application, or a biologies license application. Requires the experts consulted to be considered special government employees.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2012
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to prohibit the Secretary of Energy (DOE), except in the case of a severe energy supply interruption, from executing the first drawdown of petroleum products in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after enactment of this Act until the Secretary has developed a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands (including submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf) under the jurisdiction of DOE, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) leased for oil and gas production by the same percentage as the percentage of petroleum in the SPR that is to be drawn down in such first and subsequent drawdowns. Prohibits such plan from providing for a total increase of more than 10% in the percentage of such federal lands leased for oil and gas production.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2012
Prohibits assistance from being provided to Pakistan pursuant to the authorities of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, the Arms Export Control Act, or the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund unless the Secretary of State certifies to Congress that Pakistan is not aiding the Haqqani network (an insurgent network operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan). Makes withheld funds available for assistance to fight drug cartels on the U.S.-Mexico border.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2012
Online Pharmacy Safety Act - Amends the the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to permit the dispensing of drugs only pursuant to a "valid prescription" and requires such a prescription to include at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient by a licensed health care practitioner. Requires the the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a Registry of Legitimate Online Pharmacy Websites for the purpose of educating consumers and promoting public health and safety. Allows only those pharmacies designated as legitimate by the Secretary on the site. Sets forth criteria for determining the legitimacy of a pharmacy. Requires the Secretary to: (1) engage in a campaign to educate consumers on the availability and use of the Registry to promote public health and safety; and (2) make consumer education materials available, on the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website, regarding how to safely purchase drugs over the Internet.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2012
Disapproves the Department of Labor rule relating to temporary non-agricultural employment of H-2B aliens in the United States (published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2012) and states that such rule shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2012
Health Information Technology Reform Act - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to exclude pathologists from Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments and, in particular, penalties relating to the meaningful use of electronic health records.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2012
Disapproves and nullifies the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and published December 22, 2011, relating to representation election procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2012
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Department of State should raise the travel advisory for Egypt from the current level of Travel Alert to Travel Warning, the highest level of travel security advisory, until all 43 detained nongovernmental organization workers are given the freedom to leave Egypt.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2012
Medicare Hospice Care Access Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to recognize attending physician assistants as attending physicians to serve hospice patients.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from performing or attempting to perform an abortion within the District of Columbia except in conformity with this Act's requirements. Requires the physician to first make a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child, or reasonably rely upon such a determination made by another physician, by making inquiries of the pregnant woman and performing such medical examinations and tests as a reasonably prudent physician would consider necessary. Prohibits the abortion from being performed if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater. Makes an exception where necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, excluding psychological or emotional conditions or any claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct intended to result in her death. Permits a physician to terminate a pregnancy under such exception only in the manner which provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive, unless termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk of the death or substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions, of the pregnant woman than would other available methods. Prescribes penalties for violations. Bars prosecution of a woman upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of this Act, but authorizes such a woman or the father or maternal grandparent of the unborn child to obtain appropriate relief through a civil action. Provides for injunctive relief to prevent violations. Sets forth specified privacy protections in court proceedings for the woman upon whom an abortion has been performed. Requires any physician who performs an abortion within the District to report it to the Department of Health of the District of Columbia, which shall issue annual public reports.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
Scott Gardner Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Attorney General (DOJ) to take into custody an alien who is unlawfully in the United States and is arrested by a state or local law enforcement officer for driving while intoxicated or a similar violation. Directs the officer, upon reasonable grounds to believe the individual is an alien, to: (1) verify the individual's immigration status, and (2) take into custody for federal transfer an individual who is unlawfully in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to reimburse states and localities for related transportation costs when such transportation is not done in the course of normal duties.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2012
Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to use all elements of national power to counter Iran's growing presence and hostile activity in the Western Hemisphere. Directs the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a strategy to address Iran's growing presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2012
Disapproves of the President's appointment of four federal officers or employees during a period when no congressional recess of more than three days was authorized by concurrent resolution. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that those appointments were made in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 20 December 2011
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all further assistance provided by the United States to Antigua and Barbuda should be suspended until Antigua and Barbuda provide complete redress of specified issues regarding an investigation of the Stanford Financial Group fraud. Includes among such redress: (1) an agreement by of Antigua and Barbuda to be subject to the jurisdiction and bound by the judgment of any U.S. court that adjudicates the claims relating to the Stanford Financial Group fraud; (2) the transfer of the assets seized by Antigua and Barbuda, or obtained by the joint liquidators of Stanford International Bank, to the U.S. district court-appointed receiver for the benefit of victims of the fraud; (3) a specified contribution by Antigua and Barbuda to the U.S. receivership estate for the benefit of victims of the fraud; (4) fulfillment by Antigua and Barbuda of their obligations relating to the expropriation of the Half Moon Bay Resort; and (5) an agreement by Antigua and Barbuda to neither interfere with the receivership commenced by the United States, nor seek control of assets claimed by the United States. Expresses the sense of the House that the Secretary of the Treasury should direct the U.S. Executive Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association (World Bank) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to use the voice and vote of the United States to ensure that any future loan made by the World Bank or the IMF to Antigua and Barbuda is conditioned upon providing complete redress of these matters, and satisfaction of this resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2011
New IDEA Act or New Illegal Deduction Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny a tax deduction for wages and benefits paid to or on behalf of an unauthorized alien. Extends to six years the period for assessing and collecting underpayments of tax due to deductions claimed for wages paid to unauthorized aliens. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretaries of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Treasury to jointly establish a program to share information that may lead to the identification of unauthorized aliens. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to provide taxpayer identity information to the Commissioner of Social Security and the DHS Secretary on employers who paid nondeductible wages to unauthorized aliens and on the aliens to whom such wages were paid. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to: (1) make permanent the E-Verify Program for verifying the employment eligibility of alien workers, (2) apply such program to current employees in addition to new hires, (3) establish a rebuttable presumption that employers who participate in the E-Verify Program and obtain confirmation of identity and employment eligibility have not violated hiring requirements under such Act, and (4) allow employers participating in the E-Verify Program to make a conditional offer of employment pending final verification of the identity and employment eligibility of the job applicant.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2011
Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization, and (2) report to Congress on IRGC terrorist activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2011
Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2011 - Amends federal criminal code provisions relating to Federal Prison Industries (FPI) to establish governmentwide procurement policies for purchases from FPI based upon competitive procedures. Authorizes contract awards on a noncompetitive basis if the Attorney General determines that FPI cannot reasonably expect fair consideration to receive a contract award on a competitive basis and the contract award is necessary to maintain inmate work opportunities. Specifies conditions under which a contract award may be made to FPI using other than competitive procedures. Provides that a timely offer received from FPI to furnish a product or service to a federal agency shall be considered for award without limitation as to the dollar value of the proposed purchase, unless the contract opportunity has been reserved for competition for small businesses under the Small Business Act and its regulations. Allows FPI to exclude from its bids certain costs relating to security, educating and training inmates, and excess capital costs of machinery and inventories used in prisons. Makes decisions by a federal contracting officer regarding the award of a contract to FPI or the performance of such contract final, unless reversed on appeal. Requires federal agencies to report purchases from FPI to the Federal Procurement Data System. Requires FPI to publish and maintain a catalogue of its products and services. Imposes federal occupational, health, and safety standards on FPI with respect to its industrial operations. Revises rulemaking procedures for approving new FPI products or services. Requires the Chief Operating Officer of FPI to submit a proposal to the Board of Directors of FPI with a detailed analysis of the probable impact on the private sector of a proposed expansion of sales from such new products or services. Requires a federal agency that has a requirement for a product that is authorized for sale by FPI and is listed in its catalog to first solicit an offer from FPI and make purchases on a noncompetitive basis. Requires, subject to specified limitations, a contract award to be made on a noncompetitive basis to FPI if the contracting officer determines that: (1) the FPI product will meet the procurement requirements, (2) timely performance of the contract by FPI can be reasonably expected, and (3) the negotiated price does not exceed a fair and reasonable price. Requires that the terms and conditions of a procurement contract and the price to be paid to FPI be determined by negotiation between FPI and the federal agency making the purchase. Prohibits the negotiated price from exceeding a fair and reasonable price as determined by the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Prohibits the total dollar value of FPI sales to the federal government in FY2012-FY2016 from exceeding specified percentages of FPI sales for the base period. Sets limits on FPI sales within various business sectors, relating to specific products, and arising from changes in design specifications. Prohibits the use of such preferential contracting authorities on or after October 1, 2015. Requires the Attorney General to make specified findings on the effect of such percentage limitations. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require the head of an executive agency, before purchasing a product listed in the latest FPI catalog, to conduct market research to determine whether the FPI product is comparable to products available from the private sector that best meet the agency's needs in terms of price, quality, and time of delivery. Prohibits the head of an executive agency from entering into a contract with FPI under which an inmate would have access to sensitive or classified information. Authorizes FPI to enter into a contract with a federal contractor or subcontractor to produce products as a subcontractor or supplier, but restricts FPI products or services from a subcontractor from entering the commercial market or infringing on procurement preferences for the blind or disabled or on certain Buy America requirements. Specifies that use of FPI as a subcontractor or supplier cannot be imposed upon prospective or actual federal prime contractors or subcontractors. Requires the Board of Directors of FPI to prescribe hourly wage rates for inmates performing work for or through FPI. Requires an hourly minimum rate of $2.50 for inmates whose term of imprisonment will expire in two years or less. Requires a biannual review of inmate wage rates. Directs the Board of Directors of FPI, not later than September 30, 2012, to increase the maximum wage rate for inmates to 50% of the minimum wage rate under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, and to 100% of such wage rate not later than September 30, 2017. Limits to 80% the maximum amount of deductions from inmates' gross. Includes services furnished by such convicts or prisoners within the prohibition against the transportation or importation of goods produced by prisoners or convicts in interstate or foreign commerce. Allows for the completion of existing contracts and programs involving federal inmates who are furnishing services in commerce. Provides that nothing in this Act shall establish: (1) an entitlement of any federal prison inmate to employment in a FPI facility or any particular wage or benefit, (2) inmates as employees for purposes of any law or program, or (3) any cause of action against the United States. Establishes within the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBP) the Enhanced In-Prison Educational and Vocational Assessment and Training Program to provide: (1) in-prison assessments of inmates' needs and aptitudes, (2) a full range of educational opportunities, (3) vocational training and apprenticeships, and (4) comprehensive release-readiness preparation. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years after FY2011. Expresses the sense of Congress that FPI should use some of its net earnings to accomplish the purposes of this program. Phases in the implementation of the program in all federal prisons within eight years. Amends the federal criminal code to authorize inmates with work assignments within FPI to perform work for a tax-exempt charity, religious organization, or local governmental unit or school district (eligible entities) that have an agreement with FPI. Establishes the position of Inmate Work Training Administrator to create alternative inmate work opportunities with eligible entities. Sets forth requirements for proposals by eligible entities for participation in inmate work programs, including certain representations regarding the charitable nature of the entities' work, protections for non-inmate workers, wage rates for inmates, and deductions from inmate wages. Directs the Chief Operating Officer of FPI to develop proposals to have FPI donate products and services to charitable entities that provide goods or services to low-income individuals. Establishes with the FBP the Cognitive Abilities Assessment Demonstration Program to assess the cognitive abilities and perceptual skills of inmates to prepare such inmates to return to society and reduce recidivism. Requires such demonstration program to be conducted for three consecutive fiscal years beginning during FY2012 at 12 federal correctional institutions and to be offered to 6,000 inmates who are within five years of release. Requires the Director of the FBP to offer prerelease employment assistance to inmates upon release. Authorizes private for-profit business entities to participate in work-based training and apprenticeship programs for federal prison inmates. Sets forth requirements relating to training and wage rates for inmates. Prohibits FPI from offering for commercial sale products produced or services furnished by federal inmates. Terminates authority for programs after September 30, 2020, and requires all agreements relating to programs to be performed before October 1, 2025. Requires the Attorney General to meet with officials of FPI to review inmate work-based training programs and report to specified congressional committees on program progress. Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) undertake an on-going assessment of inmate work-based training programs; (2) provide an opportunity for public comment on the scope and methodology of such assessment; and (3) make interim and final reports to Congress on such assessment. Revises the membership structure and terms of the Board of Directors of FPI. Permits FPI to: (1) locate more than one workshop at a federal correctional facility, and (2) operate a workshop outside a facility if all inmates working in such workshop are classified as minimum security inmates. Directs FPI to establish a cost accounting system. Directs that correctional officers or other employees of FPI who are separated from employment due to reductions in FPI revenues be: (1) eligible for appointment in the competitive civil service, (2) registered on a Bureau of Prisons reemployment priority list, and (3) given priority for appropriate positions in the Bureau of Prisons. Revises and expands FPI annual reporting requirements to Congress. Requires copies of FPI's annual reports to be made available to the public. Provides for proposed revisions to the Governmentwide Federal Acquisition Regulation for implementing this Act and final regulations within 180 days of enactment of this Act. Requires the Board of Directors of FPI to issue regulations defining "prison-made product," "prison-furnished service," " specific product," and "specific service." Requires the Board of Directors to use means designed to most effectively solicit public comment on proposed regulations, procedures, and policies and to conduct open meetings. Requires the Secretary of Labor to establish an inmate training wage pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. States that provisions of this Act relating to FPI bid protests are not intended to alter the protest rights of any other offeror of a federal contract bid. States that nothing in this Act is intended to modify the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act (concerning procurement from persons who are blind or severely disabled).
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2011
Taxpayers Right to Know Act - Requires the head of each federal agency in each fiscal year to: (1) identify and describe every program administered by such agency; (2) determine the total administrative expenses and expenditures for services for each program; (3) estimate the number of clients served by each program and the beneficiaries who received assistance under each program; (4) estimate the number of full-time federal and contract employees who administer each program; and (5) identify federal programs with duplicative or overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds. Requires agency heads to publish on agency websites the information required by this Act, the latest performance reviews of each agency program, improper payment rates, the total amount of unspent and unobligated program funds held by the agency and grant recipients, and recommendations for consolidating duplicative programs, eliminating waste and inefficiency, and terminating lower priority, outdated, and unnecessary programs and initiatives. Expands the scope of information required in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance to include: (1) programs providing assistance to foreign nations, international organizations, and services provided or funded by agencies operating outside the United States; (2) information required by this Act; and (3) budget functions and authorization and appropriation amounts for each assistance program in the Catalog.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Amends the Railway Labor Act to require the National Mediation Board to apply the same procedures, including voting standards, to the direct decertification of a labor organization as are applied to elections to certify a representative.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2011
Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 - Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to add provisions concerning cyber threat intelligence and information sharing. Defines "cyber threat intelligence" as information in the possession of an element of the intelligence community directly pertaining to a vulnerability of, or threat to, a system or network of a government or private entity, including information pertaining to the protection of a system or network from: (1) efforts to degrade, disrupt, or destroy such system or network; or (2) theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information. Requires the Director of National Intelligence to: (1) establish procedures to allow intelligence community elements to share cyber threat intelligence with private-sector entities, and (2) encourage the sharing of such intelligence. Requires the procedures established to ensure that such intelligence is only: (1) shared with certified entities or a person with an appropriate security clearance, (2) shared consistent with the need to protect U.S. national security, and (3) used in a manner that protects such intelligence from unauthorized disclosure. Provides for guidelines for the granting of security clearance approvals to certified entities or officers or employees of such entities. Authorizes a cybersecurity provider (a non-governmental entity that provides goods or services intended to be used for cybersecurity purposes), with the express consent of a protected entity (an entity that contracts with a cybersecurity provider) to: (1) use cybersecurity systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information in order to protect the rights and property of the protected entity; and (2) share cyber threat information with any other entity designated by the protected entity, including the federal government. Regulates the use and protection of shared information, including prohibiting the use of such information to gain a competitive advantage and, if shared with the federal government, exempts such information from public disclosure. Prohibits a civil or criminal cause of action against a protected entity, a self-protected entity (an entity that provides goods or services for cybersecurity purposes to itself), or a cybersecurity provider acting in good faith under the above circumstances. Directs the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to submit annually to Congress a review of the sharing and use of such information by the federal government, as well as recommendations for improvements and modifications to address privacy and civil liberties concerns. Preempts any state statute that restricts or otherwise regulates an activity authorized by the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2011
Provides for the relief of Bruce William Stewart, Dianne Stewart, Sarah Jane Caitlin Stewart, and Michael Bruce Albert Stewart.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2011
Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act - Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require a federal financial institutions regulatory agency to make a final examination report to a financial institution within 60 days of the later of: (1) the exit interview for an examination of the institution, or (2) the provision of additional information by the institution relating to the examination. Sets a deadline for the exit interview if a financial institution is not subject to a resident examiner program. Sets forth examination standards for financial institutions. Prohibits federal financial institutions regulatory agencies from requiring a well capitalized financial institution to raise additional capital in lieu of an action prohibited by the examination standards. Establishes in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council an Office of Examination Ombudsman. Grants a financial institution the right to appeal a material supervisory determination contained in a final report of examination. Requires the Ombudsman to determine the merits of the appeal on the record, after an opportunity for a hearing before an independent administrative law judge. Declares the decision by the Ombudsman on an appeal to: (1) be the final agency action, and (2) bind the agency whose supervisory determination was the subject of the appeal and the financial institution making the appeal. Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to require: (1) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an independent intra-agency appellate process in connection with the regulatory appeals process; and (2) appropriate safeguards to protect an insured depository institution or insured credit union from retaliation by the CFPB, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board, or any other federal banking agency for exercising its rights.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2011
Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2011 or the ABLE Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt ABLE accounts to assist an individual with a disability in building an account to pay for qualified disability expenses. Defines "qualified disability expenses" to include expenses for education, a primary residence, transportation, obtaining and maintaining employment, health and wellness, and other personal support expenses. Treats a qualified ABLE program and an ABLE account in the same manner as a qualified tuition program for income tax purposes (i.e., allowing a tax exemption for such program and an exclusion from gross income of amounts attributable to a contributor to or a beneficiary of a program account). Defines "qualified ABLE program" as a program established and maintained by a state agency under which a person may make contributions to an ABLE account established to pay for qualified disability expenses. Requires amounts in ABLE accounts to be disregarded in determining eligibility for Medicaid and other means-tested federal programs. Suspends the payment of supplemental security income benefits under title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) of the Social Security Act to an individual during any period in which such individual has excess resources attributable to an ABLE account.