United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of Congress, of two gold medals to the First Special Service Force (a joint American-Canadian volunteer unit), collectively, in recognition of their World War II service. Directs one such gold medal to be given to the Smithsonian Institution and the other to the First Special Service Force Association in Helena, Montana. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates with proceeds deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund. Declares that medals struck under this Act are national medals for purposes of specified coins and currency provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
Regulatory Sunset and Review Act of 2013 - Requires federal agencies to review their covered rules and modify, consolidate, or terminate such rules on a periodic basis. Defines "covered rule" to include a significant rule that is likely to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or any other rule designated by an agency for sunset review. Allows a person adversely affected by a rule that is not a significant rule to submit a petition for sunset review of such rule. Provides for sunset review of a rule upon the request of a congressional committee or a majority of the members of such committee. Requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) conduct an inventory of existing rules and deadlines for their sunset review; (2) prioritize rules for sunset review based on specified criteria, including the cost of the rule and the burden of reviewing it; (3) group related rules for simultaneous review; (4) provide guidance to agencies for conducting sunset reviews; and (5) provide feedback to agencies on sunset reviews and results. Requires a new significant rule to be reviewed: (1) within three years after taking effect, or (2) within seven years after taking effect if the rule is issued pursuant to negotiated rulemaking procedures or if compliance with the rule requires substantial capital investment. Requires each federal agency to designate a Regulatory Review Officer with responsibility for implementation of this Act. Provides for judicial review of a denial or delay in granting or denying a petition for sunset review of a rule.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "chemical substance" for purposes of such Act: (1) any component of any pistol, revolver, firearm, shell, or cartridge the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, including shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers; and (2) any sport fishing equipment the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax and sport fishing equipment components.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
Establishes in the House of Representatives a select Committee to investigate and report to the House on: any intelligence known to the United States relating to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012; any requests for additional security, or actions taken by federal agencies to improve security at the consulate before the attack; a definitive timeline of it; how the relevant agencies and the executive branch responded to it and whether appropriate congressional notifications were made; any improper conduct by officials relating to the attack; recommendations on what steps Congress and the President should take to prevent future attacks; and any other relevant issues relating to the attack or the response to it.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2013
Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Power Act to require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to ensure that any emergency order issued under such Act for the interconnection of facilities for the generation, transmission, and sale of electric energy that may result in a conflict with a requirement of any environmental law shall: (1) require generation, delivery, interchange, or transmission of electric energy only during hours necessary to meet the emergency and serve the public interest; and (2) to the maximum extent practical, be consistent with any other applicable environmental law and minimize any adverse environmental impacts. Provides that any omission or action taken by a party to comply with such an order that results in noncompliance with any environmental law shall not: (1) be considered a violation of such law; or (2) subject such party to any requirement of, or any civil or criminal liability under, such law. Requires such an order that may result in a conflict with environmental law to expire within 90 days after it is issued. Authorizes FERC to renew or reissue such order for subsequent periods, not to exceed 90 days each, as necessary to meet the emergency and serve the public interest. Requires FERC, in renewing or reissuing such order, to: (1) consult with the primary federal agency with expertise in the environmental interest protected by such law and include in any such order conditions determined to be necessary to minimize any adverse environmental impacts, and (2) make such conditions available to the public. Authorizes FERC to exclude such a condition from the order if such condition would prevent the order from adequately addressing the emergency. Authorizes, during an emergency, a municipality engaged in the transmission or sale of electric energy and not otherwise subject to FERC's jurisdiction to make temporary connections with public utilities subject to FERC's jurisdiction and construct temporary facilities for the transmission of electric energy in interstate commerce as may be necessary or appropriate to meet such emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2013
Stolen Valor Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to rewrite provisions relating to fraudulent claims about military service to subject to a fine, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both an individual who, with intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefit, fraudulently holds himself or herself out to be a recipient of: a Congressional Medal of Honor, a distinguished-service cross, a Navy cross, an Air Force cross, a silver star, a Purple Heart, a Combat Infantryman's Badge, a Combat Action Badge, a Combat Medical Badge, a Combat Action Ribbon, a Combat Action Medal, or any replacement or duplicate medal for such medal as authorized by law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2013
Johnson Space Center Workforce Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to create a two-year job training program (including a one-stop career center) to assist the transition to new jobs of workers and employees of contractors in the Johnson Space Center region whose job stability is impacted by programmatic changes to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space exploration program. Directs the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the Department of Commerce, to enter into cooperative agreements with eligible recipients in the Johnson Space Center region for activities to help stabilize the workforce and to promote economic growth.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2013
Zero-based Budgeting Ensures Responsible Oversight (ZERO) Act of 2013 - Requires the President to submit with materials related to each federal budget transmitted to Congress by January 1, 2015, a budget for each agency that contains: a description of each activity for which an agency receives an appropriation in the current fiscal year or for which the agency requests an appropriation for the budget year; the legal basis for each activity; for each activity, three alternative funding levels for the budget year (at least two of which shall be below the funding level for the current fiscal year), a summary of the priorities that would be accomplished within each level, and the additional increments of value that would be added by the higher funding levels; and for each activity one or more measures of its cost efficiency and effectiveness. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to publish guidelines to carry out this Act that shall require: (1) the baseline budget of each agency to be assumed to be zero, and (2) each proposed expenditure to be justified as if it were a new expenditure.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2013
Affirms that all children deserve a permanent, protective family. Values the long tradition of the United States and Russia working together to find permanent homes for unparented children. Disapproves of the Russian law ending inter-country adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens because it primarily harms vulnerable and voiceless children. Urges Russia to reconsider the law on humanitarian grounds and prioritize the processing of inter-country adoptions of Russian children by U.S. citizens that were initiated before the law's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2013
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where: (1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or an act of incest; or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Excludes hospitals from such requirement so long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity that performs an abortion. Requires the Secretary to annually provide Congress: (1) information on grantees who performed abortions under the exceptions, and (2) a list of entities to which grant funds are made available.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4110 Almeda Road in Houston, Texas, as the "George Thomas 'Mickey' Leland Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2013 - Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to: (1) complete, within 12 months of enactment of this Act, the required audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and of the Federal Reserve Banks; and (2) submit to Congress, within 90 days of audit completion, a detailed report of audit findings and conclusions. Repeals certain limitations placed upon such audit. Instructs the Comptroller General to audit and report on the review of loan files of homeowners in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010, required as part of the enforcement actions taken by the Board against supervised financial institutions. Prescribes audit contents, including: (1) the guidance given by the Board to independent consultants retained by the supervised financial institutions regarding procedures to be followed in conducting the file reviews, (2) the factors considered by independent consultants when evaluating loan files and the results obtained pursuant to those reviews, and (3) the determinations made by such consultants regarding the nature and extent of financial injury sustained by each homeowner as well as the level and type of remediation offered.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
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 · 3 January 2013
Foreign Counterfeit Merchandise Prevention Act - Amends the federal criminal code to provide that it shall not be a violation of the prohibition against a federal employee disclosing trade secrets or other confidential or proprietary information for an officer or employee of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP): (1) upon detention and thereafter, to provide the owner of a copyright or a registered mark or any person who may be injured by a circumvention of copyright protection systems with any information appearing on the merchandise, including its retail packaging, or a sample or image of such merchandise and its retail packaging, for the purposes of determining whether the merchandise or its packaging infringes the copyright, bears or consists of a counterfeit mark of the registered mark, or is a violation of copyright protection systems; or (2) after seizing merchandise determined to be in violation of copyright protection systems, to provide certain information to persons injured by such violation, including the date of importation, the port of entry, a description of the merchandise, the country of origin of the merchandise, the names and addresses of the foreign manufacturer, the exporter, and the importer, and a photographic or digital image of the merchandise. Applies such exemption only with respect to tangible goods presented to the CBP for importation into, or exportation from, the United States. Amends the Lanham Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (the Secretary) to record and transmit to customs officers any contact information, documentation of the locality in which goods were manufactured, and copies of trademark registrations furnished by domestic or eligible foreign manufacturers or traders for the purpose of aiding the enforcement of a prohibition on the importation of goods bearing infringing marks or names. (Currently, such activities are performed by the Secretary of the Treasury.) Requires the Secretary, if the CBP detains critical merchandise bearing a DHS-recorded registered trademark, to provide the trademark owner any information on such critical merchandise and its packaging and labels, including, without redaction, photographs or digital images, packaging, and labels. Permits the Secretary, subject to any bonding and return requirements, to provide the owner samples of the critical merchandise without redaction. Defines "critical merchandise" to include: (1) aircraft engines, appliances, propellers, and spare parts; (2) motor vehicle equipment; (3) semiconductors; and (4) any other article of manufacture that the Secretary determines could, if permitted entry into the United States in violation of the U.S. laws, pose a danger to the health, safety, or welfare of consumers, or to the national security of the United States. Applies such Lanham Act amendments only with respect to tangible goods presented to the CBP for importation into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Service (HHS) from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where: (1) the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest; or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Excludes hospitals from such requirement so long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity that performs an abortion. Requires the Secretary to provide Congress annually: (1) information on grantees who performed abortions under the exceptions, and (2) a list of entities to which grant funds are made available.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Health Care Safety Net Enhancement Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem a hospital or an emergency department and a physician or physician group of such hospital or emergency department to be an employee of the Public Health Service for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to providing emergency and post-stabilization services on or after January 1, 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Prioritize Spending Act of 2013 - Requires amounts necessary for incurred federal obligations, in the event that the public debt reaches the statutory limit, to be made available to certain obligations, in prioritized order, before all other obligations. Prioritizes such obligations in the following descending order: (1) amounts necessary to carry out the authority of the Department of the Treasury to pay with legal tender the principal and interest on public debt; (2) amounts determined by the Secretary of Defense (DOD) (and the Secretary of Homeland Security [DHS] in the case of the Coast Guard) to be necessary to continue to provide pay and allowances (without interruption) to members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard, including their reserve components, who perform active service; (3) amounts certified to Congress by the President as necessary to carry out vital national security priorities; (4) amounts necessary to carry out the authority of the Commissioner of Social Security to pay monthly old-age, survivors', and disability insurance benefits under title II of the Social Security Act (SSA); and (5) amounts necessary to make payments under the Medicare program under SSA title XVIII.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Fair Tax Act of 2013 - Repeals the income tax, employment tax, and estate and gift tax. Redesignates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 as the Internal Revenue Code of 2013. Imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services. Sets the sales tax rate at 23% in 2015, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. Allows exemptions from the tax for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes, and for state government functions. Sets forth rules relating to: (1) the collection and remittance of the sales tax, and (2) credits and refunds. Allows a monthly sales tax rebate for families based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines. Grants states the primary authority for the collection of sales tax revenues and the remittance of such revenues to the Treasury. Sets forth administrative provisions relating to: (1) the filing of monthly reports and payments of tax; (2) accounting methods; (3) registration of sellers of goods and services responsible for reporting sales; (4) penalties for noncompliance; and (5) collections, appeals, and taxpayer rights. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate sales tax revenues among: (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund. Prohibits the funding of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after FY2017. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury: (1) an Excise Tax Bureau to administer excise taxes not administered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and (2) a Sales Tax Bureau to administer the national sales tax. Terminates the sales tax imposed by this Act if the Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber to increase the public debt limit. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority of each chamber by rollcall vote. Authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict. Requires any such waiver to identify and be limited to the specific excess or increase for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Limits total outlays for any fiscal year to one-fifth of the U.S. economic output, unless two-thirds of each house of Congress provides for a specific increase above this amount. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber to increase the limit on U.S. debt held by the public. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by three-fifths of each chamber by rollcall vote. Authorizes waivers of these requirements and prohibitions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict. Requires any such waiver to identify and be limited to the specific excess or increase for that fiscal year made necessary by the identified military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 1 January 2013
Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), not later than 150 days after the enactment of this Act, to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies to: (1) use available administrative authority to eliminate, consolidate, or streamline federal programs and agencies with duplicative and overlapping missions as identified in the February 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled "Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue" and the March 2011 GAO report entitled "Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue" and apply any savings towards deficit reduction; (2) report to Congress any legislative changes required to further eliminate, consolidate, or streamline such programs and agencies; (3) determine the total cost savings to each agency from the implementation of this Act; and (4) rescind from appropriate accounts the greater of $10 billion or the total amount of such cost savings.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2012
Averting the Fiscal Cliff Act - Title I: Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act - Subtitle A: Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act - Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012 - Makes permanent: (1) the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, and (2) provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 that reduce tax rates on capital gain and dividend income. Extends through 2013 the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer provisions of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013: (1) the increased expensing allowance for depreciable business assets, and (2) the increased alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amount for individual taxpayers. Subtitle B: Pathway to Job Creation Through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act - Pathway to Job Creation through a Simpler, Fairer Tax Code Act of 2012 - States that the purpose of this Subtitle is to provide for the enactment of comprehensive tax reform in 2013. Defines a "tax reform bill" as a bill of the 113th Congress that is introduced in the House of Representatives by the chair of the Committee on Ways and Means not later than April 30, 2013 (or the first legislative day thereafter if the House is not in session on that day), the title of which is "a bill to provide for comprehensive tax reform." Requires the chair of the Joint Committee on Taxation to notify the House and Senate upon determining that such an introduced bill contains proposals to: (1) consolidate the 6 current individual income tax brackets into a maximum of 2 brackets (of 10% and not higher than 25%), (2) reduce the corporate income tax rate to not more than 25%, (3) repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), (4) broaden the tax base to maintain revenue between 18% and 19% of the economy, and (5) change from a worldwide to a territorial system of taxation. Provides for expedited consideration of such bill in the House of Representatives and the Senate. Title II: Sequestration Replacement Act - Subtitle A: Agriculture - Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 2012 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to terminate the increase in the value of supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program) benefits for Puerto Rico and American Samoa on the date of enactment of the Averting the Fiscal Cliff Act. Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to limit categorical SNAP eligibility to households receiving specified other program benefits in cash. Eliminates the requirement that a state agency using a standard utility allowance provide such allowance to a household that receives assistance under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 or other energy assistance program if such household incurs out-of-pocket heating or cooling expenses exceeding such assistance. Eliminates: (1) administrative cost sharing to states for certain employment and training programs, (2) state bonus programs for effective SNAP administration, and (3) indexing for the nutrition education and obesity prevention grant program. Reduces FY2013 funding for employment and training programs. Authorizes FY2013 appropriations to carry out the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. States that this title and the amendments made by this title shall take effect on enactment of this Act, and shall apply only with respect to certification periods that begin on or after such date. Subtitle B: Committee on Energy and Commerce - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) to repeal provisions: (1) appropriating funds to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to states for activities (including planning activities) related to establishing an American Health Benefit Exchange (a state health insurance exchange), (2) establishing and appropriating funds to the Prevention and Public Health Fund (a Fund to provide for expanded and sustained national investment in prevention and public health programs to improve health and help restrain the rate of growth in private and public sector health care costs), and (3) appropriating funds for the establishment and operation of the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (CO-OP) program (designed to foster the creation of qualified nonprofit health insurance issuers to offer qualified health plans in the individual and small group markets). Rescinds any unobligated balance appropriated under such provisions. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) extend the reduction of the threshold level of permissible state taxes on health care providers before federal funding to the state for Medicaid is reduced; (2) reduce the state disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotment for FY2022; and (3) repeal provisions prohibiting states from reducing eligibility levels for Medicaid. Amends SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP) to repeal provisions prohibiting states from reducing eligibility levels for CHIP. Repeals provisions that increased Medicaid payments to territories though FY2019. Decreases the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. Repeals provisions providing bonus payments to states for enrollment and retention programs for children covered under Medicaid and CHIP. Subtitle C: Financial Services -- Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) to repeal Title II (Orderly Liquidation Authority), including the Orderly Liquidation Fund, and to restore any federal law amended by it as if title II of Dodd-Frank had not been enacted. HAMP Termination Act of 2012 - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to terminate the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to provide new mortgage modification assistance under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), except with respect to existing obligations on behalf of homeowners already extended an offer to participate in the program. Declares unavailable after the enactment of this Act for obligation or expenditure under HAMP any amounts made available for HAMP under EESA title I that: (1) have been allocated for use but not yet obligated, and (2) are not necessary for providing HAMP assistance on behalf of those homeowners already extended an offer to participate in HAMP. Directs the Secretary to study: (1) the extent to which HAMP is used by homeowners who are active duty members of the Armed Forces (or their spouses or parents), veterans, or Gold Star-eligible widows, parents, or next of kin of Armed Forces members who died in military operations; and (2) the impact of the program on them. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to repeal the obligation of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) to transfer quarterly to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) the amount of funds determined by the CFPB Director to be reasonably necessary to carry out CFPB authorities. Repeals the Consumer Financial Protection Fund and the Consumer Financial Civil Penalty Fund. Repeals the exclusion of CFPB funds from construction as government funds or appropriated monies. Subjects the CFPB funds to the annual congressional authorization and appropriation process. Amends Dodd-Frank to repeal the Office of Financial Research. Subtitle D: Committee on the Judiciary - Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2012 - Sets forth provisions regulating lawsuits for health care liability claims concerning the provision of health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce. Sets a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, with certain exceptions. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility. Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded. Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer, and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000. Limits the liability of manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, and providers of medical products that comply with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards. Provides for periodic payments of future damage awards. Subtitle E: Committee on Oversight and Government Reform - Increases federal employee contributions under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) by 5% of salary over 5 years, beginning in calendar year 2013. Increases retirement contributions for: (1) Members of Congress in CSRS and FERS and for congressional employees in CSRS by 8.5% (by 7.5% for congressional employees in FERS) of salary over 5 years, beginning in calendar year 2013; and (2) Members of Congress and certain federal employees who begin federal service after December 31, 2012, and who have less than 5 years of creditable service for retirement purposes (revised annuity employees). Requires any excess contributions made by an employee of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) or the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) to be deposited to the credit of the Postal Service Fund, rather than the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. Modifies rules for determining government contributions to CSRS and FERS made after December 31, 2012, and requires any excess contributions to FERS to be used for reducing the unfunded liability of CSRS. Eliminates the annuity supplement for FERS employees hired after December 31, 2012, except for certain law enforcement officers, firefighters, nuclear material couriers, border protection officers, and air traffic controllers. Allows federal employees (including employees of USPS and PRC) and Members of Congress in CSRS or FERS to deposit any payment they receive for accumulated and accrued annual or vacation leave into their Thrift Savings Fund accounts. Subtitle F: Committee on Ways and Means - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the limitation on the recapture of advance payment amounts of the tax credit for health insurance premium assistance that exceed the allowable amount of such credit for certain low-income taxpayers, and (2) require taxpayers who are claiming the refundable portion of the child tax credit to include their social security numbers on their tax returns. Repeals the program of block grants to states for social services under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services) of the Social Security Act. Subtitle G: Sequester Replacement - Sequester Replacement Act of 2012 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to remove veterans' medical care from the accounts subject to a sequester. Abolishes the distinction between security and nonsecurity categories of discretionary spending for new budget authority in FY2013. Combines the dollar amounts of the current categories ($686 billion for the security category and $361 billion for the nonsecurity category) into a single amount of $1.047 trillion in new budget authority. Revises sequestration requirements for FY2013 to require a $19.104 billion across-the-board decrease in the discretionary spending category as of January 2, 2013. Directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to issue a supplemental sequestration report for FY2013 to eliminate any discretionary spending breach of the $1.047 trillion spending limit, as adjusted by the $19.104 billion across-the-board reduction requirement of this Act. Directs the President to order a sequestration, if any, as required by such report. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to authorize the chair of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives or the Senate to make adjustments to any legislative measure to conform to the discretionary spending limits of this Act. Nullifies any sequestration order the President may issue under the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to carry out reductions to direct spending for the FY2013 defense function (050).
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2012
Provides for the printing of a revised edition of the Rules and Manual of the House of Representatives for the 113th Congress to be printed as a House document, including 3,000 additional copies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2012
Urges European governments and the European Union (EU) to: (1) designate Hizballah as a terrorist organization so that Hizballah cannot use EU territories for fund raising, recruitment, and propaganda; and (2) impose sanctions on Hizballah for providing material support to Bashar al Assad's violent repression against the people of Syria. Supports Bulgaria's investigation into the July 18, 2012, terrorist attack in Burgas, and urges the President to provide related diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement support. Supports Bulgaria as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and urges the United States, NATO, and the EU to work with Bulgaria to safeguard its territory and citizens from terrorism. Urges the President to make available to European allies and the European public information about Hizballah's terrorist activities, efforts to subvert democracy in Lebanon, and material support for Bashar al Assad's campaign of violence in Syria.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2012
Express the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to American families and businesses and is not in the interest of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2012
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should retain its authority vested in the U.S. Constitution to borrow money on the credit of the United States and not provide the executive branch with exclusive power to issue debt on behalf of the federal government.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2012
Establishes in the House of Representatives a select Committee to investigate and report to the House on: any intelligence known to the United States relating to the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012; any requests for additional security, or actions taken by federal agencies to improve security at the consulate before the attack; a definitive timeline of it; how the relevant agencies and the executive branch responded to it and whether appropriate congressional notifications were made; any improper conduct by officials relating to the attack; recommendations on what steps Congress and the President should take to prevent future attacks; and any other relevant issues relating to the attack or the response to it.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2012
Military Ballot Integrity Act of 2012 - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to require states which do not transmit to an absent uniformed services voter a validly requested absentee ballot for a federal election by the deadline required to delay the certification of the election results by the number of days by which the state missed such deadline with respect to the voter, except in elections subject to a state undue hardship waiver. Allows any person aggrieved by a violation of the Act to bring a civil action in an appropriate district court for necessary declaratory or injunctive relief. (Under current law, only the Attorney General may bring such an action.) Allows for the award of reasonable attorney's fees for the prevailing party. Requires a report from the Attorney General in each year in which a general election for federal office is scheduled on the number of attorneys and other staff within the Department of Justice (DOJ) assigned to enforce the Act, as well as a plan to detect noncompliance by state and local election officials with requirements of the Act. Requires the presidential designee responsible for federal functions under the Act to establish and operate a centralized mail forwarding database through which balloting materials for a member of a reserve component called or ordered to active duty are forwarded to the member's correct mailing address after the member is released from active duty.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2012
Voter Fraud Prevention Act of 2012 - Amends the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to: (1) increase from 5 to 10 years the length of imprisonment for criminal activities involving intimidation or fraud in connection with voter registration and voting, and (2) prohibit an individual involved in such activities from voting in subsequent federal elections. Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to require the appropriate state election official, in transmitting balloting materials to absent uniformed services voters, to: (1) ensure that any tray or sack containing such materials is tagged with Tag 191 or some other similar tagging device to provide greater visibility to such containers, and (2) use IMb Tracing or other similar tracking methods to provide real-time tracking information for such materials. Directs the Postmaster General to report to Congress on the efforts undertaken to deter and prevent the loss and theft of balloting materials transmitted to or by absent uniformed services voters in elections for federal office.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2012
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the President should not sign the Arms Trade Treaty and, if he transmits the Treaty with his signature to the Senate, the Senate should not ratify it; and (2) until the Treaty has been signed by the President, received the advice and consent of the Senate, and has been the subject of implementing legislation by Congress, no federal funds should be appropriated or authorized to implement Treaty, or any similar agreement, or to conduct activities relevant to the Treaty or any similar agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 321 East California Street in Gainesville, Texas, as the "Brig. Gen. Robert E. Galer Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Space Leadership Preservation Act of 2012 - Establishes a Board of Directors for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Sets forth Board membership and appointment criteria. Directs the President to appoint the NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator from among a list of nominees provided by the Board. Requires the Board to provide: (1) NASA's proposed annual budget; (2) annual reports on spaceflight infrastructure, unique space capabilities, and the workforce necessary to maintain such infrastructure and capabilities; (3) reports on specific policy matters; and (4) quadrennial reviews of current space programs and a vision for future space exploration. Authorizes the Administrator to enter into contracts for rocket propulsion systems and manned and unmanned space transportation vehicles and payloads.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012
Stop RIN Fraud Act of 2012 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), by January 1, 2013, to establish and maintain a system under which: (1) the Administrator certifies, or authorizes accredited third parties to certify, upon generation, credits as valid and authentic for use by and transfer among persons required to comply with the renewable fuel program; and (2) each such certification is publicly disclosed. Requires the Administrator to treat any credit so certified as valid for compliance with such program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2012
STEM Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 55,000 visas available to qualified immigrants who: (1) have a doctorate degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a U.S. university; (2) agree to work for at least five years for the petitioning employer or in the United States in a STEM field upon being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; and (3) have taken all doctoral courses in a STEM field, including all correspondence courses, while physically present in the United States. Makes any such unused visas available to aliens who: (1) hold a master's degree in a STEM field from a U.S. university; (2) agree to work for a total of at least five years for the petitioning employer or in the United States in a STEM field upon being lawfully admitted for permanent residence; (3) have taken all master's degree courses in a STEM field, including all correspondence courses, while physically present in the United States; and (4) hold a baccalaureate degree in a STEM field or in the biological and biomedical sciences. Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) from approving an employer petition on behalf of either of the above class of aliens unless the Secretary receives a determination by the Secretary of Labor that there are not sufficient American workers available for the job. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, and (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days. Requires DHS to make available on its website specified information regarding foreign STEM employers, the number of aliens granted STEM status, and their occupations. Eliminates the diversity immigrant program. States that: (1) the permanent priority date for any employment-based petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed, unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date; and (2) an alien who is the beneficiary of an employment-based petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed employment-based petition. Revises student visa provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2012
Commends the 5 living and 80 original members of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders for their participation in the Tokyo, Japan, bombing raid of April 18, 1942. Recognizes the valor, skill, and courage of the Raiders that proved invaluable to the eventual defeat of Japan during the Second World War. Acknowledges that the actions of the Raiders helped to forge an enduring example of heroism in the face of uncertainty for the Army Air Corps of the Second World War, the future of the Air Force, and the United States as a whole.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
No More Solyndras Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy (DOE) from issuing any new loan guarantee of an innovative energy project under title XVII (Incentives for Innovative Technologies) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for any application submitted to DOE after December 31, 2011. Prohibits a loan guarantee for any application pending before that date unless the Secretary of the Treasury reviews the proposed guarantee and makes a written recommendation to the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) on the merits. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees within 60 days after making any loan guarantee on a pending application. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury regarding any restructuring of the terms and conditions of an innovative energy project loan guarantee, including any deviations from the financial terms of the guarantee. Prohibits the Secretary from subordinating the interests of the U.S. government to any other financing for the project. Declares that any federal official responsible for the issuance of an innovative energy project loan guarantee in a manner that violates the requirements of title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 or of this Act shall be subject to appropriate administrative discipline including, when circumstances warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Protecting Life in Funding Education Act or the PRO-LIFE Act - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the provision of federal education funding to state or local educational agencies that make health services available to students through school-based health centers, unless those centers certify that they will not provide students with abortions, abortion-related materials, referrals, or suggestions, or directions to abortion services.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing any rule imposing a standard of performance for carbon dioxide emissions from any existing or new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit unless and until three of four specified officials (the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, the Comptroller General, the Director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology) publish and submit to Congress a report finding that carbon capture and storage is technologically and economically feasible for such units.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2012
Declares that no presidential permit shall be required for the pipeline application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Corporation for the northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline from the Canadian border to the South Dakota/Nebraska border. Deems the final environmental impact statement issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Declares that this Act does not affect the ongoing work of the state of Nebraska with regard to the fully intrastate portion of the Keystone XL pipeline.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2012
Preserving Work Requirements for Welfare Programs Act of 2012 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from finalizing, implementing, enforcing, or otherwise taking any action to give effect to the Information Memorandum dated July 12, 2012 (Transmittal No. TANF-ACF-IM-2012-03), or to any administrative action relating to the same subject matter or that reflects the same or similar policies. Prohibits the Secretary also from authorizing, approving, modifying, or extending any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project under the Social Security Act (SSA) that: (1) waives compliance with mandatory work requirements of SSA title IV part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF), or (2) authorizes an expenditure not otherwise allowable under a state TANF program with respect to compliance with such work requirements. Rescinds and nullifies any waiver relating to the subject matter of the Information Memorandum granted before the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2012
Employee Verification Act - Amends the the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to require federal contractors and subcontractors to participate in the E-Verify Program. Exempts specified federal procurement contracts from E-Verify coverage. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure that E-Verify is applied to: (1) all persons hired during the term of the grant, loan, loan guarantee, or cooperative agreement by the recipient of the federal benefit to perform employment duties within the United States; and (2) all employees assigned by the recipient of the federal benefit to perform work within the United States under the project or activity funded by the grant, loan, loan guarantee, or cooperative agreement. Makes E-Verify permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2012
Repeal of Obamacare 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 · 8 June 2012
Rural Hospital Access Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend through FY2013: (1) the current methodology for payment to subsection (d) hospitals for inpatient hospital services furnished to individuals under the Medicare-dependent, small rural hospital (MDH) program, and (2) increased payments under the Medicare program for low-volume hospitals (with under 1,600 annual discharges). (Generally, a subsection [d] hospital is an acute hospital, particularly one that receives payments under Medicare's inpatient prospective payment system [IPPS] when providing covered inpatient services to eligible beneficiaries.) Directs the Comptroller General to study such programs.
![Official portrait of Rep. Olson, Pete [R-TX-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/o000168_200.jpg)