United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
No Budget, No Pay Act - Prohibits the payment of any pay to any Member of Congress (excluding the Vice President): (1) if both houses of Congress have not approved a concurrent resolution on the budget for a fiscal year before October 1 of that fiscal year and have not passed all the regular appropriations bills for the next fiscal year by such date, or (2) until both houses of Congress approve such a budget resolution and pass all such appropriations bills. Prohibits any retroactive pay for such a period.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2013
Constitutional Congressional Pay Accountability Act of 2013 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, if all of the regular appropriation bills for a fiscal year do not become law before the beginning of that fiscal year, to: (1) deposit all payments otherwise required to be made for the compensation of Members of Congress in an escrow account, and (2) release them to the Members only upon the enactment of all such bills. Requires a 25% reduction in a Member's annual rate of pay for pay periods occurring during any Congress if all of the regular appropriation bills for the fiscal year in which that Congress begins do not become law before the first day of such Congress.
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
Children's Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend and reauthorize appropriations for payments to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2013
Energy Freedom and Economic Prosperity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the excise tax credits for alcohol fuel, biodiesel, and alternative fuel mixtures; (2) the tax credits for the purchase of alternative motor vehicles and new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles; (3) the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property tax credit; (4) the income tax credits for alcohol, biodiesel, and renewable diesel used as fuel; (5) the enhanced oil recovery tax credit and the tax credit for producing oil and gas from marginal wells; (6) the tax credits for producing electricity from renewable resources and from advanced nuclear power facilities; (7) the tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration; (8) the energy tax credit; and (9) the tax credits for investment in qualifying advanced coal projects and qualifying gasification projects. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe a flat income tax rate for corporations, in lieu of the existing marginal tax rates, based upon the overall revenue savings from the repeal of energy tax expenditures by this Act.
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
Stop the Coin Act - Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from minting or issuing any coins, including proof platinum coins, having a nominal, or face, value exceeding $200.
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 · 4 January 2013
Directs the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to provide transportation on scheduled and unscheduled military flights within the United States and on scheduled overseas flights on a space-available basis for veterans with a service-connected, permanent disability rated as total.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2013
Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone Act or Pool SAFE Act - Prohibits any suit brought for an alleged violation 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 January 31, 2013, 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 January 31, 2013, 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 · 4 January 2013
End Pensions in Congress Act or EPIC Act - Amends the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) to exclude Members of Congress, except the Vice President, from further CSRS and FERS retirement coverage. Prohibits further government contributions or deductions from such Member's basic pay for deposit in the Treasury to the credit of the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund. States that nothing in this Act shall: (1) be considered to nullify, modify, or otherwise affect any right, entitlement, or benefit under CSRS or FERS for any Member covering any period before the enactment of this Act; or (2) affect the eligibility of a Member to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) in accordance with otherwise applicable law. Allows Members covered by such exclusion, within 90 days after enactment of this Act, to elect to remain subject to CSRS or FERS, as the case may be.
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
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
Federal Employee Accountability Act of 2013 - Repeals provisions: (1) authorizing a federal employee representing an exclusive representative in the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement official time for such purpose during the time such employee otherwise would be in a duty status; and (2) requiring the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether any employee participating for, or on behalf of, a labor organization in any phase of proceedings before it shall be authorized official time for that purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2013
Seniors' Tax Simplification Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make available a new federal income tax Form 1040SR (similar to Form 1040EZ) to individuals who have turned 65 as of the close of the taxable year. Allows the form to be used even if income includes: (1) social security benefits; (2) distributions from qualified retirement plans, annuities, or other such deferred payment arrangements; (3) interest and dividends; or (4) capital gains and losses.
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 · 5 December 2012
Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to carry out a pilot program to study the benefits of using hair specimens to conduct preemployment controlled substances tests of commercial motor vehicle operators. Directs the Secretary to develop guidelines, protocols, and standards for such tests.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Commemorative Coins Reform Act of 2012 - Prohibits surcharges generated by the sale of any numismatic item or commemorative coin program from being paid to a non-federal organization, except with respect to sales and production costs. Requires that surcharges be used to recover all numismatic operation and program costs allocable to the program under which a numismatic item is produced and sold. Requires the transfer of any excess surcharges to the general fund of the Treasury for deficit reduction purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Internet Radio Fairness Act of 2012 - Amends federal copyright law to direct the President, with advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the three Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJs) who serve on the Copyright Royalty Board. (Currently, the Librarian of Congress appoints CRJs after consultation with the Register of Copyrights.) Increases the years of legal experience and other qualifications necessary to serve as a CRJ. Amends the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with respect to the standards applied by CRJs to establish compulsory licensing royalty rates for the public performance of sound recordings by noninteractive digital audio services. Replaces the standard that CRJs apply to establish rates for eligible nonsubscription transmissions (including Internet radio, commonly referred to as webcasting) and new subscription services with the standard currently used to establish rates for subscription services (digital cable radio) and satellite digital audio radio services (satellite radio) existing on or before July 31, 1998. (Replaces a standard based on the rates and terms that would have been negotiated in the marketplace between a willing buyer and seller with a standard that requires CRJs to consider a broader set of objectives.) Authorizes a minimum annual administrative fee of up to $500 to be included in such rates. Sets forth a similar rate-setting methodology for compulsory licenses of ephemeral recordings (reproductions of sound recordings used by licensees to facilitate transmission) with authorization for a minimum annual fee (currently, a requirement for a fee of unspecified duration). Places the burden of proof on sound recording copyright owners to establish that the fees and terms they are seeking satisfy the requirements amended by this Act and do not exceed the fees to which most copyright owners and users would agree under competitive market circumstances. Defines "competitive market circumstances" as circumstances in which a licensee enters into a license for the noninteractive performance of sound recordings with a licensor that does not possess market power resulting from the aggregation of copyrights, either by a licensing collective or individual copyright owners. Directs CRJs to consider: (1) the public's interest in both the creation of new sound recordings of musical works and in fostering online and other digital performances of sound recordings; (2) the income necessary to provide a reasonable return on all relevant investments, including investments in prior periods for which returns have not been earned; (3) the value of any promotional benefit or other non-monetary benefit conferred on the copyright owner by the performance; and (4) the contributions made by the digital audio transmission service to the content and value of its programming. Requires CRJs to establish license fee structures that foster competition among the licensors of sound recording performances and between sound recording performances and other programming. Prohibits CRJs from: (1) disfavoring percentage of revenue-based fees, and (2) taking into account the rates and terms in licenses for interactive services or the determinations rendered by CRJs prior to the enactment of the this Act. Permits certain transmitting organizations entitled to transmit a performance to the public to make more than one (currently, no more than one) copy or phonorecord embodying a performance or display of a work for its own transmissions, archival preservation, or security. (Removes a requirement that such a copy or phonorecord be destroyed within six months from the first transmission to the public unless preserved exclusively for archival purposes.) Sets forth limitations on the antitrust exemptions for sound recording copyright owners acting jointly or through common agents or collectives. Specifies activities to be deemed a restraint of trade in violation of the Sherman Act. Requires common agents or collectives representing copyright owners of sound recordings, in order to obtain authority to negotiate certain statutory licenses for digital sound recordings, to make available via the Internet the list of sound recording copyright owners represented and sound recordings licensed by the organization. Revises evidentiary, procedural, and judicial review standards applicable to CRJs' proceedings and determinations. Requires, in proceedings to determine the terms and rates of royalty payments for digital performances of sound recordings, that participants in the voluntary negotiation period disclose: (1) previous license agreements entered into by the participant, its members, or participant-represented licensors or licensees during a specified preceding five-year period; or (2) other documents relied upon in their ratemaking proposals. Directs the Librarian of Congress to submit recommendations to Congress on how the federal government can facilitate, and possibly establish, a global music registry that is sustainably financed and consistent with World Intellectual Property Organization obligations. Sets forth transitional rules for proceedings pending and CRJs in office during the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012
Keep the Forest in the Family Estate Tax Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide an exemption from the additional estate tax for the disposition or severance of standing timber on a qualified woodland for timber that is harvested consistent with a written forest management plan or under professional guidance, and (2) increase from $750,000 to $5 million the limitation on the reduction in the fair market value of real property used for farming or in another trade or business for estate tax purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012
Member Pay Reduction and Responsibility Act of 2012 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require that, if any sequestration under it takes effect for FY2013, the presidential order implementing the sequestration reduce the pay of the President, the Vice President, and Members of Congress by a percentage equal to the greater of 8.2% or the percentage by which accounts within the non-exempt, non-security category are reduced under the order.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2012
Remove Unnecessary Roadblocks to Local Transportation Safety Projects Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue categorical exclusions (that do not involve significant environmental impact) from the environmental assessment or environmental impact statement requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for highway safety improvement projects.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2012
Condemns the attack at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, on August 5, 2012. Offers condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who were killed and expresses hope for the full recovery of those injured. Honors the service of the emergency response teams and law enforcement officials who responded to the attack. Expresses hope that U.S. citizens will be united in a shared desire for peace and justice while standing with the Sikh community to grieve the loss of life.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Asian Carp Prevention Act of 2012 - Requires the Secretary of the Army to coordinate and lead federal actions with respect to preventing the spread of Asian carp in the Great Lakes and its tributaries. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out projects to prevent the spread of Asian carp in the Great Lakes and its tributaries, including: (1) installing electric, acoustic, air bubble, and other barriers; (2) applying pesticides; (3) improving locks; and (4) taking actions at the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, Illinois, to prevent the spread of Asian carp. Requires the Secretary to implement measures recommended in the dispersal barrier efficacy study, or provided in interim reports, authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 to prevent aquatic nuisance species from bypassing the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal Dispersal Barrier Project and dispersing into the Great Lakes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
States that it is the policy of the United States: (1) to protect the role of Congress as a coequal branch of government and ensure protection of its constitutional authority to declare war and support the Armed Forces; (2) to prevent the need for U.S. and international military intervention abroad through the utilization of diplomacy to resolve issues of concern to the United States and the international community; and (3) that no federal funds may be used to carry out any North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military operation or to deploy a unit of individual of the U.S. Armed Forces or an element of the intelligence community (IC) in support of a NATO military operation unless the President determines that such operation is warranted and seeks express prior authorization by Congress, as required under the Constitution. Provides an exception in the case of a military operation to directly thwart or repel an offensive military action launched against the United States or an ally with whom the United States has a mutual defense assistance agreement. Prohibits any unit or individual of the U.S. Armed Forces or IC element from being deployed in support of a NATO military operation absent express prior statutory authorization from Congress, unless under the exception described above.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012
Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), through the Forest Service, to use funds derived from conservation-related programs executed on National Forest System lands to utilize the Agriculture Conservation Experienced Services Program to provide technical services for conservation-related programs and authorities carried out by the Secretary on such lands.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2012
Preserving American Privacy Act of 2012 - Prohibits a federal agency from authorizing the domestic use of an unmanned aircraft for law enforcement purposes or for surveillance of a U.S. national or real property owned by that national, including by any state or local government, except pursuant to warrant and in the investigation of a felony. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a federal agency other than a federal law enforcement agency from using in the United States, or authorizing any federal officer or employee to use in the United States, an unmanned aircraft for such purposes, with the same exceptions. Prohibits the use of any information obtained in violation of such prohibition in a criminal proceeding before a federal court. Subjects the domestic use of an unmanned aircraft to the same limitations and exceptions as apply in the case of any other search. Prohibits evidence obtained by an agency using an unmanned aircraft from being introduced in an administrative hearing. Prohibits a federal agency from authorizing the domestic use of an unmanned aircraft to permit any private person to conduct surveillance on any other private person without the consent of that other person or the owner of any real property on which that other person is present.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Common Sense Nutrition Disclosure Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise the nutritional information that restaurants and retail food establishments must disclose. Requires the nutrient content disclosure statement on the menu or menu board to include: (1) the number of calories contained in the whole product; (2) the number of servings and number of calories per serving; or (3) the number of calories per the common unit division of the product, such as for a multi-serving item that is typically divided before presentation to the consumer. Permits such information to be provided by a remote-access menu, such as through the internet, for food establishments where the majority of orders are placed by customers who are off-premises at the time the order is placed. Defines “reasonable basis” for a restaurant or similar food establishment’s nutrient content disclosures to mean that the nutrient disclosure is within acceptable allowances for variation in nutrient content, which shall include allowances for variations in serving size, inadvertent human error in formulation of menu items, and variations in ingredients. Sets forth the methods a restaurant or similar food establishment may use to determine nutritional content for disclosure, including ranges, averages, individual labeling of flavors or components, or labeling of one preset standard build. Defines "preset standard build" as the finished version of a menu item most commonly ordered by consumers. Applies the nutritional disclosure requirements to retail food establishments that derive more than 50% of their total revenue from the sale of food.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2012
Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise sanctions for laboratories that intentionally refer proficiency testing samples required for certification to another laboratory for analysis by: (1) giving the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) discretion to substitute intermediate sanctions for such violations instead of the two-year prohibition against ownership or operation which would otherwise apply, and (2) making the one-year certificate revocation for such a laboratory optional rather than mandatory.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2012
Religious Freedom Tax Repeal Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt an employer opposed by reason of adherence to a religious belief or moral conviction from the tax penalty imposed for failure of a group health plan to cover required women's preventive care and screenings. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit the Secretary of Labor from bringing an action against a plan to enforce any requirement to provide such coverage to which an employer is opposed by reason of adherence to a religious belief or moral conviction. Exempts group health plans from penalties under state and federal enforcement provisions of the Public Health Service Act for failure to meet such women's health requirements insofar as they concern coverage to which an employer is opposed on the basis of religious belief or moral conviction.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2012
Collectible Coin Protection Act - Amends the Hobby Protection Act to make it a violation of such Act for a person to provide substantial assistance or support to any manufacturer, importer, or seller if that person knows or consciously avoids knowing that such manufacturer, importer, or seller has engaged in any act or practice that violates requirements for plainly identifying imitation political items or imitation coins and other numismatic items. Provides that if such a violation also involves the unauthorized use of registered trademarks belonging to a collectibles certification service, the owner of such trademarks shall also have all rights provided under appropriate provisions of the Trademark Act of 1946.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2012
Protecting In-Home Care from Government Intrusion Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing or enforcing proposed Department of Labor rule "Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service" (relating to companion care for the elderly and individuals with disabilities) issued pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and published on December 27, 2011, or any substantially similar rule.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2012
Prohibiting Back-door Amnesty Act - Disapproves and nullifies: (1) the June 17, 2011, memorandum from the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding the exercise of prosecutorial discretion consistent with ICE's civil immigration enforcement priorities for the apprehension, detention, and removal of aliens; (2) the June 15, 2012, memorandum from the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the exercise of prosecutorial discretion with respect to individuals who came to the United States as children; and (3) the draft directive developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) containing guidance on when to pursue enforcement actions and factors CBP personnel should consider when exercising discretion. Prohibits the President, the Secretary, or any DHS personnel from promulgating, implementing, administering, or enforcing any executive order, proposed or final rule, other provision of law, guidance, or policy that is the same as, or similar in effect to, any of such documents.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2012
Redefines "Member of Congress" under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) with respect to the exclusion from the meaning of "Member" as any Member of the House of Representatives, including a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to Congress, who opts out of FERS, but only if he or she served as a Member before the enactment of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2004. Repeals the requirement of service before enactment of such Act. (Thus, allows Members to opt out of FERS benefits regardless of when they have been elected.)
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.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal provisions providing for the use of funds from the Presidential Election Campaign Fund for presidential nominating conventions. Requires that any amount which is returned by the national committee of a major or minor party to the Treasury from an account established under the Fund to make payments for conventions to be used solely for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2012
Sequestration Transparency Act of 2012 - Requires the President on July 9, 2012, to submit to Congress a detailed report on the implementation of certain discretionary reductions (in security and nonsecurity categories) and nonexempt direct spending reductions in the sequestration ordered by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) for FY2013 on January 2, 2013. (The Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act was amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011 to revise the discretionary spending limits and reduce the discretionary appropriations and direct spending specified in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act unless a joint committee bill achieving an amount greater than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction would be enacted by January 15, 2012.)
United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2012
Forest Products Fairness Act of 2012 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to include in the definition of "biobased product" forest products that meet biobased content requirements, notwithstanding the market share the product holds, the product's age, or whether the market for the product is new or emerging. Defines "forest product" as a product made from materials derived from the practice of forestry or the management of growing timber, including: (1) pulp, paper, paperboard, pellets, and wood products; and (2) any recycled products derived from forest materials.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2012
Prohibits the Secretary of the Army and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from: (1) finalizing, adopting, implementing, administering, or enforcing the proposed guidance described in the notice of availability and request for comments entitled "EPA and Army Corps of Engineers Guidance Regarding Identification of Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act"; or (2) using such guidance, or any substantially similar guidance, as the basis for any decision regarding the scope of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) or any rulemaking. Provides that the use of such guidance as the basis for any rule shall be grounds for vacating such rule.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Midnight Rule Relief Act of 2012 - Prohibits a federal agency (excluding the Federal Election Commission [FEC], the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [FDIC], and the U.S. Postal Service [USPS]) from proposing or finalizing any midnight rule that would likely result in: (1) an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more; (2) a major increase in costs or prices; or (3) significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete internationally. Defines "midnight rule" as an agency statement of general applicability and future effect that is issued during the moratorium period, that is intended to have the force and effect of law, and that is designed to: (1) implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy; or (2) describe the procedure or practice requirements of an agency. Defines the "moratorium period" as the day after the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in every fourth year succeeding a presidential election through January 20 of the following year in which a President is not serving a consecutive term. Exempts any midnight rule that the President determines is necessary: (1) because of an imminent threat to health or safety or other emergency, (2) to enforce criminal laws, (3) to protect U.S. national security, or (4) to implement an international trade agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 24 April 2012
Supports Israel's lawful exercise of self-defense up to and including action to stop Iranian aggression, including a strike against Iran's illegal nuclear program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Right to Habeas Corpus Act - States that nothing in the Authorization for Use of Military Force or the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 shall be construed to deny the availability of the writ of habeas corpus in a court ordained or established by or under Article III of the Constitution for any person detained in the United States pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Rewarding Achievement and Incentivizing Successful Employees Act or RAISE Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to declare that neither its prohibition against interference by an employer with employees' right to bargain collectively, nor the terms of a collective bargaining agreement entered into between employees and an employer after enactment of this Act, shall prohibit an employer from paying an employee higher wages, pay, or other compensation than the agreement provides for.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2012
Expresses the sense of Congress that the tax exemption of fraternal benefit societies continues to generate significant returns to society and the work of fraternals should continue to be promoted.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Ribble, Reid J. [R-WI-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000587_200.jpg)