United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2008
American Energy Act - Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2008 - Amends the Submerged Lands Act (SLA) regarding delineation of offshore state boundaries with respect to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as well as related oil and gas mineral rights. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to: (1) allow the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to grant natural gas leases in the outer Continental Shelf (OCS); and (2) revise provisions concerning oil and gas leases and withdrawals of unleased land. Provides for federal agency coordination with adjacent states on the construction of pipelines for crude oil or petroleum products or natural gas produced from the OCS. Sets forth provisions concerning the application of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to OCS programs. Declares existing federal prohibitions against spending appropriated funds for leasing and preleasing OCS oil and natural gas to be without force or effect. Prohibits a federal agency from permitting certain activities on the federal OCS or in state waters that are incompatible with: (1) oil or natural gas leasing; and (2) full exploration and production of tracts that are geologically prospective for oil or natural gas. Directs the Secretary to establish OCS Regional Headquarters in designated locations. Repeals: (1) the coastal impact assistance program; and (2) the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act - Requires the Secretary to establish a competitive oil and gas leasing program that will result in an environmentally sound program for the exploration, development, and production of the Coastal Plain's oil and gas resources. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to terminate the prohibition against leasing or other development leading to production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Provides for the authorization of Special Areas to be managed so as to protect and preserve the area's unique and diverse character including its fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values in the Coastal Plain. Requires the Secretary to designate Sadlerochit Spring as a Special Area. Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue specified rights-of-ways and easements across the Coastal Plain for the transportation of oil and gas; and (2) convey specified estates to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation and the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. Establishes the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund and the American Renewable and Alternative Energy Trust Fund. Amends the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 to terminate the prohibition against using federal funds to prepare or publish final regulations regarding a commercial leasing program for oil shale resources on public lands or to conduct an oil shale lease sale pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth provisions concerning credits for fuel efficiency, alternative fuel vehicles, energy efficiency, nuclear energy, and renewable energy. Requires the Secretary of Energy to provide awards for activities concerning the: (1) research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of innovative energy technologies and new energy sources; (2) manufacture of midsized sedan automobiles that operate on gasoline and can travel 100 miles per gallon; and (3) manufacture of advanced batteries. Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide financial assistance to states or tribes to facilitate the hiring of personnel with expertise in federal refinery authorizations. Requires the President to: (1) appoint a federal coordinator to facilitate such authorizations; and (2) designate at least three closed military installations as potentially suitable for the construction of a refinery and at least one for producing biofuel. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal certain requirements regarding refinery revitalization. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal restrictions on federal agencies procuring alternative or synthetic fuel for mobility-related uses. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to auction to the public coal-to-liquid fuel put option contracts. Provides for standby loans for qualifying coal-to-liquid projects. Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to revise provisions concerning the recycling and disposal of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2008
Financial Disclosure Integrity Act - Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require the annual financial disclosure reports of certain federal officers and employees to include mortgages secured by real properties which are the personal residences of the reporting individuals or their spouses. Requires the reporting of any liability consisting of such a mortgage to include applicable interest rate payments during the preceding calendar year and the number of years (or portions) remaining on the mortgage. Requires in the financial report a brief description, the date, and category of value of any purchase, sale, or exchange of such a property during a preceding calendar year.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2008
Honors the life of the Reverend Billy Graham on the occasion of his 90th birthday. Recognizes his decades of public service and commitment to furthering the faith of Christians around the world.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2008
Honors Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, on the 150th anniversary of his birth for his invaluable contributions to the nation as a soldier, naturalist, statesman, and public servant.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2008
Drug Testing Integrity Act of 2008 - Makes it unlawful to knowingly manufacture, market, sell, ship, or otherwise provide to another individual any product with the intent to assist such individual to use such product to defraud a drug test. Defines "defraud a drug test" to mean to: (1) submit a substance that purports to be from an individual other than its actual source, or purports to have been excreted or collected other than when it was actually excreted or collected; or (2) engage in any other conduct with the intent to produce a false or misleading outcome of a test for the presence of a controlled substance. Grants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement powers as a violation of an unfair or deceptive act or practice.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2008
Honors the 358th Fighter Group for its outstanding service and bravery during World War II. Commends its successor, the 122nd Fighter Wing, for continuing its legacy of excellence in service.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2008
Schoolchildren's Health Protection Act - Amends the General Education Provisions Act to prohibit the provision of federal education funding to state or local educational agencies that provide unemancipated minors with postcoital emergency contraception or prescriptions for such contraception on the premises of elementary or secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2008
Adoption Improvement Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a pilot program of grants to child welfare agencies to effect long-range improvements in the adoption process by increasing prospective adoptive parent access to adoption information and strengthening agency responsiveness to prospective adoptive parents. Requires the Secretary also to: (1) research, through grant or contract, the successes and challenges of the programs established under the pilot program grants; and (2) include in the national annual review of child welfare agencies an examination of each state's progress regarding adoption information accessibility and agency responsiveness to prospective adoptive parents.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2008
Developing Resources Immediately and Long-Term through Leases on Our Nation's Offshore Waters Act of 2008, or DRILL NOW Act of 2008 - Declares without force or effect all existing federal law which prohibits spending appropriated funds to conduct oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing on the outer Continental Shelf. Revokes: (1) all withdrawals from leasing on federal submerged lands of the outer Continental Shelf (including withdrawals by the President); and (2) Presidential authorities with respect to such leasing (except in the interest of national security). Amends of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to authorize a state governor to petition the Secretary of the Interior to issue leases for oil and natural gas exploration and extraction activities in any area that is at least 50 miles beyond the state's coastal zone. Cites circumstances under which the Secretary shall approve or deny the petition. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit revenues from leasing operations into designated funds and accounts. Provides that any funds that would be received by the United States as royalties under any existing federal oil and gas lease on the outer Continental Shelf that lies within 50 miles of the coastal zone of the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama shall be paid to that state if it enacts an expenditure plan for those funds.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2008
Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 with respect to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) searchable database website. Requires the website to allow the public to search programmatically and access all data in a serialized machine readable format (such as XML) via a web-services application programming interface. Specifies additional information on federal awards the website must include by certain deadlines. Requires the website to present information about federal awards and their recipients in ways that meet the needs of users with different levels of understanding about government spending and abilities using searching websites. Sets forth requirements of the Director of OMB to add specified data quality enhancements to the website. Requires the Director to ensure that the unique identifier used to link information on the website is also used to link information about performance of individual contractors and recipients of financial assistance starting with awards given in FY2008. Requires the chief executive officer of an award recipient to certify whether the entity has: (1) filed all federal tax returns required during the preceding five years; (2) been convicted of a criminal offense under the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) an outstanding debt under the Code for which a notice of lien has been publicly filed that is not being paid in a timely manner, or for which a collection due process hearing or relief is requested or pending. Requires the Director to: (1) develop certification forms; (2) ensure that each agency providing federal awards complies with tax compliance requirements; and (3) ensure that the website contains such certified information.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2008
Federal Exploration and Production Reform Act of 2008 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to revise requirements for review and approval of outer Continental Shelf (OCS) plans for geological and geophysical exploration on any area under an oil and gas lease. Repeals the requirement that approval be denied if: (1) any proposed activity under the plan would result in serious harm or damage to life (including fish and other aquatic life), to property, to any mineral, to the national security or defense, or to the marine, coastal, or human environment; and (2) such proposed activity cannot be modified to avoid such harm or damage. Repeals the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to cancel the lease or permit if the plan is disapproved. Revises requirements for review and approval of OCS oil and gas development and production plans. Requires the Secretary to seek and accept the assistance of the Department of Defense in the review of any plan prepared for a lease containing military operating stipulations or other restrictions. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary require modification of a plan without adequate provision for safe operations on the lease area or for protection of the human, marine, or coastal environment. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to revise requirements for regulation of surface-disturbing activities, including preparation of exploration and development and production plans. Eliminates the requirement of an adequate bond, surety, or other financial arrangement before commencement of surface-disturbing activities on any lease to ensure reclamation of the lease tract, and restoration of any lands or surface waters adversely affected by lease operations after abandonment or cessation of oil and gas operations on the lease. Repeals the prohibition against issuance of a lease, or approval of its assignment, if reclamation requirements and other related standards have not been complied with.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2008
Expresses support for the designation of a National GEAR UP Day. (GEAR UP is the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program, created to facilitate the transition of low-income high school students into postsecondary education.)
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2008
Ryan Haight Online Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2008 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit the delivery, distribution, or dispensing of controlled substances over the Internet without a valid prescription. Exempts telemedicine practitioners. Defines "valid prescription" as a prescription that is issued for a legitimate purpose by a practitioner who has conducted at least one in-person medical evaluation of the patient. Adds definitions to the Controlled Substances Act relating to online pharmacies and the issuance of prescriptions over the Internet. Imposes registration and reporting requirements on online pharmacies. Requires an online pharmacy to: (1) display on its Internet homepage a statement that it complies with the requirements of this Act; (2) comply with state laws for the licensure of pharmacies in each state in which it operates or sells controlled substances; (3) post on its Internet homepage specified information, including the name, address, and telephone number of the pharmacy, the qualifications of its pharmacist-in-charge, and a certification of its registration under this Act; and (4) notify the Attorney General and applicable state boards of pharmacy at least 30 days prior to offering to sell, deliver, distribute, or dispense controlled substances over the Internet. Authorizes the Attorney General to issue a special registration under this Act for telemedicine practitioners. Increases criminal penalties involving controlled substances in Schedules III, IV, and V of the Controlled Substances Act. Authorizes states to apply for injunctions or obtain damages and other civil remedies against online pharmacies that are deemed a threat to state residents.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2008
Recognizes that respect for human rights is a fundamental value and that the bilateral relationship between the United States and Egypt should be a platform for promoting the rule of law and fundamental freedoms. Calls on the Egyptian government to: (1) respect human rights, minority rights, and freedoms of religion and expression; and (2) release Ayman Nour and all political activists. Welcomes Egypt's efforts to secure the border with Gaza and fight smuggling. Urges the President and the Secretary of State to put human rights and religious freedom developments in Egypt very high on the U.S. government's agenda during meetings with Egyptian officials.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2008
Eminent Domain Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income gain from the conversion of property by reason of eminent domain.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2008
Requires the Secretary of Energy to designate at least five brownfield sites (or portions of them) that are appropriate and available for siting a refinery for gasoline or other fuel. Designates the Department of Energy as the lead agency for coordinating applicable federal refinery authorizations and related environmental reviews with respect to a designated refinery. Gives the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions relating to federal refinery authorizations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until January 1, 2017, the election to expense certain refineries.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2008
Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 20 years for the intentional operation of, or for embarking in, any submersible or semi-submersible vessel that is without nationality (as defined by federal law) and that is navigating or has navigated into, through, or from waters beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of that country's territorial sea with an adjacent country.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2008
Expresses sympathy for the victims of the tornado in Little Sioux, Iowa, on June 11, 2008, and gratitude to those persons who responded to treat the wounded.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2008
Encourages the President to revoke the Executive memorandum banning energy production on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Urges the President to work with Congress to increase the production of American energy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2008
Veterans Travel Equity Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in determining the amount of allowance or reimbursement under the beneficiary travel program (a program authorizing a travel allowance or reimbursement for the transportation of veterans to obtain medical care), to use the mileage reimbursement rates for the use of privately owned vehicles by government employees traveling on official business. Prohibits the Secretary, effective 90 days after the enactment of this Act, from imposing any income or pension eligibility requirement, or requiring any service-connected disability rating, in order for a veteran to be eligible for such allowance or reimbursement.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2008
High School Sports Anti-Drug Act - Directs the Secretary of Education, acting through the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, to award competitive grants to states to develop and carry out statewide pilot programs that randomly test secondary school students for performance-enhancing drug use. Requires a parent's or guardian's written consent before a student may be tested. Directs grantees to: (1) provide recovery, counseling, and treatment programs for students who test positive for performance-enhancing drug use; and (2) spend at least 10% of grant funds on preventing such drug use.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Carbon Capture and Storage Early Deployment Act - Authorizes qualified industry organizations to conduct a referendum among the owners or operators of distribution utilities delivering fossil fuel-based electricity for the creation of a Carbon Storage Research Corporation. Requires the Corporation to be established as a division or affiliate of the Electric Power Research Institute upon approval of those persons representing two-thirds of the total quantity of fossil fuel-based electricity delivered to retail consumers. Requires the Corporation, annually, to collect an assessment on such distribution utilities that shall reflect the relative carbon dioxide emission rates of different fossil fuel-based electricity. Sets initial rates of assessment for coal, natural gas, and oil. Authorizes the Corporation to adjust the assessments to reflect changes in the expected quantities of such electricity from different fuel types such that the assessments generate between $1.0 billion and $1.1 billion annually. Authorizes the Corporation to collect assessments and conduct operations for 10 years. Dissolves the Corporation after 15 years. Provides for the Corporation to use funds derived from assessments to: (1) issue grants and contracts to private, academic, and governmental entities to accelerate the commercial demonstration or availability of carbon dioxide capture and storage technologies and methods; and (2) purchase carbon dioxide through reverse auctions or other acquisition methods when needed to conduct tests of carbon dioxide store sites in the case of established projects that are storing carbon dioxide emissions. Requires: (1) the Corporation to support large-scale demonstrations of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies capable of advancing the technologies to commercial readiness; and (2) the Corporation's Board to establish policies regarding the ownership of intellectual property developed as a result of Corporation support that encourage individual ingenuity and invention. Authorizes Corporation grants or contracts for programs or projects of the Department of Energy (DOE) or its affiliated national laboratories and other fossil energy research entities and of academic organizations or consortia to accelerate the commercial development and demonstration of CCS or carbon capture and conversion technologies. Provides for recovery of a distribution facility's costs of complying with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2008
Midwest Storm Victim Relief Act of 2008 - Directs the President, in providing financial assistance to individuals and households in connection with major disasters declared for storm damage and flooding in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin from May 26-June 15, 2008, to double the maximum assistance available under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend certain limitations on personal casualty losses attributable to major disasters declared for such storm damage and flooding. Excludes from gross income, for purposes of the Code, any amount received as compensation for a loss for which a deduction is allowed by reason of such a declaration if such compensation is received in a subsequent taxable year.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2008
Demands that the 2010 decennial census count every person living in the United States, any U.S. territory or possession, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and all federal civilian and military personnel serving abroad. Urges the Secretary of Commerce to use all reasonable means to achieve that goal.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2008
Green Jobs Improvement Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to make nonunion training programs eligible for federal funding under the energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program (Green Jobs program). Applies certain worker protections and nondiscrimination requirements to such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2008
Congratulates the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on its 35th anniversary, honors the heroic sacrifice of its employees, and gives heartfelt thanks to the men and women of the DEA for their past and continued efforts to defend the American people from illegal drugs and terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2008
$150 Barrel Energy Extortion Act of 2008 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe certain income tax regulations relating to an election to expense certain refineries. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to treat domestic use oil refinery facilities bonds as exempt facility bonds. Instructs the President to designate, and make available to the private sector, at least 10 federal sites for siting and construction of an oil refinery or natural gas refinery (or both). Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the terms and conditions under which the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) is authorized to guarantee obligations for innovative technologies. Revises requirements governing the Secretary's authority to enter into contracts with sponsors of an advanced nuclear facility. Directs the Secretary to carry out a Nuclear Power 2010 Program to position the nation to start construction of new nuclear power plants as close to 2010 as achievable. Establishes an Interagency Working Group to make recommendations to coordinate federal actions and programs to promote increasing domestic manufacturing capacity and export of domestic nuclear energy products and services. Amends the IRC to allow tax credits for: (1) investment in a qualifying nuclear power manufacturing project or equipment; and (2) nuclear power facility construction. Instruct the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations to implement a training program to meet the demand for a nuclear energy workforce. Instructs the Secretary to establish a National Nuclear Energy Council. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate temporary spent nuclear fuel storage agreements. Declares that no consideration of the public health and safety, common defense and security, or environmental impacts of the storage of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel generated in reactors licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is required in connection with development, construction, and operation of a civilian nuclear power reactor or any facility for the treatment or storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. Amends the IRC to: (1) apply the tax credit for producing fuel from nonconventional sources to gas produced onshore from formations more than 15,000 feet deep; and (2) allow a tax credit for carbon dioxide captured from industrial sources and used as a tertiary injectant in enhanced oil and natural gas recovery. Terminates all laws prohibiting expenditures for oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing activities for areas of the outer Continental Shelf. American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act - Provides for: (1) a competitive leasing program for the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas on the Alaskan Coastal Plain; (2) distribution of federal and state revenues from federal oil and gas leasing and operations; (3) rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation; and (4) financial assistance for local government impact aid and community service assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2008
America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 - Requires quarter dollars, issued beginning in 2010, to have designs on the reverse emblematic of one national site in each state, territory of the United States, and the District of Columbia. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to select in each state a national park or other national site to be honored with a coin. Requires five coin designs in each year of the period of issuance. Instructs the Secretary to strike and make available for sale silver bullion coins that are exact duplicates of such quarter dollars. Authorizes the Director of the National Park Service to purchase for resale or distribution numismatic items issued under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2008
Authorizes the President to authorize the design and construction of a petroleum refinery for each of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps that will be located on a military installation and reserved for the exclusive purpose of manufacturing petroleum products designated for consumption by units and elements of that branch of the Armed Forces. Directs the President to solicit proposals for the design and construction of a refinery under this Act. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal the reduced lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions requirement relating to federal agency procurement and acquisition of alternative fuels.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2008
Constitutional Amendment - Marriage Protection Amendment - Defines marriage in the United States as consisting only of the union of a man and a woman. Prohibits either the U.S. Constitution or the constitution of any state from being construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents of marriage be conferred upon any other union.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2008
Supports the goals and ideals of Vietnam Veterans Day. Calls on the American people to remember those men and women who sacrificed their lives defending the nation in Vietnam, recognize the prisoners of war and Armed Forces members who are missing in action, and honor all Vietnam veterans who served the nation faithfully to protect its freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2008
Declares that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability through economic, political, and diplomatic means is vital to U.S. national security. Urges the President to use his authority to impose sanctions on: (1) Iranian banks engaged in proliferation activities or the support of terrorist groups; (2) international banks which conduct financial transactions with proscribed Iranian banks; (3) energy companies with large investments in the Iranian petroleum or natural gas sector; and (4) all companies which do business with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Demands that the President initiate an international effort to increase economic, political, and diplomatic pressure on Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities. Urges the President to lead a regional diplomatic effort to support the legitimate governments in the region against Iranian destabilization efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2008
Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2008 - Amends the Submerged Lands Act (SLA) regarding delineation of lateral offshore state boundaries with respect to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), as well as related oil and gas mineral rights. Amends the OCSLA with respect to Adjacent Zones and Planning Areas in the outer Continental Shelf (OCS) subsoil and seabed. Revises procedures governing natural gas lease administration. Prohibits the President from: (1) revising or revoking a withdrawal that is extended by a state; or (2) withdrawing from leasing any area for which a state has failed to prohibit leasing. Requires the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to include, in each five-year OCS leasing program, lease sales that, when viewed as a whole, propose to offer to lease at least 75% of the available unleased acreage within each OCS Planning Area for oil and gas or natural gas. Prescribes conditions for a federal agency permit, without adjacent state concurrence, to construct a crude oil or petroleum products pipeline within the part of the adjacent state's Adjacent Zone that is withdrawn from oil and gas or natural gas leasing. Exempts lease suspensions and all preliminary activities on OCS tracks from the requirement to prepare environmental assessments or impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Establishes the Federal Energy Natural Resources Enhancement Program to manage wildlife and natural resources related to energy and minerals development on federal lands. Declares without force or effect existing federal prohibitions against spending appropriated funds for leasing and preleasing OCS oil and natural gas. Prohibits a federal agency from permitting certain activities on the federal OCS or in state waters that are incompatible with: (1) oil or natural gas leasing; and (2) full exploration and production of tracts geologically prospective for oil or natural gas. Requires the Secretary to repurchase and cancel certain federal oil and gas, geothermal, coal, oil shale, tar sands, or other mineral leases, whether onshore or offshore. Redesignates the Minerals Management Service as the National Ocean Resources and Royalty Service. Rigs to Reefs Act of 2008 - Amends the OCSLA to prescribe requirements for the use of decommissioned offshore oil and gas platforms for an artificial reef, scientific research, or any other use authorized for leases, easements, or rights-of-way for energy and related purposes. Redesignates the Mining and Mineral Resource Institutes Act of 1984 as the Energy and Mineral Schools Reinvestment Act. Directs the Secretary to provide funds to state-chartered petroleum or mining schools. Establishes the Office of Petroleum and Mining Schools. Directs the Secretary to appoint an advisory Committee on Petroleum, Mining, and Mineral Engineering and Energy and Mineral Resource Education. Authorizes grants to schools for career technical education. Establishes a Physical Science, Engineering, and Technology Scholarship Program. Directs the Secretary to establish OCS Regional Headquarters in designated locations. National Geo Fund Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary to establish a program for production of: (1) fuels from strategic unconventional resources; and (2) oil and gas resources using CO2 enhanced recovery. Directs the Secretary to establish grant programs for production of: (1) geothermal and geopressure oil and gas energy; (2) liquid fuels; and (3) renewable energy from ocean waves, currents, and thermal resources. Grants the lessee of an existing oil and gas lease located completely within 100 miles of the coastline within the California or Florida Adjacent Zones the option of exchanging such lease for a new oil and gas lease having a primary term of five years. Amends OCSLA to repeal the coastal impact assistance program. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal the requirement for payments for oil shale and tar sands leases. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to prescribe requirements for treatment of oil shale or tar sands lease revenues and royalty rates for commercial leases. Amends OCSLA to make OCS receipts available in certain circumstances for payments under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Repeals the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2008
American Energy Independence and Price Reduction Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement a competitive leasing program for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources on the Coastal Plain of Alaska. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to repeal the prohibition against leasing or other development leading to production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Deems any oil and gas leasing programs and activities authorized by this Act to be in compliance with ANWR purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to designate up to 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a Special Area, after consultation with the state of Alaska, the city of Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough. Permits directional drilling in the Special Area. Prescribes procedures governing Coastal Plain lease sales, as well as terms and conditions, including: (1) environmental protection; (2) federal and state distribution of revenues; (3) rights-of-way; and (4) local government impact aid and community service assistance. Sets forth: (1) a "no significant adverse effect" standard to govern Coastal Plain activities; and (2) guidelines for expedited judicial review of complaints. Establishes the ANWR Alternative Energy Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2008
Health Care Paperwork Reduction and Fraud Prevention Act of 2008 - Establishes the Commission on Billing Codes and Forms Simplification which shall make recommendations regarding: (1) standardizing and simplifying credentialing and billing forms for health care claims; (2) reducing and simplifying billing codes; (3) reforming the Medicare regulatory and appeals processes to ensure that the Secretary of Health and Human Services provides appropriate guidance to providers for submitting Medicare claims and does not target inadvertent billing errors; and (4) updating electronic forms of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to ensure simplicity and privacy. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a process under which a physician may request from a carrier written assistance in addressing questionable codes and procedures under the Medicare program. Requires the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to restore the toll-free telephone hotline so that physicians may call for information and questions about the Medicare program. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) physician participation and pilot program testing requirements and objectives for new evaluation and management guidelines under Medicare; and (2) notice, administrative, and penalty requirements with respect to Medicare overpayments.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2008
Save Medicare Act of 2008 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, to: (1) increase the Medicare physician payment update for 2009; and (2) extend the physician quality reporting system, the incentive payment program for physician scarcity areas, the floor on the work geographic adjustment to the physician fee schedule, and the accommodation for physicians ordered to active duty in the armed services. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the provisions of, and amendments made by, this Act should be deficit neutral over the five year period beginning on October 1, 2008; and (2) Congress should address the challenges facing the Medicare program in a fiscally responsible manner. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Medicare program should provide payments to physicians and other health professionals that serve as positive incentives for participation in voluntary initiatives to improve health care quality; and (2) financing for such initiatives should be non-punitive and exempt from the Medicare physician fee schedule budget neutrality requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2008
Patient Fairness and Indigent Care Promotion Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain medical care providers a tax deduction for uncompensated medical care provided to individuals with income below 135% of the poverty line.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2008
Encourages all states that have not already done so to swiftly enact laws requiring voters to present current, valid, government-issued photo identification based on proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in elections. Applauds those states that have already implemented vigorous photo identification laws to secure the integrity of the democratic process.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2008
End the Turkish Blockade of Armenia Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that the President and Secretary of State should call upon Turkey to comply with the long-standing U.S. position that Turkey should lift its ongoing blockade with Armenia. Directs the Secretary to report on U.S. plans and steps taken to end such blockade.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2008
Supports the goals and ideals of a National Guard Youth Challenge Day to improve the education, life skills, and employment potential of America's high school dropouts though public awareness, scholarships, higher education assistance, mentoring, and job development programs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2008
Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to provide for the protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are members deployed in support of a contingency operation. States that if a motion for change of custody of a child of such a member is filed while the member is so deployed, no court may enter an order modifying or amending a previous child custody judgment, except if there is clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interest of the child. Prohibits any court from considering a member's absence due to deployment, or possible deployment, in support of a contingency operation in determining the best interest of the child.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2008
Clean Global War on Terror Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes emergency supplemental FY2008 appropriations for specified activities related to the war on terror, international affairs, and national defense matters to the Departments of Agriculture (including food relief to certain foreign countries), of Justice, of Defense (military, including funds for Afghan and Iraqi security forces), of Defense (military construction), and of State (including international peacekeeping activities). Rescinds certain funds made available in: (1) the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 for the Defense Health Program; and (2) the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund. Makes additional supplemental appropriations for the war on terror, international affairs, and national defense matters to the Departments of Agriculture (including food relief to certain foreign countries), of Justice, of Defense (military, including funds for Afghan and Iraqi security forces), and of State and related agencies. Designates each amount in this Act as an emergency requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2008
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2008 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend through FY2012 the grant program for armor vests for law enforcement officers.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2008
Family-Friendly Workplace Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to authorize private employers to provide compensatory time off to private employees, at a rate of 1 1/2 hours per hour of employment for which overtime compensation is required. Authorizes an employer to provide compensatory time only if it is in accordance with an applicable collective bargaining agreement or, in the absence of such an agreement, an agreement between the employer and employee. Prohibits an employee from accruing more than 160 hours of compensatory time. Requires an employee's employer to provide monetary compensation, after the end of a calendar year, for any unused compensatory time off accrued during the preceding year. Requires an employer to give employees 30-day notice before discontinuing compensatory time off. Prohibits an employer from intimidating, threatening, or coercing an employee in order to: (1) interfere with the employee's right to request or not to request compensatory time off in lieu of payment of monetary overtime compensation; or (2) require an employee to use such compensatory time. Makes an employer who violates such requirements liable to the affected employee in the amount of the compensation rate for each hour of compensatory time accrued, plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages, reduced for each hour of compensatory time used.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2008
Freedom to Serve Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties for: (1) using force or the threat of force or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate or interfere with anyone providing federal or state military recruiting services or anyone seeking to inquire about or volunteer for military service in the active or reserve Armed Forces or the National Guard of any state; or (2) intentionally damaging or destroying facilities that house or host military recruiting services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2008
Gas Tax Relief and Earmark Moratorium Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, and kerosene between May 26, 2008, and September 1, 2008. Reimburses the Highway Trust Fund for any reduction in revenues resulting from such suspension. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer amounts from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund if the Secretary determines that the amount in such Fund is insufficient to meet anticipated payments for FY2009. Establishes a Joint Select Committee on Earmark Reform to study and report on the practices of Congress and the executive branch regarding earmarks in appropriations, tax, and tariff measures. Declares it not in order in the 110th Congress to consider legislation containing a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit. Requires a reduction in the allocation of new budget authority and outlays for FY2009.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2008
Main Street U.S.A. Energy Security Act of 2008 - Refinery Permit Process Schedule Act - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), upon request of a state governor, to provide financial assistance to hire additional personnel with expertise in federal refinery authorizations. Directs the President to: (1) appoint a federal coordinator to implement a federal refinery authorization; and (2) designate certain closed military installations as potentially suitable refinery construction sites. Sets forth an oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain of Alaska. Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act of 2008 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) to revise the outer Continental Shelf leasing program. Federal Energy Natural Resources Enhancement Act of 2008 - Authorizes appropriations for a natural resources enhancement program for management of fish, wildlife, and natural resources. Rigs to Reefs Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Secretary to use decommissioned offshore oil and gas platforms for artificial reef and scientific research. Redesignates as the Energy and Mineral Schools Reinvestment Act specified law governing mining and petroleum schools. Revises requirements for the funding of certain state-chartered petroleum or mining schools. National Geo Fund Act of 2008 - Instructs the Secretary to establish: (1) a fuel production program using strategic unconventional resources and CO2 enhanced recovery; and (3) a grant program to produce geothermal and geopressure oil and gas. Grants the lessee of an existing oil and gas lease located completely within 100 miles of the coastline of California or Florida Adjacent Zones the option, without compensation, of exchanging such lease for a new oil and gas lease having a primary term of five years. Amends OCSLA to: (1) repeal the coastal impact assistance program; and (2) provide conditional funds for the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to: (1) revise incentives for innovative technologies; (2) authorize construction of nuclear power plants by 2010 (Nuclear Power 2010 Program); and (3) instruct the Secretary of Labor to promulgate implementing regulations for a nuclear energy workforce program. Creates an interagency working group to recommend coordinated federal promotion of increased domestic nuclear manufacturing capacity and export of domestic nuclear energy products and services. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a qualifying nuclear power manufacturing tax credit. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Energy to establish a National Nuclear Energy Council; and (2) the President to establish a High Level Waste Authority with jurisdiction over nuclear waste contracts. Sets forth a program to develop coal-to-liquid manufacturing on federal land. Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend and modify tax credits for: (1) renewable energy; (2) electricity produced from marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy; (3) electricity produced from the production of substitute natural gas from refined coal or petcoke; (4) new clean renewable energy bonds; (5) residential energy efficient property; (6) plug-in hybrid vehicles; (7) production of cellulosic ethanol; and (8) alternative fuels and vehicles. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) implement a research and development program for blending transportation fuels derived from coal-to-liquids with transportation fuels derived from renewable sources; and (2) maintain four Bioenergy Research Centers.
![Official portrait of Rep. Souder, Mark E. [R-IN-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001143_200.jpg)