United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2012
Streamlined and Improved Methods at Polling Locations and Early Voting Act or SIMPLE Voting Act - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require each state to allow individuals to vote in a federal election on each day during the 15-day period ending two days before the election date in the same manner as voting is allowed on election day. Requires a state to ensure that each polling place which allows early voting in a federal election is located within reasonable walking distance of a stop on a public transportation route. Requires the Election Assistance Commission to issue standards for the administration of early voting in a federal election. Requires each state to provide a sufficient number of voting systems, poll workers, and other election resources (including physical resources) at a polling place used in a federal election to ensure: (1) a fair and equitable waiting time for all voters in the state, and (2) that no individual will be required to wait longer than one hour to cast a ballot at the polling place. Requires each state to develop, and implement to the greatest extent practicable, a contingency plan under which it shall provide any polling place on a federal election day whose waiting times exceed one hour with additional poll workers, machines, ballots, and other equipment and supplies, including a polling place at which individuals may cast ballots before the election date.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 225 Simi Village Drive in Simi Valley, California, as the "Postal Inspector Terry Asbury Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Stewart Lee Udall Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of Stewart Lee Udall, in recognition of his contributions to the nation.
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 · 21 September 2012
Computers in Our Communities Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013 the tax deduction allowed to corporate taxpayers for charitable contributions of computer inventory for educational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Audit the Pentagon Act of 2012 - Requires, on March 2 of FY2013 and each subsequent fiscal year, a 5% reduction in the discretionary budget authority of a federal agency that is identified by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as required to have an audited financial statement: (1) that has not submitted a financial statement for the previous fiscal year, or (2) whose statement has not received either an unqualified or a qualified audit opinion by an independent external auditor. Excludes from such reduction accounts for military, reserve and National Guard personnel and the Defense Health Program account of the Department of Defense (DOD). Authorizes the President to waive a reduction in discretionary budget authority if such reduction would harm national security or members of the Armed Forces who are in combat. Requires a report to Congress listing required DOD reports that would no longer be necessary if the financial statements of DOD were audited with an unqualified opinion or that interfere with DOD's capacity to achieve an audit of its financial statements with an unqualified opinion. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) congressional defense committees and DOD should not endanger the nation's troops by reducing wounded warrior accounts or vital protection for members of the Armed Forces in harm's way, (2) the valuation of legacy assets by DOD should be simplified without compromising essential controls or generally accepted government auditing standards, and (3) this Act should not be construed to require or permit the declassification of accounting details about classified defense programs and DOD should ensure financial accountability in such programs. .
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2012
Recognizes National Emancipation Day, marking the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the end of slavery in areas of rebellion, and the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation in the struggle for the equal rights and freedoms afforded to all U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012
Medicare Secondary Payer and Late Enrollment Penalty Family Fairness Act of 2012 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to apply the eligibility requirements of Medicare special enrollment periods, secondary payer rules, and late enrollment penalties in a way to take into consideration the current employment status of all family members of an employee (currently, only the employment status of the employee or of the employee's spouse).
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012
Attracting the Best and Brightest Act of 2012 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 50,000 visas available to qualified immigrants who: (1) possess a graduate degree at the level of master's or higher in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a qualifying U.S. research institution of higher education; (2) have an employment offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to such degree; (3) are the subject of an approved labor certification; and (4) will receive a wage for such employment that is at least the actual wage paid by the employer to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications. Makes unused STEM visas available for other employment-based visa categories. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days, and (3) employers to demonstrate that the total amount of compensation to be paid to a foreign STEM graduate meets or exceeds the total amount of compensation paid by the employer to all other employees with similar experience and qualifications working in the same occupational classification. Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make available on its website specified information regarding foreign STEM employers, the number of aliens granted STEM status, and their occupations. Repeals such STEM and related provisions two years after enactment of this Act. Eliminates the foreign residency requirement for certain foreign students. States that a determination of whether an alien is a child for purposes of: (1) a petition for immigrant status or a petition for adjustment of refugee status to immigrant status shall be made using the alien's age on the date on which the petition is filed with DHS, and (2) a petition for nonimmigrant admission or an application for adjustment of status from nonimmigrant to conditional (fiance) immigrant shall be made using the alien's age on the date on which the petition is filed with DHS to classify such alien's parent as the fiance of a U.S. citizen. States that the permanent priority date for any family- or employment-based petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed with DHS (or the Secretary of State, if applicable), unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date. States that an alien who is the beneficiary of a family- or employment-based petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed family- or employment-based petition.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012
Inclusive Prosperity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a tax on the transfer of ownership in certain securities, including any share of stock in a corporation, any partnership or beneficial interest in a partnership or trust, any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness (excluding tax-exempt municipal bonds), or derivative financial instruments; and (2) allow an individual taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income does not exceed $50,000 a tax credit for the amount of tax paid on financial transactions under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012
Condemns: (1) the commission of hate crimes against all Americans, including Sikh-Americans; and (2) acts of violence, bigotry, and discrimination against Sikh-Americans. Urges: (1) educators, counselors, and others to support educational efforts to prevent the epidemic bullying of Sikh-American children and families; and (2) the Department of Justice (DOJ) to begin documenting and quantifying hate crimes and other acts of violence perpetrated against Sikh-Americans. Expresses support for: (1) outreach efforts by federal and local law enforcement leaders to prevent violence and hate crimes against Sikh-Americans; and (2) the right of the Sikh-American community to live in peace and free from discrimination, hate crimes, bullying, and all forms of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012
Restoring the Doctors of Our Country through Scholarships Act of 2012 or the RDOCS Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants under which states provide RDOCS scholarships, paying all costs of a student's undergraduate medical education, to provide for the increased availability of primary health care services in health professional shortage areas. Requires the scholarship recipient to agree to residency training in a primary care specialty and a five-year post-graduate period of service in a health professional shortage area. Requires that preference be given in award of scholarships to applicants enrolled in: (1) an accelerated track family-medicine program (an integrated course of study allowing completion of undergraduate medical education and graduate medical education in six years), or (2) a program that includes clinical training in rural or underserved urban communities. Sets a minimum rate at which federal funding must be matched.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012
Amends the Horse Protection Act (HPA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to prescribe regulatory requirements for the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to license, train, assign, and oversee persons who are to be hired by the management of horse shows, exhibitions, sales, or auctions and are qualified to detect and diagnose sore horses or otherwise inspect horses at such events. (The soring of horses refers to the application of blistering agents, burns, lacerations, sharp objects, or other substances or devices to a horse's limb to produce a higher gait by making it painful for the horse to step down.) Replaces the current horse inspector appointment process under which the management of a horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction appoints inspectors with a new process requiring the Secretary to assign USDA-licensed inspectors after receiving notice that management intends to hire such inspectors. Specifies that the term "management" includes sponsoring organizations and event managers. Directs the Secretary to disqualify a horse the Secretary determines is sore for specified minimum time periods that increase after the first, second, and third instance. Prohibits a person from causing or directing a horse to become sore for the purpose of any horse show, exhibition, sale, or auction or allowing any such activity respecting a horse which is sore by the owner of such horse. Expands a list of activities designated as unlawful conduct under such Act to include a prohibition on showing, exhibiting, selling, or auctioning a Tennessee Walking, a Racking, or a Spotted Saddle horse with: (1) an action device; or (2) a weighted shoe, pad, wedge, hoof band, or other device or material if it is constructed to artificially alter the gait of such horses and is not strictly protective or therapeutic. Defines "action device" as any boot, collar, chain, roller, or other device that encircles or is placed upon the lower extremity of the leg of a horse in such a manner that it can: (1) rotate around the leg or slide up and down the leg, so as to cause friction; or (2) strike the hoof, coronet band, fetlock joint, or pastern of the horse. Increases the maximum criminal penalties and maximum civil liability penalties to the United States for certain HPA violations. Expands the categories of activities the Secretary may disqualify a violator of such Act from participating in to include: (1) transporting or arranging for the transportation of a horse to or from a show, exhibition, sale, or auction; (2) personally giving instructions to an exhibitor; (3) being knowingly present in a warm-up area, inspection area, or other area that spectators are not permitted; or (4) financing the participation of other individuals. Permits the Secretary to permanently disqualify a person with at least three violations after notice and an opportunity for a hearing.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Servicemembers Rights Enforcement Improvement Act of 2012 - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (the Act) concerning the protection of servicemembers against default judgments to require a plaintiff, before filing an affidavit, to conduct a diligent and reasonable investigation to determine whether or not the defendant is in military service, including a search of available records of the Department of Defense (DOD) and any other available information. Doubles the penalties for first and subsequent violations of the Act. Allows a veteran on whose behalf a complaint of a violation of employment or reemployment rights is made by the Attorney General (AG) to intervene in such action, and to obtain appropriate relief. Requires the AG, within 60 days after receiving a referral of an unsuccessful attempt to resolve a complaint relating to a state or private employer, to notify the person on whose behalf the complaint is submitted of either the decision to commence such an action or of when such decision is expected to be made. Requires, in the latter case, such decision to be made within an additional 30 days. Requires the AG to commence such an action when there is reasonable cause to believe that a state or private employer is engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of such employment and reemployment rights and benefits, and that the pattern or practice is intended to deny the full exercise of such rights and benefits. Provides the Special Counsel with subpoena power to require the attendance and testimony of, and production of documents from, federal employees, to be enforced through the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes the AG to issue and serve a civil investigative demand for the production of documentary material relevant to an investigation under the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2022 the tax credit for investment in solar energy property, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cell property, microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, and small wind energy property; (2) allow an energy tax credit for investment in offshore wind facilities placed in service before January 1, 2021; (3) extend through 2022 placed-in-service dates for wind facilities and other renewable energy facilities for purposes of the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable energy facilities; (4) extend through 2022 the tax credit for residential energy efficiency improvements; and (5) increase the amount of credits allocable under the qualifying advanced energy project program. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend through 2014 the grant program for investment in alternative and renewable energy property in lieu of tax credits for such property. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish a voluntary voucher program, through 2015, for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles; and (2) provide grants to state, local, and tribal governments for the installation and operation of public charging stations for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to extend through FY2022 loan guarantees for renewable energy systems, electronic power transmission systems, and certain biofuel projects. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean Energy Victory Bonds to pay for the extension of the energy-related tax expenditures in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Reasonable Policies on Automated License Plate Readers Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to prohibit assistance under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program or the Public Safety and Community Policing grant program to a law enforcement agency that uses an automated license plate reader unless the agency has developed written and binding policies for the use of the reader that ensure that data collected by the reader: (1) is not stored for a period exceeding 30 days unless the data is being used in an active law enforcement investigation; (2) is not stored in a statewide database or other database that consolidates data from such readers; and (3) is shared with an entity other than the agency that operates it only if the entity is another law enforcement agency, the data is to be used in an active law enforcement investigation, and the data is provided in response to a specific request for the data.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
States' Medical Marijuana Property Rights Protection Act - Exempts real property from civil forfeiture under the Controlled Substances Act due to medical-marijuana-related conduct that is authorized by state law.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Managed Carbon Price Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require covered persons (i.e., U.S. coal producers, oil refinery operators, first sellers of natural gas, and producers of other greenhouse gas [GHG] emission substances and importers of any GHG emission substance) to purchase a federal emission permit from the Secretary of the Treasury for the sale, combustion, or other use of such a substance. Exempts from such requirement use of a GHG emission substance: (1) as material in the production of another article by such person, or (2) for noncombustion agricultural purposes. Requires the Secretary to impose a GHG emission permit equivalency fee on imports of carbon intensive goods. Requires federal emission permits to be: (1) denominated in one-quarter carbon dioxide equivalents, and (2) purchased within 14 calendar days before or after a GHG emission substance is produced or entered into the United States. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a price for obtaining a permit for a year based on a determination of the dollar amount necessary to meet specified emissions reductions targets, (2) publish a five-year price schedule for permits by January 1, 2014, for each of the five years from 2015 to 2019, and (3) publish a 10-year schedule of the minimum and maximum prices for permits by January 1, 2021, and every 10 years thereafter. Sets minimum prices. Authorizes the Secretary to reduce permit prices if target reductions are being exceeded and to increase such prices if target reductions are not being met. Establishes emission reduction targets for 2015 through 2059 decreasing from 100% to 20% of the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted in the United States in 2005. Requires the Secretary to report annually on: (1) the extent to which such limitations are being achieved, (2) GHG emission permits sold and their impact on GHG emissions, and (3) worldwide GHG emissions in relation to 2005 emissions. Defines a "carbon dioxide equivalent" as the quantity of a GHG emission substance that makes the same contribution to global warming as one metric ton of carbon dioxide. Requires the Administrator to publish and update a schedule listing such quantity for each GHG emission substance. Requires: (1) repayment of permit fees to specified permittees that use GHG emission substances in a manner that will make a negligible or no contribution to global warming, and (2) payment of the permit equivalency fees to exporters of carbon-intensive goods. Imposes a tax on covered persons who fail to obtain a required permit. Establishes the Energy and Economic Security Trust Fund into which revenue raised from permit sales shall be deposited. Requires the Fund to be used to pay monthly dividends to taxpayers and for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012
Encourages: (1) the people of the United States to respond to all census surveys conducted by the Bureau of the Census; and (2) the Bureau of the Census to provide households and businesses with information regarding the community, economic, and fiscal benefits to be gained from participation in the American Community Survey and the Economic Census, to use the most current methodologies and technologies to reduce the burden of responding to the Census, and to continue to innovate its methods, processes, and products.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 211 Hope Street in Mountain View, California, as the "Lieutenant Kenneth M. Ballard Memorial Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2012 - Amends the Marine Debris Research, Prevention, and Reduction Act to authorize the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to declare a marine debris emergency upon determining that marine debris: (1) is an immediate threat to living marine resources, the marine environment, navigation safety, or public health of the United States; and (2) requires federal resources to supplement the state and local resources available to alleviate such threat. Authorizes: (1) a governor of a state to request that the Administrator declare such an emergency in such state or a region that includes such state; and (2) the Administrator to request that the governor provide information on the nature and immediacy of the threat and the nature and amount of state and local resources that have been or will be committed to alleviating it. Directs the Administrator, within 30 days after receiving a governor's request, to either grant the request or explain why it was not granted. Directs the Administrator: (1) in evaluating marine debris grant applications, to give preference to projects to address marine debris emergencies, including projects to address marine debris that has introduced or is likely to introduce marine invasive species into the United States; and (2) within 60 days after receipt of an application for such a grant, to approve or disapprove the application and to disperse funds to an approved grantee. Directs the Administrator to take steps to encourage marine debris grant recipients to: (1) educate staff and volunteers who are engaged in marine debris response efforts on the potential threats that marine debris and marine invasive species may pose to the United States with respect to living marine resources, the marine environment, navigation, and public health; and (2) coordinate their response efforts with relevant federal, state, local, and nongovernmental entities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Recidivism Reduction Act - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income for Aged, Blind, and Disabled) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require the reinstatement upon release of an otherwise eligible disabled inmate for SSI benefits which were terminated because of the inmate's incarceration in a jail, prison, penal institution, or correctional facility for a period of 12 or more consecutive months. Requires the inmate to apply for reinstatement and resumption of such benefits within 36 months after release. Allows application for reinstatement even before release. Permits provisional benefits to such an individual until the application is acted upon. Requires the reinstatement of SSI benefit eligibility for such an individual's spouse if the spouse was previously an SSI-eligible spouse. Amends SSA title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to develop a system for prerelease application for resumption of suspended OASDI disability insurance benefits, or other benefits based on disability. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to require state Medicaid plans to provide that in the case of any individual enrolled for medical assistance immediately before becoming an inmate of a public institution: (1) the enrollment shall be reinstated upon the individual's release from such institution unless and until there is a determination that the individual is no longer eligible to be so enrolled, and (2) any period of continuous eligibility in effect on the date the individual became such an inmate shall be reinstated as of the release date and the duration of such period shall be determined without regard to the period in which the individual was such an inmate. Increases from 90% to 95% the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) (matching) rate for any state implementing a Medicaid reinstatement system. Authorizes case management services in order to engage in planning for services following an individual's release from a public institution.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012
Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2012 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) implementation of the United States National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security (NAP) is paramount in improving the lives of women around the world and increasing global stability and prosperity; (2) Congress is committed to advancing the goals of NAP; and (3) the President should designate a person on the staff of the National Security Council (NSC) to be responsible for promoting NAP. States that: (1) it is U.S. policy to implement NAP; (2) the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) should integrate gender into diplomatic and strategic and planning processes; and (3) federal agencies shall ensure that the tenets of NAP are incorporated into programs for conflict prevention, humanitarian and disaster response, peacekeeping, and democracy promotion. Urges the Secretary, the Administrator, the Secretary of Defense (DOD), and representatives of other federal agencies to: (1) implement NAP and ensure relevant personnel training; and (2) facilitate partner government efforts to improve women's inclusion in peace and security processes, conflict prevention, peace-building, and decision-making institutions in conflict-affected environments.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to: (1) $8.10 an hour on the first day of the third month after the enactment of this Act; (2) $8.95 an hour after one year; (3) $9.80 an hour after two years; and (4) the amount determined by the Secretary of Labor (based on increases in the Consumer Price Index) after three years, and annually thereafter. Increases the federal minimum wage for tipped employees to $3.00 an hour for one year on the first day of the third month after the enactment of this Act. Provides a formula for subsequent annual adjustments of the wage increase to ensure that it remains equal to 70% of the wage in effect under FLSA for other employees. Directs the Secretary of Labor, 60 days before any increase in the minimum wage, to publish it in the Federal Register and on the Department of Labor's website.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012
Build America Bonds Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the issuance authority for Build America Bonds and the authority for payments to issuers of such bonds; (2) make phased reductions in the credit percentage to bondholders and the percentage of payments to issuers of such bonds; (3) allow refundings of currently issued bonds; (4) allow the use of Build America bonds to fund capital expenditures for levees and flood control projects; and (5) deny a tax deduction to major integrated oil companies for income attributable to the production, refining, processing, transportation, or distribution of oil, gas, or any primary product thereof.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2012
True Cost of Coal Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a $10 per ton excise tax on the extraction of coal; (2) establish in the Treasury the Coal Mitigation Trust Fund to hold revenues from such tax; and (3) extend to 50 years the recovery period, for depreciation purposes, for specified coal port property used for the export of coal. Allows expenditures from the Coal Mitigation Trust Fund to assist states in mitigating noise, vibration, traffic delays, pollution and other threats to public health, and emergencies in connection with the transportation of coal by rail, and to provide worker adjustment assistance. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to issue regulations to require all rail cars transporting coal to be covered or to incorporate a suitable alternative technology to ensure that coal and coal dust do not escape during transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2012
American Advanced Energy Manufacturing Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for the qualifying advanced energy project program, to: (1) allow, through December 31, 2016, an additional credit amount for the cost of manufacturing equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity, fuel cell power plants, and systems for the electro-chemical storage of electricity; and (2) increase for 2012 the amount of credits that may be allocated under such program. Provides for an offset against such increased credit by denying to any major integrated oil company: (1) a foreign tax credit if such company receives a tax preference from a foreign jurisdiction that does not impose a generally applicable income tax, and (2) a tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013: (1) the increase in the refundable portion of the child tax credit, (2) the increased percentage of the earned income tax credit for taxpayers with three or more qualifying children, and (3) the disregard of tax refunds in determining eligibility for means tested federal programs. Extends through 2013 provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 relating to the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013: (1) the increase in the Hope Scholarship tax credit (American Opportunity Tax Credit), and (2) the disregard of tax refunds for purposes of determining eligibility for means tested federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2012
Designates the U.S. courthouse located at 333 West Broadway Street in San Diego, California, as the "James M. Carter and Judith N. Keep United States Courthouse."
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012
Reauthorizes appropriations through FY2018 for the Votes for Women History Trail Route in the state of New York, the National Women's Rights History Project Registry, and the National Women's Rights History Project Partnership Network.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012
Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants or contracts for the establishment or operation of Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers that: (1) improve the training of health professionals in palliative care; (2) develop and disseminate curricula relating to the palliative treatment of the complex health problems of individuals with serious or life-threatening illnesses; (3) support the training and retraining of faculty to provide instruction in palliative care; (4) support continuing education of health professionals who provide palliative care to patients with serious or life-threatening illness; (5) provide students with clinical training in palliative care in long-term care facilities, home care, hospices, chronic and acute disease hospitals, and ambulatory care centers; (6) establish traineeships for individuals who are preparing for advanced education nursing degrees in palliative care nursing, home care, hospice, long-term care, or other nursing areas that specialize in palliative care; and (7) do not duplicate the activities of existing education centers funded under such Act. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to, and enter into contracts with: (1) schools of medicine, schools of osteopathic medicine, teaching hospitals, and graduate medical education programs to provide support for projects that fund the training of physicians who plan to teach palliative medicine; and (2) eligible nurse practitioner, midwifery, nurse anesthesia, and advanced nurse education programs to meet the costs of palliative care and hospice career incentive awards. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to provide Palliative Medicine and Hospice Academic Career Awards to eligible individuals to promote their career development as academic hospice and palliative care physicians; (2) award grants or contracts to entities that operate a Palliative Care and Hospice Education Center; (3) award grants or contracts to advanced practice nurses, clinical social workers, pharmacists, chaplains, or students of psychology pursuing an advanced degree in palliative care or related fields to foster greater interest among a variety of health professionals in entering the field of palliative care; and (4) award grants to schools of nursing, health care facilities, or programs leading to certification as a certified nurse assistant to develop and implement programs and initiatives to train and educate individuals in providing palliative care in health-related educational, hospice, home, or long-term care settings.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012
Bring Jobs Home Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. Requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses. Allows nonrecognition of gain in a corporate reorganization for corporations that exchange property solely for stock other than nonqualified preferred stock.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012
Expresses: (1) disapproval of the use of gas chambers to euthanize shelter animals, and (2) support for the enactment of state laws requiring the use of euthanasia by injection with sodium pentobarbital as the standard method of euthanasia for all animal shelters. Encourages states to allow licensed shelters to purchase necessary euthanasia drugs, subject to appropriate training and certification.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2012
Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Act of 2012 - Sets forth provisions addressing HIV/AIDS, including through: the authorization of additional appropriations for AIDS Drug Assistance Program treatments; public health surveillance; strategies to address issues that impede disease status awareness and linkage to and retention in appropriate care; operational and translational research on HIV; workforce initiatives to increase the capacity of the health workforce focusing primarily on HIV/AIDS; educational loan repayment of health professionals; activities to reduce the rate of HIV infections among injecting drug users; grants for comprehensive sex education for young people; best practice recommendations regarding criminal and related civil commitment cases involving people living with HIV/AIDS; the distribution of sexual barrier devices in federal correctional facilities; the enrollment in the Medicaid program of HIV-positive individuals after their release from incarceration; the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy; a strategy to expand and improve efforts to combat global HIV/AIDS; the repeal of provisions prohibiting organizations receiving certain funding from being required to endorse or utilize a comprehensive approach to combating global HIV/AIDS; and a global HIV sexual transmission prevention strategy.
![Official portrait of Rep. Stark, Fortney Pete [D-CA-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000810_200.jpg)