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United States · Official source
2,777 records where Sen. Hutchison, Kay Bailey [R-TX] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2011
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Big Spring, Texas, as the "George H. O'Brien, Jr., Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center."
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2011
Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or would be entitled to such pay, except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits recoupment by the Secretary of Defense (DOD) of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2011
Designates January 2011 as National Stalking Awareness Month. Applauds the efforts of the many stalking victim service providers, police, prosecutors, national and community organizations, and private sector supporters for their efforts in promoting awareness about stalking. Encourages increased awareness of stalking and the availability of services for stalking victims. Urges national and community organizations, private businesses, and the media to promote, through National Stalking Awareness Month, awareness of the crime of stalking.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2011
Highway Fairness and Reform Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT), beginning with FY2011, to carry out a direct federal-aid highway program to permit a state governor or chief executive officer, at least 90 days before the beginning of a fiscal year, to elect to: (1) waive the state's right to receive apportioned or allocated funds under the federal-aid highway program, and (2) receive instead a prorated amount of the taxes appropriated to the Highway Trust Fund (other than from the Mass Transit Account) which are attributable to highway users in the state. Requires a pro rata reduction of such tax-equivalent amount in order to fund contract authority for programs of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Requires the Secretary to accept a state's election if: (1) the state has an interstate maintenance program; (2) it submits a plan describing the purposes, projects, and uses to which such amounts will be put and the federal-aid highway programmatic requirements the state elects to continue; (3) the state agrees to obligate program amounts exclusively for projects that would be eligible for surface transportation program funding; and (4) it continues to suballocate surface transportation program funds to urbanized and other areas using certain formulae and rules.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2011
Prohibits the use of federal funds to purchase or guarantee obligations of, issue lines of credit to, or provide direct or indirect grants-and-aid to any state, municipal, local, or county government which, on or after January 26, 2011, has defaulted on its obligations, is at risk of defaulting, or is likely to default, without such federal assistance. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from using, directly or indirectly, general fund revenues or borrowed funds to purchase or guarantee any asset or obligation of any such state, municipal, local, or county government. Prohibits the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System from: (1) providing or extending to, or authorizing with respect to, such a state, municipal, local, or county government, or other entity with taxing authority or bonding authority, any funds, loan guarantees, credits, or any other financial instrument or other authority, including bond purchases; or (2) otherwise assisting such a government entity under any Board authority. Waives the application of this Act for federal assistance provided in response to a natural disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2011
Stalkers Act of 2011 - Amends the federal criminal code to revise the definition of stalking and impose criminal penalties on anyone who, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate another person or to place a person under surveillance with the intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate such person, travels in interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or enters or leaves Indian country and: (1) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress to another person, or (2) engages in conduct that would be reasonably expected to cause serious emotional distress to another person. Imposes the same criminal penalties on anyone who, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate another person, engages in a course of conduct that: (1) uses the mail, any interactive computer service, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce; and (2) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or significant emotional distress to another person or occurs in circumstances where the conduct would be reasonably expected to cause another person significant emotional distress. Increases by 5 years the penalty for a stalking offense if: (1) the offense involves conduct in violation of a protection order, or (2) the victim of the offense is under the age of 18 or over the age of 65. Requires the annual report of the Attorney General to include an evaluation of efforts to enforce laws relating to stalking, including a description of those elements that constitute the best practices for the enforcement of such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2011
Expresses support for the designation of a National Data Privacy Day. Encourages: (1) educators and privacy professionals to discuss data privacy and protection issues with teens in high schools across the United States; (2) corporations to take steps to protect the privacy and security of the personal information of their clients and consumers, to design privacy into products they create where possible, and to promote trust in technologies; and (3) individuals across the nation to be aware of data privacy concerns and to take steps to protect their personal information.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act - Repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, effective as of its enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by such Act. Repeals the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education and Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of the Act's enactment. Restores provisions of law amended by the Act's health care provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2011 - Directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2012, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress. Repeals specified limitations on such an audit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Freedom from Tolls Act of 2011 - Prohibits the use of highway funds to impose a toll on any segment of a federal-aid system highway that as of enactment of this Act: (1) has had its construction completed, (2) is not tolled, (3) was constructed with federal assistance, and (4) is in actual operation. Excepts from this prohibition, thus allowing tolls on, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes as well as any highway segment that, as of the date on which a toll is imposed on it, will have the same number of non-toll lanes as were in existence before that date. Amends the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to decrease from three to two the number of facilities a state may establish on a highway, bridge, or tunnel on the Interstate System to collect tolls for reconstructing and rehabilitating Interstate highway corridors under the Interstate System reconstruction and rehabilitation pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2011
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits 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 two-thirds rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Prohibits total outlays for any fiscal year from exceeding 20% of the gross domestic product for the preceding calendar year unless Congress, by a two-thirds rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess over such 20%. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase federal taxes from becoming law unless approved by two-thirds 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.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Withholding Tax Relief Act of 2011- Repeals the provision of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 requiring federal, state, and local governmental entities to withhold 3% of payments due to vendors providing goods and services to such entities. Rescinds permanently $39 billion of appropriated but unobligated discretionary funds. Exempts unobligated funds of the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine and identify from which appropriation accounts such rescissions shall apply and report to the Secretary of the Treasury and Congress on such rescissions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Boundary Expansion Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to study lands within Bexar and Wilson Counties in Texas, to identify lands that would be suitable for inclusion in the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. Authorizes the Secretary: (1) to enter into a cooperative agreement with the city of San Antonio or its designee for the operation of a facility outside the boundary of the Park that would provide visitor facilities and office space for a headquarters and operational support for the Park; and (2) to install in such facilities the cooperative agreement exhibits related to the resources at the Park. Modifies the boundary of the Park to include approximately 151 acres of additional identified land. Bars the use of condemnation authority by the Secretary for the acquisition of lands and interests under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area Act - Establishes the Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area in Texas. Designates the Buffalo Bayou National Heritage Area Corporation as the management entity for the Heritage Area. Requires the Corporation to submit a management plan for the Heritage Area. Specifies this Act's effect on private property protections and water rights with regard to the Heritage Area. Bars anything in this Act from being meant as modifying the Rio Grande Natural Area Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2011 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2015 for the Surface Transportation Board. Increases Board membership from three to five members. Removes the Board from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish it as an independent U.S. agency. Grants the DOT Inspector General authority to review only Board financial management, property management, and business operations to determine compliance with applicable federal laws and detect fraud and abuse. Revises member composition of the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. Revises the objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy, including protection of rail shippers. Requires the Board to: (1) maintain an Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance; and (2) appoint a rail customer advocate to resolve rail customer complaints. Authorizes the Board to investigate rail carrier and pipeline carrier violations on its own initiative as well as on complaint (as under existing law). Requires proceedings to determine the reasonableness of a rate charged by a carrier be initiated only upon complaint. Requires the Board to: (1) establish a database of rail service complaints it has received; and (2) post a quarterly report of such complaints on its website. Authorizes the Board to revoke class exemptions to rail carrier requirements to protect rail shippers from the abuse of market power. Requires Board studies on: (1) class exemptions; (2) the Uniform Railroad Costing System; (3) use of a replacement cost approach to value rail facility assets; (4) rail practices; and (5) rail interchange rules. Directs the Board to require Class I railroad carriers and other railroad carriers to report regularly on railroad service metrics and other performance data as prescribed by the Board. Delineates requirements regarding proof and admissibility of evidence of rail carrier interline rate agreements. Prohibits the Board from issuing a person (other than a rail carrier) a certificate to acquire a railroad line or extended or additional railroad line that includes interchange commitments or other mechanisms restricting the ability of the purchaser or tenant to interchange traffic with another carrier unless they are reasonable and in the public interest. Delineates a process for persons to challenge existing interchange commitments as well as certain rights and remedies with respect to them. Directs the Secretary to make grants available to assist any Class III rail carrier under Board jurisdiction with the credit risk premium of a direct loan or loan guarantee made to purchase or lease a rail line. Requires a Class I rail carrier to establish, upon rail customer request, reasonable bottleneck and terminal switching rates for single line movement or interline movement rail transportation over a bottleneck rail segment in which the carrier has market dominance. Revises criteria authorizing the Board to require a rail carrier to make its terminal available to another rail carrier. Authorizes the Board to require a Class I rail carrier (including any other rail carrier deemed appropriate) to make its terminal facilities available for use by another carrier in cases where it has market dominance in a terminal area. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Board to establish reasonable rail rate standards for terminal use. Requires the Board to establish a binding arbitration process to resolve rail rate, practice, and common carrier service disputes. Revises maximum rates of relief that the Board may provide to railroad shippers in certain rail rate reasonableness cases. Sets forth time limits for Board review of such cases. Revises requirements with respect to the approval or denial of the consolidation, merger, or acquisition of control of rail carriers to authorize the Board to take into consideration significant effects of the transaction on public health, safety, and the environment as well as intercity rail passenger transportation and commuter rail passenger transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Fairness for Texas Schools Act of 2011 - Repeals the requirement that the Secretary of Education deny Texas and its local educational agencies (LEAs) funds from the Education Jobs Fund until the state assures the Secretary that: (1) funds used to support elementary and secondary education shall be distributed based on the LEAs' relative shares of school improvement funds for the most recent fiscal year for which data are available; (2) such funds will not be used to supplant state formula funding that is distributed like school improvement funds; and (3) state funding for elementary and secondary education, as a percentage of the state's total revenue, will not be reduced through FY2013.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Church Plan Clarification Act of 2011- Amends Internal Revenue Code pension plan provisions to: (1) apply a special rule for determining the status of an employer participating in a church plan as a member of a controlled group of entities, and (2) allow certain tax-free transfers to and mergers of church plans that are maintained by the same church or association of churches. Amends the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA) to apply limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified employee plans to certain church defined benefit plans. Includes within the definition of plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) an employee benefit plan which is a church plan for purposes of ERISA automatic enrollment provisions. Allows church plans and their supporting organizations to invest plan assets in a group trust (as defined by Internal Revenue Service Revenue Rulings).
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Government Neutrality in Contracting Act - Directs the head of any federal agency that awards or obligates funds for any construction contract, or that awards grants, provides financial assistance, or enters into cooperative agreements for construction projects, to ensure that bid specifications, project agreements, or other controlling documents do not: (1) require or forbid a bidder, offeror, contractor, or subcontractor to enter into or adhere to agreements with a labor organization with respect to that construction project or another related construction project; or (2) otherwise discriminate against such a party because it did or did not become a signatory or otherwise adhere to such an agreement. Allows exemptions to avert an imminent threat to public health or safety or to serve national security. Allows additional exemptions for certain projects. Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act with respect to the applicable federal contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2011 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals first performing non-covered service beginning one year after enactment of this Act. Establishes a new formula for the treatment of non-covered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Applies such formula to individuals subject to the current WEP if the benefit under the new formula would be higher.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act - Exempts provisions expanding the adoption tax credit and adoption assistance programs enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 from the general terminating (sunset) provisions of that Act. Eliminates the terminating date in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act applicable to increases in the adoption tax credit and employer-provided adoption benefits. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the tax credit for adoption expenses in the taxable year in which such expenses are paid or incurred.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the taxpayer election to deduct state and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
American Job Protection Act - Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that require large employers to offer their full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if such provisions had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
American Liberty Restoration Act - Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that require individuals to maintain minimum essential health care coverage. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if such provisions had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal a provision (added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) that extends to corporations that are not tax-exempt the requirement to report payments of $600 or more. Rescinds $39 billion of appropriated but unobligated discretionary funds. Exempts unobligated funds of the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to determine and identify from which appropriation accounts such rescissions shall apply and report to the Secretary of the Treasury and Congress on such rescissions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Medical Device Access and Innovation Protection Act - Repeals the Internal Revenue Code provision, added by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, that imposes an excise tax on medical devices.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Permanent Marriage Penalty Relief Act of 2011 - Renders inapplicable the general terminating date (i.e., December 31, 2012) of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 to provisions of that Act that eliminate the tax effect known as the marriage penalty in the standard tax deduction, the 15% income tax bracket, and the earned income tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Condemns in the strongest possible terms the horrific attack that occurred at the "Congress on your Corner" event hosted by Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, on January 8, 2011. Offers heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those killed in that attack. Expresses hope for the rapid and complete recovery of those wounded in the shooting. Honors the memory of Christina-Taylor Green, Dorothy Morris, John Roll, Phyllis Schneck, Dorwan Stoddard, and Gabriel Matthew Zimmerman. Applauds the bravery and quick thinking exhibited by those who prevented the gunman from taking more lives and helped to save those who had been wounded. Recognizes the service of the first responders who raced to the scene and the health care professionals who tended to the victims once they reached the hospital and whose service and skill saved lives. Reaffirms the bedrock principle of American democracy and representative government, memorialized in the First Amendment and which Representative Giffords herself read in the Hall of the House of Representatives on January 6, 2011, of "the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Stands firm in the belief in a democracy in which all can participate and in which intimidation and threats of violence cannot silence the voices of any American. Honors the service and leadership of Representative Giffords, a distinguished Member of the House of Representatives, as she courageously fights to recover. States that when the Senate adjourns on this day, it does so out of respect to the victims of this attack.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Makes it out of order to consider a bill, joint resolution, conference report, or amendment that provides an earmark. Permits waiver or suspension of such prohibition, or successful appeals from rulings of the Chair, only by an affirmative vote of three-fourths (75) of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2011
Recognizes that the implementation of the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement, the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, and the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement will create jobs in the United States, increase export opportunities for U.S. businesses and agricultural producers, and further develop cross-cultural business relationships between the United States and South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. Expresses the sense of the Senate that it is in the security, economic, and diplomatic interests of the United States to enhance relationships with such countries by immediately approving such trade agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2011
Recognizes and honors Senator Barbara Mikulski for becoming the longest-serving female Senator in history.
United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2010
Restoring the 10th Amendment Act - Authorizes a designated state official to file with the head of a federal agency proposing a rule, during the period when the proposed rule is required to be open for public comment, a legal brief challenging the constitutionality of the rule under the Tenth Amendment. Directs the agency head: (1) to notify the designated official of each state within 15 days after such a brief is filed; (2) to post prominently on the agency's primary Web page a link to the brief; and (3) within 15 days after posting such link, to certify in writing that such rulemaking does not violate the Tenth Amendment and post the certification prominently on the front page of the agency's website, unless the agency determines it will not put the proposed rule into effect. Authorizes a state official who decides to challenge a federal rule on the grounds that it violates the Tenth Amendment to elect to file a legal action in U.S. district court for the district in which the official's place of business is located. Directs the relevant U.S. Court of Appeals, at the request of a designated state official, to grant expedited review of a decision by a district court in such a case.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2010
Fairness for Texas Schools Act of 2010 - Allows the Secretary of Education to allocate funds from the Education Jobs Fund to entities in Texas other than the state government if the Secretary cannot provide such funds to the state government because of its failure to provide certain assurances regarding the distribution of such funds and the level of state support for elementary and secondary education.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2010
Recognizes the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. Acknowledges the many and varied contributions of disabled children and their parents, teachers, related services personnel, and administrators. Reaffirms the support of Congress for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2010
Honor America's Guard-Reserve Retirees Act - Honors as a veteran any person entitled to retired pay for nonregular (reserve) service or, but for age, would be so entitled. Provides that such person shall not be entitled to any benefit solely by reason of such recognition.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2010
Directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to study and report to specified congressional committees on the potential impact on consumers of increasing the amount of ethanol blended with gasoline or other petroleum products for use as fuel for internal combustion engines. Directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to study and report to specified congressional committees on whether the use of ethanol-gasoline blends of more than 10% by volume ethanol in motor vehicles will have an adverse impact on tailpipe emissions, exhaust temperatures, catalytic converters, and motor vehicle engine performance and durability. Declares the sense of Congress that federal departments and agencies should withhold from approving any increase in the use of ethanol or ethanol-gasoline blends as fuel for internal combustion engines until 30 days after both such reports have been submitted.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2010
Designates October 9, 2010, as National Chess Day.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2010
Supports the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. Recognizes that every child should have a permanent and loving family. Encourages the people of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and all throughout the year.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2010
Observes the fifth anniversary of the date on which Hurricane Rita devastated the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Expresses support to the survivors and condolences to the victims' families. Commends the efforts of those who assisted in the response to the storm and the recovery process. Reaffirms a commitment to rebuild, renew, and restore the Gulf Coast region.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2010
National Flood Insurance Program Reextension Act of 2010 - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the National Flood Insurance Program from September 30, 2010, through September 30, 2011. Continues through FY2011 the authority of the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with the President's approval, to issue up to $20.725 billion in notes and obligations to finance the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2010
Recognizes the goals and achievements of Hispanic-serving institutions across this country. Designates the week beginning September 19, 2010, as National Hispanic-Serving Institutions Week.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2010
Recognizes the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15, 2010, through October 15, 2010. Esteems the integral role of Latinos and their manifold heritage in the economy, culture, and identity of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2010
Extends through FY2012 the deadline for state expenditure of certain emergency supplemental appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Administration for Children and Families provided for recovery from Hurricanes Ike and Rita and other 2008 natural disasters.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2010
Tax Hike Prevention Act of 2010 - Repeals the general terminating date (i.e., December 31, 2010) applicable to tax relief provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA), thus making such provisions permanent. Repeals the provision of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 terminating the reductions in tax rates for capital gains and dividends, thus making such reductions permanent. Repeals provisions of EGTRRA repealing the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes after 2009, thus restoring such taxes, subject to the amendments made by this Act. Restores the step-up in basis tax treatment of inherited estate assets. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide for annual increases in the alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amount during the period of 2010 through 2020; (2) expand offsets against the AMT for certain nonrefundable tax credits; (3) retain marriage penalty relief provisions and the increased child tax credit; (4) revise the estate tax by imposing a permanent maximum estate tax rate of 35% and allowing a permanent estate tax exclusion amount of $5 million (adjusted annually for inflation) after 2009; and (5) allow a surviving spouse to increase the estate tax exclusion amount by the unused exclusion amount of his or her deceased spouse. Allows the executor of any estate of a decedent dying in 2010 to elect to apply existing provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 without regard to specified provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2010
Repeals the requirement that the Secretary of Education deny Texas and its local educational agencies funds from the Education Jobs Fund until the state assures the Secretary that: (1) funds used to support elementary and secondary education shall be distributed based on LEAs' relative shares of school improvement funds for the most recent fiscal year for which data are available; (2) such funds will not be used to supplant state formula funding that is distributed like school improvement funds; and (3) state funding for elementary and secondary education, as a percentage of the state's total revenue, will not be reduced through FY2013.
United States · United States Congress · 12 August 2010
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Theodore "Ted" Fulton Stevens, former member of the U.S. Senate from Alaska. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on August 12, 2010, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Stevens.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2010
Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act - Extends copyright protection to fashion designs. Includes as protected items clothing, handbags, duffel bags, tote bags, belts, and eyeglass frames. Excludes from such protection designs embodied in a useful article made public by the designer more than three years before the date upon which protection of the design is asserted. Prohibits considering certain factors in determining the protection of a fashion design. Sets the term of protection at 3 years for a fashion design and 10 years for a design of a vessel hull. Declares that it is not infringement to make, have made, import, sell, offer for sale, advertise, or distribute any article embodying a design which was created without knowledge, either actual or reasonably inferred from the totality of the circumstances, that a design was protected and was copied from such protected design. Prohibits deeming a vessel hull design to have been copied from a protected design if it is original and not substantially similar in appearance to a protected design. Prohibits deeming a fashion design to have been copied from a protected design if it: (1) is not substantially identical in overall visual appearance to and as to the original elements of a protected design; or (2) is the result of independent creation. Applies the doctrines of secondary infringement or secondary liability to actions related to original designs. Rewrites provisions concerning the remedy for infringement. States, in general, that: (1) in the case of a vessel hull, the owner of a design is entitled, after issuance of a certificate of registration of the design, to institute an action for any infringement of the design; and (2) in the case of a fashion design, the owner of a design is entitled to institute an action for any infringement of the design after the design is made public. Increases the penalty for false representation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2010
Excluding Abortion Coverage from Health Reform Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to prohibit federal funds from being to used to cover any part of the costs of any health plan that includes coverage of abortion services. (Currently, federal funds cannot be used for abortion services and plans receiving federal funds must keep federal funds segregated from any funds for abortion services.) Requires any qualified health benefit plan offered through an Exchange that includes coverage for abortions to also offer a qualified health benefit plan through the Exchange that is identical in every respect except that it does not cover abortions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2010
Stalkers Act of 2010 - Amends the federal criminal code to revise the definition of stalking and impose criminal penalties on anyone who, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate another person or to place a person under surveillance with the intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate such person, travels in interstate or foreign commerce or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States or enters or leaves Indian country and: (1) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or serious emotional distress to another person; or (2) engages in conduct that would be reasonably expected to cause serious emotional distress to another person. Imposes the same criminal penalties on anyone who, with intent to kill, physically injure, harass, or intimidate another person, engages in a course of conduct that: (1) uses the mail, any interactive computer service, or any other facility of interstate or foreign commerce; and (2) causes or attempts to cause bodily injury or significant emotional distress to another person or occurs in circumstances where the conduct would be reasonably expected to cause another person significant emotional distress. Increases by 5 years the penalty for a stalking offense if: (1) the offense involves conduct in violation of a protection order; or (2) the victim of the offense is under the age of 18 or over the age of 65. Requires the annual report of the Attorney General to include an evaluation of efforts to enforce laws relating to stalking and to identify and describe elements of such efforts that constitute the best practices for the enforcement of such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2010
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) national energy security and the regional Gulf Coast economy depend upon the full and immediate restoration of shallow water drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico; (2) the long-term economic health of the state of Alaska depends upon the responsible development of the oil and natural gas reserves of the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas; and (3) the Secretary of the Interior should provide written guidance regarding new safety requirements, and take immediate action to expedite the review and approval of applications for shallow water drilling permits in the outer Continental Shelf.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2010
Commemorates the 50th anniversary of the National Council for International Visitors and its efforts to promote excellence in citizen diplomacy. Commends the achievements of the thousands of citizen diplomats who have worked for generations to share the best of the United States with foreign leaders, specialists, and scholars. Designates February 16, 2011, as Citizen Diplomacy Day.