United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2012
Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Power Act to provide that: (1) an emergency order issued under such Act should require generation, delivery, interchange, or transmission of electric energy only during times necessary to meet such emergency and serve the public interest, should, to the extent reasonable, be consistent with any other applicable federal law, including any environmental law or regulation, and should endeavor to minimize any adverse environmental impacts; and (2) any omission or action taken by a party to comply with such an order that results in noncompliance with any federal, state, or local environmental law or regulation shall not be considered a violation of, or subject such party to any civil or criminal liability under, such law or regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2012
Amends provisions of the federal criminal code governing interstate transportation of firearms or ammunition to require that whenever transported by any means other than a motor vehicle: (1) a firearm shall be in a locked container or secured by a secure gun storage or safety device, and (2) ammunition shall be in a locked container. Excludes from permitted transport of a firearm or ammunition any transportation: (1) with the intent to commit a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year that involves the use or threatened use of force against another; or (2) with knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that such a crime is to be committed in the course of, or arising from, the transportation. Prohibits the arrest or detention of a person for a violation of any state or local law or regulation related to the possession, transportation, or carrying of firearms unless there is probable cause to believe that the person is doing so in a manner not provided for under federal law. Provides that when a person asserts this as a defense in a criminal proceeding: (1) the prosecution shall bear the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person's conduct did not satisfy federal conditions; and (2) the court shall award the prevailing defendant a reasonable attorney's fee. Authorizes a private right of action (and attorney fees) for deprivation of any right, privilege or immunity secured by federal firearms provisions under color of any state or local law or regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2012
End Trafficking in Government Contracting Act of 2012 - Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to expand the authority of a federal agency to terminate a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement involving grantees or contractors who engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons to include grantees or contractors who: (1) engage in acts that directly support or advance trafficking in persons, (2) destroy an employee's immigration documents or fail to repatriate such employee upon the end of employment, (3) solicit persons for employment under false pretenses, (4) charge recruited employees exorbitant placement fees, or (5) provide inhumane living conditions. Requires the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to monitor all known cases and activities involving trafficking in persons that are reported to certain officials of the Department of Defense (DOD). Prohibits the head of an executive agency from entering into a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement valued at $1 million or more if performance will predominantly be conducted overseas unless a representative of the recipient of such grant, contract, or cooperative agreement certifies that the recipient has implemented a plan and procedures to prevent trafficking in persons. Requires a contracting or grant officer of an executive agency who receives credible evidence that a recipient of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement has engaged in trafficking in persons or other prohibited activities to request the agency's Inspector General to investigate allegations of trafficking and to take remedial actions, including the suspension of payments under the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to five years on any individual who knowingly and with intent to defraud recruits, solicits, or hires a person outside the United States, or attempts to do so, to work on on a government contract performed on government facilities outside the United States by means of materially false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises regarding such employment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2012
Pool Safety and Accessibility for Everyone (Pool SAFE) Act - Prohibits any suit brought for violations of the revised regulations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 concerning the requirements to provide an accessible means of entry to pools for places of public accommodation and commercial facilities that occurred on or after March 15, 2012, and before the date that is one year after enactment of this Act. Bars the Attorney General (AG) from investigating or initiating a compliance review of an alleged violation occurring during such period. Requires dismissal of any suit brought against a place of public accommodation or commercial facility for such a violation brought on or after March 15, 2012, and before the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the AG to revise accessibility regulations to provide that a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility is in compliance with the requirement to have an accessible means of entry to a pool when such a place or facility uses a portable pool lift on request, even if: (1) installation of a permanent lift is readily achievable, and (2) a single portable pool lift is used for multiple pools.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2012
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should not interpret or construe the Defense Production Act of 1950 to authorize the President or any federal department or agency to confiscate personal or private property, to force conscription into the Armed Forces on the American people, to force civilians to engage in labor against their will or without compensation, or to force private businesses to relinquish goods or services without compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2012
Amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to prohibit the Attorney General (AG) or any federal official from administering or enforcing certain accessibility regulations relating to pools provided by public entities or at public accommodations. Prohibits regulations added under final rules issued by the AG entitled: (1) "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability in State and Local Government Services" from being administered or enforced with respect to a pool provided by a public entity, and (2) "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations and in Commercial Facilities" from being administered or enforced with respect to a pool at a public accommodation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Sound Dollar Act of 2012 - Amends the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to: (1) promote the goal of long-term price stability, and (2) establish metrics to evaluate whether long-term price stability is being achieved. Prescribes procedures for the establishment and evaluation of such metrics. Directs the Board and the FOMC to: (1) make such information available to the public on a website, and (2) report to Congress each time such metrics are set or revised. Directs the Board to include in its semiannual report to Congress: (1) the results of the evaluation process, (2) whether the goal of long-term price stability is being met, (3) the main monetary policy instruments and strategy used by the Board and the FOMC to achieve long-term price stability, and (4) an analysis of how the policies of the Board and the FOMC are affecting the foreign exchange rate value of the U.S. dollar. Directs the Board to clearly articulate its lender-of-last-resort policy. Revamps FOMC membership to consist of one representative from each of the Federal Reserve banks (in addition to members of the Board). Directs the FOMC to release meeting transcripts to the public within three years after each meeting. Redesignates the Department of the Treasury stabilization fund as the Special Drawing Rights Fund. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to liquidate all property in the Fund (other than Special Drawing Rights) and to use all such amounts to reduce the public debt. Limits the availability of the Fund solely to stabilize exchange rates and arrangements. Repeals the authority of the Secretary to deal in U.S. instruments of credit and securities. Permits only Special Drawing Rights to be deposited into the Fund. Requires funds that would otherwise have been deposited into the Fund to be paid, instead, to the Secretary to reduce the public debt. Amends the FRA to authorize the FOMC, in unusual and exigent circumstances, by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of its members, to grant any Federal Reserve bank emergency authority to buy and sell U.S. debt obligations and revenue bonds in anticipation of the collection of taxes or the receipt of assured revenues by any state or local governmental entity, as well as obligations of, or guaranteed by, a foreign government or agency. Amends the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to repeal: (1) funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and (2) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Freedom from Over-Criminalization and Unjust Seizures Act of 2012 - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to repeal the prohibition on importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, or purchasing in interstate or foreign commerce: (1) fish or wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of foreign law; or (2) plants taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of foreign law, without the payment of appropriate royalties, taxes, or stumpage fees required by foreign law, or in violation of any limitation under foreign law that governs the export or transshipment of plants. Repeals the prohibition on possessing such fish, wildlife, or plants within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Establishes a $200,000 maximum limit on a civil penalty for a knowing violation of such Act that involves fish, wildlife, or plants with a market value of $350 or more. Repeals: (1) criminal penalties under such Act, and (2) the authorization to suspend, modify, or cancel specified licenses or permits issued to any person who is convicted of a criminal violation of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Congressional Hope for Uniform Recognition of Christian Heritage (CHURCH) Act of 2012 - Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC) to enter into an agreement with a private entity for the design and fabrication of a historical plaque to be permanently displayed in National Statuary Hall recognizing the seven decades of Christian church services being held in the Capitol from 1800 to 1868. Authorizes the AOC to use National Statuary Hall for a presentation ceremony for the plaque. Requires the AOC upon receiving such plaque to display it permanently in a place of prominence in National Statuary Hall. Requires that any obligations or expenditures by the AOC to carry out this Act be derived from pre-existing funds available to the AOC as of the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2012
Preserving America's Family Farms Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from finalizing or enforcing proposed rule "Child Labor Regulations, Orders and Statements of Interpretation; Child Labor Violations-Civil Money Penalties" (relating to child labor in agricultural and nonagricultural occupations) issued pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act and published on September 2, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2012
Affirms that it is a vital national interest of the United States to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability and warns that time is limited to prevent that from happening. Urges increasing economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran to secure an agreement that includes: (1) suspension of all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, (2) complete cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding Iran's nuclear activities, and (3) a permanent agreement that verifiably assures that Iran's nuclear program is entirely peaceful. Supports: (1) the universal rights and democratic aspirations of the Iranian people, and (2) U.S. policy to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability. Rejects any U.S. policy that would rely on efforts to contain a nuclear weapons-capable Iran. Urges the President to reaffirm the unacceptability of an Iran with nuclear-weapons capability and oppose any policy that would rely on containment as an option in response to the Iranian nuclear threat.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2012
Disapproves the Department of Labor rule relating to temporary non-agricultural employment of H-2B aliens in the United States (published in the Federal Register on February 21, 2012) and states that such rule shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2012
Condemns Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of religious minorities and its continued violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Calls for Iran to release Youcef Nadarkhani and all other individuals held or charged on account of their religion. Recognizes that religious freedom is a universal human right and a fundamental individual freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2012
Disapproves and nullifies the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and published December 22, 2011, relating to representation election procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2012
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: (1) provide, or permit the provision of, postcoital emergency contraception or prescriptions for such contraception on the premises of elementary or secondary schools; or (2) contract with a school-based health center to provide students with health services, unless the center agrees to deny students postcoital emergency contraception or prescriptions for such contraception pursuant to the contract.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2012
Pass a Budget Now Act - Amends the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 to reduce the rate of pay for a Member of Congress for failure to agree to a concurrent resolution on the budget. Reduces the rate of pay during each pay period of any year, if there is no agreement by April 15 on a budget resolution for the following fiscal year, by an amount equal to the product of the average daily rate of pay involved and the number of days during the pay period which occur after April 15 and before Congress does reach agreement on a budget resolution. Requires all unpaid compensation to be used for deficit reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2012
Keep Employees' Emails and Phones Secure Act or KEEP Secure Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from requiring an employer to provide the NLRB or a labor organization with employee telephone numbers or email addresses.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2012
Grant Return for Deficit Reduction Act - Requires any state or locality which will not use any funds remaining under a federal grant to deobligate, rescind, and return them to the Treasury General Fund for deficit reduction. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to report to Congress on the amount of all such funds returned.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2012
Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2012 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit any guideline or regulation issued relating to the coverage of preventive health services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) or any other provision of PPACA to: (1) require any individual or entity to offer, provide, or purchase coverage for a contraceptive or sterilization service, or related education or counseling, to which that individual or entity is opposed on the basis of religious belief; or (2) require any individual or entity opposed by reason of religious belief to provide coverage of a contraceptive or sterilization service or to engage in government-mandated speech regarding such a service. Declares that nothing in PPACA and no regulations or guidelines issued under PPACA shall be construed to authorize the imposition of a sanction or otherwise disadvantage an individual or entity on the basis of a religiously based decision made by that individual or entity to not offer, provide, or purchase coverage or a contraceptive or sterilization service, or to engage in a government-mandated speech regarding such service.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2012
Prohibits federal funds from being used by a federal agency or instrumentality to participate in a lawsuit to overturn, enjoin, or otherwise invalidate specified immigration-related laws in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Alabama, South Carolina, or Georgia.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2012
Preserving Access to Manufactured Housing Act - Amends the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 to exclude a seller of manufactured homes from the definition of loan originator subject to such Act, unless such individual or entity is engaged in the business of a loan originator or receives compensation or gain for engaging in certain residential mortgage loan activities in excess of any compensation or gain received in a comparable cash transaction. Amends the Truth in Lending Act, as amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to revise the definition of "high cost mortgage."
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2012
Military Religious Freedom Protection Act - Requires the sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of a member of the Armed Forces concerning the appropriate and inappropriate expression of human sexuality to be accommodated and not the basis of any adverse personnel action, discrimination, or denial of promotion, schooling, training, or assignment (adverse actions). Prohibits a military chaplain from being directed, ordered, or required to perform any duty, rite, ritual, ceremony, service, or function (ceremony) that is contrary to the conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs (beliefs) of the chaplain or the chaplain's faith group. Prohibits the refusal of a chaplain to perform a ceremony that is contrary to such beliefs from being the basis of any adverse actions. Requires the Secretary of Defense to issue regulations setting forth guidance to implement such requirements and prohibitions. Prohibits a military installation or other property owned, rented, or otherwise under the jurisdiction or control of the Department of Defense (DOD) from being used to officiate, solemnize, or perform a marriage or marriage-like ceremony involving anything other than the union of one man with one woman.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2012
Keystone For a Secure Tomorrow Act - Approves a specified permit regarding certain energy-related facilities and land transportation crossings on the international boundaries of the United States for the Keystone XL pipeline project. Prescribes permit requirements, including: (1) reconsideration of routing of the Keystone XL pipeline within Nebraska; (2) a review period during which routing within Nebraska may be reconsidered and the route of the Keystone XL pipeline through the state altered with any accompanying modification to a specified Plan; and (3) the obligation of the President to coordinate review with the state of Nebraska, provide necessary data and reasonable technical assistance material to the review process, and approve the route within Nebraska submitted by its governor to the Secretary of State. Deems approved, within 10 days after its date of submission, the route submitted by the governor of Nebraska pursuant to the permit approved under this Act if the President does not approve that route.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2012
District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any person from performing or attempting to perform an abortion within the District of Columbia except in conformity with this Act's requirements. Requires the physician to first make a determination of the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child, or reasonably rely upon such a determination made by another physician, by making inquiries of the pregnant woman and performing such medical examinations and tests as a reasonably prudent physician would consider necessary. Prohibits the abortion from being performed if the probable post-fertilization age of the unborn child is 20 weeks or greater. Makes an exception where necessary to save the life of a pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury, excluding psychological or emotional conditions or any claim or diagnosis that the woman will engage in conduct intended to result in her death. Permits a physician to terminate a pregnancy under such exception only in the manner which provides the best opportunity for the unborn child to survive, unless termination of the pregnancy in that manner would pose a greater risk of the death or substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions, of the pregnant woman than would other available methods. Prescribes penalties for violations. Bars prosecution of a woman upon whom an abortion is performed in violation of this Act, but authorizes such a woman or the father or maternal grandparent of the unborn child to obtain appropriate relief through a civil action. Provides for injunctive relief to prevent violations. Sets forth specified privacy protections in court proceedings for the woman upon whom an abortion has been performed. Requires any physician who performs an abortion within the District to report it to the Department of Health of the District of Columbia, which shall issue annual public reports.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2011
War Powers Reform Act - Amends the War Powers Resolution to direct the President in every possible instance to submit to Congress before introducing U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities or situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated a written report setting forth the estimated scope and duration of the hostilities or involvement. Directs the President, in the absence of a declaration of war or a specific statutory authorization (currently, only in the absence of a declaration of war), to submit a written report to Congress within 48 hours when the Armed Forces are introduced into hostilities or foreign nations under specified circumstances and requires that such report include the circumstances necessitating the introduction, the constitutional and legislative authority under which such introduction took place, and the estimated scope and duration of the hostilities or involvement. Repeals an existing framework under which the President is required to terminate, within 60 days, subject to a possible 30-day extension, any use of Armed Forces with respect to which the President has submitted (or is required to submit) a report concerning the introduction of Armed Forces into hostilities in the absence of a declaration of war, unless: (1) Congress declares war or enacts specific authorization, (2) extends the 60-day period, or (3) is physically unable to meet as a result of an armed attack upon the United States. Strikes provisions concerning congressional action to remove Armed Forces engaged in hostilities without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization. Replaces such framework with a process that prohibits funds available for the Armed Forces from being obligated or expended for introducing the Armed Forces into hostilities, or into situations where imminent involvement in hostilities is clearly indicated, in the absence of: (1) a declaration of war; (2) specific statutory authorization; or (3) a national emergency created by an attack or imminent threat of attack upon the United States, its territories or possessions, or the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2011
Supporting Home Owner Rights Enforcement Act - Amends the Federal Power Act, regarding the issue of licenses for construction of dams, conduits, and reservoirs, to direct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), when deciding whether to issue a license for project works, to give equal consideration to minimizing infringement on the useful exercise and enjoyment of property rights held by nonlicensees. Requires the licensee, in developing any recreational resource within the project boundary, to consider private landownership as a means to encourage and facilitate private investment, increased tourism, and recreational use.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2011
Taxpayers Right to Know Act - Requires the head of each federal agency in each fiscal year to: (1) identify and describe every program administered by such agency; (2) determine the total administrative expenses and expenditures for services for each program; (3) estimate the number of clients served by each program and the beneficiaries who received assistance under each program; (4) estimate the number of full-time federal and contract employees who administer each program; and (5) identify federal programs with duplicative or overlapping missions, services, and allowable uses of funds. Requires agency heads to publish on agency websites the information required by this Act, the latest performance reviews of each agency program, improper payment rates, the total amount of unspent and unobligated program funds held by the agency and grant recipients, and recommendations for consolidating duplicative programs, eliminating waste and inefficiency, and terminating lower priority, outdated, and unnecessary programs and initiatives. Expands the scope of information required in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance to include: (1) programs providing assistance to foreign nations, international organizations, and services provided or funded by agencies operating outside the United States; (2) information required by this Act; and (3) budget functions and authorization and appropriation amounts for each assistance program in the Catalog.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Balancing Our Obligations for the Long-Term Act of 2011 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to establish for FY2030-FY2050: (1) direct spending limits, and (2) total spending limits. Prescribes certain deficit control mechanisms (sequestration and reduction orders) for such period. Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to: (1) determine common scorekeeping guidelines, and (2) prepare estimates in conformance with such guidelines. Prescribes and/or revises requirements for discretionary, direct, total, and deficit sequestration preview and final reports. Eliminates Pay-As-You-Go reports. Adds the following programs and activities to the list exempted from sequestration orders: (1) obligated balances of budget authority carried over from prior fiscal years; (2) federal obligations required to be paid under the U.S. Constitution or legally contractual obligations; (3) Claims, Judgments, and Relief Acts (20-1895-0-1-808); and (4) intragovernmental transfers. Modifies and/or repeals certain mandatory general and special sequestration rules. Amends the Act to establish the baseline for the three 10-fiscal years beginning after the last such outyear based on enacted law, as an estimate of current year levels of budget authority, outlays, or receipts for: (1) discretionary spending; (2) Medicare; (3) Medicaid and other health-related spending; (4) other direct spending; (5) social security; (6) other categories, as appropriate; and (7) net interest. Amends the Congessional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to make an annual projection for at least 40 years of total spending, revenue, deficits, and debt beginning with the first fiscal year after the last fiscal year covered in the most recently enacted budget resolution as a percentage of current projected gross domestic product (GDP), based on current law and current law levels as modified to maintain current policy. Requires CBO to issue an annual Spending Review Report on the solvency of the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Fund and the long-range sustainability of the spending levels of Medicare, Medicaid and other health-related spending as well as other direct spending. Prescribes procedures for introduction and expedited consideration in each chamber of spending review legislation if such report indicates OASDI Trust Fund insolvency or the non-sustainability of other specified direct spending. Replaces the requirement that budget resolutions include new budget authority and outlays for each major functional category with a requirement that they include subtotals of new budget authority and outlays for nondefense discretionary spending, defense discretionary spending, Medicare, Medicaid and other health-related spending, other direct spending (excluding interest), contingencies, and net interest. Requires budget resolutions to set forth appropriate levels, as a percent of the current GDP, for total federal revenues, total outlays, debt held by the public, and the surplus or deficit in the budget for the 10th, 20th, and 30th fiscal years after the last fiscal year of the budget resolution (long-term budgeting). Requires inclusion in a budget resolution of specified long-term reconciliation directives. Requires CBO to estimate whether each measure reported from committee (except those under the Committee on Appropriations) causes a net increase in direct spending in excess of $5 billion in any of the four ensuing 10-year periods. Makes it out of order in both chambers to consider any measure that causes such a net increase in deficits. Requires CBO to prepare a specified long-term cost analysis and submit it to the requesting chairman or ranking member of the congressional budget committee or of the committee of jurisdiction for: (1) major legislation reported by any congressional committee, and (2) any bill or resolution requested by such chairman or ranking member. Requires inclusion of specified long-term budgeting in the President's budget submission. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report, in the President's budget submission, on the federal government's financial condition, including the long-term unfunded obligations. Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to revise legislative procedures for congressional consideration of the President's proposed legislation in response to a Medicare funding warning (Medicare trigger). Requires the appropriate chairman of the congressional budget committee to adjust the appropriate allocations, aggregates, and other levels to reflect the budget impact achieved by such introduced legislation for CBA purposes, the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, the Rules of the House of Representatives, or the Standing Rules of the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Pro-Growth Budgeting Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare for each major bill or resolution reported by any congressional committee (except the congressional appropriations committees), as a supplement to CBO cost estimates, a macroeconomic impact analysis of the costs of such legislation for: (1) the period for which the cost estimate is prepared, and (2) the 10-fiscal year period beginning with the first fiscal year after the last fiscal year for which such estimate was prepared and each of the 2 next 10-fiscal year periods. Defines "major bill or resolution" as any bill or resolution whose budgetary effects, for any fiscal year in the period for which a CBO cost estimate is prepared, is estimated to be greater than .25% of the current projected U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) for that fiscal year. Requires the analysis to describe: (1) the potential economic impact of the bill or resolution on major economic variables, including real GDP, business investment, the capital stock, employment, and labor supply; and (2) the potential fiscal effects of the measure, including any estimates of revenue increases or decreases resulting from changes in GDP.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Baseline Reform Act of 2011 - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to revise the formula for establishing the budget baseline. Revises the annual baseline, for any fiscal year, to mean a projection of current-year levels of new budget authority (as under current law), outlays (as under current law), or receipts (instead of revenues) and the surplus or deficit (as under current law) for the current year, the budget year, and the ensuing nine outyears based on laws enacted through the applicable date. Includes estimates for direct spending in the baseline calculation formula for the budget year and each outyear. Revises the formula for calculating the baseline for discretionary spending for the budget year and each outyear to eliminate adjustments for: (1) expiring multiyear subsidized housing contracts; (2) administrative expenses of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund, the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, the Unemployment Trust Fund, and the Railroad Retirement account; (3) offsets to federal employees' annual pay; and (4) certain inflators used to adjust budgetary resources in the Act. Amends the Act to define: (1) Medicare as programs within budget function 570; (2) Medicaid and other health-related spending as programs within budget function 550; and (2) other direct spending as programs other than those within budget functions 550 and 570, excluding Social Security and net interest. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), after the President's budget submission and in addition to the baseline projections, to report a supplemental projection to the congressional budget committees, assuming extension of current tax policy for the fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that year, with an alternative projection for that fiscal year, again assuming the extension of current tax policy, excluding emergency provisions, in the previous fiscal year. Requires CBO to report to such committees, on or before July 1 of each year, the Long-Term Budget Outlook for: (1) the fiscal year commencing on October 1 of that year, and (2) at least the ensuing 30 fiscal years.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of State to: (1) limit to one year or such period of time as appropriate the period of validity of a passport issued to a sex offender, and (2) revoke the passport or passport card of an individual who has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction in a foreign country of a sex offense. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) to rename the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking as the Office to Monitor and Combat Modern Slavery and Other Forms of Human Trafficking. Replaces the head of the Office (currently, a Director) with an Ambassador-at-Large for Combating Human Trafficking. Authorizes the Ambassador to provide assistance on an urgent basis for vulnerable populations at risk of severe forms of trafficking in persons in conjunction with post-conflict situations and humanitarian emergencies. Includes public-private partnerships to generate youth employment opportunities among the international initiatives to enhance economic opportunity for potential victims of trafficking that the President shall carry out as a method to deter trafficking. Authorizes the President to give priority to specified categories of persons who are potential trafficking victims, such as stateless persons. Amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (Wilberforce Act) to extend an authorized fee increase for certain consular services through September 30, 2015. Amends the TVPA to direct the head of the Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs to carry out specified additional activities to monitor and combat forced labor and child labor in the United States as well as foreign countries, including to develop and make available to the public and Congress a list of goods from the United States that the Bureau has reason to believe are produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act - Requires the Ambassador to encourage any publicly-traded or private entity wherever located, carrying out business operations in the United States, and having annual worldwide global receipts exceeding $100 million, to disclose annually on its website and to the Secretary any measures it has taken during the year to identify and address conditions of forced labor, slavery, human trafficking, and the worst forms of child labor within its supply chains. Amends the federal criminal code to expand the scope of the prohibition against foreign travel and engagement in illicit sexual conduct by a U.S. citizen or permanent resident alien to include travel affecting foreign commerce even if an individual is residing temporarily or permanently in a foreign jurisdiction. Declares that it is not a defense that a defendant is not criminally liable or is subject to reduced criminal liability due to the de jure or de facto acceptance of the illicit conduct in the foreign jurisdiction in which the defendant travels or resides. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the measures taken by the government of Cambodia are insufficient in addressing the scope of Cambodia's human trafficking problem, and (2) Cambodia should be designated as a Tier 3 country. Amends the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 to prohibit peacekeeping operations assistance to governments of countries that recruit and use child soldiers. Revises requirements for the national interest waiver of such prohibition. Directs the Senior Policy Operating Group to report to Congress by January 1, 2013, on Internet-facilitated human trafficking. Amends the TVPA to eliminate the Secretary of Health and Human Services' (HHS) membership on the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. Transfers the HHS Secretary's duties to the Attorney General with respect to: (1) expanding benefits and services to victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons in the United States, and nonimmigrants, without regard to their immigration status; and (2) assisting U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens who are victims of severe forms of trafficking. Transfers the HHS Secretary's duty to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) with respect to providing training to state and local officials to improve identification and protection of victims of severe forms of trafficking, including juvenile victims. Makes the Director of the Peace Corps a member of the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. Sets forth reporting requirements regarding the activities of: (1) U.S. government contractors and subcontractors and establishes a zero tolerance policy for their trafficking in persons, and (2) Bureau of Justice Assistance grant assistance for human trafficking task forces and information about trafficking victims. Extends the authority of the DHS Secretary to permit an alien to remain in the United States to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for a severe form of trafficking. Allows the Secretary to permit the alien to remain even if the alien may be a victim of such trafficking (currently, only if the alien is such a victim). Requires a federal law enforcement official to respond to a request for continued presence in the United States within 15 days, and the Secretary to approve or deny the application for continued presence within 1 month. Prohibits knowingly destroying or concealing or confiscating for more than 48 hours the passport or other immigration or personal identification document of an individual: (1) in the course of violating, or with intent to violate, the prohibition against bringing in and harboring certain aliens; or (2) in order, without lawful authority, to maintain, prevent, or restrict the labor or services of the individual. Makes fraud in foreign labor contracting a predicate offense under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Amends the Wilberforce Act to: (1) provide that, to the extent feasible, unaccompanied alien children from countries that are contiguous with the United States should be housed and screened by an immigration officer with expertise in child welfare in separate child-friendly facilities conducive to disclosing information related to human trafficking or exploitation; and (2) require each federal agency to notify the HHS Secretary within 24 (currently 48) hours regarding the apprehension or discovery of an unaccompanied alien child or regarding any claim or suspicion that an alien in custody is under age 18. Amends Social Security Act provisions regarding federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance to require state plans for such assistance, by January 1, 2013, to describe state child welfare existing practice and future plans regarding prevention measures and victim assistance related to the human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of foreign, U.S. citizen, and legal resident children. Directs the Attorney General to consult with the HHS Secretary to distribute information to enable grantees under the TVPA to publicize the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline on their websites. Authorizes appropriations for FY2012-FY2013 for the TVPA and the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. Prohibits an organization, including a faith-based organization, that is otherwise eligible to receive assistance under any specified federal laws from being: (1) required, as a condition of receiving such assistance, to endorse, utilize, provide, make a referral to, become integrated with, or otherwise participate in any program, project, or activity to which the organization has a religious or moral objection; or (2) discriminated against in the solicitation or issuance of grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or other federal funding under such laws for refusing to meet any such requirements. Grants jurisdiction to U.S. courts to prevent and redress actual or threatened violations of such prohibition by issuing any form of legal or equitable relief.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Legally Binding Budget Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require joint budget resolutions signed by the President instead of the concurrent resolutions now required (which do not have to be signed by the President). Revises accordingly the congressional procedures for considering joint budget resolutions. Prohibits the consideration of budget-related legislation before the joint budget resolution becomes law. Permits revisions of joint budget resolutions already enacted. Makes a conforming amendment to the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. Makes it out of order in both chambers to consider any joint budget resolution, amendment, or conference report that contains certain matter prohibited by the CBA, particularly inclusion in the surplus or deficit totals of any outlays and revenue totals of the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program under title II of the Social Security Act. Deems the aggregates, allocations, and any other matters that pertain solely to Congress specified in a joint budget resolution, to operate and be enforceable in both chambers as if such resolution had been enacted notwithstanding a presidential veto of the resolution. (Thus creates an automatic standing order upon a presidential veto of a joint budget resolution.) Authorizes a joint budget resolution to set forth the public debt limit. Makes conforming amendments to: (1) the Rules of the House of Representatives, and (2) the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act).
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2011 - Makes specified provisional (automatic) continuing appropriations in the event that any regular appropriation bill for a fiscal year is not enacted before the beginning of such fiscal year, or a joint resolution making continuing appropriations is not in effect. (Thus prevents a federal government shutdown.)
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Biennial Budgeting and Enhanced Oversight Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to require: (1) biennial (instead of annual) budget resolutions, (2) biennial appropriations Acts, and (3) biennial government strategic and performance plans. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Makes conforming amendments to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), and the CBA.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2011
Recognizes the importance of Christmas symbols and traditions. Disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas. Supports the use of these symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas.
United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2011
North American Energy Access Act - Prohibits construction, operation, or maintenance of the oil pipeline and related facilities described in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project issued by the Department of State on August 26, 2011 (including any modified version of that pipeline and related facilities), unless it is in compliance with the terms of a permit prescribed under this Act. Instructs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to issue, within 30 days after receipt of an application, a permit for such pipeline and related facilities implemented in accordance with such Final EIS. Deems a permit to have been issued if FERC has not acted upon a permit application within 30 days after receipt. Declares FERC approval a prerequisite to authorization for a permit applicant to make substantial modifications to either the pipeline route or any other term of the Final EIS. Directs FERC to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding with the state of Nebraska for review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 of any modification to the proposed pipeline route, and (2) complete consideration and approval of such modification within 30 days after receiving the governor's approval. Deems approval to have been issued if FERC has not acted within 30 days after receiving an application for approval of a modification. Declares a permit issued under this Act to be the sole legal authority to construct, operate, and maintain the Keystone XL Pipeline Project and related facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2011 - Imposes criminal penalties on anyone who knowingly or knowingly attempts to: (1) perform an abortion knowing that the abortion is sought based on the sex, gender, color or race of the child, or the race of a parent; (2) use force or the threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion; (3) solicit or accept funds for the performance of such an abortion; or (4) transport a woman into the United States or across a state line for the purpose of obtaining such an abortion. Authorizes civil actions, for verifiable money damages for injuries and punitive damages, by: (1) fathers, or maternal grandparents if the mother is an unemancipated minor, of unborn children who are the subject of an abortion performed or attempted through any of the above violations; and (2) women upon whom an abortion has been performed or attempted with a knowing or attempted use of force or threat of force to intentionally injure or intimidate any person for the purpose of coercing a sex-selection or race-selection abortion. Authorizes, to prevent an abortion provider from performing or attempting further abortions in violation of this Act, injunctive relief to be obtained by the women upon whom such an abortion is performed or attempted, spouses or parents of a woman upon whom such an abortion is performed, or the Attorney General (DOJ). Deems a violation of this Act to be prohibited discrimination under title VI (Federally Assisted Programs) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Violators of title VI lose federal funding.) Requires a medical or mental health professional to report known or suspected violations to law enforcement authorities. Imposes criminal penalties for a failure to so report. Prohibits a woman having such an abortion from being prosecuted or held civilly liable. Excludes from the definition of "abortion" actions taken to terminate a pregnancy if the intent is to save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child, remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion, or remove an ectopic pregnancy.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Amends the Railway Labor Act to require the National Mediation Board to apply the same procedures, including voting standards, to the direct decertification of a labor organization as are applied to elections to certify a representative.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2011
Amends Rule XXIII (Code of Official Conduct) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner (Member) to place into a blind trust all securities, commodities for future delivery, security-based swaps, or swaps that are transacted on or through the facilities of a national securities exchange or from or through a broker or dealer, unless the Member files with the Clerk of the House a specified detailed disclosure report of all such transactions within five business days after the last day of a calendar month in which a transaction is completed. Requires the Clerk to make available to the public a detailed summary of each such disclosure report. Prohibits a Member or officer or employee of the House from purchasing or selling a security, commodity for future delivery, security-based swap, or swap, on or through the facilities of a national securities exchange or from or through a broker or dealer, while in possession of material, nonpublic information obtained by reason of employment in the House.
United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2011
Expedited Line-Item Veto and Rescissions Act of 2011 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (CBICA) to authorize the President to propose the rescission (line item veto) of all or any dollar amount of funding provided by any enacted bill or joint resolution. Sets forth requirements for the President's transmittal to Congress of a special message regarding the proposed rescission. Authorizes the President, except for his deferral of budget authority provided in CBICA, to withhold such rescinded funding temporarily from obligation, but only once per proposed rescission. Dedicates the rescinded funds solely to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus. Provides for adjustment of: (1) committee allocations resulting from such a rescission, and (2) applicable limits under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) revised downward by the amount of the rescissions. Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of a proposed rescission. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require the House Committee on the Budget, whenever an approval bill passes the House of Representatives, to reduce the applicable committee allocations immediately by the total amount of reductions in budget authority and in outlays resulting from such approval.
United States · United States Congress · 29 November 2011
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is unconstitutional in its entirety, and (2) the Anti-Injunction Act applies to neither the individual mandate nor to the penalty provision that enforces it and thus does not preclude the federal courts from finding PPACA unconstitutional in its entirety.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2011
Pays tribute to the members of the U.S. Armed Forces and civilians who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Honors the thousands of men and women of the Armed Forces who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom and liberty during World War II. Acknowledges the continued peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship between the United States and Japan. Appreciates the efforts of Japan as one of the most reliable security partners of the United States in the global war on terrorism. Encourages Japan to continue to develop strategic and economic policies, in partnership with the United States, that promote stability throughout Asia and reduce trade barriers between the two countries.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2011
Financial Institutions Examination Fairness and Reform Act - Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require a federal financial institutions regulatory agency to make a final examination report to a financial institution within 60 days of the later of: (1) the exit interview for an examination of the institution, or (2) the provision of additional information by the institution relating to the examination. Sets a deadline for the exit interview if a financial institution is not subject to a resident examiner program. Sets forth examination standards for financial institutions. Prohibits federal financial institutions regulatory agencies from requiring a well capitalized financial institution to raise additional capital in lieu of an action prohibited by the examination standards. Establishes in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council an Office of Examination Ombudsman. Grants a financial institution the right to appeal a material supervisory determination contained in a final report of examination. Requires the Ombudsman to determine the merits of the appeal on the record, after an opportunity for a hearing before an independent administrative law judge. Declares the decision by the Ombudsman on an appeal to: (1) be the final agency action, and (2) bind the agency whose supervisory determination was the subject of the appeal and the financial institution making the appeal. Amends the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 to require: (1) the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to establish an independent intra-agency appellate process in connection with the regulatory appeals process; and (2) appropriate safeguards to protect an insured depository institution or insured credit union from retaliation by the CFPB, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board, or any other federal banking agency for exercising its rights.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2011
Grant Reform and New Transparency Act of 2011 or the GRANT Act - Establishes new standards for awarding federal grants. Requires executive agencies to use merit-based procedures in awarding grants and to conduct an evaluation of the ability of a prospective grantee to successfully carry out a grant before awarding it. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) upgrade any public website for finding federal grant opportunities so that such website serves as a central point of information for competitive grants, (2) issue and disseminate guidance to aid agencies in establishing merit-based selection procedures for grant programs and in identifying amounts of undisbursed funding remaining in grant accounts, and (3) submit a plan to improve the single audit process for auditing the financial statements and federal awards of a non-federal entity. Sets forth the information required to be included in the public grant website, including grant funds availability and grant award information. Requires agencies to explain to grant applicants the basis for award decisions involving grants exceeding $100,000.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2011
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the award of congressional gold medals in honor of the men and women who perished as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York, and the Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell bronze duplicates of such medals, with amounts received from the sale to be deposited in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2011
Regional Haze Federalism Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate a federal implementation plan in place of a state implementation plan to remedy any impairment to visibility in designated class I areas (international parks, wilderness areas and memorial parks that exceed 5,000 acres, and national parks that exceed 6,000 acres) only if: (1) such state failed to consider the costs of, the time necessary for, and and the energy and non-air quality environmental impacts of compliance with such plan and the remaining useful life of any existing air pollution source; and (2) compliance with federal implementation plan requirements is not required earlier than five years after the date of promulgation. Requires: (1) the Administrator to revoke an existing federal or state implementation plan for a state regarding visibility or any determination made in 2010 or 2011 of best available retrofit technology for a source upon receipt of a request by such state; and (2) such state to submit to the Administrator a visibility plan or a revised retrofit technology determination within a reasonable period of time. Provides that states have sole discretion, after considering certain economic factors, in determining emission limits, schedules of compliance, and other measures for each applicable implementation plan for a state for any area that is listed as contributing to impairment of visibility. Requires the state, in determining best available retrofit technology (or the Administrator in determining emission limitations that reflect such technology), to consider, in addition to other factors, the economic impacts to the state and the degree of improvement in visibility that may reasonably be anticipated to result from measures described in the applicable implementation plan. Provides that a state's determination of such technology for any source may be subject to review by the Administrator or an administrative entity or federal or state court only pursuant to a clearly erroneous standard of review.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2011
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits the federal government from increasing its debt except for a specific purpose by law adopted by three-fourths of the membership of each chamber.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2011
Standard Data and Technology Advancement Act or Standard DATA Act - Amends part A of title XI of the Social Security Act to direct the head of the department or agency responsible for administering certain human services programs to designate, by rule, nonproprietary and interoperable standard data elements for any category of information required to be reported.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2011
Lake Thunderbird Efficient Use Act of 2011 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to amend an existing contract or enter into one or more new contracts with the Central Oklahoma Master Conservancy District for the storage and conveyance of nonproject water in Norman project facilities to augment municipal and industrial supplies for the cities served by the District, if the Secretary determines that there is enough excess capacity in the reservoir on the Little River known as Lake Thunderbird that nonproject water can be stored there. Makes the costs of constructing, operating, and maintaining any additional infrastructure needed to enable the storage and conveyance of nonproject water in Norman project facilities under any provision of this Act the responsibility of the non-federal entity contracting with the Secretary for storage and conveyance rights.
![Official portrait of Sen. Lankford, James [R-OK]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000575_200.jpg)