United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the 15-year recovery period classification for qualified leasehold improvement, restaurant, and retail improvement property, for purposes of the depreciation tax deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
Condemns the senseless attack in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, April 15, 2013. Honors the medical personnel, first responders, and citizen heroes who aided the injured and the community. Commits to providing all necessary resources to law enforcement officials who are investigating the terrorist attacks and to bringing those responsible to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Promotion and Expansion of Private Employee Ownership Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend to all domestic corporations, including S corporations, provisions allowing deferral of tax on gain from the sale of employer securities to an S corporation-sponsored employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the S Corporation Employee Ownership Assistance Office to foster increased employee ownership of S corporations. Amends the Small Business Act to define "ESOP business concern" and allow such a concern to continue to qualify for loans, preferences, and other programs under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Basel III Commonsense Approach for Small Entities Act or Basel III CASE Act - Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, before issuing any final rule in relation to proposals they have issued for the International Basel III agreement on general risk-based capital requirements, to conduct an empirical study that includes: (1) a quantitative analysis of the rule's impact on the U.S. financial services sector, specifically community, mid-size, and regional financial institutions; and (2) a determination of the long-term impact of the rule, including changes to the current risk weight framework. Allows any financial institution to provide information for the study voluntarily upon agency request, but prohibits agencies from requiring it. Requires the study to be made available to the public for notice and comment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
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 · 15 April 2013
Disarm Criminals and Protect Communities Act - Establishes within the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Felon and Fugitive Firearm Task Force to strengthen DOJ efforts to investigate and prosecute cases of convicted felons and fugitives who illegally attempt to purchase a firearm. Requires the Task Force to provide direction for and recommendations to the Attorney General regarding such investigation and prosecution, including with respect to: (1) the allocation of DOJ resources; (2) enhancing cooperation among federal agencies and entities and among federal, state, and local authorities; (3) changes in rules, regulations, or policy to improve effectiveness; and (4) improvements through changes in rules, regulations, or policy. Makes specified sums in the DOJ Assets Forfeiture Fund available for: (1) the investigation and prosecution of cases of convicted felons and fugitives who illegally attempt to purchase a firearm, and (2) the Task Force.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2013
Essential Services Act of 2013 - Requires executive agency heads to exempt essential employees from furloughs required by sequestration. Defines "essential employee" as an employee that performs work involving the safety of human life or the protection of property. Allows agencies to transfer their budgetary resources to carry out this Act, but only to maintain essential employees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to establish a pilot program to award grants to nonprofit organizations for the purpose of retrofitting buildings owned by such organizations with energy-efficiency improvements. Directs the Secretary, in determining whether to award a grant, to apply performance-based criteria, which shall give priority to applications based on: (1) the cost-effectiveness of the energy-efficiency improvement; and (2) an effective plan for evaluation, measurement, and verification of energy savings. Limits each grant award to: (1) an amount equal to 50% of the energy-efficiency improvement, and (2) $200,000. Authorizes appropriations for such grants for FY2014-FY2017. Requires the Secretary to use amounts otherwise made available for the Building Technologies Program to carry out such pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Municipal Advisors Relief Act of 2013 - Excludes from the identity of municipal advisor (subject to registration requirements) any person appointed to or volunteering on a board, commission, committee, or similar function of a municipal entity. Exempts also from registration requirements any banks, including agencies or branches of a foreign bank.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Returned Exclusively For Unpaid National Debt Act or REFUND Act - Rescinds unwanted amounts, as identified by a state from a projected allocation, from any federal funds required to be allocated by formula among all states that agree to use them for a specified purpose. Prescribes a procedure by which a state legislature may identify a projected federal allocation as unwanted funds. Requires such rescinded amounts to: (1) be deposited by the Secretary of the Treasury in the special fund account entitled "Gifts to Reduce Debt Held by the Public, Bureau of the Public Debt, Treasury"; and (2) be used to reduce the federal debt.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), during FY2013 or FY2014, from suspending or terminating the operation of any air traffic control tower in operation on March 1, 2013, without regard to whether the tower is operated by the FAA or a contractor. Directs the Administrator, as soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, to provide for resumed operation of any such tower that was suspended or terminated after March 1, 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2013
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Privacy Notice Modernization Act of 2013 - Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt from its annual written privacy policy notice requirement any financial institution which: (1) provides nonpublic personal information only in accordance with specified requirements, (2) has not changed its policies and practices with respect to disclosing nonpublic personal information from those disclosed in the most recent disclosure sent to consumers, and (3) otherwise provides customers access to such most recent disclosure in electronic or other form permitted by specified regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Repeals a provision of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 establishing an inspection and grading program for catfish and other species of farm-raised fish shellfish effective on the date of enactment of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act of 2013 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to payments for physician services, to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) from applying a multiple procedure payment reduction policy to the professional component of imaging services until the Secretary publishes in the Federal Register: (1) an analysis of the information used in the final rule to implement the physician fee schedule in 2013 to determine what, if any, efficiences exist within the professional component of imaging services when two or more studies are performed on the same patient on the same day; and (2) detailed information on which activities in the vignettes in such rule were assigned specified reduction percentages, how such percentage reductions for the pre-, intra-, and post-service work were determined and calculated, and the clinical aspects that went into those decisions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Family Health Care Flexibility Act - Repeals provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 that: (1) restrict payments from health savings accounts, medical savings accounts, and health flexible spending arrangements for medications to prescription drugs and insulin only (thus allowing payments for over-the-counter medications); and (2) impose a $2,500 limitation on salary reduction contributions to a health flexible spending arrangement under a cafeteria plan.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Jobs and Premium Protection Act - Repeals a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that imposes an annual fee on each entity that provides health insurance for any U.S. health risk based on net premium income.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act - Prohibits, in any case arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), any person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness from being considered adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of the right to receive or transport firearms without the order or finding of a judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Life at Conception Act of 2013 - Declares that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human being beginning at the moment of fertilization, cloning, or other moment at which an individual comes into being. Prohibits construing this Act to require the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Authorizes TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to construct, connect, operate, and maintain pipeline facilities for the import of crude oil and other hydrocarbons at the United States-Canada Border at Phillips County, Montana, in accordance with a certain application filed with the Department of State on May 4, 2012. Declares that no Executive Order, provision of law, or presidential permit shall be required for such facilities. Deems a certain Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Secretary of State and other specified documents to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as well as any other law requiring federal agency consultation or review regarding such cross-border facilities. Keeps in effect any federal permit or authorization issued before the enactment of this Act for the facilities described in this Act and for related facilities in the United States. Restricts to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit any federal judicial review over actions and facilities implemented under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Hydropower Improvement Act of 2013 - Declares the sense of the Senate that the United States should increase substantially the capacity and generation of clean, renewable hydropower which will improve the environmental quality of resources and support local job creation and economic investment across the United States. Defines "conduit" to specify any tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption and not primarily for the generation of electricity. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to: (1) investigate the feasibility of issuing a license for certain hydropower development at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage projects during a two-year period beginning on commencement of the FERC prefiling licensing process (two-year process); and (2) hold workshops on how to implement a two-year process, develop criteria for identifying hydropower development projects at nonpowered dams and closed loop pumped storage projects that may be appropriate for licensing within a two-year process, and develop pilot projects to test such a process. Amends the Federal Power Act to revise the limitation on the maximum installment capacity of qualifying conduit hydropower facilities eligible for exemption from licensing requirements. Waives such requirements for any conduit hydroelectric facility that: (1) uses for electric power generation only the hydroelectric potential of a non-federally owned conduit, (2) has a maximum installed capacity of five megawatts, and (3) is not currently licensed or exempted from license requirements. Authorizes FERC to exempt from license requirements any electric power generation facility that utilizes for such generation only the hydroelectric potential of a conduit, and has an installed capacity or 40 megawatts or fewer. Requires any person, state, or municipality proposing to construct a qualifying conduit hydropower facility to file with FERC a notice of intent to do so. Requires FERC, within 15 days after receiving a notice of intent, to make an initial determination whether the facility meets the qualifying criteria. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to increase from 5,000 to 10,000 kilowatts the size of small hydroelectric power projects which FERC may exempt from its license requirements. Authorizes FERC to extend the preliminary permit period for up to two additional years if it finds that the permittee has implemented activities under the permit in good faith and with reasonable diligence. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to study and report to congressional committees on: (1) the technical flexibility that existing pumped storage facilities can provide to support intermittent renewable electric energy generation, including the potential for those facilities to be upgraded or retrofitted with advanced commercially available technology; and (2) the technical potential of existing pumped storage facilities and new advanced pumped storage facilities to provide grid reliability benefits. Directs the President to report to certain congressional committees on actions taken by DOE, the Department of the Interior, and the Army Corps of Engineers to carry out a certain memorandum of understanding on hydropower, with particular emphasis on actions taken by the agencies to work together and facilitate the federal permitting process for federal and non-federal hydropower projects at federal facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Small Business Investment Company Modernization Act of 2013 - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase from $225 million to $350 million the maximum amount of outstanding leverage to be made available by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to two or more commonly controlled small business investment companies not under capital impairment.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program Enhancement Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments under the federal veterinary medicine loan repayment program or any other state loan repayment or forgiveness program that is intended to provide for increased access to veterinary services in such state.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should not sign the Arms Trade Treaty, and that, if he transmits the Treaty with his signature to the Senate, the Senate should not ratify it; and (2) until the Treaty has been signed by the President, received the advice and consent of the Senate, and has been the subject of implementing legislation by Congress, no federal funds should be appropriated or authorized to implement the Treaty, or any similar agreement, or to conduct activities relevant to the Treaty, or any similar agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Regulation Costs to Small Business Act - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to: (1) conduct an annual study of the total costs to small businesses of federal regulations, and (2) report each study's results to Congress. Expresses the sense of Congress that no additional funds should be made available to the SBA to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2013
Expanding Access to Capital for Entrepreneurial Leaders Act or the EXCEL Act - Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to guarantee the payment of up to $4 billion per fiscal year for debentures or participating securities issued by small business investment companies (SBICs) to encourage the formation and growth of small businesses. Increases the maximum amount of outstanding leverage for two or more commonly-controlled SBICs. Authorizes annual inflationary adjustments of such limits. Directs the Administrator to make publicly available on the SBA website specified fiscal and related information with respect to each SBIC. Allows SBIC licensing fees to be used by the SBA for SBIC program needs other than the costs of licensing examinations. Expresses the sense of Congress that SBICs would benefit from partnerships with community banks and other lenders, and that the Administrator should: (1) increase outreach to such banks and lenders for investment in SBICs; (2) use the Internet to publicize which SBICs are soliciting and making investments in small businesses; (3) partner with governors, mayors, states, and municipalities to increase outreach by SBICs to underserved and rural areas; and (4) revise and update the SBIC program webpage to make it more prominent and user-friendly.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2013 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "abatement" any renovation, remodeling, or other activity: (1) the primary purpose of which is to repair, restore, or remodel target housing, public buildings constructed before 1978, or commercial buildings; and (2) that incidentally results in a reduction or elimination of lead-based paint hazards. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), no later than one year prior to proposing any renovation and remodeling regulation, to study the extent to which persons engaged in such activities: (1) are exposed to lead, and (2) disturb lead and create a lead-based paint hazard. Exempts from any such regulation an emergency renovation that is carried out in response to an event that is an act of God as defined by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), that presents a risk to the public health or safety, or that threatens to cause significant damage to equipment or property if not attended to immediately. Prohibits such a regulation from requiring post-abatement clearance testing. Requires the Administrator to promulgate regulations to permit an owner of a residential dwelling that is target housing, who resides in such dwelling, to authorize a contractor to forego compliance with such a regulation if the owner submits a certification stating that: (1) the renovation or remodeling project is to be carried out at such dwelling, (2) no pregnant woman or child under the age of six resides or will reside in such housing, and (3) the owner acknowledges that such contractor will be exempt from the requirements of such regulation. Prohibits the Administrator from holding a contractor responsible for a misrepresentation made by the owner of such dwelling unless the contractor has actual knowledge of such a misrepresentation. Requires the Administrator to: (1) recognize a qualifying test kit for use under such Act, and (2) suspend enforcement of any regulation relating to renovation and remodeling of target housing and commercial buildings constructed after January 1, 1960, and public buildings constructed between January 1, 1960, and January 1, 1978, until a specified period after the Administrator recognizes such a test kit.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2013
Small Business Efficiency Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat professional employer organizations (PEOs), certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as employers for employment tax purposes (thus allowing such PEOs to pay wages and collect and remit payroll taxes on behalf of an employer). Sets forth IRS certification requirements for PEOs, including financial review and reporting requirements. Requires a PEO to post a bond each year, up to $1 million, to guarantee payment of employment taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2013
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013 - Declares that Israel is a Major Strategic Partner of the United States. Amends the Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 to extend authority to: (1) make additions to foreign-based defense stockpiles, and (2) transfer certain obsolete or surplus Department of Defense (DOD) items to Israel. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to take steps to make Israel eligible for the strategic trade authorization exception to the requirement for a license for the export, reexport, or in-country transfer of an item subject to certain export controls. Authorizes the President to carry out U.S.-Israel cooperative activities and to provide assistance for cooperation in the fields of energy, water, homeland security, agriculture, and alternative fuel technologies. Directs the President to report to Congress on the feasibility and advisability of establishing a joint United States-Israel Cyber Security Center. Includes Israel in the visa waiver program when Israel satisfies such program's inclusion requirements and provides, subject to security concerns, reciprocal travel privileges for U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
Short Line Railroad Rehabilitation and Investment Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for railroad track maintenance, to: (1) expand the types of maintenance expenditures eligible for such credit, and (2) extend such credit through 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
American Job Protection Act - Repeals provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, as added by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, that: (1) impose fines on large employers (employers with more than 50 full-time employees) who fail to offer their full-time employees the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential health insurance coverage, and (2) require such large employers to file a report with the Secretary of the Treasury on health insurance coverage provided to their full-time employees. Applies the Internal Revenue Code as if such provisions had never been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2013
States that Congress: reaffirms the long-standing bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel which enjoy bipartisan support in Congress and among the people of the United States; supports the close military, intelligence, and security cooperation that President Obama has pursued with Israel; condemns the statements and policies of the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran threatening Israel's security and existence; recognizes the tremendous threat posed to the United States, the West, and Israel by Iran's pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability; reiterates that U.S. policy is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon capability and to take necessary action to implement such policy; supports the full implementation of U.S. and international sanctions on Iran; declares that the United States has a vital national interest and commitment to ensuring Israel's existence and security; supports Israel's right to self-defense; and urges that if Israel is compelled to take military action in self-defense the U.S. government should provide Israel with diplomatic, military, and economic support. States that nothing in this resolution shall be construed as an authorization for the use of force or a declaration of war.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Financial Takeover Repeal Act of 2013 - Repeals the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Revives or restores the provisions of law amended by such Act as if it had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary of the Interior, within 30 days after being served with a complaint in an action alleging a failure to perform an act or duty related to an endangered species or threatened species determination, to publish the complaint. Prohibits the failure of the Secretary to meet such deadline from being the basis for such an action. Sets forth requirements concerning the intervention in such actions by affected parties and referral to a mediation program. Authorizes the court, in issuing any final order in such an action, to award litigation costs to any party. Prohibits the court from: (1) awarding litigation costs in any proposed covered settlement, (2) granting a motion that is based on a proposed covered settlement or other consent decree that includes payment for litigation costs, (3) approving a proposed covered settlement unless each state and county in which the Secretary believes a species occurs approves it, or (4) granting a motion that is based on a proposed covered settlement unless such settlement is approved by each such state and county. Requires the courts to ensure that such a settlement is approved by each such state and county. Requires the Secretary to provide notice of a proposed covered settlement to each such state and county. Authorizes a court to approve such a settlement or grant such a motion if, within 45 days of notification: (1) a state or county fails to respond, and (2) each state or county that responds approves the covered settlement, or (3) all of the states and counties fail to respond.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2013
Energy Production and Project Delivery Act of 2013 - Considers that the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) has approved the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010-2015 as a final oil and gas leasing program under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Deems the Secretary to have issued a final environmental impact statement for such Program under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a lease sale in each outer Continental Shelf (OCS) planning area for which there is a commercial interest in purchasing federal oil and gas production leases, (2) approve or disapprove a drill permit application within 20 days after submission, and (3) hold Lease Sale 220 for an area offshore of Virginia. Revises requirements for the distribution of revenues from OCS planning areas and for their allocation among coastal states for FY2024 and ensuing fiscal years. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to implement a competitive leasing program for the exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources on the Coastal Plain of Alaska. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 to repeal the prohibition against leasing or other development leading to production of oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Deems any oil and gas leasing programs and activities authorized by this Act to be in compliance with the purposes of ANWR, so that no further findings or decisions are required to implement this determination. Authorizes the Secretary to designate up to 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a special area for special management and preservation of its unique and diverse character. Permits directional drilling in the Special Area. States that the Secretary's sole authority to close lands within the Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, and production is that set forth in this Act. Prescribes procedures governing Coastal Plain lease sales and lease sale bids, as well as lease terms and conditions. Requires the Secretary, when possible and practicable, to encourage the use of U.S. workers and U.S.-manufactured equipment in all construction related to mineral development on the Coastal Plain. Directs the Secretary to: (1) administer the leasing program with respect to Coastal Plain environmental protection according to the no significant adverse effect standard, (2) issue rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for the transportation of oil and gas, and (3) convey specified surface estates to the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation and subsurface estates to the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. Directs the Secretary to develop a plan facility consolidation plan for the Coastal Plain. Prescribes guidelines for expedited judicial review of complaints. Requires deposit in the Treasury of 90% of all bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from federal oil and gas leasing and operations authorized under this Act. Grants the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction to hear all causes and claims arising from any covered project of federal land leasing for exploitation of oil, natural gas, or any other source or form of energy. Prohibits the award or federal payment of legal fees to an environmental nongovernmental organization in connection with any action: (1) preventing, terminating, or reducing access to production of energy, mineral resources, water by agricultural producers, a resource by commercial or recreational fishermen, or grazing or timber production on federal land; (2) diminishing a property owner's private property value; or (3) eliminating or preventing one or more jobs. Prohibits the Secretary, acting through the BLM, from establishing a master leasing plan as part of any guidance issued by the Secretary. Amends the Antiquities Act of 1906 to repeal the authority of the President to declare national monuments on federal lands in his or her own discretion. Subjects such authority to the approval of Congress. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the head of any other federal agency from implementing or enforcing any regulations, proposals, or actions establishing any carbon dioxide or greenhouse gas emissions reductions until the Administrator, the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, and the Secretary of Commerce certify in writing that the People's Republic of China, India, and the Russian Federation have proposed, implemented, and enforced measures requiring substantially similar reductions. Nullifies any regulation, proposal, or action in effect before such certification is made that requires any carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Amends the Clean Air Act to require an economic analysis of any requirement of the Act that results in an adverse effect on employment. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to establish an economic review board to assess such an analysis. Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to require the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce, as appropriate, upon a state governor's declaration of an emergency, to exempt from the prohibition against taking, and against adverse modification of critical habitat, any action reasonably necessary to avoid or ameliorate the impact of the emergency, including fighting or preventing forest fires and building, rebuilding, or operating any water supply or flood control project by a federal agency. Prohibits consideration of the impact of greenhouse gas on any species of fish or wildlife or plant for any purpose in the implementation of the ESA. Prohibits the Bureau of Reclamation of the Department of the Interior and any California state agency operating a water project in connection with the Central Valley Project from restricting operations of an applicable project pursuant to any biological opinion issued under ESA if it would result in a level of allocation of water less than the historical maximum allocation under the project. Declares that no presidential permit shall be required for a specified pipeline application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Corporation to the Department of State for the northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline from the Canadian border to the South Dakota/Nebraska border. Considers the final environmental impact statement regarding such pipeline issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, to satisfy all NEPA requirements. Considers approved the route of the Keystone XL pipeline through Nebraska. Declares that no area necessary to construct or maintain the pipeline shall be considered critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the National Park Service, to: (1) reinstate, for at least 10 years, the reservation of use and occupancy and special use permits to conduct commercial operations within Point Reyes National Seashore in California held by Drakes Bay Oyster Company; and (2) renew those reinstated permits for an additional 10-year period upon request by the company or a successor in interest. Prohibits the conversion of Drakes Estero to a designated wilderness.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2013
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award, on behalf of Congress, of six gold medals in honor of the members of the 17 Bombardment Group (Medium), who became known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, in recognition of their military service during World War II. Requires: (1) five of the medals to be given to the five surviving members of the April 18, 1942, Tokyo bombing mission; and (2) the remaining medal to be given to the National Museum of the United States Air Force for display. Expresses the sense of Congress that such Museum should make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations and events associated with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2013
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to allow physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and clinical nurse specialists to supervise cardiac, intensive cardiac, and pulmonary rehabilitation programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2013
Decrease Spending Now Act - Rescinds $45 billion of unobligated balances of current discretionary appropriations. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) determine which appropriation accounts the rescission shall apply to and the amount that each such account shall be reduced, and (2) report to the Secretary of the Treasury and Congress a list of the accounts reduced by the rescission, including the amounts rescinded from each such account. Exempts from such rescission the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Social Security Administration (SSA).
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2013
Geothermal Production Expansion Act of 2013 - Amends competitive lease provisions of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to allow an area of qualified federal land (land that is otherwise available for leasing under that Act) that adjoins other land for which a qualified lessee holds a legal right to develop geothermal resources to be available for a noncompetitive lease to such lessee at fair market value per acre if: (1) the area of qualified federal land consists of not less than one acre and not more than 640 acres and is not already leased or nominated to be leased; (2) the qualified lessee has not previously received a noncompetitive lease in connection with the valid discovery for which data has been submitted; and (3) sufficient technical data prepared by a qualified geothermal professional has been submitted by the qualified lessee to the applicable federal land management agency that would lead individuals who are experienced in the subject matter to believe that there is a valid discovery of geothermal resources on the land and that such thermal feature extends into the adjoining areas. Defines "fair market value per acre" as a dollar amount per acre that shall be: (1) equal to the market value per acre as determined by the Secretary of the Interior within 180 days after the Secretary receives an application for a lease, and (2) not less than the greater of 4 times the median amount paid per acre for all land leased under such Act during the preceding year or $50. Directs the Secretary to: (1) publish a notice of any request for such a lease; (2) determine fair market value in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary; (3) provide to a qualified lessee and publish, with an opportunity for public comment for a period of 30 days, any proposed determination of the fair market value of the area the qualified lessee seeks to lease; and (4) provide the lessee and any adversely affected party an opportunity to appeal the final determination of fair market value in an administrative proceeding before the applicable federal land management agency. Prohibits the Secretary from accepting any nomination of land for leasing after publication of a notice of request to lease such land unless the request has been denied or withdrawn.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2013
Good Neighbor Forestry Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System land, and the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, to enter into cooperative agreements and contracts with state foresters to provide forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration and protection services that include: (1) activities to treat insect infected trees; (2) activities to reduce hazardous fuels; and (3) any other activities to restore or improve forest, rangeland, and watershed health, including fish and wildlife habitat. Permits state foresters to enter into subcontracts to provide such restoration and protection services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2013
Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor child across a state line to obtain an abortion (deems such transporting to be a de facto abridgment of the right of a parent under any law in the minor’s state of residence that requires parental involvement in the minor’s abortion decision). Makes an exception for an abortion necessary to save the life of the minor. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution or civil action under this Act that a defendant: (1) reasonably believed that before the minor obtained the abortion, the required parental consent or notification or judicial authorization took place; or (2) was presented with documentation showing that a court waived parental notification requirements or authorized the minor's abortion. Defines "abortion" to mean the use or prescription of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device: (1) to intentionally kill the unborn child of a woman known to be pregnant; or (2) to intentionally prematurely terminate the pregnancy of a woman known to be pregnant with an intention other than to increase the probability of a live birth or of preserving the life or health of the child after live birth, or to remove a dead unborn child. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to one year on a physician who performs or induces an abortion on an out-of-state minor in violation of parental notification requirements. Requires such physician to give 24-hour actual or constructive notice to a parent of the minor seeking an abortion, subject to certain exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2013
Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2013 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require an abortion provider who knowingly performs an abortion of a pain-capable unborn child (defined as an unborn child who has reached a probable stage of development of 20 weeks or more after fertilization), to first: (1) inform the woman of the probable age of the child, (2) provide to the woman an Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure (unless she waives receipt), (3) provide information that pain medicine administered to the mother may not prevent pain in the child, but in some cases anesthesia or pain-reducing drugs can be administered directly to the child, (4) give the woman the provider's best medical judgment of the risks and costs of such anesthesia or analgesic, and (5) obtain the woman's signature on the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Decision Form and her explicit request for or refusal of the administration of drugs to the child. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Brochure that includes a statement that there is substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain and that the mother has the option of having pain-reducing drugs administered directly to the child. Creates an exception to save the life of the mother. Establishes civil penalties for willfully failing to comply with this Act. Authorizes: (1) the Attorney General (DOJ) to bring a civil action under this Act, and (2) private rights of action for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2013
Protecting Seniors' Access to Medicare Act of 2013 - Repeals sections of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care (PPACA) (and restores provisions of law amended by such sections) related to the establishment of an Independent Payment Advisory Board to develop and submit detailed proposals to reduce the per capita rate of growth in Medicare spending to the President for Congress to consider.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2013
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to arrange for the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to honor collectively the World War II members of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) in recognition of their military service and exemplary record during World War II. Requires the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with the CAP. Permits the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2013
Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act - Amends the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Bureau of Reclamation) to contract for the development of small conduit hydropower at Bureau facilities. Defines: (1) "small conduit hydropower" as five megawatts or less; and (2) "conduit" as a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance. Requires that power privilege leases be offered first to an irrigation district or water users association operating or receiving water from the applicable transferred or reserved work. Defines: (1) "reserved work" as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance have been reserved by the Secretary (through the Bureau); and (2) "transferred work" as any conduit included in project works whose care, operation, and maintenance have been transferred to a legally organized water users association or irrigation district. Exempts the small conduit hydropower development authorized by this Act from the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), except with respect to siting of associated transmission on federal lands. Makes the Bureau's Power Resources Office the lead office for such small conduit hydropower policy and procedure-setting activities (thus excludes such activities from the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [FERC]). Declares that nothing in this Act shall: (1) obligate specified power administrations to purchase or market the power produced by such facilities, (2) alter or impede the delivery and management of water for original project purposes, or (3) alter or affect any existing agreements for conduit hydropower development projects or disposition of revenues. Deems water used for conduit hydropower generation to be incidental to use of water for the original project purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2013
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits total outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Prohibits total outlays for any fiscal year from exceeding 18% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the preceding calendar year unless Congress, by a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess over such 18%. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill from becoming law that imposes a new tax or increases the statutory rate of any tax or the aggregate amount of revenue, unless approved by a two-thirds roll call vote of each chamber. Requires a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber to increase the federal debt limit. Authorizes waivers of these requirements: (1) when a declaration of war is in effect against a nation-state and Congress, by a majority roll call vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess; or (2) under other specified circumstances involving military conflict, if Congress, by a three-fifths roll call vote of each chamber, authorizes such waiver. Prohibits a federal or state court from ordering any increase in revenue to enforce this article.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2013
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), upon the request of the licensee for the project numbered 12423 (American Falls Reservoir, Idaho), to reinstate the license and extend for three years after enactment of this Act the time period during which the licensee is required to commence the construction of project works.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2013
Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2013 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require amounts received through FY2020 (currently, through FY2010) from leases under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to be available to the Secretary of the Interior for implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as well as the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to: (1) prepare and publish a notice of intent to prepare a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to analyze the potential impacts of a program to develop solar and wind energy on National Forest System land and any necessary amendments to land use plans for such land, and (2) amend such plans to provide for the development of renewable energy on completion of the programmatic EIS. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD), for states that have not completed such an analysis, to submit a report that: (1) identifies locations on land withdrawn from the public domain and reserved for military purposes that could be developed for renewable energy production, and (2) describes the administration of public land withdrawn for military purposes for the development of commercial-scale renewable energy projects. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish a wind and solar leasing pilot program on public land administered by the Secretary. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a joint determination on whether to establish such program within two years on all covered land, (2) establish such program unless they determine that the program is not in the public interest and does not provide an effective means of developing such energy, and (3) require as a condition for any authorization for the development of such energy on such land the payment of a royalty. Defines "covered land" as: (1) public land administered by the Secretary or National Forest System land administered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) land not excluded from the development of solar or wind energy under a land use plan established under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, the National Forest Management Act of 1976, or other law. Establishes in the Treasury the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior in regions impacted by the development of wind or solar energy for addressing and offsetting the impacts of such development on federal land, securing recreational access to federal land to provide enhanced public access to existing federal land that is inaccessible or significantly restricted, and carrying out activities authorized under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965. Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to determine the feasibility of carrying out a conservation banking program. Prohibits wind or solar generation projects with a capacity of 20 megawatts or more that are issued a lease, right-of-way, permit, or other authorization from being subject to the rental fee exemption for rights-of-way under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2013
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), upon the request of the licensee for the project numbered 12063 (Little Wood River Ranch, Idaho), to: (1) extend for three years after enactment of this Act the time period during which the licensee is required to commence the construction of project works; or (2) if the license for Project No. 12063 has been terminated, reinstate the license and extend for three years after enactment of this Act the time period during which the licensee is required to commence the construction of project works.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2013
Grazing Improvement Act - Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (the Act) to double from 10 to 20 years the period of a term for grazing permits and leases for domestic livestock grazing on public lands or lands within national forests in 16 contiguous western states. Permits the issuance of permits and leases for a period shorter than 20 years (under current law, shorter than 10 years), including where the Secretary concerned determines that the initial environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) regarding a grazing allotment, permit, or lease has not been completed. Directs that grazing permits or leases issued by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) that expire, are transferred, or are waived after this Act's enactment be renewed or reissued, as appropriate, under the Act, the Granger-Thye Act, the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, or the California Desert Protection Act of 1994. Excludes the renewal, reissuance, or transfer of a grazing permit or lease by the Secretary concerned from the NEPA requirement to prepare an environmental analysis if: (1) such decision continues to renew, reissue, or transfer current grazing management of the allotment; (2) monitoring indicates that such management meets objectives contained in the land use and resource management plan of the allotment; or (3) the decision is consistent with the policy of the Department of the Interior or USDA regarding extraordinary circumstances. Makes NEPA inapplicable to domestic livestock crossing and trailing authorizations and transfers of grazing preference.
![Official portrait of Sen. Risch, James E. [R-ID]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000584_200.jpg)