United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2010
Prohibits collective bargaining with respect to matters and questions concerning rates of basic pay (under current law, concerning compensation) of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). (Permits collective bargaining concerning compensation, other than basic rates of pay, with respect to such employees.)
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2010
Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2012 the current authorization of appropriations for the national public awareness campaign for gynecologic cancers (Johanna's law). Authorizes appropriations in subsequent fiscal years at levels necessary to carry out such campaign. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) collaborate with nonprofit gynecologic cancer organizations to determine the best practices for providing gynecologic cancer information and outreach services to varied populations; and (2) make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects to test outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness and knowledge of women and health care providers regarding gynecologic cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2010
National Emergency Centers Establishment Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish at least six national emergency centers on military installations to use existing infrastructure to provide: (1) temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster; and (2) centralized locations for the training of first responders and the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. Requires the Secretary to designate: (1) 2 military installations as sites for the establishment of the centers within 60 days of this Act's enactment; and (2) not fewer than 4 more within 18 months of enactment. Lists minimum requirements for sites for such centers, including that they be capable of: (1) meeting for an extended period the housing, health, transportation, education, public works, humanitarian, and other transition needs of a large number of individuals affected; (2) being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures; (3) housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet training and first responders coordination requirements during non-disaster periods; and (4) hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs. Sets forth center location requirements, including requiring the Secretary to give preference to military installations designated as Regional Joint Readiness Centers and to closed or materially affected military installations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2010
10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) establish a program to provide funds to states for rebates, loans, or other incentives to eligible participants for the purchase and installation of solar energy systems for properties located in the United States; and (2) provide such funds to states for FY2012-FY2020 in accordance with the formula used to allocate funds to states to carry out state energy conservation plans under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. Authorizes a state to use such funds to expand or establish a state solar rebate program, a solar loan program, a solar performance-based incentive program, or another solar incentive program or innovative solar financing program as determined by the Secretary. Requires the state to: (1) certify to the Secretary that the funds will be used to supplement, expand, or create new programs and to deploy an increased quantity of solar energy systems; and (2) submit to the Secretary an annual implementation plan that contains projections for solar energy systems deployment, data regarding the number of eligible participants that are assisted under existing applicable state programs, and projections for additional solar energy system deployment and the number of additional eligible participants for the following fiscal year. Authorizes the Secretary to specify the type and capacity of solar energy system that a state receiving such funds may use. Makes each state receiving funds responsible for 20% of the amount of the provided funds. Provides that a participant who receives a rebate under this Act shall not be eligible for a rebate for expenditures for installation of a renewable energy system in connection with a dwelling unit or small business under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Sets a goal of installing distributed solar energy systems on not less than 10 million properties located in the United States by January 1, 2020.
United States · United States Congress · 28 May 2010
Acknowledges the importance of the continuing study and preservation of the unique American Jewish experience. Recognizes the National Museum of American Jewish History, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, as the only museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to exploring and preserving the American Jewish experience and, as such, designates it as the national museum of American Jewish history.
United States · United States Congress · 27 May 2010
Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of Energy to establish: (1) the Home Star Retrofit Rebate Program to provide rebates to contractors to be passed through as discounts to homeowners who retrofit their homes to achieve energy savings; (2) a Federal Rebate Processing System to enable rebate aggregators to submit claims for reimbursement; and (3) a national retrofit website and public information campaign that provide information on the Program. Requires the Secretary to ensure that rebates are available to homeowners within 90 days of this Act's enactment. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop a network of rebate aggregators that can facilitate the delivery of rebates to reimburse participating contractors and vendors; and (2) develop guidelines for states to allow utilities participating as rebate aggregators to count the energy savings from their participation toward state-level energy saving targets. Sets forth eligibility criteria for rebate aggregators. Establishes: (1) a Silver Star Home Energy Retrofit Program to award rebates during the first year after this Act's enactment for the energy retrofit of a home for the installation of specified energy saving measures, including air-sealing and insulation measures, duct seal or replacement, window, door, skylight, or roof replacement, heating or cooling system replacement, water heater replacement, water temperature controllers, and window film installation; and (2) a Gold Star Home Energy Retrofit Program to award rebates for retrofits that achieve whole home energy savings. Authorizes Silver Star and Gold Star rebates to be provided for the same home under specified circumstances. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the amount of the rebates (up to $3,000 per home for Silver Star rebates or $8,000 per home for Gold Star rebates); and (2) the treatment of rebates for tax purposes (excluded from taxable income). Requires a state that receives funding under this Act to submit to the Secretary a plan to implement a quality assurance program that covers all federally assisted residential efficiency retrofit work administered, supervised, or sponsored by the state. Requires the Secretary to establish a Home Star Energy Efficiency Loan Program to make funds available to states to support financial assistance provided by qualified financing entities for making, to existing homes, energy efficiency improvements that qualify under the Silver Star or Gold Star programs. Terminates such program two years after this Act's enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2010
Comprehensive Problem Gambling Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to: (1) establish and implement programs for the identification, prevention, and treatment of pathological and other problem gambling; (2) carry out a national campaign to increase knowledge and raise awareness of problem gambling; (3) establish and implement a national program of research on problem gambling; and (4) make grants to states, local and tribal governments, and nonprofit agencies to provide comprehensive services with respect to treatment and prevention of, and education about, problem gambling. Authorizes the Secretary, in carrying out the national campaign, to: (1) administer and coordinate the voluntary donation of resources to assist in implementing new programs and augmenting and supporting existing national campaigns; and (2) encourage media outlets to provide information aimed at preventing problem gambling. Requires the Secretary to target radio and television audiences of events including sporting and gambling events. Directs the Secretary to develop a treatment improvement protocol for problem gambling.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2010
Public Transportation Preservation Act of 2010 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make emergency grants to states and designated recipients (urbanized areas) for the operating costs of equipment and facilities for use in public transportation projects. Prescribes a formula for the apportionment of grant funds. Requires amounts apportioned to a state or urbanized area, with a specified exception, to be used for operating expenses necessary to restore or prevent a reduction in public transportation service and related workforce reductions, or to rescind all or a portion of a fare increase, that: (1) occurs between January 1, 2009, and September 30, 2011; and (2) is due to decreased state or local funding or farebox revenue. Authorizes a recipient which certifies that it has not had a major reduction in public transportation service, or a fare increase as a result of decreased state or local operating funding, and will be able to avoid such reductions or increases through FY2011 without the funds made available by this Act, to use such funds to replace, rehabilitate, or repair existing transit capital assets used in public transportation. Sets the amount of a grant, at the option of the recipient, at up to 100% of the net cost of a project.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2010
Student Nondiscrimination Act of 2010 - Prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates. Considers harassment to be a form of discrimination. Prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing conduct they reasonably believe to be unlawful under this Act. Authorizes federal departments and agencies to enforce these prohibitions by cutting off the educational assistance of recipients found to be violating them. Allows an aggrieved individual to assert a violation of this Act in a judicial proceeding and recover reasonable attorney's fees should they prevail. Deems a state's receipt of federal educational assistance for a program to constitute a waiver of sovereign immunity for conduct prohibited under this Act regarding such program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2010
Recognizes National Foster Care Month as an opportunity to raise awareness about the challenges of children in the foster care system. Encourages Congress to implement policy to improve the lives of children in the foster care system. Supports the designation of a National Foster Care Month.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2010
Veterans' Health and Radiation Safety Act of 2010 - Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to to report annually to Congress on the low-volume (treating 100 patients or fewer) programs at each medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the Secretary to ensure that all employees at a VA hospital where radioactive isotopes are used in the administration of medical services receive appropriate training on what constitutes a medical event and when and to whom a medical event should be reported. Prohibits such isotopes from being used at a VA hospital where such training is not provided. Requires the Secretary to carry out specified evaluations and peer reviews of all medical services provided under contract with a non-government entity.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2010
Cleanfields Act - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, as it would be amended by the American Clean Energy Leadership Act of 2009 as reported to the Senate as an original measure on July 16, 2009 (S.1462), to: (1) define "brownfield site generation facility," for purposes of provisions concerning the Federal Renewable Electricity Standard, as a facility that generates renewable electricity from wind energy, solar energy, or geothermal energy and that occupies a brownfield site; and (2) require the Secretary of Energy to allow triple credits under the federal renewable energy credit trading program for the generation of energy from brownfield site generation facilities. Limits the amount of total renewable electricity generation that is eligible for consideration for the triple credit multiplier for brownfields to 1%. Requires the Secretary to submit to Congress recommendations on whether such limitation should be revised.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2010
Recognizes May 15, 2010, as National Peace Officers Memorial Day. Acknowledges the dedication and sacrifices made by law enforcement officers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2010
Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light On Spending in Elections Act or the DISCLOSE Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to prohibit: (1) independent expenditures and payments for electioneering communications by government contractors if the value of the contract is at least $50,000; and (2) recipients of assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) from making any contribution to any political party, committee, or candidate for public office, or to any person for any political purpose or use, or from making any independent expenditure or disbursing any funds for an electioneering communication. Applies the ban on contributions and expenditures by foreign nationals to foreign-controlled domestic corporations. Treats as contributions: (1) any payments by any person (except a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party) for coordinated communications; and (2) political party communications made on behalf of candidates if made under the control or direction of a candidate or a candidate's authorized committee. Revises the definition of independent expenditure to mean, in part, an expenditure that, when taken as a whole, expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or is the functional equivalent of express advocacy. Requires any person making independent expenditures exceeding $10,000 to file a report within 24 hours. Increases the period before a general election during which a communication shall be considered an electioneering communication. Requires corporations, labor organizations, and other covered organizations to include specified additional information in reports on independent expenditures of at least $10,000. Sets forth special rules for the use of general treasury funds by covered organizations for campaign-related activity. Authorizes covered organizations to make optional use of a separate Campaign-Related Activity Account for making disbursements for campaign-related activity. Prescribes additional information to be included in certain radio or television communications by persons (including significant funders of campaign-related communications of a covered organization) other than a candidate, a candidate's authorized committee, or a political committee of a political party. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registered lobbyists to report information on independent expenditures or electioneering communications of at least $1,000 to the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives. Amends FECA to require Senate candidates to file all designations, statements, and reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), instead of the Secretary of the Senate, as under current law. Requires certain covered organizations to disclose to shareholders, members, or donors information on disbursements for campaign-related activity. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to: (1) extend the equal opportunities requirement and censorship prohibition applicable to candidates for public office to national committees of political parties; (2) grant political parties reasonable access to purchase broadcasting time at the lowest unit charged; (3) limit to the lowest unit charge the charges for the use during certain periods before an election of any broadcasting station by any person who is a legally qualified candidate for any federal office; and (4) require covered organizations to notify the FEC and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when aggregate disbursements first equal or exceed $50,000. Directs the FCC to conduct random audits of designated market areas to ensure that broadcasting stations are allocating broadcasting time for legally qualified candidates for federal office in accordance with this Act. Authorizes judicial review of the provisions of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2010
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to commence a two-year pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of awarding grants to state or local government agencies or nonprofit organizations to provide assistance to veterans who are submitting claims to the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), with the purpose of reducing VBA claim processing time.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2010
Student Loan Forgiveness and Repayment Assistance Act of 2010 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to lower the cap on annual, income-based student loan repayments for new borrowers of Direct Loans after July 1, 2014, from 10% to 7% of the amount by which a borrower's and the borrower's spouse's adjusted gross income exceeds 150% of the poverty line. Requires the Secretary of Education to forgive the remaining balance of such loans after 15 (currently, 20) years of repayment. Cancels a public service employee's obligation to repay 5% of the balance of his or her principal and interest on a Direct Loan after 60 monthly payments, 72 monthly payments, 84 monthly payments, 96 monthly payments, and 108 monthly payments as such employee. Requires the Secretary to cancel all of their remaining balance after 120 monthly payments. Amends the Public Health Service Act to set the interest rate on student loans under the Health Professions Education program and the Nursing Workforce Development program at 3.5%. Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program awarding competitive grants to historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions to enable them, without increasing student costs, to increase their: (1) capacity for degree-granting, certificate-granting, adult education, and noncredit programs; (2) student graduation rates. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish an Assistant Secretary for the Evaluation and Promotion of Accessibility and Affordability in Higher Education in the Department of Education, who shall report quarterly to Congress regarding trends in, and means of increasing, the accessibility and affordability of higher education.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2010
Small Business Environmental Stewardship Assistance Act of 2010 - Amends the Small Business Act to reauthorize for FY2011-FY2015 the national small business tree planting program (planting trees on land owned or controlled by state or local governments). Allows up to 20% of program funds to be used for administrative costs. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to report annually to the President and Congress on program activities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2010
Weekends Without Hunger Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a five-year pilot program providing commodities to nonprofits for the provision of nutritious food to at-risk school children on weekends and during extended school holidays during the school year. (At-risk school children are those who participate in the school lunch program and reside in an area served by a school in which at least 50% of the students receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs.) Includes elementary and secondary schools, school food authorities, and emergency feeding agencies as eligible nonprofit recipients of such commodities. Requires commodity recipients to satisfy safe food storage, handling, and delivery standards established by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2010
Rural Housing Preservation and Stabilization Act of 2010 - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 and the Doug Bereuter Section 502 Single Family Housing Loan Guarantee Act to increase from up to 1% to up to 4.05% the guarantee fee on loans for housing and buildings on adequate farms. Amends the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2001 to repeal the maximum limit on the loan guarantee fee of 2%. Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to authorize the Secretary to guarantee such loans in aggregate amounts of up to $30 billion for FY2010. Declares that the budgetary effects of this Act, in order to comply with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled "Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation" for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives, provided that such statement has been submitted before the vote on passage.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2010
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from state volume caps private facility bonds for sewage and water supply facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2010
Supports the goals of World Malaria Day, including the achievable target of ending malaria deaths by 2015. Recognizes the importance of reducing malaria to improve child and maternal health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Commends the progress made toward reducing global malaria, particularly through the efforts of the President's Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Welcomes ongoing public-private partnerships to develop more effective and affordable tools to combat malaria. Reaffirms the goals to combat malaria in the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008. Supports continued U.S. leadership and investment in bilateral and multilateral efforts to combat malaria as a critical part of the President's Global Health Initiative. Encourages the international community to sustain and increase support for worldwide efforts to combat malaria.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2010
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Authorizes the President to award a Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Medal to: (1) the personal representative or next of kin of each individual who died as a direct result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; (2) the Flight 93 National Memorial Project in Pennsylvania; (3) the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York; and (4) the Pentagon Memorial Project. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike three designs of such medal to honor, respectively: (1) those who lost their lives in the the attack at the World Trade Center; (2) the passengers and crew aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that was brought down in rural Pennsylvania; and (3) those who lost their lives at the Pentagon. Directs the Secretary to strike bronze duplicates of such medal for presentation to each precinct house, firehouse, emergency response station, or other duty station or place of employment to which each early responder who perished as a direct result of such attacks was assigned on September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2010
Recognizes the outstanding contributions of Dr. Dorothy I. Height to the civil rights and women's rights movement. Requests the Secretary of the Senate to transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2010
Congratulates the Pennsylvania State University IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON) on its continued success in support of the Four Diamonds Fund at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. Commends the school's students, volunteers and supporting organizations for their hard work putting together another recordbreaking THON.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2010
Surreptitious Video Surveillance Act of 2010 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit the unauthorized video surveillance of an individual who: (1) is in an area of a temporary or permanent residence that is not readily observable from a public location; and (2) has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area. Prohibits (with exceptions) the use of such surveillance as evidence.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2010
Recognizes the ultimate sacrifice made by the 29 coal miners lost at the Upper Big Branch Mine-South in Raleigh County, West Virginia. Extends the deepest condolences of the Senate to the families of the fallen coal miners. Honors the survivors of the tragedy. Recognizes all coal miners for enduring the immeasurable loss of co-workers and maintaining courage in the aftermath of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine-South. Commends the valiant efforts of the emergency response workers searching for the missing coal miners. Honors the many volunteers who provided support and comfort for the missing coal miners' families during the rescue and recovery operations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2010
Keep Our Educators Working Act of 2010 - Appropriates funds for an Education Jobs Fund. Allocates the bulk of such Fund for grants to states pursuant to a formula that considers each state's share of individuals age 5 through 24 and each state's share of the nation's total population. Authorizes states to reserve a portion of the grant funds for administrative costs and for retaining or creating state education positions. Requires states to use the bulk of the grant to award subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) and public institutions of higher education to restore the reductions in state funding for elementary and secondary education and for public institutions of higher education that remain for FY2010 and FY2011, after including the funds they received for such reductions under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Requires states that receive a grant that is more than what is required to cover such activities to allocate the excess to their LEAs based on the LEAs' relative share of school improvement funds under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Limits the use of subgrant funds to retaining or hiring new employees, or on-the-job training activities for education careers. Designates this Act's appropriation as an emergency requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2010
Expresses sympathy to the people of Poland and the families of those who perished for their profound loss resulting from the April 10, 2010, airplane crash that killed the country's President, First Lady, and 94 other high ranking government, military, and civic leaders. Expresses: (1) solidarity with the people of Poland and Polish-American communities in the United States; and (2) support for the Polish government as it addresses the loss of many key officials.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2010
Fair Access to Veterans Benefits Act of 2010 - Extends the 120-day limit for the filing of an appeal to the Court of Veterans Appeals after a final decision of the Board of Veterans' Appeals upon a showing of good cause for such time as justice may require. Makes such extension applicable to appeals of final Board decisions issued on or after July 24, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2010
Small Business Programs Parity Act of 2010 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize (current law requires) a contract to be awarded on the basis of competition restricted to qualified HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone) small businesses if the contracting officer reasonably expects that at least two qualified HUBZone small businesses will submit offers and that the award can be made at a fair market price.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2010
Small Business Community Partner Relief Act of 2010 - Amends the Small Business Act relating to the Microloan program (loans to intermediaries to provide small-scale loans to startup, newly-established, and growing small businesses) to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), at the request of a loan intermediary, to waive the requirement that the intermediary obtain a percentage of the loan amount in cash or in-kind contributions from non-federal sources. Allows such waiver for up to two years. Provides conditions to be considered by the Administrator in determining whether to exercise such waiver, including economic conditions affecting the intermediary as well as the impact the waiver would have on the program. Provides an identical waiver, with the same conditions, with respect to: (1) grants made to intermediaries for small business marketing, management, and technical assistance; and (2) the SBA's women's business center program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2010
Veterans Training Act - Deems a program of education as an approved program for purposes of the post-9/11 veterans' educational assistance program if the program is offered by an institution offering: (1) postsecondary instruction that leads to an associate or higher degree and the institution is an approved institution of higher learning; or (2) instruction that does not lead to an associate or higher degree and the institution is an approved educational institution.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2010
Department of Justice Global Advisory Committee Authorization Act of 2010 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical and financial assistance and support to the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative Advisory Committee. Expands the activities of the Committee to include the gathering of views from federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and other agencies that work to support public safety and justice and to provide recommendations for improving the administration of justice and the protection of the public through information sharing. Expresses the sense of Congress that state, local, and tribal governments and other relevant entities should use the recommendations developed by the Committee to evaluate, improve, and develop effective strategies and technologies to improve public safety and information sharing. Directs the Attorney General to review the state of information sharing between corrections and law enforcement agencies and report recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2010
Ponzi Scheme Victim's Bill of Rights Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a special tax deduction for qualified fraudulent investment losses held in an individual retirement account (IRA); (2) a six-year carryback of net operating losses which are qualified fraudulent investment losses; (3) withdrawals from tax-exempt retirement plans for a 10-year period without penalty to replace qualified fraudulent investment losses; (4) catch-up contributions to retirement plans to compensate for fraudulent investment losses; and (5) an extension of the limitation period for filing refund claims for overpayments of tax in connection with gifts and bequests of an interest in an investment for which there is a qualified fraudulent investment loss. Defines "qualified fraudulent investment loss" as a loss discovered in 2008 or 2009 resulting from a fraudulent arrangement in which a person receives cash or property from investors, purports to earn income for investors, reports partially or wholly fictitious income to such investors, makes payments to some investors from payments made by other investors, and appropriates some or all of the investors' cash or property.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2010
Gettysburg National Military Park Expansion Act of 2010 - Requires the inclusion of the Gettysburg Train Station in Gettysburg National Military Park, including land located in close proximity to the Train Station that is in the Borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and the property that is adjacent to Plum Run in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to acquire only by purchase from a willing seller publicly owned property that is within the area of the Train Station, if efforts to acquire such property without cost have been exhausted. Prohibits the acquisition by eminent domain of property that is within such area.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2010
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include children of Vietnam War and certain Korean War veterans receiving care and services through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for spina bifida-related medical conditions and children of women Vietnam veterans born with certain birth defects as meeting the definition of minimum essential coverage under requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2010
Prevention Resources for Eliminating Criminal Activity Using Tailored Interventions in Our Neighborhoods Act of 2010 or the PRECAUTION Act - Establishes the National Commission on Public Safety Through Crime Prevention to: (1) carry out a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of certain crime and delinquency prevention and intervention strategies: and (2) make initial and final reports on such strategies to specified federal and state officials. Exempts such Commission from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Authorizes the Attorney General and the Director of the National Institute of Justice to make grants and coordinate federal efforts to implement and evaluate innovative crime or delinquency prevention or intervention strategies. Provides for funding from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to carry out this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2010
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that health care coverage provided by the TRICARE program and the Nonappropriated Fund Health Benefits Program of the Department of Defense (DOD) shall constitute minimal essential health care coverage as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2010
Congratulates the people of Greece as they celebrate the 189th anniversary of the independence of Greece. Supports the principles of democratic governance to which the people of Greece are committed. Notes the important role that Greece has played in the wider European region and in the community of nations since gaining its independence.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2010
Biosecurity and Vaccine Development Improvement Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to design, construct, and operate facilities to develop and produce biological products to meet critical national needs in response to potential bioterrorist attacks or naturally occurring pathogens for which private industry has not devoted adequate development effort or has not produced adequate stocks of such biological products. Requires the Secretary to ensure that there is competition. Allows the Secretary to: (1) establish a public-private partnership to design, construct, own, and operate such a facility; and (2) use the authority to enter into other transactions under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to establish such a facility.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2010
Medical School Construction Grant Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program to award grants to eligible medical schools for the purpose of constructing, renovating, or improving medical school facilities to increase the supply of physicians. Sets forth the allocation of such awards with first priority given to new medical schools.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2010
Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make public and report biannually to Congress on international monetary policy and currency exchange rates; and (2) appear, if requested, before certain congressional committees to testify regarding such reports. Prescribes report contents, including: (1) an analysis of currency market developments and the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the currencies of major economies and trading partners of the United States; (2) a review of the economic and monetary policies of major economies and trading partners of the United States and an evaluation of how such policies impact currency exchange rates; and (3) a list of currencies designated as fundamentally misaligned currencies. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) analyze semiannually the prevailing real effective exchange rates of foreign currencies; (2) determine whether any such currency is in fundamental misalignment; and (3) designate it for priority action if the issuing country engages in specified behavior, including excessive and prolonged official or quasi-official accumulation of foreign assets for balance of payments purposes. Prescribes procedures for: (1) negotiations and consultations; and (2) actions in response to failure, including persistent failure, to adopt appropriate policies, or take identifiable action to eliminate the fundamental misalignment. Requires the Secretary, before the United States approves a proposed change in the governance arrangement of any international financial institution, to determine whether any member of the international financial institution that would benefit from the proposed change, in the form of increased voting shares or representation, has a currency designated for priority action. Requires U.S. opposition to the proposed change if the Secretary renders an affirmative determination. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930, for purposes of an antidumping investigation or review, to require an adjustment in the price used to establish export (and constructed export) prices, in the case of a fundamentally misaligned currency designated for priority action, by reducing such price by the percentage by which the domestic currency of the producer or exporter is undervalued in relation to the U.S. dollar. Requires the administering authority, upon the filing of a petition by an interested party, to initiate a countervailing duty investigation or review to determine whether currency undervaluation by the government of, or any public entity within, a foreign country is providing, directly or indirectly, a countervailable subsidy to its exporters or products. Requires the same kind of countervailing duty investigation upon the designation of a foreign currency as a fundamentally misaligned currency for priority action. Adds as a factor the administering authority must take into account in determining whether a foreign country is a nonmarket economy country the question of whether its currency is designated, or has been designated at any time over the five years before review of any nonmarket economy status, for priority action under this Act. Establishes the Advisory Committee on International Exchange Rate Policy. Repeals the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes, and charitable deductions for corporate contributions to charitable organizations of: (1) food inventory; (2) book inventories to public schools; and (3) computer technology and equipment for educational purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2010
Growing Farm to School Programs Act of 2010 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to replace the farm-to-cafeteria program with a program providing schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribes, agricultural producers, and nonprofits with competitive matching grants and technical assistance to improve access to local foods by schools participating in the school lunch or breakfast programs. Gives priority to projects that: (1) benefit local small- and medium-sized farms; (2) serve a high proportion of children who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches; and (3) incorporate experiential nutrition education by involving school children in farm and garden-based agricultural education activities.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2010
Fugitive Information Networked Database Act of 2010 or the FIND Act - Directs the Attorney General to make one-year grants to states or Indian tribes to develop and implement or upgrade secure electronic warrant management systems for the preparation, submission, and validation of felony warrants that are compatible and interoperable with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database. Provides for set asides of grant funds to hire additional personnel to validate warrants entered into the NCIC database and for Indian tribes. Requires states that submit a grant renewal application to file with the Attorney General and appropriate county clerk's offices an annual report specifying: (1) the number of defendants, including indigent defendants, assessed or interviewed for pretrial release; (2) the number of failures to appear for a scheduled court appearance; and (3) the number and type of infractions committed by defendants while on pretrial release. Directs the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to provide state, local, and tribal government agencies the technology to make state and local warrant databases compatible and interoperative with the NCIC database. Directs the Comptroller General to report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees on felony warrants issued by state, local, and tribal governments and entered into the NCIC database and on the apprehension and extradition of persons with active felony warrants. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states and Indian tribes to extradite fugitives for prosecution. Requires states and Indian tribes applying for grants to report to the Attorney General on the number of active felony warrants they have issued.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2010
Honors the life and heroism of Harriet Tubman. Recognizes the great contributions she made throughout her lifelong service and commitment to liberty, justice, and equality for all.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2010
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to increase, as of December 1, 2010, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.