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201 records in US in 2012
United States · United States Senate · 16 April 2012
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2012
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2013, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2013-FY2022. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2012-FY2022 with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) new budget authority, (3) budget outlays, (4) deficits, (5) public debt, and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority, outlays, and administrative expenses of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds), and specified major functional categories for FY2012-FY2022. Authorizes the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to make certain deficit-reduction reserve funds for legislation for: (1) the sale of unused or vacant federal properties, (2) the sale of excess federal lands, (3) repeal of the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws, (4) reduction of the federal vehicles fleet, and (5) the sale of financial assets purchased through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Authorizes the Chairman to reduce the allocations of committees for any savings achieved by such sales, repeal, and reduction, with the savings used to reduce the deficit. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would cause the discretionary spending limits in this resolution to be exceeded, except by a supermajority waiver. Specifies such discretionary spending limits in the Senate for FY2012-FY2022. Authorizes adjustments to the discretionary spending limits, budgetary aggregates, and allocations for adjustments to support ongoing overseas deployments and other activities. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would require advanced appropriations. Sets forth requirements for the treatment of emergency legislation. Allows the Chairman to adjust the estimate of budgetary effects of legislation that: (1) amends or supersedes the system for updating physician payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, (2) amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a flat 17% tax rate, and (3) extends the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief for individuals. Permits the Chairman to make such adjustments only for points of order in this legislation relating to: (1) pay-as-you-go, and (2) long- and short-term deficits. Requires Senate committees to: (1) review programs and tax expenditures in their jurisdictions to identify waste, fraud, and abuse or duplication, and to increase the use of performance data to inform committee work; (2) review the matters for congressional consideration identified on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) High Risk list report; and (3) make recommendations to the Senate Budget Committee to improve governmental performance in their annual views and estimates reports. Rescinds any unobligated or unspent adjustments of allocations and aggregates made pursuant to this resolution after 36 months. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the Senate Committees on: (1) Foreign Relations; (2) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (3) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; (4) Environment and Public Works; (5) Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; (6) Finance; and (7) Energy and Natural Resources. Requires the Senate Committee on the Budget to report legislation to the Senate that amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to replace the sequester established by the Budget Control Act of 2011 that revises the discretionary spending limits and reduces the discetionary appropriations and direct spending specified in such Act unless a joint committee bill achieving an amount greater than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction is enacted by January 15, 2012. Requires such legislation to include language making its application contingent upon the enactment of the reconciliation bill required by this Act. Declares the policy of Congress on attainment of Social Security solvency, reduction in Medicare unfunded liabilities, and tax reform. Expresses the sense of Congress on: (1) applying regulatory analysis requirements for executive branch agencies to independent agencies, (2) voting on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, (3) the automatic biennial sunsetting of all federal regulations unless repromulgated by Congress, (4) implementing regulatory process reform, and (5) incorporating formal rulemaking procedures for all major regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2012
Let's Grow Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) (Secretary) to carry out the Green and Healthy Corner Store Initiative to assist qualified convenience stores expand their offering of fruits and vegetables. Directs the Secretary to make grants to provide access to farmers' markets for communities with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly areas of predominantly lower-income communities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a pilot grant program to allow local and tribal governments to conduct food security assessments. Directs the Secretary, regarding the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly food stamp program), to: (1) establish a Fresh Incentive Program to improve participant access to local fruits and vegetables, and (2) provide grants to urban farmers' markets for installation of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) systems. Directs the Secretary to make grants for a Farm-to-Preschool program that fosters the connection between preschools, Head Start programs, childcare or day care centers, kindergarten readiness programs and in-home care facilities with small- or medium-sized agricultural producers to develop an industry-leading preschool nutrition education and meal program. Establishes in USDA a Healthy Food Financing Initiative to: (1) improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas; (2) create and preserve quality jobs; and (3) revitalize low-income communities by providing loans and grants to eligible food retailers to overcome the higher costs and initial barriers to entry in underserved, urban, suburban, and rural areas. Directs the Secretary to provide grants for urban and Native American community gardens. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make grants to convert abandoned or foreclosed property to urban agricultural use; (2) enter into an agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service to provide the Corporation with funds to support the creation of the HarvestCorps program; and (3) make grants to establish urban farms, gardens, or aquacultural or other facilities for the production of agricultural or aquacultural products or the raising of livestock for sale in the urban area. Directs the Secretary to make grants to: (1) assist nonprofit organizations purchase and convert publicly owned land in underserved areas for use as urban farms or community gardens, and (2) implement urban agricultural workforce training programs. Extends certain payment assistance and conservation access provisions to socially disadvantaged urban farmers and ranchers. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) an urban entrepreneurship and microenterprise program, and (2) a local farm business and market garden competitive loan program. Directs the Secretary to provide commodities to specified nonprofits to provide 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.) Extends: (1) the commodity supplemental food program, and (2) the emergency food assistance program. Directs the Secretary to provide grants: (1) for equipment and technology to increase food bank efficiency; and (2) to schools, museums, and libraries to increase energy efficiency.
United States · United States Senate · 30 March 2012
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2012
Requiring Easy and Accurate Labeling of Beef Act or the REAL Beef Act - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require a package or other container of meat at the final point of sale that contains low-temperature rendered product (lean finely textured beef) to bear a label stating that it contains such product.
United States · United States Senate · 29 March 2012
United States · United States Senate · 29 March 2012
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
National Forest Emergency Response Act - Declares that the fire hazard and human endangerment in national forests to be designated by the Secretary of Agriculture constitute emergency circumstances. Directs the Secretary to designate (for up to 10 years) at least one national forest in each state that is experiencing conditions that constitute emergency circumstances due to pine beetle infestation, drought, disease, or storm damage and the resulting imminent risk of devastating wildfire that poses significant threat to the economic stability of surrounding areas and the health, safety, and well-being of residents, firefighters, and visitors. Makes provisions of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act regarding hazardous fuel reduction on federal land (including environmental analysis requirements, the special administrative review process, and the judicial review process) applicable to all Forest Service projects and activities implementing the land and resource management plan developed for the designated national forests during the term of the emergency circumstances, subject to specified modifications by the Secretary. Requires a project conducted in a designated national forest under this Act that comprises less than 10,000 acres (with exceptions, including components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, any federal land on which the removal of vegetation is restricted or prohibited by Act of Congress or presidential proclamation, or a congressionally designated wilderness study area) to be considered an action categorically excluded from the requirements for an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Prohibits a U.S. court from issuing any restraining order, preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal regarding any decision to engage in remedial action or to prepare, advertise, offer, award, or operate a timber sale in a designated forest. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement or contract with a state forester to provide forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration and protection services on national forest system land in that state.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Broadband Connections for Rural Opportunities Program Act of 2012 or the B-CROP Act of 2012 - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to: (1) award grants to eligible entities for the deployment, identification, or adoption of broadband services within eligible rural communities; and (2) reduce the paperwork required of rural broadband program applicants. Authorizes the Secretary to use specified funds for a national competition to create an Internet-accessible rural broadband clearinghouse.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research to: (1) advance USDA's research mission by supporting agricultural research focused on addressing key problems of national and international significance; and (2) foster collaboration with agricultural researchers from the federal government, institutions of higher education, industry, and nonprofit organizations. Directs the Foundation to: (1) award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, scientists and entities to advance Foundation goals; (2) identify and coordinate existing and proposed federal research and development programs relating to Foundation purposes; (3) identify unmet and emerging agricultural research needs; (4) facilitate technology transfer and information release to the agricultural research community; and (5) promote the development of the next generation of agricultural research scientists.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Rural Energy Investment Act of 2012 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 regarding the biobased markets program to: (1) extend program funding through FY2017, (2) increase the number of categories of biobased products designated and individual biobased products eligible for preferred purchasing, and (3) provide for a program of biobased product education and promotion activities. Amends the Rural Energy for America Program to: (1) extend Program funding through FY2017; (2) make nonprofit organizations eligible for assistance; (3) provide loan guarantees and grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy system purchases, with a tiered loan and grant application process that reflects project size; and (4) permit the combined amount of a grant and a loan guarantee to cover all eligible activity costs. Extends funding through FY2017 for: (1) biorefinery assistance, (2) the biodiesel fuel education program, (3) biomass research and development, (4) the Rural Energy Self-Sufficiency Initiative, (5) the biomass crop assistance program, (6) the forest biomass for energy program, and (7) the community wood energy program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Revenue Loss Assistance and Crop Insurance Enhancement Act of 2012 - Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a revenue loss assistance program (program) beginning with crop year 2013 in lieu of the supplemental revenue assistance payments (SURE) and the average crop revenue election programs (ACRE). (Extends the SURE program for crop year 2012.) Provides producers with program assistance for losses between 12% and 25 % of their historic revenue. Provides counter-cyclical payments for each covered commodity through crop year 2017 on farms for which payment yields and base acres are established if the effective price for the covered commodity is less than its target price. Sets forth 2013-2017 target prices, payment rates, and payment amounts for covered commodities. Provides a special payment calculation rule for long grain and medium grain rice, and a specified four-year alternative election. Sets forth 2013-2017 commodity marketing assistance loan rates. Extends specified agricultural and livestock assistance programs. Repeals the direct payment and ACRE programs. Limits the total revenue loss assistance payments and countercyclical payments that a person or entity may receive in a crop year. Reduces the catastrophic risk protection coverage premium. Authorizes agricultural producers to purchase supplemental crop insurance coverage based on: (1) an individual yield and loss basis, or an area yield and loss basis; or (2) an individual yield and loss basis, supplemented with coverage based on an area yield and loss basis to cover a part of the deductible under the individual yield and loss policy.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Accountability to Choices of Taxpayers In Our Nation's Budget Priorities - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to revise individual income tax forms to: (1) contain the latest estimate of federal expenditures in budget authority and show the percentage of the federal budget allocated to specified categories, including social security, education, defense, international affairs, energy, environment, agriculture, and interest on the public debt; and (2) allow taxpayers to indicate what they believe is the appropriate percentage share for each category of the next federal budget. Requires the Secretary to aggregate the results with appropriate demographic detail, including results by state, and to provide such information to Congress by July 1 of each year.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2013, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2013-FY2022. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2012-FY2022 with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) new budget authority, (3) budget outlays, (4) deficits, (5) public debt, and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority, outlays, and administrative expenses of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds), and specified major functional categories for FY2012-FY2022. Authorizes the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee to make certain deficit-reduction reserve funds for legislation for: (1) the sale of unused or vacant federal properties, (2) the sale of excess federal lands, (3) repeal of the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage laws, (4) reduction of the federal vehicles fleet, and (5) the sale of financial assets purchased through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Authorizes the Chairman to reduce the allocations of committees for any savings achieved by such sales, repeal, and reduction, with the savings used to reduce the deficit. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would cause the discretionary spending limits in this resolution to be exceeded, except by a supermajority waiver. Specifies such discretionary spending limits in the Senate for FY2012-FY2022. Authorizes adjustments to the discretionary spending limits, budgetary aggregates, and allocations for adjustments to support ongoing overseas deployments and other activities. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would require advanced appropriations. Sets forth requirements for the treatment of emergency legislation. Allows the Chairman to adjust the estimate of budgetary effects of legislation that: (1) amends or supersedes the system for updating physician payments under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, (2) amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a flat 17% tax rate, and (3) extends the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief for individuals. Permits the Chairman to make such adjustments only for points of order in this legislation relating to: (1) pay-as-you-go, and (2) long- and short-term deficits. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any budget resolution after the enactment of this resolution until a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been adopted, except by a supermajority waiver. Requires Senate committees to: (1) review programs and tax expenditures in their jurisdictions to identify waste, fraud, and abuse or duplication, and to increase the use of performance data to inform committee work; (2) review the matters for congressional consideration identified on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) High Risk list report; and (3) make recommendations to the Senate Budget Committee to improve governmental performance in their annual views and estimates reports. Rescinds any unobligated or unspent adjustments of allocations and aggregates made pursuant to this resolution after 36 months. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the Senate Committees on: (1) Foreign Relations; (2) Commerce, Science, and Transportation; (3) Agriculture, Nutrition, and Energy [ sic ]; (4) Environment and Public Works; (5) Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; (6) Finance; and (7) Energy and Natural Resources. Requires the Senate Committee on the Budget to report legislation to the Senate that amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to replace the sequester established by the Budget Control Act of 2011 that revises the discretionary spending limits and reduces the discetionary appropriations and direct spending specified in such Act unless a joint committee bill achieving an amount greater than $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction is enacted by January 15, 2012. Requires such legislation to include language making its application contingent upon the enactment of the reconciliation bill required by this Act. Declares the policy of Congress on attainment of Social Security solvency, reduction in Medicare unfunded liabilities, and tax reform. Expresses the sense of Congress on: (1) applying regulatory analysis requirements for executive branch agencies to independent agencies, (2) voting on the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, (3) the automatic biennial sunsetting of all federal regulations unless repromulgated by Congress, (4) implementing regulatory process reform, and (5) incorporating formal rulemaking procedures for all major regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Energy Exploration and Production to Achieve National Demand Act or EXPAND Act - Title I: Development of Federal Energy Resources - Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to repeal the moratorium upon oil and gas leasing (or any related activity) in: (1) any area east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico; (2) any area in the Eastern Planning Area that is within 125 miles of the Florida coastline; or (3) specified areas within the Central Planning Area and within 100 miles of the Florida coastline. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) regarding the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing program to direct Secretary of Defense (DOD) to review OCS areas that have been designated as restricted from exploration and operation to determine whether they should remain under restriction. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary in this title) to offer for leasing: (1) the Destin Dome and Pensacola areas, even though they were omitted from a certain 5-year leasing program, (2) any other areas in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Planning Area that are made available for leasing under this Act, and (3) include the aforementioned areas in any 5-year leasing program approved after the date of enactment of this Act. Extends, by 24 months, certain deepwater oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico OCS region that were not producing as of April 30, 2010. Directs the Secretary to: (1) reinstate certain expired leases, and (2) conduct expanded OCS lease sales. Sets forth an allocation scheme for coastal states to receive funds from OCS leases that are inversely proportional to the respective distances between the point on the coastline of the adjacent state that is closest to the geographic center of the applicable leased tract and the geographic center of the leased tract. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program for exploration, development, and production of the oil and gas resources of the Arctic Coastal Plain. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) designate special areas on such Coastal Plain to preserve fish, wildlife, and subsistence resource values, and (2) exclude leasing or surface occupancy from such areas. Authorizes, however, leasing all or a portion of a Special Area under terms permitting horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located outside the Special Area. Prescribes: (1) lease sales procedures, (2) lease terms and conditions, and (3) Coastal Plain environmental protection. Sets forth requirements for: (1) distribution of federal and state revenues emanating from bonus, rental, and royalty revenues from oil and gas leasing and operations, (2) semiannual payments to the state of Alaska, (3) rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for oil and gas transportation, (4) conveyance of surface and subsurface estates to specified Corporations, and (5) local government aid and community service assistance. Establishes in the Treasury the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding establishment of regional offices and regional permit coordinators to coordinate review of federal permits for oil and gas projects on federal lands onshore and on the OCS, including the appointment of a Regional Permit Coordinator. Prescribes federal agency schedules for permit decisionmaking. Designates the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to act as lead agency for any agency action regarding a Priority Energy Project pursuant to this Act. Amends federal law governing congressional review of agency rulemaking to add: (1) congressional approval procedures for major rules, and (2) congressional disapproval procedures for nonmajor rules. Requires the Secretary invite the governor of any state in which either an oil and gas operation may require a federal permit, or whose coastline is in immediate geographic proximity to OCS oil and gas operations, to be a signatory to a specified memorandum in order to fulfill any state responsibilities regarding federal oil and gas permitting decisions. Authorizes a federal agency with jurisdiction over a Priority Energy Project to delegate to the state in which the Project is located the agency's statutory responsibilities regarding the Project. Removes from further administrative review within the federal agency responsible for decisionmaking any oil and gas permitting decision for federal lands onshore or on the OCS. Subjects to congressional approval implemention, administration, or enforcment by the BLM of Secretarial Order No. 3310. Prescribes wilderness designation procedures subject to congressional approval. Subjects to congressional approval any future executive branch action that withdraws more than 100 acres in the aggregate of public lands within the United States. Grants FERC, in lieu of the Department of the Interior, exclusive jurisdiction and authority to implement and administer the leasing program for research and development of oil shale and tar sands and all other programs and requirements contained in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Instructs the Secretary to take actions to ensure that by January 1, 2018, at least 10% of the federal OCS lands and at least 10% of onshore federal lands and interests in lands that are under the Secretary's jurisdiction, are being leased for the production of energy. Confers upon the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over any final agency decision concerning covered oil and natural gas activity. Requires the Secretary to complete and finalize the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States to analyze the potential impacts of developing solar energy on land administered by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to publish in the Federal Register a notice of intent to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement to analyze the potential impacts of a program to develop solar and wind energy on National Forest System land. Directs the Secretary of Defense to identify locations on land withdrawn from the public domain and reserved for military purposes that exhibit a high potential for solar, wind, geothermal, or other energy resources production. Instructs the Secretary to establish a wind and solar leasing pilot program on covered land. Instructs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a joint determination on whether to establish a leasing program for wind or solar energy, or both, on land within their respective jurisdictions; and (2) establish a leasing program unless they determine that it is not in the public interest, and does not provide an effective means of developing wind or solar energy. Prescribes a revenue disposition format for such leasing program. Requires the Secretary to consult and work with the Secretary of Defense regarding military operations in OCS waters, including resolution of conflicts that might arise between such operations and leasing under this Act. Deems existing leases issued under the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2007-2012, including any lease issued pursuant to Lease Sale 193 or 213, to be in full compliance with the Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, 2007-2012. Authorizes holders of certain previously approved permits to drill (or to sidetrack) to conduct all operations authorized under such permits: (1) without further review by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and (2) without further review or delay under specified federal environmental protection law. Requires the Secretary to act on oil and natural gas drilling permits within 30 days after an application's submission. Title II: Continental Pipeline Approval - Approves a certain permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline. Deems approved a specified route within the state of Nebraska submitted by the governor of Nebraska if the President does not approve such route within 10 days after its date of submission. Title III: Radiological Material Repository - Requires the federal government to site and permit at least one radiological material geologic repository for the disposal of radiological material. Retains the repository site at Yucca Mountain as the site for the nation's radiological material repository following full statutory review of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) license application to construct the Yucca Mountain repository. Directs the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to continue to review DOE's pending license application to construct the repository at Yucca Mountain until a determination is made on its merits. Instructs the NRC to approve such application within 180 days after enactment of this Act. Removes statutory limitations on the amount of radiological material that can be placed in Yucca Mountain. Requires the NRC to replace such limitations with new limits based on scientific and technical analysis of the full capacity of Yucca Mountain for the storage of radiological material. Title IV: Relief from Regulations and Prohibitions that Cause Artificial Price Increases - Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to: (1) require a decision to include a species on the list of threatened and endangered species to be based on the best scientific and economic (currently, commercial) data available at the time, including analysis of the costs and benefits of the matter under consideration; and (2) declare that nothing in such Act shall be construed to authorize the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Amends the Clean Air Act to exclude from the definition of "air pollutant" carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride (greenhouse gases). Declares that nothing in the Clean Air Act, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, or the Solid Waste Disposal Act shall be treated as authorizing or requiring the regulation of climate change or global warming. Provides that such provisions shall not prohibit: (1) implementation and enforcement of the rule entitled "Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards" and finalization, implementation, enforcement, and revision of the proposed rule entitled "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards and Fuel Efficiency Standards for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles"; (2) statutorily authorized federal research, development, and demonstration programs and voluntary programs addressing climate change; (3) implementation and enforcement of stratospheric ozone protection provisions of the Clean Air Act to the extent that such implementation or enforcement only involves class I or II substances; or (4) implementation and enforcement of requirements of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 for monitoring and reporting of carbon dioxide emissions. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal provisions prohibiting any federal agency from entering into a contract for procurement of an alternative or synthetic fuel for any mobility-related use, other than for research or testing, unless the contract specifies that the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production and combustion of the fuel must be less than or equal to such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel. Amends the Clean Air Act to repeal the renewable fuel program. Title V: Refinery Reform - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter into a refinery permitting agreement upon the request of a state or Indian tribe to streamline the process for obtaining all permits licenses, approvals, variances, or other forms of authorization that a refiner is required to obtain for the construction and operation of a facility that refines crude oil into transportation fuel or other petroleum products or a facility that processes coal into synthetic crude oil or any other fuel. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a research and demonstration program to evaluate the air quality benefits of Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, (2) evaluate the use of such fuel as a mechanism for reducing engine exhaust emissions, and (3) recommend the most effective use and associated benefits of such fuels for reducing public exposure to exhaust emissions. Requires such program to consider: (1) the use of neat (100%) Fischer-Tropsch fuel and blends with conventional crude oil-derived fuel for heavy-duty and light-duty diesel engines and the aviation sector, and (2) the production costs associated with domestic production of fuel and prices for consumers. Prohibits applications for permits for existing refineries from being considered to be timely if submitted after 120 days after this Act's enactment. Title VI: Repeal of Energy Tax Subsidies - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the credit for alcohol fuel, biodiesel, and alternative fuel mixtures; (2) the credit for certain plug-in electric vehicles; (3) the credit for qualified fuel cell motor vehicles; (4) the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit; (5) the credit for alcohol used as fuel; (6) the credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; (7) the enhanced oil recovery credit; (8) the credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources; (9) the credit for producing oil and gas from marginal wells; (10) the credit for production from advanced nuclear power facilities; (11) the credit for carbon dioxide sequestration; (12) the energy credit; (13) the qualifying advanced coal project; and (14) the qualifying gasification project credit. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, Division B of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to repeal the energy grant program under which the Secretary of the Treasury is required to make grants to persons who place in service in 2009 and 2010 certain energy property that is eligible for: (1) the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind, biomass, or solar energy facilities), or (2) the energy tax credit (e.g., fuel cell, geothermal, or microturbine property). Title VII: Regulatory Relief - Provides that the following rules shall have no force or effect and shall be treated as though they had never taken effect: (1) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters; (2) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers; (3) the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and (4) Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That are Solid Waste. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in place of such rules, to promulgate within 15 months regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units subject to such rules, that: (1) establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and (2) identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act. Requires the Administrator to establish compliance dates for such standards and requirements after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts. Sets forth guidelines for such rules and regulations, including requiring the Administrator to: (1) ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category, and (2) impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative for each regulation promulgated. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a taxpayer to elect to expense the cost of property used in the production of energy in the taxable year in which such property is placed in service. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize states to implement coal combustion residuals permit programs. Requires each state governor to notify the Administrator within six months about whether such state will implement such a program. Requires states that decide to implement such a program to: (1) submit to the Administrator within 36 months a certification that such program meets the specifications of this Act, and (2) maintain either an approved municipal solid waste program for the control of hazardous disposal or an authorized state hazardous waste program. Establishes minimum requirements for coal combustion residuals permit programs. Requires: (1) the revised criteria established by this Act to apply to such programs; (2) landfills, surface impoundments, or other land-based units that may receive coal combustion residuals (structures) to be designed, constructed, and maintained to provide for containment of the maximum volumes of coal combustion residuals appropriate for the structure; (3) such programs to apply such revised criteria to surface impoundments; and (4) new structures that first receive coal combustion residuals after this Act's enactment to be constructed with a base located a minimum of two feet above the upper limit of the natural water table. Authorizes: (1) state agency heads to require action to correct structural integrity deficiencies according to a schedule for structures that are classified as posing a high hazard potential pursuant to the guidelines published by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) entitled "Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety: Hazard Potential Classification System for Dams," (2) state agency heads to require that such a structure close if such deficiency is not corrected according to such schedule, (3) states to inspect structures and implement and enforce such permit program, and (4) states to address wind dispersal of dust from coal combustion residuals by requiring dust control measures. Sets forth revised criteria for such programs with respect to: (1) design, groundwater monitoring, corrective action, and closure and post-closure for structures; (2) location restrictions for new structures in floodplains, wetlands, fault areas, seismic impact zones, and unstable areas; (3) air quality, financial assurance, surface water, and record keeping; (4) run-on and run-off control systems for landfills and other land-based units, other than surface impoundments that receive coal combustion residuals; and (5) run-off control systems for surface impoundments. Authorizes states to determine that such criteria is not needed for the management of their coal combustion residuals permit program. Authorizes the Administrator to treat such state determination as a deficiency if it does not accurately reflect the needs for the management of coal combustion residuals in the state. Requires the time period and method for a structure's closure to be set forth in a schedule in a closure plan that takes into account the site-specific characteristics of such structure. Directs the closure plan for a surface impoundment to require the removal of liquid and the stabilization of remaining waste as necessary to support the final cover. Prohibits the Administrator from applying such programs to the utilization, placement, and storage of coal combustion residuals at surface mining and reclamation operations. Prohibits this Act from being construed to alter the EPA's regulatory determination, entitled "Notice of Regulatory Determination on Wastes from the Combustion of Fossil Fuels," that the fossil fuel combustion wastes addressed in that determination do not warrant regulation under such Act. Title VIII: Attainment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards - Amends the Clean Air Act to require any designation or redesignation of an area within a state or an interstate area as a nonattainment area for the national primary or secondary ambient air quality standard for a pollutant to be based on monitoring data and not on modeling data. Requires the Administrator to set forth the air quality modeling methodologies required to be used in state implementation plans for purposes of predicting the effect on ambient air quality of emissions of air pollutants for which the Administrator has established national ambient air quality standards. Authorizes a downwind area that is not in attainment with the national ambient air quality standard for ozone within 18 months of the attainment deadline to petition the Administrator for an extension of the time to come into attainment. Authorizes the Administrator, in lieu of reclassifying an area as nonattainment for ozone, to extend such date if the Administrator: (1) determines that the area is a downwind area with respect to such standard, (2) approves a plan revision for such area prior to a reclassification, (3) determines that the petitioning downwind area has demonstrated that it is affected by transport from an upwind area to a degree that affects the area's ability to attain such standard, and (4) provides measures to ensure that no area downwind of the area receiving the extended attainment date will be affected by transport to a degree that affects the other area's ability to attain such standard. Provides for the withdrawal of a reclassification determination. Requires such extended attainment date to provide for attainment of such ozone standard in the downwind area as expeditiously as practicable but no later than the new date that the area would have been subject to had it been reclassified. Title IX: Sub-basin Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Requires the Administrator, in requiring any owner or operator of any facility in the petroleum and natural gas system source category to report greenhouse gas emissions from facilities in such category, to allow such owner or operator to: (1) designate sub-basins consisting of similar fields within a larger basin, and (2) report such emissions from such sub-basins instead of reporting such emissions from the larger basin. Title X: Implementation of National Ocean Policy - Prohibits federal departments and agencies from performing activities to implement Executive Order 13547, entitled "Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes." Title XI: Other Provisions - Requires: (1) the administrative record compiled by an agency regarding an application for a permit, authorization, or other agency action involving a Priority Energy Project to be the sole and exclusive record for any appeal or review of such action, and (2) such record to be closed upon final agency action and prohibits such record from being subject to any further evidentiary proceedings or requirements unless requested by the applicant. Requires an agency to: (1) prepare and submit a Statement of Energy Effects to the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), for each proposed significant energy action; and (2) publish such Statement, or a summary of it, in each related notice of proposed rulemaking and in any resulting final rule. Requires the approval to construct or operate a Priority Energy Project pursuant to any federal permit to remain valid and authorized for the later of: (1) 18 months following the date on which the last permit needed by such Project to commence construction or operation is final and no longer subject to judicial review, (2) three years, or (3) five years in the case of a nationwide permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers for activities that impact the aquatic environment. Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce the cap on the maximumpenalty for violations of such Act from $15,000 to $1,000.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to prohibit the closing of a Farm Service Agency county or field office unless there is another Agency office not more than 20 driving miles away.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Farm Service Accountability Act - Amends the the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from closing or relocating a Farm Service Agency county or field office in a state if the Secretary determines that the office has a high workload volume compared with other county offices in the state.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
National Forest Emergency Response Act - Declares that the fire hazard and human endangerment in national forests to be designated by the Secretary of Agriculture constitute emergency circumstances. Directs the Secretary to designate (for up to 10 years) at least one national forest in each state that is experiencing conditions that constitute emergency circumstances due to pine beetle infestation, drought, disease, or storm damage and the resulting imminent risk of devastating wildfire that poses significant threat to the economic stability of surrounding areas and the health, safety, and well-being of residents, firefighters, and visitors. Makes provisions of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act regarding hazardous fuel reduction on federal land (including environmental analysis requirements, the special administrative review process, and the judicial review process) applicable to all Forest Service projects and activities implementing the land and resource management plan developed for the designated national forests during the term of the emergency circumstances, subject to specified modifications by the Secretary. Requires a project conducted in a designated national forest under this Act that comprises less than 10,000 acres (with exceptions, including components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, any federal land on which the removal of vegetation is restricted or prohibited by Act of Congress or presidential proclamation, or a congressionally designated wilderness study area) to be considered an action categorically excluded from the requirements for an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement. Prohibits a U.S. court from issuing any restraining order, preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal regarding any decision to engage in remedial action or to prepare, advertise, offer, award, or operate a timber sale in a designated forest. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement or contract with a state forester to provide forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration and protection services on national forest system land in that state.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Chesapeake Bay State and Local Backstop Limitation Act of 2012 - Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from: (1) modifying a permit issued under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) before this Act's enactment for a point source in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to require additional reductions in discharges of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment; or (2) requiring lower levels of discharges of such pollutants under a national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit for a point source in such watershed for purposes of compensating for any lack of progress in a state toward meeting the water quality goals established by the 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL (total maximum daily load). Prohibits the Administrator from revising, for purposes of application in such watershed, the definitions of: (1) "storm water discharge associated with industrial activity" in regulations concerning storm water discharges in the EPA administered NPDES program, and (2) "concentrated animal feeding operation" in regulations concerning the EPA administered NPDES program. Prohibits the Administrator from requiring a permit under the NPDES program for a discharge of stormwater in such watershed, either from a municipal separate storm sewer system or associated with an industrial activity, for which a permit has not been issued before this Act's enactment. Prohibits the Administrator, before the date on which all of the nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment TMDLs established in the 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL are met, from: (1) revising the 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL to establish more specific or finer scale waste load or load allocations and requiring additional reductions in loadings from point sources; or (2) issuing or enforcing regulations regarding such pollutants for any navigable waters within such watershed in Chesapeake Bay states (Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, or the District of Columbia), other than the 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL, unless the chief executive of a Bay state approves of such regulation. Prohibits the Administrator and the Secretary of Agriculture from conditioning, withholding, or redirecting grants related to water quality in Bay states under the Clean Water Act or the Food Security Act of 1985 because Bay states do not meet the water quality goals established for them in the 2010 Chesapeake Bay TMDL, unless the Administrator or the Secretary has offered technical assistance in meeting such goals and the Bay state has failed to show reasonable progress in meeting such goals after a sufficient amount of time.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Enhancing Nutrition Services to the Elderly and Disabled Act of 2012 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (formerly known as the Food Stamp Act of 1977) to include as a "retail food store" under the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) a public or private nonprofit food purchasing and delivery service that: (1) serves individuals who are unable to shop for food and who are at least 60 years old or physically or mentally handicapped or otherwise disabled, and (2) notifies the participating household at the time of order that any delivery fee cannot be paid with SNAP benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
Great Lakes Assurance Program Verification Act of 2012 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), in consultation with the Great Lakes States, to establish a Great Lakes basin initiative for agricultural non-point source pollution prevention. Defines "Great Lakes State" as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2012
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 · 29 March 2012
Prohibits the use, production, sale, importation, or exportation of atrazine (pesticide) or an atrazine product.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2012
Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to prohibit livestock packers from owning, controlling, or feeding livestock to such an extent that the producer no longer materially participates in the management of the operation, with exceptions for: (1) animals held for not more than seven days before slaughter; (2) certain cooperatives that own, control, or feed livestock and provide such livestock for slaughter; (3) packers that are not required to report price and quantity information on each reporting day; or (4) packers that own one livestock processing plant.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2012
Puerto Rico Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Restoration Act of 2012 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (formerly known as the Food Stamp Act of 1977) to: (1) include Puerto Rico in the definition of state for purposes of supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly food stamp) eligibility, and (2) remove Puerto Rico from the consolidated block grant program upon the effective date of the amendments made by this Act. Provides for the application by, and approval of, retail food stores in Puerto Rico for program participation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2012
Wasatch Wilderness and Watershed Protection Act - Designates specified federal lands in the vicinity of the Lone Peak Wilderness and the Mount Olympus Wilderness, and specified federal lands comprising the Wayne Owens Grandeur Peaks/Mount Aire Wilderness within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests in Salt Lake County, Utah, as wilderness and as either a new component or as an addition to an existing component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Establishes specified federal lands within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests as the Mt. Aire, Mt. Olympus, Twin Peaks, and Lone Peak Special Management Areas. Requires the Special Management Areas to be managed to maintain their presently existing wilderness character and potential for inclusion in the System. Allows the commercial helicopter-assisted skiing and snowboarding activities (known as heliskiing) that have been authorized on the federal lands included within the Special Management Areas to continue. Permits the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), except as provided below, upon the expiration of such an authorization that was in effect for heliskiing, to reissue such authorizations in accordance with Forest Service procedures. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, within one year from the time in which all heliskiing activities within any special management area are no longer authorized or have otherwise been terminated, to publish a notice in the Federal Register to that effect. Designates the federal lands included within such an Area for which such a notice has been published as wilderness and adds them to the System as described in this Act. Requires a land exchange involving certain federal and non-federal lands concerning the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forests.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2012
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2013, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2012, and FY2014-FY2022. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2012-FY2022with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) new budget authority, (3) budget outlays, (4) deficits (on-budget), (5) debt subject to limit, and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY2012-FY2022. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the House Committees on: (1) Agriculture, (2) Education and the Workforce, (3) Energy and Commerce, (4) Financial Services, (5) Natural Resources, (6) Oversight and Government Reform, and (7) Ways and Means. Requires the House Committee on the Budget to report a reconciliation bill that slows the growth in mandatory spending and achieves deficit reduction. Requires each House Committee to identify savings amounting to 1% of total mandatory spending under its jurisdiction from activities determined to be wasteful, unnecessary, or lower-priority. Establishes discretionary spending limits for FY2013-FY2022. Makes it out of order in the House to consider any legislation that causes discretionary budget authority to exceed such limits. Prohibits House legislation that would require advance appropriations, except for certain FY2013-FY2014 programs, projects, activities, or accounts. Prescribes requirements for legislation reported out of committee and designated as an emergency requirement. Requires the Joint Committee on Taxation to calculate the impact of any proposal to change federal revenues on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), total domestic employment, and other specified economic variables. Allocates $931 billion of new budget authority for FY2013 to the House Committee on Appropriations. Prohibits the chair of the House Committee on the Budget from taking into account the provisions of any piece of legislation which propose to increase revenue or offsetting collections if the net effect of the bill is to increase the level of revenue or offsetting collections beyond the level assumed in this budget resolution. Requires the chair to maintain a Budget Protection Mandatory Account and a Budget Protection Discretionary Account. Requires the Majority Leader to introduce rescission bills quarterly. Prescribes legislative procedures for their floor consideration. Expresses the sense of the House regarding: (1) baseline revenue projections, and (2) long-term budget projections. Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the House of Representatives to allow an amendment to an appropriations bill that amends existing law if it is a germane amendment to an authorizing provision or a line item appropriation of the bill under consideration. Establishes an earmark moratorium for FY2012-FY2013 for legislation providing or authorizing discretionary budget authority, credit or other spending authority, providing a federal tax deduction, credit, or exclusion, or modifying the Harmonized Tariff Schedule in FY2012-FY2013. Prohibits the House Committee on Rules from reporting a rule or order waiving such moratorium. Declares the policy of this resolution on: (1) health care law repeal, (2) bailouts of state and local governments, (3) means-tested welfare programs, (4) reforming the federal budget process, (5) reforming federal regulations, (6) Medicare reform, (7) deficit reduction through cancellation of unobligated balances, and (8) block granting Medicaid to the states.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2012
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2013, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2014-FY2022. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2013-FY2022 with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) new budget authority, (3) budget outlays, (4) deficits (on-budget), (5) debt subject to limit, and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY2013-FY2022. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the House Committees on: (1) Agriculture, (2) Energy and Commerce, (3) Financial Services, (4) the Judiciary, (5) Oversight and Government Reform, and (6) Ways and Means. Directs the House Committee on the Budget to report a bill that: (1) replaces the sequester for enforcement of the $1.2 trillion budget goal established by the Budget Control Act of 2011, and (2) includes language making its application contingent upon the enactment of the required reconciliation bill. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2030, FY2040, and FY2050 as a percent of the federal gross domestic product (GDP) with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) budget outlays, (3) deficits, and (4) debt held by the public. Authorizes the chair of the House Committee on the Budget to revise the allocations, aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution (create a reserve fund) for the budgetary effects of any legislation repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Authorizes a similar creation of certain deficit-neutral reserve funds for legislation concerning: (1) sustainable growth rate of the Medicare program, (2) revenue measures, (3) rural counties and schools, and (4) transportation. Prohibits House legislation that would require advance appropriations, except certain FY2014 programs, projects, activities, or accounts. Authorizes the chair of the House Committee on the Budget to create reserve funds for the budgetary effects of measures: (1) extending the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001; (2) extending the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003; (3) adjusting the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) exemption amounts to prevent a larger number of taxpayers than those in tax year 2008 from being subject to the ATM or of allowing the use of nonrefundable personal credits; (4) extending the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax requirements of title III of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010; (5) granting a 20% deduction in income to small businesses; (6) implementing trade agreements; (7) repealing or reforming the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010; and (8) reforming the tax code and lowering tax rates. Disqualifies measures from such adjustments that increase: (1) the federal deficit between FY2013-FY2022; or (2) revenues over such period, other than by amending the Internal Revenue Code to repeal or modify the individual health care insurance mandate or modify the subsidies to purchase health insurance. Makes it out of order in the House to consider legislation reported out of committee (other than the Committee on Appropriations) if it has the net effect of increasing direct spending in excess of $5 billion for any of the first four consecutive 10-fiscal-year periods beginning with FY2023. Requires the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on any budget resolution to include in its allocation to the House Committee on Appropriations amounts for the discretionary administrative expenses of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and of the Postal Service. Authorizes the chair to adjust allocations and aggregates for legislation reported by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that reforms the federal retirement system, but does not cause a net increase in the deficit for FY2013-FY2022. Requires legislation that transfers funds from the general fund of the Treasury to the Highway Trust Fund to be counted as new budget authority and outlays equal to the amount of the transfer in the fiscal year the transfer occurs. Requires a separate allocation in the House to the Committee on Appropriations for overseas contingency operations and the global war on terrorism (GWOT). Declares the policy of this resolution on: (1) Medicare reform, (2) Social Security, (3) deficit reduction through the cancellation of unobligated balances, and (4) deficit reduction through the reduction of unnecessary and wasteful spending. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives on the importance of child support enforcement.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 22 March 2012
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2012
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 regarding the Rural Energy for America Program to: (1) extend the Program through FY2017, (2) make nonprofit organizations eligible for assistance, (3) make assistance available to purchase unique components of renewable energy systems, (4) create a tiered loan and grant application process that reflects project size, (5) prohibit requiring a second meter for on-farm residential portions of rural projects connected to the energy grid, (6) permit the combined amount of a grant and a loan guarantee to cover all eligible activity costs, and (7) limit individual grant amounts for feasibility studies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2012
Rural America Preservation Act of 2012 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to cap maximum annual crop year direct and indirect payments to an individual or a legal entity for: (1) covered commodities, at $125,000 (maximum of $75,000 in marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments and $50,000 for other payments); and (2) peanuts, at $125,000 (maximum of $75,000 in marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments and $50,000 for other payments). Provides that an eligible person and spouse in a single farming operation may jointly receive up to twice such amount. Revises provisions respecting limitation of benefits to active farmers. Makes foreign individuals and foreign entities ineligible for agricultural program benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2012
Rural Energy Savings Program Act - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), through the Rural Utilities Service, to make interest-free loans to eligible entities (public power districts, public utility districts, or specified electric cooperatives that borrowed and repaid, prepaid, or are paying an electric loan made or guaranteed by the Rural Utilities Service) for loans to consumers to implement energy efficient measures. Provides a special advance for start-up activities. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with a qualified entity to provide verification and measurement activities and employee technical assistance and training. Directs the Secretary to offer to enter into agreements with eligible entities, or groups of eligible entities, that have specified energy efficiency programs to establish energy efficiency loan demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2012
Grazing Improvement Act of 2012 - 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). Directs that grazing permits or leases issued by the Secretary of the Interior respecting lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and grazing permits issued by the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) respecting National Forest System lands that expire, are transferred, or are waived after this Act's enactment be renewed or reissued, as appropriate, under the Act, Granger-Thye Act, Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act, or California Desert Protection Act of 1994. Excludes the renewal, reissuance, or transfer of a grazing permit or lease by the Secretary concerned from the requirement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) to prepare an environmental analysis if such decision continues current grazing management of the allotment. States that crossing and trailing permits are an administrative decision and shall be excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental analysis. Makes provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act applicable to appeals made by grazing permittees regarding grazing permits or leases under the Act and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2012
Map It Once, Use It Many Times Act - Establishes the National Geospatial Technology Administration in the Department of the Interior. Directs the Administrator of the National Geospatial Technology Administration to: (1) establish a National Geospatial Database of all U.S. owned or managed lands (including public lands), Indian trust parcels, and non-federal lands in each state; and (2) determine whether any U.S. owned or managed property may be better managed through ownership by a non-federal entity. Requires the Administrator to implement the recommendations of the National Geospatial Data Plan developed by the National Geospatial Policy Commission established by this Act. Requires the Administrator to promulgate standards for ensuring the interoperability of geospatial data collected by or with the support of the federal government. Transfers to the Administrator all geospatial functions vested by law in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with respect to the National Forest System, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Sets forth provisions for the acquisition of geospatial data, as specified, from public and commercial sources. Requires the Commission to identify in the Plan each geospatial activity performed by the federal government that: (1) is unnecessary and provide for its elimination, or (2) may be converted to performance by a private geospatial firm or a state or local government. Specifies, subject to stated exceptions, that all federal contracts for the performance of a geospatial activity include: (1) a condition that the activity be performed in the United States, and (2) a written certification that the funding will not be used for activities performed outside the United States. Directs the Administrator to develop: (1) a strategy for encouraging the use of private geospatial firms by federal agencies and other entities that receive federal funding, including foreign governments; (2) a Geospatial Research Plan to provide for U.S. investment in geospatial research and development activities; and (3) policy directives for the implementation of such activities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2012
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow decedent estates to base the value of qualified historic property on the net earnings of such property for estate and gift tax purposes. Defines "qualified historic property" as any building designated as a national historic landmark for at least 25 years prior to the death of a decedent and originally used for residential or farming purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2012
Amends the Export Apple Act to permit apples to be exported to Canada in bulk bins (a quantity of apples weighing more than 100 pounds) without complying with certain inspection and certification requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2012
Saving the Family Farm Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross estate of a decedent the adjusted value of any qualified family-owned farm or business (i.e., a qualified farmland or a qualified trade or business) included in the estate. Requires: (1) the decedent to have been a citizen or resident of the United States at the time of death, (2) the decedent and members of the decedent's family to have owned not less than 60% of such farm or business in any 5-year period during the 8-year period prior to the decedent's death, and (3) material participation in the operation of the farm or business by the decedent and members of the decedent's family. Defines "qualified farmland" as any real property located in the United States that is used as a farm for farming purposes. Defines "qualified trade or business" as any interest in a trade or business that is not an interest in a C corporation and that was acquired from or passed from the decedent to an heir. Imposes a recapture tax on an heir who disposes of any interest in a qualified family-owned farm or business or who ceases to use qualified farmland for farming purposes after inheriting such property.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2012
Land Acquisition to cut National Debt Act or LAND Act - Bars the Secretary of the Interior from using federal funding to purchase land resulting in a net increase of land acreage being under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unless the federal budget is balanced for the year in which such land would be purchased. Makes such prohibition inapplicable to lands purchased with funding made available through the sale of Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps. Bars the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from using federal funding to purchase land resulting in a net increase of land acreage included in the National Forest System unless the federal budget is balanced for the year in which that land would be purchased.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2012
Great Lakes Assurance Program Verification Act of 2012 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), in consultation with the Great Lakes States, to establish a Great Lakes basin initiative for agricultural non-point source pollution prevention. Defines "Great Lakes State" as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2012
Chesapeake Bay Program Reauthorization and Improvement Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act or CWA) to establish: (1) financial reporting requirements for restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and (2) the Independent Evaluation and Technical Advisory Committee to review and report on restoration activities in the Bay ecosystem and to provide recommendations to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) on such activities. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013-FY2018. Requires the Administrator to: (1) complete an economic analysis of each EPA statement (i.e., guidance, policy, memorandum, regulation, or statement of general applicability and future effect that is designed to implement, interpret, or prescribe law or policy relating to water quality in the Bay); and (2) establish technical guidelines to be used by the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading Commission in establishing a voluntary interstate nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment trading program for the Bay. Prohibits such guidelines from applying to agricultural nonpoint sources or nonindustrial private forest lands except to the extent that such guidelines consist of guidelines issued under the Food Security Act of 1985 concerning environmental service markets. Requires a total maximum daily load (TMDL) for nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment for a segment of the Bay and its tributaries to use timeframes other than daily (such as annual, monthly, or seasonal) for certain economic sectors, including agriculture, in which a nondaily timeframe is appropriate. Authorizes a point source to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit limits on nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment through trade administered by the Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading Commission. Provides that powers are reserved solely to states to implement a total maximum daily nutrient or sediment load in the Bay. Authorizes, in Bay states that have developed TMDL plans that reduce loading through an iterative process that employs adaptive management principles, NPDES permits to be issued for new or existing point source discharges that include wasteload allocations consistent with such plan and that demonstrate progress towards achieving the wasteload allocation specified in such plan by treatment, trading or other means. Authorizes individuals or entities undertaking land development activities to be permitted to meet requirements for managing stormwater by offsetting such activities through the establishment of equivalent stormwater management practices off-site within the Bay ecosystem. Authorizes Bay states to use funds made available under the nonpoint source management program for activities related to reducing losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, or sediment from agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land through a watershed partnership developed under the Food and Security Act of 1985. Establishes an independent Chesapeake Bay Nutrient and Sediment Trading Commission in the Office of the Chesapeake Bay Program to: (1) administer the nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment trading program for Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to ensure that credits are generated to attract market participants and facilitate trading mechanisms among and within such jurisdictions to meet water quality goals; (2) operate a registry for interstate water quality trading; and (3) develop a system to allow for trading to occur between point source and non-point source dischargers and any combination thereof among and within Bay states. Terminates the Commission on September 30, 2018. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the chief executive of a Bay state upon such executive's request to establish a watershed partnership. Authorizes each partnership to establish a watershed strategy for demonstrating aggregate reductions in losses of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment, on a basin or subbasin scale in the Bay watershed, from agricultural or nonindustrial private forest land in the state. Requires such strategies to establish an assurance process in which qualified producers or owners of non-industrial forest land may participate. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide conservation technical assistance to educate agricultural and private forest landowners in the Bay regarding water quality requirements, (2) publish a list of eligible agricultural and forestry activities that result in environmental service benefits, and (3) establish a pilot program for the Bay watershed for the facilitation of creating environmental service markets.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 6 March 2012
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2012
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to include facilities that convert renewable biomass into renewable chemicals in the definitions of "biomass conversion facility" and "biorefinery." Defines "renewable chemical" as a monomer, polymer, plastic, or formulated product produced from renewable biomass. Amends the biobased markets program to: (1) require federal procuring agencies to issue a certain number of biobased-only contracts; and (2) require the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to designate intermediate ingredients or feedstocks and assembled and finished biobased products in the program guidelines; (3) require the Secretary to issue criteria for determining which assembled and finished products may carry the USDA Certified Biobased Product label; (4) require the Secretary to assess the economic impact of the biobased products industry; (5) authorize the Secretary to carry out outreach, education, and promotion activities; and (6) authorize the Secretary to perform audits. Makes renewable chemicals and biobased product manufacturing eligible for grant and loan guarantee assistance. Eliminates feedstocks research, development, and demonstration activities from the Biomass Research and Development Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2012
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to prohibit the Secretary of Energy (DOE), except in the case of a severe energy supply interruption, from executing the first drawdown of petroleum products in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after enactment of this Act until the Secretary has developed a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands (including submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf) under the jurisdiction of DOE, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) leased for oil and gas production by the same percentage as the percentage of petroleum in the SPR that is to be drawn down in such first and subsequent drawdowns. Prohibits such plan from providing for a total increase of more than 10% in the percentage of such federal lands leased for oil and gas production.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2012
El Yunque National Forest Preservation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to acquire, by donation or purchase from willing sellers, tracts of land or interests in land not in federal ownership that are located within the established boundaries of El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico or that abut such boundaries. Provides for the adjustment of the boundary of El Yunque National Forest to include any acquired lands.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2012
Amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to prohibit livestock packers from owning, controlling, or feeding livestock to such an extent that the producer no longer materially participates in the management of the operation, with exceptions for: (1) animals held for not more than seven days before slaughter; (2) certain cooperatives that own, control or feed livestock and provide such livestock for slaughter; (3) packers that are not required to report price and quantity information on each reporting day; or (4) packers that own one livestock processing plant.
United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2012
Los Padres Conservation and Recreation Act of 2012 - Designates specified National Forest System lands in California that are administered as part of the Los Padres National Forest as wilderness and as additions to existing components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified creek segments in California as wild, scenic, or recreational rivers. Establishes the Condor Ridge Scenic Area within the National Forest. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to develop a comprehensive management plan for such area. Designates within the National Forest: (1) specified roads and trails for certain off-highway vehicle use, and (2) specified areas as off-highway vehicle areas. Directs the Secretary to study and report on the feasibility of and the public interest in the construction of specified new trails respecting the National Forest. Los Padres National Forest Land Exchange Act - Directs the Secretary to convey specified National Forest System lands to the United Water Conservation District of California in exchange for the conveyance of specified non-federal lands to the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to reserve easements for all trails and roads considered necessary for administrative purposes and to ensure public access.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2012
America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership Reauthorization Act - Amends the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 to extend the Secretary of Agriculture's (USDA) authority to make grants or provide assistance to the America's Agricultural Heritage Partnership (Iowa).
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2012
Recognizes: (1) that no ethnic, demographic, religious, or cultural group has been unaffected by our economic struggles; and (2) the significance of the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). Supports adequate funding for SNAP as a means of preventing hunger and strengthening the nation.
United States · United States House of Representatives · 17 February 2012
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2012
MILC Continuation Act of 2012 - Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to extend, for one year, the milk income loss contract program.