Energy

Leave our Lakes Alone Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2012

Leave our Lakes Alone Act - Amends the Federal Power Act to prohibit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from considering public use and environmental purposes in issuing a license, or enforcing any public use and environmental requirements of a license, for a project in a state whose law expressly authorizes such a prohibition. Defines "public use and environmental purposes" to mean the purposes of energy conservation, the protection, mitigation of damage to, and enhancement of, fish and wildlife, the protection of recreational opportunities, the preservation of other aspects of environmental quality, and other beneficial public uses, including irrigation, flood control, and water supply, as such purposes apply to land within a project boundary above the highest target elevation for normal operations of the project. Exempts projects on federal land from application of this Act.

Department of Energy High-End Computing Improvement Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012

Department of Energy High-End Computing Improvement Act of 2012 - Renames the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004 as the Department of Energy High-End Computing Act of 2012. Defines "exascale computing" as computing through the use of a computing machine that performs near or above 10 to the 18th power floating point operations per second. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to: (1) conduct a research program to develop exascale computing machines to promote DOE missions; (2) coordinate the development of such machines across all applicable DOE agencies; and (3) implement the program through an integration of application, computer science, and computer hardware architecture using public-private partnerships to ensure that exascale computing machines are capable of solving DOE target applications and scientific problems. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013-FY2015.

Federal Lands Energy Regulatory Certainty Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2012

Federal Lands Energy Regulatory Certainty Act of 2012 - Bars the Secretary of the Interior, before submitting the final report on the study specified below, from taking any action to finalize or otherwise implement provisions contained in the proposed rule entitled "Oil and Gas; Well Stimulation, Including Hydraulic Fracturing, on Federal and Indian Lands". Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to study, for the 10-year period following enactment of this Act, as if such rule was applied: (1) the anticipated expenditure of resources by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM); (2) the anticipated rates of development and production of oil and natural gas resources in the United States; (3) the anticipated revenue to the Treasury resulting from the production of oil and natural gas resources; and (4) any potential conflicts that may exist between the proposed rule and existing federal and state regulations. Requires the Secretary to submit a preliminary and final report to Congress on the results of such study and to solicit public comments regarding the preliminary report.

Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012

Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2013 for the conduct of intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the: (1) Office of the Director of National Intelligence; (2) Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); (3) Department of Defense (DOD); (4) Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA); (5) National Security Agency (NSA); (6) Departments of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; (7) Coast Guard; (8) Departments of State, the Treasury, Energy, and Justice; (9) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (10) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); (11) National Reconnaissance Office; (12) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; and (13) Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Specifies that the amounts authorized and the authorized personnel ceilings as of September 30, 2013, for such activities are those specified in the classified Schedule of Authorizations, which shall be made available to the congressional appropriations committees and the President. Allows the Director of National Intelligence to authorize employment of civilian personnel in excess of the number authorized for FY2013 when necessary for the performance of important intelligence functions. Requires notification to the intelligence committees on the use of such authority. Authorizes appropriations for the Intelligence Community Management Account for FY2013, as well as for full-time personnel for elements within such Account. Authorizes appropriations for FY2013 for the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability Fund. Prohibits the authorization of appropriations by this Act from being deemed to constitute authority to conduct any intelligence activity not otherwise authorized by the Constitution or laws of the United States. Permits appropriations authorized by this Act for salary, pay, retirement, and other benefits for federal employees to be increased by such additional or supplemental amounts as necessary for increases in such compensation or benefits authorized by law. Requires specified intelligence community (IC) officials to develop corrective action plans for achieving compliance with the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010. Adds specified provisions concerning the prevention of unauthorized disclosures of classified information, including additional responsibilities of IC personnel with access to such information. Establishes within DHS a Homeland Security Intelligence Program. Extends the date for the final report of the National Commission for the Review of the Research and Development Programs of the United States Intelligence Community. Requires the Attorney General to annually provide to the intelligence committees a copy of every classified opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (DOJ) provided to an IC element on or after September 11, 2001.

Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012

Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) (Secretary) to establish a veteran jobs corps to employ veterans: (1) in conservation, resource management, and historic preservation projects on public lands and maintenance and improvement projects for cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the National Cemetery Administration; and (2) as firefighters and law enforcement officers. Requires priority employment for veterans who served on active duty on or after September 11, 2001. Provides for such employment in coordination with the Attorney General, the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Interior. Directs the Secretary to establish a steering committee for assistance in providing such employment. Directs the Secretary of Labor to commence a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of providing veterans seeking employment with access to computing facilities in order to: (1) match veterans with available jobs based on veterans' skills acquired as members of the Armed Forces, and (2) allow employers to post information about available jobs. Directs the Secretary, as a condition of a grant or contract to a state for certain veterans' employment and training programs, to require the state to demonstrate the consideration of any military training received by a veteran when approving or denying a commercial driver's license or a certification to be a nursing assistant or certified nursing assistant, or an emergency medical technician or paramedic. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish minimum funding levels for specified veterans' benefits contracts and grants to ensure that each state receives sufficient funding to support at least one disabled veterans' outreach program specialist and one local veterans' employment representative per 5,000 square miles of service delivery area within the state. Directs the Secretary of Labor, during the one-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, to provide the Transition Assistance Program to veterans and their spouses at locations other than military installations in at least three and up to five states selected by the Secretary based on the highest rates of veteran unemployment. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a 100% continuous levy upon the property and rights of Medicare (title XVIII of the Social Security Act) providers and suppliers neglecting or refusing to pay taxes. Repeals provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 providing for a program for the research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of technologies for ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas and other petroleum resource exploration and production. Permits the Secretary of State to deny, revoke, or limit a passport to any individual upon receiving certification from the Secretary of the Treasury that such individual has a delinquent tax debt in an amount in excess of $50,000.

To provide a one-year extension of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, with certain modifications and exceptions, to make supplemental agricultural disaster assistance available for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2012

Extends through September 30, 2013, with specified exceptions, programs under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Suspends specified price support authorities. Extends specified: (1) commodity programs, (2) conservation programs, (3) employment and training programs, (4) research programs, (5) energy programs, and (6) horticulture and organic agriculture programs. Extends the program of outreach and technical assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. Provides assistance for livestock losses caused by: (1) adverse weather or attacks by federally reintroduced animals, and (2) drought or fire. Provides assistance for orchardists and nursery tree growers for commercial losses caused by natural disasters.

Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Protection Act - Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior, before December 31, 2013, from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would: (1) adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States; (2) cause a reduction in revenue received by the federal government or any state, tribal, or local government, by reducing through regulation the quantity of coal in the United States that is available for mining; (3) reduce the quantity of coal available for domestic consumption or for export; (4) designate any area as unsuitable for surface coal mining and reclamation operations; or (5) expose the United States to liability for taking the value of privately owned coal through regulation.

China Fair Trade Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

China Fair Trade Act of 2012 - Amends the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 to provide that certain exceptions and waivers to the prohibition on the procurement of the products of a country that is not a party to the Agreement on Government Procurement shall not apply with respect to the procurements of products or services of the People's Republic of China. Amends the Buy American Act to declare that certain exceptions to the Act requiring only U.S. materials be used for public use shall not apply to the procurement of Chinese-made products until China becomes a party to the Agreement. Declares that certain exceptions to Buy American requirements shall not apply to the procurement of Chinese products by the Department of Defense (DOD) until China becomes a party to such Agreement. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to declare that certain exceptions to Buy American requirements under such Act shall not apply to the procurement of Chinese steel and products until China becomes a party to the Agreement. Requires the Secretary of Commerce to report to Congress on the productive capacity of the major industrial sectors in China. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to report to Congress on: (1) Chinese policies and the subsidies China provides in the development and exportation of renewable energy products and technologies, and (2) the impact such policies and subsidies have on U.S. manufacturers of such products and technologies.

Domestic Energy and Jobs Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

Domestic Energy and Jobs Act - Title I: Keystone XL Permit Approval - Declares that no presidential permit shall be required for a specified pipeline application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Corporation to the Department of State for the northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline from the Canadian border to the South Dakota/Nebraska border. Title II: Impacts of EPA Rules and Actions on Energy Prices - Gasoline Regulations Act of 2012 - Requires the President to establish the Transportation Fuels Regulatory Committee to analyze and report on the cumulative impacts of certain covered rules and actions under the Clean Air Act. Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing the following rules until at least six months after the Committee submits its final report: (1) "Control of Air Pollution From New Motor Vehicles: Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards" and any successor or substantially similar rule; (2) any rule proposed after March 15, 2012, establishing or revising a performance or emission standard for new stationary sources or hazardous air pollutants that is applicable to petroleum refineries; and (3) any rule revising or supplementing the national ambient air quality standards for ozone under the Clean Air Act. Requires the EPA Administrator to consider feasibility and cost in revising or supplementing any such standards for ozone. Amends the Clean Air Act to: (1) authorize the Administrator to waive temporarily a control or prohibition governing the use of a regulated fuel or fuel additive following a determination that unusual and extreme fuel additive supply circumstances are the result of a problem with distribution or delivery equipment necessary for the transportation or delivery of fuel or fuel additives, and (2) grant a presumptive approval to a request for a waiver if the Administrator does not approve or deny such request within three days after its receipt. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Administrator and the Secretary of Energy to include biofuels in their joint Fuel System Requirements Harmonization Study, as well as an assessment of the effect of such requirements upon achievement of the renewable fuel standard. Extends from June 1, 2008, to June 1, 2014, the deadline for the report to Congress on the results of the Study. Title III: Quadrennial Strategic Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy - Planning for American Energy Act of 2012 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to publish every four years a Quadrennial Federal Onshore Energy Production Strategy, which shall direct federal land energy development and department resource allocation in order to promote the energy security of the United States. Requires the Secretary to determine a domestic strategic production objective for the development of energy resources from federal onshore lands. Expresses the sense of Congress that federally recognized Indian tribes may elect to set their own production objectives as part of the Strategy. Title IV: Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Certainty - Providing Leasing Certainty for American Energy Act of 2012 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the Secretary, in conducting lease sales, to offer for sale at least 25% of the annual nominated acreage not previously made available for lease. Shields such acreage from review and the test of extraordinary circumstances. Makes such acreage eligible for certain categorical exclusions under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in connection with review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). (A categorical exclusion is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and for which, as a consequence, neither an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement is required.) Directs the Secretary to consider leasing only federal lands that are available for leasing at the time the lease sale occurs. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) withdrawing approval of any covered energy project involving a lease issued under the Act without finding a violation by the lessee of lease terms; (2) delaying indefinitely issuance of project approvals, drilling and seismic permits, and rights-of-way for activities under a lease; or (3) cancelling or withdrawing any lease parcel after a competitive lease sale has occurred and a winning bidder has made the last payment for the parcel. Directs the Secretary to complete the review of any appeal of a lease sale within 60 days after its receipt. Declares without force or effect Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memorandum 2010-117. Title V: Streamlined Energy Permitting - Streamlining Permitting of American Energy Act of 2012 - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to revise requirements for the issuance of permits to drill in energy projects on federal lands. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to extend the initial 30-day permit application review period for up to 2 periods of 15 days each, if the Secretary has given written notice of the delay to the applicant. Deems a permit application approved if the Secretary has made no decision on it 60 days after its receipt. Directs the Secretary to collect a single $6,500 permit processing fee per application from each applicant at the time the decision is made whether or not to issue a permit. Requires that 50% of fees collected as annual wind energy and solar energy right-of-way authorization fees be retained by the Secretary for use by: (1) the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to process permits, right-of-way applications, and other activities necessary for renewable energy development; and (2) either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or other federal agencies involved in wind and solar permitting reviews in order to facilitate the processing of wind energy and solar energy permit applications on BLM lands. Requires the Secretary to collect a $5,000 documentation fee to accompany each appeal of an action on a lease, right-of-way, or application for permit to drill. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in each BLM Field office with responsibility for issuing permits energy projects on federal land; and (2) enter into a related memorandum of understanding to this end with the Secretary of Agriculture, the EPA Administrator, and the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers. Authorizes the Secretary to request the governor of any state with energy projects on federal lands to be a signatory to the memorandum of understanding. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring a finding of extraordinary circumstances related to a categorical exclusion in administering the Energy Policy Act of 2005 with respect to review under NEPA. Directs the Secretary, when practicable, to encourage the use of U.S. workers and equipment manufactured in the United States in all construction related to mineral resource development under this title. Declares venue for any covered civil action to lie in the U.S. district court in which the project or leases exist or are proposed. Prescribes judicial review procedures for leasing federal lands for the exploration, development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, wind, or any other energy source. Title VI: Expeditious Oil and Gas Leasing Program in National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska - National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) in Alaska remains explicitly designated to provide oil and natural gas resources to the United States, and (2) it is national policy to actively advance oil and gas development within the NPR. Amends the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to require that the mandatory program of competitive leasing of oil and gas in the NPR include at least one lease sale annually in those NPR areas most likely to produce commercial quantities of oil and natural gas each year during 2011-2021. Directs the Secretary to facilitate and ensure, according to a specified timeline, permits for all surface development activities (including pipelines and road construction) in order to: (1) develop and bring into production areas within the NPR that are subject to oil and gas leases, and (2) transport oil and gas from and through the NPR to existing transportation or processing infrastructure on the North Slope of Alaska. Instructs the Secretary to approve, within 180 days after enactment of this Act, and after public comment and consultation with the state of Alaska, right-of-way corridors for the construction of two separate additional bridges and pipeline rights-of-way to facilitate oil and gas development in the NPR. Requires the Secretary, through the U.S. Geological Survey, to assess all technically recoverable fossil fuel resources within the NPR, including conventional and unconventional oil and natural gas. Declares without force or effect with respect to this title the designation by EPA of the Colville River Delta as an Aquatic Resource of National Importance. Title VII: Internet-Based Onshore Oil and Gas Lease Sales - BLM Live Internet Auctions Act - Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize the Secretary to conduct onshore oil and gas lease sales through Internet-based bidding methods. Title VIII: Advancing Offshore Wind Production - Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act - Exempts projects determined by the Secretary to be an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project from environmental impact statement requirements under NEPA. Defines an "offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project" as a project administered by the Department of the Interior and carried out on or in the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to test or monitor weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastructure and that meets specified other requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require that any applicant seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project on the OCS obtain a permit and right of way for the project; and (2) decide whether to issue such a permit and right of way within 30 days after receiving an application. Title IX: Critical Minerals - Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, to publish in the Federal Register a draft methodology for determining which minerals qualify as critical minerals, based upon an assessment of whether they are subject to potential supply restrictions and important in use. Directs the President to coordinate federal agency actions to facilitate development and production of domestic resources to meet national critical minerals needs. Directs the Secretary to conduct a specified national assessment of critical minerals. Establishes within the Department of the Interior the Critical Minerals Working Group to facilitate federal agency: (1) efforts to optimize efficiencies associated with the permitting of activities that will increase exploration and development of domestic critical minerals; and (2) review of laws, regulations, and policies that discourage investment in domestic critical minerals. Directs the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to conduct research and development to promote the efficient production, use, recycling of, and alternatives to critical minerals. Instructs the Secretary of Labor to assess the domestic availability of technically trained personnel necessary for critical mineral enterprises, including skills in the shortest supply. Directs the Secretaries of the Interior and of Labor to arrange jointly with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to coordinate with the National Science Foundation (NSF) on a study to design an interdisciplinary program on critical minerals that will support the critical mineral supply chain. Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the NSF to conduct jointly a competitive program of four-year grants to institutions of higher education to implement programs addressing integrated critical mineral education, training, innovation, and workforce development. Directs the Secretary of State to promote international cooperation with U.S. allies regarding critical mineral supply chain issues. Repeals the National Critical Materials Act of 1984. Title X: Miscellaneous - Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from transferring to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement any responsibility or authority to perform any function performed on the day before enactment of this Act under the solid minerals leasing program of the Department of the Interior. Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to: (1) shorten from FY2055 to FY2022 the time period during which the maximum amount of distributed qualified OCS shelf revenues available for distribution to certain states remains $500 million, and (2) increase to $750 million the maximum amount of distributed qualified OCS revenues for each of FY2023-FY2055. Directs the Secretary to carry out Lease Sale 220 off the coast of Virginia within the proposed OCS oil and gas leasing program for the 2012-2017 period. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to work jointly to: (1) preserve the ability of the Armed Forces to maintain an optimum state of readiness through their continued use of OCS energy resources; and (2) allow effective exploration, development, and production of U.S. oil, gas, and renewable energy resources. Prohibits any exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas off the coast of Virginia that would conflict with any military operation agreed upon in a certain Memorandum. Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior, before December 31, 2013, from issuing or approving any proposed or final regulation under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 that would adversely impact employment in coal mines in the United States, or cause reductions in the quantity of coal in the United States available for mining or in federal, state, local, and tribal revenues from coal mining.

No More Solyndras Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

No More Solyndras Act - Prohibits the Secretary of Energy (DOE) from issuing any new loan guarantee of an innovative energy project under title XVII (Incentives for Innovative Technologies) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 for any application submitted to DOE after December 31, 2011. Prohibits a loan guarantee for any application pending before that date unless the Secretary of the Treasury reviews the proposed guarantee and makes a written recommendation to the Secretary of Energy (Secretary) on the merits. Requires the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees within 60 days after making any loan guarantee on a pending application. Directs the Secretary to consult with the Secretary of the Treasury regarding any restructuring of the terms and conditions of an innovative energy project loan guarantee, including any deviations from the financial terms of the guarantee. Prohibits the Secretary from subordinating the interests of the U.S. government to any other financing for the project. Declares that any federal official responsible for the issuance of an innovative energy project loan guarantee in a manner that violates the requirements of title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 or of this Act shall be subject to appropriate administrative discipline including, when circumstances warrant, suspension from duty without pay or removal from office.

Clean Heating Oil Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

Clean Heating Oil Act of 2012 - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit, effective June 1, 2016, any person from manufacturing, selling, supplying, offering for sale or supply, dispensing, transporting, or introducing into commerce heating oil which contains a concentration of sulfur in excess of: (1) 15 parts per million, or (2) a lesser concentration that may be established by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (but not below the concentration of sulfur in diesel fuel permissible under renewable fuel standards) to ensure that such concentration is not reasonably anticipated to endanger the public health or welfare. Allows the Administrator to: (1) provide for the issuance of credits to refiners and importers for amounts of heating oil manufactured or imported before June 1, 2016, in accordance with such limitation; and (2) allow a refiner or importer to use such credits, or transfer such credits to another refiner or importer for use, for the purpose of complying with this Act. Terminates such credits on June 1, 2019. Defines "heating oil" to mean any number 1 distillate, number 2 dyed distillate, or non-petroleum diesel blend that is: (1) sold for use in furnaces, boilers, stationary diesel engines, or similar applications; and (2) commonly or commercially known or sold as heating oil or fuel oil or using a similar trade name. Allows the Administrator to: (1) temporarily waive the requirements of this Act if the Administrator determines, and the Secretary of Energy (DOE) concurs, that the criteria for fuels and fuel additives is met with respect to heating oil; and (2) waive requirements of this Act with respect to any heating oil manufactured by a small refinery until June 1, 2019. Applies penalty and injunction provisions for violations of fuel regulations under the Clean Air Act to violations of this Act.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the nonbusiness energy property credit to include the insulation component of insulated siding.

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonbusiness energy tax credit for the insulation portion of any building cladding system (including vinyl siding with integral insulating material) that has a minium thermal resistance of R-2.

Make it in America: Create Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs in America Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

Make it in America: Create Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs in America Act - Authorizes federal acquisition of, or the provision of federal funds to states for purchase of, only green technologies that are 85% manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 85% grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States beginning in the fourth fiscal year after enactment of this Act. Provides that such percentage shall be 30% in the first fiscal year after enactment, 50% in the second fiscal year, and 80% in the third fiscal year. Defines "green technologies" to mean renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services that: (1) reduce dependence on unreliable sources of energy by encouraging the use of sustainable biomass, wind, small-scale hydroelectric, solar, geothermal, and other renewable energy and energy efficiency products and services; and (2) use hybrid fossil-renewable energy systems. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treating any facility originally placed in service after the enactment of this Act as a qualified facility for purposes of the renewable energy production and investment tax credits unless such facility is 85% manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 85% grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States. Provides that such percentage shall be 30% for a facility placed in service during 2012, 50% for a facility placed in service during 2013, and 80% for a facility placed in service during 2014.

Biogas Investment Tax Credit Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2012

Biogas Investment Tax Credit Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) an energy tax credit through 2018 for investment in qualified biogas property, and (2) financing of qualified biogas property with new clean renewable energy bonds. Defines "qualified biogas property" as property comprising a system which uses anaerobic digesters or other processes to convert biomas into a gas which consists of not less than 52% methane and which captures such gas for use as a fuel. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into an agreement with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to undertake a study of biogas and to submit a report to Congress on such study.

WATER AND ENERGY USE EFFICIENCY

United States · United States Senate · 25 July 2012

Offshore Petroleum Expansion Now Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2012

Offshore Petroleum Expansion Now Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Proposed Oil & Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017 in accordance with the schedule for conducting oil and gas lease sales set forth in it and in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Directs the Secretary to conduct each of specified oil and gas lease sales in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Areas, including certain ones in the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2010-2015), during its specified year. Requires the Secretary to offer for sale, no later than December 31, 2013, leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara or Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area. Directs the Secretary to revise a specified Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement map, dated January 2010, to ensure that the square footage of the leasable area in the Mid-Atlantic planning area is directly proportional to the length of the tidal shoreline of the Mid-Atlantic States (Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Virginia). Retains the authority of the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to designate national defense areas on the OCS. Requires the Secretary to prepare a multisale environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for lease sales required under this Act that are not included in the Proposed Leasing Program (2012-2017). Declares that nothing in this Act affects restrictions on oil and gas leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. Requires all lease sales conducted pursuant to this Act, with specified exceptions, to be area-wide lease sales. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, for each of FY2012-FY2022, to deposit in a special account in the Treasury 37.5 % of all revenues due and payable to the United States from OCS areas not scheduled for lease sale under Proposed Oil and Gas Leasing Program: 2012-2017. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to disburse such funds to coastal states and coastal political subdivisions. Prescribes an allocation formula for coastal states and coastal political subdivisions. Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to repeal limitations placed upon the amount of distributed qualified OCS revenues.

State Natural Gas Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2012

State Natural Gas Act of 2012 - Amends the Natural Gas Act to require the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to make grants available to states to independently carry out initiatives to promote the following purposes: (1) the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel, and (2) investment in natural gas vehicles and transportation infrastructure. Establishes $1 million as the minimum grant amount to a state. Requires the Secretary to increase the grant amount above the minimum to reflect the potential of applications and plans to promote the purposes of this Act, taking into consideration: (1) the relative amount of funds likely to be leveraged by initiatives described in the state plan, (2) the degree that initiatives will support a need unlikely to be met by the private sector absent program funding, (3) the degree that initiatives will be a bridge to private investment and sustainable market conditions, and (4) the amount of funds invested in public and private investment in states in natural gas transportation and infrastructure.

American Advanced Energy Manufacturing Jobs Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2012

American Advanced Energy Manufacturing Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for the qualifying advanced energy project program, to: (1) allow, through December 31, 2016, an additional credit amount for the cost of manufacturing equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity, fuel cell power plants, and systems for the electro-chemical storage of electricity; and (2) increase for 2012 the amount of credits that may be allocated under such program. Provides for an offset against such increased credit by denying to any major integrated oil company: (1) a foreign tax credit if such company receives a tax preference from a foreign jurisdiction that does not impose a generally applicable income tax, and (2) a tax deduction for intangible drilling and development costs.

Renewable Fuel Standard Flexibility Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012

Renewable Fuel Standard Flexibility Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): (1) by November 30 each year, to determine and publish the estimated U.S. corn stocks-to-use ratio for the applicable crop year; and (2) to waive the renewable fuel program's requirements for the next calendar year by reducing the national quantity of renewable fuel otherwise required by specified amounts based on the ratio determined. Prohibits: (1) waivers granted under this Act from affecting the volume of advanced biofuel under such program, or (2) the Administrator from allowing any volume of conventional biofuel to be used to satisfy the requirement for advanced biofuel.

To prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing any rule imposing any standard of performance for carbon dioxide emissions from any existing or new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit unless and until carbon capture and storage is found to be technologically and economically feasible.

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012

Prohibits the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from finalizing any rule imposing a standard of performance for carbon dioxide emissions from any existing or new source that is a fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating unit unless and until three of four specified officials (the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, the Comptroller General, the Director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory, and the Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology) publish and submit to Congress a report finding that carbon capture and storage is technologically and economically feasible for such units.

President Obama's Proposed 2012-2017 Offshore Drilling Lease Sale Plan Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2012

President Obama's Proposed 2012-2017 Offshore Drilling Lease Sale Plan Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) in accordance with the schedule for conducting oil and gas lease sales set forth in it and in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.

To approve the construction, operation, and maintenance of the northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline from the Canadian border to the South Dakota/Nebraska border.

United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2012

Declares that no presidential permit shall be required for the pipeline application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Corporation for the northern portion of the Keystone XL pipeline from the Canadian border to the South Dakota/Nebraska border. Deems the final environmental impact statement issued by the Secretary of State on August 26, 2011, to satisfy all requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Declares that this Act does not affect the ongoing work of the state of Nebraska with regard to the fully intrastate portion of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4078) to provide that no agency may take any significant regulatory action until the unemployment rate is equal to or less than 6.0 percent, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6082) to officially replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Obama's Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional oil and natural gas lease sales to promote offshore energy development, job creation, and increased domestic energy production to ensure a more secure energy future in the United States, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2012

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4078) to provide that no agency may take any significant regulatory action until the unemployment rate is equal to or less than 6.0 percent, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6082) to officially replace, within the 60-day Congressional review period under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Obama's Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) with a congressional plan that will conduct additional oil and natural gas lease sales to promote offshore energy development, job creation, and increased domestic energy production to ensure a more secure energy future in the United States.

CSA2012

United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012

Cybersecurity Act of 2012 or the CSA2012 - Establishes a National Cybersecurity Council, to be chaired by the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (the Secretary), to: (1) conduct sector-by-sector risk assessments; (2) identify categories of critical cyber infrastructure (CCI categories); (3) coordinate the adoption of private-sector recommended voluntary outcome-based cybersecurity practices; (4) establish an incentives-based voluntary cybersecurity program for critical infrastructure to encourage owners of critical infrastructure to adopt such practices; (5) develop procedures to inform critical infrastructure owners and operators of cyber threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences; and (6) provide any technical guidance or assistance requested by owners and operators. Directs the Council to designate an agency to: (1) conduct top-level cybersecurity assessments of cyber risks to critical infrastructure with voluntary participation from private sector entities; and (2) prioritize ongoing, sector-by-sector assessments beginning with sectors posing the greatest immediate risk. Requires the Council to submit each risk assessment to the President and appropriate federal agencies and congressional committees. Directs the Council to: (1) identify CCI categories within each sector of critical infrastructure and critical infrastructure owners within each category, and (2) establish a procedure for owners of critical cyber infrastructure to challenge the identification. Directs the Council to identify CCI categories as a critical cyber infrastructures only if damage or unauthorized access could reasonably result in: (1) the interruption of life-sustaining services (including energy, water, transportation, emergency services, or food) sufficient to cause a mass casualty event or mass evacuations; (2) catastrophic economic damage to the United States, including financial markets, transportation systems, or other systemic, long-term damage; or (3) severe degradation of national security. Requires the Council to establish procedures under which owners of critical cyber infrastructure shall report significant cyber incidents affecting critical cyber infrastructure. Provides for congressional review of critical cyber infrastructure determinations. Requires private sector coordinating councils (PSCC) within critical infrastructure sectors established by the National Infrastructure Protection Plan to propose cybersecurity practices to the Council. Directs the Council to adopt: (1) any proposed practices and any necessary amended or additional practices that adequately address identified cyber risks, and (2) practices pursuant to the Council's own assessment if a PSCC fails to submit proposals. Permits federal agencies with responsibilities for regulating the security of critical infrastructure to adopt such practices as mandatory requirements. Requires agencies that do not adopt the practices to report to Congress on the agency's reasoning, including a description of whether the agency is maintaining practices sufficient to effectively address cyber risks. Directs the Council to establish the Voluntary Cybersecurity Program for Critical Infrastructure under which owners of critical infrastructure certified to participate in the Program select and implement cybersecurity measures of their choosing that satisfy such cybersecurity practices in exchange for: (1) liability protection from punitive damages; (2) expedited security clearances; and (3) prioritized technical assistance, real-time cyber threat information, and public recognition. Prohibits any of the above provisions relating to the critical infrastructure public-private partnership from limiting the ability of a federal agency with responsibilities for regulating the security of critical infrastructure from requiring that the cybersecurity practices adopted by the Council be met. Directs the Secretary to establish a Critical Infrastructure Cyber Security Tip Line. Requires the Secretary to: (1) inform the owner or operator of information infrastructure located outside the United States the disruption of which could result in catastrophic damage within the United States and the government of the country in which the information infrastructure is located of any cyber risks to such information infrastructure; and (2) coordinate with such governments and owners or operators regarding the implementation of measures to mitigate or remediate cyber risks. Amends the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) to direct the Secretary to oversee the information security requirements of federal agencies. (Currently, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget [OMB] has such oversight authority and has administratively transferred certain responsibilities to DHS through an OMB memorandum.) Revises information security requirements for federal agencies and provides for continuous monitoring and streamlined reporting of cybersecurity risks. Maintains: (1) the President's oversight over national security systems; and (2) the delegation of authority to the Department of Defense (DOD), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and Director of National Intelligence (DNI) for specified defense and intelligence systems. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to consolidate existing DHS resources for cybersecurity within a National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications. Sets forth the duties of the Center, including managing efforts to secure, protect, and ensure the resiliency of the federal information infrastructure, supporting private sector efforts to protect such infrastructure, prioritizing efforts to address the most significant risks to the information infrastructure, and ensuring privacy protections. Requires the Center to be headed by a Director (appointed by the President with Senate confirmation) who reports to the Secretary. Directs the DNI to identify a Deputy Director with concurrence of the Secretary. Directs the Center to: (1) oversee the national security and emergency preparedness communications infrastructure, including the Office of Emergency Communications and the National Communications System; (2) develop a national incident response plan detailing the roles of federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector; and (3) consult with international partners. Requires the Center to establish procedures to: (1) ensure regular and timely sharing of cybersecurity information between and among federal and nonfederal entities, including cybersecurity centers, network and security operations centers, cybersecurity exchanges, and nonfederal entities responsible for such systems; and (2) share cybersecurity threat and vulnerability information by the federal government with owners and operators of the national information infrastructure. Prohibits federal entities from: (1) using certain voluntarily submitted information as evidence in regulatory enforcement actions; or (2) unless otherwise authorized by law, compelling a disclosure of information from a private entity or intercepting wire, oral, or electronic communications. Requires federal agencies, unless otherwise directed by the President, to immediately notify the Center of any incident affecting a national security system. Directs the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop a national cybersecurity research and development plan to encourage the development of computer technologies and software to protect against evolving cyberthreats. Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF), Secretary, and Secretary of Commerce to establish a program for federal agencies to award grants to institutions of higher education or research and development nonprofit institutions to establish cybersecurity test beds capable of realistic modeling of real-time cyber attacks and defenses. Directs the NSF to establish cybersecurity research centers based at institutions of higher education and other entities. Requires the DHS and DOD to jointly establish academic and professional Centers of Excellence to protect critical infrastructure in conjunction with international academic and professional partners from countries that may include appropriate U.S. allies. Directs the NSF to establish a Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service program. Directs the Secretary to develop and update periodically an acquisition risk management strategy including procedures to: (1) assess risks to the federal information infrastructure supply chain, (2) incorporate internationally recognized standards with input from the private sector, and (3) share threat information with the private sector. Amends federal information technology procurement laws to provide information security training to contracting officers and promote the acquisition of information security products through authorized channels or distributors of a supplier. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Department of State with respect to the coordination of international norms for cyberspace to be developed with other countries and the consideration of cybercrime in foreign policy and foreign assistance programs. Authorizes private entities to monitor and operate countermeasures to protect against cybersecurity threats on their own information systems and the information systems of a third party with such party's express prior consent. Permits private entities to disclose lawfully obtained cybersecurity threat indicators to other private entities for the sole purpose of protecting information systems. Sets forth requirements for safeguarding information that could be used to identify specific persons and prohibits the use of such information to gain an unfair competitive advantage. Directs the Secretary to establish a process for: (1) designating one or more civilian federal entities, private entities, or nonfederal government entities to serve as cybersecurity exchanges; and (2) sharing classified and unclassified cybersecurity threat indicators in as close to real time as possible with appropriate entities. Requires the Secretary to designate a civilian federal entity as the lead cybersecurity exchange for information sharing among federal entities and with state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, international partners, and private entities. Authorizes federal entities to disclose cybersecurity threat indicators to law enforcement if: (1) disclosure is permitted under procedures developed by the Secretary and approved by the Attorney General (DOJ) to protect privacy and civil liberties; and (2) the information pertains to a cybersecurity crime, an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm, or a serious threat to minors, including sexual exploitation and threats to physical safety. Allows law enforcement to use such indicators only to: (1) protect information systems from a cybersecurity threat or investigate, prosecute, or disrupt a cybersecurity crime; or (2) protect individuals from imminent threats of death or serious bodily harm and minors from serious threats. Defines a "cybersecurity crime" as violation of a state or federal law relating to computer crimes, including any provision of the federal criminal code enacted or amended by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986. Directs federal entities to develop and enforce appropriate sanctions for employees who conduct cybersecurity information activities outside the normal course of duties or in a manner inconsistent with their responsibilities or in contravention of procedures to protect privacy and civil liberties. Establishes a cause of action against the United States if a federal entity intentionally or willfully violates cybersecurity information laws or related regulations. Requires the DNI to issue guidelines for granting security clearances. Sets forth standards for sharing classified threat indicators. Provides legal protections to entities engaged in authorized cybersecurity activities.

A bill to prohibit the Secretary of Energy from enforcing regulations pertaining to certain battery chargers.

United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012

Prohibits the Secretary of Energy from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a proposed rule entitled "Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Battery Chargers and External Power Supplies," or any substantially similar regulation, regarding product class 7 (certain high-energy battery chargers described in such proposed rule).  

Department of Energy Reorganization Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012

Department of Energy Reorganization Act of 2012 - Establishes within the Department of Energy (DOE) an Office of Federal Energy Production, headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary of Energy. Transfers to such Director the current functions of the Directors of: (1) the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, (2) the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and (3) the Bureau of Land Management of the Department of the Interior with respect to oil and gas development and renewable energy production. Establishes within DOE the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, to whose Director are transferred the functions and regulatory authority of the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement of the Department of the Interior. Terminates the latter Bureau upon completion of all transfers. Establishes within DOE the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, to whose Director are transferred the functions of the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management of the Department of the Interior. Terminates the latter Bureau upon completion of all transfers. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, with respect to the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing program, to require the Secretary to certify that the oil and gas leasing program prepared will best meet national energy needs for the five-year period following its approval or reapproval. Directs the Secretary to amend the program to include additional lease sales in additional areas if it is determined that the United States will require more than one million barrels of oil per day for the next fiscal year from foreign sources other than Canada and Mexico. Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to authorize appropriations to the Secretary to implement oil shale and gilsonite leases and permits. Exempts DOE from the jurisdiction of the Equal Access to Justice Act.

Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2012

Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act of 2012 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require amounts received through FY2020 (currently, through FY2010) from leases under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to be available to the Secretary of the Interior to spend in such amounts as are provided in advance appropriations acts for implementing such Acts. Requires the Secretary of Interior to establish a wind and solar leasing pilot program under which lease sales are conducted on covered public lands administered by the Secretary to carry out wind and solar energy projects. Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to jointly determine as to whether to expand the pilot program to apply to all covered public lands. Defines "covered land" to mean land that is: (1) public land administered by the Secretary of the Interior, or National Forest System land administered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) not excluded from development of solar or wind energy under a final land use plan established under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, a final land and resource management plan established under the National Forest Management Act of 1976, or federal law. Establishes in the Treasury the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to be administered by the Secretary of the Interior for mitigating the impacts of renewable energy on federal land and carrying out any activity authorized under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, with the exception of the acquisition of land, water, or interests therein within that state. Requires the Secretaries to determine the feasibility of carrying out a mitigation banking program on federal lands administered by the Secretaries to offset the impacts of wind or solar energy on such lands.

THE AMERICAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, PART 26: THE ROLE OF FEDERAL AGENCIES IN ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION FUELS AND VEHICLES

United States · United States House of Representatives · 17 July 2012

THE AMERICAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, PART 25: EPA'S PROPOSED GREENHOUSE GAS NEW SOURCE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR UTILITIES AND THE IMPACT THIS REGULATION WILL HAVE ON JOBS

United States · United States House of Representatives · 16 July 2012

AMERICA'S ENERGY FUTURE PART II: A BLUEPRINT FOR DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION

United States · United States House of Representatives · 14 July 2012

AMERICA'S ENERGY FUTURE, PART I: A REVIEW OF UNNECESSARY AND BURDENSOME REGULATIONS

United States · United States House of Representatives · 13 July 2012

THE AMERICAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, PART 24: DISCUSSION DRAFTS OF H.R.

United States · United States House of Representatives · 12 July 2012

A bill to reject the final 5-year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for fiscal years 2012 through 2017 of the Administration and replace the plan with a 5-year plan that is more in line with the energy and economic needs of the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2012

Deems the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2010-2015, issued by the Secretary of the Interior, to be the final oil and gas leasing program for the period FY2012-FY2017. Considers the Secretary to have issued a final environmental impact statement to the FY2012-FY2017 leasing program in accordance with certain requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Excludes Lease Sales 214, 232, and 239, from the FY2012-FY2017 final oil and gas leasing program. Declares that this Act does not affect restrictions on oil and gas leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.

Renewable Energy Environmental Research Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2012

Renewable Energy Environmental Research Act of 2012 - Requires the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in the Under Secretary's capacity as Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a plan to: (1) define requirements for a comprehensive and integrated ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmosphere science program to support renewable energy development; (2) identify and describe current climate, weather, and water data programs, products, services, and authorities within NOAA relevant to such development; (3) provide targeted research, data, monitoring, observation, and other information, products, and services concerning climate, weather, and water in support of renewable energy and smart grid technology; (4) provide research, data, monitoring, and other information, products, and services to inform renewable energy decisions concerning coastal and marine habitats, living marine resources and the ecosystems on which they depend, and coastal and marine planning; (5) reduce duplication and leverage the resources of existing NOAA programs; and (6) facilitate public-private cooperation. Requires the Administrator to establish a program to develop and implement an integrated and comprehensive ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmosphere research and operations program, based on such plan, to support renewable energy development. Enumerates program components. Requires the program to be designed to collect, synthesize, and distribute data in a manner that can be used by marine resource managers responsible for making decisions about marine renewable energy projects. Requires the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of Commerce, Minerals Management Service, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Department of Energy (DOE) to consider this information when making planning, siting, and permitting decisions for marine renewable energy. Requires the Administrator to establish a renewable energy information library and data portal. Gives the Administrator the discretion to allow any offshore exploration and production facility to execute a memorandum of understanding authorizing the use of offshore platforms and infrastructure for the placement of meteorological and oceanographic observation sensors of a type to be designated by the Administrator in support of the Integrated Ocean Observing System. Requires information collected by such sensors to be readily available for use in spill response as well as available to the National Weather Service, other NOAA programs, and the general public.

THE AMERICAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, PART 23: A FOCUS ON ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND VEHICLES, BOTH THE CHALLENGES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES

United States · United States House of Representatives · 10 July 2012

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013

United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2012

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for FY2013 for the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), (2) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), (3) the National Park Service (NPS) (including transfer of funds), (4) the U.S. Geological Survey, (5) the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, (6) the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, (7) the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, (8) the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Bureau of Indian Education (including transfers of funds), (9) the Office of the Secretary, (10) departmental offices for insular affairs (including transfer of funds), (11) the Office of the Solicitor, (12) the Office of Inspector General, (13) the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (including transfers of funds), (14) wildland fire management (including transfers of funds), (15) the Central Hazardous Materials Fund, and (16) natural resource damage assessment and restoration. Makes appropriations for FY2013 for: (1) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (including transfers and rescissions of funds), (2) the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Forest Service (including transfers of funds), and (3) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Indian Health Service (IHS). Makes appropriations for FY2013 for specified related agencies, including: (1) the National Institutes of Health (NIH), (2) the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, (3) the Executive Office of the President, (4) the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, (5) the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation, (6) the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development, (7) the Smithsonian Institution, (8) the National Gallery of Art, (9) the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, (10) the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, (11) the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities, (12) the Commission of Fine Arts, (13) the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, (14) the National Capitol Planning Commission, and (15) the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2012

Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2012 - Repeals, but continues for crop year 2012: (1) direct payments, (2) countercyclical payments, and (3) the average crop revenue election program (ACRE). Provides for crop years 2013-2017 either: (1) price loss coverage if a covered commodity's effective price is less than its reference price; or (2) alternative revenue loss coverage, as a permanent one-time election, if a covered commodity's county revenue is less than the county revenue loss coverage trigger. Authorizes: (1) nonrecourse marketing assistance loans, (2) loan deficiency payments, (3) payments in lieu of loan deficiency payments for grazed acreage, (4) programs for upland cotton and extra long staple cotton, (5) assistance for peanuts, (6) recourse loans for high moisture feed grains and seed cotton, and (7) programs for sugar and sugar beets. Establishes a dairy production margin protection program under which participating dairy operations are paid: (1) basic production margin protection program payments when production margins are less than threshold levels, and (2) supplemental production margin protection program payments if purchased by a participating dairy operation. Provides for program retroactivity. Establishes a dairy market stabilization program to assist in balancing the supply of milk with demand when participating dairy operations are experiencing low or negative operating margins. Terminates the production margin protection and stabilization programs on December 31, 2017. Repeals: (1) the dairy products price support program, (2) the milk income loss contract program, and (3) the dairy export incentive program. Extends: (1) the dairy indemnity program, (2) the dairy forward pricing program, and (3) the dairy promotion and research program. Provides assistance for livestock losses caused by: (1) adverse weather or attacks by federally reintroduced animals, including wolves and avian predators; and (2) drought or fire. Provides assistance for: (1) orchardists and nursery tree growers for commercial losses caused by natural disasters; and (2) producers of livestock, honey bees, and farm-raised fish for losses caused by disease or adverse weather. Suspends permanent price supports for covered commodities, cotton, sugar, and milk through 2017. Revises payment limitation provisions. Extends the conservation reserve program and the farmable wetland program through FY2017. Revises the conservation stewardship program. Extends the environmental quality incentives program through FY2017. Establishes the agricultural conservation easement program for the conservation of eligible land and natural resources through easements or other interests in land. (Combines the purposes and coordinates the functions of the wetlands reserve program, the grassland reserve program, and the farmland protection program.) Establishes a regional conservation partnership program to: (1) accomplish purposes similar to the agricultural water enhancement program, the Chesapeake Bay watershed program, the cooperative conservation partnership initiative, and the Great Lakes basin program; (2) further the conservation use of natural resources on a regional or watershed scale; and (3) encourage partners to cooperate with producers in meeting or avoiding the need for regulatory requirements related to production on eligible land and implementing projects that affect multiple agricultural or nonindustrial private forest operations on a local, state, or regional basis. Extends through FY2017: (1) the conservation of private grazing land program, (2) the grass roots source water protection program, (3) the voluntary public access and habitat incentive program, and (4) the small watershed rehabilitation program. Extends through FY2017: (1) the conservation reserve program, (2) the agricultural conservation easement program, (3) the conservation stewardship program, and (4) the environmental quality incentives program. Repeals: (1) the conservation enhancement program, (2) the emergency forestry conservation reserve program, (3) the wetlands reserve program, (4) the farmland protection program, (5) the grassland reserve program, (6) the agricultural water enhancement program, (7) the wildlife habitat incentive program, (8) the Great Lakes Basin program, (9) the Chesapeake Bay watershed program, (10) the cooperative conservation partnership initiative, and (11) the environmental easement program. Extends specified programs under the Food for Peace Act and the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 through FY2017. Extends through FY2017: (1) the food for progress program, (2) the Bill Emerson humanitarian trust, (3) the McGovern-Dole international food for education and child nutrition program, and (4) the John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter farmer-to-farmer program. Extends the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) through FY2017. Revises program provisions, including provisions regarding: (1) participant eligibility, (2) retail stores, (3) food assistance security, (4) restaurant meals, (5) services to the elderly and disabled, (6) employment and training programs, and (7) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Extends through FY2017: (1) the food distribution program on Indian reservations, and (2) commodity purchases for emergency food assistance. Extends through FY2017: (1) the commodity distribution program, (2) the commodity supplemental food program, (3) distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects, (4) purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables for schools and service institutions, and (5) the farmers' market nutrition program. Revises provisions regarding: (1) farm ownership and operating loans, (2) conservation loans and loan guarantees, and (3) emergency loans. Extends through FY2017: (1) the beginning farmer and rancher individual development accounts pilot program, and (2) state agricultural mediation programs. Extends through FY2017: (1) water, waste disposal, and wastewater facility grants; (2) rural business opportunity grants; (3) emergency and imminent community water assistance grants; (4) grants to nonprofit organizations for water well system servicing for low- and moderate income households; (5) rural cooperative development grants; (6) the rural micro enterprise assistance program; (7) the Delta Regional Authority; (8) the Northern Great Plains Regional Authority; and (9) the rural business investment program. Extends through FY2017: (1) guarantee authority for rural electrification or telephone bonds and notes, (2) expansion of 911 access, and (3) the distance learning and telemedicine program. Extends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board until September 30, 2017. Establishes a veterinary services grant program. Authorizes appropriations for agricultural and food policy research centers. Extends through FY2017: (1) grants and fellowships for food and agricultural sciences education, (2) the nutrition education program, (3) animal heath and disease research programs, (4) grants to upgrade agricultural and food sciences facilities at 1890 land-grant colleges and at land grant colleges in insular areas, (5) grants for Hispanic-serving institutions, (6) grants for international agricultural science and education, (7) assistance for extension, aquaculture, rangeland, and biosecurity programs, (8) policy research centers, (9) assistance for agricultural research, (10) assistance for supplemental and alternative crops, (11) aquaculture assistance programs, (12) rangeland research programs, (13) biosecurity planning Extends through FY2017 programs and assistance under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977. Repeals: (1) the human nutrition intervention and health promotion research program, (2) appropriations for research on national or regional problems, and (3) research equipment grants. Extends through FY2017: (1) integrated management systems programs, (2) the genetics resource program, (3) agriculture technology development programs, and (4) the assistive technology program for farmers with disabilities. Extends through FY2017: (1) integrated research and extension grants, (2) grants for youth organizations, (3) the specialty crop initiative, and (4) the Office of Pest Management Policy. Repeals: (1) the program to improve the viability of small and medium dairy, livestock, and poultry operations, and (2) Johne's (livestock) disease control program. Extends through FY2017 programs and assistance under: (1) the Critical Agricultural Materials Act, (2) the Research Facilities Act, (3) the Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978, and (4) the National Aquaculture Act of 1980. Revises "1994 Institutions" (Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994) provisions. Extends through FY2017: (1) the Office of Pest Management Policy, (2) the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, (3) the agricultural biosecurity grant program, and (4) the natural products research program. Repeals: (1) the Secretary of Agriculture's (USDA) authority with respect to the National Swine Research Center, (2) the carbon cycle research program, (3) antibiotic-resistant bacteria research grant program, (4) the farm and ranch stress assistance network, (5) the seed distribution program, and (6) the rural transportation research program. Extends coverage under the McIntire-Stennis Cooperative Forestry Act to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Revises specified budget and funding provisions under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Conveys the land comprising the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to Miami-Dade County. Repeals: (1) the forest land enhancement program, (2) the watershed forestry assistance program, (3) the Hispanic-serving institution agricultural land leadership program, and (4) the tribal watershed forestry assistance program. Extends through FY2017: (1) the forest legacy program, (2) the community forest and open space conservation program, (3) rural revitalization technologies, and (4) the Office of International Forestry. Authorizes the Secretary to contract with state forestry agencies to provide forestry and watershed services on National Forestry System land. Directs the Secretary to revise the forest inventory strategic plan. Extends through FY2017: (1) the biobased marketing program, (2) biorefinery assistance, (3) the bioenergy program for advanced biofuels, (4) the biodiesel fuel education program, (5) the rural energy for America program, (6) biomass research and development, (7) the feedstock flexibility program for bioenergy producers, (8) the biomass crop assistance program, and (9) the community wood energy program. Repeals the program encouraging biorefineries to replace fossil fuel operating systems with renewable biomass systems. Extends through FY2017: (1) the specialty crop market news program, (2) the farmers market and local food promotion program, (3) organic production and market initiatives, (4) food safety initiatives, and (5) specialty crop block grants. Repeals the specialty crop movement-to-market program. Amends federal crop insurance provisions regarding: (1) a supplemental crop insurance coverage option, (2) catastrophic risk protection premiums, (3) performance-based discounts, (4) enterprise units for irrigated and nonirrigated crops, (5) stacked income protection for upland cotton producers, (6) specialty crop producers, (7) coverage levels, (8) beginning farmers and ranchers, (9) crop protection on native sod, (10) revenue crop insurance for peanuts, (11) research and development, (12) pilot programs, (13) noninsured crop assistance, and (14) administrative provisions. Extends through FY2017: (1) outreach and assistance for socially disadvantaged or veteran farmers and ranchers, and (2) grants to improve agricultural labor force supply, stability, safety, and training. Extends through FY2017: (1) the national aquatic animal health plan, (2) the trichinae certification program, and (3) the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center.

Congressional Replacement of President Obama's Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2012

Congressional Replacement of President Obama's Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to implement the Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) in accordance with the schedule for conducting oil and gas lease sales set forth in such proposed program and in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Instructs the Secretary to conduct each of specified oil and gas lease sales in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Planning Areas, including certain ones in the Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program (2010-2015), during its specified year. Requires the Secretary to offer for sale, no later than December 31, 2013, leases of tracts in the Santa Maria and Santa Barbara/Ventura Basins of the Southern California OCS Planning Area. Retains the authority of the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to designate national defense areas on the OCS. Requires the Secretary to prepare a multisale environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for lease sales required under this Act that are not included in the Proposed Final Leasing Program (2012-2017). Declares that nothing in this Act affects restrictions on oil and gas leasing under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.

THE AMERICAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, PART 22: EPA GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATIONS

United States · United States House of Representatives · 29 June 2012

Western Hemisphere Security Cooperation Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2012

Western Hemisphere Security Cooperation Act of 2012 - Sets forth U.S. policy statements regarding: (1) the threat posed by Iran and deterrence of Western Hemisphere cooperation in enhancing Iran's development of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons; (2) the security and environmental threat posed by Cuba; (3) implementation by Western Hemisphere countries of counterterrorism conventions; (4) nonproliferation, including nonproliferation of nuclear fuel fabrication; and (5) Small Quantities Protocols. Directs the Secretary of State to notify Congress regarding specified travel by Cuban government officials to or within the United States. Denies a visa to, and excludes from the United States, any alien who is an officer or principal of an entity, or a controlling shareholder in an entity, that has made specified financial investments to enhance Cuba's development of petroleum resources of the submerged lands located off Cuba's coast. Imposes specified export, loan, and bank-related sanctions on a person or financial institution that has made specified financial investments to enhance Cuba's development of petroleum resources of the submerged lands located off Cuba's coast or has made an investment that contributes to such enhancement and has trafficked in confiscated U.S. property. Makes it illegal for a U.S. person to provide materials, technical equipment, or other assistance that contributes to the enhancement of Cuba's ability to develop petroleum resources of the submerged lands located off Cuba's coast. Revises provisions regarding: (1) international drug control certification procedures, and (2) the Department of State rewards program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the International Law Enforcement Academy in San Salvador, El Salvador, should continue to serve as a critical component of U.S. regional counterterrorism efforts. Authorizes the President to impose specified sanctions on any country in the Western Hemisphere that is engaged in state sponsored terrorism, is threatening U.S. national security interests, or is not cooperating with U.S. counterterrorism or nonproliferation efforts. Directs the Secretary to negotiate the establishment of a Western Hemisphere Regional Coordination Center. Authorizes the transfer of specified funds to the Central American Regional Security Initiative. States that certain security assistance funds for any country of Central America may be administered only through the U.S. embassy for such Central American country. Directs the President to use all political, economic, and diplomatic tools to ensure that each Western Hemisphere country has signed and implemented a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and is adhering to other nonproliferation agreements. Authorizes the President to impose specified sanctions against a country that has failed to sign or adhere to such agreements. Directs the President to use all political, economic, and diplomatic tools to prevent the development or acquisition by any country of a capacity to fabricate nuclear fuel if such country did not have such capacity as of January 1, 2012. Authorizes the Secretary to negotiate the establishment of the Western Hemisphere Nonproliferation Partnership Initiative. Prohibits sales or exports of major defense equipment to a Western Hemisphere country until the President certifies that the government of such country is not carrying out policies undermining U.S. national security interests and is cooperating with U.S. nonproliferation efforts. Places restrictions on nuclear cooperation with countries assisting the nuclear or biological program of Venezuela or Cuba or transferring advanced conventional weapons or missiles to Venezuela or Cuba. Authorizes specified funds to be made available for U.S. voluntary contributions to the Organization of American States (OAS). Prohibits U.S. contributions from being made to the OAS if Cuba is admitted as an active OAS member state or participates at the Summit of the Americas with OAS consent unless the Secretary certifies to Congress that a democratically elected Cuban government has been established. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as weakening or removing any prohibitions on U.S. engagement with or assistance to any Western Hemisphere country that the Secretary has designated as a state sponsor of terrorism for a minimum of five consecutive years.

Las Vegas Valley Public Land and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2012

Las Vegas Valley Public Land and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012 - Establishes the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in Nevada. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide for interpretation, education, and scientific research on the Monument's paleontological resources. Instructs the Secretary to issue to a qualified electric utility a 400-foot right-of-way for the construction of high-voltage transmission facilities identified as the Renewable Energy Transmission Corridor. Establishes the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Advisory Council. Adds specified land to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Requires conveyance of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identified as the North Las Vegas Job Creation Zone to the city of North Las Vegas, Nevada, for use for nonresidential development. Permits North Las Vegas to retain a part of such land for public recreation or other public purposes. Amends the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 to convey additional land to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for development of an access road and parking facilities. Permits the county to convey to a unit of local government or regional governmental entity land within the Airport Environs Overlay District if such land is used for a public purpose. Requires specified federal lands be conveyed for: (1) the Nevada System of Higher Education, (2) the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport, and (3) an off-road vehicle recreation park. Releases the Sunrise Mountain Instant Study Area from further study for designation as wilderness. Designates: (1) an Economic Support Area in North Las Vegas, and (2) the Nellis Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.

THE AMERICAN ENERGY INITIATIVE, PART 21: A FOCUS ON THE NEW PROPOSAL BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY TO TIGHTEN NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR FINE PARTICULATE MATTER IN THE AMBIENT AIR

United States · United States House of Representatives · 28 June 2012

ENERGY EFFICIENT BUILDING RETROFITS

United States · United States Senate · 28 June 2012

Expanding Industrial Energy and Water Efficiency Incentives Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012

Expanding Industrial Energy and Water Efficiency Incentives Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase megawatt and horsepower capacity limitations for the combined heat and power system property energy tax credit; (2) allow new tax credits to improve advanced motor system energy efficiency, to replace chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant chillers, and for investment in any qualifying efficient industrial process water use project; and (3) allow an energy tax credit for investment in biomass heating property.

Phantom Fuel Reform Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012

Phantom Fuel Reform Act of 2012 - Amends the Clean Air Act to revise the renewable fuel program by requiring the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration, in estimating the projected volume of cellulosic biofuel to be sold or introduced into commerce in the next year, to determine for each facility producing such biofuel during the current year: (1) the average monthly volume of biofuel produced by such facility based on the actual volume produced through October 31, and (2) the estimated annualized volume of biofuel production for such facility for the current year based on such average monthly production. Requires the estimate of cellulosic biofuel projected to be sold or introduced into commerce in the following year to equal the total of the estimated annual volumes of cellulosic biofuel production for all such facilities. Requires (currently, authorizes) the Administrator, in any year in which the Administrator reduces the applicable volume of cellulosic biofuel required in gasoline, to also reduce the applicable volume of renewable fuel and advanced biofuels required by the same (currently, by the same or a lesser) volume.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend the energy efficient appliance credit.

United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for energy efficient appliances, to extend such credit for certain dishwashers, clothes washes, and refrigerators manufactured in calendar years 2012 and 2013.

MANDATORY CONDITIONING REQUIREMENTS ON HYDROPOWER: HOW FEDERAL RESOURCE AGENCIES ARE DRIVING UP ELECTRICITY COSTS AND DECREASING THE ORIGINAL GREEN ENERGY

United States · United States House of Representatives · 27 June 2012

SECURE IT

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2012

Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education, Information, and Technology Act of 2012 or SECURE IT - Authorizes private entities to employ countermeasures and use cybersecurity systems to obtain, identify, or possess cyber threat information on its own networks or the networks of another entity with such entity's authorization. Allows private entities, nonfederal government agencies, or state, tribal, or local governments to voluntarily disclose cyber threat information to designated cybersecurity centers or to each other to assist with preventing, investigating, or mitigating threats to information security. Requires such entities and governments providing electronic communication, remote computing, or information security services to a federal agency to inform the agency of a significant cyber incident involving the federal information system of that agency that: (1) is directly known as a result of providing such services and directly related to the provision of such services, and (2) has impeded or will impede the performance of a critical mission of the federal agency. Defines "significant cyber incident" as a cyber incident resulting in, or an attempted cyber incident that, if successful, would have resulted in: (1) the exfiltration from a federal information system (an information system used or operated by an executive agency, contractor, or another organization on behalf of an executive agency) of data essential to the operation of the such a system, or (2) an incident in which an operational or technical control essential to the security or operation of a such a system was defeated. Directs federal agencies receiving such significant cyber incident information to report the information to a cybersecurity center. Permits cyber threat information provided to a cybersecurity center to be disclosed to, retained by, or used by, consistent with otherwise applicable federal law, the federal government for a cybersecurity or national security purpose or to prevent, investigate, or prosecute various criminal offenses for which law enforcement officials are authorized, under existing law, to seek a court order authorizing an interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications. Prohibits the disclosure, retention, or use of such information for any use not expressly permitted. Prohibits federal, state, tribal, or local agencies from directly using such information to regulate an entity's lawful activities. Sets forth conditions with regard to information provided to a cybersecurity center including: (1) the disclosure of such information to state, tribal, or local governments; (2) the use, distribution, and any prerequisite consent necessary for sharing such information; and (3) the legal treatment of such information under specified privileges, exemptions, ex parte communications rules, and requirements for disclosing public information and records. Provides legal protections to entities engaged in authorized cybersecurity activities. Directs the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Secretary of Defense (DOD) to develop procedures for sharing, through cybersecurity centers, classified and unclassified information. Authorizes the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to review compliance by the cybersecurity centers and federal agencies with required procedures, including privacy and civil liberty protections through anonymization or other methods. Amends the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 to replace existing information security procedures for federal agencies with a new framework for coordinating and securing federal information. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue compulsory and binding policies and directives governing agency information security operations. Requires that national security systems be overseen as directed by the President. Requires each agency to comply with such policies and provide risk-commensurate information security protections for information systems used or operated by the agency or a contractor or other organization on an agency's behalf. Requires each agency's Chief Information Officer to develop an agencywide information security program. Directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to designate an entity to conduct an ongoing security analysis of agency information systems using automated processes. Requires each agency to develop a timeline for the implementation of technology facilitating continuous monitoring and threat assessments. Sets forth separate requirements for national security systems. Requires that federal information systems be based on National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. Amends the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to increase and further delineate the criminal penalties for computer fraud and related activities. Establishes an offense for aggravated damage to a public or private critical infrastructure computer that manages or controls systems or assets vital to national defense, national security, national economic security, or public health or safety. Amends the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to re-designate the National High-Performance Computing Program as the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (STP) to establish goals for inter-agency collaborative research and development with Program Component Areas, industry, institutions of higher education, federal laboratories, and international organizations. Directs agencies to develop a five-year strategic plan. Requires that agencies be encouraged under the Program to address application areas with potential for contributions to national economic competitiveness and other societal benefits including technical solutions to cybersecurity, health care, energy management, transportation, cyber-physical systems, physical and behavioral phenomena, and privacy protection. Defines "cyber-physical systems" as physical or engineered systems whose networking and information technology functions and physical elements are integrated and actively connected to the physical world through sensors, actuators, or other means to perform monitoring and control functions. Requires the STP Director to convene a task force to report to Congress on options for the research, development, and organizational structure of cyber-physical systems. Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to carry out a Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service program. Requires the NIST to coordinate federal agencies engaged in the development of international technical standards. Amends the Cyber Security Research and Development Act to add research areas eligible for NSF computer and network security research grants. Authorizes various grant programs through FY2013.

Las Vegas Valley Public Land and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2012

Las Vegas Valley Public Land and Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Act of 2012 - Establishes the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument in Nevada. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide for interpretation, education, and scientific research on the Monument's paleontological resources. Instructs the Secretary to issue to a qualified electric utility a 400-foot right-of-way for the construction of high-voltage transmission facilities identified as the Renewable Energy Transmission Corridor. Establishes the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument Advisory Council. Adds specified land to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Requires conveyance of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) identified as the North Las Vegas Job Creation Zone to the city of North Las Vegas, Nevada, for use for nonresidential development. Permits North Las Vegas to retain a part of such land for public recreation or other public purposes. Amends the Clark County Conservation of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 to convey additional land to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for development of an access road and parking facilities. Permits the county to convey to a unit of local government or regional governmental entity land within the Airport Environs Overlay District if such land is used for a public purpose. Requires specified federal lands be conveyed for: (1) the Nevada System of Higher Education, (2) the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport, and (3) an off-road vehicle recreation park. Releases the Sunrise Mountain Instant Study Area from further study for designation as wilderness. Designates: (1) an Economic Support Area in North Las Vegas, and (2) the Nellis Dunes Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area.

Wind Powering American Jobs Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2012

Wind Powering American Jobs Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2013 the tax credit for the production of electricity from wind facilities and the energy tax credit for investment in wind facilities, and (2) limit the foreign tax credit and tax deferrals for amounts paid or accrued by a major integrated oil company that is a dual capacity taxpayer. Defines "dual capacity taxpayer" as a person who is subject to a levy of a foreign country or U.S. possession and receives (or will receive) directly or indirectly a specific economic benefit from such county or possession.