Environment

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009

United States · United States Senate · 31 December 2008

A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to prohibit regulation of certain emissions from agricultural production.

United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2008

Amends the Clean Air Act to: (1) prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating under such Act emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, or methane resulting from agricultural production; and (2) exclude such emissions from the definition of "air pollutant."

Livestock Emissions Tax Ban Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2008

Livestock Emissions Tax Ban Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from imposing a fee or tax under such Act on any direct gaseous emissions by livestock.

A resolution expressing the opposition of the Senate to a proposed regulation by the Environmental Protection Agency, now under review in the Office of Management and Budget, that would undercut air quality protections established by Congress in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 for national parks, national wilderness areas, national monuments, and national seashores.

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2008

Expresses opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal entitled "Prevention of Significant Deterioration New Source Review: Refinement of Increment Modeling Procedures" and urges that the rule be withdrawn. Finds that EPA has proposed multiple changes to the PSD program that would conflict with Congress's statutory scheme to preserve, protect, and enhance air quality in national parks, wilderness areas, monuments, and seashores, and in other areas of special natural, recreational, scenic, or historic value.

Making appropriations for financial services and general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2008

Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2009 - Department of the Treasury Appropriations Act, 2008 - Makes appropriations for FY2009 for the Department of the Treasury. Executive Office of the President Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for FY2009 for the Executive Office of the President. Judiciary Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for FY2009 for the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts and related offices. District of Columbia Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for FY2009 for the District of Columbia. Makes appropriations for FY2009 for independent agencies, including: (1) the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); (2) the Election Assistance Commission; (3) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC); (4) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), for its Office of Inspector General; (5) the Federal Election Commission (FEC); (6) the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA); (7) the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (8) the General Services Administration (GSA); (9) the Merit Systems Protection Board; (10) Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation; (11) the Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund; (12) the National Archives and Records Administration; (13) the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA); (14) the Office of Government Ethics; (15) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM); (16) the Office of Special Counsel; (17) the Postal Regulatory Commission; (18) the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board; (19) the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); (20) the Selective Service System; (21) the Small Business Administration (SBA); (22) the U.S. Postal Service; and (23) the U.S. Tax Court. Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act.

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2008

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 - Makes appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for FY2009. Appropriates funds to the Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, for civil functions pertaining to rivers and harbors, flood and storm damage reduction, shore protection, and aquatic ecosystem restoration. Makes appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: (1) the Central Utah Project; and (2) the Bureau of Reclamation, including for water and related natural resources, the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund, and the California Bay-Delta Restoration. Makes appropriations to the Department of Energy (DOE) for energy programs, including for: (1) energy efficiency and renewable energy; (2) electricity delivery and energy reliability; (3) nuclear energy and nuclear waste disposal; (4) fossil energy research and development; (5) Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves; (6) the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve; (7) the Energy Information Administration; (8) non-defense environment cleanup; (9) the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; ; (10) expenses of science activities in carrying out the Department of Energy Organization Act; (11) nuclear waste disposal; (12) the innovative technology loan guarantee loan program; (13) the Office of the Inspector General; (14) specified atomic energy defense activities, including defense nuclear nonproliferation, naval reactors, environmental cleanup, and nuclear waste disposal activities; and (15) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Approves specified expenditures from the Bonneville Power Administration Fund. Appropriates funds for operation and maintenance of: (1) the Southeastern Power Administration; (2) the Southwestern Power Administration; (3) the Western Area Power Administration; (4) the Falcon and Amistad Dams. Makes appropriations to: (1) the Appalachian Regional Commission; (2) the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board; (3) the Delta Regional Authority; (4) the Denali Commission; (5) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), including its Office of Inspector General; (6) the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board; and (7) the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects.

A bill to establish a framework for coordination and cooperation on energy and environmental issues among the United States, the People's Republic of China, and India, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2008

Declares it to be the policy of the United States to develop an informed dialogue with China and India on the sustainable use of energy and the protection of the environment, the promotion of best practices for clean energy and technology investments, and the development and transfer of energy and environmental technologies. Establishes a Congressional-Executive Commission on Clean Energy Trade Between Key Consuming Nations to coordinate energy and environmental issues relating to the United States, China, and India and to establish a dialogue among such nations on the development and promotion of clean energy production, clean air and water, clean and efficient transportation, and the conservation and management of forests and wetlands and their ecosystems.

Alaska Timber Industry Fairness Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2008

Alaska Timber Industry Fairness Act - Establishes a two-year grant program for retooling projects that are designed to facilitate the economic adjustment of specified timber entities by allowing them to: (1) improve or alter their business and practices to become more competitive within the timber industry; or (2) shift to a type of business that is not related to the timber industry. Authorizes the Assistant Secretary for Economic Development of the Department of Commerce to provide grants under such program to any entity that operated in the timber industry in Alaska on January 1, 2008, that operated in Alaska for not less than 10 years, and that can demonstrate that it has been harmed by federal laws or regulations relating to the timber industry, including the United States Forest Service's policies and land management plans completed pursuant to National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Sets forth provisions concerning eligible uses of grant funding. Treats a grant recipient as a small business concern owned or controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (as that term is defined in the Small Business Act) for three years after the grant was approved.

National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Act of 2007

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2008

National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard Act of 2007 [ sic ] - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) establish a fuel emission baseline; (2) identify qualifying low-carbon transportation fuels; (3) establish a low-carbon fuel certification and marketing process; and (4) require each obligated party to reduce the average lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per unit of energy of the aggregate quantity of fuels introduced into commerce to specified levels by not later than January 1, 2010, through the use of low-carbon fuels and improvements in the production of conventional fuels. Requires the average lifecycle GHG emissions of the aggregate quantity for 2012 to be at least 3% below the 2007 average should emission limitation regulations not be promulgated. Authorizes an obligated party to apply to the Administrator to receive a temporary suspension of the requirement to comply with such regulations if events outside of the control of the party could lead or have led to disruptions in the transportation fuel supply. Permits obligated parties to receive credits for achieving greater reductions in lifecycle GHG emission of the fuel produced, distributed, or imported than are required. Requires the Administrator to ensure that fuel sold or introduced into commerce in the United States (except in noncontiguous states or territories) contains, on an annual average basis, at least the specified volume of ultra-low carbon fuel for 2012-2025. Prohibits such regulations from restricting geographic areas in which low-carbon transportation fuel and ultra-low carbon fuel may be used or from imposing any per-gallon obligation for the use of those fuels. Sets forth a minimum applicable volume for 2026 and thereafter. Requires the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to provide to the EPA Administrator an estimate of the volumes of conventional fuels projected to be sold or introduced into commerce. Requires the EPA Administrator to determine the fuel obligations based on such an estimate. Requires regulations concerning ultra-low carbon fuel to provide for the generation of specified credits by obligated parties. Authorizes the EPA Administrator, on the receipt of a petition of one or more states, to waive ultra-low carbon regulations by reducing the national quantity of Category I or Category II ultra-low carbon fuel in the conventional transportation fuel pool if it is determined that: (1) implementation of the regulations would severely harm the economy or environment; or (2) there is an inadequate domestic supply of such fuel. Considers 1 gallon of cellulosic biomass ethanol or waste derived ethanol to be the equivalent of 2.5 gallons of renewable fuel through 2017 (currently there is no time limit). Requires the Administrator to establish: (1) a carbon intensity number and a green index number as part of the renewable identification number program; and (2) a set of standards to minimize the negative environmental impacts of an increase in the volume of fuels required by such Act and to ensure long term resource sustainability from the sourcing and production of low-carbon fuels.

Federal Agency Environmental Procurement Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2008

Federal Agency Environmental Procurement Act - Directs the head of each agency to ensure that: (1) when procuring a consumer electronic or information technology product, the agency meets at least 95% of the agency's requirements with an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT)-registered product, unless there is no EPEAT standard for such product; (2) the Energy Star feature is enabled on agency computers and monitors; and (3) the agency establishes and implements policies to extend the useful life of agency electronic equipment; and (4) the agency uses environmentally sound practices with respect to disposition of electronic equipment that has reached the end of its useful life. Excludes the Government Accountability Office (GAO) from the definition of "agency" for purposes of this Act.

To amend the Clean Air Act to clarify that certain conversions of engines and motor vehicles from conventional fuels to clean alternative fuels will not require additional certifications, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2008

Amends the Clean Air Act to authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve a combination of conversions to a clean alternative fuel into a single test group, which would normally not be eligible to be in a single test group, if the manufacturer of motor vehicle or engine conversions provides: (1) substantial evidence that all the conversions in the larger grouping will have similar levels of emissions; (2) evidence of equivalent component durability over the vehicle's or engine's useful life; (3) evidence that the groups will result in sufficient in-use verification program data, appropriate tracking in use, and clear liability for the EPA's recall program; and (4) a statement that all vehicles within a test group are certified to the most stringent standards applicable to any vehicle within the test group. Establishes the Advancing Alternative Fuels Revolving Loan Fund. Directs the Administrator to use amounts in the Fund to provide loans to eligible local governments to finance purchases of authorized equipment to enable public vehicle fleets to operate on alternative fuels.

Arctic Climate Preservation Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2008

Arctic Climate Preservation Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) conduct a study of black carbon and organic carbon emissions; and (2) propose regulations under the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions of black carbon. Defines "black carbon" as the strongly light absorbing component of carbonaceous aerosols. Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the amount, type, and direction of all U.S. foreign aid for reducing black carbon pollution. States the policy of the United States with respect to international agreements and treaties relating to the reduction of black carbon emissions, protection of the Arctic environment, the the threat to polar bears from global warming, human rights under the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, and the reduction of shipping pollution through domestic means and through the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships (MARPOL).

Harmonizing America's Energy, Economy, Environment, and National Security Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2008

Harmonizing America's Energy, Economy, Environment, and National Security Act of 2008 - Terminates all federal prohibitions on the expenditure of appropriated funds to conduct natural gas, oil, oil shale, and other energy production leasing, preleasing, and related activities on federal lands. Revokes withdrawals of federal submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from leasing for natural gas and oil exploration, development, and production. Amends the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to repeal the moratorium on oil and gas leasing in specified areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to: (1) require the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to consult with the Secretary of Defense to resolve conflicts between military operation needs for the OCS and leasing under such Act; (2) provide for the allocation of sums collected by the United States under qualified leases on submerged lands made available for leasing under such Act; and (3) modify state seaward boundaries requirements. Authorizes the exploration, leasing, development, production, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain in Alaska. Instructs the Secretary to establish a competitive oil and gas leasing program for oil and gas exploration, development, and production in the Coastal Plain. Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to repeal the prohibition against production of oil and gas from Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Authorizes the Secretary to designate not more than 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain (including the Sadlerochit Spring area) as a special area requiring special management and regulatory protection. Prohibits surface occupancy of land comprising the special area if the Secretary leases all or a portion of it for oil and gas exploration and development. Authorizes the Secretary to lease all or a portion of a special area under terms that permit the use of horizontal drilling technology from sites on leases located outside the special area (directional drilling). Sets forth procedures for lease sales and lease grants. Prohibits the Secretary from closing land within the Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing, exploration, development, or production except in accordance with this Act. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) Coastal Plain environmental protection; (2) rights-of-way and easements; and (3) local government impact aid and community service assistance. Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal the prohibition against using funds to: (1) promulgate regulations regarding a commercial leasing program for oil shale (and tar sands) resources on public lands pursuant to requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 with regard to a programmatic environmental impact statement for such program; or (2) conduct an oil shale lease sale. Establishes the Conservation Reserve Account and the Renewable Energy Reserve Account to offset the cost of legislation enacted after this Act for, respectively: (1) conservation programs and tax credits and deductions for energy efficiency in residential, commercial, industrial, and public sectors; and (2) accelerating the use of cleaner domestic energy resources and alternative fuels, promoting the use of energy-efficient products and practices, and increasing research, development, and deployment of clean renewable energy and efficiency technologies and job training programs. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal the prohibition against federal agencies procuring alternative or synthetic fuel for mobility-related uses, other than for research or testing, unless the associated lifecycle GHG emissions will be less than or equal to emissions from fuel from conventional petroleum sources.

Implementing the Controlled Unclassified Information Framework Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2008

Implementing the Controlled Unclassified Information Framework Act of 2008 - Establishes within the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) a Controlled Unclassified Information Office, headed by a Director, who shall be appointed by and report directly to the Archivist of the United States. Directs the Archivist, acting through the Director, to : (1) develop and publicly issue a controlled unclassified information framework (a set of policies and procedures governing the designation, marking, safeguarding, and dissemination of controlled unclassified information that originates in a federal agency) and controlled unclassified information implementation guidance; (2) establish safeguarding and dissemination controls; (3) establish, approve, and maintain safeguarding standards and dissemination instructions for controlled unclassified information; and (4) establish a process that addresses enforcement mechanisms and penalties for improper handling of controlled unclassified information. Establishes a Controlled Unclassified Information Council as a subcommittee of the Information Sharing Council. Provides that the right of Congress to obtain access to and to release unclassified information shall remain unimpeded. Requires: (1) the Archivist to report to Congress annually on the implementation of the framework; and (2) the Inspector General of each agency that is a member of the Information Sharing Council, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to audit agency compliance with this Act and report to specified congressional committees and to the Archivist.

Research, Hazard Intervention, and National Outreach for Healthier Homes Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2008

Research, Hazard Intervention, and National Outreach for Healthier Homes Act of 2008 - Directs the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to evaluate the health effects of housing-related health hazards for which limited research or understanding of causes or associations exists. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to implement studies by the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control of the assessment, prevention, and control of housing-related health hazards. Directs the Administrator of the EPA to study how sustainable building features in existing housing affect the quality of the indoor environment, the prevalence of housing-related health hazards, and the health of occupants. Directs the Secretary of HUD to complete the analysis of data collected for the National Survey on Lead and Allergens in Housing and the American Healthy Housing Survey. Directs the Administrator of the EPA to expand current indoor environmental monitoring efforts to establish baseline levels of indoor chemical pollutants and their sources. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine the data and resources needed to establish a healthy housing data collection system. Directs the Secretary of HUD to: (1) develop improved methods for evaluating, reducing, and preventing health hazards in housing; (2) support development of objective measures for a healthy residential environment; (3) promote the incorporation of healthy housing principles in post-disaster environments as well as ongoing practices and systems, and of health considerations into green and energy-efficient construction and rehabilitation; (4) improve the dissemination of healthy housing information; and (5) promote state and local level healthy housing efforts. Amends the Public Health Service Act with respect to the CDC Program Capacity on Housing-Related Health Hazard. Directs the Administrator of the EPA, acting through the director of the Office of Children's Health Protection and Environmental Education, to address health hazards in the home environment, with particular attention to children, the elderly, and families with limited resources. Directs the Secretary of HUD to award health hazard reduction grants to reduce significant structural, health, and safety hazards in the home. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, to establish a competitive grant program to promote education and outreach on housing-related health hazards. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 with respect to enforcement of the lead disclosure rule. Establishes within the EPA voluntary products and materials and housing labeling programs. Specifies the duties of the EPA Administrator with respect to the Healthy Home Seal of Approval. Directs the EPA Administrator to provide public education and outreach on environmental health risks experienced by the elderly, and low-cost methods for addressing them. Directs the Secretary of HUD to award funds for a Health Hazards Outreach competitive grant program. Directs the Secretary of HUD, the Director of the CDC, and the Administrator of the EPA to establish a national healthy housing media campaign.

Integrated Risk Information System Authorization Act

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2008

Integrated Risk Information System Authorization Act - Requires the Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to maintain a publicly accessible database of scientific information on the toxicity of chemicals, including hazard identification, dose response assessments, reference doses, and other information that would facilitate the development of risk assessments. Requires the Assistant Administrator to: (1) publish final assessments for at least 15 new chemicals per year and at least five updates to existing assessments per year; (2) solicit nominations for chemical assessments; (3) issue a list of chemicals proposed for assessment two years prior to initiation of the assessment, which shall be made available on the database within four years of its appearance on such list; (4) determine the information to be used to assess chemicals and establish a process for reviewing chemical assessments prior to their inclusion on the database; (5) ensure that federal agencies with real or perceived conflicts of interests do not participate in the development or internal review of chemical assessments; and (6) finalize and publish within six months chemical assessments that have been in development for Integrated Risk Information System entries prior to this Act's enactment. Declares that such list is not subject to review or approval by other federal agencies or officials. Requires the Assistant Administrator to develop and review chemical assessments without review by the President and to publish final assessments without prior review by the President or other federal agencies or officials. Prohibits the preparation and review of chemical assessments from being subject to the provisions of Bulletin No. 07-02, Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices, and the Final Information Quality Bulletin for Peer Review of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

To repeal the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2008

Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to permit federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing (a process for extracting oil and gas from wells by the injection of fluids at high pressure).

To amend the Clean Air Act to provide for the waiver of requirements relating to recertification kits for the conversion of vehicles into vehicles powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2008

Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive requirements for recertification of kits for the conversion of vehicles into vehicles that are powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas in any case in which: (1) the kit has been previously certified for the model of vehicle to be converted; and (2) neither the kit nor the design and specifications of the model of vehicle to be converted have substantially changed. Requires the Administrator to waive emission certification system requirements for a vehicle that is more than 10 years old or has more than 120,000 miles and that is powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2008

Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2009: (1) the tax deductions for state and local sales taxes, qualified tuition and related expenses, and certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; (2) the exemption from withholding of tax of interest-related and short-term capital gain dividends received from a regulated investment company (RIC) and the special rule for RIC stock held in the estate of nonresidents; (3) tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes; (4) the inclusion of an RIC within the definition of "qualified investment entity" for income tax purposes; and (5) the additional standard tax deduction for real property taxes. Extends through 2009 certain business-related tax provisions, including: (1) the tax credits for increasing research activities, Indian employment, railroad track maintenance, and the new markets tax credit; (2) accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold and restaurant improvements, for motorsports racing track facilities, and for business property on Indian reservations; (3) expensing of environmental remediation and film and television production costs; (4) the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico; (5) special rules for related controlled foreign corporations and for the tax treatment of certain payments to tax-exempt organizations by a controlled subsidiary; (6) issuance authority for qualified zone academy bonds; (7) tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia; (8) the economic development credit for American Samoa; (9) the expanded tax deductions for charitable contributions of food and book inventories by noncorporate taxpayers; (10) the tax deduction for contributions of computer technology and equipment for educational purposes; (11) the special rule for reductions in the basis of S corporation stock for charitable contributions; (12) work opportunity tax credit eligibility for Hurricane Katrina employees (through August 28, 2009); (13) the subpart F income exemption for active financing income; and (14) the increase in alcohol excise taxes payable to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Makes permanent the authority of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to: (1) disclose tax return information related to terrorist activities; and (2) conduct undercover operations. Lowers in 2008 (from $10,000 to $8,500) the earned income threshold amount for determining the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Modifies certain provisions relating to the tax deduction for domestic film and television productions. Exempts from the excise tax on bows and arrows certain arrow shafts. Modifies the standards for imposing penalties on tax return preparers for understatements of tax. Modifies provisions of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 and authorizes appropriations for such Act. Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health or substance use disorder benefits to ensure parity in the provision of such benefits. Extends through 2009 the 0.2% Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) surtax. Increases and extends through 2017 the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund financing rate. Requires the inclusion in gross income for income tax purposes of employee compensation deferred under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan of certain foreign entities when there is no substantial risk of forfeiture of the rights to such compensation. Delays until 2018 the application of special rules for the worldwide allocation of interest for purposes of computing the limitation on the foreign tax credit. Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase the estimated tax payment due in the third quarter of 2012 for corporations with assets of at least $1 billion.

Drill Now Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2008

Drill Now Act of 2008 - Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal its prohibitions against oil and natural gas preleasing and leasing activities in specified offshore areas, including the North Atlantic, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic planning areas. Declares that the United States reserves the right to designate national defense areas on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to conduct leasing, preleasing, and related activities for any opened area before June 30, 2012. Requires any lease issued by the Secretary for submerged land of the OCS in any opened area lying within 25 miles of the coastline of any state to include a prohibition against permanent surface occupancy. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit revenues from tracts leased under this Act into: (1) the general fund of the Treasury; and (2) a special account in the Treasury, for allocation among the states in accordance with prescribed guidelines. Repeals the prohibition against the use of funds to prepare or publish final regulations regarding a commercial leasing program for oil shale resources on public lands or to conduct an oil shale lease sale.

Solid Waste Rail Transfer Facilities Regulation Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2008

Solid Waste Rail Transfer Facilities Regulation Act of 2008 - Requires a solid waste rail transfer facility to comply with all federal and state solid waste environmental laws (except those requiring permits). Declares that any such facility lacking a state permit shall not be required to possess one (other than a siting permit): (1) if by a certain deadline the facility has applied, in good faith, for all required permits; and (2) until the permitting agency has either approved or denied the permit application. Declares that any such facility that does not possess a state siting permit shall not be required to possess one to continue to operate or to comply with state land use requirements. Authorizes a state governor to petition the Surface Transportation Board to require the facility to apply for a land-use exemption. Requires the Board to accept such a petition and the facility to have such an exception to continue to operate. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make modifications to such requirements to protect human health and the environment.

Western Hemisphere Energy Compact Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2008

Western Hemisphere Energy Compact Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Energy, to seek to establish a regional-based ministerial forum to be known as the Western Hemisphere Energy Cooperation Forum: (1) for the cooperation of Western Hemisphere on energy issues; (2) to lessen dependence on oil imports without reducing food availability; (3) to ensure that energy contributes to the economic, social, and environmental enhancement of the countries in the Western Hemisphere; and (4) to permit participating countries to cooperatively address broad challenges posed to the energy supply of the Western Hemisphere. Directs the U.S. to seek to implement, in cooperation with Energy Forum countries: (1) an energy crisis initiative; (2) an energy sustainability initiative; (3) an energy for development initiative; and (4) biofuels studies. Provides for the establishment of a Western Hemisphere Energy Industry Group to: (1) increase public-private partnerships; (2) foster private investment; and (3) enable countries in the Western Hemisphere to devise energy agendas compatible with industry capacity and cognizant of industry goals. Provides for: (1) the establishment of an Oil and Natural Gas Working Group; (2) a U.S.-Brazil biofuels partnership; (3) biofuels feasibility studies; (4) regional and hemispheric carbon trading mechanisms; (5) the establishment of a Western Hemisphere energy crisis response mechanism; (6) seeking to increase U.S. foreign assistance programming in renewable energy; and (7) energy public diplomacy.

Climate Change Rebate Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2008

Climate Change Rebate Act of 2008 - Requires that 35% of the total value of greenhouse gas emission allowances created by federal legislation limiting such emissions be auctioned each year to finance the purposes of this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain low-income taxpayers a refundable tax credit for energy cost increases attributable to carbon regulation (climate change tax credit). Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) formulate and administer a Climate Change Rebate Program to provide monthly rebates based on energy cost increases to low-income families and families receiving federal assistance; (2) establish a schedule and standards to implement such Program. Requires receipts from the auction of greenhouse gas emission allowances to be used equally for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program under the Energy Conservation and Production Act.

Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Clean, Low-Emission, Affordable, New Transportation Efficiency Act - Establishes the Low Greenhouse Gas Transportation Fund. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for each of calendar 2012-2050, to auction 10% of emission allowances established under any EPA program providing for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the auctioning of emission allowances. Requires deposit of auction proceeds into the Fund to implement state and metropolitan planning organization (MPO) greenhouse gas emission reduction plans, and provide funding to transit projects that help reduce such emissions. Requires states and MPOs to: (1) establish goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector for the next 10 years; and (2) develop transportation greenhouse gas emission reduction plans, updated quadrennially, including supporting lists of prioritized transit projects, that are integrated into state and MPO long-range transportation and transportation improvement plans. Directs the Secretary of Transportation and the EPA Administrator to arrange with the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences to study and report recommendations for improving research tools and federal data sources necessary to assess the effect of transportation and land use plans on motor vehicle use rates and transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions.

Economic Recovery Act, 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Economic Recovery Act, 2008 - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2008 for infrastructure, energy, and economic recovery to: (1) the Department of Agriculture; (2) the Department of Commerce; (3) the Department of Justice (DOJ); (4) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); (5) the Legal Services Corporation; (6) the Department of Defense (DOD) - Civil Corps of Engineers; (7) the Department of the Interior; (8) the Department of Energy (DOE); (9) the Department of the Treasury, including the Office of Inspector General; (10) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); (11) the General Services Administration (GSA); (12) the Small Business Administration (SBA); (13) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (14) the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (15) the Department of Labor (DOL); (16) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (17) the Department of Education; (18) the legislative branch; (19) the Department of Transportation (DOT); and (20) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Makes supplemental appropriations for FY2008 to provide a temporary increase in benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Makes supplemental appropriations for FY2008 to provide a temporary: (1) increase in the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) under the Social Security Act; and (2) reinstatement of authority to provide federal matching payments for state spending of child support incentive payments. Makes supplemental appropriations for FY2008 to extend the period of emergency unemployment compensation (EUC). Exempts weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and December 8, 2009, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law of such state provides for payment (at any time or under any circumstances) of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) National Park Centennial Fund Act - Establishes in the Treasury the National Park Centennial Fund. Designates each amount in the Economic Recovery Act, 2008 as: (1) an emergency requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs; and (2) a supplemental appropriation for FY2008, or, if enacted after FY2008, for FY2009.

Protect Pregnant Women and Children from Dangerous Lead Exposures Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Protect Pregnant Women and Children from Dangerous Lead Exposures Act of 2008 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), no later than April 30, 2009, to use the best available science to: (1) promulgate a final rule revising EPA's lead-based paint hazard standard promulgated under the Toxic Substances Control Act to a more protective level that safeguards the health of pregnant women and children; and (2) require the use of a lead dust cleaning clearance methodology that ensures lead dust levels meet such revised standard. Requires the Administrator to ensure that EPA's Clean Air Science Advisory Committee peer reviews the analyses that the Administrator uses to revise such standard and to require the use of such methodology. Requires the Administrator, no later than April 22, 2010, to integrate into EPA's revised rules on renovation and remolding activities that create lead-based paint hazards such revised standard and methodology. Requires the Administrator to review and reevaluate the health protectiveness of the rule revising EPA's lead-based paint hazard standard to determine whether to increase protections for the health of pregnant women and children: (1) every five years; or (2) more frequently if significant scientific findings indicate that the standard should be so revised. Declares that this Act does not modify or affect any effective date described in the final rule of the Environmental Protection Agency entitled "Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Repainting Program" published on April 22, 2008. Requires the Administrator to: (1) update such final rule to include requirements concerning the reduction of lead hazards; and (2) establish a grant program to expand training opportunities relating to lead-based paint that are available at the state and tribal level. Sets forth provisions concerning the use of funds from such grant program.

Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2008 - Amends the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, with respect to lead-based paint hazards in housing, to set the environmental intervention blood lead level as equal to the lower of: (1) ten micrograms of lead per deciliter; or (2) the elevated blood lead level of concern for a child under six years of age recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to amend related regulations to comply with this Act within 90 days. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the status of the Department of Housing and Urban Development "Big Buy" program, and any other voluntary programs the Secretary has implemented or has planned to implement, through which the Secretary has conducted, or planned to conduct, lead evaluations of housing covered by the Lead Safe Housing Rule for pre-1978 assisted housing.

Water Infrastructure Financing Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Water Infrastructure Financing Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to: (1) authorize the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a competitive grant program to provide technical assistance to small and medium treatment works on wastewater and stormwater approaches; (2) expand the list of projects eligible for state water pollution control revolving loan fund (commonly known as the Clean Water State Revolving Fund or CWSRF) assistance; (3) provide assistance, including loan forgiveness, for disadvantaged communities; (4) allow states to forgive repayment of a portion of a loan for alternative approaches to wastewater and stormwater controls; (5) establish a priority system for providing financial assistance from the CWSRF; (6) allow a transfer of capitalization grants between revolving loan funds for water pollution control and safe drinking water treatment; (7) extend through FY2012 the authorization of appropriations for CWSRF; (8) revise provisions concerning sewer overflow control grants, including extending through FY2012 the authorization of appropriations for such grants; and (9) revise provisions concerning states' eligibility for capitalization grant agreements. Directs the Administrator to establish a grant program for watershed restoration through the protection or improvement of water quality. Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) require the Administrator to develop an implementation plan for contaminant prevention, detection, and response and extend through FY2012 funding for such activities; (2) establish a priority system for providing assistance to small public water systems to enable them to achieve and maintain compliance with national primary drinking water regulation; (3) require the Administrator to give grants to provide technical assistance for the design, operation, construction, and maintenance of household wells and small shared well-systems that provide drinking water; (4) expand the list of projects eligible for state drinking water treatment revolving loan funds (commonly known as the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund or DWSRF); (5) extend through FY2012 the authorization of appropriations for the DWSRF; and (6) revise provisions concerning labor standards. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish a grant program to assist community water systems in meeting the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act; (2) authorize appropriations for lead service line replacement in the District of Columbia; (3) establish a grant program to research and develop the use of innovative and alternative technologies to improve water quality or drinking water supply; (4) establish a nationwide demonstration grant program for water quality enhancement and management; (5) provide capitalization grants to states for agricultural pollution control technology revolving funds; (6) identify ways to improve the state revolving fund review process; and (7) enter into an arrangements with the National Academy of Sciences for a cost of service study of public water systems and treatment works and a study on the management of water supply, wastewater, and stormwater in urban areas and surrounding communities. Reduces amounts authorized to be appropriated under this Act by 2%.

Carbon Leakage Prevention Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Carbon Leakage Prevention Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to annually distribute emission allowances to the owners and operators of facilities in eligible industrial sectors that are subject to a national cap and trade program. Requires the Administrator to identify the industrial sectors eligible to receive emission allowances under this Act based on specified criteria that includes: (1) the greenhouse gas intensity of the domestic production; and (2) the potentional for greater foreign sourcing of production or services and the effect of international competition on domestic production. Sets forth calculations for determining the quantity of emission allowances to be distributed by the Administrator under this Act for a calendar year to an owner or operator based on a direct compliance allowance factor and an indirect carbon allowance factor accounting for emissions intensity and electricity efficiency. Requires the Administrator to differentiate between iron and steel manufacturing facilities using integrated iron and steelmaking technologies and facilities using electric arc furnace technologies. Requires the Administrator to report to Congress biennially on the carbon leakage of domestic energy-intensive industrial manufacturers and the effectiveness of the emission allowances distributed under this Act. Directs the Administrator to reduce or terminate the distribution of emission allowances under this Act if the President determines that international governmental activities to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions have substantially mitigated or rendered insignificant: (1) the competitive disadvantage to U.S. manufacturers; and (2) the carbon leakage and related diversion of production to foreign facilities.

National Security Professionals Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

National Security Professionals Act of 2008 - Directs the President to establish a National Security Career Development Program to provide national security professionals access to integrated education, training, and professional experience interagency opportunities. Requires: (1) the Program to establish policies to identify a threshold of interagency experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities required to obtain a national security interagency certification; and (2) the certification to be a consideration for promotion. Requires the President's budget request to include funding requirements to establish and maintain the Program. Requires the Program to include: (1) a rigorous and effective set of educational opportunities for national security professionals; (2) training that refreshes or enhances such a professional's expertise in planning, coordinating, and executing national security missions through instruction, drills, and exercises that take into account the full spectrum of threats and hazards that comprise America's 21st century risk environment; and (3) opportunities for professional interagency experience and intergovernmental, interagency, and interoffice assignments, fellowships, and exchanges. Requires the program to: (1) link career advancement or other incentives to participation in rotational or temporary detail interagency assignments; and (2) establish appropriate career development programs for political appointees in national security positions.

Medical Waste Management Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Medical Waste Management Act of 2008 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) revise the definition of "medical waste"; (2) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations listing types of medical waste; and (3) require the Administrator to conduct a medical waste management program to protect human health and the environment and promulgate regulations on tracking, labeling, packaging, storing, handling, monitoring, and disposing of medical waste. Requires a generator of medical waste to: (1) provide waste transporters with an assurance that the generator has complied with labeling, packaging, and storage requirements and a manifest form for transporting such waste; (2) register with the Administrator; and (3) provide the Administrator with the name of waste transporters. Requires transporters to: (1) not accept medical waste from a generator without receiving such assurance; (2) register with the Administrator; and (3) disclose to the Administrator the number and type of vehicles used to transport medical waste and the equipment and methods used to ensure segregation and handling of such waste. Requires owners or operators of disposal facilities to: (1) provide notice of the disposal of medical waste to the generator; and (2) register with the Administrator. Authorizes the Administrator to set registration requirements and collect reasonable registration fees. Sets forth provisions concerning inspections, public records, and enforcement under this Act. Requires the Administrator to establish a program to educate the public about, and increase access to, acceptable methods for disposal of used syringes generated by individuals through personal use outside of medical facilities. Provides that disposal in household garbage is not an acceptable method. Requires the Administrator to study and report on medical waste generated and its management and disposal.

Total Learning Curriculum Implementation Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Total Learning Curriculum Implementation Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award up to 20 competitive grants to states and local educational agencies to implement the Total Learning curriculum in classrooms for children in kindergarten through age nine. Defines the "Total Learning curriculum" as a multi-sensory, arts-infused curriculum in an enhanced learning environment featuring small classes, an extended day, extensive professional development, and family support services.

People for the Planet Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

People for the Planet Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish in the Treasury the Environmental Protection Trust Fund to promote ecosystem restoration, reforestation, reclamation of timber roads in national forests, watershed protection, preservation of Great Lakes and other bodies of water, and funding of biodiversity partnerships. Allows individual taxpayers (other than nonresident aliens) to designate on their income tax returns a payment of $3 of their income tax liability to such Trust Fund. Makes permanent the tax deduction for individual and corporate contributions of conservation easements. Allows a tax deduction for reforestation expenditures. Expresses the sense of Congress that the government should encourage biodiversity partnerships.

Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2008

Job Creation and Unemployment Relief Act of 2008 - Makes supplemental appropriations for FY2009 for infrastructure investments for: (1) transportation to the Department of Transportation (DOT); (2) clean water to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (3) flood control and water resources to the Department of Defense (DOD) - Civil for the Department of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation; (4) for 21st century green high-performing public school facilities to the Department of Education; (5) for public and Indian housing and the Public Housing Capital Fund to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); (7) energy development to the Department of Energy (DOE); and (8) the Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration, for job training and employment services, as well as state unemployment insurance and employment service operations. Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to increase and extend unemployment compensation (UC). Prescribes: (1) a temporary increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act; and (2) an adjustment in computation of Medicaid FMAP to disregard an extraordinary employer pension contribution. Makes appropriations for FY2009 to the Secretary of Agriculture to provide a temporary increase in benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Greening the Healthcare Workforce Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2008

Greening the Healthcare Workforce Act of 2008 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide grants to nonprofit hospitals or health care institutions to promote environmentally sustainable practices in building and maintenance operations, including: (1) the training of employees in environmentally sound waste management and chemical management practices; (2) the reduction in use of mercury-containing medical supplies; and (3) the conduct of minor improvements to grounds and facilities to improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality and to reduce water waste.

Motor Fuel Supply and Distribution Improvement Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2008

Motor Fuel Supply and Distribution Improvement Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to: (1) update provisions limiting the number of gasoline or diesel fuels allowed in a state implementation plan; and (2) allow a limited, temporary waiver of a control or prohibition of a fuel or fuel additive in circumstances that prevent the distribution of an adequate supply of such fuel or fuel additive to consumers.

Pathway to Nuclear Power Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2008

Pathway to Nuclear Power Act - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to: (1) revise terms and conditions governing federal loan guarantees for innovative technology projects; (2) modify the contract authority of the Secretary of Energy; (3) convert the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative into the Nuclear Power 2010 Program; and (4) instruct the Secretary of Labor to promulgate regulations to implement workforce training programs for the nuclear industries. Creates an interagency working group to make recommendations to coordinate federal actions and programs to promote domestic manufacture and export of nuclear energy products and services. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe: (1) a qualifying nuclear power manufacturing credit; (2) a nuclear power facility construction credit; (3) a five-year accelerated depreciation for new nuclear power facilities; and (4) a special rule for the allocation of credit among public-private partnerships that own an advanced nuclear power facility. Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 revise administrative procedures for licensing new nuclear power plants. Establishes a Joint Committee on Nuclear Energy to make recommendations to promote domestic nuclear energy. States that, for the period following the licensed operation of any facility for the treatment or storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste, no consideration of the public health and safety, common defense and security, or environmental impacts of such storage is required regarding the development, construction, and operation of, or any permit, license, or siting approval for, a civilian nuclear power reactor or any facility for nuclear fuel or waste treatment or storage. United States High Level Nuclear Waste Management Corporation Act - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to establish the United States High Level Nuclear Waste Management Corporation. Terminates the Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management. Requires the Secretary of Energy, in specified circumstances, to propose an adjustment to the fee for electricity generated from civilian nuclear power reactors. Replaces the Nuclear Waste Fund with a Nuclear Waste Revolving Fund and a Nuclear Waste Legacy Fund. Revises contract requirements with respect to such Funds following issuance of a license to construct and operate facilities to receive and store spent nuclear fuel at the Yucca Mountain site, Nevada.

Prevention, Awareness, and Research of Autoimmune Diseases Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2008

Prevention, Awareness, and Research of Autoimmune Diseases Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to award grants for the conduct or support of research on environmental triggers that can cause the initiation of autoimmune diseases in genetically predisposed individuals. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants to eligible entities to conduct public and professional awareness activities regarding autoimmune diseases. Allows grantees to use grant funds to: (1) promote increased awareness of early intervention and treatment to significantly improve the quality of life for people with autoimmune diseases; (2) target minority communities that may be underserved or disproportionately affected by such diseases; and (3) target women to help reduce the amount of time taken for correct diagnosis of such diseases. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to: (1) award grants to eligible entities for the education of health care providers on potential links between autoimmune diseases and cognitive and mood disorders, such as depression; and (2) establish an educational loan repayment program for physicians agreeing to conduct research on autoimmune diseases.

Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2008

Renewable Energy and Job Creation Tax Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax incentives for energy conservation and production, to extend expiring provisions, and provide for revenue enhancements. Extends the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources: (1) through 2009 for wind facilities; and (2) through FY2011 for closed and open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation power, landfill gas, trash combustion, and hydropower facilities. Includes marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy as a renewable resource for purposes of such tax credit. Extends through 2016 the energy tax credit for solar energy, fuel cell, and microturbine property. Allows a new energy tax credit for combined heat and power system property. Increases to $1,500 the credit limitation for fuel cell property. Increases and extends through 2016 the tax credit for residential energy efficient property. Eliminates the limitation on the tax credit for solar electric property. Allows a new tax credit for 30% of expenditures for wind turbines used to generate electricity in a residence and for geothermal heat pumps. Extends tax deferral provisions for the gain on sales of transmission property by vertically-integrated electric utilities to independent transmission companies approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Allows a 30% investment tax credit rate for advanced coal-based generation technology projects and increases the maximum credit amounts allocable for such projects to $2.55 billion. Increases to 30% the investment tax credit rate for coal gasification projects. Extends the excise tax on coal through December 31, 2018. Sets forth special rules for refund claims of coal excise tax by certain coal producers and exporters. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to undertake a comprehensive review of Internal Revenue Code provisions that have the largest effects on carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and provide an estimate of the magnitude of such effects. Includes cellulosic biofuel within the definition of "biomass ethanol plant property" for purposes of bonus depreciation. Extends through 2009 income and excise tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel. Increases the rates of such credits. Disqualifies foreign-produced fuel that is used or sold for use outside the United States from the income and excise tax credits for alcohol, biodiesel, and alternative fuel production. Allows a new tax credit for the production of qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. Allows an exclusion from the heavy truck excise tax for idling reduction devices and advanced insulation used in certain heavy trucks and trailers. Allows employees to exclude reimbursements for bicycle commuting expenses from gross income. Increases and extends the tax credit for residential and commercial alternative fuel refueling property expenditures. Extends the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property expenditures through 2008. Includes energy-efficient biomass fuel stoves as property eligible for such tax credit. Extends through 2013 the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial building expenditures. Modifies tax credit amounts for energy efficient household appliances produced after 2007. Allows an accelerated 10-year recovery period for the depreciation of qualified smart electric meters and smart electric grid systems. Extends through FY2012 the authority to issue tax-exempt green building and sustainable design project bonds. Extends through 2009: (1) the tax deduction for state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes; (2) the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses; (3) the exemption from withholding of tax of interest-related and short-term capital gain dividends received from a regulated investment company (RIC) and the special rule for RIC stock held in the estate of nonresidents; (4) tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes; (5) the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; (6) the inclusion of an RIC within the definition of "qualified investment entity" for income tax purposes; and (7) the additional standard tax deduction for real property taxes. Extends through 2009: (1) the tax credits for increasing research activities, Indian employment, railroad track maintenance, and the new markets tax credit; (2) accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold and restaurant improvements, for motorsports racing track facilities, and for business property on Indian reservations; (3) expensing of environmental remediation costs and certain film and television production costs; (4) the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico; (5) special rules for related controlled foreign corporations and for the tax treatment of certain payments to tax-exempt organizations by a controlled subsidiary; (6) issuance authority for qualified zone academy bonds; (7) tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia; (8) the economic development credit for American Samoa; (9) the expanded tax deductions for charitable contributions of food and book inventories by noncorporate taxpayers; (10) the special rule for reductions in the basis of S corporation stock for charitable contributions; (11) work opportunity tax credit eligibility for Hurricane Katrina employees (through August 28, 2009); (12) the subpart F income exemption for active financing income; and (13) the increase in alcohol excise taxes payable to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Makes permanent the authority of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to: (1) conduct undercover operations; and (2) disclose tax return information related to terrorist activities. Lowers in 2008 (from $10,000 to $8,500) the earned income threshold amount for determining the refundable portion of the child tax credit. Modifies certain provisions relating to the tax deduction for domestic film and television productions. Exempts from the excise tax on bows and arrows certain arrow shafts. Modifies the standards for imposing penalties on tax return preparers for understatements of tax to require: (1) substantial authority for a position with respect to an item on a tax return if such position was not disclosed with the return; and (2) a reasonable basis for a position that was disclosed with the return. Requires tax return preparers to have a reasonable belief that a position with respect to a tax shelter or a reportable transaction (a transaction having a potential for tax avoidance or evasion) will more likely than not be sustained on its merits. Provides for revenue enhancements by: (1) reducing by 3% the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities for taxpayers with income derived from activities related to oil, gas, or any primary products thereof; (2) conforming the tax treatment of foreign oil and gas extraction income and foreign oil related income for purposes of the foreign tax credit; (3) including within the reporting requirements of investment brokers the adjusted basis of any publicly traded security owned by customers of such brokers; (4) extending through 2009 the 0.2% Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) surtax; (5) requiring the inclusion in gross income of employee compensation deferred under compensation plans of certain foreign business entities; (6) delaying until 2017 the application of special rules for the worldwide allocation of interest for purposes of computing the limitation on the foreign tax credit; and (7) increasing the estimated tax payments of certain large corporations in the third quarter of 2013.

Act to Save America's Forests

United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2008

Act to Save America's Forests - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to revise eligibility criteria for members of the land and resource management scientific committee. Revises the committee termination date. Directs the Chief of the Forest Service, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to each prepare a continuous inventory of forest land administered by each agency head and to document whole-system measures that will be taken as a result of the inventory. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for conservation and restoration of native biodiversity in forested areas. Prohibits clearcutting or other even-age logging operations on any stand or watershed on certain federal land, National Forest System land, and National Wildlife Refuge System land. Provides for federal enforcement and a private right of action. Designates special areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Requires the Secretaries concerned to appoint a committee of independent scientists to recommend additional special areas. Restricts road construction and logging on federal land in ancient forests, special areas, roadless areas, and watershed protection areas. Provides for federal enforcement and a private right of action. States that this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to federal wilderness areas designated under the Wilderness Act. Adds specified land to the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Transfers administrative jurisdiction over the Monument from the Secretary to the Secretary of the Interior. Establishes the Giant Sequoia National Monument Advisory Board. Adds specified parts of Sequoia National Forest that are not included in the Monument to: (1) Sierra National Forest; and (2) Inyo National Forest. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct reconnaissance surveys of areas classified as Level III ecoregions of the continental United States by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to determine if there are resources that possess national significance and to evaluate their suitability for inclusion as units of the National Park System. Requires the appointment of a committee of scientists to provide the Secretary and Congress with advice and counsel on such surveys.

Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to reestablish the Program Office of the Gulf of Mexico Program as an office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to be headed by a Director. Requires the Office to: (1) coordinate the actions of EPA and of other federal agencies and state and local authorities; (2) assist in developing specific action plans to carry out the program; (3) coordinate and implement priority state- and community-led restoration plans and projects and facilitate activities that support the program; (4) implement outreach programs to foster stewardship of the Gulf's resources; (5) develop and make available information about the environmental quality and living resources of the Gulf; (6) serve as the liaison with the Mexican members of the Gulf of Mexico States Accord and Mexican counterparts of the EPA; and (7) focus on activities that will result in measurable improvements to water quality and living resources of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Authorizes the EPA Administrator to enter into interagency agreements to carry out this Act. Authorizes the Administrator to provide grants for use in: (1) monitoring the water quality and living resources of the Gulf ecosystem; (2) researching the effects of environmental changes on such water quality and resources; (3) developing cooperative strategies that address the water quality and needs of Gulf resources; (4) developing locally-based protection and restoration programs or projects within a watershed that complement those strategies; and (5) eliminating or reducing point sources that discharge pollutants that contaminate the Gulf ecosystem.

Restoring the Value of Every American in Environmental Decisions Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Restoring the Value of Every American in Environmental Decisions Act - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), when using in decisionmaking any value of statistical life, including the life of pregnant women, infants, children, and the elderly, to: (1) not reduce that value below the highest value of statistical life used in a decisionmaking before the enactment of this Act; and (2) increase that value at least once each year, by adjusting the value to reflect the average annual total compensation of individuals, the average capital that may be liquidated upon the death of an individual, and the value of nonpaid activities, including the relevant activities described in the American Time Survey Results published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. Prohibits the Administrator from decreasing the value of statistical life based on age, income, race, illness, disability, date of death, or any other personal attribute or relativistic analysis of the value of life. Requires the Administrator to: (1) ensure that the process for establishing a value of statistical life is open to the public; and (2) provide to specified congressional committees, concurrently with public notice, any proposed revision of a value of a statistical life. Declares that nothing in this Act: (1) expresses on behalf of Congress an endorsement of any use of value of statistical life analysis as a decisionmaking criterion, cost-benefit analysis, regulatory decisionmaking threshold, or single process of agency decisionmaking; (2) creates a duty to make or revise any standard under any other law; or (3) affects any substantive standard for promulgating regulations under any other law.

Air and Health Quality Empowerment Zone Designation Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Air and Health Quality Empowerment Zone Designation Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to designate areas nominated by local air pollution control districts as air and health quality empowerment zones, which shall be eligible for grants for replacing or retrofitting polluting vehicles and/or engines in order to improve the health of the population living in the zones. Sets forth area eligibility requirements, including: (1) being in nonattainment of specified national ambient air quality standards for ozone or PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter that does not exceed 2.5 micrometers); (2) having specified emission levels from agricultural sources; (3) meeting or exceeding national averages for asthma, school days missed for ozone levels, and unemployment; and (4) being eligible for state or local matching funds. Prohibits an area from being designated unless the relevant district provides satisfactory assurances that the strategic plan (to be contained in its application) will be implemented. Authorizes the Administrator to revoke the designation if the relevant district: (1) has been designated as being in attainment with the air quality standards; or (2) is failing to comply with, or make progress in achieving the goals of, its strategic plan.

HIA Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Health Impact Assessments Act of 2008 or the HIA Act of 2008 - Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study to determine the best practices, standardized tools, and models for using health impact assessments as a method to promote health and reduce health disparities through social policy, land use, the built environment, and other public policies and projects. Requires the Comptroller General to review: (1) the positive and negative health consequences of federal policies and programs; and (2) how to consider health impact assessments for any federal, state, local project that involves federal funding or work performed by the federal government. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award a grant to an institution of higher education to: (1) provide for expertise on health impact assessment to states, local health departments, metropolitan planning organizations, and local planning departments; (2) collect and disseminate best practices and provide technical assistance and training about the scope and uses of health impact assessments related to community planning and policy making; (3) develop necessary data and evidence to inform health impact assessments and land use and community design and other broad policy decisions; and (4) carry out a demonstration project to establish and implement effective processes and models for designing and administering health impact assessments. Requires the Director to expand CDC's capacity to promote the health impact assessment processes, including by developing guidance for assessing the public participation and potential health effects of social policy decisions.

A bill to amend the Clean Air Act to provide for the waiver of requirements relating to recertification kits for the conversion of vehicles into vehicles powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive requirements for recertification of kits for the conversion of vehicles into vehicles that are powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas in any case in which: (1) the kit has been previously certified for the model of vehicle to be converted; and (2) neither the kit nor the design and specifications of the model of vehicle to be converted have substantially changed. Requires the Administrator to waive emission certification system requirements for a vehicle that is more than 10 years old or has more than 120,000 miles and that is powered by natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas.

Public Health Coordinating Council Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Public Health Coordinating Council Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a National Public Health Coordinating Council to: (1) facilitate and strengthen sustained communication and coordination across federal agencies and offices regarding public health; and (2) review and make recommendations concerning socioeconomic and environmental policies to reduce health disparities and improve the public's health. Requires the Secretary to determine the duties of the Council, which shall include: (1) reviewing existing federal health programs and policies for the availability of equitable public health services across communities; (2) making recommendations for the modification of such federal programs and policies to improve public health; and (3) seeking to strengthen the impact of federal public health efforts by improving interagency collaboration and promoting a dialogue on broad public health issues.

To improve interagency coordination and cooperation in the processing of Federal permits for production of domestic oil and gas resources.

United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2008

Establishes the Office of the Federal Oil and Gas Permit Coordinator, headed by a Federal Permit Coordinator, to: (1) coordinate permitting activities by federal and state agencies regarding any oil and gas project under a federal lease either onshore or on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), including oil shale projects; and (2) ensure the compliance of participating federal and state agencies. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish regional offices to coordinate review of federal permits for oil and gas projects on federal lands onshore and on the OCS. Sets forth a schedule for federal agency review of oil and gas applications for: (1) Class I permits, that require preparation of an environmental impact statement to inform the permitting decision; (2) Class II permits, for activities that would not significantly affect the quality of the human environment; and (3) Class III permits, for activities that qualify for a statutory or regulatory categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Prescribes dispute resolution procedures governing oil and gas permit reviews. Empowers the Regional Permit Coordinator to resolve all administrative issues affecting such reviews. Directs the Regional Permit Coordinators to facilitate and coordinate concurrent state reviews of permits for oil and gas projects in the state or on an adjacent portion of the OCS. Grants the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia exclusive original jurisdiction over any civil action for the review of a permit decision.

Superfund Polluter Pays Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2008

Superfund Polluter Pays Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code by reinstating until January 1, 2017, the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax.

NAFTA Modernization Trade Negotiating Authority Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2008

NAFTA Modernization Trade Negotiating Authority Act - Requires that any renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) resulting in any new trade agreement with Canada, Mexico, or both to: (1) meet the standards established in the areas of labor and environment, dispute settlement, intellectual property, services, foreign investment, and agriculture of trade agreements negotiated under the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002; and (2) take into account specified U.S. domestic objectives set out in this Act, including protection of health and safety, security, environmental, consumer, and employment opportunity interests. Authorizes the President before August 1, 2009, to enter into a trade agreement with such countries to: (1) reduce or eliminate a duty, restriction, barrier, or other distortion of trade that unduly burdens or restricts U.S. trade or adversely affects the U.S. economy; or (2) prohibit, or limit the imposition of, such barrier or other distortion. Sets forth congressional notification and consultation requirements for implementation of any trade agreement. Directs the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, within 30 days after the convening of each Congress, to convene the Congressional Oversight Group. Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to develop written guidelines to facilitate the useful and timely exchange of information between the USTR and the Group, particularly for the closest practicable coordination between them at all critical periods during NAFTA renegotiations. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for implementing and enforcing any agreement.

MOVEMENT Act of 2008

United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2008

Making Opportunities Via Efficient and More Effective National Transportation Act of 2008 or the MOVEMENT Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a national container fee to be collected on each cargo container imported into, or exported from, a covered U.S. seaport. Establishes the National Goods Movement Improvement Account in which such fees shall be deposited. Directs the Secretary to carry out a National Goods Movement Improvement Grant Program to provide grant funding for eligible projects, including goods movement improvement, homeland security, and environmental projects located at or near a covered U.S. seaport.