Environment

176 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the Dog Breeding Establishment Act was passed by the Oireachtas; when was it signed into law by the President; the reasons for the delay in the implementation of same; when it is his intention to implement the sections dealing with puppy farms; if he will provide a definitive date for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40225/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

176 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the Dog Breeding Establishment Act was passed by the Oireachtas; when was it signed into law by the President; the reasons for the delay in the implementation of same; when it is his intention to implement the sections dealing with puppy farms; if he will provide a definitive date for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40225/11]

175 Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to an announcement of €240,000 for Waterford as part of the capital programme for libraries in July, the status of funding for Waterford; if this allocation of money has been delayed or stopped; the reasons for same; if the allocation will be re-instated in full; the date on which this will happen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40211/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

175 Deputy Ciara Conway asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government further to an announcement of €240,000 for Waterford as part of the capital programme for libraries in July, the status of funding for Waterford; if this allocation of money has been delayed or stopped; the reasons for same; if the allocation will be re-instated in full; the date on which this will happen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40211/11]

173 Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money spent by him on advertising with international, national and local media for each year since 2006. [40194/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

173 Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money spent by him on advertising with international, national and local media for each year since 2006. [40194/11]

172 Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money spent by him on public relations companies each year since 2006. [40178/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

172 Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of money spent by him on public relations companies each year since 2006. [40178/11]

171 Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost or estimate of the cost of incremental payments to local authority personnel; the number of increments due for 2010, 2011 and 2012 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40165/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

171 Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the cost or estimate of the cost of incremental payments to local authority personnel; the number of increments due for 2010, 2011 and 2012 in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40165/11]

170 Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will make funding available to the Private Residential Tenancies Board in order that it can follow through on its decision to evict a tenant at an address (details supplied). [40114/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

170 Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will make funding available to the Private Residential Tenancies Board in order that it can follow through on its decision to evict a tenant at an address (details supplied). [40114/11]

169 Deputy Patrick O’Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has considered proposals to assist in the regulation of the scrap metal industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40107/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

169 Deputy Patrick O’Donovan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has considered proposals to assist in the regulation of the scrap metal industry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40107/11]

174 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding sources which may be available to develop a playground in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40203/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

174 Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding sources which may be available to develop a playground in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40203/11]

168 Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the grants that are available for organisations under any scheme for the purchasing of small items of equipment for outdoor activity with children who are from disadvantaged areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40066/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

168 Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the grants that are available for organisations under any scheme for the purchasing of small items of equipment for outdoor activity with children who are from disadvantaged areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40066/11]

53 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there is a delay for farmers awaiting payments under the agri-environment options scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39055/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 14 December 2011

53 Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the reason there is a delay for farmers awaiting payments under the agri-environment options scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39055/11]

A bill to establish the National Endowment for the Oceans, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2011

Establishes in the Treasury a trust fund to be known as the National Endowment for the Oceans (NEO) to: (1) allocate funding to coastal states and affected Indian tribes, (2) make grants to regional ocean and coastal planning bodies, and (3) develop and implement a National Grant Program for Oceans and Coastal Waters. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to serve as trustee. Requires that funds be allocated by the Secretary only to fund grants for programs and activities to restore, protect, maintain, or understand living marine resources and their habitats and resources in ocean and coastal waters, including baseline scientific research, ocean observing, and other programs and activities carried out in coordination with federal and state agencies, that are consistent with federal environmental laws and that avoid environmental degradation. Directs the Secretary to allocate from the amounts to be distributed among states each fiscal year: (1) 50% equally among coastal states, (2) 25% based on tidal shoreline miles, and (3) 25% based on the coastal population density of a coastal state. Limits the percentage of total funds that a state or territory may receive in any fiscal year. Requires, upon the establishment of a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, that specified interest and investment proceeds from such Fund be transferred to the NEO.

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012

United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2011

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 - Division A: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012 - Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes appropriations to the Department of Defense and related agencies for FY2012. Division B: Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2012 - Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes appropriations for FY2012 to the Corps of Engineers-Civil, Department of the Army, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Energy, and certain independent agencies. Division C: Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2012 - Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the Department of the Treasury, the President and the Executive Office of the President, the federal judiciary, the District of Columbia, and certain independent agencies. Division D: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2012 - Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the Department of Homeland Security. Division E: Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies. Division F: Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and related agencies. Division G: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012 - Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, the Architect of the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the Government Printing Office (GPO), the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Open World Leadership Center Trust Fund, and the John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Development Trust Fund. Division H: Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies. Division I: Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2012 - Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2012 - Makes 2012 appropriations to the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development, as well as for bilateral economic assistance, international security assistance, multilateral assistance, export and investment assistance, and overseas contingency operations. Prescribes requirements and prohibitions with respect to the use of funds under this Act.

404 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding agri-environment options scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39971/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

404 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding agri-environment options scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39971/11]

402 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding agri-environment options scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39969/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

402 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding agri-environment options scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39969/11]

401 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding agri-environment options scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39968/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

401 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding agri-environment options scheme payment in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39968/11]

395 Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if REP scheme disadvantaged and single farm payments have been made in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will expedite the matter. [39760/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

395 Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if REP scheme disadvantaged and single farm payments have been made in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will expedite the matter. [39760/11]

387 Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers in County Kerry that have not yet received their 2011 REPS payments; the total amount owed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39701/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

387 Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers in County Kerry that have not yet received their 2011 REPS payments; the total amount owed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39701/11]

386 Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers in County Kerry that have received their 2011 REP scheme payments; the total amount paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39699/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

386 Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of farmers in County Kerry that have received their 2011 REP scheme payments; the total amount paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39699/11]

375 Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a REP scheme payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; the reason for the delay; the measures he will take to ensure this payment will be made before Christmas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39622/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

375 Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when a REP scheme payment will issue to a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; the reason for the delay; the measures he will take to ensure this payment will be made before Christmas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39622/11]

372 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding REP scheme 4 payment due in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39575/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

372 Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the position regarding the outstanding REP scheme 4 payment due in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39575/11]

370 Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments will issue to farmers under the agri-environment options scheme. [39543/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

370 Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when payments will issue to farmers under the agri-environment options scheme. [39543/11]

359 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 540 of 22 November 2011, when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive their agri-environment options scheme payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39399/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

359 Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 540 of 22 November 2011, when a person (details supplied) in County Cork will receive their agri-environment options scheme payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39399/11]

295 Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the process to be followed by local authorities in the sale of a local authority owned asset (details supplied) that is to be sold on the open market, sale by tender or to invite expressions of interest by placing an advertisement in a local paper only. [39919/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

295 Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the process to be followed by local authorities in the sale of a local authority owned asset (details supplied) that is to be sold on the open market, sale by tender or to invite expressions of interest by placing an advertisement in a local paper only. [39919/11]

294 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the planning fee for self catering holiday homes when applying for full planning permission to a local authority. [39885/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

294 Deputy Frank Feighan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the planning fee for self catering holiday homes when applying for full planning permission to a local authority. [39885/11]

293 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason none of the members of the high level steering group set up for streamlining the delivery of services for communities have direct experience of local or community development in Ireland other than institutional and theoretical knowledge on local government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39856/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

293 Deputy Maureen O’Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason none of the members of the high level steering group set up for streamlining the delivery of services for communities have direct experience of local or community development in Ireland other than institutional and theoretical knowledge on local government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39856/11]

292 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding building regulations. [39844/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

292 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding building regulations. [39844/11]

291 Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding waste management (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39669/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

291 Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the position regarding waste management (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39669/11]

290 Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the proposals he has to re-structure the waste market here to restrict side by side competition; the reasons behind these proposals; when he expects to introduce such proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39652/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

290 Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the proposals he has to re-structure the waste market here to restrict side by side competition; the reasons behind these proposals; when he expects to introduce such proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39652/11]

289 Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has agreed with Dublin City Council to provide emergency funding to cover the accommodation costs of residents from Priory Hall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39511/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

289 Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has agreed with Dublin City Council to provide emergency funding to cover the accommodation costs of residents from Priory Hall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39511/11]

288 Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will examine the non-principal private residency levy; if he will allow local authorities to enter into an arrears payment schedule when the home owner is in financial difficulty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39460/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

288 Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will examine the non-principal private residency levy; if he will allow local authorities to enter into an arrears payment schedule when the home owner is in financial difficulty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39460/11]

287 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will reply to correspondence (details supplied) regarding Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39451/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

287 Deputy Joe Costello asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will reply to correspondence (details supplied) regarding Part 3 of the Building Control Act 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39451/11]

286 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number and names of all special advisers, special press advisers, or any other type of ministerial adviser in his Department; the name of the Minister or Minister of State to whom he or she reports; the salary of each adviser now; the salary of each adviser from the time he or she was appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39406/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

286 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number and names of all special advisers, special press advisers, or any other type of ministerial adviser in his Department; the name of the Minister or Minister of State to whom he or she reports; the salary of each adviser now; the salary of each adviser from the time he or she was appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39406/11]

285 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the political activities of each special adviser, special press adviser, or any other type of ministerial adviser in his Department; if any of them were members of a political party; if so, which parties; if any of them are or have been elected local authority members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39389/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

285 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the political activities of each special adviser, special press adviser, or any other type of ministerial adviser in his Department; if any of them were members of a political party; if so, which parties; if any of them are or have been elected local authority members; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39389/11]

284 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if funding will be provided to community groups in the event of redundancies occurring for employees, in view of the major difficulties that would arise for such groups as they are not-for-profit organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40003/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

284 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if funding will be provided to community groups in the event of redundancies occurring for employees, in view of the major difficulties that would arise for such groups as they are not-for-profit organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40003/11]

283 Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to legislate for a tightening of the rules for vehicles to be declared off the road for the purposes of motor tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39836/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

283 Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to legislate for a tightening of the rules for vehicles to be declared off the road for the purposes of motor tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39836/11]

282 Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in a situation where an older person is living with a family relative away from home and electricity is still connected to his or her former house, if that person will still have to pay the €100 property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39788/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 13 December 2011

282 Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government in a situation where an older person is living with a family relative away from home and electricity is still connected to his or her former house, if that person will still have to pay the €100 property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39788/11]

Act for the 99%

United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2011

Restore the American Dream for the 99% Act or Act for the 99% - Title I: Emergency Job Creation to Rebuild America - Emergency Jobs to Restore the American Dream Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for: (1) subgrants to local education agencies (LEAs) to modernize, renovate, or repair public school facilities; and (3) grants to pay maintenance costs. Requires LEAs to use such funds, to the maximum extent practicable, for green schools. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for grants to institutions of higher education for an additional 250,000 part-time work-study jobs for students (Student Jobs Corps). Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Agriculture and to the Secretary of the Interior to create additional 100,000 positions in the Public Lands Corps. Authorizes the President to establish a Civilian Conservation Corps for specified activities in federal or state lands. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) a Teacher Corps in elementary and secondary schools; (2) a Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to hire an additional 40,000 state, local, and tribal career law enforcement officers; (3) a Firefighters Corps program to hire an additional 12,000 firefighters; and (4) a Community Corps to create an additional 750,000 jobs to perform energy audits, conservation upgrades, recycling, initial demanufacturing activities, urban land reclamation, rural conservation, public property maintenance and beautification, housing rehabilitation, and new housing construction. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to grant financial assistance to health care or long-term care (LTC) providers to pay the costs of hiring and retaining additional health care or LTC professionals (Health Care Corps). Amends the Head Start Act to direct the Secretary of HHS to provide funds to Early Head Start programs to hire additional infant and toddler specialists. Makes appropriations to the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor solely for on-the-job training. Buy American Enhancement Act of 2011 - Prescribes Buy American requirements for items purchased under this Act. Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act of 2011 - Amends the Small Business Act to redefine independently owned and operated small business concerns to exclude publicly traded business concerns and subsidiaries as well as foreign-owned business concerns and subsidiaries. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to report annually on prime federal contracts awarded to small business concerns for the purposes of achieving specified small business contracting goals of the federal government. National Infrastructure Development Bank Act of 2011 - Establishes the National Infrastructure Development Bank (NIDB) as a wholly owned government corporation to provide financial assistance for transportation, environmental, energy, and telecommunications infrastructure projects of regional or national significance contributing to economic growth and job creation. Wounded Veteran Job Security Act - Amends the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) to include as service in the uniformed services any period for which a person is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment for a service-connected injury or illness or one for which a "line of duty" document has been granted by the Secretary of Defense (DOD). Prescribes documentation requirements for an applicant for reemployment due to an absence for the purpose of obtaining such medical treatment. Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to extend until January 4, 2013, any federal-state agreement to make emergency unemployment compensation (EUC) payments. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 4, 2013, full federal funding of extended unemployment compensation. Emergency Unemployment Compensation Expansion Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to authorize a state, if implementation of first-tier EUC would unduly delay the prompt EUC payments, to elect to pay second-tier, third-tier, or fourth-tier EUC. Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to include as a "countervailable subsidy" requiring action under a countervailing duty or antidumping duty proceeding the benefit conferred on merchandise imported into the United States from foreign countries with fundamentally undervalued currency. Prioritize Emergency Job Creation Act - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) with respect to the designation of FY2012-FY2021 appropriations for discretionary accounts for emergency job creation. Fair Employment Opportunity Act of 2011 - Declares it an unlawful practice for certain employers with at least 15 employees for each working day in each of at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year to: (1) refuse to consider or offer employment to an individual based on present or past unemployment regardless of the length of time such individual was unemployed; (2) publish an advertisement or announcement for any job with provisions indicating that such an unemployed status disqualifies an individual and that an employer will not consider an applicant based on such status; and (3) direct or request that an employment agency account for such status when screening or referring applicants. Prohibits an employment agency (including agents and persons maintaining a website publishing job advertisements or announcements), based on such an individual's status as unemployed, from: (1) refusing to consider or refer an individual for employment; (2) limiting, segregating, or classifying individuals in any manner limiting access to job information; or (3) publishing an advertisement or announcement for any job vacancy that includes provisions indicating that such an individual is disqualified and that an employer will not consider such individuals. New Jobs for America Act of 2011 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, subject to the availability of appropriations, to make grants to state and local governments and Indian tribes to carry out employment training programs to aid unemployed individuals in securing employment in a new area of expertise, particularly in emerging markets and industries (such as green technologies). Makes certain funds available to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for restoration, repair, construction, and other eligible surface transportation activities as well as for passenger and freight rail transportation and port infrastructure projects. Jobs NOW Act - Amends title IV part A (Grants to States for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish in the Treasury the Emergency Contingency Fund for State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Programs. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to repeal new discretionary spending limits. Title II: Responsible Savings and Fair Taxation - Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act - Limits the obligation and expenditure of funds for operations of the Armed Forces in Afghanistan to the safe and orderly withdrawal from Afghanistan of all members of the Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DOD) contractor personnel. Defense and Deficit Reduction Act - Freezes the aggregate amount of funds made available for DOD-administered military functions (other than military personnel pay, health benefits, and drug interdiction and counter-drug activities) at: (1) the FY2008 level for FY2011, and (2) the previous fiscal year level for each of FY2012-FY2016. Places a permanent ceiling of 30,000 per fiscal year (with certain exceptions) on the end strength level of members of the Armed Forces assigned to permanent onshore duty in Europe and corresponding general end strength reductions. Specifies the breakdown of end strength levels for each of the services. Terminates the V-22 Osprey aircraft program as of FY2012. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to raise the basic range of income taxed at: (1) 15% from a maximum of $36,900 to a maximum of $69,000, (2) 28% from $36,900-$89,150 to $69,000-$139,350, (3) 31% from S89,150-$140,000 to $212,300-$379,150, (4) from $140,000-$ 250,000 to $379,150-$1 million, and (5) $39.6% from $250,000-and-over to $1 million-$10 million. Prescribes new tax rates of 45%, 46%, 47%, 48%, and 49% for specified income levels above $10 million to $1 billion-and-over. Specifies the breakdown of such tax rates for heads of households, unmarried individuals, and married individuals filing separate returns. Prescribes a special rule for recapture of lower capital gains rates for individuals subject to at least a 45% rate bracket. End Big Oil Tax Subsidies Act of 2011 - Revises requirements for the amortization of geological and geophysical expenditures to convert the special tax rule for major integrated oil companies into a special rule for covered large oil companies (a major integrated oil company or a taxpayer with taxable year gross receipts exceeding $50 million. Denies taxpayers who are not small, independent oil and gas companies: (1) the tax credit for production of oil and gas from marginal wells, (2) the enhanced oil recovering tax credit, (3) the deduction for the intangible drilling and development costs of oil and gas wells, (4) the percentage depletion allowance, (5) the deduction for tertiary injectant expenses, (6) the exclusion from (and consequently subjection to) the disallowance passive activity losses and credits, and (7) the deduction for a portion of income derived from domestic production activities. Prohibits a major integrated oil company from using last-in, first-out (LIFO) tax accounting. Prescribes a special rule to deny to a dual capacity taxpayer a foreign tax credit for certain amounts paid or accrued to a foreign country or U.S. possession with respect to combined foreign oil and gas income. Superfund Reinvestment Act - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to authorize the use of amounts in the Hazardous Substance Superfund for environmental cleanup costs authorized by such Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reinstate until December 31, 2018, the Hazardous Substance Superfund financing rate and the corporate environmental income tax and extend the borrowing authority of the Superfund through 2021. Wall Street Trading and Speculators Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a .03% excise tax on the purchase of a security: (1) if such purchase occurs on a trading facility located in the United States, or (2) the purchaser or seller is a U.S. person. Extends through calendar year 2012 the making work pay tax credit. Employee Misclassification Prevention Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to require every person to: (1) keep records of non-employees (contractors) who perform labor or services (except substitute work), including through an entity such as a trust, estate, partnership, association, company, or corporation, for remuneration; and (2) provide certain notice to each new employee and new non-employee, including classification as an employee or non-employee and information concerning their rights under the law. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) discharge or otherwise discriminate against an individual (including an employee) who has opposed any practice, or filed a complaint or instituted any proceeding related to this Act, including with respect to an individual's status as an employee or non-employee; and (2) fail to classify accurately an employee or non-employee. Doubles the amount of liquidated damages for maximum hours, minimum wage, and notice of classification violations by an employer. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a page on the Department of Labor website that summarizes the rights of employees under this Act. Amends SSA to require, as a condition for a federal grant for the administration of state unemployment compensation, for the state's unemployment compensation law to include a provision for: (1) auditing programs that identify employers that have not registered under the state law or that are paying unreported compensation where the effect is to exclude employees from unemployment compensation coverage, and (2) establishing administrative penalties for misclassifying employees or paying unreported unemployment compensation to employees. Corporate Assets Should be Used to Hire Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on domestic corporations in taxable years beginning in 2011 or 2012 an additional 40% tax on the excess of their retained earnings over their average retained earnings for the preceding 3 taxable years. Exempts certain corporations from such tax, including corporations with retained earnings of less than $5 million in a taxable year. Title III: Protect and Strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - Public Option Deficit Reduction Act - Amends the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer through Exchanges a health benefits plan (public health insurance option) that ensures choice, competition, and stability of affordable, high-quality coverage throughout the United States. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish an office of the ombudsman for the public health insurance option, and (2) establish geographically adjusted premiums at a level sufficient to fully finance the costs of the health benefits provided and related administrative costs. Requires repayment of start-up costs for the public health insurance option. Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2011 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the prices that may be charged to Medicare part D prescription drug plan (PDP) sponsors and MedicareAdvantage (MA) organizations for covered part D drugs for part D eligible individuals who are enrolled under a PDP or under an MA-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plan. Medicaid Enhancement and Emergency Job Creation Act of 2011 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2011 (ARRA) to extend through FY2012 the increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) under SSA title XIX (Medicaid). Keeping Our Social Security Promises Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to apply employment and self-employment taxes to remuneration up to the contribution and benefit base and to remuneration in excess of $250,000.

Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2011

United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2011

Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2011 - Directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (with respect to drugs, devices, cosmetics, and biological products), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) (with respect to consumer products), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (with respect to chemical substances, new chemical substances, and pesticides), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (with respect to a motor vehicle or motor vehicle products) to require foreign manufacturers and producers of such products (or components used to manufacture them), in excess of a minimum value, quantity, and frequency of importation, to register an agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on their behalf for the purpose of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court. Deems a foreign manufacturer or producer of products covered under this Act that registers an agent to consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state or federal courts of the state in which the agent is located for the purpose of any judicial proceeding. Requires any person who imports into the United States a covered product manufactured or produced outside the United States to make to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) a declaration that, to the best of the person's knowledge, with respect to the importation of each covered product, the foreign manufacturer or producer of the product has registered an agent in the United States. Subjects to certain penalties an importer who fails to provide this or files a false declaration. Requires foreign manufacturers or producers of a covered product to report within five business days to the head of the applicable agency their determination to conduct a safety recall or other safety campaign of a covered product that is identical or substantially similar to a covered product offered for sale in the United States. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to study jointly the feasibility and advisability of requiring foreign producers of food distributed in commerce to register an agent in the United States who is authorized to accept service of process on behalf of such producers for the purpose of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court. Requires the head of an applicable agency similarly to study the feasibility of methods requiring foreign manufacturers or producers of component parts of covered products distributed in U.S. commerce to register agents in the United States for purposes of such service of process. Requires the Comptroller General to study methods to enforce judgments of any state or federal regulatory proceeding or civil action in state or federal court against Chinese manufacturers that exported defective drywall to the United States during 2004-2007.

Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment (codification) Text with EEA relevance

European Union · EUR-Lex · 13 December 2011

Verzoek inzake uitvoering van de motie Koopmans/Snijder-Hazelhoff over aanpassing van het Besluit algemene regels voor inrichtingen milieubeheer (agrarische activiteiten) (29383, nr. 158)

Netherlands · House of Representatives · 13 December 2011

Verzoek inzake uitvoering van de motie Koopmans/Snijder-Hazelhoff over aanpassing van het Besluit algemene regels voor inrichtingen milieubeheer (agrarische activiteiten) (29383, nr. 158)

Community College Innovation Act

United States · United States Congress · 12 December 2011

Community College Innovation Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a national demonstration project to increase employment opportunities for workers in qualified industries by establishing partnerships among education entities, state workforce investment systems, and businesses. Defines "qualified industry" to mean an industry or economic sector that has significant demands for training (which may include education) for middle- and high-skill occupations. Directs the Secretary to award competitive two-, three-, or four-year community-based job training grants to eligible entities for: (1) the development and expansion of community college training programs leading to an industry-recognized credential or degree and employment in a qualified industry; and (2) training of adults, incumbent workers, dislocated workers, or out-of-school youth through such programs. Authorizes the use of such grants to: (1) disseminate training information on high-growth, high-demand occupations in qualified industries through a one-stop delivery system to prospective participants, businesses, and community-based organizations; or (2) refer trained individuals for employment in a qualified industry. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states for projects to modernize, renovate, or repair existing community college facilities. Requires a state in the award of a grant to consider the extent to which the community college's project meets Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System standards, Energy Star standards, Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria, Green Building Initiative environmental design and rating standards (Green Globes), or equivalent program adopted by the state or the state higher education agency.

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2011

Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 - Title I: Job Creation Incentives - North American Energy Security Act - Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of State, to grant a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline project application filed on September 19, 2008. Waives such requirement if the President determines that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest. Requires the President, in that case, to report to certain congressional committees and officials a justification for his determination, including consideration of economic, employment, energy security, foreign policy, trade, and environmental factors. Declares that a permit for such pipeline shall take effect by operation of law if after 60 days following enactment of this Act the President fails to: (1) determine that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interest, or (2) grant the permit. EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 - Provides that the following rules shall have no force or effect and shall be treated as though they had never taken effect: (1) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Major Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers and Process Heaters; (2) the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional Boilers; (3) the Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units; and (4) Identification of Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials That are Solid Waste. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in place of such rules, to promulgate and finalize on the date that is 15 months after enactment of this Act regulations for industrial, commercial, and institutional boilers and process heaters and commercial and industrial solid waste incinerator units subject to such rules, that: (1) establish maximum achievable control technology standards, performance standards, and other requirements for hazardous air pollutants or solid waste combustion under the Clean Air Act; and (2) identify non-hazardous secondary materials that, when used as fuels or ingredients in combustion units of such boilers, heaters, or incinerator units, are solid waste under the Solid Waste Disposal Act for purposes of determining the extent to which such combustion units are required to meet emission standards for such pollutants under such Act. Requires the Administrator to establish a date for compliance with standards and requirements under such regulations, which shall be no earlier than five years after such a regulation's effective date, after considering compliance costs, non-air quality health and environmental impacts and energy requirements, the feasibility of implementation, the availability of equipment, suppliers, and labor, and potential net employment impacts. Treats the date on which the Administrator proposes such a regulation establishing an emission standard as the proposal date for purposes of applying the definition of a "new source" to hazardous air pollutants requirements or of a "new solid waste incineration unit" to solid waste combustion requirements under the Clean Air Act. Requires the Administrator, in promulgating such regulations, to: (1) adopt the definitions of "commercial and industrial solid waste incineration unit," "commercial and industrial waste," and "contained gaseous material" in the rule entitled "Standards for Performance of New Stationary Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Commercial and Industrial Solid Waste Incineration Units"; (2) identify non-hazardous secondary material to be solid waste only if the material meets such a definition; (3) ensure that emissions standards for existing and new sources can be met under actual operating conditions consistently and concurrently with emission standards for all other air pollutants regulated by the rule for the source category, taking into account variability in actual source performance, source design, fuels, inputs, controls, ability to measure the pollutant emissions, and operating conditions; and (4) impose the least burdensome regulatory alternative. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2012 the increased (100%) bonus depreciation allowance for depreciable business assets; and (2) expand the election to accelerate alternative minimum tax (AMT) credits in lieu of bonus depreciation by allowing corporate taxpayers to claim 20% of depreciation not claimed as bonus depreciation, limited to the lesser of unused AMT credit amounts from taxable years ending before January 1, 2012, or 50% of the AMT credit for the first taxable year ending after December 31, 2011. Title II: Extension of Certain Expiring Provisions and Related Measures - Amends the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 to extend through 2012 the 2% reduction in employment tax rates for employees and the self-employed. Extended Benefits, Reemployment, and Program Integrity Improvement Act - Amends title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require state unemployment compensation laws to require, as a condition of eligibility for regular compensation for any week, that an unemployment compensation claimant be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work. Requires a claimant to meet minimum educational requirements, that is, to: (1) have earned a high school diploma, (2) have earned the General Educational Development (GED) credential or other state-recognized equivalent (including by meeting recognized alternative standards for individuals with disabilities), or (3) be enrolled and making satisfactory progress in classes leading to satisfaction of one of the latter requirements. Authorizes waiver of such requirements for an individual by a state agency if they would be unduly burdensome. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to enter into agreements with up to 10 states to conduct demonstration projects to test and evaluate measures designed to: (1) expedite the reemployment of individuals who establish initial eligibility for unemployment compensation under state law, or (2) improve the effectiveness of a state in carrying out its state law with respect to reemployment. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop model language that may be used by states in enacting self-employment assistance programs; (2) provide technical assistance to states in establishing, improving, and administering them; and (3) establish reporting requirements for states in regards to such programs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the SSA title III to require states (which, currently, are merely authorized) to reduce current unemployment benefits to recover prior unemployment benefit overpayments. Amends the SSA to authorize a state to reduce current unemployment benefits to recover prior federal additional compensation overpayments and prior unemployment benefit overpayments of another state. Amends the SSA title IX (Miscellaneous Provisions Relating to Employment Security) to require the Secretary to designate standard data elements for any category of information required for data matching in the federal-state unemployment insurance system. Amends the SSA title III to declare that nothing in any federal law shall be considered to prevent a state from: (1) testing an applicant for unemployment compensation for the unlawful use of controlled substances as a condition for receiving such compensation, or (2) denying the compensation on the basis of test results. Unemployment Benefits Extension Act of 2011 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (SSA, 2008) with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through January 31, 2013. Repeals current transitional requirements for an individual's remaining EUCA payments. Revises the formula for crediting Tier-1 and Tier-2 amounts to an applicant's EUCA. Eliminates Tier-3 and Tier-4 augmentation to an individual's EUCA. Repeals requirements authorizing a state governor in an extended benefit period, if state law permits, to provide for the payment of EUC before extended compensation to individuals who otherwise meet EUC requirements. Denies the application of a federal-state agreement to a state upon a determination by the Secretary that, under the state law or its applicable rule, the payment of extended compensation for which an individual is otherwise eligible may or must be deferred until after the payment of any EUC under the SSA, 2008, as amended by this Act, for which the individual is concurrently eligible. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 31, 2013, requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and January 31, 2013, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (FSEUCA 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 provides for payment 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.) Amends the FSEUCA of 1970 to postpone similarly from December 31, 2011, to January 31, 2013, termination of the period during which a state may determine its "on" and "off" indicators according to specified temporary substitutions in its formula. Amends the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, to extend through January 31, 2012, the temporary increase in extended unemployment benefits for employees with 10 or more years of service as well as for those with less than 10. Amends the SSA, 2008 to allow a state agency to make EUC payments to individuals who are able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work. Includes in a federal-state agreement a requirement that a state provide reemployment services and reemployment eligibility assessment activities to certain recipients of EUC. Conditions an individual's continuing eligibility for EUC for any week on whether such individual: (1) meets the minimum SSA title III educational requirements; (2) participates in referred reemployment services; (3) is actively seeking work; and (4) has been referred to such services or activities and participated, or has completed such participation, unless there is justifiable cause for failure to do so. Authorizes a state to withhold up to $5 from an individual's weekly EUC payment for optional funding for such services and activities. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into an agreement with a state to allow it to divert, in any month, up to 20% of EUC beneficiaries, attributable to such state and receiving EUC for the first week of such month, to conduct demonstration projects to test and evaluate measures designed to: (1) expedite the reemployment of individuals who establish initial eligibility for unemployment compensation under state law, or (2) improve the effectiveness of a state in carrying out its state law with respect to reemployment. Requires a state agency (which, currently, is merely authorized) to recover an EUC overpayment to an individual by deductions from such individual's EUC payment during the three-year period after such individual received the EUC payment to which he or she was not entitled. Requires each deduction to be at least (currently, at most) 50% of the weekly benefit amount from which it is made, unless the amount to be repaid is less than 50% of that amount. Repeals the requirement (nonreduction rule) that makes a federal-state agreement inapplicable for a state upon a determination by the Secretary that the method governing the computation of regular compensation under state law has been modified in a certain manner. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish at 1.0% for 2012 and 2013 only the Medicare physician payment update to the single conversion factor in the formula for determining relative values for physicians' services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to examine options for bundled or episode-based payments to cover physicians' services, currently paid under the Medicare physician fee schedule, for one or more prevalent chronic conditions (such as cancer, diabetes, and congestive heart failure) or episodes of care for one or more major procedures (such as medical device implantation). Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to examine initiatives of private entities offering or administering health insurance coverage, group health plans, or other private health benefit plans to base or adjust physician payment rates under such coverage or plans for performance on quality and efficiency as well as demonstration of care delivery improvement activities. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to examine the feasibility of aligning private payer quality and efficiency programs with those in the Medicare program. Directs specified congressional committees each to study value-based measures and practice arrangements which may improve health outcomes and efficiency in the Medicare program to the end of replacing the Medicare sustainable growth rate in a fiscally responsible manner and establishing a sustainable payment system. Extends through 2012 the temporary increase for ground ambulance services. Extends through 2012 the increase in the assistance for rural providers furnishing (super rural ambulance) services in low population density areas. Directs the Comptroller General to update the GAO report GAO-07-383 (relating to Ambulance Providers: Costs and Expected Medicare Margins Vary Greatly) to reflect current costs for ambulance providers. Directs MEDPAC to study the add-on payments for ambulance providers. Applies additional requirements with respect to Medicare payment for outpatient therapy services. Directs MEDPAC to make recommendations on how to improve the outpatient therapy benefit under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Extends through 2012 the floor at 1.0 on the work geographic index in the formula for determining relative values for physicians' services for the Medicare physician payment. Directs MEDPAC to assess whether any geographic adjustment is needed under Medicare to distinguish the difference in work effort by geographic area, and if so, what that level should be and were it should be applied. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to extend: (1) the qualifying individual (QI) program through 2012, and (2) the total amount available for allocation under such program. Extends transitional medical assistance (TMA) through 2012. Modifies requirements for qualifying for exception to the Medicare prohibition on certain physician referrals for hospitals. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the limitation on recapture of excess advance payments of the tax credit for health insurance premiums. Reduces the funding to the Prevention and Public Health Fund for FY2013, and eliminates it for FY2014-FY2015 and subsequent fiscal years. Revises the formula for determining the Medicare hospital outpatient department (OPD) payment amount for specified evaluation and management services. Amends SSA title XVIII to reduce the amount of bad debt treated as an allowable cost in the determination for FY2013-FY2014 and subsequent fiscal years of reasonable costs for hospitals and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) under Medicare. Amends SSA title XIX to authorize rebasing (reduction) of state disproportionate share hospital (DHS) allotments for FY2021. Welfare Integrity and Data Improvement Act - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of SSA title IV to extend the TANF program through FY2012. Directs the Secretary of HHS to designate standard data elements for any category of information required to be reported under TANF. Requires states to maintain policies and practices necessary to prevent the use of state TANF assistance in any transaction in any: (1) liquor store; (2) casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment; or (3) retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment. Title III: Flood Insurance Reform - Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2011 - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) to extend the National Flood Insurance Program through FY2016. Amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to authorize the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to suspend temporarily the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement for areas with special flood hazards, if they meet certain eligibility requirements. Requires a lender or servicer who receives confirmation of a borrower's existing flood insurance coverage to terminate force-placed insurance and refund to the borrower all force-placed insurance premiums. Requires each federal entity for lending regulation to direct regulated lending institutions to accept private flood insurance if it meets federal flood insurance requirements. Requires each federal agency lender, as well as the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), to accept private flood insurance as satisfaction of the flood insurance purchase requirement if it meets such requirements. Amends NFIA to prescribe minimum annual flood insurance deductibles for subsidized rate and for actuarial rate properties. Revises the requirement that additional flood insurance in excess of specified limits be made available to any residential building for which the risk premium is determined in accordance with certain requirements so as to enable the insured or insurance applicant to receive coverage up to an aggregate liability of $250,000. Specifies that such additional flood insurance be made available only to a residential building designed for the occupancy of from one to four families. Applies the $250,000 aggregate flood insurance liability to any single building of that description. Makes technical revisions to analogous requirements for additional flood insurance in the case of any nonresidential building, including a church. Prescribes optional coverage for loss of use of personal residence and business interruption. Requires flood insurance regulations to allow installment payments of flood insurance premiums. Specifies the coverage of a new flood insurance policy on properties affected by floods in progress during the 30-day waiting period before the policy's effective date. Raises the annual limitation on premium increases from 10% to 20% of the average of the risk premium rates. Schedules a five-year phase-in of chargeable risk premium rates for flood insurance coverage for a newly mapped risk premium rate area. Prohibits extension of subsidized rates for policies lapsed as a result of policy holder's choice. Declares communities making adequate progress at reconstruction or improvement to 100-year frequency flood protection systems eligible for premium flood insurance rates that would apply if the reconstruction or improvement were completed. Revises requirements for special flood hazard rates for a community in the process of restoring flood protection afforded by a system previously accredited as providing 100-year frequency flood protection. Allows nonfederal, including private, entities that own, operate, maintain, or repair flood protection systems to determine whether a flood protection system is restorable. Establishes the Technical Mapping Advisory Council to develop new mapping standards for 100-year flood insurance rate maps. Prohibits the Administrator, until the Council submits proposed new mapping standards, from making effective any new or updated rate maps for flood insurance coverage under the Program that were not in effect as of enactment of this Act, or otherwise revising, updating, or changing the flood insurance rate maps in effect as of such date. Exempts from mandatory flood insurance purchase and compliance requirements property located in a special flood hazard area if the property owner submits an elevation certificate showing that the lowest level of the primary residence on such property is at least 3 feet higher than the elevation of the 100-year floodplain. Prohibits the Administrator from: (1) charging a fee for reviewing the flood hazard data, or (2) issuing flood insurance maps or making effective updated flood insurance maps that either omit or disregard the actual protection afforded by certain existing flood protection features. Requires the Administrator and the Comptroller General each to study strategies for privatizing the Program. Authorizes the Administrator to secure reinsurance of flood insurance program coverage from private market insurance, reinsurance, and capital market sources. Requires the Administrator to assess annually the Program's claims-paying ability, including its utilization of private sector reinsurance and reinsurance equivalents, with and without reliance on FEMA borrowing authority. Instructs the Administrator to report annually to Congress on the financial status of the Program and of the National Flood Insurance Fund (NFI Fund). Modifies the mitigation assistance grant program. Repeals the authority for planning assistance grants. Directs the Administrator to: (1) give priority to funding activities that will result in the greatest savings to the NFI Fund, including repetitive and severe repetitive loss structures; and (2) consider as an activity eligible for mitigation assistance the demolition and rebuilding of properties to at least base flood levels or higher, if required by either the Administrator or any governmental ordinance. Limits to $40 million per fiscal year the amount of funding for severe repetitive loss structures. Eliminates: (1) the grants program for repetitive insurance claims properties, and (2) the pilot program for mitigation of severe repetitive loss properties. Increases the amounts available from the NFI Fund to the National Flood Mitigation Fund (NFM Fund) for specified activities. States that amounts made available in the NFM Fund shall not be subject to offsetting collections through premium rates for flood insurance coverage. Revises requirements for additional flood insurance coverage for the costs of compliance with community land use and control measures to eliminate coverage for properties for which an offer of mitigation assistance is made under the repetitive loss priority program and the individual priority property program. Amends the FDPA to direct the Administrator to notify residents of special flood hazard areas annually of the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement and the rate phase-ins for such properties. Amends the NFIA to require the Administrator to notify: (1) Members of Congress whose districts or states would be affected of any significant action relating to any revision or update of any floodplain area or flood-risk zone, (2) tenants of the availability of contents insurance for property located in a special flood hazard area, and (3) policy holders annually regarding direct management by FEMA of their flood insurance policy and of the option to purchase flood insurance directly administered by an insurance company. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA) to require a lender's good faith estimate for loan applicants to disclose: (1) the availability of flood insurance for residential real estate both in and out of a special flood hazard area, and (2) that the escrowing of flood insurance payments is required for many loans. Directs the Administrator, when updating flood insurance maps, to communicate with communities located in areas where flood insurance rate maps have not been updated in 20 years or more and state emergency agencies to resolve outstanding issues, provide technical assistance, and disseminate all necessary information to reduce the prevalence of outdated maps in flood-prone areas. Authorizes the Administrator to refuse to accept the transfer of the administration of flood insurance policies that are written and administered by any insurance company, other insurer, or any insurance agent or broker. Directs the Administrator to: (1) notify local public media when establishing projected flood elevations with respect to certain communities; and (2) grant an additional 90-day extension of the initial 90-day period for appeals if an affected community certifies that there are property owners or lessees who are unaware of the statutory period to appeal proposed flood elevation determinations, and the community will use the time extension to notify those affected. Directs the Administrator to establish a separate National Flood Insurance Reserve Fund to meet expected future obligations of the Program. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize community development block grants to supplement existing municipal funding for local administration of building code enforcement. Directs the Administrator to: (1) report to Congress on procedures to limit the percentage of flood insurance policies directly managed by FEMA to a maximum of 10% of the aggregate number of all flood insurance policies in force under the Program, and (2) reduce to a 10% maximum the number of flood insurance policies directly managed by either FEMA or its non-insurer direct servicing contractor. Directs the Administrator and Comptroller General each to study strategies for offering and incorporating voluntary community-based flood insurance policy options into the Program. Directs the Administrator to study the feasibility of amending the NFIA to include widely used and nationally recognized building codes as part of the floodplain management criteria. Directs the National Academy of Sciences to study methods for understanding graduated risk behind levees and the associated land development, insurance, and risk communication dimensions. Requires the Administrator to: (1) review the processes and procedures for determining that a flood event has commenced or is in progress for flood insurance purposes, and for providing public notification that such an event has commenced or is in progress; and (2) plan how to repay within 10 years all amounts owed pursuant to NFIA on notes and obligations approved by the President, including any previously borrowed but not yet repaid. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army, upon request of a governmental entity, to evaluate a levee system that was designed or constructed by the Secretary for the purposes of the National Flood Insurance Program. Title IV: Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum Act of 2011 - Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum Act of 2011 or the JOBS Act of 2011 - Requires, within specified deadlines and subject to exceptions, that: (1) the President withdraw or modify the assignment of specified ranges of electromagnetic spectrum now assigned to federal government stations, and (2) the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocate certain spectrum and paired frequencies and reallocate the 700 MHz public safety narrowband and guard band spectrums for commercial use through competitive bidding auctions. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to authorize the FCC to encourage spectrum licensees to voluntarily relinquish usage rights to permit the assignment of new initial licenses subject to flexible-use service rules by sharing with such licensees a portion of the proceeds from competitive bidding auctions. Requires the FCC, as a condition to such auctions, to first conduct a reverse auction with at least two competing licensees to determine the amount of compensation licensees would accept in return for such voluntary relinquishment. Sets forth restrictions particular to broadcast television spectrum auctions and the valuation of voluntarily relinquished broadcast television spectrum. Authorizes the FCC, subject to specified conditions, to reassign and reallocate broadcast television spectrum for such auctions. Requires that certain relocation cost reimbursements be made to reassigned broadcast television licensees and related multichannel video programming distributors. Authorizes waivers from FCC flexible use service rules in lieu of such reimbursements. Prohibits the FCC from involuntarily reassigning a broadcast television licensee from: (1) an ultra high to a very high frequency television channel, and (2) a television channel between 174-216 megahertz to a channel between the 54-88 megahertz frequencies. Extends the FCC's auction authority until September 30, 2021. Prohibits the FCC, in assigning licenses through competitive bidding, from: (1) limiting a licensee's ability to manage the applications, services, and priority of traffic on its network; and (2) requiring the licensee to sell network access on a wholesale basis. Requires the FCC to assess allowing unlicensed U-NII (Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure) devices in the 5 GHz band. Directs: (1) the FCC to establish a Public Safety Communications Planning Board to develop proposals for a National Public Safety Communications Plan, and (2) the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the Department of Commerce to select an Administrator of the Plan. Requires the FCC to assign the Administrator a renewable 10-year license for exclusive use of the public safety broadband and 700 MHz D block spectrums to authorize the operation of state public safety broadband communications networks in accordance with the Plan. Directs each state desiring such a network to establish or designate a State Public Safety Broadband Office (SPSBO). Authorizes grants to SPSBOs for eligible activity costs and contracts with private-sector entities for the construction, management, maintenance, and operation of such networks. Authorizes borrowing from the Treasury's general fund: (1) by the FCC for the relocation of television broadcasters, and (2) by the Assistant Secretary to enter a contract with a Plan Administrator and make SPSBO grants. Establishes the Public Safety Trust Fund. Requires that various auction proceeds be deposited in such Fund and used, through FY2021, according to a specified order of priority, to: (1) carry out programs and activities under this Act, (2) repay amounts borrowed from the Treasury's general fund, and (3) dedicate specified amounts toward deficit reduction. Directs amounts remaining in the Fund after FY2021 to be deposited in the general fund for the sole purpose of deficit reduction. Next Generation 9-1-1 Advancement Act of 2011 - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to reestablish and extend matching grants, through October 1, 2021, to eligible state or local governments or tribal organizations for the implementation, operation, and migration of various 9-1-1, E9-1-1 (wireless telephone location), Next Generation 9-1-1 (voice, text, video), and IP-enabled emergency services and public safety personnel training. Directs the Assistant Secretary and the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to establish a 9-1-1 Implementation Coordination Office. Provides immunity and liability protection, to the extent consistent with specified provisions of the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, to various users and providers of Next Generation 9-1-1 and related services, including for the release of subscriber information. Directs the FCC to: (1) initiate a proceeding to create a specialized Do-Not-Call registry for public safety answering points, and (2) establish penalties and fines for autodialing (robocalls) and related violations. Requires that federal entities operating federal government stations within certain frequencies be paid for specified relocation or sharing costs incurred in planning for an auction or relocating from federal to exclusive nonfederal or shared use. (Current law requires payments only for certain relocations to exclusive nonfederal use.) Requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to give priority to exclusive nonfederal use. Conditions any sharing on feasibility and cost constraints. Revises the composition of the Telecommunications Development Fund (TDF) (provides capital to small businesses in the telecommunications industry) board of directors to establish an independent board. (Current law requires that the board include representatives from the FCC, the Small Business Administration [SBA], and the Department of the Treasury.) Requires that interest from an auction escrow account be dedicated to deficit reduction, thereby eliminating the deposit of such interest in the TDF. Title V: Offsets - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to require the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to require each government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) (the Federal National Mortgage Association [Fannie Mae] and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation [Freddie Mac]) to charge a guarantee fee in connection with any guarantee of the timely payment of principal and interests on securities, notes, and other obligations based on or backed by mortgages on residential real properties designed principally for the occupancy of from one to four families. Requires the FHFA Director to prohibit a GSE from consummating any offer for a guarantee to a lender for mortgage-backed securities if: (1) the guarantee is inconsistent with the requirements of this Act; or (2) the risk of loss is allowed to increase, through the lowering of the underwriting standards or other means, for the primary purpose of meeting the requirements of this Act. Requires direct deposit into the Treasury of any amounts received from fee increases imposed by this Act that are necessary to comply with the minimum increase required by this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, in the case of any employer deferred compensation plan of a state or local government or of any of their agencies or instrumentalities, to require identification of any designated distribution paid to any plan participant or beneficiary based in whole or in part upon an individual's earnings for service in the employ of that governmental entity. Requires disclosure of any such designated distribution to the Social Security Administration for purposes of its administration of the Social Security Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require taxpayers to provide their social security number on their tax return in order to claim the refundable portion of the child tax credit; and (2) impose a 100% tax on excess unemployment compensation, as defined by this Act, received by certain high-income taxpayers in taxable years beginning after December 31, 2011. Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to render ineligible for the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) any household in which a member receives income or assets with a fair market value of at least $1 million. Securing Annuities for Federal Employees Act of 2011 - Increases the employee contribution to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for calendar years 2013, 2014, and 2015. Establishes new annuity computation rules for federal employees hired after December 31, 2012, with less than five years of civilian service creditable under CSRS or any other federal employee retirement system. Eliminates the FERS annuity supplement for federal employees whose entitlement to an annuity is based on separation from service after December 31, 2012. Amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 to extend through 2013 the cost of living freeze on the pay of federal employees, including Members of Congress and legislative branch employees. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to reduce limits of discretionary spending, and revised limits, for FY2013-FY2021. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to revise requirements for the reduction in premium subsidy, and consequent increase in premium, based on income, for Medicare parts B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) and part D (Prescription Drugs) premiums for high-income Medicare beneficiaries. Increases on a graduated basis the applicable percentage used to calculate such premiums. Modifies the temporary adjustment in income thresholds for the calculation of such premiums which currently extends the 2010 thresholds through December 31, 2019. Terminates such adjustment, instead, on December 31 of the first year after the year in which at least 25% of part B and part D enrollees are subject to a premium subsidy reduction. Makes a conforming amendment to the inflation adjustment to such premiums. Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions - Repeals certain provisions requiring an acceleration in installments of corporate estimated tax. Amends the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011 to repeal a requirement for prepayment of merchandise processing fees. Provides that it shall not be in order in the Senate to: (1) consider any measure extending the payroll tax holiday period in the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010; and (2) allow an emergency designation in any bill, resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report. Allows such restrictions to be waived by an affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of the Senate. Provides that the budgetary effects of this Act shall not be included on the scorecards maintained by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 if such budgetary effects do not increase the deficit during FY2012-FY2021.

Inhalte der Vorträge von Heinz-Dieter Meier, Bundespolizeipräsidium Potsdam und Peter Sehr, Bundeskriminalamt im Panel "Zivile Sicherheit und polizeiliche Aufgaben" des "1. Strategie-Forums, Chancen und Möglichkeiten der Fernerkundung in der öffentlichen Verwaltung"; Teilnahme beider Polizeibehörden an Veranstaltungen des EU-Programms "Global Monitoring for Environment and Security" in den letzten fünf Jahren

Germany · German Bundestag · 9 December 2011

Originaltext der Frage(n):<br /> <br /> Welchen konkreten Inhalt hatten die Vorträge von Heinz-Dieter Meier, Bundespolizeipräsidium Potsdam und Peter Sehr, Leiter des Technischen Entwicklungs- und Servicezentrums Innovative Technologien beim Bundeskriminalamt im Panel &bdquo;Zivile Sicherheit und polizeiliche Aufgaben&ldquo; des 1. Strategie-Forums &bdquo;Chancen und Möglichkeiten der Fernerkundung für die öffentliche Verwaltung&ldquo; (bitte in groben Zügen wiedergeben), und an welchen Konferenzen oder sonstigen Veranstaltungen innerhalb des EU-Programms &bdquo;Global Monitoring for Environment and Security&ldquo; (GMES) haben beide Polizeibehörden in den letzten fünf Jahren teilgenommen?

Beratungstermin des Entwurfs der Stellungname des Bundesregierung zur Strategischen Umweltprüfung für das Atomenergieprogramm Polens im Ausschuss für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit des Deutschen Bundestages

Germany · German Bundestag · 9 December 2011

Originaltext der Frage(n):<br /> <br /> Wird das BMU die Zusage der Parlamentarischen Staatssekretärin Ursula Heinen-Esser gegenüber dem Ausschuss für Umwelt, Naturschutz und Reaktorsicherheit (AfUNR) des Deutschen Bundestages in dessen Sitzung am 9. November 2011, das BMU werde dem AfUNR vor Abgabe der Stellungnahme der Bundesregierung zur Strategischen Umweltprüfung für das Atomenergieprogramm Polens den Entwurf für diese Stellungnahme zur Beratung im AfUNR übermitteln, zeitlich dergestalt einhalten können, dass der AfUNR den Entwurf in seiner letzten diesjährigen Sitzung am 14. Dezember 2011 beraten kann (bitte mit Angabe des geplanten Übermittlungsdatums), und falls nein, warum nicht?

Gutachten des Sachverständigenrats Umwelt (SRU) mit wissenschaftlichen oder methodischen Mängeln sowie Position der Bundesregierung zur bisherigen Arbeit des SRU

Germany · German Bundestag · 9 December 2011

Originaltext der Frage(n):<br /> <br /> In welchen Gutachten des SRU hat die Bundesregierung wissenschaftliche oder methodische Mängel festgestellt?<br /> <br /> Ist die Bundesregierung der Auffassung, dass es in der bisherigen Arbeit des SRU Defizite gibt, etwa im Bereich der internationalen Zusammenarbeit und Vernetzung oder im Bereich der Beratung gegenüber dem Deutschen Bundestag?

Besetzung der neuen B4-Stelle beim Sachverständigenrat Umwelt

Germany · German Bundestag · 9 December 2011

Originaltext der Frage(n):<br /> <br /> Soll die neue B-4-Stelle beim SRU ausgeschrieben werden, oder beabsichtigt die Bundesregierung, die Stelle ohne Ausschreibung zu besetzen?

88 Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be permitted to switch from cattle to sheep and retain their REP scheme entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39255/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 8 December 2011

88 Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry will be permitted to switch from cattle to sheep and retain their REP scheme entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39255/11]

68 Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide the following details for all Secretaries General who have retired between January 2008 up to and including March 2012: the Government Department from which they retired; the date of retirement, name, age at retirement, gross lump sum received, gross special severance gratuity payment received and gross annual pension payment. [39779/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 8 December 2011

68 Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide the following details for all Secretaries General who have retired between January 2008 up to and including March 2012: the Government Department from which they retired; the date of retirement, name, age at retirement, gross lump sum received, gross special severance gratuity payment received and gross annual pension payment. [39779/11]

67 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the revision of constituencies will be implemented; the range possible in the reduction in the number of TDs; if it is intended that a referendum on the future of Seanad Éireann and the revision of constituencies will occur at the same time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39369/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 8 December 2011

67 Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when the revision of constituencies will be implemented; the range possible in the reduction in the number of TDs; if it is intended that a referendum on the future of Seanad Éireann and the revision of constituencies will occur at the same time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39369/11]

66 Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if an application from Kilkenny County Council for funding to refurbish a housing scheme (details supplied) will be expedited and approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39343/11]

Ireland · Dáil Éireann · 8 December 2011

66 Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if an application from Kilkenny County Council for funding to refurbish a housing scheme (details supplied) will be expedited and approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39343/11]