Taxation

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the credit for carbon dioxide sequestration.

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for carbon dioxide sequestration, to: (1) establish a national limitation for such credit based upon metric tons of qualified carbon dioxide (defined as carbon dioxide captured from an industrial source that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere as industrial emission of greenhouse gas and that is measured at the source of capture and verified at the point of disposal or injection); (2) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish processes and procedures for allocating the national limitation and for certifying projects for which an allocation has been made; (3) impose a 10-year limitation period for such credit; (4) identify the primary taxpayer eligible to claim such credit as the taxpayer who captures the qualified carbon dioxide and disposes, through contract or otherwise, of the qualified carbon dioxide in a specified manner; and (5) provide for the transferability of such credit.

Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 2011 - Revises and reauthorizes programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Title I: Ensuring College and Career Readiness for All Students - Amends title I of the ESEA to revise the school improvement program under part A. Eliminates the requirement that local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools make adequate yearly progress toward state academic performance standards or be subject to specified improvements, corrective action, or restructuring. Requires states to adopt college and career ready academic content and achievement standards and assessments in reading, mathematics, science, and English language proficiency. Requires states to adopt and implement assessments of student progress toward those standards that measure the overall performance of students in each public school and the performance of their poor, minority, disabled, and English learner subgroups. Allows states to adopt alternate academic achievement standards and assessments for students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Allows states to measure student growth toward those standards and to develop and administer computer adaptive assessments that determine whether each student is meeting or exceeding the on-track level of performance for his or her grade level. Requires states to provide for the improvement of all schools that are low-performing overall or have low-performing student subgroups on those assessments or, in the case of high schools, low graduation rates. Subjects schools to improvement strategies if they are identified as persistently low-achieving or achievement gap schools due to their students overall or one or more of their student subgroups having among the lowest reading and mathematics scores or lowest high school graduation rates in the state. Requires each LEA that serves an achievement gap school to develop and implement a measurable and data-driven correction plan to improve the performance of the school's low-achieving subgroups. Requires LEAs to conduct a data-driven needs analysis of each of their persistently low-achieving schools and use it to select and implement, as appropriate for each school: (1) a transformation strategy, (2) a strategic staffing strategy, (3) a turnaround strategy, (4) a whole school reform strategy, (5) a restart strategy, or (6) a school closure strategy. Requires LEAs to allow students at persistently low-achieving schools to transfer to another of its public schools that has not been identified as persistently low-achieving, unless that option is prohibited by state law. Replaces the School Support and Recognition program with the Blue Ribbon Schools program that allows states to award their highest performing schools with increased autonomy, flexibility in using ESEA funds, and monetary rewards. Requires teachers to be highly-qualified if teaching a core academic subject in a program supported with school improvement funds, but makes this requirement applicable only to new teachers if the state has fully implemented a teacher and principal evaluation system. Requires LEAs to show that: (1) combined state and local per-pupil expenditures in each of their schools served under part A are not less than the average combined state and local per-pupil expenditures for their schools not served under part A; or (2) the average combined state and local per-pupil expenditures at its high-poverty schools are no less than those expenditures at its low-poverty schools, if LEAs serve all of their schools under part A. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to develop, improve, or administer their college and career ready academic standards and assessments. Replaces part B (Student Reading Skills Improvement Grants) of title I with new Pathways to College grant programs that: (1) assist schools in implementing innovative and effective secondary school reform strategies, and (2) cover part or all of the Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fee low-income students incur. Amends the program, under part C (Education of Migratory Children), providing grants to states for the education of migratory children. Requires migratory children to be given the opportunity to meet the same college and career readiness standards as other children. Amends part D (Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and Youth Who are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk)I. Requires states to ensure that students who have been placed in the juvenile justice system are promptly re-enrolled in secondary school or placed in re-entry programs that best meet their educational and social needs. Replaces part E (National Assessment of Subchapter I) with a new part E (Educational Stability of Children in Foster Care) program to facilitate the educational transition of children that move to a new school attendance area as the result of being placed in foster care, changing their foster care placement, or leaving foster care. Eliminates parts F (Comprehensive School Reform), G (Advanced Placement Programs), and H (School Dropout Prevention). Title II: Supporting Excellent Teachers and Principals - Replaces title II (Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals) with a new title II (Supporting Excellent Teachers and Principals). Strikes parts A (Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund), B (Mathematics and Science Partnerships), C (Innovation for Teacher Quality) and D (Enhancing Education Through Technology) of title II. Transfers responsibility for the operation and administration of the Troops-to-Teachers program from the Department of Education to the Department of Defense (DOD) and amends the program. Establishes a new: (1) part A (Continuous Improvement and Support for Teachers and Principals) program to train and increase the number and equitable distribution of high-quality teachers and principals; (2) part B (Teacher Pathways to the Classroom) program to support the recruitment, selection, preparation, placement, retention, and support of teachers in high-need subjects or fields at high-needs schools; (3) part C (Teacher Incentive Fund) for the development, implementation, improvement, or expansion of performance-based evaluation and compensation systems for teachers and principals; and (4) part D (Achievement through Technology and Innovation) program to enhance the use of educational technology. Title III: Language and Academic Content Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students - Amends title III (Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students) to refer to limited English proficient students as English learners. Amends part A (English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act), which provides funding to states to improve the education of English learners. Eliminates the Emergency Immigrant Education program. Authorizes Indian tribes or educational entities that receive grants under the part A program to use them for Native American immersion and restoration programs. Allows states to continue providing title III services to students who have reached the English language proficiency level if they are not yet on track to meet the state college and career readiness standards in other subjects. Revises the professional development grant program for English language instructors. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent commission on the assessment and advancement of English learners to provide the Secretary with advice regarding the education of English learners and their inclusion in state assessment and accountability systems. Strikes part B (Improving Language Instruction Educational Programs). Title IV: Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students - Replaces title IV (21st Century Schools) with a new title IV (Supporting Successful, Well-Rounded Students). Replaces part A (Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities) with a new Improving Literacy Instruction and Student Achievement program, which provides funding to states to improve the literacy of children from birth through grade 12. Creates a new part B (Improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Instruction and Student Achievement) program, providing funds to states to improve preschool and elementary and secondary school science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Establishes a new part C (Increasing Access to a Well-Rounded Education) program, which provides funding to states to increase the access of low-income students to high-quality courses in the arts, civics and government, economics, environmental education, financial literacy, foreign languages, geography, health education, history, physical education, or social studies. Establishes a new part D (Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students) program, which provides funding to states to foster comprehensive improvements to school-level conditions for learning. Revises the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program. Includes summer learning, and expanded learning time activities in the program. Requires the program to serve students who primarily attend high-need schools and schools identified as achievement gap or persistently low-achieving schools. Establishes a new part F (Promise Neighborhoods) program, awarding Promise Neighborhood Partnership grants and Promise School grants to partnerships of nonprofit organizations and high-need LEAs to provide education and student support services to children who live in distressed neighborhoods or attend high-poverty schools. Establishes a new part G (Parent and Family Information and Resource Centers) program, which provides funds to nonprofit organizations to operate state parent and family information and resource centers. Requires part I funds to support nationally significant programs that help all children meet the college and career ready academic content and achievement standards required by this Act. Title V: Promoting Innovation - Replaces title V (Promoting Informed Parental Choice and Innovative Programs) with a new title V (Promoting Innovation). Creates a new part A (Race to the Top) program that awards grants to states and high-need LEAs to carry out one or more educational goals selected by the Secretary. Lists those goals. Creates a new part B (Investing in Innovation) program to support the school innovation efforts of public schools and LEAs. Revises the Magnet Schools Assistance program under part C, which provides grants to LEAs to establish and operate magnet schools under a court-ordered desegregation plan or voluntary desegregation plan approved by the Secretary. Replaces the existing Public Charter Schools program under part B with a new Public Charter Schools program under part D. Establishes under part D: (1) a subpart 1 (Successful Charter Schools Program), to support the creation, expansion, or replication of high-performing charter schools; and (2) a subpart 2 (Charter School Facility Acquisition, Construction, and Renovation), to improve access to facilities and facilities financing for high-performing charter schools. Revises Voluntary Public School Choice Programs to support the establishment or expansion of inter- or intra-district public school choice programs that enable students attending achievement gap or persistently low-achieving schools to attend high-quality public schools, including charter schools. Title VI: Promoting Flexibility; Rural Education - Redesignates title VI (Flexibility and Accountability) as title VI (Promoting Flexibility; Rural Education). Replaces part A (Improving Academic Achievement) with a new part A (Transferability) program that allows states and LEAs to transfer funds they are allotted for state-level and local-level activities, respectively, by an ESEA formula grant to other state or LEA formula grant programs under the ESEA. Prohibits states and LEAs from transferring any funds that originate in titles I, III, VII, or VIII out of each respective title. Amends part B (Rural Education Initiatives) of title VI to give LEAs that qualify for funding under both the Small, Rural School Achievement (SRSA) and Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) programs the option to choose the program for which they would prefer to receive funding. Title VII: Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education - Amends title VII (Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native Education). Amends part A (Indian Education) to revise the programs under subparts 1 (Formula Grants to Local Educational Agencies), 2 (Special Programs and Projects to Improve Educational Opportunities for Indian Children and Youth), 3 (National Activities), and 4 (Federal Administration). Provides support for Native American language immersion and restoration programs. Preserves the national research activities under subpart 3, but strikes: (1) the in-service training for teachers of Indian children program, (2) the fellowships for Indian students program, (3) the gifted and talented Indian students program, (4) the grants to tribes for education administrative planning and development program, and (5) the improvement of educational opportunities for adult Indians program. Revises the Native Hawaiian Education program. Includes among the approved uses of grant funds, workforce preparation and training for Native Hawaiian youth. Revises the Alaska Native Education program. Title VIII: Impact Aid - Amends title VIII (Impact Aid). Alters calculations made in determining the payments due LEAs for federal ownership of property, or for federally-connected children, within their areas. Directs the Secretary to complete Impact Aid payments to eligible LEAs within three fiscal years of their appropriation. Title IX: General Provisions - Amends title IX (General Provisions) to establish additional definitions for terms that are applicable throughout the ESEA. Allows students who are threatened by, or the victim of, a criminal offense at their public school to attend a safe public school within the LEA's jurisdiction. (Currently, this unsafe school choice option is available only to students attending schools identified as persistently dangerous or to students who become victims of a criminal offense at their public school.) Title X: Commission on Effective Regulation and Assessment Systems for Public Schools - Commission on Effective Regulation and Assessment Systems for Public Schools Act - Establishes a Commission on Effective Regulation and Assessment Systems for Public Schools. Title XI: Amendments to Other Laws; Miscellaneous Provisions - McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Reauthorization Act of 2011 [ sic ]- Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to revise, and reauthorize appropriations for, the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program, which provides funds to states for the education of homeless youth. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to establish in the Department of Education an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Education (ARPA-ED) to pursue breakthrough research and development in educational technology and provide for its effective use.

Veterans Jobs Corps Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

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

Strengthening Refugee Resettlement Act

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Strengthening Refugee Resettlement Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with the heads of other relevant federal agencies to conduct a review of refugee processing with the goal of streamlining processing, consistent with maintaining security. Directs the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish overseas refugee English language and work orientation training programs prior to the departure for the United States of refugees who have been approved for U.S. admission. Permits: (1) refugees (and their spouses and children) to be admitted to the United States as lawful permanent residents, and (2) asylum seekers (and their spouses and children) to be granted lawful permanent residency. Directs the Secretary when setting the amount of reception and placement grants to: (1) adjust the grant amount to account for anticipated initial refugee resettlement needs, and (2) ensure that funding is provided to national resettlement agencies at the beginning of the fiscal year. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the President should appoint a White House Coordinator on Refugee Protection. Requires the Director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (Director) to make grants to national resettlement agencies to operate a case management system to assist individuals access eligible services, benefits, and assistance provided by the Office, federal, state, or local agencies, and private or nonprofit organizations. Requires the Office, subject to available appropriations, to provide refugees with a minimum of 12 months' assistance and social services for employment, health, and living expenses. Authorizes the Director to award grants to community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and resettlement agencies for programs to assist newcomers integrate into U.S. civic life. Expands eligibility for, and participation in, the refugee matching grant program (federal-private refugee assistance). Establishes a Domestic Emergency Refugee Resettlement Fund to meet unanticipated refugee resettlement needs. Makes SSI (supplemental security income) benefits available to qualified aliens, U-visa aliens (victim of criminal activity), or certain T-visa aliens (victims of trafficking in persons) who were ineligible for such benefits because of their failure to acquire citizenship within seven years. Makes a child who has been granted special immigrant status as a victim of criminal activity (U-visa) eligible for specified refugee benefits.

Implementation of Simpson-Bowles Spending Reductions Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Implementation of Simpson-Bowles Spending Reductions Act of 2012 - Prohibits the total amount of appropriations to the White House for the Executive Office of the President, to the President, and to Congress for FY2012-FY2016 from exceeding 85% of the total amount of such appropriations for FY2011. Eliminates cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for Members of Congress during FY2013-FY2015. Amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 to extend through December 31, 2015, the freeze on any COLA to the pay of certain federal civilian employees (thus extending such freeze from two to five calendar years). Requires the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) take appropriate measures to ensure that the total number of federal employees, beginning in FY2015, does not exceed 90% of the total number of federal employees on September 30, 2011; (2) continuously monitor all agencies, make a determination on whether the total number of federal employees in any quarter of a fiscal year exceeds the maximum number allowed by this Act, and notify the President and Congress if the number exceeds the maximum; and (3) ensure that there is no increase in the procurement of service contracts due to this Act unless a cost comparison demonstrates that such contracts would be financially advantageous to the federal government. Allows the President to waive the workforce limitations imposed by this Act in specified circumstances. Requires OMB to: (1) take appropriate measures through FY2014 to ensure that agencies shall appoint no more than one employee for every three employees retiring or otherwise separating from government service; (2) coordinate with federal departments and independent agencies to take certain steps to limit government printing costs; and (3) dispose of a quantity of real property worth at least $100 million altogether (with specified exceptions) that is not being used, and that will not be used, to meet the needs of the federal government for FY2011-FY2015. Prohibits the total amount of funds appropriated for travel expenses for each agency for each of FY2012-FY2016 from exceeding 80% of the total amount of funds appropriated for FY2011. Reduces the amount available to the General Services Administration (GSA) for FY2012 and succeeding fiscal years for acquiring new vehicles for the federal fleet to 80% of the amount available for FY2010 for such purpose. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to prohibit consideration in Congress of legislation that includes an earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose after 2012, a 10% income tax rate on taxable income of $100,000 or less and a 20% rate on taxable income over $100,000, and a 20% rate for net capital gain exceeding $1 million; (2) reduce the income tax rate on corporations to a flat rate of 20%; (3) repeal various tax credits, deductions, and exclusions, including the alternative minimum tax (AMT) on individuals; (4) provide for 5-year phaseout of specified tax expenditures, and (5) terminate the authority for issuing certain tax-exempt bonds for financing projects relating to energy conservation, infrastructure, education, and hospital construction.

Savings for American Families' Future Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Savings for American Families' Future Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the rate of the tax credit for retirement savings contributions, (2) make such credit refundable, and (3) direct the Secretary of the Treasury to pay matching credit amounts into taxpayer retirement accounts.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to clarify that tar sands are crude oil for purposes of the Federal excise tax on petroleum.

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include tar sands in the definition of "crude oil" for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum.

GAAP Act

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Act or GAAP Act - Requires the President's budget submission to include an estimate of the deficit or surplus for the fiscal year concerned, prepared using generally accepted accounting principles.

Water and Agriculture Technology Economic Revitalization Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Water and Agriculture Technology Economic Revitalization Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax-exempt status. Requires that such income be used to pay the costs of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements of such a company.

Investment Savings Access After Catastrophes Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Investment Savings Access After Catastrophes Act of 2012 - Defines "Hurricane Isaac disaster area" for purposes of this Act as any parish or county of Louisiana or Mississippi in an area in which a major disaster has been declared before September 10, 2012, under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by reason of Hurricane Isaac. Provides for tax preferences in the Hurricane Isaac disaster area, including: (1) suspension of limitations on the tax deduction for personal casualty losses, (2) an extension of the carryback period for net operating losses, and (3) tax-free distributions from a retirement plan made on or after August 26, 2012, and before September 11, 2014, to an individual whose principal place of abode on August 26, 2012, was located in the Hurricane Isaac disaster area and who sustained an economic loss due to Hurricane Isaac. Rescinds unobligated funds in an amount equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from the enactment of this Act.

Empowering Citizens Act

United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2012

Empowering Citizens Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to revise the system of public financing for presidential primary and general elections and to establish a system of public financing for congressional elections. Increases the amount of matching funds for presidential primaries from a one-to-one match to a five-to-one match for contributions of $250 or less from individuals. Limits the total amount of payments to a primary candidate to $100 million. Requires presidential primary candidates who opt to participate in the public financing system to certify to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that they have raised $25,000 (currently, $5,000) in each of 20 states, with individual contributions limited to $250. Requires such candidates to commit to accept public financing in both the primary and general elections. Limits contributions to presidential primary candidates who participate in the public financing system to $1,250 from individual contributors (currently, $2,500). Prohibits primary candidates from accepting contributions or bundled contributions (i.e., combining small contributions into one large contribution) from lobbyists or political action committees (PACs). Eliminates expenditure limitations for presidential primary and general elections. Changes the period for payment of matching funds to presidential primary candidates from January 1 of the election year to six months prior to the date of the earliest state primary election. Revises general election payment provisions to allow a grant of $50 million to candidates and an additional $150 million in matching funds based upon a five-to-one match of contributions raised after June 1 of the general election year from individual donors giving up to $250 each. Increases to $50 million the limit on coordinated spending by a national party and its presidential candidate in a general election campaign. Eliminates public financing for national party conventions. Allows individual contributions up to $25,000 in each four-year presidential election cycle to pay for national party convention costs. Prohibits the use of unregulated funds (soft money) to pay for national party convention costs. Provides for public financing of congressional election campaigns. Establishes the Empowering Citizens Payment Account in the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to finance congressional election campaigns. Increases from $3 to $20 ($6 to $40 for joint returns) the tax check-off for contributions to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations to ensure that approved tax preparation software does not automatically accept or decline a check-off of contributions for the public financing system. Directs the FEC to issue regulations on best efforts for identifying persons making contributions to political committees. Prohibits an authorized committee of a candidate from establishing a joint fundraising committee with a political committee other than an authorized committee of a candidate. Revises reporting requirements for the disclosure of bundled contributions by lobbyists and to presidential campaigns. Sets forth rules for judicial review of campaign finance laws and FEC actions.

Citrus, Wool, and Cotton Trust Fund Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012

Citrus, Wool, and Cotton Trust Fund Act of 2012 - Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund Act of 2012 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to establish the Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund, consisting of revenues from duties paid on imported citrus or citrus products, to support scientific research, technical assistance, and development activities to combat both domestic and invasive citrus diseases and pests harming the United States. Establishes the Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund Advisory Board. Makes Fund amounts available to the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a coordinated program of research and product development relating to: (1) scientific research of both domestic and invasive diseases and pests afflicting the citrus industry; and (2) support for the dissemination and commercialization of relevant information, techniques, and technologies discovered through Fund research or other research projects intended to solve problems caused by citrus production diseases and invasive pests. Requires the President to notify certain congressional committees before entering into a trade agreement that could result in a decrease in the amount of: (1) duties paid on imported citrus or citrus products, and (2) funds transferred into the Fund. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to: (1) modify the article description of certain cotton shirting fabrics, and (2) extend the temporary duty suspensions on such fabrics. Amends the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 to extend through December 31, 2015, the requirement that the Secretary of the Treasury transfer from the Treasury to the Pima Cotton Trust Fund amounts equal to the duties received in the Treasury from certain imported woven fabrics of cotton since January 1, 2004 (currently, January 1, 1994). Repeals the limitation that pima cotton be grown in the United States from the formula for determination of annual payments to a nationally recognized association established for the promotion of pima cotton as well as to the yarn spinners of pima cotton. Limits the latter payments to yarn spinners of pima cotton that produce ring spun cotton yarns in the United States. Requires annual affidavits from shirting manufacturers and from yarn spinners. Amends the Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004 with respect to insufficiencies in the Wool Apparel Manufacturers Trust Fund for U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection payments to manufacturers of certain wool products or for grants by the Secretary of Commerce to manufacturers of worsted wool fabrics. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in such instances, to transfer to the Trust Fund amounts equivalent to duties received on "Articles of Apparel and Clothing Accessories, Not Knitted or Crocheted" in order to make such payments and award such grants. Requires such transfers to cover such payments and grants for 2010-2012. Directs the U.S. Trade Representative to continue to make it a priority to address Canada's market-distorting subsidies and practices in the lumber market. Increases by 0.25% the required estimated income tax payments otherwise due in the third quarter of 2017 for corporations with assets of at least $1 billion. Requires the next required installment to be appropriately reduced to reflect the amount of this increase. Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 to extend certain customs user fees for the processing of merchandise entered into the United States from October 23, 2021, to November 12, 2021, and other specified customs users fees from October 30, 2021, to November 26, 2021.

Restoring Tax and Regulatory Certainty to Small Businesses Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012

Restoring Tax and Regulatory Certainty to Small Businesses Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend temporarily: (1) the 100% exclusion from gross income of gain from the sale or exchange of small business stock, (2) the offset against the alternative minimum tax of general business tax credits, (3) the five-year carryback of tax credit amounts of eligible small businesses, (4) a reduction from 10 to 5 years in the recognition period for built-in gains of S corporations, (5) the increased expensing of depreciable business assets, (6) the special tax rule for long-term contract accounting, (7) the increased tax deduction for small business start-up expenditures, and (8) the tax deduction for health insurance premiums in computing self-employment taxable income. Defines "economic impact" with respect to a proposed or final regulatory rule to mean: (1) any direct economic effect of a rule on small entities, and (2) any reasonably foreseeable economic economic effect on such entities. Permits small entities to seek judicial review of initial regulatory flexibility analyses and to obtain an injunction of a proposed rule that is noncompliant with Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) requirements. Requires each agency to establish a plan for the review, every nine years, of: (1) its rules that have a significant adverse economic impact on small entities, and (2) any small entity compliance guide required to be published by an agency. Expands to additional agencies the procedures for gathering comments on rules that will have a significant economic impact on small entities. Extends RFA requirements to any significant agency guidance documents. Amends the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 to require each agency to review biennially the civil penalties it imposes on small entities for violations of statutory or regulatory requirements. Imposes additional requirements on agencies prior to the issuance of a final rule, including: (1) the cumulative economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities, and (2) requiring the agency to notify the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA) of draft rules that may have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses. Requires agencies to publish an initial regulatory flexibility analysis with respect to any proposed rule that it determines will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses. Allows the Chief Counsel to comment on agency regulatory action that affects small businesses. Requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to include, in a required annual report, specified data and tables describing agency rules. EXCEL Act of 2012- Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to: (1) authorize the SBA Administrator to guarantee the payment of up to $4 billion per fiscal year for debentures or participating securities issued by small business investment companies (SBICs) to encourage the formation and growth of small businesses, (2) increase the maximum amount of outstanding leverage for two or more commonly-controlled SBICs, (3) authorize annual inflationary adjustments of such limits, (4) direct the Administrator to make publicly available specified fiscal and related information with respect to each SBIC, and (5) allow SBIC licensing fees to be used for SBIC program needs other than the costs of licensing examinations. Expresses the sense of Congress supporting SBIC partnerships with community banks and other lenders. Amends the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 to extend through March 27, 2014 (under current law, through September 27, 2012) the authority for SBA refinancing of small business debt not involving business expansion under the SBA's local development business loan program. Directs the Administrator to develop and submit to Congress a plan for using SBA entrepreneurial development programs to create jobs during FY2013-FY2014. Women's Small Business Ownership Act of 2012 - Directs the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership to address issues concerning the management, operations, manufacturing, technology, finance, retail and product sales, international trade, government contracting, and other disciplines required for starting, operating, and increasing the business of a small business. Authorizes the Administrator to provide financial assistance to qualifying entities to conduct projects designed to provide training and counseling meeting the needs of women business owners, especially socially and economically disadvantaged women business owners. Directs the Comptroller General (CG) to study and report to Congress on: (1) the unique economic issues facing women's business centers located in predominately rural, urban, or insular areas; and (2) SBA oversight of women's business centers. Requires that, after December 31, 2013, the Administrator make certain minority entrepreneurship and innovation grants only to institutions of higher education that are accredited (and not merely in preaccreditation status) by a nationally recognized accrediting agency. Increases small business development center (SBDC) funding levels. Allows the Administrator to authorize a SBDC to provide assistance to small businesses outside the state of that SBDC, without regard to geographical proximity, if the small business is in an area for which the President has declared a major disaster. Terminates SBDC authority to assist small businesses in responding to the impact of planned closures or force reductions at nearby military facilities. Repeals: (1) the Paul D. Coverdell drug-free workplace demonstration program, and (2) the National Veterans Business Development Corporation. Allows the Administrator to guarantee a surety against any loss resulting from the breach of a bond by a principal on any work order or contract amount up to $5 million (under current law, up to $2 million). Establishes the National Women's High-Growth Business Bipartisan Task Force to provide women-owned, start-up and high-growth business advice, research, and policy recommendations to the Administrator, the Assistant Administrator of the SBA's Office of Women's Business Ownership, Congress, the President, and other federal departments and agencies. Directs the Task Force, among other things, to review, monitor, and advise on plans and programs developed in the public and private sectors that affect the ability of small businesses owned and controlled by women to obtain capital and credit and to access markets. Repeals provisions establishing the Interagency Committee on Women's Business Enterprise. Establishes the SCORE Advisory Board to: (1) review and monitor plans and programs which affect SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) chapters; (2) advise on improving coordination between such plans and programs; (3) advise SCORE chapters on the use of allocated federal funding; (4) develop and promote initiatives, policies, programs, and plans designed to assist with mentoring services offered by SCORE chapters; and (5) advise the Administrator on the development and implementation of an annual comprehensive plan for joint public-private efforts to facilitate the formation and development of mentoring by SCORE volunteers. Reauthorize the SCORE program through FY2015. Directs: (1) SCORE to establish a committee to determine the amount of, and methods for, allocations to each chapter; and (2) the CG to conduct a study that includes an examination of each SCORE expenditure for technology activities. Allows the Administrator to guarantee a surety against any loss resulting from the breach of a bond by a principal on any work order or contract amount up to $5 million (under current law, up to $2 million). Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act of 2012 - Includes under penalties for misrepresentation a business that misrepresents itself as a small business owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. Includes under such penalties misrepresentation for purposes of the award of a grant or cooperative agreement through the SBA. Expands authorized remedies to include civil remedies available under the False Claims Act, as well as the amount actually received from the federal government under a contract, grant or cooperative agreement, or losses sustained. Provides additional events or instances under which an entity shall be considered to have misrepresented its status. Requires an entity seeking status as a small business owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans to submit an annual certification of such status, and to register with specified databases that track veteran small businesses. Amends the 8(a) (SBA general small business loan) program to direct the CG, every three years, to evaluate the program and report evaluation results. Requires related program oversight by the Administrator. Directs the Administrator to: (1) ensure the accuracy and appropriate revision of HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone) maps, (2) ensure that only small businesses determined to be qualified to participate in HUBZone programs are participating, (3) report on HUBZone small business applications or recertifications, and (4) develop measures and implement plans to assess the effectiveness of the HUBZone program. Requires an annual report from the Administrator on suspensions, debarments, and prosecutions related to unauthorized participation in, or misrepresentation under, SBA programs. Fairness in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act of 2012 - Revises provisions concerning the procurement program for women-owned small businesses (providing a federal procurement contracting preference to such businesses) to: (1) remove the requirement that the woman or women owning such business be economically disadvantaged, (2) remove contract award price limits, and (3) allow a contracting officer to award a sole source contract to such a business under the same conditions as such a contract may be awarded to a qualified HUBZone small business. Directs the Administrator to periodically conduct a study to identify any U.S. industry in which women are underrepresented. Small Business Champion Act of 2012 - Requires the Director of the Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (established in each federal agency having procurement functions) to be compensated at least at the GS-15 rate, and allows such position to be compensated at up to a Senior Executive Service level. Provides additional Director duties. Amends the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 to require the Small Business Procurement Advisory Council to: (1) conduct reviews of each Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to determine compliance with SBA requirements, and (2) identify best practices for maximizing small business utilization in federal contracting. Requires first tier subcontracts awarded by a federally funded research and development center to qualified HUBZone small businesses and other small businesses, including those owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and women, to be included in determining the achievement of annual agency and government-wide small business procurement contracting goals.

BRAINS Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012

Benefits to Research and American Innovation through Nationality Statutes Act of 2012 or the BRAINS Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to make up to 55,000 visas available to qualified immigrants who: (1) possess a graduate degree at the level of master's or higher in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM degree) from a qualifying U.S. research institution of higher education; (2) earned a graduate degree by taking no greater than 25% of classes by correspondence (including courses offered by telecommunications) and by taking all classes while physically present in the United States; (3) have an employment offer from a U.S. employer in a field related to such degree; (4) are the subject of an approved labor certification; and (5) will receive a wage for such employment that is at least the actual wage paid by the employer to all other individuals with similar experience and qualifications for the specific employment in question. Makes unused STEM visas available for other employment-based visa categories. Requires: (1) employers of foreign STEM graduates to submit a job order for the position with the appropriate state workforce agency, (2) such agency to post the position on its website for at least 30 days, and (3) employers to demonstrate that the total amount of compensation to be paid to a foreign STEM graduate meets or exceeds the total amount of compensation paid by the employer to all other employees with similar experience and qualifications working in the same occupational classification. Requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make available on its website specified information regarding foreign STEM employers, the number of aliens granted STEM status, and their occupations. Repeals such STEM and related provisions two years after enactment of this Act. Eliminates the foreign residency requirement for certain foreign students. Authorizes temporary workers (E, H, I, L O, or P visas) who have not violated their status to renew their same category visa from within the United States. States that a determination of whether an alien is a child for purposes of: (1) a petition for immigrant status or a petition for adjustment of refugee status to immigrant status shall be made using the alien's age on the date on which the petition is filed with DHS, and (2) a petition for nonimmigrant admission or an application for adjustment of status from nonimmigrant to conditional (fiance) immigrant shall be made using the alien's age on the date on which the petition is filed with DHS to classify such alien's parent as the fiance of a U.S. citizen. States that the permanent priority date for an immigrant visa petition shall be the date on which the petition is filed with DHS (or the Secretary of State, if applicable), unless such filing was preceded by the filing of a labor certification with the Secretary of Labor, in which case that date shall constitute the priority date. States that an alien who is the beneficiary of any petition that was approvable when filed shall retain such petition's priority date in the consideration of any subsequently filed petition of which the alien is a beneficiary. Increases the number of immigrant visas available to the spouses of aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in each fiscal year by the number of aliens who were lawfully admitted for permanent residence who were removed from the United States in the preceding fiscal year.

Keep the Forest in the Family Estate Tax Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012

Keep the Forest in the Family Estate Tax Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide an exemption from the additional estate tax for the disposition or severance of standing timber on a qualified woodland for timber that is harvested consistent with a written forest management plan or under professional guidance, and (2) increase from $750,000 to $5 million the limitation on the reduction in the fair market value of real property used for farming or in another trade or business for estate tax purposes.

Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2012

Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships as corporations, to expand the definition of "qualifying income" for such partnerships to include income and gains from renewable and alternative fuels (in addition to fossil fuels), including renewable energy facilities used in the production of electricity, biodiesel, alcohol used as fuels, and renewable fuels used to reduce or replace fossil fuels present in transportation fuels.

REVAMP Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012

Renovate and Enhance Veterans' Meeting Halls and Posts Act of 2012 or REVAMP Act of 2012 - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible veterans service organizations for repairs and rehabilitation of their existing facilities. Defines "eligible veterans service organization" as: (1) a tax-exempt entity organized on a local or area basis; and (2) a local or area chapter, post, or other unit of a national, regional, statewide, or other larger entity of which local or area chapters, posts, or units are members (but not any such national, regional, statewide, or other larger entity itself). Prohibits an eligible veterans service organization from receiving such grant amounts, for any single fiscal year, in an amount exceeding the lesser of the cost of the proposed repair or rehabilitation or $200,000. Makes a grant recipient ineligible to receive another such grant until after five succeeding fiscal years. Prohibits the use of such grants for construction or acquisition of a new facility.

Buffett Rule Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012

Buffett Rule Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers to donate an amount (not less than $1), in addition to any tax owed, which shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury and transferred to an account used to reduce the public debt.  Requires such donation to be designated on a taxpayer's income tax return at the time such return is filed.

Grassroots Democracy Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012

Grassroots Democracy Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable credit of up to $25 ($50 in the case of a joint return), adjusted for inflation, for qualified grassroots federal congressional campaign contributions paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year. Directs the Grassroots Democracy Advisory Commission (GDAC, established by this Act) to establish a pilot program under which a qualified individual shall be provided with a "Grassroots Democracy Coupon" during the election cycle, which will be assigned a routing number and, at the individual's option, provided in either paper or electronic form. Authorizes the individual to: (1) submit the Coupon, using the routing number, in either electronic or paper form to qualified federal election candidates, and (2) allocate portions of the Coupon's value in $5 increments to a candidate (up to a maximum of $50 per candidate). Requires the GDAC to pay the candidate who transmits the Coupon to it the portion of the Coupon's value that the individual allocated to the candidate, which shall be considered a contribution under the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA). Amends FECA with respect to: (1) benefits for participating congressional candidates; (2) Federal Election Commission (FEC) payments to such candidates; (3) candidate use of payments; (4) qualified grassroots contribution, expenditure, and fundraising requirements; (5) certification of participating congressional candidates; (6) campaign administration; (7) prevention of the unnecessary spending of public funds; (8) remittal to the Grassroots Democracy Fund of unspent funds after an election; (9) eligibility of participating candidates for payments; (10) establishment of the Grassroots Democracy Fund in the Treasury and of a Grassroots Democracy Advisory Commission in the FEC; and (11) civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements. Prohibits use of contributions by a participating candidate for any purposes other than an election campaign. Revises bundler disclosure requirements to repeal a specified exception and so require disclosure of persons who provided bundled contributions to the reporting committee. Extends from 60 days before a general, special, or runoff election to 120 days before such an election the period for treatment of communications as electioneering communications. Creates user fees, payable to the FEC, for candidate-designated political committees and bundlers. Amends FECA to empower the FEC to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action to enforce the Act. Requires all political committee designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed: (1) directly with the FEC, and (2) in electronic form accessible by computers. Reduces from 48 hours to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal: (1) the alternative tax on political organizations that have net capital gains for the taxable year; and (2) the treatment as tax-exempt functions of proceeds from a political fundraising or entertainment event, from the sale of political campaign materials not received in the ordinary course of trade or business, or from any bingo game. Revises the formula limiting the amount included in the gross income of a tax-exempt organization that expends funds for an exempt function of a political committee. Repeals the application of graduated tax rates for principal campaign committees (thus applying the highest rates to such committees). Allows an individual to designate a specified portion of any overpayment of tax as a contribution to the Grassroots Democracy Fund. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to set a station's lowest unit price for preemptible use as the charge for a broadcast by the national committee of a political party for an affiliated candidate. Authorizes the FEC to revoke a broadcast station license or construction permit only for at least three willful failures to allow reasonable access to, or to permit purchase of reasonable amounts of time for the use of, a broadcasting station by a legally qualified candidate for federal office.

Inclusive Prosperity Act

United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2012

Inclusive Prosperity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a tax on the transfer of ownership in certain securities, including any share of stock in a corporation, any partnership or beneficial interest in a partnership or trust, any note, bond, debenture, or other evidence of indebtedness (excluding tax-exempt municipal bonds), or derivative financial instruments; and (2) allow an individual taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income does not exceed $50,000 a tax credit for the amount of tax paid on financial transactions under this Act.

Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012

Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit any person from importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, purchasing, breeding, possessing, or owning any prohibited wildlife species (current law prohibits importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, or purchasing such a species in interstate or foreign commerce). Includes among exemptions to such prohibition the: (1) breeding of such species by authorized persons; and (2) transportation, possession, or ownership of such species by authorized persons. Defines "breeding" as facilitating the reproduction of prohibited wildlife species (any live species of lion, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, or cougar or any hybrid of such species) for commercial use. Removes from the list of persons authorized to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, breed, possess, own, or purchase such species a person that is licensed or registered, and inspected, by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) or any other federal agency with respect to such species. Includes in such list: (1) a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums; (2) a wildlife sanctuary that cares for such species, is a tax exempt corporation, does not commercially trade in or propagate such species, does not allow direct contact between the public and animals, and does not allow the transport and display of such species off-site; and (3) a person that is in possession of animals of such species that were born before the date of this Act's enactment and that are registered with APHIS within six months after such regulations are promulgated. Establishes civil and criminal penalties and forfeiture requirements for violations of this Act.

Family Farmer Bankruptcy Tax Clarification Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012

Family Farmer Bankruptcy Tax Clarification Act of 2012 - Amends chapter 12 (Debt Adjustment of a Family Farmer or Fisherman with Regular Annual Income) of federal bankruptcy law to revise the exclusion from the requirement of full payment under a discharged debtor's plan of any claim owed to a governmental unit arising as a result of the sale, transfer, exchange, or other disposition of a farm asset used in the debtor's farming operation (in which case the claim is treated as unsecured and not entitled to priority payment). Requires the debtor's plan to provide for: (1) the treatment as a non-priority unsecured claim of any claim owed to a governmental unit by the debtor or the estate arising as a result of the sale, transfer, exchange, or other disposition of a farm asset; but also (2) the payment of that claim. Repeals the precondition that such treatment may be made only if the debtor receives a discharge in bankruptcy. Authorizes a governmental unit to file postpetition claims relating to the disposition of farm assets. Authorizes the trustee or the debtor, also, to file such postpetition claims (including a claim for a tax for which a return is due) if the governmental unit has not filed by a specified deadline. Authorizes modification of the bankruptcy plan after its confirmation in order to provide for the payment of a non-priority unsecured claim presented by a governmental unit that arose after the petition filing date.

A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of "National Save for Retirement Week", including raising public awareness of the various tax-preferred retirement vehicles and increasing personal financial literacy.

United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012

Supports the goals and ideals of National Save for Retirement Week, including raising public awareness of: (1) the importance of saving adequately for retirement, and (2) the availability of a variety of ways to save for retirement favored under the Internal Revenue Code.

MADE Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012

Manufacturing Assistance Driving Efficiency Act of 2012 or MADE Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide grants to manufacturers who place energy efficient commercial building property in service: (1) during 2012 or 2013; or (2) after 2013 and before 2016, provided the construction of such property began during 2012 or 2013. Limits such a grant to: (1) the basis of such property, or (2) 50% of any excess of the rate to be paid under a power purchase agreement for renewable energy resources for use in such property over the standard electrical rate, and (3) the allowable income tax deduction for the cost of energy efficient commercial building property placed in service during a taxable year.

College Student Rebate Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012

College Student Rebate Act of 2012 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require proprietary institutions of higher education that participate in title IV (Student Assistance) programs to: (1) spend at least 80% of their revenue each fiscal year on educational and related expenses, or (2) rebate to students the shortfall between what they spend for educational and related expenses and 80% of their revenue. Directs the Secretary of Education to define "educational and related expenses," but excludes revenue spent for advertising and promotion, recruiting, lobbying, shareholder payments, and excessive administrative costs (including excessive executive compensation).

Home Energy Savings Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2012

Home Energy Savings Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property expenditures, to: (1) make such tax credit permanent; (2) increase from $500 to $1,000 the dollar limitation on such credit; (3) allow the inclusion of labor costs in amounts eligible for such credit; (4) revise definitions and requirements relating to roofing products and for natural gas, propane, oil furnaces, or hot water boilers and heaters; and (5) set forth documentation requirements for claiming such credit.

VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2012

VOW to Hire Heroes Extension Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2016 the work opportunity tax credit for hiring veterans, (2) revise tax credit eligibility requirements for documenting the status of veterans and their receipt of unemployment compensation, and (3) extend the payroll tax offset for such credit to certain for-profit employers.

Church Plan Clarification Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2012

Church Plan Clarification Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to declare that an organization otherwise eligible to participate in a church plan shall not be aggregated with another such organization and treated as a single employer with it unless: (1) one organization provides directly or indirectly at least 80% of the operating funds for the other one during the recipient organization's preceding tax year, and (2) there is a degree of common management or supervision between the organizations. Preempts any state law which would directly or indirectly prohibit or restrict the inclusion in any church plan of an automatic contribution arrangement. Excludes from gross income amounts attributable to transfers of and mergers of church plans that are maintained by the same church or convention or association of churches. Allows church plans and their supporting organizations to invest plan assets in a group trust (as defined by Internal Revenue Service Revenue Rulings).

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase, expand, and extend the credit for hydrogen-related alternative fuel vehicle refueling property and to increase the investment credit for more efficient fuel cells.

United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures, to: (1) increase the rate of such credit from 30% to 50% for hydrogen-related alternative fuel vehicles, (2) eliminate the dollar limitation on such credit for hydrogen-related vehicles, (3) allow such credit for off-highway motor vehicles designed for carrying or towing loads, and (4) extend such credit through 2016 for property related to hydrogen. Increases the 30% energy tax credit for investment in fuel cell property to: (1) 50% for fuel cell property used in a combined heat and power system having an energy efficiency percentage of 70% or more, and (2) 40% for fuel cell property having an energy efficiency percentage of at least 60% but less than 70%.

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Infrastructure for America Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2012

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Infrastructure for America Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures, to: (1) increase the rate of such credit from 30% to 50% for hydrogen-related alternative fuel vehicles, (2) eliminate the dollar limitation on such credit for hydrogen-related vehicles, (3) allow such credit for off-highway motor vehicles designed for carrying or towing loads, and (4) extend such credit through 2016 for property related to hydrogen. Increases the 30% energy tax credit for investment in fuel cell property to: (1) 50% for fuel cell property used in a combined heat and power system having an energy efficiency percentage of 70% or more, and (2) 40% for fuel cell property having an energy efficiency percentage of at least 60% but less than 70%.

Providing for consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 117) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2013, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6365) to amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to replace the sequester established by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2012

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 117) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2013, and for other purposes; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6365) to amend the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to replace the sequester established by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

[H.A.S.C. No. 112-152]NAVY SHIPBUILDING AND IMPACTS ON THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE IN A TIME OF FISCAL UNCERTAINTY

United States · United States House of Representatives · 11 September 2012

VA Major Construction Authorization and Expiring Authorities Extension Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2012

VA Major Construction Authorization and Expiring Authorities Extension Act of 2012 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out major medical facility projects (projects) in FY2013 at VA medical centers in: (1) Seattle, Washington; (2) Dallas, Texas; and (3) Miami, Florida. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out specified major medical facility leases (leases) in FY2013 in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Texas. Designates the outpatient healthcare access center in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the "Daniel Kahikina Akaka Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Access Center." Reduces lease amounts authorized in previous fiscal years for VA outpatient clinics in: (1) San Diego, California; (2) Johnson County, Kansas; and (3) Tyler, Texas. Authorizes appropriations for such projects and leases. Provides project and lease funding limitations. Extends through FY2013 VA default procedures with respect to guaranteed loans to veterans. Extends through 2013 VA authority: (1) to operate a regional office in the Republic of the Philippines; (2) to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and related services for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans; (3) to provide expanded services and housing assistance to homeless veterans; (4) for the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans; and (5) to use contract physicians to perform VA medical disability examinations.

Sportsmen's Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2012

Sportsmen's Act of 2012 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that not less than 1.5% of the amounts made available for the Land and Water Conservation Fund for each fiscal year shall be made available for certain projects identified on an annual priority list to be developed pursuant to this Act. Requires such projects to secure, through rights-of-way or the acquisition of lands or interests from willing sellers, recreational public access to existing federal public lands that have significantly restricted access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational purposes. Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue a permit for the importation of any polar bear part (other than an internal organ) from a polar bear taken in a sport hunt in Canada to any person who meets specified requirements. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to permit individuals carrying bows and crossbows to traverse national park land if the traverse is: (1) for the sole purpose of hunting on adjacent land, and (2) the most direct means of access to such adjacent land. Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act - Amends the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to: (1) authorize a state to pay up to 90% of the costs of acquiring land for, expanding, or constructing a public target range; (2) authorize a state to elect to allocate 10% of a specified amount apportioned to it from the federal aid to wildlife restoration fund for such costs; (3) limit the federal share of such costs under such Act to 90%; and (4) require amounts provided for such costs under such Act to remain available for expenditure and obligation for five fiscal years. Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to exclude from the definition of "chemical substance" for purposes of such Act: (1) any component of any pistol, revolver, firearm, shell, or cartridge the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, including shot, bullets and other projectiles, propellants, and primers; and (2) any sport fishing equipment the sale of which is subject to federal excise tax, and sport fishing equipment components. Urges the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to cooperate with state and local authorities and other entities to implement best practices for waste management and removal and carry out waste removal and other activities on any federal land used as a public target range in order to encourage its continued use for target practice or marksmanship training. Prohibits any person from offering for sale, selling, or having custody, control, or possession of for purposes of offering for sale or selling, billfish (excluding swordfish) or products containing billfish. Treats a violation of such prohibition as an act prohibited by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to submit a plan to assess how best to integrate the goals of the National Fishing Enhancement Act of 1984 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act with respect to the removal of artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico. Establishes the National Fish Habitat Board, which shall: (1) promote, oversee, and coordinate the implementation of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP); and (2) establish national goals and priorities for aquatic habitat conservation. Permits the Board to designate Fish Habitat Partnerships to: (1) coordinate implementation of the NFHAP at a regional level, (2) identify strategic priorities for fish habitat conservation, (3) recommend to the Board fish habitat conservation projects that address a strategic priority of the Board, and (4) develop and carry out such projects. Requires the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to: (1) establish the National Fish Habitat Conservation Partnership Office within USFWS, and (2) develop an interagency operational plan for such Office. Requires the head of each federal agency responsible for acquiring, managing, or disposing of federal land or water to cooperate with the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the USFWS Director to conserve the aquatic habitats for fish and other aquatic organisms within such areas. Prohibits the use of funds made available to carry out this Act for fish and wildlife mitigation purposes under: (1) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act), (2) the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, (3) the Water Resources Development Act of 1986, or (4) any other federal law or court settlement. Requires the USFWS Director, the NOAA Assistant Administrator, and the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to provide technical and scientific assistance to the Partnerships, the project participants, and the Board. Amends the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act to allow the Secretary of the Interior, for each three-year period beginning in 2013, to set the amount to be collected for each Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp sold under such Act. Requires the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Department of the Interior to collect the amount established for each Stamp sold for a hunting year if the Secretary determines, at any time before February 1 of a calendar year, that all amounts in the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund have been obligated for expenditure. Permits the Secretary, in consultation with the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, to waive requirements under the Act relating to the prohibition on the taking of migratory waterfowl with respect to certain individuals as determined to be appropriate. Authorizes the Secretary to authorize states to issue electronic duck stamps. Requires the USFWS Director to carry out a Joint Ventures Program that: (1) provides financial and technical assistance to support regional migratory bird conservation partnerships, (2) develops and implements plans for the protection and enhancement of migratory bird populations, and (3) complements and supports activities by the Secretary of the Interior and the Director to fulfill obligations under specified migratory bird and conservation Acts. Authorizes the Director to enter into agreements with eligible partners under such Program. Amends the North American Wetlands Conservation Act to extend through FY2017 the authorization of appropriations for allocations to carry out approved wetlands conservation projects. Amends the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Act to extend through FY2017 the authorization of appropriations to carry out such Act. Reauthorizes and revises the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Establishment Act. Removes limitations on the appointment of such Foundation's officers and employees. Gives the Foundation the power to receive and administer restitution and community service payments, amounts for mitigation of impacts to natural resources, and other amounts arising from legal, regulatory, or administrative proceedings, subject to the condition that the amounts are received or administered for purposes that further the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural resources. Repeals provisions authorizing the Foundation to establish a national whale conservation endowment fund. Authorizes appropriations for the Foundation for FY2012-FY2017. Amends the Multinational Species Conservation Funds Semipostal Stamp Act of 2010 to require such stamp to be: (1) made available to the public for an additional four years; and (2) offered in a choice of five versions depicting an African or Asian elephant, a rhinoceros, a tiger, a marine turtle, or a great ape. Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2012 for the African Elephant Conservation Act, the Asian Elephant Conservation Act of 1997, the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act of 1994, the Great Ape Conservation Act of 2000, the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004, and the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act. Amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) to reauthorize, until July 25, 2022, the program for the completion of appraisals and satisfaction of other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal under approved land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Makes the FLTFA inapplicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws. Amends the Nutria Eradication and Control Act of 2003 to revise the nutria eradication program by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance to Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington (currently, only to Maryland and Louisiana). Establishes the goals of such program as: (1) eradicating nutria in Maryland; (2) eradicating or controlling nutria in Louisiana, Delaware, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington; and (3) restoring wetlands damaged by nutria. Requires that the Maryland program consist of management, research, and public education activities carried out in accordance with the USFWS's document entitled "Eradication Strategies for Nutria in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay Watersheds," dated March 2002 and updated in March 2009. Authorizes appropriations for such program for FY2012-FY2016 for financial assistance to Maryland, Louisiana, and on a competitive basis, to other coastal states. Requires the Secretary and the National Invasive Species Council to develop long-term nutria control or eradication programs to: (1) significantly reduce and restore nutria damaged wetlands in Delaware, Oregon, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington; and (2) promote voluntary, public-private partnerships to eradicate or control nutria and restore nutria-damaged wetlands in such states.

Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 28 August 2012

Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2013 expiring tax expenditures for individuals, businesses, and the energy sector. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) comprehensive tax reform is vital to U.S. economic growth and competitiveness and should begin in 2013; (2) a major focus of comprehensive tax reform should be broadening the tax base so as to lower tax rates, including by reforming, eliminating, or significantly reducing tax expenditures; and (3) whenever possible, federal energy tax expenditures should be responsibly phased-out so that energy technologies can function without reliance on federal subsidies. Provides for compliance of the budgetary effects of this Act with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

Oversight and Accountability in Wartime Contracting Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2012

Oversight and Accountability in Wartime Contracting Act of 2012 - Directs the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to: (1) limit contracts entered into in connection with an overseas contingency operation (OCO) to three years for competitively bid contracts and one year for non-competitively bid contracts and competitively bid contracts for which only one offer was received; (2) limit any contract for services in connection with an OCO to a single tier of subcontractors; and (3) require contractors, subcontractors, and related entities to consent to personal jurisdiction in covered civil actions (e.g., civil actions alleging rape or serious bodily injury, wrongful death, or breach of contract) involving overseas contracts valued at not less than $1 million. Requires the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to develop a strategy for ensuring that timely, accurate, and complete information on contractor performance is included in past performance databases used by executive agencies for making source selection decisions. Requires the Secretaries of Defense (DOD) and State, and the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to certify to specified congressional committees that a country for which funds have been appropriated for a capital project with an estimated value in excess of $1 million has the capability (in both financial and human resources) to effectively maintain and utilize the project. Establishes offices to oversee contingency contracting in DOD, the Department of State, and USAID. Requires the Inspectors General of DOD, the Department of State, and USAID to review and evaluate noncompetitive contracts and one-offer contracts and to submit annual reports on such contracts to specified committees of Congress. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from the gross income of DOD civilian employees compensation for active service in a combat zone, and (2) allow such employees a reduced estate tax rate and an exemption from the excise tax on local and toll telephone service. Directs the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with certain federal officials, to submit to specified congressional committees a report on the success of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Extends through FY2013 the annual reporting requirement of the Secretary of Defense on the plan for sustaining Afghanistan security forces.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to exclude from gross income any prizes or awards won in competition in the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

United States · United States Congress · 7 August 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income, for income tax purposes, the value of any medal awarded in, or any prize money received from the U.S. Olympic Committee on account of, competition in the Olympic Games or Paralympic Games.

COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014

United States · United States Senate · 6 August 2012

Ethical Pathway Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Ethical Pathway Act of 2012 - Directs the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) to establish a mechanism by which an applicant to sell any new pharmaceutical drug, vaccine, biologic product, or medical device that requires regulatory approval by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) (regulated product) may request a cost-sharing arrangement under which the applicant shall: (1) verify that intended clinical investigations involving humans or vertebrate animals have not been performed or initiated by another person; (2) make reasonable efforts to obtain voluntary agreements to use existing evidence regarding the safety and efficacy of new pharmaceutical drugs or biological products used to obtain marketing approval for use in humans or vertebrate animals (regulatory test data); and (3) notify the Commissioner if there is a failure to reach a voluntary agreement, at which point the Commissioner shall ask the parties to agree to binding arbitration to determine the reasonable and fair fee for relying upon relevant regulatory test data. Permits such applicant to request such arrangement if, but for the arrangement: (1) the applicant would be required to conduct clinical investigations involving human subjects that violate Article 20 of the Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects in order to obtain regulatory approval of the regulated product, or (2) the duplication of the clinical investigations required for such application would violate other applicable ethical standards concerning the testing of products on humans or other vertebrate animals. Requires the fee for reliance by the applicant on such regulatory test data to be determined after considering: (1) the actual out-of-pocket costs of the applicable clinical investigations; (2) the risks of the investigations; (3) any federal grants, tax credits, or other subsidies; (4) the expected share of the global market for the product involved; and (5) the amount of time the holders of the relevant applications or licenses have benefited from exclusive rights and the cumulative revenue earned on the products that relied upon the data at issue. Directs the Secretary to adopt procedures and rules under which sufficient information about costs and fees will be made public.

Native American Indian Education Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Native American Indian Education Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Education to pay four-year Native American-serving nontribal institutions of higher education the out-of-state tuition of their Indian students if those schools are required to provide a tuition-free education, with the support of their state, to Indian students in fulfillment of a condition under which the college or state received its original grant of land and facilities from the federal government. Limits that payment each fiscal year to the institution's total out-of-state tuition for Indian students in academic year 2012-2013. Treats such payments as reimbursements to such institutions from their states. Rescinds unobligated discretionary appropriations to offset the costs of this program.

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to qualify formerly homeless individuals who are full-time students for purposes of low income housing tax credit.

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify low-income building units that provide housing for full-time students who were homeless during a five-year period prior to occupying a low-income housing unit for the low-income housing tax credit.

Qualifying Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Qualifying Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for the production of renewable chemicals.  Defines "renewable chemical" as any chemical that is: (1) produced in the United States from renewable biomass; (2) sold or used by the taxpayer as polymers, plastics, or formulated products or for the production of polymers, plastics, or formulated products; and (3) not sold or used for the production of any food, feed, or fuel.  Exempts certain chemicals, including those with a biobased content of less than 25%. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a five-year program to allocate credit amounts. Limits the total amount of allocable credits under such program to $500 million, with a limit of $25 million to any taxpayer in any taxable year.

Audit the Pentagon Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Audit the Pentagon Act of 2012 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 to require the financial improvement and audit readiness plan of the Department of Defense (DOD) to ensure that: (1) a complete and validated statement of DOD budgetary resources is ready by the end of FY2014, and (2) the full set of DOD consolidated financial statements for each of FY2017 and thereafter are ready in a timely manner and in preparation for audit. Provides that DOD financial statements shall cease to be covered by specified DOD financial reporting requirements upon the issuance of an unqualified audit opinion (UAO) on such statements. Directs the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) to report to Congress on each DOD report required to be submitted to Congress that: (1) would no longer be necessary if their financial statements were audited with a UAO, and (2) interferes with DOD capacity to achieve such an audit. Provides specified DOD program thresholds for reprogramming of funds without prior notice to Congress if a military department obtains an audit with a UAO on its statement of budgetary resources for any fiscal year after 2013. Provides that, if a military department obtains such an audit, then a specified amount shall be available for the payment of certain bonuses for DOD civilian employees determined to have made beneficial contributions to the achievement of the department mission. Outlines bonus exclusions and limitations. Requires additional qualifications and responsibilities of the Comptroller and certain other DOD financial management officials upon the failure to obtain an audit with a UAO on its statement of budgetary resources for FY2014. Provides that if a military department fails to obtain such an audit for FY2017, then the following shall not be available to such department for such fiscal year and thereafter: (1) the program thresholds and bonus payments authorized under this Act, and (2) the expenditure of funds for major defense acquisition program activities beyond Milestone B. Requires, in addition and upon such failure, the reorganization of the position of DOD Chief Management Officer, with added qualifications and responsibilities. Directs the Secretary of Defense to amend the acquisition guidance of DOD to place specific limits on the procurement of any enterprise resource planning business system, including a three-year limit on its total procurement time from initial obligation of funds to full deployment and sustainment.

Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act of 2012 - Prohibits the wages or other remuneration earned by an employee who performs employment duties in more than one state from being subject to income tax in any state other than: (1) the state of the employee's residence, and (2) the state within which the employee is present and performing employment duties for more than 30 days during the calendar year. Exempts employers from withholding of tax and information reporting requirements for employees not subject to income tax under this Act. Allows an employer, for purposes of determining penalties related to employer withholding or reporting requirements, to rely on an employee's annual determination of the time such employee will spend working in a state in the absence of fraud or collusion by such employee. Exempts from the definition of "employee" for purposes of this Act professional athletes, professional entertainers, and public figures who are persons of prominence who perform services for wages or other remuneration on a per-event basis.

Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Cut, Cap, and Balance Act of 2012 - Reduces the estimated committee allocation of the appropriate levels of budget totals for FY2013 for the Senate Committee on Appropriations to: (1) $985 billion in total new budget authority, and (2) $1.118 trillion in total budget outlays. Expresses the sense of Congress that it should enact comprehensive tax reform that lowers marginal rates, broadens the base, and simplifies the tax code to increase economic growth while generating revenues that are in line with the historical average of 18% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to establish the discretionary spending limits for FY2013-FY2022 for defense and nondefense categories. Authorizes the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Budget to adjust such discretionary spending limits, budgetary aggregates in the most recently adopted concurrent budget resolution, and CBA committee allocations if a bill or joint resolution is reported making appropriations for FY2013-FY2014 that provides funding for overseas deployments and activities undertaken as a result of a declaration of war or congressional authorization of force. Limits such adjustments. Makes it out of order in both chambers to consider any legislation that includes any provision that would cause total on-budget mandatory spending to exceed specified discretionary spending limits. Exempts from such limits the mandatory components of: (1) Social Security, function 650; (2) Medicare, function 570; (3) Veterans Benefits and Services, function 700; and (4) Net Interest, function 900. Makes it out of order in both chambers to consider legislation that includes any provision that would cause total mandatory spending for Social Security to exceed specified limits for total outlays for FY2013-FY2022. Makes such requirement inapplicable if the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) determines that projected outlays are expected to exceed such limits due to changes in cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) contained in present law. Makes it out of order in both chambers to consider legislation that includes any provision that would cause total mandatory spending for Medicare or for Veterans Benefits and Service to exceed specified limits for total outlays for FY2013-FY2022. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to require the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make publicly available in the Federal Register an annual report containing expected budget authority and outlays. Requires OMB, if such report shows any category exceeding specified spending caps, to prepare, and the President to issue and include in that report, a sequestration order that reduces budgetary resources by an amount sufficient to bring spending in line with that category's statutory cap. Prescribes requirements for calculating and implementing such sequestration. Authorizes Congress to override a sequestration order through the passage of a law that either waves or supersedes the spending limitations for that category of federal spending for that fiscal year. Subjects any motion in the Senate to move to consideration of a bill to waive, modify, or in any way alter a sequestration order (except for defense spending while the nation is engaged in a justified conflict) to a point of order that can only be waived through an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Members. Makes conforming amendments to: (1) the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act, (2) the CBA, (3) the Budget Control Act of 2011, and (3) other specified federal laws. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from exercising additional borrowing authority until the date that the Archivist of the United States transmits to the states for their ratification S.J. Res. 10 as introduced on March 31, 2011, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, or a similar amendment provided it requires that total outlays not exceed total receipts, that contains a spending limitation as a percentage of GDP, and requires that tax increases be approved by a super-majority vote in both chambers. Increases the public debt from $14.294 trillion to $17.4 trillion on the date such legislation is transmitted to the states.

Stop Wasteful Federal Bonuses and Conferences Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Stop Wasteful Federal Bonuses and Conferences Act of 2012 - Prohibits a federal agency from awarding a bonus to any employee for two years after the end of a fiscal year in which the Inspector General of the agency or the Comptroller General (GAO) makes a finding that conduct of the employee resulted in fraud, waste, abuse, or a violation of contracting requirements (adverse finding).  Requires repayment of a bonus awarded in any year in which an adverse finding is made. Prohibits an agency from sponsoring a conference that is expected to cost more than $200,000 without the agency head's approval. 

A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the census surveys and the information derived from those surveys are crucial to the national welfare.

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Encourages: (1) the people of the United States to respond to all census surveys conducted by the Bureau of the Census; and (2) the Bureau of the Census to provide households and businesses with information regarding the community, economic, and fiscal benefits to be gained from participation in the American Community Survey and the Economic Census, to use the most current methodologies and technologies to reduce the burden of responding to the Census, and to continue to innovate its methods, processes, and products.

Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Clean Energy Victory Bond Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2022 the tax credit for investment in solar energy property, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cell property, microturbine property, combined heat and power system property, and small wind energy property; (2) allow an energy tax credit for investment in offshore wind facilities placed in service before January 1, 2021; (3) extend through 2022 placed-in-service dates for wind facilities and other renewable energy facilities for purposes of the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable energy facilities; (4) extend through 2022 the tax credit for residential energy efficiency improvements; and (5) increase the amount of credits allocable under the qualifying advanced energy project program. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend through 2014 the grant program for investment in alternative and renewable energy property in lieu of tax credits for such property. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish a voluntary voucher program, through 2015, for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles; and (2) provide grants to state, local, and tribal governments for the installation and operation of public charging stations for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to extend through FY2022 loan guarantees for renewable energy systems, electronic power transmission systems, and certain biofuel projects. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue Clean Energy Victory Bonds to pay for the extension of the energy-related tax expenditures in this Act.

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction and Graduate Medical Education Accountability and Transparency Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Resident Physician Shortage Reduction and Graduate Medical Education Accountability and Transparency Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to distribution of additional resident positions as they affect calculation of payments for direct graduate medical education (DME) costs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), for each of FY2013-FY2017 (and each succeeding fiscal year if additional residency positions are available to distribute), to increase the otherwise applicable resident limit for each qualifying hospital. Directs the Secretary to determine the total number of additional residency positions available for distribution, in accordance with guidelines for allocating 33% to hospitals already operating over the resident limit, and generally setting the aggregate number of increases in the resident limit to 3,000 in each year. Specifies the process for distributing positions. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement procedures under which the amount of payments that a hospital would otherwise receive for indirect medical education (IME) costs for discharges occurring during a fiscal year is adjusted based on the reporting of measures and the performance of the hospital on measures of patient care priorities specified by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress and the National Health Care Workforce Commission on the graduate medical education (GME) payments, including both direct GME payments and IME payments, that hospitals receive under the Medicare program. Directs the Comptroller General to study: (1) the physician workforce, and (2) strategies for increasing the diversity of the health profession workforce.

Managed Carbon Price Act of 2012

United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2012

Managed Carbon Price Act of 2012 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require covered persons (i.e., U.S. coal producers, oil refinery operators, first sellers of natural gas, and producers of other greenhouse gas [GHG] emission substances and importers of any GHG emission substance) to purchase a federal emission permit from the Secretary of the Treasury for the sale, combustion, or other use of such a substance. Exempts from such requirement use of a GHG emission substance: (1) as material in the production of another article by such person, or (2) for noncombustion agricultural purposes. Requires the Secretary to impose a GHG emission permit equivalency fee on imports of carbon intensive goods. Requires federal emission permits to be: (1) denominated in one-quarter carbon dioxide equivalents, and (2) purchased within 14 calendar days before or after a GHG emission substance is produced or entered into the United States. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a price for obtaining a permit for a year based on a determination of the dollar amount necessary to meet specified emissions reductions targets, (2) publish a five-year price schedule for permits by January 1, 2014, for each of the five years from 2015 to 2019, and (3) publish a 10-year schedule of the minimum and maximum prices for permits by January 1, 2021, and every 10 years thereafter. Sets minimum prices. Authorizes the Secretary to reduce permit prices if target reductions are being exceeded and to increase such prices if target reductions are not being met. Establishes emission reduction targets for 2015 through 2059 decreasing from 100% to 20% of the carbon dioxide equivalents emitted in the United States in 2005. Requires the Secretary to report annually on: (1) the extent to which such limitations are being achieved, (2) GHG emission permits sold and their impact on GHG emissions, and (3) worldwide GHG emissions in relation to 2005 emissions. Defines a "carbon dioxide equivalent" as the quantity of a GHG emission substance that makes the same contribution to global warming as one metric ton of carbon dioxide. Requires the Administrator to publish and update a schedule listing such quantity for each GHG emission substance. Requires: (1) repayment of permit fees to specified permittees that use GHG emission substances in a manner that will make a negligible or no contribution to global warming, and (2) payment of the permit equivalency fees to exporters of carbon-intensive goods. Imposes a tax on covered persons who fail to obtain a required permit. Establishes the Energy and Economic Security Trust Fund into which revenue raised from permit sales shall be deposited. Requires the Fund to be used to pay monthly dividends to taxpayers and for deficit reduction.