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Bill· SS. 745 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2013
National Forest Insect and Disease Treatment Act of 2013 - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, to designate as part of an insect and disease treatment and research pilot program at least one subwatershed in at least one national forest in each state that is experiencing an insect or disease epidemic and characterized by: (1) substantially increased tree mortality due to infestation; (2) the risk of substantially increased tree mortality over the next 15 years due to infestation; or (3) presence in an area in which the risk of hazard trees poses an imminent risk to public infrastructure, health, or safety. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out priority projects on federal land in the designated subwatersheds to reduce the risk or extent of, or increase the resilience to, insect or disease infestation in the subwatersheds. Deems such projects to be authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the insect infestation and related diseases program through FY2018.
Bill· SS. 744 (113th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act - States that passage of this Act recognizes that the primary tenets of its success depend on securing U.S. sovereignty and establishing a coherent and just system for integrating those who seek to join American society. Establishes a Southern Border Security Commission if the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not achieved effective control in all high-risk border sectors within five years after enactment of this Act. States that the Commission's primary responsibility shall be to make border security policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary), and Congress. Directs the Secretary to implement: (1) a Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy for achieving control between the ports of entry in all high-risk sectors along the Southern border, and (2) a Southern Border Fencing Strategy to identify where fencing and technology should be deployed along the Southern border. Establishes in the Treasury the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Trust Fund. Prohibits the Secretary from processing applications for registered provisional immigrant status (RPI), as established by this Act, until the Secretary has submitted to Congress the notice of commencement of implementation of the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy and the Southern Border Fencing Strategy. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting RPI aliens to lawful permanent resident status, with certain exceptions, until the Secretary certifies to the President and Congress that: (1) the Comprehensive Southern Border Security Strategy is substantially operational, (2) the Southern Border Fencing Strategy is substantially completed, (3) a mandatory employment verification system to be used by all employers to prevent unauthorized workers from obtaining U.S. employment has been implemented, and (4) an electronic exit system at air and sea ports of entry that operates by collecting machine-readable visa or passport information from air and vessel carriers is in use. Title I: Border Security - Directs the Secretary to increase the number of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers by 3,500 by September 30, 2017. Authorizes the governor of a state, with the approval of the Secretary of Defense (DOD), to order National Guard units or personnel to perform operations in the Southwest border region to assist CBP in securing the southern border. Directs DOD to provide material and logistical assistance as needed. Directs the Secretary to: (1) increase the number of border crossing prosecutions in the Tucson sector of the Southwest border region, (2) enhance border infrastructure, and (3) establish a two-year grant program to improve emergency communications in the Southwest border region. Directs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to enhance law enforcement and operational readiness along the U.S. borders through Operation Stonegarden. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior to provide CBP personnel with immediate access to federal lands in the Southwest border region in Arizona for security activities. Directs the Attorney General (DOJ) to reimburse state, county, tribal, and municipal governments for costs associated with the prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases declined by local offices of the United States Attorneys. Requires CBP to deploy additional mobile, video, and agent-portable surveillance systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles in the Southwest border region. Authorizes appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP) through FY2015. Directs the Secretary to: (1) issue policies regarding the use of force by DHS personnel; and (2) provide appropriate training for CBP officers, U.S. Border Patrol officers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and agriculture specialists stationed within 100 miles of any U.S. land or marine border, or at any U.S. port of entry. Establishes the Department of Homeland Security Border Oversight Task Force. Title II: Immigrant Visas - Subtitle A: Registration and Adjustment of Registered Provisional Immigrants - Authorizes the Secretary, after conducting the required national security and law enforcement clearances, to grant RPI status to an alien unlawfully in the United States who: (1) meets specified eligibility requirements, (2) applies before the end of the application period, (3) has paid the required fee and penalty if applicable, and (4) has been physically present in the United States since December 31, 2011, and maintains such presence until RPI status has been granted. Sets forth bars to eligibility based upon criminal convictions, terrorist activity, and grounds for excludability. Provides derivative RPI status to the spouse or child of an RPI alien if the spouse or child is physically present in the United States: (1) on the date on which the RPI alien is granted such status and on or before December 30, 2012, and (2) meets specified eligibility requirements. Requires an alien applicant to satisfy federal tax liabilities and security and law enforcement clearances. Grants RPI status for an initial six-year period, which may be extended under specified conditions. Permits an RPI alien to work and travel outside the United States under specified conditions. Enumerates the grounds under which the Secretary may revoke RPI status. Prohibits an RPI alien from being removed unless such person was ineligible for RPI status or RPI status has been revoked. Makes an RPI alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit, and considers such person to be a noncitizen for certain other federal benefits. Authorizes an RPI alien to be issued a Social Security number. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence if such person meets specified eligibility requirements, including: (1) evidence of employment or full-time education, and (2) English language skills. Prohibits an RPI alien from applying for legal permanent resident status until the Secretary of State certifies that immigrant visas have become available for all approved petitions filed before the date of enactment of this Act. States that an RPI alien may only adjust status under the merit-based system provided for by this Act. States that a lawful permanent resident who was lawfully present in the United States and eligible for work authorization for not less than 10 years before becoming a lawful permanent resident may be naturalized in three years upon compliance with all requirements if such person, immediately preceding the date of filing a naturalization application, has: (1) been physically present in the United States for at least 50% of the three-year period preceding such filing date, and (2) resided for at least three months in the state or the jurisdiction of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services field office in which the application was filed. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2013 or DREAM Act 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an RPI alien to that of a lawful permanent resident if the person demonstrates that he or she: (1) has been in RPI status for at least five years; (2) was younger than 16 years of age when such person entered the United States; (3) has earned a high school diploma or obtained a general education development certificate in the United States; (4) has acquired a degree from an institution of higher education or has completed at least two years in a program for a bachelor's or higher degree in the United States, or has served in the Uniformed Services for at least four years and, if discharged, received an honorable discharge; and (5) has provided a list of each secondary school attended in the United States. Prohibits the Secretary from adjusting the status of an RPI alien to lawful permanent resident status unless the person: (1) satisfies citizenship requirements, (2) submits appropriate biometric and biographic data, and (3) undergoes security and law enforcement background checks. Considers for naturalization purposes an RPI alien granted lawful permanent resident status to have been: (1) lawfully admitted for permanent residence, and (2) in the United States as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence during the period the alien was in RPI status. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence. Sets forth RPI program provisions regarding: (1) prohibited and required disclosures, (2) employer protections, (3) audits and information evaluation, (4) administrative review, (5) privacy and civil liberties, and (6) judicial review. Establishes a criminal penalty of up to $10,000 for a person who knowingly uses, publishes, or permits the improper use of RPI application information. Authorizes the Secretary to establish within U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services a program to award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations to assist RPI applicants. Establishes a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-only lawful permanent resident status for certain long-term Commonwealth legal residents. Authorizes such aliens to receive an immigrant visa or to adjust to lawful permanent (U.S.) resident status beginning five years after the date of enactment of this Act. Subtitle B: Agricultural Worker Program - Agricultural Worker Program Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary to confer "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed specified periods of agricultural employment in the United States or is a qualifying alien's spouse or child, (2) applied for such status during the one-year application period (with a discretionary 18-month extension period), and (3) is not ineligible under the grounds applicable to RPI aliens. Prohibits the Secretary from granting blue card status to an alien (or dependent spouse or child) unless such person submits eligibility-related security and law enforcement biometric and biographic data. States that blue card status expires eight years after the date on which final blue card regulations are published. Permits a blue card alien to work and travel outside the United States under specified conditions. Enumerates the grounds under which the Secretary may revoke blue card status. Makes a blue card alien ineligible for any federal means-tested benefit. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust the status of an alien who has been granted blue card status to RPI status if the alien is unable to fulfill the agricultural service requirement. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to create: (1) a W-3 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a written contract that specifies the wages, benefits, and working conditions of such full-time employment with a designated agricultural employer for a specified period of time; and (2) a W-4 nonimmigrant visa for an alien to perform agricultural services who has a full-time employment offer from a designated agricultural employer for such employment. Establishes the nonimmigrant agricultural (W-3 and W-4 visa) worker program. Sets forth employer and worker program provisions and requirements, including penalties for program violations and U.S. worker protections. Establishes a limit for the first five years of the program which may be adjusted annually based upon specified demand and economic factors. Bases subsequent year limitations upon specified demand and economic factors. Provides for a three-year period of admission, with one additional three-year extension without having to leave the United States. Provides for worker portability. Prohibits derivative status for the spouses and children of program aliens. Excludes W-3 and W-4 workers from need-based federal financial assistance programs. Establishes a cut-off date for petitioning for H-2A temporary agricultural workers that is one year after the effective date of the regulations implementing the agricultural worker program under this Act. Subtitle C: Future Immigration - Establishes a merit-based and points immigrant admissions system. Provides for: (1) 120,000 admissions per fiscal year, annual increases based upon specified conditions, and a maximum admissions cap of 250,000; (2) recapture of unused visas; and (3) lawful permanent resident status for such entrants. Provides that: (1) for the first four fiscal years the worldwide level of merit-based immigrant visas shall be available for skilled workers, professionals, and certain other workers; and (2) for subsequent fiscal years preference will be given to tier 1 and tier 2 aliens based upon a point allocation system. Awards tier 1 and tier 2 points to applicants for specified criteria, including: (1) education, (2) employment, (3) entrepreneurship, (4) high demand occupation, (5) English language, (6) age, (7) country of origin, and (8) family relationships. Provides that: (1) RPI aliens may begin accruing points no earlier than 10 years after enactment of this Act, and (2) aliens with a pending or approved petition in another immigrant category are ineligible for a merit-based immigrant visa. Makes specified employment- and family-based applicants and long-term workers eligible for merit-based immigrant visas beginning on October 1, 2014. Sets forth worldwide levels of employment- and family-based immigrants. Includes the spouse or minor child of a lawful permanent resident alien in the definition of "immediate family." Eliminates the per-country limit for employment-based immigrants and increases the per-country limit for family-based immigrants. Revises family-based immigrant visa allocations for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens, (2) married sons and daughters of U.S. citizens (and requires that they be under 31 years old at time of filing, and (3) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. lawful permanent residents. Eliminates the visa category for brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Includes among immigrants not subject to numerical limitations aliens: (1) who are derivative beneficiaries of employment-based immigrants; (2) with extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics; (3) who are outstanding professors and researchers; (4) who are multinational executives and managers; (5) who have earned a doctorate degree; (6) who are physicians with completed foreign residency requirements; and (7) who have earned a graduate degree in a field of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM field) from an accredited U.S. institution of higher education with an offer of U.S. employment. Increases visa allocations for: (1) certain special immigrants, (2) employment creation immigrants, and (3) skilled workers and professionals. Repeals the diversity immigrant program as of October 1, 2014. Permits aliens selected for FY2013 or FY2014 to retain program eligibility. Revises nonimmigrant V-visa (spouses and children of lawful permanent residents coming to the United States to wait for completion of the immigrant visa process) provisions. Makes fiances of lawful permanent residents eligible for a nonimmigrant K-visa (fiance or fiancee). Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of INA to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Permits children under 18 years old to be adopted. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status, (2) parole eligibility, (3) naturalization, (4) processing of immigrant visas and derivative petitions, (5) waivers of inadmissibility, (6) surviving relative consideration for certain petitions and applications, and (7) immediate relative status. Authorizes an immigration judge, under specified conditions, to: (1) decline to order an alien removed, deported, or excluded; and (2) terminate such proceedings. Revises waiver of inadmissibility provisions, including: (1) waiving inadmissibility for certain persons who entered the United States before they were 16 years old who have earned a degree from a U.S. institution of higher education; (2) adding a three-year limit on immigration-related misrepresentations; and (3) waiving inadmissibility for false claims of U.S. citizenship by persons under 18 years old, or otherwise lacking mental competence. Extends the Iraqi special immigrant visa program and the Afghan special immigrant visa program. Requires application processing improvements. Makes the special immigrant non-minister religious worker and the EB-5 regional center programs permanent. Subtitle D: Conrad State 30 and Physician Access - Makes the J-1 visa waiver (Conrad state 30/medical services in underserved areas) program permanent. Excludes from numerical immigration limitations alien physicians who have completed national interest waiver requirements by working in a health care shortage area (including alien physicians who completed such service before the date of enactment of this Act and their spouse and children). Sets forth specified employment protections and contract requirements for alien physicians working in underserved areas. Increases the number of alien physicians that a state may be allocated to 35 per fiscal year under specified circumstances. Provides for additional increases or decreases based upon demand. Provides up to three visa waivers per fiscal year per state for physicians in academic medical centers. Permits dual intent for an alien coming to the United States to receive graduate medical education or training, or to take examinations required for graduate medical education or training. Subtitle E: Integration - Renames the Office of Citizenship of DHS as the Office of Citizenship and New Americans. Authorizes the Office to make grants to states and local governments to assist them in integrating immigrants. Authorizes the Secretary, through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to: (1) establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to expand citizenship preparation programs; and (2) award initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants to eligible nonprofit organizations for immigration integration programs. Waives, with respect to naturalization: (1) English language and civics requirements for persons over 65 years old who have lived in the United States for at least 5 years as lawful permanent residents, and (2) the English language requirement for persons over 60 years old who have lived in the United States for at least 10 years as lawful permanent residents. Title III: Interior Enforcement - Subtitle A: Employment Verification System - Prohibits an employer from: (1) hiring, recruiting, or referring for a fee an alien who is not authorized to work in the United States or failing to comply with E-Verify or document requirements; or (2) continuing to employ an unauthorized alien. Authorizes an employer to rely on a state employment agency's referral of an employee if the agency has certified that it has complied with document requirements. Provides a good faith defense for an employer who has complied with document and E-Verify requirements. Requires an employer to: (1) examine specified documents to verify an individual's identity and employment status and use an identity authentication mechanism once it becomes available, and (2) retain verification records for the later of three years after hiring or one year after termination. Requires an employee to provide an employer with such documents and attest that he or she is authorized to work in the United States. Sets forth employer penalties and civil rights protections. States that these provisions shall not be construed to authorize the establishment of a national identification card. Requires: (1) federal agencies and departments to participate in E-Verify 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, (2) federal contractors to participate as provided for by a final rule, (3) employers with more than 5,000 employees to participate within two years after implementing regulations are published, (4) employers with more than 500 employees to participate within three years after implementing regulations are published, (5) agricultural laborers to participate four years after enactment of the Legal Workforce Act, (6) tribal employers to participate within five years after implementing regulations are published, and (7) all other employers to participate within four years after implementing regulations are published. Provides that one year after implementing regulations are published the Secretary may authorize or direct critical infrastructure employers to participate in E-Verify. States that failure to participate in E-Verify shall constitute a civil violation. Sets forth E-Verify program provisions. Requires that within five years all Social Security cards issued shall be fraud-, tamper-, wear-, and identity theft-resistant. Makes specified forms of Social Security fraud punishable by fine, up to five years' imprisonment, or both. Amends the Social Security Act to direct the Commissioner of Social Security (SSA) establish a secure method to check specified employee data against SSA data in order to confirm identity and employment eligibility. Makes it an unfair immigration-related employment practice for a person, entity, or employment agency to discriminate based upon an individual's national origin or citizenship status with respect to hiring, firing, or verifying employment eligibility. Subtitle B: Protecting United States Workers - Expands the U-visa (crime victims) category to include aliens who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse or harm, or who would suffer extreme hardship upon removal, as a result of having been a victim of the following covered violations: (1) certain workplace abuses, (2) slavery or trafficking in persons, or (3) deprivation of due process or constitutional rights. Provides specified protections for aliens arrested or detained as part of a workplace enforcement action at a facility about which a workplace claim has been filed, including non-removal until interviewed by DHS. Authorizes a U-visa applicant to work in the United States. Limits the disclosure of information provided by alien victims of certain crimes. Subtitle C: Other Provisions - Establishes in the Treasury the Interior Enforcement Account. Directs the Secretary, by December 31, 2015, to establish a mandatory exit data system that shall include the collection of data from machine-readable visas, passports, and other travel and entry documents for all aliens who are exiting the United States from air and sea ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to implement an interoperable electronic data system to access database information from federal law enforcement agencies and the intelligence community for purposes of visa issuance or admissibility or deportability. Requires an appropriate official of each commercial aircraft or vessel departing from the United States to any port or place outside the United States to ensure transmission to CBP of identity-theft resistant departure manifest information covering alien passengers, crew, and non-crew. Prohibits federal law enforcement officers, in making routine law enforcement decisions (such as ordinary traffic stops), from using race or ethnicity to any degree, except that officers may rely on race and ethnicity if a specific suspect description exists. Subtitle D: Asylum and Refugee Provisions - Eliminates the one-year time limit for filing an asylum claim. Permits, and sets forth the requirements for, reopening a claim that was denied because of failure to file within one year. Authorizes the spouse or child of a refugee or asylee to bring his or her accompanying or joining child into the United States as a refugee or asylee. Authorizes the President to designate refugee groups. Authorizes: (1) the Secretary to designate specific groups of individuals as stateless persons, (2) the Secretary or the Attorney General to provide conditional lawful status to a qualifying stateless person who is otherwise inadmissible or deportable, and (3) the Secretary or the Attorney General to adjust such person to lawful permanent resident status after one year in conditional lawful status. Sets forth protections for stateless persons in the United States, including work and travel authorizations. Increases the number of annual U-visas, with a set-aside for victims of a covered violation. Subtitle E: Shortage of Immigration Court Resources for Removal Proceedings - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) increase the number of immigration court judges and Immigration Board of Appeals staff attorneys in each of FY2014-FY2016; (2) appoint counsel in certain removal proceedings involving an unaccompanied child, an individual with a serious mental disability, or a particularly vulnerable individual; and (3) establish within the Executive Office for Immigration Review an Office of Legal Access Programs to develop programs to make immigration proceedings more efficient by educating aliens regarding administrative procedures and legal rights. Requires the Board of Immigration Appeals to review decisions of immigration judges. Subtitle F: Prevention of Trafficking in Persons and Abuses Involving Workers Recruited Abroad - Requires any person who engages in foreign labor contracting to disclose in writing in English and in the primary language of the worker being recruited specified information, including the identity of the employer and the recruiter, worker protections, and a signed copy of the work contract. Requires a foreign labor contractor to register with the Secretary of Labor. Sets forth registration requirements. Prohibits certain recruitment fees. Prohibits any person who engages in foreign labor contracting from discriminating in hiring based upon race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability. Directs the Secretary of Labor to: (1) maintain a list of all foreign labor contractors registered and a list of all foreign labor contractors whose registration has been revoked; and (2) establish a process for receipt, investigation, and disposition of complaints. Sets forth administrative and civil action enforcement provisions. Subtitle G: Interior Enforcement - Makes an alien who has been convicted of an offense for which an element was active and knowing participation in a criminal street gang inadmissible and deportable. Makes an alien inadmissible who is physically outside the United States and since the age of 18 knowingly and willingly participated in a criminal street gang. Makes an alien who is at least 18 years old ineligible for RPI status for such criminal street gang activities. Makes an alien who has been convicted three or more times for driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated inadmissible and deportable. Revises criminal penalty and related affirmative defense provisions regarding illegal entry and reentry. Increases: (1) monetary penalties for owners and operators of vessels and aircraft regarding stowaways and execution of removal orders; and (2) criminal penalties for passport and immigration fraud, including penalties for a passport crime committed to facilitate international terrorism or drug trafficking. Authorizes the Attorney General to commence a civil action to enjoin any fraudulent immigration service provider from continuing to provide services that substantially interfere with the administration of the immigration laws or from continuing to willfully misrepresent such provider's legal authority to provide representation. Makes an alien who is convicted of a passport or visa violation under the federal criminal code inadmissible and removable. Makes certain aliens inadmissible who: (1) refuse to comply with a lawful request for biometric information; (2) have been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, stalking, child abuse, child neglect, or child abandonment; or (3) are in violation of a domestic protection order by engaging in conduct that constitutes criminal contempt of such order. Prohibits an individual acting for financial gain from directing or participating in an effort to bring or attempt to bring five or more persons unlawfully into the United States. Establishes: (1) monetary and/or prison penalties for such actions; and (2) increased penalties for such actions that result in death or serious bodily injury or that place a life in jeopardy or involve bribery of a government official, robbery, or sexual abuse. Makes it a crime to: (1) transmit to another person the location, movement, or activities of law enforcement agents while intending to further a federal crime relating to U.S. immigration; and (2) destroy, alter, or damage any physical or electronic device used by the federal government to control the border or any port of entry. Prohibits the carrying or use of a firearm in an alien smuggling crime. Directs the Secretary to establish secure alternatives programs with community-based organizations to ensure appearances at immigration proceedings and public safety. Prohibits a U.S. national from renouncing his or her citizenship during wartime. Authorizes the Secretary to use secure alternatives programs to maintain custody over detained aliens, except for terrorist aliens. Sets forth oversight and related provisions for detention facilities. Directs the Secretary of State, upon notification from the Secretary, to prohibit visas to be granted to persons of a country whose government denies or unreasonably delays accepting their citizens, subjects, nationals, or residents back. Makes inadmissible an alien who has committed acts of torture, extrajudicial killings, war crimes, or systematic attacks on civilians. Title IV: Reforms to Nonimmigrant Visa Programs - Subtitle A: Employment-based Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes: (1) an H-1B visa (specialty occupation) cap of 110,000 for the fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act; and (2) a market and unemployment based adjustment mechanism that increases or reduces the annual cap by not more than 10,000, with a minimum floor of 110,000 and a maximum ceiling of 180,000. Limits the exemption from H-1B numerical limitations to STEM occupations and increases the annual STEM allocation to 25,000. Authorizes an H-1B spouse to work if he or she is the national of a country that permits reciprocal employment. Provides deference to prior H-1B or L-visa (intra-company transferee) adjudications involving the same employer and nonimmigrant absent material error, changed circumstances, or new information adversely affecting eligibility. Provides a 60-day lawful status period for an H-1B nonimmigrant whose employment is terminated. Authorizes visa revalidation within the United States for specified nonimmigrant visa categories. Establishes: (1) in the Treasury the STEM Education and Training Account, and (2) a low-income STEM scholarship program. Subtitle B: H-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Revises H-1B requirements for employer applications and application reviews. Revises provisions regarding nonimmigrant nurses (H-1C visa) in health professional shortage areas to: (1) permit a one-time three-year extension of admission, (2) reduce the maximum number of such visas per fiscal year to 300, and (3) authorize such nonimmigrants to accept new employment as a registered nurse at any H-1C-qualifying facility. Revises provisions regarding complaints against H-1B employers, including: (1) extending the statute of limitations on complaint investigations, (2) increasing fines for specified violations, (3) enhancing whistle-blower protections, and (4) authorizing the Department of Labor to initiate investigations. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish an H-1B recruitment website. Establishes: (1) specified filing fees for H-1B-dependent employers, and (2) a fee for premium processing of employment-based immigrant petitions. Subtitle C: L Visa Fraud and Abuse Protections - Authorizes and enumerates the requirements for: (1) outplacement of L-visa nonimmigrants, and (2) 12-month approvals of new office L-visa petitions. Prohibits employers with 50 or more employees in the United States from hiring new or additional H-1B or L-visa workers if their workforce comprises more than 75% H-1B or L-visa workers in FY2015, 65% in FY2016, and 50% H-1B and L-visa workers in FY2017 and thereafter. (Excludes nonprofit institutions of higher education or nonprofit research organizations from such limitation.) Sets forth filing fee provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to initiate complaints against L-visa employers. Sets forth related penalty provisions. Directs the Inspector General of DHS to report to Congress regarding the use of L-visa blanket petitions. Subtitle D: Other Nonimmigrant Visas - Authorizes dual intent for F-1 visa foreign students (and dependents), including students who commute from Canada or Mexico to study in the United States. Establishes additional accreditation requirements for colleges, universities, and language schools. Revises the nonimmigrant E-visa (treaty trader) category to: (1) include aliens seeking to enter the United States pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty or a free trade agreement; (2) establish an E-4 visa for specialty occupation workers (other than from Chile, Singapore, or Australia) to enter the United States pursuant to a free trade agreement; and (3) establish an E-5 visa for specialty occupation workers who are nationals of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). Limits E-4 entrants to 5,000 per fiscal year per country. Includes in the nonimmigrant E-3 visa category certain nationals of Ireland coming to the United States under a treaty of commerce to perform specialty occupation services. Extends portability to certain nonimmigrant O-1 visa holders (extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics, or extraordinary achievement in the motion picture or television industry). Eliminates the 12-month attendance limit for elementary and secondary foreign students. Subtitle E: Jobs Originated through Launching Travel Act of 2013 or the JOLT Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish a pilot fee-based premium processing service to expedite visa interview appointments. Authorizes the Secretary to admit into the United States a qualifying Canadian citizen over 55 years old and spouse for a period not to exceed 240 days if the person maintains a Canadian residence and owns a U.S. residence or has rented a U.S. accommodation for the duration of such stay. Establishes a nonimmigrant Y-visa for: (1) an alien who invests (and maintains) at least $500,000 in U.S. residential real estate, of which at least $250,000 must be for a U.S. primary residence where such person will reside for more than 180 days per year; and (2) such alien's accompanying spouse and children. Makes such visa renewable every three years. Requires a Y-visa alien to: (1) be at least 55 years old, (2) have purchased a qualifying residence, (3) not need public assistance, and (4) live in the United States for more than 180 days per year. Directs the Secretary to make publicly available each month data for the previous two years regarding visa appointment availability for each visa processing post to allow applicants to identify periods of low demand. Revises the visa waiver program to: (1) authorize the Secretary to designate any country as a program country; (2) adjust visa refusal rate criteria, including addition of a 3% maximum overstay rate; and (3) revise probationary and termination provisions. Authorizes the Secretary to expand registered traveler programs to include individuals who meet security requirements and are employed and sponsored by an international organization which maintains a strong working relationship with the United States. Prohibits enrollment of an individual who is a citizen of a state sponsor of terror. Directs the Secretary of State to require U.S. diplomatic and consular missions to: (1) conduct nonimmigrant visa application interviews expeditiously, consistent with national security requirements and in recognition of resource allocation considerations; and (2) explore expanding visa processing capacity in China and Brazil. Subtitle F: Reforms to the H-2B Visa Program - Exempts returning workers from the nonimmigrant H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural services) annual numerical limitations through FY2018. Includes ski instructors in the nonimmigrant P-visa (athletes, artists, and entertainers). Requires H-2B employers to: (1) attest that they will not displace a U.S. worker in the same metropolitan statistical area where the H-2B worker will be hired within the period beginning 90 days before the start date and ending on the end date of the H-2B employment, (2) pay certain H-2B worker transportation costs, and (3) pay a $500 labor certification application fee. Authorizes the nonimmigrant admission of: (1) multinational executives and managers for up to 90 days to oversee U.S. operations of their related companies, (2) multinational company employees for up to 180 days to participate in leadership and development activities, and (3) certain relief workers for up to 90 days in response to a federal or state declared disaster. Prohibits the receipt of U.S.-sourced salaries for such activities. Establishes a nonimmigrant Z-visa for certain aliens coming to the United States for up to 90 days to perform health and safety-related maintenance or repairs for common carriers on equipment or machinery manufactured outside of the United States. Subtitle G: W Nonimmigrant Visas - Establishes the Bureau of Immigration and Labor Market Research which shall: (1) devise a methodology to determine the annual change to the W-visa nonimmigrant cap and use such methodology to set such caps, (2) supplement W-visa recruitment methods, (3) conduct a survey every three months of construction worker unemployment, (4) devise a methodology to designate shortage occupations by job zone, and (5) report to Congress on employment-based and immigrant and nonimmigrant visa programs. Establishes: (1) a nonimmigrant W-1 visa for an alien having a foreign residence who is coming to the United States to perform services or labor for a registered employer in a registered position, and (2) a nonimmigrant W-2 visa for the accompanying or joining spouse or children of such alien. Requires such alien to be certified abroad by the Secretary of State as eligible for a W-visa. Provides that: (1) a certified alien may be granted W-visa status for an initial three-year period, with additional three-year extensions which may be made while in the United States; and (2) a W-visa nonimmigrant must leave the United States if unemployed for more than 60 consecutive days. Sets forth employer registration and related provisions. Subtitle H: Investing in New Venture, Entrepreneurial Startups, and Technologies - Establishes a nonimmigrant X-visa for a qualified entrepreneur: (1) who has secured at least $100,000 in investments from an accredited investor, venture capitalist, or government entity for such alien's U.S. business; or (2) whose U.S. business has created at least three qualified jobs during the previous two years and has generated at least $250,000 in annual revenue in the United States. Provides for an initial three-year period of authorized admission, with three-year extensions based upon job creation, investment, or revenue and up to two one-year extensions based upon performance waivers. Establishes an immigrant investor visa (capped at 10,000 per year) for qualifying entrepreneur aliens (including aliens with advanced STEM degrees) living in the United States whose U.S. business has met specified job creation, revenue, and/or venture capital or investment requirements.
Bill· SS. 732 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Sets the tonnage requirement for consideration of dredging of small ports by the Corps of Engineers at a minimum of 500,000 tons, as calculated by the relevant port authority.
Bill· HRH.R. 1587 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2013
Energy Infrastructure Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (or the Secretary of Agriculture, as appropriate for administrative jurisdiction over the federal lands involved) to issue permits for rights-of-way, temporary easements, or other necessary authorizations to allow a permittee to construct, operate, maintain, expand, or modify a natural gas, oil, or petroleum products pipeline and related facilities on eligible federal lands. Directs the Secretary to: (1) charge fees for such permits, (2) determine the initial fixed term for a permit, and (3) renew any right-of-way issued under this Act if the pipeline and its related facility is in commercial operation and operated and maintained in accordance with this Act. Grants the Secretary enforcement and modification powers, including fines and suspension or termination of rights-of-way.
Law· HRH.R. 1528 (113th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2013 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to prohibit a veterinarian who is registered to manufacture or distribute controlled substances from being required to have a separate registration in order to transport and dispense controlled substances in the usual course of veterinary practice at a site other than such veterinarian's principal place of business or professional practice, as long as the dispensing site is located in a state where the veterinarian is licensed to practice.
Bill· HRH.R. 1540 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of, and land acquisition for, a project to reclaim and reuse wastewater in Sacramento County, California. Requires the project to consist of three phases, the first of which shall include the planning, design, and construction of water conveyance and related infrastructure to provide recycled water to irrigate approximately 4,500 acres of land in southern Sacramento County.
Bill· HRH.R. 1544 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
National High Performance Passenger Rail Transportation-Oriented Development Act of 2013 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to establish an initiative to promote intercity and urban passenger rail operations and transportation-oriented development by creating rail projects qualified for federal incentives for communities to encourage dedicated revenue sources for urban and regional rail corridor development. Authorizes the Secretary to designate up to four qualified pilot projects. Amends the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 to direct the Secretary to provide direct loans and loan guarantees for qualified rail projects. Authorizes the Secretary to make secured loans, loan guarantees, or lines of credit for such projects. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to: (1) state, local, or regional authorities to identify transportation-oriented development opportunities; (2) states, localities, and regions outside the Northeast Corridor to establish regional authorities and identify existing and potential stations within the region to maximize development and commercial revenue generation to support financially the development of a high performance intercity or urban rail passenger corridor; and (3) states and local or regional entities along the Northeast Corridor to establish a Northeast Corridor Transportation-Oriented Development Working Group and identify Northeast Corridor existing and potential stations to maximize development and commercial revenue generation to support financially the creation of a true high-speed rail corridor in the Northeast Corridor.
Bill· HRH.R. 1539 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Northeast Corridor Rail Tunnel Safety Act - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) for Amtrak use, after the Secretary has received and approved a project engineering and financial plan, to complete New York tunnel life safety projects and to rehabilitate tunnels in Washington, DC, and Baltimore, Maryland.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 158 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Recognizes the importance of ports to the economy and national security of the United States. Urges the President, federal officials, and other relevant stakeholders to consider this importance in decisionmaking and promote policies that strengthen seaport related infrastructure. Expresses the House of Representatives' gratitude to the millions of men and women who work at ports across the United States.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 156 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2013
Disapproves of the decision of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to modify the Prohibited Items List, set to take effect on April 25, 2013, that would allow passengers to bring small knives in their carry-on baggage. Calls for TSA to delay implementation of those changes until it conducts a formal engagement process involving all affected stakeholders and has meaningful consultations with affected air travel industry stakeholders, including flight attendants.
Bill· HRH.R. 1516 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2013
Coast Guard Academy Opportunity Act - Modifies the Coast Guard Academy cadet nomination process by requiring that half of each incoming class be composed of cadets nominated by: (1) the Vice President or, if there is no Vice President, the President pro tempore of the Senate; (2) a Senator; (3) a Member of the House of Representatives; and (4) the various delegates to Congress, including the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico. Entitles each Senator, House Member, Delegate, and Resident Commissioner to nominate three persons each year. Requires nominees to be citizens or nationals of the United States and meet any minimum requirements established by the Secretary of the respective department in which the Coast Guard is operating. Directs the Superintendent of the Academy to furnish any Member of Congress, upon written request, the name of the nominating authority responsible for the nomination of any named or identified person for appointment to the Academy.
Bill· SS. 697 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Contract Screener Reform and Accountability Act - Repeals the authority of the Under Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to waive the requirement that a private screening company be owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen for any company that is a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign-owned corporation that has implemented a foreign ownership, control, or influence mitigation plan approved by the Defense Security Service of the Department of Defense (DOD). Repeals the requirement that an airport operator, when submitting an application for a private screening company at the airport, to recommend to the Under Secretary which company would best serve the airport's security screening and passenger needs. Prohibits the Under Secretary from: (1) entering a screening services contract that would allow for a subcontractor to perform such services, or (2) providing funding (for bonuses or other awards) to any private screening company in excess of the amount required for the performance of screening services. Repeals specified requirements to grant the Under Secretary discretion in whether to approve airport operator applications to have screening operations carried out by a private company. Allows the Under Secretary to take up to 270 days to award a screening contract to a qualified screening company after approving the application. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to provide to the Under Secretary guidance on how to analyze the total annual cost incurred by the federal government with respect to screening services by private companies. Requires the Under Secretary to use such guidance to identify costs incurred by the government from overseeing the performance of private screening companies, compared with costs incurred at airports using federal personnel for passenger and baggage screening. Requires any airport operator using contract passenger and baggage screeners employed by a private screening company to display signs prominently to notify the flying public that screening is conducted by contract screening personnel and not by federal personnel. Requires the Under Secretary to inform any airport operator opting to discontinue screening by a qualified private company in favor of screening by federal government personnel on how transition to TSA screening services will be carried out. Directs the Under Secretary to develop and implement a system to enhance monitoring of private screening company performance by the contracting officer overseeing each respective company. Requires a private screening company that provides screening services at an airport to report to the Under Secretary each security breach at that airport. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct annual covert testing of airports where private screening companies do the screening. Makes it a condition for the Under Secretary on contracting with a private screening company to provide screening at an airport that neither the private screening company, nor its parent company, if any, has knowingly compromised any covert security testing, especially by notifying its employees that it was occurring. Directs the Under Secretary to require each private screening company to provide all its employees with annual training for the proper handling of all sensitive information, including sensitive security information. Adds to the qualifications of a qualified private screening company that it will provide the right of first refusal of employment to the federal government personnel who performed screening services at an airport before it was awarded the screening services contract. Requires each private screening company with a contract for screening services to provide the Under Secretary each month with: (1) information on retention rates of screeners and supervisory personnel it employs at an airport, and (2) a detailed description of adverse employment actions taken against any of such screeners or supervisory personnel. Directs the Under Secretary to establish a process by which any person may report problems, deficiencies, waste, or vulnerabilities with respect to screening services provided by a private company. Prohibits a private screening company from discharging or otherwise discriminating against any employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or other privileges of employment because of such reporting, or related testimony to Congress, or any refusal to engage in any unlawful practice.
Bill· HRH.R. 1468 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education, Information, and Technology Act of 2013 or SECURE IT - Authorizes private entities to employ countermeasures and use cybersecurity systems to obtain, identify, or possess cyber threat information on its own networks or the networks of another entity with such entity's authorization. Allows private entities, nonfederal government agencies, or state, tribal, or local governments to voluntarily disclose cyber threat information to designated cybersecurity centers or to each other to assist with preventing, investigating, or mitigating threats to information security. Requires such entities and governments providing electronic communication, remote computing, or information security services to a federal agency to inform the agency of a significant cyber incident involving the federal information system of that agency that: (1) is directly known as a result of providing such services and directly related to the provision of such services, and (2) has impeded or will impede the performance of a critical mission of the federal agency. Defines "significant cyber incident" as a cyber incident resulting in, or an attempted cyber incident that, if successful, would have resulted in: (1) the exfiltration from a federal information system (an information system used or operated by an executive agency, contractor, or another organization on behalf of an executive agency) of data essential to the operation of the such a system, or (2) an incident in which an operational or technical control essential to the security or operation of a such a system was defeated. Directs federal agencies receiving such significant cyber incident information to report the information to a cybersecurity center. Permits cyber threat information provided to a cybersecurity center to be disclosed to, retained by, or used by, consistent with otherwise applicable federal law, the federal government for a cybersecurity or national security purpose or to prevent, investigate, or prosecute various criminal offenses for which law enforcement officials are authorized, under existing law, to seek a court order authorizing an interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications. Prohibits the disclosure, retention, or use of such information for any use not expressly permitted. Prohibits federal, state, tribal, or local agencies from directly using such information to regulate an entity's lawful activities. Sets forth conditions with regard to information provided to a cybersecurity center including: (1) the disclosure of such information to state, tribal, or local governments; (2) the use, distribution, and any prerequisite consent necessary for sharing such information; and (3) the legal treatment of such information under specified privileges, exemptions, ex parte communications rules, and requirements for disclosing public information and records. Provides legal protections to entities engaged in authorized cybersecurity activities. Directs the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Secretary of Defense (DOD) to develop procedures for sharing, through cybersecurity centers, classified and unclassified information. Authorizes the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency to review compliance by the cybersecurity centers and federal agencies with required procedures, including privacy and civil liberty protections through anonymization or other methods. Amends the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 to replace existing information security procedures for federal agencies with a new framework for coordinating and securing federal information. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue compulsory and binding policies and directives governing agency information security operations. Requires that national security systems be overseen as directed by the President. Requires each agency to comply with such policies and provide risk-commensurate information security protections for information systems used or operated by the agency or a contractor or other organization on an agency's behalf. Requires each agency's Chief Information Officer to develop an agencywide information security program. Directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to designate an entity to conduct an ongoing security analysis of agency information systems using automated processes. Requires each agency to develop a timeline for the implementation of technology facilitating continuous monitoring and threat assessments. Sets forth separate requirements for national security systems. Requires that federal information systems be based on National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. Amends the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to increase and further delineate the criminal penalties for computer fraud and related activities. Establishes an offense for aggravated damage to a public or private critical infrastructure computer that manages or controls systems or assets vital to national defense, national security, national economic security, or public health or safety. Amends the High-Performance Computing Act of 1991 to re-designate the National High-Performance Computing Program as the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (STP) to establish goals for inter-agency collaborative research and development with Program Component Areas, industry, institutions of higher education, federal laboratories, and international organizations. Directs agencies to develop a five-year strategic plan. Requires that agencies be encouraged under the Program to address application areas with potential for contributions to national economic competitiveness and other societal benefits including technical solutions to cybersecurity, health care, energy management, transportation, cyber-physical systems, physical and behavioral phenomena, and privacy protection. Defines "cyber-physical systems" as physical or engineered systems whose networking and information technology functions and physical elements are integrated and actively connected to the physical world through sensors, actuators, or other means to perform monitoring and control functions. Requires the STP Director to convene a task force to report to Congress on options for the research, development, and organizational structure of cyber-physical systems. Requires the National Science Foundation (NSF) to carry out a Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service program. Requires the NIST to coordinate federal agencies engaged in the development of international technical standards. Amends the Cyber Security Research and Development Act to add research areas eligible for NSF computer and network security research grants. Authorizes various grant programs through FY2015. Requires commercial entities that acquire, maintain, store, or utilize personal information (covered entities) to take reasonable measures to protect and secure data in electronic form containing personal information. Directs a covered entity that owns or licenses such data to give notice of any breach of the security of the system that the entity reasonably believes has caused or will cause identity theft or other financial harm to each individual: (1) who is a U.S. citizen or resident; and (2) whose personal information was, or that the covered entity reasonably believes has been, accessed and acquired by an unauthorized person. Requires: (1) a covered entity to notify the Secret Service or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of a security breach of personal information involving more than 10,000 individuals; (2) a third-party entity contracted to maintain, store, or process data containing personal information to notify the covered entity of a breach of security of a system; and (3) a service provider to notify the covered entity if it becomes aware of a breach of security involving personal information owned or possessed by a covered entity and if such covered entity can be reasonably identified. Sets forth enforcement authority for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) along with civil monetary penalties for violations of such information protection and notification requirements. Preempts information security practices of the Communications Act of 1934 applicable to telecommunication carriers, satellite operators, and cable operators. Exempts certain financial institutions and entities subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA).
Bill· HRH.R. 1469 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Leave Ethanol Volumes at Existing Levels Act or the LEVEL Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to revise the renewable fuel program, including by: (1) redefining "renewable fuel"; (2) revoking the requirement that the Administrator ensure that renewable fuel achieves a 20% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared to baseline lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions; (3) reducing the volume of renewable fuel that is required to be in gasoline sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to 7.5 billion gallons for each year; (4) requiring the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to provide to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an estimate of the volumes of gasoline (currently of transportation fuel, biomass-based diesel, and cellulosic biofuel) projected to be sold or introduced into commerce in the following year; (5) making one gallon of cellulosic biomass ethanol or waste derived ethanol equivalent to 2.5 gallons of renewable fuel; (6) repealing provisions concerning cellulosic biofuel and biomass-based diesel; and (7) repealing a requirement that the Administrator of EPA promulgate fuel regulations to implement measures to mitigate adverse impacts on air quality as the result of renewable fuel requirements. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal provisions requiring EPA to report to Congress on current and future impacts of the renewable fuel requirements on environmental issues, resource conservation issues, and the growth and use of cultivated invasive or noxious plants and their impacts on the environment and agriculture. Prohibits the Administrator from permitting or authorizing (including by granting a waiver through the fuels and fuel additives waiver process) the introduction into commerce of gasoline that: (1) contains greater than 10% ethanol by volume, (2) is intended for general use in conventional gasoline-powered vehicles or engines, and (3) is not a registered fuel or fuel additive that is lawfully sold in the United States before enactment of this Act. Repeals waivers that permit the introduction into commerce of gasoline that contains greater than 10-volume-percent ethanol for general use in conventional gasoline-powered vehicles or engines, including: (1) the "Partial Grant and Partial Denial of Clean Air Act Waiver Application Submitted by Growth Energy To Increase the Allowable Ethanol Content of Gasoline to 15 Percent; Decision of the Administrator"; and (2) the "Partial Grant of Clean Air Act Waiver Application Submitted by Growth Energy To Increase the Allowable Ethanol Content of Gasoline to 15 Percent; Decision of the Administrator." Excepts waivers for such gasoline that is a registered fuel or fuel additive that is lawfully sold in the United States before enactment of this Act. Requires the Administrator to study: (1) the effects of the introduction into commerce of an ethanol-gasoline blend on consumer products; (2) the impact of such blend on engine performance of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles and nonroad engines, emissions from the use of the blend, and materials compatibility and consumer safety issues associated with the use of such blend; and (3) the ability of wholesale and retail gasoline distribution infrastructure to introduce such blend into commerce without widespread misfueling by consumers.
Bill· HRH.R. 1455 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2013
Contract Screener Reform and Accountability Act - Repeals the authority of Under Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to waive the requirement that a private screening company be owned and controlled by a U.S. citizen for any company that is a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign-owned corporation that has implemented a foreign ownership, control, or influence mitigation plan approved by the Defense Security Service of the Department of Defense (DOD). Repeals the requirement that an airport operator, when submitting an application for a private screening company at the airport, to recommend to the Under Secretary which company would best serve the airport's security screening and passenger needs. Prohibits the Under Secretary from: (1) entering a screening services contract that would allow for a subcontractor to perform such services, or (2) providing funding (for bonuses or other awards) to any private screening company in excess of the amount required for the performance of screening services. Repeals specified requirements to grant the Under Secretary discretion in whether to approve airport operator applications to have screening operations carried out by a private company. Allows the Under Secretary to take up to 270 days to award a screening contract to a qualified screening company after approving the application. Directs the Comptroller General (GAO) to provide to the Under Secretary guidance on how to analyze the total annual cost incurred by the federal government with respect to screening services by private companies. Requires the Under Secretary to use such guidance to identify costs incurred by the government from overseeing the performance of private screening companies, compared with costs incurred at airports using federal personnel for passenger and baggage screening. Requires any airport operator using contract passenger and baggage screeners employed by a private screening company to display signs prominently to notify the flying public that screening is conducted by contract screening personnel and not by federal personnel. Requires the Under Secretary to inform any airport operator opting to discontinue screening by a qualified private company in favor of screening by TSA personnel on how transition to TSA screening services will be carried out. Directs the Under Secretary to develop and implement a system to enhance monitoring of private screening company performance by the contracting officer overseeing each respective company. Requires a private screening company to report regularly to the Under Secretary each security breach at an airport where it conducts baggage and passenger screening. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct annual covert testing of airports where private screening companies do the screening. Makes it a condition for the Under Secretary on contracting with a private screening company to provide screening at an airport that neither the private screening company, nor its parent company, if any, has knowingly compromised any covert security testing, especially by notifying its employees that it was occurring. Directs the Under Secretary to require each private screening company to provide all its employees with annual training for the proper handling of all sensitive information, including sensitive security information. Adds to the qualifications of a qualified private screening company that it will provide the right of first refusal of employment to existing federal government personnel. Requires each private screening company with a contract for screening services to provide the Under Secretary each month with: (1) information on retention rates of screeners and supervisory personnel it employs at each airport, and (2) a detailed description of adverse employment actions taken against any of such screeners or supervisory personnel. Directs the Under Secretary to establish a process by which any person may report problems, deficiencies, waste, or vulnerabilities with respect to screening services provided by a private company. Prohibits a private screening company from discharging or otherwise discriminating against any employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or other privileges of employment because of such reporting, or related testimony to Congress, or any refusal to engage in any unlawful practice.
Bill· SS. 687 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), during FY2013 or FY2014, from suspending or terminating the operation of any air traffic control tower in operation on March 1, 2013, without regard to whether the tower is operated by the FAA or a contractor. Directs the Administrator, as soon as practicable after enactment of this Act, to provide for resumed operation of any such tower that was suspended or terminated after March 1, 2013.
Bill· HRH.R. 1425 (113th)reported
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Marine Debris Emergency Act of 2013 - Amends the Marine Debris Act to require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): (1) to give preference under the Marine Debris Program to projects that address a severe marine debris event, including an event that has introduced or is likely to introduce marine invasive species to the United States; and (2) within 60 days after receiving a grant application with respect to such an event, to approve or disapprove such application and provide grant funds to an approved applicant. Authorizes state governors to request that the Administrator declare a severe marine debris event for such purpose. Requires the Administrator, within 30 days after receiving such request, to either declare such an event or provide a response explaining why not. Requires the Administrator to encourage grant recipients to: (1) educate staff and volunteers engaged in response efforts on the potential threats that marine debris and marine invasive species may pose, and (2) coordinate marine debris response efforts with appropriate entities. Defines "marine invasive species" to mean a marine nonindigenous species the introduction of which to the United States will, or is likely to: (1) cause economic or environmental harm; (2) threaten the diversity or abundance of native species or the ecological stability of infested waters; or (3) disrupt commercial, agricultural, aquacultural, or recreational activities dependent on infested waters.
Bill· HRH.R. 1421 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Advancing Innovative Manufacturing Act of 2013 - Amends the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to carry out a program to develop and support industry-led consortia that will identify, prioritize, and address long-term, precompetitive industrial research needs in the area of advanced manufacturing, including through the use of technology roadmaps and transfer of technology platforms and infrastructure. Requires the Director to carry out a pilot program (through the award of competitive, merit-reviewed grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to small- or medium-sized manufacturers) to enhance the innovative capabilities and competitiveness of such manufacturers through support for research and development that will promote the field of advanced manufacturing and lead to the commercialization of new products, processes, or technologies. Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish an innovation voucher pilot program to accelerate innovative activities and enhance the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized manufacturers, which shall: (1) foster collaborations between such manufacturers and research institutions, and (2) enable the manufacturers to access technical expertise and capabilities that will lead to the development of innovative products or manufacturing processes. Amends the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 to revise the program of grants for education and training in advanced manufacturing so that such grants are provided to community colleges for the development and implementation of innovative education reforms to ensure an adequate and well-trained advanced manufacturing workforce. Lists activities that may be supported by such grants, including for: (1) the development of teaching materials and methods, (2) faculty professional development, (3) centers to provide models and leadership, (4) activities to enhance student recruitment and retention, and (5) partnerships to ensure the development of an advanced manufacturing workforce with skills necessary to meet regional economic needs.
Bill· HRH.R. 1442 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Depleting Risk from Insect Infestation, Soil Erosion, and Catastrophic Fire Act - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to state findings concerning the threat to forests in the Western region of the United States posed by the mountain pine beetle. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) or the Secretary of the Interior, as appropriate, to designate as part of an insect and disease treatment and research pilot program at least one subwatershed in at least one national forest in each state that is experiencing an insect or disease epidemic and characterized by: (1) substantially increased tree mortality due to infestation; (2) the risk of substantially increased tree mortality over the next 15 years due to infestation; or (3) presence in an area in which the risk of hazard trees poses an imminent risk to public infrastructure, health, or safety. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out priority projects on federal land in the designated subwatersheds to reduce the risk or extent of, or increase the resilience to, insect or disease infestation in the subwatersheds. Deems such projects to be authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects. Extends the authorization of appropriations for the insect infestation and related diseases program through FY2017. Allows the Secretary to use amounts appropriated to carry out the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act to cover the costs of technical assistance, management, and enforcement responsibilities for land enrolled in the healthy forests reserve program. Authorizes the Chief of the Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to enter into stewardship contracting projects to perform services to achieve land management goals for the national forests and the public lands that meet local and rural community needs. Replaces a similar program established by the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999. Allows the Secretary to issue a task order for, or enter into a good neighbor agreement or a cooperative agreement or contract with, a governor for purposes of carrying out similar and complementary forest, rangeland, and watershed restoration services on adjacent federal and non-federal land (with exceptions). Amends emergency runoff retardation and soil erosion preventive provisions of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to give priority consideration to applications for assistance submitted by landowners and land users for measures needed to remediate the effects of catastrophic wildfire on federal land that is the source of drinking water for the landowners and land users.
Bill· HRH.R. 1419 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Bridge to Jobs Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to provide grants to states to repair or replace bridges the Federal Highway Administration has found to be structurally deficient. Allows states to use the grants to cover costs directly or indirectly related to the repair or replacement of such bridges, including administrative expenses and job training costs.
Bill· HRH.R. 1449 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
Bill· HRH.R. 1432 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2013
Air Traffic Control Tower Funding Restoration Act - Amends the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 to increase funding to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for air traffic organization activities. Allocates certain appropriations for contract tower program for contract towers in operation as of February 1, 2013. Specifies offsetting rescissions from FY2013 FAA appropriations for facilities and equipment and for research, engineering, and development.
Bill· SS. 662 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2013
Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2013 - Revises the organization, in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and renames it the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP Agency), headed by the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to transfer all functions of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection of DHS to the CBP Agency. Requires appointment of between two and three Deputy Commissioners, including a Deputy Commissioner for Trade. Establishes in the office of the Commissioner a Trade Advocate. Directs the DHS Secretary to transfer to the Trade Advocate all functions of the CBP Agency Office of Trade Relations, which is hereby abolished. Establishes within the CBP Agency an Office of Trade, absorbing all functions of the CBP Office of International Trade, which is hereby abolished. Establishes within the CBP Agency an Office of International Affairs. Establishes in the Office of Field Operations of the CBP Agency a Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Division. Directs the Commissioner to designate at least 40 commercial enforcement officers within the Office. Directs the Commissioner to establish a Customs Facilitation and Enforcement Interagency Committee to improve coordination among federal agencies with respect to the movement of merchandise into and out of the United States (trade facilitation) and enforcement of U.S. customs and trade laws (trade enforcement). Directs the Committee to establish a Customs Facilitation and Enforcement Review Group. Requires two separate budget requests for the CBP Agency, one for commercial operations and one for noncommercial operations. Establishes in the DHS Office of Policy a Director of Trade Policy. Renames the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in DHS, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE Agency). Requires two separate budget requests for the ICE Agency, one for customs operations and one for other operations. Amends the Customs and Trade Act of 1990 to direct the Commissioner of the CBP Agency and the ICE Director to develop jointly every two years, and report to Congress, a joint strategic plan for improving trade facilitation and trade enforcement. Directs the Commissioner to ensure that CBP Agency partnership programs, such as the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, provide trade benefits to importers or exporters that meet program requirements. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to direct the Commissioner to establish a voluntary government-private sector trade facilitation partnership program, or modify an existing one, to enhance trade facilitation and trade enforcement and provide certain trade benefits to importers that meet certain minimum requirements. Directs the Commissioner to develop and implement CBP Agency-wide Centers of Excellence and Expertise. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury and the DHS Secretary jointly to establish a Customs Operations Advisory Committee (effectively replacing the Advisory Committee on Commercial Operations of the U.S. Customs Service). Amends the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) to authorize appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 to complete development, and provide for the operation and maintenance, of the Automated Commercial Environment computer system. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Secretary of the Treasury to work with the head of each agency participating in the International Trade Data System (ITDS) and the Interagency Steering Committee to ensure that each such agency, among other duties, develops and maintains the necessary information technology infrastructure to support the operation of the ITDS, submit all data to the ITDS electronically, and arrange to share information between each agency and the CBP Agency. Directs the DHS Secretary to establish within the CBP Agency Office of Trade a Commercial Targeting Division to conduct commercial risk assessment targeting and, when needed, issue trade alerts with respect to cargo destined for the United States. Directs the Commissioner and the ICE Director jointly to develop or update, and report to Congress, a strategy for uniform enforcement of U.S. illegal drug control laws. Requires the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees on IG oversight of revenue protection and enforcement measures. Requires the DHS Secretary and the Secretary of the Treasury to report jointly to specified congressional committees on security and revenue measures with respect to merchandise transported in bond. Directs the DHS Secretary to establish a program to assign importer of record numbers. Establishes an interagency Import Safety Working Group. Directs the DHS Secretary to develop a joint import safety rapid response plan that sets forth protocols for the CBP Agency to: (1) coordinate federal responses to cargo entering the United States that poses a threat to the health or safety of U.S. consumers, and (2) use in recovering from or mitigating the effects of actions and responses to such an incident. Directs the DHS Secretary to establish within the ICE Agency a National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center to coordinate U.S. activities to prevent the import and export of goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Requires the Commissioner of the CBP Agency, upon suspicion that merchandise is being imported into the United States in violation of U.S. trademark or copyright infringement laws, and belief that testing of the merchandise by the owner of a trademark or a copyright would assist in determining a violation, to provide the trademark or copyright owner any information appearing on the merchandise and its packaging and labels, including any unredacted images of them. Authorizes the DHS Secretary to establish in the ICE Agency priority trade enforcement coordination centers. Enforcing Orders and Reducing Customs Evasion Act of 2013 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the Commissioner, upon the filing of an allegation or a referral from another federal agency, to investigate claims of evasion of antidumping or countervailing duties (including any cash deposits or other security) with respect to covered merchandise entered into the United States. Requires the Commissioner, in the case of an affirmative determination based on substantial evidence, to: (1) suspend liquidation of unliquidated entries of covered merchandise and extend the period for liquidation of covered merchandise entered before such determination, (2) request the administering authority (Secretary of Commerce or other responsible U.S. officer) to identify the applicable antidumping or countervailing duties or cash deposit rate for such entries, (3) require the posting of cash deposits and assess duties, and (4) take appropriate additional enforcement measures. Revises eligibility requirements for the drawback (refund) of duties paid on eligible merchandise imported into the United States and later exported or destroyed. Prescribes or revises requirements for: (1) penalties for a custom broker convicted of committing an act of terrorism, (2) duty-free treatment under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States of certain federal property exported and reimported without having been advanced in value or improved in condition while abroad, and (3) assignment under COBRA of CBP Agency employees to perform customs services for charter flight passengers and their baggage. Directs the President to establish a pilot program for designating 24-hour commercial land border ports of entry on the northern and southern U.S. borders. Eliminates the consumptive demand exception to the prohibition on the importation of goods made with convict labor, forced labor, or indentured labor. Requires the Commissioner to ensure that appropriate CBP Agency resources address concerns that honey as well as contraband archaeological or ethnological material is being imported into the United States in violation of U.S. customs laws. Increases from $200 to $800 the retail value of articles that may be imported duty-free into the United States by one person on one day. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations for the entry of merchandise valued between $250 and $2,500. Amends the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2013 to repeal the authority of the Commissioner to enter into reimbursable fee agreements for up to five years for the provision of CBP services, including additional services at existing and new CBP-serviced facilities (including but not limited to payment of overtime) and land border facilities.
Bill· SS. 654 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2013
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2013 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
Law· HRH.R. 1344 (113th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Helping Heroes Fly Act - Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to develop and implement a process to provide expedited passenger screening services for severely injured or disabled Armed Forces members and veterans. Requires the Assistant Secretary also to maintain an operations center to provide for the movement of such members and veterans through screening before boarding a domestic or foreign passenger aircraft. Directs the Assistant Secretary to establish and publish certain protocols for severely injured or disabled Armed Forces members and veterans or their family members and others to contact the operations center to request expedited screening services for the member or veteran.
Bill· HRH.R. 1398 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2013
Advancing Offshore Wind Production Act - Exempts any project determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project from environmental impact statement requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Defines an "offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project" as a project that is administered by the Department of the Interior and carried out on or in the waters of the Outer Continental Shelf to test or monitor weather (including wind, tidal, current, and solar energy) using towers, buoys, or other temporary ocean infrastructure and that: (1) causes less than one acre of surface or seafloor disruption at the location of each meteorological tower or other device and no more than five acres of surface or seafloor disruption within the proposed area affected by the project (including hazards to navigation), (2) is decommissioned within five years of its commencement, and (3) provides meteorological information to the Secretary of the Interior. Directs the Secretary to: (1) require that any applicant seeking to conduct an offshore meteorological site testing and monitoring project on the outer Continental Shelf obtain a permit and right of way; (2) determine whether to issue such a permit and right of way within 30 days after receiving an application; (3) provide an opportunity for submission of comments by the public; (4) consult with the Secretary of Defense (DOD), the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the heads of other federal, state, and local agencies that would be affected by issuance of the permit and right of way; and (5) provide an applicant the opportunity to remedy deficiencies in an application that was denied.
Bill· HRH.R. 1290 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2013
Amends provisions of the federal criminal code governing interstate transportation of firearms or ammunition to require that whenever transported by any means other than a motor vehicle: (1) a firearm shall be in a locked container or secured by a secure gun storage or safety device, and (2) ammunition shall be in a locked container. Excludes from permitted transport of a firearm or ammunition any transportation: (1) with the intent to commit a crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year that involves the use or threatened use of force against another; or (2) with knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that such a crime is to be committed in the course of, or arising from, the transportation. Prohibits the arrest or detention of a person for a violation of any state or local law or regulation related to the possession, transportation, or carrying of firearms unless there is probable cause to believe that the person is doing so in a manner not provided for under federal law. Provides that when a person asserts this as a defense in a criminal proceeding: (1) the prosecution shall bear the burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the person's conduct did not satisfy federal conditions; and (2) the court shall award the prevailing defendant a reasonable attorney's fee. Authorizes a private right of action (and attorney fees) for deprivation of any right, privilege or immunity secured by federal firearms provisions under color of any state or local law or regulation.
Bill· SS. 613 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Service Members Permanent Change of Station Relief Act - Sets at the business standard mileage rate of the Internal Revenue Service the monetary allowance for a member of the Armed Forces for travel by privately owned vehicles in lieu of government transportation in the case of: (1) a change of permanent station, (2) travel to the first station upon call to active duty, and (3) travel from a last duty station upon separation from service. Sets the monetary allowance for authorized travel by a member's dependent at the rate per mile established by the Administrator of General Services instead of the actual expenses for such transportation. Revises requirements allowing the transport at government expense of one motor vehicle owned or leased by a member (or member's dependent) to the new station of the member who has been ordered to make a change of permanent station. Authorizes the transport at government expense of one additional motor vehicle of a member (or member's dependent) if: (1) the member is ordered to make a change of permanent station to or from a nonforeign area outside the continental United States and the member has at least one dependent of driving age who will use the motor vehicle, or (2) the Secretary of the military department concerned determines that a replacement for the transported motor vehicle is necessary for reasons beyond the member's control and is in the interest of the United States.
Bill· HRH.R. 1245 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Flight School Security Act of 2013 - Revises requirements with respect to the training of aliens and other individuals designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) in the operation of certain aircraft. Authorizes a flight instructor, pilot school, or aviation training center to provide training in the operation of an aircraft with a takeoff weight of more than 12,500 pounds to an individual who does not hold a valid Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman's certification only if: (1) that individual has been checked against the terrorist watchlist by the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to determine if he or she poses a threat to aviation or national security or a threat of terrorism, and (2) the Assistant Secretary determines that the individual does not pose a threat that warrants denial of access to such training.
Bill· HRH.R. 1262 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2013
Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act of 2013 - Amends the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 to direct the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to study and identify any potential threats to privacy protections posed by the integration of unmanned aircraft (drone) systems into the national airspace system, including any potential violations of privacy principles. Directs the Secretary to establish certain procedures to allow for civil operation in the national airspace system of small drone systems that do not meet expedited operational authorization requirements. Requires such procedures to ensure that the integration of drone systems into the national airspace system is done in compliance with privacy principles. Prohibits the Secretary from approving, issuing, or awarding any certificate, license, or other grant of authority to operate a drone system in the national airspace system unless the application for it includes a data collection statement, meeting certain requirements, that provides reasonable assurance that the applicant will operate the drone system in accordance with privacy principles. Applies the same privacy principles requirement to any drone system to be operated by a law enforcement agency or a law enforcement agency contractor or subcontractor, except that the application for it shall include a data minimization statement, meeting certain requirements, instead of a data collection statement. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make any approved certificate, license, or other grant of authority, plus other specified information, available in a searchable format on the public FAA website. Prohibits any person or entity from using a drone system, or requesting information or data collected by another entity through use of a drone system, for protective activities, or for law enforcement or intelligence purposes, except pursuant to a warrant issued using the procedures described in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or, in the case of a state court, issued using state warrant procedures) by a court of competent jurisdiction, or as otherwise provided in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Makes an exception to this prohibition in exigent circumstances when a law enforcement entity reasonably believes there is: (1) an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury; or (2) a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization, according to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS). Makes it unlawful to operate a drone system in a manner that is not in accordance with the terms of a data collection statement or in a manner violating any portion of the final rule for the procedures for civil operation of small drone systems required by this Act. Grants enforcement authority to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Authorizes a state to bring a civil action on behalf of state residents in state or U.S. district court for injunctive relief against violations of this Act or related regulations if the state attorney general has reason to believe that an interest of state residents has been or is threatened or adversely affected by a prohibited act or practice. Creates a private right of action in state or U.S. district court for persons injured by a prohibited act. Allows a suit against a governmental entity. Requires the FAA to revoke the certificate, license, or other grant of authority to operate a drone system operated in a prohibited manner. Declares that nothing in this Act may be construed to apply to model aircraft flown strictly for hobby or recreational purposes and meeting certain other criteria.
Bill· SS. 601 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2013
Water Resources Development Act of 2013 - Title I: Water Resource Projects - Sets forth policy with respect to the authorization, review, and funding of water resources projects authorized by Congress and undertaken by the Army Corps of Engineers (Corps). Title II: Water Resources Policy Reforms - Requires the Secretary of the Army (Secretary) to increase and grant priority funding for : (1) continuing authority programs, (2) ecosystem restoration projects, and (3) new studies for flood and hurricane damage reduction projects. Grants priority to hydropower development at dams constructed by the Corps. Authorizes non-federal interests (defined as including states, local governments, federally-recognized Indian tribes, and nonprofit entities) to act as project managers for flood and hurricane damage reduction projects and to conduct feasibility studies for water resources projects. Imposes time and cost limitations on feasibility studies for water resources projects. Revises requirements for water resource development project deauthorizations. Sets forth reporting and review requirements for: (1) water storage pricing formulas, (2) vegetation management policy, (3) restoration of flood and hurricane storm damage reduction projects, (4) dredging operations, (5) invasive species protection, (6) wetlands conservation, and (7) dam repair. Title III: Project Modifications - Amends the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 to allow a designee of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources to modify the Chatfield Reservoir Project. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (WRDA of 2007) to authorize the Secretary to reimburse members of the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee for travel expenses. Requires the Secretary to include specific project recommendations in the report on the study of flood and storm damage risk reduction in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. Directs the Secretary to consult with other federal agencies, conservation districts, the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council, and Montana in carrying out the Lower Yellowstone Project. Deauthorizes specified water resources projects in: (1) Somerset County, Maryland; (2) Deal Island, Maryland; (3) Georges River, Maine; and (4) Warwick Cove, Rhode Island. Amends the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 1998 to repeal a prohibiting against the Secretary constructing the Oak Way or Sky Top detention structures in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, as part of the flood control project for the Green Brook Sub-Basin of the Raritan River Basin. Authorizes the Secretary to reassign unused irrigation storage within a reservoir on the Red River Basin to municipal and industrial water supply if the non-federal interest has already contracted for a share of such supply on the same reservoir. Adds shore protection and erosion control as purposes of the project for Point Judith Harbor of Refuge, Narragansett, Rhode Island. Title IV: Water Resources Studies - Sets conditions on the Secretary initiating new studies to determine the feasibility of carrying out water resources development projects or watershed and river basin assessments. Requires new authorization from Congress before any project evaluated in such a study is constructed. Title V: Regional and Nonproject Provisions - Directs the Secretary to plan, design, and construct projects for aquatic ecosystem restoration within the coastal waters of the northeastern United States from Virginia to Maine. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 to include Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia in the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Restoration and Protection Program. Requires the Secretary to develop a comprehensive Chesapeake Bay restoration plan to guide the implementation of the restoration projects. Removes wastewater treatment and water supply facilities from the eligible projects list. Requires projects carried out on federal lands to be carried out at the expense of the federal agency that owns the land. Permits the agency to accept non-federal contributions for the work. Amends the WRDA of 2007 to reauthorize appropriations for the Rio Grande environmental management program, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into interagency agreements with the Secretary of State to involve the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water Commission in the program. Amends the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 to increase the authorization of appropriations for Lower Columbia River and Tillamook Bay ecosystem restoration, Oregon and Washington. Directs the Secretary to establish a McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System Advisory Committee to provide information and recommendations to the Corps relating to the efficiency, reliability, and availability of the operations of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River navigation system, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a program to prevent and manage aquatic invasive species in the Columbia River Basin in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to: (1) monitor soil moisture and the snowpack in the Upper Missouri River Basin to help reduce flood risk and improve river and water resource management, (2) restore and maintain existing mid- and high-elevation snowpack monitoring sites operated under the SNOTEL program of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and (3) operate streamflow gauges and related interpretive studies in the Upper Missouri River Basin under the cooperative water program and the national streamflow information program of the United States Geological Service (USGS). Directs the Secretary to establish a program to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events on communities, water users, and fish and wildlife located in and along the headwaters of the Columbia, Missouri, and Yellowstone Rivers in Idaho and Montana by carrying out river, stream, and floodplain protection and restoration projects. Title VI: Levee Safety - National Levee Safety Program Act - Directs the Secretary to establish a national levee safety program that includes: a national levee database; an inventory and inspection of federal and non-federal levees; national levee safety guidelines; a hazard potential classification system for federal and non-federal levees; research and development; a national public education and awareness program; the coordination of levee safety, floodplain management, and environmental protection activities; the development of state and tribal levee safety programs; and the provision to states and Indian tribes of technical assistance and materials that address levee safety and flood risks. Directs the Secretary to provide grants to states and Indian tribes to establish levee safety programs, conduct levee inventories, and carry out the requirements of this title. Requires the levee safety programs to meet certain guidelines issued by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to provide grants to states, Indian tribes, and local governments to conduct flood mitigation activities that reduce flood risk. Allows grant funds to be used to rehabilitate levees, but not levees that are federally operated and maintained. Requires the Secretary to establish a National Levee Safety Advisory Board. Title VII: Inland Waterways - Establishes project delivery requirements for the Inland Waterways System, including requiring project management training and risk-based cost estimates for qualifying projects. Authorizes the Chief of Engineers to carry out pilot projects to evaluate processes or procedures for the study, design, or construction of qualifying projects. Revises the duties of the Inland Waterways User Board by requiring the Board to provide advice and recommendations to Congress regarding commercial navigation features and components of U.S. inland waterways and harbors and a long-term capital investment program. Requires the Chief of Engineers to communicate at least quarterly to such Board on the status of the study, design, or construction of such features or components. Establishes requirements regarding a 20-year program for making capital investments on inland and intracoastal waterways. Requires the Comptroller General to report on the efficiency of collecting the fuel tax for the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. Title VIII: Harbor Maintenance - Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund Act of 2013 - Requires: (1) the total budget resources made available from such Fund each fiscal year to equal the level of receipts plus interest credited to such Fund for that fiscal year, and (2) such amounts to be used only for harbor maintenance programs. Requires the Chief of Engineers, in allocating amounts from such Fund, to prioritize high-use deep draft projects for which construction is completed. Revises the non-federal share of the cost of operation and maintenance of a deep-draft harbor to 50% of the excess of the cost of the operation and maintenance of such project over the cost that the Secretary determines would be incurred if such project had a depth of 50 feet (currently, 45 feet). Defines operation and maintenance activities that are eligible for the federal cost share. Title IX: Dam Safety - Dam Safety Act of 2013 - Amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to require the head of a federal agency, on request, to provide a state dam safety agency with information on the condition and provisions for emergency operations of any dam the failure of which would affect the state. Directs the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to carry out a nationwide public awareness and outreach program to assist the public in preparing for, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from dam incidents. Authorizes appropriations for the National Dam Safety Program for FY2014-FY2018. Title X: Innovative Financing Pilot Projects - Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide financial assistance to carry out pilot projects to develop critical water resources infrastructure, including: a project for flood control or hurricane and storm damage reduction that the Secretary has determined is technically sound, economically justified, and environmentally acceptable; activities that are eligible for assistance under water pollution control revolving loan funds or drinking water state revolving loan funds; projects for enhanced energy efficiency in the operation of a public water system; projects for repair, rehabilitation, or replacement of a treatment works, community water system, or aging water distribution facility; brackish or sea water desalination projects, managed aquifer recharge projects, or water recycling projects; and acquisition of property that is integral to such water resources infrastructure projects or pursuant to an existing plan that would mitigate the environmental impacts of water resources infrastructure projects otherwise eligible for assistance under this title. Specifies activities that are eligible for assistance and project eligibility criteria. Authorizes the Secretary or the EPA Administrator to: (1) enter into agreements to make secured loans to finance eligible project costs, (2) establish fees to cover the costs of making such secured loans, and (3) provide a loan guarantee in lieu of making a secured loan if the budgetary cost of such guarantee is substantially the same as that of a secured loan. Requires the Secretary or the EPA Administrator to establish a uniform system to service the federal credit instruments made available under this title. Authorizes the Secretary or the EPA Administrator to: (1) collect and spend fees at a level that is sufficient to cover the costs of services of experts in the field of municipal and project finance and the costs of servicing such instruments, (2) appoint a financial entity to assist in servicing such instruments, and (3) retain the services of organizations and entities with expertise in such field for such assistance. Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018 to carry out this title. Title XI: Extreme Weather - Requires the Secretary to enter into enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to carry out a study and make recommendations relating to options for reducing risk to human life and property from extreme weather events. Requires the Comptroller General to submit a study of the strategies used by the Corps for the comprehensive management of water resources in response to floods, storms, and droughts. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out: (1) a watershed assessment in a major disaster area to identify specific flood risk reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, or ecosystem restoration project recommendations that will help to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure and reduce risks to human life and property from future natural disasters; and (2) one or more small projects identified under such assessment that the Secretary would otherwise by authorized to carry out under specified Acts. Requires such an assessment to be initiated within two years after the declaration of a major disaster. Authorizes appropriations for FY2014-FY2018.
Bill· HRH.R. 1232 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2013
Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act - Modifies the current framework governing the management of information technology (IT) within the federal government to: (1) require presidential appointment or designation of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) in 16 specified federal agencies (thereby providing consistency with the presidential appointment or designation of Chief Financial Officers for such agencies, but specifically excludes the Department of Defense [DOD] and provides for the heads of other agencies to continue to designate an agency CIO), (2) designate the Chief Information Officers Council as the lead interagency forum for improving agency coordination information resources investment, and (3) require the Comptroller General (GAO) to examine the effectiveness of the Council. Directs such CIOs to report directly to the head of the agency. Sets forth authorities relating to budget planning and the hiring of IT personnel. Requires each agency to have only one CIO but permits offices within an agency to designate a deputy, associate, or assistant CIO. Requires the Federal Chief Information Officer (FCIO) (defined as the Administrator of the Office of Electronic Government in the Office of Management and Budget [OMB]) to develop and implement an initiative to be known as the Federal Data Center Optimization Initiative to optimize the usage and efficiency of federal data centers. Sets forth permitted methods for agencies to consolidate data centers and achieve maximum server utilization and energy efficiency. Requires agencies to track costs resulting from implementation of the Initiative within the agency and submit an annual report on such costs to the FCIO. Requires the OMB Director to: (1) develop a plan for conducting a government-wide inventory of IT assets, and (2) assess all publicly available websites of federal agencies and require agencies to eliminate or consolidate any duplicate or overlapping websites. Expresses the sense of Congress that transition to cloud computing offers significant potential benefits for the the implementation of federal IT projects. Permits CIOs to establish cloud service working capital funds. Prohibits an executive agency from issuing a solicitation for certain covered contract vehicles unless the agency performs a business case analysis and obtains approval from the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy (FPP). Directs the OMB Director to: (1) establish a Federal Infrastructure and Common Application Collaboration Center to serve as a focal point for coordinated program management practices and to develop and maintain requirements for the acquisition of IT infrastructure and applications commonly used by federal agencies, and (2) designate Assisted Acquisition Centers of Excellence (AACEs) to develop areas of specialized acquisition expertise within various executive agencies. Sets forth authority for AACEs to implement best practices, assist agencies in expedient and low-cost interagency acquistions by engaging in repeated and frequent acquisition of similar IT requirements, and assist with recruitment and training. Requires the OMB Director to submit to Congress: (1) a five-year strategic plan to develop, strengthen, and solidify IT acquisition cadres; and (2) a plan for improving management of IT programs and projects. Directs the FPP Administrator to prescribe regulations requiring a comparative value analysis to be included in the contract file when the federal government purchases services and supplies offered under the Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative from sources outside such Initiative. Permits executive agencies to state in solicitations that awards will be made using a fixed price technical competition under which all offerors compete solely on nonprice factors and the fixed award price is pre-announced in the solicitation. Requires additional information concerning blanket purchase agreements and IT investments to be made available to the public. Establishes guidance with respect to the validity of open source software as a procurement option required to receive full consideration alongside other options (in merit-based requirements development and evaluation processes promoting choices based on performance and value) in a manner free of preconceived preferences based on how technology is developed, licensed, or distributed within the federal government. Prohibits such guidance from modifying the federal policy of following technology-neutral principles when selecting and acquiring information technology. Requires federal computer standards to include guidelines necessary to enable effective adoption of open source software. Directs the OMB Director to issue guidance for the use and collaborative development of open source software within the federal government.
Resolution· SCONRESS.Con.Res. 8 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2013
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2013, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2015-FY2023. Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts for FY2013-FY2023 with respect to: (1) federal revenues, (2) new budget authority, (3) budget outlays, (4) deficits, (5) public debt, and (6) debt held by the public. Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority, outlays, and administrative expenses for the Social Security Administration (SSA), including the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund, U.S. Postal Service discretionary administrative expenses, and specified major functional categories for FY2013-FY2023. Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the Senate Committee on Finance. Authorizes certain deficit-neutral reserve funds: to replace sequestration, promote employment and job growth, assist working families and children, invest in clean energy and preserve the environment, improve federal benefit processing, promote manufacturing in the United States, improve health outcomes and lower costs for children in Medicaid, and improve federal workforce development, job training, and reemployment programs; and for early childhood education, tax relief, investment in America's infrastructure, America's servicemembers and veterans, higher education, health care, investments in our nation's counties and schools, a farm bill, investments in water infrastructure and resources, pension reform, housing finance reform, national security, overseas contingency operations, terrorism risk insurance, postal reform, government reform and efficiency, legislation to improve voter registration and the voting experience in federal elections, improving federal forest management, financial transparency, and for the minimum wage. Authorizes a certain reserve fund for tax reform. Establishes certain deficit-reduction reserve funds: (1) for government reform and efficiency, and (2) to promote corporate tax fairness. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would cause the discretionary spending limits in this resolution to be exceeded, except by a supermajority waiver. Specifies such discretionary spending limits in the Senate for FY2013-FY2014. Provides for adjustments to budgetary aggregates and allocations for: designated emergency requirements, continuing disability reviews, health care fraud and abuse control, disaster relief, and adjustments for overseas contingency operations. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any legislation that would require advanced appropriations, other than for: (1) up to $28.852 billion in new budget authority in FY2015-FY2016 for programs, projects, activities, or accounts identified in the joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying this resolution; (2) the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; and (3) the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the Medical Services, Medical Support and Compliance, and Medical Facilities accounts of the Veterans Health Administration. Authorizes adjustments in committee allocations and all other budgetary aggregates, allocations, levels, and limits contained in this resolution for sequestration or sequestration replacement purposes. Makes it out of order to consider in the Senate any appropriations legislation, amendment, motion, or conference report that includes any provision that constitutes changes in certain mandatory programs affecting the Crime Victims Fund, except by a supermajority waiver. Requires Senate committees to: (1) review programs and tax expenditures in their jurisdictions to identify waste, fraud, and abuse or duplication, and to increase the use of performance data to inform committee work; (2) review the matters for congressional consideration identified on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) High Risk list report and the annual report to reduce program duplication; and (3) make recommendations to the Senate Budget Committee to improve governmental performance in their annual views and estimates reports. Requires the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report on any budget resolution in the Senate to include in its committee allocations to the Committees on Appropriations amounts for the discretionary administrative expenses of the SSA and of the Postal Service. Requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), when it releases its annual Update to the Budget and Economic Outlook, to: (1) report changes in direct spending and revenue associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, including the net impact on deficit, both with on-budget and off-budget effects; and (2) provide an analysis of the budgetary effects of 30%, 50%, and 100% of Americans losing employer sponsored health insurance and accessing coverage through federal or state exchanges.
Bill· HRH.R. 1222 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2013
Compact-Impact Reimbursement Act of 2013 - Amends the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985 to authorize and appropriate FY2013 funds to the Secretary of the Interior for: (1) grants to any local government of the United States that demonstrates financial strain due to demands on public services by significant immigration from the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau; and (2) aid in defraying costs incurred as a result of increased demands placed on health, educational, social, or public safety services, or infrastructure related to such services due to the residence of qualified nonimmigrants. Directs the Secretary to provide for periodic enumerations of qualified nonimmigrants in the states and territories of the United States. Defines "qualified nonimmigrant" as a person admitted to the United States pursuant to: (1) section 141 of the Compact of Free Association set forth in title II, or (2) section 141 of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the government of Palau.
Bill· SS. 572 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act - Prohibits, in any case arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), any person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness from being considered adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of the right to receive or transport firearms without the order or finding of a judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.
Bill· SS. 574 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Dredging for Restoration and Economic Development for Global Exports Act of 2013 or the DREDGE Act of 2013 - Modifies the project for navigation, Mississippi River Ship Channel, Gulf of Mexico to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to direct the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to: (1) achieve, operate, and maintain a navigation channel of 50 feet with respect to the portion of the project from Baton Rouge to the Southwest Pass sea buoy; (2) complete such work not later than the last day of the third fiscal year beginning after the enactment of this Act; (3) conduct a pilot disposal and sediment project in the Southwest Pass area to determine the cost-effectiveness of pump-out disposal operations for hopper dredges for environmental enhancement and dredged material disposal; and (4) consult with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholders to determine the safe placement and timing of such pump-out disposal operations that protect, create, restore, and nourish coastal wetlands and aquatic habitat. Requires: (1) all costs of such work to be treated as operation and maintenance costs, including the first costs of achieving a navigation channel of 50 feet; (2) the federal cost share of such work to be 100%; and (3) the Secretary to pay 100% of the costs of such work out of amounts made available from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for operation and maintenance expenses. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to report to Congress on: (1) the cost and the environmental, storm damage reduction, and social benefits of the pump-out disposal operation; and (2) the total quantity of dredge material produced during operation and maintenance activities in the New Orleans District and the quantity that is beneficially used.
Bill· SS. 566 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Water Infrastructure Now Public-Private Partnership Act or the WIN P3 Act - Directs the Chief of Engineers to establish a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and project delivery efficiency of allowing non-federal interests to carry out authorized flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and navigation projects. Requires the Chief: (1) to identify not more than 15 projects authorized for construction; (2) to develop a detailed project management plan for each identified project that outlines the scope, budget, design, and construction resource requirements necessary for the non-federal interest to execute the project or an element of the project; (3) to enter into a project partnership agreement with the non-federal interest at such interest's request to provide full project management control for construction of the project or element in accordance with plans approved by the Chief; (4) following execution of such agreement, to transfer specified amounts to the non-federal interest to carry out project construction; and (5) to regularly monitor and audit each such project being constructed by a non-federal interest. Sets forth restrictions on projects selected. Authorizes the Chief to: (1) provide technical assistance to the non-federal interests for compensation, and (2) waive or modify applicable federal regulations if doing so would provide public and financial benefits. Directs the Chief, before entering into a project partnership agreement, to enter into an arrangement with an independent third party to conduct an assessment and provide justification that the proposed agreement would represent a better public and financial benefit than a similar transaction using public funding. Terminates authority to commence a project under this Act five years after its enactment.
Law· HRH.R. 1204 (113th)enacted
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2013 - Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration [TSA]) to establish in the TSA an Aviation Security Advisory Committee, including air cargo, general aviation, airport perimeter security, and risk-based subcommittees.
Bill· HRH.R. 1177 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Domestic Violence Survivor Protection Act - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to modify the definition of: (1) "intimate partner" to include a dating partner or former dating partner of a person (replacing language including an individual who cohabitates or has cohabitated with the person); and (2) "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" to include an offense that has, as an element, the use of physical force or a deadly weapon by a dating partner or former dating partner. Extends the prohibition against the shipment, transport, possession, or receipt of a firearm or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce to: (1) a person who is subject to a court order issued after a hearing (eliminating the requirements that the person received actual notice of and had an opportunity to participate in the hearing) with respect to a court order restraining the person from harassing, stalking, threatening, or placing in reasonable fear of bodily injury an intimate partner, a child of such intimate partner or person, a family member even if such member had never cohabited with such person, an individual who cohabitates or has cohabitated with the person, or an elderly or dependent adult; (2) a person restrained by a court order issued at the request of an employer on behalf of its employee or at the request of an institution of higher education on behalf of its student; and (3) a court order that restrains such a person from intimidating or dissuading a witness from testifying in court.
Bill· HRH.R. 1149 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Waterways Are Vital for the Economy, Energy, Efficiency, and Environment Act of 2013 or WAVE4 Act - Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to require certain delivery process reforms for qualifying construction and major rehabilitation projects for navigation infrastructure of inland and intracoastal waterways. Directs the Secretary, working in conjunction with the Inland Waterways Users Board, to submit to Congress a 20-year program for making capital investments on inland and intracoastal waterways. Authorizes such program to be based on the 20-year capital investment strategy contained in the Inland Marine Transportation System (IMTS) Capital Projects Business Model, Final Report published on April 13, 2010, as approved by the Board. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to limit expenditures from the Inland Waterways Trust Fund to 50% of the total cost of the construction or rehabilitation project. Makes Fund amounts unavailable for: (1) construction or rehabilitation of dams, or (2) rehabilitation expenditures that do not equal or exceed $100 million.
Bill· HRH.R. 1161 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Dredging for Restoration and Economic Development for Global Exports Act of 2013 or the DREDGE Act of 2013 - Modifies the project for navigation, Mississippi River Ship Channel, Gulf of Mexico to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to direct the Secretary of the Army to: (1) achieve, operate, and maintain a navigation channel of 50 feet with respect to the portion of the project from Baton Rouge to the Southwest Pass sea buoy; (2) complete such work not later than the last day of the third fiscal year beginning after the enactment of this Act; (3) conduct a pilot disposal and sediment project in the Southwest Pass area to determine the cost-effectiveness of pump-out disposal operations for hopper dredges for environmental enhancement and dredged material disposal; and (4) consult with appropriate federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholders to determine the safe placement and timing of such pump-out disposal operations that protect, create, restore, and nourish coastal wetlands and aquatic habitat. Requires: (1) all costs of such work to be treated as operation and maintenance costs, including the first costs of achieving a navigation channel of 50 feet; (2) the federal cost share of such work to be 100%; and (3) the Secretary to pay 100% of the costs of such work out of amounts made available from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for operation and maintenance expenses. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on: (1) the cost and the environmental, storm damage reduction, and social benefits of the pump-out disposal operation; and (2) the total quantity of dredge material produced during operation and maintenance activities in the New Orleans District and the quantity that is beneficially used.
Bill· HRH.R. 1153 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2013
Water Infrastructure Now Public-Private Partnership Act or the WIN P3 Act - Directs the Chief of Engineers to establish a pilot program to evaluate the cost-effectiveness and project delivery efficiency of allowing non-federal interests to carry out authorized flood damage reduction, hurricane and storm damage reduction, and navigation projects. Requires the Chief: (1) to identify not more than 15 projects authorized for construction; (2) to develop a detailed project management plan for each identified project that outlines the scope, budget, design, and construction resource requirements necessary for the non-federal interest to execute the project or an element of the project; (3) to enter into a project partnership agreement with the non-federal interest at such interest's request to provide full project management control for construction of the project or element in accordance with plans approved by the Chief; (4) following execution of such agreement, to transfer specified amounts to the non-federal interest to carry out project construction; and (5) to regularly monitor and audit each such project being constructed by a non-federal interest. Sets forth restrictions on projects selected. Authorizes the Chief to: (1) provide technical assistance to the non-federal interests for compensation, and (2) waive or modify applicable federal regulations if doing so would provide public and financial benefits. Directs the Chief, before entering into a project partnership agreement, to enter into an arrangement with an independent third party to conduct an assessment and provide justification that the proposed agreement would represent a better public and financial benefit than a similar transaction using public funding. Terminates authority to commence a project under this Act five years after its enactment.
Bill· SS. 556 (113th)open
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Air Carrier Access Amendments Act - Requires domestic and foreign air carriers to ensure that all visually displayed entertainment programming available to flight passengers is accessible to individuals with disabilities, including by making available open captioning (openly displaying text on a shared video monitor), closed captioning (displaying text through an individual video monitor), and video description (audio-narrated descriptions through individual or shared monitors) for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or visually impaired, as the case may be. Requires in addition that all individual video displays to flight passengers of entertainment programming or information that are operated primarily by use of touchscreens or other contact-sensitive controls include a mechanism allowing individuals with disabilities to operate such displays independently in accordance with standards the Access Board shall establish. Makes certain penalties under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 available to persons aggrieved by an air carrier's failure to comply with this Act.
Bill· SS. 551 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Capital Construction Fund Penalty Relief Act - Permits any person who entered into a capital construction fund agreement (an agreement to provide replacement vessels, additional vessels, or reconstructed vessels) with respect to certain vessels operated in the fisheries of the United States to make an election to terminate the capital construction fund established under such agreement. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe requirements regarding the effect of such an election, including the distribution and taxation of such funds, on individuals and entities.
Bill· SS. 542 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Maritime Lien Reform Act of 2013 - Bars specified federal shipping laws related to maritime liability from: (1) establishing maritime liens on state or federal fishing licenses (authorizing a person or use of a vessel to engage in fishing), and (2) authorizing civil actions to enforce maritime liens on such licenses. Specifies that a "fishing license" is governed solely by the state or federal law under which it was issued and is not included in the whole or as an appurtenance or intangible of a vessel.
Bill· HRH.R. 1108 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act of 2013 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into agreements with persons for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide customs and immigration services at a land border port of entry, subject to payment of a fee to reimburse the CBP for providing such services. Declares that nothing in this grant of authority shall be construed to reduce the responsibilities or duties of the CBP to provide services at land border ports of entry that have been authorized by law and federally-funded. Directs the Administrator of General Services to establish procedures for evaluating proposals submitted by persons to: (1) enter into cost-sharing or reimbursement agreements with the General Services Administration (GSA) for the construction or maintenance of infrastructure at a land border port of entry, and (2) provide GSA an unconditional gift of property for use in the construction or maintenance of such infrastructure. Prescribes minimum requirements for such procedures.
Bill· HRH.R. 1147 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Maritime Lien Reform Act - Bars specified federal shipping laws related to maritime liability from: (1) establishing maritime liens on state or federal fishing permits (authorizing a person or use of a vessel to engage in fishing), and (2) authorizing civil actions to enforce maritime liens on such permits. Specifies that a "fishing permit" is governed solely by the state or federal law under which it was issued and is not included in the whole or as an appurtenance or intangible of a vessel.
Bill· HRH.R. 1124 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
TIGER Grants for Job Creation Act - Makes supplemental appropriations of $500 million for each of FY2013 and FY2014 for the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program for national infrastructure investment projects for states, local governments, and transit agencies. Exempts such appropriations from sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Resolution· HRESH.Res. 115 (113th)passed
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2013
Sets forth the levels of payment for 113th Congress expenses (including staff salaries) for the Committees on: (1) Agriculture; (2) Armed Services; (3) the Budget; (4) Education and the Workforce; (5) Energy and Commerce; (6) Ethics; (7) Financial Services; (8) Foreign Affairs; (9) Homeland Security; (10) House Administration; (11) Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; (12) the Judiciary; (13) Natural Resources; (14) Oversight and Government Reform; (15) Rules; (16) Science, Space, and Technology; (17) Small Business; (18) Transportation and Infrastructure; (19) Veterans' Affairs; and (20) Ways and Means. Prescribes limitations to such expenses for the 1st and 2nd sessions of the 113th Congress. Establishes a reserve fund for unanticipated committee expenses for the 113th Congress. Authorizes the Committee on HouseAdministration to make adjustments to the committee expense accounts, if necessary to comply with a sequestration order by the President issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to enforce a specified budget goal or to conform to any change in appropriations for purposes in this Act.
Bill· SS. 541 (113th)referred
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2013
Safeguard American Food Exports Act of 2013 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem equine (horses and other members of the equidae family) parts to be an unsafe food additive or animal drug. Prohibits the knowing sale or transport of equines or equine parts in interstate or foreign commerce for purposes of human consumption.