In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.

Q: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Government Accountability Office 
Improvement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO OBTAIN RECORDS.

    (a) Authority To Obtain Records.--Section 716 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended in subsection (a)--
            (1) by striking ``(a)'' and inserting ``(2)''; and
            (2) by inserting after the section heading the following:
    ``(a)(1) The Comptroller General is authorized to obtain such 
agency records as the Comptroller General requires to discharge his 
duties (including audit, evaluation, and investigative duties), 
including through the bringing of civil actions under this section. In 
reviewing a civil action under this section, the court shall recognize 
the continuing force and effect of the authorization in the preceding 
sentence until such time as the authorization is repealed pursuant to 
law.''.
    (b) Interviews.--Section 716(a) of title 31, United States Code, as 
amended by subsection (a), is further amended in the second sentence of 
paragraph (2) by inserting ``and interview agency officers and 
employees'' after ``agency record''.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTERING OATHS.

    Section 711 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking 
paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
            ``(4) administer oaths to witnesses, except that, in 
        matters other than auditing and settling accounts, the 
        authority of an officer or employee to administer oaths to 
        witnesses pursuant to a delegation under paragraph (2) shall 
        not be available without the prior express approval of the 
        Comptroller General (or a designee).''.

SEC. 4. ACCESS TO CERTAIN INFORMATION.

    (a) Access to Certain Information.--Subchapter II of chapter 7 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
``Sec. 721. Access to certain information
    ``(a) No provision of the Social Security Act shall be construed to 
limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to 
obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any 
officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with 
respect to any information disclosed to or obtained by the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services under part C or D of title XVIII of the 
Social Security Act.
    ``(b) No provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 
shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the 
Comptroller General to obtain any information, to inspect any record, 
or to interview any officer or employee under section 716 of this 
title, including with respect to any information concerning any method 
or process which as a trade secret is entitled to protection.
    ``(c) No provision of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements 
Act of 1976 and the amendments made by that Act shall be construed to 
limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to 
obtain any information, to inspect any record, or to interview any 
officer or employee under section 716 of this title, including with 
respect to any information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General 
of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice or the Federal 
Trade Commission for purposes of pre-merger review under section 7A of 
the Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. 18a).
    ``(d)(1) The Comptroller General shall prescribe such policies and 
procedures as are necessary to protect from public disclosure 
proprietary or trade secret information obtained consistent with this 
section.
    ``(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed--
            ``(A) to alter or amend the prohibitions against the 
        disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information 
        prohibited by section 1905 of title 18 and other applicable 
        laws; or
            ``(B) to affect the applicability of section 716(e) of this 
        title, including the protections against unauthorized 
        disclosure contained in that section, to information obtained 
        consistent with this section.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 7 of title 31, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 720 the following:

``721. Access to certain information.''.

SEC. 5. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORTS.

    Section 719 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by striking ``and'' at the 
        end;
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)(C), by striking the period at the 
        end and inserting ``; and'';
            (3) by adding at the end of subsection (b)(1) the 
        following:
            ``(D) for agencies subject to sections 901 to 903 and other 
        agencies designated by the Comptroller General, an assessment 
        of their overall degree of cooperation in making personnel 
        available for interview, providing written answers to 
        questions, submitting to an oath authorized by the Comptroller 
        General under section 711, granting access to records, 
        providing timely comments to draft reports, adopting 
        recommendations in reports and responding to such other matters 
        as the Comptroller General deems appropriate.'';
            (4) in subsection (c)(2)(B), by striking ``and'' at the 
        end;
            (5) in subsection (c)(3), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; and'', and
            (6) by adding at the end of subsection (c) the following:
            ``(4) as soon as practicable when an agency does not, 
        within a reasonable time, respond to a request by the 
        Comptroller General regarding any matter described in 
        subsection (b)(1)(D).''.

            Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.

A: Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2008 - Authorizes the Comptroller General to: (1) obtain federal agency records required to discharge his or her duties, including through bringing civil actions under this Act; (2) interview agency officers and employees to get information about agency duties, powers, activities, organization, and financial transactions; and (3) administer oaths to witnesses (currently, the Comptroller General may administer oaths to witnesses when auditing and settling accounts).

Requires the Comptroller General to prescribe such policies and procedures as are necessary to protect from public disclosure proprietary or trade secret information obtained under this Act.

Declares that no provision of the Social Security Act, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 shall be construed to limit, amend, or supersede the authority of the Comptroller General to obtain information, inspect records, or interview specified agency officers or employees, including with respect to: (1) information disclosed to or obtained by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Social Security Act; (2) information concerning any method or process protected as a trade secret; and (3) information disclosed to the Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for purposes of pre-merger review under the Clayton Act. Declares that this Act shall not be construed to: (1) alter or amend the prohibitions against the disclosure of trade secret or other sensitive information; and (2) affect the applicability of requirements governing the availability of agency information to information obtained.

Requires the Comptroller General to: (1) report annually on the cooperation of agencies subject to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and other agencies designated by the Comptroller General in making personnel available for interviews, providing written answers to questions, submitting to an oath authorized by the Comptroller General, granting access to records, providing timely comments to draft reports, adopting report recommendations, and responding to such matters as the Comptroller General deems appropriate; and (2) report to Congress when agencies do not respond to requests regarding such matters.
****
Q: SECTION 1. YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO PRESERVATION.

    (a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Yellowstone 
Buffalo Preservation Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) More than any other animal, the American buffalo (Bison 
        bison) is a wildlife icon of the United States. The American 
        buffalo is the symbol that represents the Department of the 
        Interior. The American buffalo is profoundly significant to 
        Native American cultures and, perhaps more than any other 
        wildlife species, has influenced our history.
            (2) The American buffalo is still under assault, as it was 
        in the late 19th Century when it was nearly exterminated. At 
        the end of the great slaughter, in which tens of millions of 
        buffalo were killed, only a few hundred wild buffalo remained 
        in the Nation and all were located in Yellowstone National 
        Park. Due to poaching, their numbers were reduced to 25 by the 
        year 1900.
            (3) The offspring of the 25 survivors comprise the 
        Yellowstone buffalo herd and are the only wild, free-roaming 
        American buffalo to continuously occupy their native habitat in 
        the United States.
            (4) The Yellowstone buffalo herd is genetically unique. 
        Unlike captive ranched buffalo, which are now relatively 
        common, the Yellowstone buffalo herd has never interbred with 
        cattle and has retained its wild character.
            (5) Because the Park lacks extensive low-elevation winter 
        habitat that provides bison and elk with access to winter 
        forage, wildlife migrate from the high elevation plateau of 
        Yellowstone National Park to lower elevation habitat adjacent 
        to the Park in winter and spring.
            (6) The Yellowstone buffalo herd was exposed to the 
        bacterium Brucella abortus, which can cause the disease 
        brucellosis, in 1917. Brucellosis is only transmitted through 
        animal ingestion of contaminated reproductive products. 
        Brucellosis can cause abortions in infected animals, but only 
        infectious females who have the bacteria in their reproductive 
        system represent any potential threat of transmission. The risk 
        of transmission between wild buffalo and cattle was deemed low 
        in a 1992 General Accounting Office report, and again in a 1998 
        National Research Council study. In fact, there has never been 
        a confirmed incidence of brucellosis transmission in the wild 
        from buffalo to cattle. Buffalo with brucellosis and cattle 
        have grazed together for over 50 years in the Jackson Hole area 
        south of Yellowstone without any incident of disease 
        transmission. Despite these facts, the National Park Service, 
        the United States Forest Service, and the State of Montana 
        Department of Livestock haze, capture, and kill members of the 
        Yellowstone buffalo herd in an attempt to keep them unnaturally 
        confined within Yellowstone National Park. At the same time, 
        approximately 13,000 Yellowstone elk, some of which also harbor 
        brucellosis, are allowed unfettered access to Federal land 
        outside the Park. Since 1984, nearly 3,700 American buffalo 
        have been killed in Montana as a result of this policy. In the 
        winter of 2002-2003, 244 buffalo were killed by the Federal and 
        State agencies, including 231 buffalo which were captured and 
        slaughtered by the National Park Service.
            (7) The key lower elevation habitat needed by American 
        buffalo is primarily on Gallatin National Forest lands adjacent 
        to the north and west sides of the Park. On the north side, 
        taxpayers spent $13,000,000 in 1999 for a private-Federal land 
        exchange intended to make low elevation habitat adjacent to the 
        Yellowstone River accessible to the Yellowstone buffalo herd 
        and other wildlife. The land exchange has not yet been 
        finalized by Federal agencies and therefore key habitat is not 
        available to the Yellowstone buffalo herd.
            (8) On the west side of the Park, the Horse Butte peninsula 
        provides prime wildlife habitat for grizzly bears, trumpeter 
        swans, bald eagles, wolves, and buffalo. The peninsula 
        comprises approximately 10,000 acres of primarily Gallatin 
        National Forest Federal lands extending into Hebgen Lake.
            (9) National Park Service lands have been set aside for the 
        conservation of resources and values and for the enjoyment and 
        use of all citizens. The Federal lands adjacent to the Park 
        represent some of the most valuable and important wildlife 
        habitat in the lower forty-eight states. They are integrally 
        connected to the health of wildlife residing seasonally in our 
        Nation's oldest national park. Together, the Park and the 
        adjacent Federal lands provide some of our Nation's richest 
        opportunities for recreation, wildlife viewing, family camping, 
        wildlife conservation, fishing, and other recreational and 
        sporting activities. These Federal lands should be 
        preferentially managed to sustain this rich and diverse 
        wildlife resource and to provide the public with enjoyment of 
        this National treasure.
    (c) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for the 
protection of the Yellowstone buffalo herd by allowing the Yellowstone 
buffalo herd to freely roam Federal lands outside of the Park. The 
Federal lands that are affected by this Act are those within the Park 
and adjacent to it on the north and west boundaries as indicated by 
zones 2 and 3 on the Modified Preferred Alternative Map on page 181 of 
the 2000 Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and Yellowstone 
National Park Final Environmental Impact Statement.
    (d) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section, the following 
definitions apply:
            (1) Hazing.--The term ``hazing'' means any individual 
        effort to drive away, obstruct, chase, scare, or deter natural 
        movements of wildlife, including hazing efforts carried out on 
        foot or horseback or efforts aided by machinery, aircraft, or 
        any type of noise-making device.
            (2) Individual.--The term ``individual'' means any person 
        representing a State or Federal Government.
            (3) Park.--The term ``Park'' means Yellowstone National 
        Park.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (5) Yellowstone buffalo herd.--The term ``Yellowstone 
        buffalo herd'' means the wild, free roaming, unfenced buffalo 
        living primarily within Yellowstone National Park.
    (e) Prohibited Acts; Criminal Penalties.--
            (1) Prohibited acts.--No individual may kill, haze, or 
        capture any buffalo on Federal land or land held under Federal 
        conservation easements or use any form of bait to lure buffalo 
        from any Federal land onto private land until the duties under 
        subsection (f) are carried out.
            (2) Penalties.--
                    (A) Initial violation.--Any individual found to be 
                in violation of paragraph (1) for the first time shall 
                be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more 
                than 1 year or both.
                    (B) Subsequent violations.--Any individual found to 
                be in violation of paragraph (1) after the first such 
                finding shall be fined not more than $10,000 or 
                imprisoned not more than 2 years or both.
                    (C) Reward.--One half of any fine collected under 
                this subsection or $2,500, whichever is less, shall be 
                paid to any person or persons giving information which 
                leads to conviction of a violation of this subsection.
                    (D) Exception.--This subsection shall not apply to 
                a person that is found to have been hazing a buffalo if 
                the person is physically endangered or private property 
                was damaged by a buffalo.
    (f) Duties.--The Secretary and other appropriate Federal agencies 
shall ensure that the following is accomplished not later than 3 years 
after the date of the enactment of this Act:
            (1) The Yellowstone buffalo herd is allowed to freely roam 
        the Park and the Federal lands adjacent to Yellowstone National 
        Park on the north and west boundaries as indicated by zones 2 
        and 3 on the Modified Preferred Alternative Map on page 181 of 
        the 2000 Bison Management Plan for the State of Montana and 
        Yellowstone National Park Final Environmental Impact Statement 
        without being hazed. These lands shall be made available 
        preferentially for buffalo and wildlife use.
            (2) Management authority of the Yellowstone buffalo herd 
        within the Park is under the sole jurisdiction of the National 
        Park Service.
            (3) The land exchange described in section 1(b)(7) with the 
        private property owner has been finalized, as set forth in the 
        agreement executed in 1999, so that the Yellowstone buffalo 
        herd may freely roam the lands described in paragraph (1).
            (4) The National Park Service has disassembled the Stephens 
        Creek Buffalo Capture Facility.
            (5) The Secretary has made every effort practicable to 
        allow the Yellowstone buffalo herd to freely roam Federal lands 
        through incentives and cooperative efforts with adjacent 
        private landowners, including through acquisition, easement, 
        cattle vaccination, and landowner agreement pertaining to 
        temporal and spatial separation of livestock from the 
        Yellowstone buffalo herd.

A: Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act - Prohibits an individual from killing, hazing, or capturing any buffalo on Federal lands or land held under Federal conservation easements or using any form of bait to lure buffalo from any Federal land onto private land until the Secretary of the Interior and other appropriate Federal agencies carry out specified duties.

Establishes fines and criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
****
Q: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Breast Cancer and Environmental 
Research Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer 
        deaths among American women.
            (2) More women in the United States are living with breast 
        cancer than any other cancer (excluding skin cancer). 
        Approximately 3 million women in the United States are living 
        with breast cancer: 2 million who have been diagnosed and an 
        estimated 1 million who do not yet know they have the disease.
            (3) Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer 
        among women in the United States and worldwide (excluding skin 
        cancer). In 2001, it is estimated that 233,000 new cases of 
        breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United 
        States: 192,000 invasive breast cancer and 40,800 cases of 
        ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
            (4) Breast cancer is the second leading cause of breast 
        cancer death for women in the United States; approximately 
        40,000 women in the U.S. die from the disease each year. Breast 
        cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for U.S. women 
        between the ages of 20 and 59, and the leading cause of cancer 
        death for women worldwide.
            (5) A woman in the United States has a 1 in 8 chance of 
        developing invasive breast cancer in her lifetime--this risk 
        was 1 in 11 in 1975. In 2001, a new case of breast cancer will 
        be diagnosed every 2 minutes, and a woman will die from breast 
        cancer every 13 minutes.
            (6) All women are at risk for breast cancer. About 90 
        percent of women who develop breast cancer do not have a family 
        history of the disease.
            (7) The National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, a public 
        private partnership, has recognized the importance of expanding 
        the scope and breadth of biomedical, epidemiological, and 
        behavioral research activities related to the etiology of 
        breast cancer and the role of the environment.
            (8) To date, there has been only a limited research 
        investment to expand the scope or coordinate efforts across 
        disciplines or work with the community to study the role of the 
        environment in the development of breast cancer.
            (9) In order to take full advantage of the tremendous 
        potential for avenues of prevention, the Federal investment in 
        the role of the environment and the development of breast 
cancer should be expanded.
            (10) In order to understand the effect of chemicals and 
        radiation on the development of cancer, multi-generational, 
        prospective studies are probably required.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES; AWARDS FOR 
              DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING 
              ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS RELATED TO BREAST CANCER.

    Subpart 12 of part C of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 285l et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 
section:

``SEC. 463B. RESEARCH CENTERS REGARDING ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS RELATED 
              TO BREAST CANCER.

    ``(a) In General.--The Director of the Institute, based on 
recommendations from the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research 
Advisory Panel (hereafter in this section referred to as the `Panel'), 
shall make grants, after a process of peer review and programmatic 
review, to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and 
operation of not more than 8 centers for the purpose of conducting 
multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental 
factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Each such 
center shall be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research 
Center of Excellence. The Panel shall oversee the peer review process 
and shall conduct a programmatic review. The Panel will recommend the 
funding criteria and mechanisms by which the grant funds shall be 
allocated. The Panel shall make final programmatic recommendations on 
allocation of grant funds.
    ``(b) Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Advisory Panel.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish in the 
        Institute of Environmental Health Sciences the Breast Cancer 
        and Environmental Research Panel (hereafter in this section 
        individually referred to as the `Panel').
            ``(2) Membership.--The Panel shall be composed of nine 
        appointed members and nonvoting ex officio members. The 
        Secretary shall appoint--
                    ``(A) six members from physicians, and other health 
                professionals, who are not officers or employees of the 
                United States, and who represent multiple disciplines, 
                including clinical, basic and public health sciences, 
                and also different geographical regions of the country, 
                individuals shall come from practice settings as well 
                as academia and other research settings. Panel members 
                should be experienced in biomedical review; and
                    ``(B) three members from the general public who are 
                consumer representatives who have had breast cancer and 
                who represent a constituency.
            ``(3) Chair.--The members of the Panel shall select a 
        chairman from among the appointed members.
            ``(4) Meetings.--The Panel shall meet at the call of the 
        chairman or upon the request of the Director of the Institute, 
        but not less often than once a year.
    ``(c) Collaboration With Community.--Each center under subsection 
(a) shall establish and maintain ongoing collaborations with community 
organizations in the geographic area served by the center, including 
those that represent women with breast cancer.
    ``(d) Coordination of Centers; Reports.--The Director of the 
Institute shall, as appropriate, provide for the coordination of 
information among centers under subsection (a) and ensure regular 
communication between such centers, and may require the periodic 
preparation of reports on the activities of the centers and the 
submission of the reports to the Director.
    ``(e) Required Consortium.--Each center under subsection (a) shall 
be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions, meeting such 
requirements as may be prescribed by the Director of the Institute. 
Each center must require collaboration among highly accomplished 
scientists, other health professionals and advocates of diverse 
backgrounds from various areas of expertise.
    ``(f) Duration of Support.--Support of a center under subsection 
(a) may be for a period not exceeding 5 years. Such period may be 
extended for one or more additional periods not exceeding 5 years if 
the operations of such center have been reviewed by an appropriate 
technical and scientific peer review group established by the Director 
of the Institute and if such group has recommended to the Director that 
such period should be extended.
    ``(g) Geographic Distribution of Centers.--The Director of the 
Institute shall, to the extent practicable, provide for an equitable 
geographical distribution of centers under this section.
    ``(h) Innovative Approaches.--Centers shall use innovative 
approaches to study unexplored or under explored areas of the 
environment and breast cancer.
    ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--For the purpose of carrying 
out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 
for each of the fiscal years 2002 through 2007. Such authorization is 
in addition to any other authorization of appropriations that is 
available for such purpose.''.

A:
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2001 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, based on recommendations from the Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Advisory Panel (established by this Act), to make grants, after a process of peer review and programmatic review, to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers for the purpose of conducting multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer.
****