jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2012-07-12 00:00:00

Sunshine for Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2012 - Defines a "covered civil action" as a civil action seeking to compel agency action and alleging that an agency is unlawfully withholding or unreasonably delaying an agency action relating to a regulatory action that would affect: (1) the rights of private persons other than the person bringing the action, or (2) a state, local, or tribal government. Defines a "covered settlement agreement" as: (1) a consent decree or settlement agreement entered into a covered civil action; and (2) any other consent decree or settlement agreement that requires agency action relating to such a regulatory action. Requires an agency against which a covered civil action is brought to publish the complaint in a readily accessible manner and to provide interested parties an opportunity to intervene and to conduct settlement negotiations through mediation. Requires an agency seeking to enter a covered settlement agreement to publish such agreement in the Federal Register and online not later than 60 days before it is filed with the court. Provides for public comment and public hearings on such agreement. Requires the Attorney General or an agency head, if an agency is litigating a matter independently, to certify to the court that the Attorney General or the agency head approves of any proposed covered settlement agreement that includes terms that: (1) convert into a duty a discretionary authority of an agency to propose, promulgate, revise, or amend regulations; (2) commit an agency to expend funds that have not been appropriated and budgeted; (3) commit an agency to seek a particular appropriation or budget authorization; (4) divest an agency of discretion committed to it by statute or the Constitution; or (5) otherwise afford any relief that the court could not enter under its own authority. Requires a court to grant de novo review of a covered settlement agreement if an agency files a motion to modify such agreement on the basis that its terms are no longer fully in the public interest due to the agency's obligations to fulfill other duties or due to changed facts and circumstances.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2012-07-30 00:00:00

Government Customer Service Improvement Act of 2012 - Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) develop performance measures to determine whether federal agencies are providing high-quality, timely, customer service and improving delivery service, (2) develop customer service and service delivery standards for such agencies, and (3) include achievements in meeting such performance measures and standards in agency performance updates. Requires the head of each federal agency to designate an agency employee to be its service improvement officer, who shall issue guidelines to implement customer service standards and publish customer service contact information. Directs the OMB Deputy Director of Management to establish a two-year Service Improvement Unit Pilot Program to provide assistance to agencies that do not meet such customer service standards and performance measures. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to: (1) report to Congress and the Comptroller General (GAO) on information submitted by each federal agency on its employees who are retiring, and (2) establish a timetable for the completion of its retirement systems modernization project.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2012-08-01 00:00:00

Independent Agency Regulatory Analysis Act of 2012 - Authorizes the President to require an independent regulatory agency to: (1) comply, to the extent permitted by law, with regulatory analysis requirements applicable to other federal agencies; (2) provide the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs with an assessment of the costs and benefits of a proposed or final significant rule (i.e., a rule that is likely to have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more and is likely to adversely affect sectors of the economy in a material way) and an assessment of costs and benefits of alternatives to the rule; and (3) submit to the Administrator for review any proposed or final significant rule. Prohibits judicial review of the compliance or noncompliance of an independent regulatory agency with the requirements of this Act.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2012-08-02 00:00:00

Economic Growth and Development Act - Directs the President to establish an interagency mechanism to improve coordination of U.S. development programs with private sector investment activities. Directs the President and Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to: (1) direct their respective policy and country teams to include private sector consultation in all country, sector, and global development strategies; and (2) ensure that independent analyses of constraints to growth are conducted as a component of all appropriate country, sector, and global development strategies.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Congress
Date: 2012-08-02 00:00:00

Pay for Printing Act - Requires the sponsor of a ceremonial or commemorative Senate resolution to reimburse the Government Printing Office (GPO) for the total costs of printing the resolution out of the sponsor's Members' Representative Allowance. Excludes from such requirement a resolution sponsored by at least two-thirds of Senators.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2012-12-19 00:00:00

Government Contracting Improvement Act of 2012 - Directs the Comptroller General to include in the annual report to Congress on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) a list of the most common grounds for sustaining protests relating to bids for contracts during the year.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Date: 2012-12-21 00:00:00

(Sec. 1) Directs the Comptroller General to study any bank holding company having more than $500 billion in consolidated assets (covered institution) with respect to: favorable pricing of its debt relative to its risk profile resulting from the perception it will receive federal support in the event of any financial stress; any favorable funding or economic treatment resulting from an increase in its credit rating as a result of express, implied, or perceived federal support; any economic benefit resulting from the ownership of, or affiliation with, an insured depository institution; any economic benefit resulting from its status as a bank holding company, including access to federal deposit insurance and the discount window of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) before enactment of this Act; any economic benefit received through extraordinary federal actions taken, such as specified actions by the Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC); any extraordinary assistance provided to American Insurance Group (AIG), but ultimately received by one of the covered institutions; and any government actions that resulted in the payment or nonpayment of credit default swap contracts entered into by a covered institution. Defines "economic benefit" as the difference between actual loan terms offered, debt or equity prices, or asset values and a reasonable estimate of what such terms, prices, or values might have been as determined by examining actual values of comparable transactions in the private markets or by estimating the values of comparable transactions priced to properly reflect associated risk. (Sec. 2) Requires the resulting report to Congress to redact any proprietary, sensitive, or confidential information in any release subsequently made electronically available to the public.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-01-03 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Requires the Governor of the Virgin Islands to appoint a Chief Financial Officer, with the advice and consent of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, from a list required by this Act. States that, if the Legislature has not confirmed a nominee within 90 days, the Governor shall appoint an Acting Chief Financial Officer until the Legislature consents to a Chief Financial Officer. Requires the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission to appoint an Acting Chief Financial Officer from the list, until a Chief Financial Officer is appointed, if one has not been appointed within 180 days. Requires any Acting Chief Financial Officer serving in that capacity for 180 consecutive days to become the Chief Financial Officer.

Sets forth the Chief Financial Officer's duties.

Directs the Board of Elections of the Virgin Islands, as part of the regularly scheduled, islands-wide election in the Virgin Islands closest to the expiration of the fourth year of the five-year term of the Chief Financial Officer, to hold a referendum to determine whether the position of Chief Financial Officer shall be made a permanent part of the executive branch of the government of the Virgin Islands.

Establishes the Virgin Islands Chief Financial Officer Search Commission to recommend at least three candidates for the Chief Financial Officer position. Terminates the Commission upon the nomination and confirmation of the Chief Financial Officer.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Housing and community development
Date: 2013-01-14 00:00:00

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Investigative Commission Act - Establishes the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Investigative Commission to investigate and make recommendations to Congress regarding certain decisions of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) (enterprises) that led to financial instability and federal conservatorship.

Requires the Commission to analyze specified topics, including: (1) the role of the enterprises in expanding homeownership and in helping housing market recovery; (2) enterprise involvement in the development of faulty risk standards, accounting practices, and the creation and proliferation of the securitized mortgage instrument, and how such instrument affected the solvency of such enterprises; (3) the role of the respective boards of directors in voting for the policies relating to risk assessments, subprime mortgages, and the international securitization of mortgages; and (4) compensation, stock options, and financial benefits that accrued to executive officers and members of the boards of directors.

Requires the enterprises and the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency to grant the Commission access to requested records and information.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Economics and public finance
Date: 2013-01-14 00:00:00

Zero-based Budgeting Ensures Responsible Oversight (ZERO) Act of 2013 - Requires the President to submit with materials related to each federal budget transmitted to Congress by January 1, 2015, a budget for each agency that contains:

 a description of each activity for which an agency receives an appropriation in the current fiscal year or for which the agency requests an appropriation for the budget year; the legal basis for each activity; for each activity, three alternative funding levels for the budget year (at least two of which shall be below the funding level for the current fiscal year), a summary of the priorities that would be accomplished within each level, and the additional increments of value that would be added by the higher funding levels; and for each activity one or more measures of its cost efficiency and effectiveness. Requires the  Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to publish guidelines to carry out this Act that shall require: (1) the baseline budget of each agency to be assumed to be zero, and (2) each proposed expenditure to be justified as if it were a new expenditure.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-01-15 00:00:00

Agency Conferences and Conventions Operating Under Necessary Transparency Act of 2013 or the ACCOUNT Act - Requires the head of a federal agency to: (1) approve in writing any conference costing more than $25,000, (2) approve such a conference only upon determining that it is necessary to the core mission of the agency, and (3) publish a summary on the agency website of the conference that includes the purpose and total cost of the conference and the cost per employee that attended the conference. Excludes conferences held entirely at a government facility.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2013-01-15 00:00:00

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Inspector General Act of 2013 - Establishes an Office of Inspector General for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Directs the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to appoint an Inspector General for the Authority.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-01-18 00:00:00

Regulatory Sunset and Review Act of 2013 - Requires federal agencies to review their covered rules and modify, consolidate, or terminate such rules on a periodic basis. Defines "covered rule" to include a significant rule that is likely to result in an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more or any other rule designated by an agency for sunset review.

Allows a person adversely affected by a rule that is not a significant rule to submit a petition for sunset review of such rule. Provides for sunset review of a rule upon the request of a congressional committee or a majority of the members of such committee.

Requires the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) conduct an inventory of existing rules and deadlines for their sunset review; (2) prioritize rules for sunset review based on specified criteria, including the cost of the rule and the burden of reviewing it; (3) group related rules for simultaneous review; (4) provide guidance to agencies for conducting sunset reviews; and (5) provide feedback to agencies on sunset reviews and results. Requires a new significant rule to be reviewed: (1) within three years after taking effect, or (2) within seven years after taking effect if the rule is issued pursuant to negotiated rulemaking procedures or if compliance with the rule requires substantial capital investment.

Requires each federal agency to designate a Regulatory Review Officer with responsibility for implementation of this Act.

Provides for judicial review of a denial or delay in granting or denying a petition for sunset review of a rule.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-01-18 00:00:00

Inspector General Improvement Act of 2013 - Requires the inspectors general of the following federal agencies, in addition to the other duties and responsibilities specified in the Inspector General Act of 1978, to supervise, direct, and control audit and investigative activities pertaining to programs and operations:

 U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID); Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Department of Defense (DOD); Department of Education; Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA); Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Department of the Interior; Department of Labor; Department of State; Department of the Treasury; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); General Services Administration (GSA); Government Accountability Office (GAO); Intelligence Community; National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC); Office of Personnel Management (OPM); and Smithsonian Institution.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-02-04 00:00:00

Federal Executive Board Efficiency Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish Federal Executive Boards, which are defined as interagency entities established in a geographic area with a high concentration of federal employees outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to strengthen the management and administration of agency activities and coordination among local federal officers to implement national initiatives in that area. Requires each Board for a geographic area to consist of a senior officer for each agency in that area.

Requires the Director to: (1) consider specified factors in determining the location for establishment of such Boards, such as whether a geographic area has a strong, viable, and active Federal Executive Association and whether such Association petitions to become a Board; and (2) provide for the administration and oversight of such Boards, including by establishing staffing and communications policies and performance standards for Board staff.

Requires each Board to: (1) serve as an instrument of outreach for the national headquarters of agencies relating to agency activities in the geographic area; (2) provide a forum for the exchange of information relating to programs and management methods and problems between the national headquarters of agencies and the field; (3) develop local coordinated approaches to the development and operation of programs that have common characteristics; (4) communicate management initiatives and other concerns from federal officers and employees in the Washington, D.C. area to federal officers and employees in the geographic area to achieve better mutual understanding and support; (5) develop relationships with state and local governments and nongovernmental organizations to help fulfill the roles and responsibilities of that Board; and (6) facilitate communication, collaboration, and training to prepare the federal workforce for emergencies and continuity of operations.

Requires the Director to: (1) establish a fund within OPM for financing essential Board functions, into which contributions from the headquarters of each participating agency shall be deposited; (2) submit annual reports to Congress and agencies on Board program outcomes and budget matters; and (3) report to specified congressional committees on essential Board functions, staffing requirements, and staffing and operating expenses.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-02-05 00:00:00

Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), not later than 150 days after the enactment of this Act, to coordinate with the heads of federal agencies to: (1) use available administrative authority to eliminate, consolidate, or streamline federal programs and agencies with duplicative and overlapping missions as identified in the February 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled "Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue" and the March 2011 GAO report entitled "Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue" and apply any savings towards deficit reduction; (2) report to Congress any legislative changes required to further eliminate, consolidate, or streamline such programs and agencies; (3) determine the total cost savings to each agency from the implementation of this Act; and (4) rescind from appropriate accounts the greater of $10 billion or the total amount of such cost savings.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-02-06 00:00:00

Government Waste Reduction Act of 2013 - Establishes the Independent Government Waste Reduction Board, the membership of which shall include individuals with national recognition for expertise in agencies, waste reduction, finance and economics, and actuarial sciences.

Requires the Board to submit to Congress and the President a report that advises specific implementation of the recommendations from the March 2011 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report "Opportunities to Reduce Potential Duplication in Government Programs, Save Tax Dollars, and Enhance Revenue" and the February 2012 GAO report "Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve Savings, and Enhance Revenue."

Sets forth procedures for congressional consideration of the Board's recommendations.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-02-06 00:00:00

Audit the Pentagon Act of 2013 - Requires, on March 2 of FY2014 and each subsequent fiscal year, a 5% reduction in the discretionary budget authority of a federal agency that is identified by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as required to have an audited financial statement: (1) that has not submitted a financial statement for the previous fiscal year, or (2) whose statement has not received either an unqualified or a qualified audit opinion by an independent external auditor. Excludes from such reduction accounts for military, reserve and National Guard personnel and the Defense Health Program account of the Department of Defense (DOD). Authorizes the President to waive a reduction in discretionary budget authority if such reduction would harm national security or members of the Armed Forces who are in combat.

Requires a report to Congress listing required DOD reports that interfere with DOD's capacity to achieve an audit of its financial statements with an unqualified opinion.

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) congressional defense committees and DOD should not endanger the nation's troops by reducing wounded warrior accounts or vital protection for members of the Armed Forces in harm's way, (2) the valuation of legacy assets by DOD should be simplified without compromising essential controls or generally accepted government auditing standards, and (3) this Act should not be construed to require or permit the declassification of accounting details about classified defense programs and DOD should ensure financial accountability in such programs.

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Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Date: 2013-02-25 00:00:00

Requires the Comptroller General to annually: (1) study the adequacy and accuracy of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) baseline model projections for health care expenditures for that fiscal year; and (2) report study results to the congressional veterans, appropriations, and budget committees.

Requires each such report to be made available to the public.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: Government operations and politics
Date: 2013-02-27 00:00:00

Taxpayers' Conference Overspending Prevention Act or the Taxpayers' COP Act - Requires each executive agency to submit an annual report to Congress listing the amount of funds such agency obligated for conferences in the previous fiscal year, including funds for pre-planning, travel, and subsistence costs. Requires the rescission of unobligated funds for agency conferences in excess of specified amounts unless such funds are certified as being for foreign travel that is critical to the agency's mission.
Topic: Government Operations — Bureaucracy
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2013-02-28 00:00:00

Amends the Diplomatic Security Act to require a determination by the Accountability Review Board that an individual's misconduct or unsatisfactory performance of duty significantly contributed to serious injury, loss of life, significant property destruction, or serious security breach in order for the Board to recommend that an investigatory or disciplinary action be initiated by the appropriate federal agency or instrumentality.