jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-05-05 00:00:00

Energy Independence Now Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to: (1) authorize tax-exempt bond financing for domestic use oil refinery facilities; (2) set forth an ASME Nuclear Certification credit; (3) modify the credit against tax for specified energy production, including certain vehicles acquired from domestic corporations; and (4) eliminate certain restrictions on the use of energy alternatives. Directs the President to designate federal lands and closed military installations for private sector development of oil or natural gas refineries. Requires lands which have not been used as a refinery within 10 years after such designation to be made available for leasing for renewable energy development, including ethanol refineries. Prohibits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) from denying an application for a facility on the grounds of insufficient disposal capacity for spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. Declares without force or effect federal prohibitions against spending appropriated funds for oil and natural gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to launch an oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain of Alaska (including a limited payment of federal revenues to the state of Alaska). Coal-to-Liquid Fuel Promotion Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to: (1) authorize appropriations for the coal-to-liquid fuel loan guarantee program; and (2) promote coal-to-liquid manufacturing on federal land. Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) to direct the Secretaries of Energy and of Defense to study and report to Congress on maintaining coal-to-liquid products in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Authorizes: (1) construction of storage facilities near pipeline infrastructure; (2) contracts with private sector companies for coal-to-liquid facilities on or near military installations; and (3) appropriations for the Air Force Research Laboratory to procure coal-derived synthetic fuels for aviation jet use. Requires the Secretary of Energy to: (1) evaluate Fischer-Tropsch fuel in connection with certain transportation fuels; and (2) report to Congress on the public health effects of using Fischer-Tropsch fuel for transportation purposes. Amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease public lands for production of renewable biomass for biofuels.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-05-12 00:00:00

Renewable Energy Permitting Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and carry out a pilot program in FY2009-FY2018 to improve federal renewable energy permit coordination. Provides for the distribution of solar and wind energy rental income collected by the Bureau of Land Management in specified percentages to: (1) certain states in which such income is derived; (2) the Renewable Energy Permit Processing Improvement Fund; and (3) the Solar Energy Land Reclamation, Restoration, and Mitigation Fund. Authorizes the Secretary to use amounts in such Funds for processing renewable energy permits and for reclaiming and restoring public land used for the production of solar energy. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to eliminate the five year limitation on the deposit and use of lease revenues under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2009-05-12 00:00:00

Amends the Clean Air Act to include within the definition of "renewable biomass" for purposes of renewable fuel program provisions materials, pre-commercial thinnings, or removed invasive species from National Forest System land and public lands that: (1) are byproducts of preventative treatments; (2) are removed to reduce hazardous fuels, to reduce or contain disease or insect infestation, or to restore ecosystem health; (3) would not otherwise be used for higher-value products; (4) are not from components of the national Wilderness Preservation System, Wilderness Study Areas, Inventoried Roadless Areas or unroaded acres of at least 5,000 acres, old growth or mature forest stands, components of the National Landscape Conservation System, National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Designated Primitive Areas, or Wild and Scenic Rivers corridors; (5) are harvested in environmentally sustainable quantities; and (6) are harvested in accordance with federal and state law and applicable land management plans.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-05-13 00:00:00

Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an environmental tax on: (1) any taxable carbon substance (i.e., coal, including lignite and peat, petroleum and any petroleum product, and natural gas that is extracted, manufactured, or produced in, or imported into, the United States); and (2) imported taxable products that account for a specified level of carbon substances used in the United States. Sets the amount of the tax at $15.00 per ton in 2010, and increases and adjusts for inflation such amount each year until the tax is $100 in 2040 and in subsequent years. Provides for a reduction in social security taxes by an amount determined by the Secretary of the Treasury to reflect the amount of revenues generated by the taxes imposed by this Act. Appropriates net revenues from such taxes to the social security trust funds. Requires a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives or the Senate to increase the amount of the tax on taxable carbon substance or imported products beyond the amount required to compensate for the aggregate reduction in revenues resulting from the lower rates of social security taxes provided by this Act (i.e., revenue neutrality).
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-05-20 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the credit period for open-loop biomass facilities eligible for the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-05-21 00:00:00

Renewable Energy Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate after 2010 the reduction in the rate of the tax credit for electricity produced from open-loop biomass, small irrigation power, landfill gas, trash combustion, and hydropower facilities (thus allowing the same credit rate for all renewable resource facilities).
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: International affairs
Date: 2009-06-15 00:00:00

Solar Villages Initiative Act - Authorizes the President, through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide assistance for renewable energy projects in developing countries to increase the availability of credit, savings, and other services to microfinance and microenterprise clients lacking full access to capital, training, technical assistance, and business development services. Includes in such projects assistance for small and micro businesses that loan or sell solar lanterns or lamps and other solar energy technologies.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-06-16 00:00:00

Ocean Thermal Energy Tax and Energy Credits Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for producing electricity from ocean thermal energy; (2) specify that such tax credit is available to taxpayers in certain possessions and other areas under U.S. control; and (3) allow an energy tax credit for investment in equipment which uses ocean thermal energy to generate electricity, to cool (or provide cold water for use in) a structure, or to produce fresh water.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-06-19 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny the alternative fuels excise tax credit for fuels (including lignin, wood residues, or spent pulping liquors) derived from the production of paper or pulp.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-06-23 00:00:00

American-Made Energy Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Treasury the American-Made Energy Trust Fund for alternative and renewable energy incentives and projects (e.g., wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal resources, waste to energy, hydropower, nuclear power, and coal to liquid technology). Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish, implement, and administer a competitive oil and gas leasing program on the Coastal Plain of Alaska. Repeals the prohibition against production or leasing of oil and gas resources from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Declares that the oil and gas leasing programs and activities in the Coastal Plain authorized by this Act are deemed in compliance with the purposes for which ANWR was established. Authorizes the Secretary to designate up to a total of 45,000 acres of the Coastal Plain as a special area, after consultation with the state of Alaska, the city of Kaktovik, and the North Slope Borough. Permits directional drilling in such special areas. Prescribes guidelines for implementation of lease sales. Sets forth: (1) a "no significant adverse effect" standard to govern Coastal Plain activities; (2) guidelines for expedited judicial review; and (3) a plan for federal and state distribution of revenues. Directs the Secretary to issue rights-of-way and easements across the Coastal Plain for the transportation of oil and gas. Provides for financial assistance for local government impact aid and community service assistance. Establishes in the Treasury the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund. Terminates all existing federal laws prohibiting expenditures to conduct oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing activities in the Outer Continental Shelf.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-06-24 00:00:00

Investment in American Steel Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to adjust the rate of the tax credit for investment in projects to produce energy from wind based upon the percentage of domestic steel content in such projects.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-07-08 00:00:00

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers investing in wind facilities used to produce electricity an exemption from limitations on passive activity losses and credits; and (2) tax credit amounts for producing electricity from wind facilities to offset alternative minimum tax liability.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-07-09 00:00:00

Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to carry out a research and development program to: (1) improve the energy efficiency, reliability, and capacity of wind turbines; (2) optimize the design and adaptability of wind energy systems to the broadest practical range of atmospheric conditions; and (3) reduce the cost of construction, generation, and maintenance of such systems. Directs the Secretary to conduct a wind energy demonstration program to measure wind energy system performance under the full productive range of wind conditions in the United States. Requires awards under such programs to be made on a competitive basis with an emphasis on technical merit. Requires the Secretary, in carrying out this Act, to: (1) coordinate with the Office of Minority Economic Impact and with the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization; and (2) provide special consideration to applications submitted by institutions, businesses, or entities containing majority representation of women, minorities, or persons with disabilities in science and engineering. Authorizes appropriations.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Date: 2009-07-10 00:00:00

Fusion Engineering Science and Fusion Energy Planning Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to enhance the U.S. capability in fusion engineering science (materials science and technology that focus on fusion energy plasmas) in order to ensure: (1) full U.S. benefit from the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project; and (2) U.S. leadership in fusion engineering science and in the next steps toward the development of a fusion energy facility. Directs the Secretary, in response to recent study and planning activities undertaken by the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee and the Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, to develop and provide to Congress a comprehensive plan identifying the full range of research and development, including fusion engineering science, and the facilities needed to achieve practical fusion energy.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-07-13 00:00:00

Affordable Food and Fuel for America Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to phaseout the income and excise tax credits for alcohol-based fuels and eliminate such credits in 2014. Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to phaseout the tariff on ethanol and provide duty free treatment of ethanol in 2014. Expresses the sense of Congress that the savings achieved by this Act should be used to combat hunger in the United States and to develop domestic supplies of cellulosic and advanced biofuels.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2009-07-30 00:00:00

Streamline Vehicle Conversions Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to provide that a certificate of conformity issued by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for one or more aftermarket conversion test groups with respect to an aftermarket conversion system (i.e., hardware installed on a light-duty or heavy-duty vehicle, light-duty truck, or heavy-duty engine that allows the vehicle or engine to operate on a fuel other than that which it was originally certified to use) shall not expire, shall continue to apply in subsequent calendar years, and shall not require recertification. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish criteria for use in identifying similar vehicle makes, models, original equipment manufacturers, emission standards, and different model years that may be used under a single test group; (2) accept such an established test group on an aftermarket conversion system manufacturer application for a certificate of conformity; and (3) allow the submission of previous vehicle emission test data for the certification of additional model year vehicles if the aftermarket conversion system manufacturer is able to demonstrate that neither the aftermarket conversion system nor the design and specifications of the applicable vehicle model are substantially different. Directs the Administrator to promulgate regulations regarding on-board diagnostic systems for aftermarket conversion systems that: (1) ensure that such conversion systems that are equipped with on-board diagnostic systems are effective at monitoring critical emission components; (2) take into account the inability of an aftermarket conversion system manufacturer to access proprietary on-board diagnostic technology of an original equipment manufacturer; and (3) are sufficiently flexible to encourage the increased use of alternative fueled vehicles. Sets forth provisions regarding the conversion of a vehicle outside of its useful life cycle.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-07-31 00:00:00

Amends the Clean Air Act to include algae-based biofuel in the renewable fuel program. Defines "algae-based biofuel," for purposes of such Act, as liquid fuel derived from the biomass of single- or multi-cellular organisms which are inherently aquatic and classified as non-vascular plants and that have lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions that are at least 60% less than the baseline for such emissions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) expand the definition of cellulosic biofuel to include algae-based biofuel for purposes of the cellulosic biofuel producer tax credit; and (2) allow accelerated depreciation of property used to produce algae-based biofuel. Defines "algae-based biofuel" as any liquid fuel which is produced from the biomass of an algal organism (i.e., an organism that is primarily aquatic and classified as a non-vascular plant).
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Date: 2009-07-31 00:00:00

Renewable Energy Development Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to carry out a program for the leasing of federal lands to advance, develop, assess, install, and operate commercial renewable solar, wind, and geothermal energy systems. Requires the Secretary to: (1) identify lease sites comprised of a total of 6,400,000 acres under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming which are suitable for the installation and operation of solar, wind, or geothermal energy systems; and (2) incorporate renewable energy development into the relevant agency's land use and resource management plans, or equivalent plans for the identified lands. Specifies the total annual amount of acreage that is to be released for leasing under this Act from 2010 to 2019. Excludes specified federal lands from inclusion within the program. Sets forth requirements for competitive leasing sales and noncompetitive leasing of the lands to be leased. Makes any lease of lands under this Act effective for a 30-year period. Directs the Secretary to complete a programmatic environmental impact statement for the program and to publish a final regulation to implement this Act. Directs the Secretary to study: (1) barriers to additional access to federal lands for the transmission of energy produced under leases awarded under such program; and (2) the need for energy transmission corridors on public lands to address identified congestion or constraints.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-07-31 00:00:00

Greener Gardens Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 25%, up to $1,000, of the cost of qualified nonroad equipment. Defines "qualified nonroad equipment" as equipment that is primarily used for lawn, garden, or forestry purposes and is powered by certain alternative and renewable power sources.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-09-17 00:00:00

Plastics Recycling Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit equal to 60 cents per gallon of qualified synthetic oil produced from recycled waste plastics. Defines "qualified synthetic oil" as oil derived from post-consumer and post-industrial waste plastics and which has a minimum market value of 90% of crude oil. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make grants to persons eligible for the waste plastic recycling tax credit provided by this Act in lieu of such credit.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-09-29 00:00:00

Fuel Cell Tax Parity Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures to: (1) increase to $1,500 the maximum dollar amount of the credit for fuel cell property expenditures; and (2) allow fuel cell property eligible for such credit to be installed in any residence of the taxpayer (currently, restricted to a principal residence).
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-10-07 00:00:00

Water Efficiency via Carbon Harvesting and Restoration (WECHAR) Act of 2009 - Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct resources assessments that collect and synthesize interagency and state data to quantify: (1) invasive plant species and excess biomass (plant matter targeted for removal from public land to promote ecosystem health) in the form of dangerous fuel loads on public land that can be used for feedstock (plant matter or materials that serve as the raw material for the production of biochar and bioenergy); (2) estimated carbon content in that feedstock; (3) estimated potential biochar (charcoal or black carbon derived from organic matter through pyrolysis) and bioenergy (hydrocarbons derived from organic matter through pyrolysis) producible from that feedstock; and (4) potential water savings resulting from removal of invasive plant species and excess biomass on public land, by watershed. Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to each: (1) establish a program to provide guarantees of loans by private institutions to develop and optimize commercially and technologically viable biochar production units, to produce, respectively, four and two units for deployment to remote landscapes, and for the construction or acquisition of biochar production facilities, provided the loan applicants will be dedicated primarily to contract restoration work with the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, or Forest Service using pinyon pine and juniper feedstock in the Great Basin, tamarisk feedstock in the Mojave Desert, or excess biomass feedstock, such as trees killed by bark beetle infestations in the Intermountain West; and (2) initiate three-year programs to employ such biochar production units in pilot applications in various U.S. climates and ecosystems. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide competitive grants to conduct research and analysis: (1) to identify attributes and composition profiles of biochar and bioenergy for various uses; (2) to identify potential uses and markets for biochar and bioenergy; (3) relating to environmental benefits and impacts of biochar and bioenergy use; and (4) regarding potential uses of biochar in landscape restoration.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Energy
Date: 2009-10-15 00:00:00

Authorizes the Secretary of Energy, for the purpose of enhancing the availability of private financing for clean energy technology development, to provide credit support and facilitate financing transactions to enable owners and users of buildings and industrial facilities to increase energy efficiency and generate electricity from renewable energy resources. Defines "clean energy technology" to include technology that contributes to a stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentration and for which insufficient commercial lending is available at affordable rates.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-10-22 00:00:00

Renewable Energy Investment Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2014 the tax credit for producing electricity from renewable resources; (2) increase and extend through 2014 the authority for issuing new clean renewable energy bonds; (3) extend through 2018 the energy tax credit for investment in solar energy and fuel cell property, small wind energy property, and geothermal heat pump systems; (4) increase the energy tax credit for investment in advanced energy facilities; and (5) extend through 2011 the income and excise tax credits for alcohol fuels, biodiesel, and renewable diesel. Authorizes appropriations for advanced biofuels research, development, and demonstration that will create fuels that are fungible in existing infrastructure.
Topic: Energy — Alternative & Renewable
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2009-10-22 00:00:00

Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the tax credit for the production of electricity from renewable resources to: (1) extend permanently the credit period for the production of steel industry fuel; (2) extend through 2011 the placed-in-service date requirement for refined coal production facilities; (3) revise the definition of "steel industry fuel" to allow mixtures of petroleum coke or other coke feedstock in such fuel; and (4) set forth ownership requirements for coal production facilities for purposes of such tax credit.