zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require a proxy, consent, or authorization for a shareholder meeting occurring on or after January 1, 2009, to permit a separate shareholder vote to approve executive compensation. States that such shareholder vote shall not be binding on the corporation or board of directors, nor construed: (1) as overruling a board decision; (2) to create or imply additional fiduciary duty by such board; (3) to restrict or limit shareholder ability to make proposals for inclusion in proxy materials related to executive compensation. Requires proxy solicitation material for a shareholder meeting occurring on or after January 1, 2009, concerning disposition of substantially all of an issuer's assets, to disclose compensation agreements or understandings with principal executive officers of either the issuer, or acquiring issuer, regarding (golden parachute) compensation which: (1) relates to such disposition; and (2) has not been subject to a shareholder vote. Provides that proxy solicitation material containing such executive compensation disclosures shall require a separate shareholder vote to approve such agreements or understandings. States such a shareholder vote shall not be binding on the corporation or the board of directors, nor construed: (1) as overruling a board decision; (2) to create or imply additional fiduciary duty by such board; (3) to constrain shareholder ability to make proposals for inclusion in proxy materials related to executive compensation.

Date: 2007-03-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Honest Income Disclosure Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue revised regulations requiring certain mandatory annual reports to include the income reported by the issuer to the Internal Revenue Service for the most recent taxable year, presented in a prominent location and in a manner that permits a ready comparison of such income to income otherwise required to be included. Requires such information to be: (1) suitable for entry into the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system (EDGAR); and (2) immediately available via that system, upon receipt.

Date: 2007-03-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Commodities Exchange Act to direct both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to prohibit purchase or sale of either securities or commodities for future delivery by a person in possession of material nonpublic information regarding pending or prospective legislative action if the information was obtained: (1) knowingly from a Member or employee of Congress; (2) by reason of being a Member or employee of Congress; and (3) other federal employees. Amends the Code of Official Conduct of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit designated House personnel from disclosing material nonpublic information relating to any pending or prospective legislative action relating to either securities of a publicly-traded company or a commodity if such personnel has reason to believe that the information will be used to buy or sell the securities or commodity based on such information. Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require formal disclosure of certain securities and commodities futures transactions to either the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the Secretary of the Senate. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to subject to its registration, reporting, and disclosure requirements political intelligence activities, contacts, firms, and consultants.

Date: 2007-05-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Congress
Securities and Exchange Commission Authority Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 with respect to the exemption from the requirement of registration for any investment adviser: (1) who has had fewer than fifteen clients during the course of the preceding twelve months; and (2) who neither holds himself out generally to the public as an investment adviser, nor acts an an investment adviser to any registered investment company or a company which has elected to be a business development company. Authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to: (1) limit the availability of this exemption; and (2) require the registration of any investment adviser by requiring that certain shareholders, partners, and beneficial owners of, or investors in, clients of the adviser be counted as clients themselves.

Date: 2007-06-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1943 to require certain persons acquiring more than 5% of certain classes of securities to report to the security issuer and to the exchange where the security is traded: (1) how the votes for such shares were cast on any proxy or consent or authorization in respect of any such security relating to executive and director compensation proposals, including a description of the matter voted on; and (2) a description of any relationship between the person filing the statement and the security issuer, or between the person filing the statement and any other person required to file a statement regarding such securities. Directs the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) to promulgate a requirement that such information be updated annually.

Date: 2007-06-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Securities Act of 1933, with respect to exclusive federal registration of nationally traded securities, to exclude from exclusive federal regulation, and thus permit state regulation of, certain securities any one of specified securities exchanges has listed (or authorized for listing) in a tier or segment for uncovered securities, according to standards for designating such a tier or segment the exchange has adopted.

Date: 2007-06-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Market Transparency Reporting of United States Transactions Act of 2007 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to define "included natural gas transaction" as a contract, agreement, or transaction in natural gas that is entered into: (1) in reliance on the provisions regarding either excluded swap transactions or the legal certainty for certain transaction in exempt commodities; or (2) by use of a domestic technology or software providing direct access to a foreign board of trade. (Thus places natural gas transactions within the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).) Prescribes recordkeeping and disclosure requirements governing natural gas in swap transactions, positions, inventories and commitments otherwise excluded from CFTC jurisdiction ("over-the-counter transactions"). Requires the CFTC to: (1) establish a reporting system regarding large positions in included natural gas transactions; (2) publish on a regular basis the information reported to it regarding such transactions; and (3) promulgate rules or regulations to implement this Act. Requires the CFTC reporting system to include aggregate reportable positions held by commercial and noncommercial persons.Increases civil money penalties for violations of this Act. Revises criminal penalties.

Date: 2007-07-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Mutual Fund Fee Reform Act - Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission to initiate rulemaking proceedings to revise the requirements of regulations applicable to open-end investment companies relating to the disclosure of 12b-1 fees to investors in such investment companies.

Date: 2007-07-30
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the tax on the unrelated business income of tax-exempt organizations to exempt from treatment as acquisition indebtedness (subject to the unrelated business income tax) indebtedness incurred or continued by a limited partnership in a partnership to purchase or carry certain securities or commodities.

Date: 2007-09-07
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Transparency in Corporate Filings Act - Amends the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Investment Company Act of 1940, with respect to mandatory public disclosures in either registration statements, prospectuses, reports, or broadcasts, to authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide that a disclosure form, periodic report, or document need not be filed if the SEC has otherwise prescribed another means for public disclosure of such information (including, by implication, on an Internet website). Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to authorize the SEC to: (1) permit or require one or more alternative means of public disclosure (including, by implication, on an Internet website) in lieu of, or in addition to, filing with the SEC or transmitting to security holders a registration statement, prospectus, application, report, account, record, or other document; and (2) determine whether any information so disclosed shall be deemed filed or transmitted under the Act.

Date: 2007-09-07
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Securities Law Technical Corrections Act of 2007 - Makes technical corrections to the following Acts: (1) the Securities Act of 1933; (2) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (3) the Trust Indenture Act of 1939; (4) the Investment Company Act of 1940; and (5) the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.Amends the following statutes to make conforming amendments for the repeal of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935: (1) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (2) the Trust Indenture Act of 1939; (3) the Investment Company Act of 1940; and (4) the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Date: 2007-09-07
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 to state that, in any private action in which the court enters a final judgment against plaintiff on the basis of a motion to dismiss, motion for summary judgment, or a trial on the merits, the court shall, upon defendant's motion, determine whether: (1) the position of the plaintiff was not substantially justified; (2) imposition of fees and expenses on the plaintiff's attorney would be just; and (3) the cost of such fees and expenses to the defendant is substantially burdensome or unjust.Requires the court to award the defendant reasonable fees and other expenses, and impose such fees and expenses on the plaintiff's attorney, if the court makes positive determinations in such a case.Places the burden of persuasion upon the defendant as to whether or not the position of the plaintiff was substantially justified.Requires plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney to provide sworn, signed certifications that identify any actual or promised payment by the attorney to the plaintiff, beyond the plaintiff's pro rata share of any recovery.Requires similar plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney certifications regarding: (1) legal representations; (2) contributions; and (3) conflicts of interest.Requires the court, in exercising discretion over the approval of lead counsel, to employ a competitive bidding process as one of the criteria (unless the court determines that such a process is not feasible). Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to certain congressional committees on average hourly fees in securities class actions.

Date: 2007-10-23
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Close the Enron Loophole Act - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to provide that it applies to an agreement, contract, or transaction in an exempt commodity that is executed or traded on an electronic trading facility that is an energy trading center.Prohibits any person from entering into an agreement, contract, or transaction for future delivery of an energy commodity that is not a spot sale of cash commodity or a sale of a cash commodity for deferred shipment or delivery on or through an energy trading facility that is not registered as such with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Sets forth registration criteria.Requires CFTC to ensure that the position limits and accountability levels applicable to contracts in an energy commodity listed for trading on a designated contract market and similar contracts in the same energy commodity listed for trading on an energy trading facility: (1) prevent price manipulation, excessive speculation, price distortion, and disruption of the delivery or cash-settlement process; and (2) are on a parity with each other and are applied in a functionally equivalent manner.Requires CFTC to take necessary action to direct an energy trading facility or a designated contract market to require a person who has exceeded an applicable position limit or accountability level in an energy commodity to limit, reduce, or liquidate any position to prevent or reduce the threat of price manipulation, excessive speculation, price distortion, or disruption of the delivery or cash-settlement process. Sets forth provisions concerning the provision of information and records about energy trading contracts to CFTC. Revises provisions concerning the prohibition on energy contracts designed to defraud or mislead, including by prohibiting any person from cheating or defrauding another person in connection with any contract of sale of any commodity in interstate commerce or for future delivery that is made subject to the rules of a designated contract market for or on behalf of any such person (currently the provisions prohibit members of registered entities, correspondent agents, or employees of members from such actions.)Requires CFTC to issue a rule regarding the requirements for an application for registration for an energy trading facility.

Date: 2007-11-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
CFTC Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to revise Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over an agreement, contract, or retail transaction in foreign currency. Extends coverage to certain future commissions merchants (and affiliated persons) and retail foreign exchange dealers. Requires them to register with the CFTC in order to: (1) solicit or accept orders from any person that is not an eligible contract participant in connection with such agreements, contracts, or transactions; (2) exercise discretionary trading authority (or obtain written authorization to do so) over any account for or on behalf of such a person; or (3) operate or solicit funds, securities, or property for any pooled investment vehicle that is not such an eligible contract participant. Revises the prohibition against contracts designed to defraud or mislead. Declares that the requirements of such prohibition do not obligate any person, in connection with a transaction, to disclose to another person in the transaction any nonpublic information that may be material to the market price, rate, or level of the commodity or transaction, except as necessary to make any statement to such other person not misleading in any material respect. Authorizes appropriations for the CFTC through FY2013. Increases: (1) the civil penalty for market manipulation to $1 million, or triple the monetary gain for each such violation; and (2) the criminal penalty for market manipulation from five to ten years imprisonment. Subjects to CFTC jurisdiction certain agreements, contracts, or transactions that perform a significant price discovery function in spite of the fact that they are conducted, on an electronic trading facility on a principal-to-principal basis solely between persons that are eligible commercial entities, in reliance on the general exemption for such agreements, contracts, and transactions (in the exempt commercial markets (ECMs)). Subjects to CFTC (large trader) reporting and recordkeeping requirements any significant price discovery contract traded or executed on an electronic trading facility. Authorizes the CFTC to communicate to an electronic trading facility, with respect to a significant price discovery contract, the full facts concerning any transaction or market operation which, in the CFTC's judgment, disrupts or tends to disrupt any market, or is otherwise harmful or against the best interests of producers, consumers, or investors.

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Securities Litigation Attorney Accountability and Transparency Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 to state that, in any private action in which the court enters a final judgment against plaintiff on the basis of a motion to dismiss, motion for summary judgment, or a trial on the merits, the court shall, upon defendant's motion, determine whether: (1) the position of the plaintiff was not substantially justified; (2) imposition of fees and expenses on the plaintiff's attorney would be just; and (3) the cost of such fees and expenses to the defendant is substantially burdensome or unjust.Requires the court to award the defendant reasonable fees and other expenses, and impose such fees and expenses on the plaintiff's attorney, if the court makes positive determinations in such a case.Places the burden of persuasion upon the defendant as to whether or not the position of the plaintiff was substantially justified.Requires plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney to provide sworn, signed certifications that identify any actual or promised payment by the attorney to the plaintiff, beyond the plaintiff's pro rata share of any recovery.Requires similar plaintiff and plaintiff's attorney certifications regarding: (1) legal representations; (2) contributions; and (3) conflicts of interest.Requires the court, in exercising discretion over the approval of lead counsel, to employ a competitive bidding process as one of the criteria (unless the court determines that such a process is not feasible). Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to certain congressional committees on average hourly fees in securities class actions.

Date: 2008-02-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
CFTC Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to revise Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over certain agreements, contracts, and transactions in retail foreign currency. Extends coverage to certain future commissions merchants (and affiliated persons) and retail foreign exchange dealers. Requires them to register with the CFTC in order to solicit or accept orders from any person that is not an eligible contract participant in connection with such agreements, contracts, or transactions. Directs the CFTC to maintain a liaison with the Department of Justice to coordinate civil and criminal investigations and prosecutions of violations of the Act. Revises the prohibition against contracts designed to defraud or mislead. Declares that the requirements of such prohibition do not obligate any person, in connection with a transaction, to disclose to another person in the transaction any nonpublic information that may be material to the market price, rate, or level of the commodity or transaction, except as necessary to make any statement to such other person not misleading in any material respect. Increases: (1) the civil penalty for market manipulation to $1 million, or triple the monetary gain for each such violation; and (2) the criminal penalty for market manipulation from five to ten years imprisonment Authorizes appropriations for the CFTC through FY2013. Requires the agencies represented on the President's Working Group on Financial Markets to work to ensure that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the CFTC, have taken the actions to permit: (1) by September 30, 2008, risk-based portfolio margining for security options and security futures products; and (2) by June 30, 2008, the trading of futures on certain security indexes by resolving issues related to foreign security indexes. Sets forth standards applicable to significant price discover contracts, including: (1) price linkage; (2) arbitrage; (3) core principles applicable to significant price discovery contract; and (4) daily publication of trading information. Subjects to CFTC (large trader) reporting and recordkeeping requirements any significant price discovery contract traded or executed on an electronic trading facility.

Date: 2008-04-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Affordable Housing Expansion Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate among the states in 2008 and subsequent years unused amounts of authorized private activity bonds for prior calendar years.

Date: 2008-05-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Enhanced Emergency and Enforcement Authority Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to empower the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reduce, eliminate, or prevent substantial disruption by an emergency of the ability of market participants to conduct securities activities or comply with obligations under the securities laws in a timely, orderly, or efficient manner. Amends the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Investment Company Act of 1940, and Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to provide that, in any action or proceeding instituted by the SEC in federal district court for any judicial district, subpoenas issued by or on behalf of such court to compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of documents or tangible things (or both) may be served in any other district (thus granting the SEC nationwide service of process).

Date: 2008-05-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Sustainable Water Infrastructure Investment Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from state volume caps private facility bonds for sewage and water supply facilities.

Date: 2008-06-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Credit Rating Agency Transparency and Disclosure Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to instruct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promulgate rules that: (1) require nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSROs), with respect to their determination of credit ratings for structured securities, to disclose the information they require from originators, issuers, and underwriters regarding the collateral underlying such securities; (2) establish procedures to disseminate information about processes used by such originators, issuers, and underwriters to assess the accuracy and integrity of their data and fraud detection; and (3) require each NRSRO to maintain on a publicly accessible Internet site the historical default rates of all classes of financial products it has rated.

Date: 2008-06-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to make it unlawful for a person to enter into or execute an otherwise excluded swap transaction or exempt transaction involving crude oil, heating oil, gasoline, or diesel fuel (specified energy commodity), unless the person has been certified by the Commodities Future Trading Commission (CFTC) as having the capacity of accepting physical delivery of the commodity. Makes it unlawful, as well, for any person to hold a contract or agreement of sale of a specified energy commodity for future delivery, which is otherwise an excluded swap transaction or an exempt transaction, unless the CFTC has certified that the person has the capacity to produce or manufacture the commodity.

Date: 2008-06-12
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Oil Speculation Reduction Act of 2008 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to prohibit the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from exempting a board of trade, exchange, or market located outside the United States from the requirement to become a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity, with respect to agreements, contracts, and transactions (transactions) in crude oil to be physically delivered in the United States, unless the CFTC makes certain determinations. Requires the CFTC to determine, in order to make such an exemption, that the board of trade, exchange, or market: (1) applies principles or requirements regarding the daily publication of trading information and position limits or accountability levels for speculators in such transactions comparable to those applied by a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity; (2) provides information to the CFTC regarding the extent of speculative and nonspeculative trading in transactions in crude oil comparable to the information the CFTC determines necessary to publish a Commitment of Traders report for a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity with respect to the trading; and (3) imposes margin requirements comparable to those imposed by a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity for commodities, and sufficient to reduce excessive speculation and protect consumers. Directs CFTC to determine whether to continue to grant any such exemption that was granted before the enactment of this Act to any board of trade, exchange, or market located outside the United States.

Date: 2008-06-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Energy
Close the London Loophole Act of 2008 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to authorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), in the case of a registered entity located within the United States, and subject to CFTC jurisdiction, which trades on a foreign board of trade, exchange, or market located outside the United States, to: (1) enforce criminal prosecution of violations, including manipulation or attempted manipulation, the making of false statements, and willful violations of this Act; (2) require a person to limit, reduce, or liquidate any position to prevent or reduce the threat of price manipulation, excessive speculation, price distortion, or disruption of delivery or the cash settlement process; and (3) apply necessary recordkeeping requirements. Addresses the kind of case in which the CFTC grants or considers granting relief to a foreign board of trade from the requirement that it become a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity with respect to an energy commodity physically delivered in the United States. Requires the CFTC, before granting or considering such relief, to determine that the foreign board of trade: (1) applies comparable principles or requirements regarding the daily publication of trading information and position limits or accountability levels for speculators as apply to a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity trading energy commodities physically delivered in the United States; and (2) provides such information to the CFTC regarding the extent of speculative and nonspeculative trading in the energy commodity that is comparable to the information the CFTC determines necessary to publish a Commitment of Traders report for such a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity.

Date: 2008-06-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Increasing Transparency and Accountability in Oil Prices Act of 2008 - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should immediately send to Congress a request for emergency appropriations for FY2008 for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in an amount that is sufficient to: (1) help restore public confidence in energy commodities markets and federal oversight of those markets; (2) potentially impose limits on excessive speculation that may be increasing the price of oil, gasoline, diesel, and other energy commodities; (3) significantly improve the information technology capabilities of the CFTC to help it effectively regulate the energy futures markets; and (4) fund at least 100 new full-time positions at the CFTC to oversee energy commodity market speculation and to enforce the Commodity Exchange Act. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to provide for additional employees for improved enforcement. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to address the kind of case in which the CFTC grants or considers granting relief to a foreign board of trade from the requirement that it become a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity with respect to an energy commodity physically delivered in the United States. Requires the CFTC, before granting or considering such relief, to determine that the foreign board of trade: (1) applies comparable principles or requirements regarding the daily publication of trading information and position limits or accountability levels for speculators as apply to a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity trading energy commodities physically delivered in the United States; and (2) provides such information to the Commission regarding the extent of speculative and nonspeculative trading in the energy commodity that is comparable to the information the Commission determines necessary to publish a Commitment of Traders report for such a designated contract market, derivatives transaction execution facility, or other registered entity. Requires the Commission to disaggregate and make public monthly: (1) the number of positions and total value of index funds and other passive, long-only positions in energy markets; and (2) data on speculative positions relative to bona fide physical hedgers in those markets.

Date: 2008-06-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Energy
Energy Markets Anti-Manipulation and Integrity Restoration Act - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jurisdiction over energy derivatives traded on or through a board of trade, exchange, or market, either domestic or foreign.

Date: 2008-06-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Energy
Commodity Futures Restoration Act - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to remove "energy commodity" from the category of exempt commodities (thus bringing "energy commodity" within the purview of the Act and extending the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to derivatives and swaps involving energy commodities). Declares that a board of trade, exchange, or market shall not be considered to be foreign or located outside the United States if: (1) it has an affiliate located in the United States; or (2) a contract of sale of a commodity, or a significant price discovery contract, is executed or traded on such board of trade, exchange, or market.

Date: 2008-06-25
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Energy
Energy Markets Emergency Act of 2008 - Directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to utilize all its authority, including its emergency powers, to: (1) curb immediately the role of excessive speculation in any contract market within its jurisdiction and control on or through which energy futures or swaps are traded; and (2) eliminate excessive speculation, price distortion, sudden or unreasonable fluctuations or unwarranted changes in prices, or other unlawful activity that is causing major market disturbances that prevent the market from accurately reflecting the forces of supply and demand for energy commodities.

Date: 2008-06-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to include the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the CFTC within the definitions of "head of the establishment" and "establishment," respectively, and to exclude the CFTC from the definition of "designated federal entity," for purposes of that Act (thus elevating the Inspector General of the CFTC to an Inspector General appointed under that Act).

Date: 2008-06-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to revise regulations relating to "asset-backed securities" to define an "NRSRO asset-backed securities" subset, which shall: (1) be the only asset-backed securities for which a credit rating agency may register and issue ratings as a nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO); and (2) be restricted to securities representing interests in pools of assets whose performance can be evaluated based on a documented history of predictable performance of similar assets, and which are contained in structures which also have a documented history of predictable performance. Requires the revision of such regulations to include a list of the classes of securities approved as NRSRO asset-backed securities. Prescribes an approval process for NRSRO asset-backed securities classes, including approval standards. Requires an NRSRO to: (1) review annually all ratings issued and outstanding in obligor categories for which it has registered; (2) formally affirm, upgrade, downgrade, or remove ratings based on such review; and (3) provide the SEC with full access to models, documentation, assumptions and performance data upon request, answer all questions posed by the SEC, and cooperate with any SEC investigation. Directs the SEC to determine whether ratings are issued with the expectation of meeting aggregate historical loss and default standards for given ratings levels across all categories for which a credit rating agency has registered.

Date: 2008-07-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to: (1) reinstate rule 10a-1 (the uptick rule) governing short sales of securities; (2) rescind the prohibition against applying certain price tests to short sales; and (3) reinstate price test restrictions that applied to short sales of securities prior to SEC action in a specified proceeding on June 28, 2007.

Date: 2008-07-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Small Business Access to Savings Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax-free hardship distribution from a 401k pension plan to prevent the insolvency of a trade or business of the plan participant.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Commodity Prices Oversight and Transparency Act of 2008 - Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should immediately send to Congress a request for additional appropriations for FY2008 for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to: (1) help restore public confidence in commodity futures markets and federal oversight of those markets; (2) allow the CFTC to reduce the potential threat of market manipulation or congestion by potential imposition of position limitations for speculators should the CFTC determine the absence of position limitations for speculators is causing an increase in the price of oil, gasoline, diesel, and other energy commodities; (3) improve its information technology capabilities significantly; and (4) fund at least 100 new full-time positions to regulate such markets. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act (Act) to direct the CFTC to appoint additional full-time employees.Directs the CFTC to take specified steps to enforce and promote accountability and transparency for contracts trading on foreign boards of trade. Shields from liability certain persons trading on a legally organized foreign board of trade. States that no contract of sale of a commodity for future delivery transacted through the facilities of a board of trade, exchange, or market located outside the United States shall be void, voidable, or unenforceable, and no party to such contract shall be entitled to rescind or recover any payments made with respect to such contract based upon the noncompliance of the foreign board of trade with such Act. Requires the CFTC to: (1) issue a proposed rule governing reporting requirements for index traders and swap dealers in futures markets for exempt and agricultural commodities; (2) disaggregate and make public monthly information on the positions and value of index funds and other passive positions material to a commodity futures or options markets; and (3) report to certain congressional committees on the scope of commodity index trading in the futures market, including whether such trading adversely affects price discovery in the futures markets.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Preventing Manipulation in Commodity Markets Act of 2008 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to define "energy commodity." Prohibits the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) from permitting a foreign board of trade to provide its U.S-located members with access to the CFTC electronic trading system and order matching system for energy or agricultural commodities unless such board meets requirements similar to those imposed upon U.S. exchanges. Subjects swap transactions, transactions for agricultural and energy commodities, and large traders in over-the-counter contracts to reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Directs the Commission to: (1) set position limits for any one person with respect to designated contract markets, derivative transaction execution facilities, and electronic trading facilities; (2) convene a Position Limit Agricultural Advisory Group and a Position Limit Energy Group; (3) appoint at least 100 new full-time employees; (4) review prior actions to ensure compliance with this Act; and (5) review over-the-counter markets. Revises the core principles applicable to position limits for contracts in agricultural and energy commodities to require position limits for speculators. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study of: (1) the international regime for regulating the trading of energy commodity futures and derivatives; and (2) speculators' effects on agriculture and energy futures markets and prices. Directs the Commission to: (1) require regular reporting of fungible over-the-counter agricultural and energy transactions; and (2) determine if such transactions have the potential to disrupt market liquidity or cause market or price disturbances, and if so, to use its discretion to impose position limits. Authorizes the Commission to use expedited procedures to carry out this Act.

Date: 2008-09-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Taxpayer Bailout Protection Act of 2008 - Amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to require an officer of an issuer of registered securities to pay to the Department of the Treasury any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation received from the issuer during a year in which the issuer is subject to a taxpayer bailout and the two prior years. Defines "taxpayer bailout" as: (1) placement of the issuer under conservatorship, receivership, or other assumption of the management, governance, and control of the issuer by the Treasury or by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve; or (2) an emergency loan of public funds made to the issuer by the Treasury or the Board, if the Board Chairman determines that such a loan is necessary to prevent the issuer's imminent failure.

Date: 2008-09-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Let Wall Street Pay for Wall Street's Illiquid Assets Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on securities or commodity transactions equal to 0.25% of the value of the instruments involved in such transactions. Makes such tax payable by the trading facility on which such transactions occur.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Judgment Evading Foreign States Accountability Act of 2008 - Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to deny a judgment evading foreign state (as defined by this Act) access to U.S. capital markets unless the proceeds of such borrowing or sale are to be used to satisfy in full all final judgments that form the basis for such designation as a judgment evading foreign state. Requires: (1) a proposal to extend bilateral or multilateral assistance to a judgment evading state to bear notice that such state is a judgment evading state; and (2) the Secretary of the Treasury to report annually to Congress identifying each such state.

Date: 2008-09-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Derivatives Market Reform Act of 1999 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to set forth registration requirements for derivatives dealers and for securities association membership. Grants the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): (1) administrative enforcement powers; and (2) exclusive jurisdiction regarding accounts, agreements, transactions, and markets in derivatives.Redefines securities to include derivatives.Authorizes both a registered securities exchange and a national securities exchange to adopt rules governing transactions in derivatives.Directs the SEC to promulgate capital level requirements that take into account the financial activities of a derivatives dealer who is a material associated person of a broker or dealer (including aggregate leverage, customary sources of capital and funding, and credit risk).Sets forth risk assessment and recordkeeping requirements governing holding companies and other material associated persons associated with: (1) a government securities broker or dealer; and (2) a municipal securities dealer. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to require unregistered hedge funds to report to the SEC certain information prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (including information for each pooled investment vehicle that is part of an unregistered hedge fund).

Date: 2008-10-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Responsibly Ending Authority to Purchase Act of 2008 or the REAP Act of 2008 - Terminates the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA). Amends the EESA to convert the program to guarantee troubled assets into a program to guarantee troubled mortgage-backed securities. Terminates such program on December 31, 2009. Renames the Troubled Assets Insurance Financing Fund the Troubled Mortgage-Backed Securities Insurance Financing Fund. Defines troubled mortgage-backed securities as a residential or commercial mortgage or any instrument originated or issued on or before March 14, 2008, that is based upon or related to such mortgage. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction for between 85% and 100% of dividends received from controlled foreign corporations by certain corporations which are U.S. shareholders. Requires such deduction to be invested in the United States pursuant to a specified domestic reinvestment plan, including as a source for the funding of worker hiring and training, infrastructure, research and development, capital investments, or the financial stabilization of the corporation for the purposes of job retention or creation. States that such reinvestment requirements shall be met if amounts repatriated are invested in distressed debt for at least one year.

Date: 2008-11-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the reporting requirements of investment brokers the adjusted basis of any security owned by customers of such brokers.

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Taxation
Total Force Educational Assistance Enhancement and Integration Act of 2007 - Recodifies under federal veterans' benefits law (currently codified under federal armed forces law) provisions relating to educational assistance for members of the reserves. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) (currently, the Secretary of each military department) to carry out such assistance. Makes eligible for such assistance under this Act those who, after October 1, 2008: (1) enlist or extend an enlistment in the Selected Reserve for not less than six years; or (1) are appointed or agree to serve in the Selected Reserve for at least six years. Includes under this Act those eligible for such assistance as of October 1, 2008. Increases monthly amounts of authorized assistance. Removes restrictions on the use of such assistance for apprenticeships and on-job training, flight training, licensing and certification tests, and individualized tutorial assistance. Requires the Secretary (currently, the military department Secretaries) to provide educational assistance to reserve personnel ordered to active duty in response to a war or national emergency. Makes eligible for such assistance under this Act those who, on or after October 1, 2008: (1) serve on active duty in support of a contingency operation for 90 days or more; or (2) perform full-time National Guard duty for 90 days or more in response to a national emergency. Includes under this Act those eligible for such assistance as of October 1, 2008. Revises provisions concerning assistance amounts. Requires funding for benefits accruing under this Act: (1) on or after October 1, 2008, to be made from funds available to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the payment of readjustment benefits; and (2) before such date from the Department of Defense Education Benefits Fund.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Legal Immigrant Children's Health Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to grant states the option of covering certain categories of eligible pregnant women and child resident aliens, including targeted low-income children, under the Medicaid and SCHIP programs.

Date: 2007-03-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Securities & Commodities)
Subject: Health