zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
On-the-Job Training Act of 2015 

 Amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to authorize the Secretary of Labor to:

 make discretionary grants to states, local boards, and federally-recognized tribal organizations for adult on-the-job training or dislocated worker on-the-job training programs; and use up to 10% of funds authorized under this Act to make grants to such entities for developing on-the-job training programs, including providing capacity building activities for local staff.

Date: 2015-05-13
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Energy Workforce for the 21st Century Act of 2015

This bill requires the Department of Energy to establish a comprehensive program to improve education and training for energy- and manufacturing-related jobs, with emphasis on increasing the number of skilled individuals from underrepresented groups trained to work in those jobs.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Energy
Manufacturing Skills Act of 2015

 This bill requires the Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Education, Department of Defense and the Director of the National Science Foundation to jointly establish a Manufacturing Skills Partnership to administer and carry out a program to award competitive, three-year grants to enable up to five states and five metropolitan areas to carry out proposals to promote reforms in workforce education and skill training for manufacturing.

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology shall:

 acting through the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, conduct an audit of all federal education and skills training programs related to manufacturing to ensure that states and metropolitan areas are able to align federal resources with the labor demands of their primary manufacturing industries; and work with states and metropolitan areas to determine how federal funds can be more tailored to meet their different needs.

Date: 2015-06-10
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Promoting Opportunity for Disability Benefit Applicants Act 

This bill amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to authorize the Social Security Administration to give individuals denied OASDI and SSI benefits based on an adverse determination of disability any information on appropriate public or private entities that provide employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services.

Date: 2015-08-04
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Social welfare
Apprenticeship and Jobs Training Act of 2015

 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit for up to $5,000 for the training of a qualified individual in a qualified apprenticeship program or a qualified multi-employer apprenticeship program. The bill defines a "qualified individual" as an individual who: (1) is an apprentice participating in a qualified apprenticeship program or a qualified multi-employer apprenticeship program, (2) has been employed in either program for a period of at least seven months that ends within the taxable year, and (3) is not a highly compensated employee or a seasonal worker.

 The bill defines "qualified apprenticeship program" as a program that: (1) provides qualified individuals with on-the-job training and instruction for a qualified occupation (i.e., a skilled trade occupation in a high-demand mechanical, technical, health care, or technology field); (2) is registered with the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor; and (3) maintains records relating to the qualified individual. A "qualified multi-employer apprenticeship program" is a program in which multiple employers are required to contribute and that is maintained pursuant to one or more collective bargaining agreements.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a premature distribution, without penalty, from a tax-qualified retirement plan to an employee who is serving as a mentor. A "mentor" is defined as a working individual who: (1) has attained age 55; (2) works reduced hours and engages in mentoring activities for at least 20% of such hours; and (3) is responsible for the training and education of employees or students in an area of expertise for which such individual has a professional credential, certificate, or degree.

Date: 2015-09-09
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Maritime and Energy Workforce Technical Training Enhancement Act

This bill directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to award grants to enable eligible community colleges and other public postsecondary institutions of higher education that are located near marine or port facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, or Great Lakes to expand upon existing programs in maritime and energy workforce technical training, including by admitting more students, training faculty, expanding facilities, creating new maritime career pathways from an associate degree to a baccalaureate degree, awarding credit for prior learning experience, and increasing cooperation with an appropriate federal agency or the National Science Foundation.

DOE shall give priority to institutions that have entered into a partnership with an appropriate federal agency.

Recipients shall use grant amounts for:

 training related to maritime or energy transportation, logistics, and supply chain management or to shipbuilding and ship repair; enhancement of academic and workforce training programs for maritime and energy employment; salary supplementation for faculty in maritime or energy training and education; operation and maintenance of maritime or energy related equipment and technology for use in instructional programs; acquisition of marine vessels and other assets and equipment for use in maritime or energy related training and education; renovation or construction of buildings to house maritime or energy training and education programs; or tuition reimbursement for successful completion of a maritime or energy course, program, or certification. DOE may also award a grant to an eligible nonprofit organization (one with at least 10 years of expertise in working with community colleges on developing workforce development programs) to provide assistance in carrying out this Act.

DOE shall award a grant to to enable up to 10 eligible institutions that offer accredited programs in academic areas relevant to maritime or energy-related workforce training to: (1) establish Centers of Excellence in Maritime and Energy Workforce Technical Training; and (2) improve and expand maritime and energy workforce training opportunities through such Centers for veterans, members of the Armed Forces, federal employees, and civilians by implementing new training programs and providing job placement services in maritime and energy employment fields.

Date: 2015-09-17
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
New Skills for New Jobs Act

This bill directs the Department of the Treasury, on a quarterly basis, to make payments to an eligible community college in an amount equal to the aggregate new job tax withholding matches for qualified training provided to job trainees who are U.S. citizens. The bill defines "qualified training" as education or training to provide an individual with the education or skills necessary to perform the job for which such individual will be employed or with licenses or certificates necessary for such employment. Any job for which a trainee is hired must be a new job.

The bill defines "eligible community college" as a public institution of higher education: (1) at which the majority of degrees awarded are two-year degrees that are acceptable for full credit toward a baccalaureate degree, (2) that is located in a state that has a state new jobs tax credit program in effect, and (3) that participates in such program by having in effect a contract that meets specified requirements of such program.

Date: 2015-10-01
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Taxation
Community College to Career Fund Act

This bill amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to direct the Department of Labor to award competitive grants to eligible community colleges, four-year public institutions of higher education, tribal colleges or universities, public or private nonprofit two-year institutions of higher education in specified U.S. territories, or a consortium of any of them, in partnership with employers or an employer or industry partnership representing multiple employers, in order to develop, offer, improve, and provide educational or career training programs for workers.

The governor of the state in which at least one of these entities is located shall establish criteria for an educational or career training program leading to a recognized postsecondary credential for which an eligible entity submits a grant proposal.

Date: 2015-10-29
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Workforce Training Enhancement Act of 2016

This bill amends the Trade Act of 1974, with respect to trade adjustment assistance (TAA) for training to adversely affected workers, to authorize a state to use certain funds distributed by the Department of Labor to reimburse the costs of providing training to an adversely affected worker before the worker is approved for training under the Act if those costs have been paid by:

 the state from state funds, the state or local workforce development areas within the state from funds available for workforce investment activities and providers under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, or another entity eligible in the state under the national dislocated worker grants program from funds available for that program. The use of funds under this Act shall be conditioned, however, on the worker's coverage by a certification for TAA eligibility for training meeting approval requirements which commenced after the date on which the total or partial separations of the group of workers covered by the certification for eligibility began or threatened to begin.

Date: 2016-02-11
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Effective Apprenticeships to Rebuild National Skills Act or the EARNS Act

This bill establishes, in the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor, an Office of Apprenticeship to:

 determine whether an apprenticeship program meets requirements for registration and maintains the standards necessary to remain registered, manage the national apprenticeship system (the collective group of registered apprenticeship programs and pre-apprenticeship programs in the nation), and make grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to carry out projects that support development of pre-apprenticeship programs. The bill also establishes in Labor a National Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships.

Labor and the Department of Education shall establish a voluntary Registered Apprenticeship-College Collaborative consisting of the sponsors carrying out registered apprenticeship programs, two- or four-year postsecondary educational institutions, and organizations that represent such programs or institutions, that agree to meet certain criteria in order to promote stronger connections between the registered apprenticeship programs involved and participating two- and four-year postsecondary educational institutions.

Labor shall make assistance payments to eligible sponsors of new registered apprenticeship programs or of existing programs that add employers as new partners, which may include joint labor-management registered apprenticeship programs.

Date: 2016-05-18
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
Leveling Access to Demonstrated Drivers of Employment Results Act or the LADDER Act

This bill establishes in the executive branch an independent Interagency Council on Workforce Attachment to:

 facilitate the coordination of federal programs and activities to promote workforce attachment among populations of individuals who face a challenge in consistently maintaining full-time employment, collect evidence of effective strategies to promote workforce attachment among such populations at every level of government and within the private sector, fund demonstration projects to ensure the evaluation of the effectiveness of strategies to promote workforce attachment among such populations; and encourage the implementation of effective strategies. The council shall: (1) review all federal programs and activities designed to promote workforce attachment among such populations, (2) recommend federal and state agency action to increase coordination and reduce duplication among such programs and activities, and (3) ensure that these authorities are implemented in a manner that includes a review of recommendations related to Medicaid Buy-In programs.

The council shall develop a National Strategic Plan to Promote Workforce Attachment.

The council shall award grants to eligible entities to conduct demonstration projects designed to develop, implement, and evaluate strategies to promote workforce attachment among such populations.

Date: 2016-07-13
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
American Apprenticeship Act

This bill directs the Department of Labor to make competitive grants to assist states in, and to pay for the federal share of between 20% and 50% of the cost of, carrying out projects that defray the cost of instruction associated with pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs.

The bill defines: (1) "apprenticeship" as one registered under the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937; and (2) "pre-apprenticeship" as an initiative or set of strategies that provides training, that is designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in an apprenticeship program, and that includes a formal agreement enabling participants who complete it to enter an apprenticeship program with an employer, joint labor-management partnership, trade association, professional association, labor organization, or other entity and agreements concerning earning credit recognized by a postsecondary educational institution.

A joint team of employees from Labor and the Department of Education shall review, and make recommendations regarding approval of, grant applications.

A state that receives a grant shall use the funds to defray related costs of tuition and fees, textbooks, equipment, curriculum development, and other required educational materials.

Labor shall: (1) establish performance measures and an evaluation system for such grant program; and (2) identify in-demand occupations that lack the use of apprenticeships, analyze the use of the apprenticeship model in those occupations, and report on such analysis to states and Congress.

Date: 2016-09-15
Topic: Labor (Employment Training)
Subject: Labor and employment
National Science Education Tax Incentive for Teachers Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain full-time elementary and secondary school teachers of math, science, engineering, or technology courses a refundable tax credit for 10% of their undergraduate tuition up to $1,000 in any taxable year. Increases such credit amount to $1,500 for teachers in schools serving children with disabilities.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Taxation
Instructs the Secretary of Energy to report to Congress on the Secretary's review of the fuel supply plan components of state evacuation plans and the National Capitol region. Prescribes report contents. Authorizes the Secretary, during any federally declared emergency or disaster, to provide direct assistance to private sector entities that operate critical energy infrastructure, including refineries. Allows such assistance to include emergency preparation and recovery assistance, particularly power generation equipment, other protective or emergency recovery equipment, assistance to restore access to water, power, or other raw materials, and transportation and housing for critical employees. Establishes in the Treasury the Critical Energy Assurance Account.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Investment in Energy Independence Act of 2006 [sic] - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for investment in coal-to-liquid fuels projects; (2) allow a taxpayer election to expense the cost of coal-to-liquid fuels process property and coal-fired facilities for the production of ethanol placed in service before 2016; (3) extend the election to expense oil and alternative fuel refineries until 2016; (4) include liquid fuel derived from oil shale extracted in the United States as an alternative fuel for excise tax purposes; (5) extend the excise tax credit for alternative fuels through FY2020; and (6) allow a 50% tax credit for enhanced oil recovery projects using qualified carbon dioxide.

Date: 2007-01-24
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes federal agencies and legislative branch offices to purchase qualified tradeable: (1) greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets; and (2) renewable energy credits. Requires the Secretary of Energy to promulgate rules regarding approved open market transactions involving such offsets and credits. Requires such rules to accommodate forward purchasing and crediting of offsets and credits on an estimated basis from small scale offset and renewable energy generators and other open market transactions that help enable short-term purchases of offsets and credits to contribute to the implementation of such generators. Defines "greenhouse gas offsets" to mean a reduction in GHG emissions that results from actions that would not have occurred in the absence of the opportunity to sell an offset for the resulting reduction.

Date: 2007-02-05
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Freedom through Renewable Energy Expansion (FREE) Act - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal provisions regarding: (1) the next generation nuclear plant project; (2) standby support for certain nuclear plant delays; and (3) incentives for oil and gas production from federal lands. Amends the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) to repeal: (1) the credit for production from advanced nuclear power facilities; (2) the election to expense certain refineries; (3) treatment of natural gas distribution lines as 15-year property; (4) treatment of natural gas gathering lines as seven-year property; (5) the rule for determining the small refiner exception to the oil depletion deduction; and (6) the amortization of geological and geophysical expenditures. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to repeal the suspension of: (1) offshore royalties pertaining to the Planning Areas offshore Alaska; and (2) the royalty with respect to the national petroleum reserve in Alaska. Sets forth price thresholds for royalty suspension provisions affecting leases in Central and Western Gulf of Mexico. States that Congress reaffirms the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to vary, based on the price of production from an oil lease, the suspension of royalties (in effect, impose price thresholds for certain lease sales) under any lease subject to the Outer Continental Shelf Deep Water Royalty Relief Act. Sets forth prerequisites for issuance of new leases in the Gulf of Mexico, and for lease transfers. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish conservation of resources fees for federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to promulgate certain average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles manufactured after model year 2009. Amends the IRC to extend the credit for: (1) renewable electricity production; (2) solar energy property, qualified fuel cell property, and geothermal property; and (3) residential energy efficient property. Allows a tax credit for wind energy property installed in residences and businesses. Authorizes appropriations for geothermal research. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to prescribe a federal renewable portfolio standard. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise certain federal energy purchase requirements. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for local schools and school districts to promote the use of renewable energy sources in school facilities.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
EXTEND the Energy Efficiency Incentives Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow individual taxpayers a tax credit for home energy efficiency expenditures; (2) extend the tax credits for nonbusiness energy and new energy efficient home expenditures through 2011; (3) extend the tax deduction for expenditures for energy efficient commercial buildings through 2012 and increase the amount of such deduction; (4) allow new tax deductions for expenditures for energy efficient low-rise buildings and for energy efficient property expenditures; and (5) allow a new tax credit for energy savings training and certification costs and certification equipment expenditures.

Date: 2007-03-07
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave and employment benefits of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions for employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.

Date: 2007-03-15
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Rural America Energy Act of 2007 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to redefine "bioenergy" to include: (1) cellulosic cogeneration; (2) biomass gasification; and (3) hydrogen made from cellulosic commodities for fuel cells.Instructs the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary) to make available increased funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to implement: (1) the bioenergy program; (2) renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements; and (3) grants for small projects. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide a five-year extension of credit for electricity produced from certain renewable resources; and (2) allow a tax credit for certain wind energy property placed in service or installed by the taxpayer during the taxable year. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to spend up to $1 million to fund feasibility studies for the construction of dedicated ethanol pipelines. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to: (1) extend the conservation reserve program through calendar 2012; and (2) direct the Secretary to ensure that, as contracts expire and lands are taken out of the program, the lands are replaced with the most environmentally sensitive acres, so that the program continues to protect highly erodible lands while increasing the acreage outside of the program available for the production of crops to accommodate biofuel production. Instructs the Secretary to make transitional assistance payments to an agricultural producer during the first year in which the producer devotes land to the production of a qualified cellulosic crop. Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to revise specified accounting practices of persons engaged in crude oil or natural gas production in the United States to establish a renewable reserves classification and disclosure system, which shall treat contracted biomass crops for a cellulosic biorefinery as renewable reserves.

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Instructs the Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to establish an advisory committee to: (1) advise the Department of Energy on energy efficiency and renewable energy finance and investment issues; and (2) assist the energy community in identifying ways of lowering costs and increasing investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Requires committee membership to represent: (1) providers of seed capital; (2) venture capitalists; (3) private equity sources; (4) investment banking corporate finance; (5) investment banking mergers and acquisitions; (6) equity capital markets; (7) debt capital markets; (8) research analysts; (9) sales and trading; (10) commercial lenders; and (11) residential lenders.

Date: 2007-05-22
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Energy for America Act - Produced Water Utilization Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Energy to conduct a program of research, development, and demonstration of technologies for environmentally sustainable utilization of produced water for agriculture, irrigation, municipal, industrial uses, or other environmentally sustainable purposes Requires the program to address: (1) produced water recovery, including research for desalination and demineralization; (2) reinjection of produced water into subsurface geological formations; and (3) safety and environmental impacts of such activities. Biomass Research, Development, and Demonstration Act of 2007 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include specified advanced biofuel technologies within the bioenergy program. Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Act of 2007 - Instructs the Secretary to conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application on technologies for the development of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Energy Storage Solutions for America Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary to: (1) carry out a research, development, and demonstration program to support the ability of the United States to remain globally competitive in energy storage systems for electricity transmission and distribution; and (2) establish an Energy Storage Advisory Council. Energy Efficient Buildings Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary to establish a pilot program to award grants to businesses and organizations for new construction of energy efficient buildings, or major renovations of buildings that will result in energy efficient buildings, to demonstrate innovative energy efficiency technologies, especially those sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE). Prescribes criteria for mandatory consideration by the Secretary when identifying for support "ARPA-E" projects (that show promise to accelerate efforts to overcome barriers to development of advanced energy technologies). Green Energy Education Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary to contribute funds to the National Science Foundation for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program to support projects that enable graduate education related to DOE research,demonstration, and commercial application activities, especially those related to high performance buildings. Instructs the Secretary to transmit to Congress the results of a feasibility study of large-scale biological sequestration of carbon dioxide for coal power systems, including the feasibility of creating a closed loop carbon cycle through biological sequestration.

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to prescribe efficiency resource standards for retail electricity and natural gas distributors. Requires each retail electricity or natural gas distributor to undertake electricity and natural gas savings measures in each calendar year, beginning with 2009, that produce electricity and natural gas savings as a percentage of the distributor's base quantity at a specified applicable rate. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to issue rules establishing a nationwide credit and credit trading system for electricity and natural gas savings. Authorizes any person to apply to the Secretary for the establishment and certification of a not-for-profit Electric and Natural Gas Savings Corporation. Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to develop model provisions for mandatory adoption by state utility regulatory commissions regarding: (1) revenue stability and incentives for distributors; (2) nondiscriminatory identification of cost-effective savings opportunities; and (3) development of model language on revenue decoupling and shareholder incentives in ratemaking policies.

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), upon the request of the licensee for project numbered 7307, to extend the time required for commencement of project construction until 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Provides for reinstatement of an terminated license.

Date: 2007-06-20
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Agrofuel Rural Energy Empowerment Act - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to make loans, loan guarantees, and grants to farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses to promote the use of anaerobic digesters to produce renewable energy. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to include the establishment of anaerobic digesters in the list of structural practices recognized under the environmental quality incentives program for agriculture.

Date: 2007-07-13
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Agriculture and food
U.S. Participation in Cuban Energy Exploration Act of 2007 - Authorizes U.S. persons to: (1) engage in the exploration for and extraction of hydrocarbon resources from any portion of a foreign exclusive economic zone that is contiguous to the U.S. exclusive economic zone; (2) export without license authority all equipment necessary for such activities; and (3) import such extracted hydrocarbon resources into the United States. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to authorize under a general license specified travel-related transactions for travel to, from, or within Cuba in connection with such activities.

Date: 2007-07-25
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: International affairs
Energy Security and Foreign Policy Integration Act of 2007 - Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to add the Secretary of Energy as a member of the National Security Council (NSC). Establishes within the NSC a Directorate of Energy as the lead government entity for formulating and coordinating U.S. national energy security policy. Directs the President, every four years, to: (1) conduct a quadrennial national energy security review which shall set forth national energy security strategy and establish short- and long-term goals to achieve energy security; and (2) report to Congress on such review.

Date: 2007-07-27
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Directs the Administrator of the Energy Information Administration to establish and submit to Congress: (1) a five-year plan to enhance the quality and scope of the data collection necessary to ensure the scope, accuracy, and timeliness of the information needed for efficient functioning of energy markets and related financial operations; and (2) an assessment of state-level data needs, including a plan to address such needs. Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish guidelines to ensure the quality, comparability, and scope of state energy data required to provide a comprehensive, accurate energy profile; (2) share company-level data collected at the state level with the state involved, provided it has agreed to the Administrator's guidelines; (3) assess any existing gaps in data compiled by the Energy Information Administration; and (4) evaluate the most cost effective ways to address any data quality and quantity issues in conjunction with state officials. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2012.

Date: 2007-07-31
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to: (1) prohibit loan guarantees for innovative technologies from being less than the minimum amount determined by the Secretary of Energy to be likely to attract nonguaranteed investment adequate to capitalize the project; (2) authorize the Secretary to guarantee up to 100 % of any debt obligation of the borrower to fund an eligible project; and (3) prohibit the Secretary from issuing a rule or regulation establishing a lower percentage limit. Conditions such loan guarantee upon reasonable assurances by the borrower that all laborers and mechanics employed by contractors or subcontractors in the performance of construction work financed in whole or in part with the loan will be paid wages at rates not less than those prevailing on similar work in the locality as determined by the Secretary of Labor. Prohibits any appropriation authorized pursuant to the Act from excluding any category of specified eligible projects.

Date: 2007-07-31
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2007 - Amends the Fisheries Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to give priority to any project that has a total cost of less than $2.5 million (currently, $5 million). Authorizes the Secretary, without further appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, to accept any amounts provided to the Secretary by the Administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration. Requires: (1) any amounts provided by the Bonneville Power Administration directly or through a grant to another entity for a project carried out under the Program to be credited toward the non-federal share of project costs; and (2) the Secretary's report on projects under such Act to be made after partnering with local governmental entities and the states in the Pacific Ocean drainage area (Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Idaho). Authorizes appropriations for the Act through FY2014. Sets forth limits and requirements on the amount that may be used each fiscal year for federal and state administrative expenses of carrying out this Act.

Date: 2007-10-15
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Water resources development
Zeroing In American Energy Act of 2008 - Requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a program for the leasing of federal lands for the advancement, development, assessment, installation, and operation of commercial photovoltaic and concentrating solar power energy systems.Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to: (1) identify lease sites comprising 6.4 million acres of federal lands under BLM jurisdiction in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah that are suitable and feasible for the installation and operation of such energy systems; and (2) incorporate solar energy development into the relevant agency land use and resource management plans or equivalent plans for such identified sites.Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) the size of such sites; (2) annual milestones for the number of acres of sites to be leased by each of the years 2010-2019; and (3) the collection and payment of royalties from projects under such program.Prohibits the following federal lands from being included within such program: (1) Components of the National Landscape Conservation System; (2) Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas; (3) Wild and Scenic Rivers; (4) National Scenic and Historic Trails; (5) Monuments; and (6) Resource Natural Areas.Requires the Secretary to complete: (1) a programmatic environmental impact statement for such program prior to implementing it; and (2) a study of federal lands available for a compressed air energy storage system, barriers to access to federal lands for transmission of energy produced under the program, and the need for energy transmission corridors on public lands.

Date: 2008-04-15
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Energy Conservation Through Trees Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide financial, technical, and related assistance to retail power providers to assist with the establishment of new, or continued operation of existing, targeted residential tree-planting programs. Requires the Secretary to create a national public recognition initiative to encourage participation in tree-planting programs by such providers.Limits assistance provided under this Act to programs that utilize targeted, strategic tree-siting guidelines to plant trees in relation to residence location, sunlight, and prevailing wind direction. Sets forth requirements that must be met for tree-planting programs to qualify for assistance.Authorizes the Secretary to award grants only to providers that have entered into binding legal agreements with nonprofit tree-planting organizations.Requires providers, in order to qualify for assistance, to establish and consult with a local technical advisory committee, which shall provide advice and consultation to the program, and which may: (1) design and adopt an approved plant list that emphasizes the use of hardy, noninvasive tree species, native or low water-use shade trees, or both; (2) design and adopt planting, installation, and maintenance specifications and create a process for inspection and quality control; (3) ensure that tree recipients are educated to care for and maintain their trees over the long term; (4) help the public become more engaged and educated in the planting and care of shade trees; (5) prioritize which sites receive trees, giving preference to locations with the most potential for energy conservation and secondary preference to areas where the average annual income is below the regional median; and (6) assist with monitoring and collection of data on tree health, tree survival, and energy conservation benefits generated under this Act.

Date: 2008-04-22
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2008 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) to extend the regulatory authority of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to certain transactions in derivatives involving specified energy commodities ("included energy transactions"), including those on foreign boards of trade.Defines "included energy transaction" as a contract, agreement, or transaction in an energy commodity for future delivery that: (1) provides for a delivery point in the United States; or (2) is transacted on a computer terminal located in the United States.Prohibits the CFTC from exempting from regulation any "included energy transaction" unless certain notice to Congress and public comment requirements are met. Declares null and void any CFTC "no-action letter" exemptions from CEA requirements for "included energy transactions."Requires the CFTC to establish uniform limits on the aggregate number of positions with respect to "included energy transactions" which may be held by any person for the prompt month, for each month, and for all months in all markets subject to CFTC jurisdiction.Excludes swaps involving "included energy transactions" from any CEA exemption for bona fide hedging transactions.Defines "bilateral included energy transaction" as an included energy transaction executed or traded other than on or through a trading facility. Exempts such transactions from the requirement that transactions be made on or through a designated contract market. Applies to "bilateral included energy transactions" certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements.Instructs the CFTC to publish monthly on its website: (1) the aggregate number and value of long and short positions held by a person in any portfolio constructed to match or track the components of an index of all commodities; and (2) the portion of the positions that are net long positions in "included energy transactions."Amends the Natural Gas Act and the Federal Power Act to set forth enforcement powers of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), including cease-and-desist proceedings, temporary orders, and general implementation authority.

Date: 2008-06-20
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Directs the Secretary of Energy to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences for a study of what measures the United States can take, including what research needs to be undertaken, in order to achieve energy independence without adversely affecting the environment.Requires a report to Congress on the results of the study.

Date: 2008-07-14
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Energy
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2018 the tax credit for producing electricity from certain renewable resources, including wind, biomass, geothermal energy, landfill gas, refined coal, and hydropower; (2) include marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy as a renewable resource for purposes of such tax credit; (3) extend through 2018 the energy tax credit for solar, fuel cell, and microturbine property; (4) repeal the dollar per kilowatt limitation for fuel cell property for purposes of the energy tax credit; (5) extend the energy tax credit to public electric utilities; and (6) expand and extend through 2018 the tax credit for residential energy efficient property.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Taxation
Families and Small Business Energy Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an individual taxpayer an income-based refundable tax credit for the lesser of 50% of such taxpayer's residential energy costs for a taxable year or $750 ($1,500 for married taxpayers filing jointly). Defines "residential energy costs" as amounts paid in 2008 or 2009: (1) to any utility for natural gas used in the taxpayer's principal residence during the heating season (September through March); and (2) for heating oil or propane.Allows a certain small farming or commercial fishing businesses (gross receipts of not more than $20 million) a tax credit for up to 15% of amounts paid in 2008 or 2009 for gasoline, diesel fuel, heating oil, propane, and natural gas.Increases and makes permanent the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property expenditures.Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 to authorize additional appropriations for outreach activities to inform eligible households of available energy-related assistance and for residential weatherization and repair activities for low-income households.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes the President or a designee to waive any legal requirement under any federal law otherwise applicable to a covered energy project, including any provision of law relating to any administrative protest of any agency action taken with respect to such a project, as the President or such designee determines necessary to ensure expeditious conduct of such project. Defines "covered energy project" as the construction, operation, or maintenance of any building, structure, or other facility for the development, production, processing, or transmission of energy, including: (1) construction, operation, or maintenance of any oil or natural gas pipeline or refinery; and (2) the leasing of federal lands (including submerged lands) for the exploration, development, production, processing, or transmission of oil, natural gas, or any other source or form of energy.

Date: 2008-09-11
Topic: Energy (General)
Establishes an Energy Policy Council within the Executive Office of the President to develop a National Energy Plan and a plan for comprehensive federal departmental reform to eliminate wasteful spending and overlapping programs, including by establishing a consolidated entity to be known as the Department of Energy Policy.

Date: 2008-09-22
Topic: Energy (General)
Requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reinstate the licenses for projects numbered 10822 and 10823 and transfer them to the town of Canton, Connecticut.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Energy (General)
Renewable Power for Agriculture Incentive Program Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for excessive fuel costs for creditable fuel (i.e., fossil fuel or electricity) used by a taxpayer in the trade or business of farming. Defines "excessive fuel cost" as the excess amount paid for creditable fuel over the adjusted base price for such fuel (the average price for such fuel on September 6, 2004, for the region in which the taxpayer purchased such fuel). Terminates such credit after 2013.

Date: 2008-10-02
Topic: Energy (General)
Truth in Video Game Rating Act - Prohibits any rating organization from assigning a content rating to any video or computer game unless it has reviewed its entire playable content. Prohibits any producer, seller, or distributor of such games from withholding or hiding any such content from a rating organization. Requires any person submitting to a rating organization a video or computer game with hidden content to accompany it with the codes or methods necessary to access such hidden content. Prohibits a rating organization from providing a content rating that grossly mischaracterizes the game content. Makes a violation of a prohibition of this Act an unfair or deceptive act or practice under specified provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act and requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this Act.

Date: 2007-02-13
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Commerce
Vaccines for the Future Act of 2007 - Directs the President to establish a comprehensive strategy to accelerate efforts to develop vaccines and microbicides for neglected diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. States that such strategy shall: (1) expand public-private partnerships and seek to leverage foreign country and private sector resources; (2) include the negotiation of advance market commitments and other economic incentives for the research, development, and manufacturing of vaccines and microbicides for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other neglected diseases; (3) address related intellectual property and regulatory issues; (4) maximize U.S. capabilities to support clinical trials of vaccines and microbicides in developing countries; and (5) expand the purchase and delivery of existing vaccines. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into negotiations with the World Bank, the International Development Association, the GAVI Alliance, such entities' member nations, and other interested parties to establish advance market commitments to purchase vaccines and microbicides to combat neglected diseases. (Defines "GAVI Alliance" as the public-private partnership launched in 2000 for the purpose of saving children and protecting all people through the widespread use of vaccines.)

Date: 2007-02-13
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: International affairs
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property.

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Taxation
Community Restoration and Revitalization Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an increased rehabilitation tax credit for certain low-income buildings; (2) allow a basis reduction adjustment for property eligible for the credit; (3) increase the credit for certain smaller buildings; (4) allow property eligible for the credit to be used for lodging purposes; (5) modify placed-in-service rules for credit property; (6) modify qualification rules for credit property that is tax-exempt use property; (7) increase the credit for buildings in high cost areas; and (8) exempt certain condominium transactions from rehabilitation tax credit recapture requirements.

Date: 2007-02-14
Topic: Energy (General)
Subject: Taxation