zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Competitiveness through Education, Technology, and Enterprise Act of 2007 or the COMPETE Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax incentives for research and education by: (1) making permanent the credit for increasing research activities; (2) providing a credit for information and communications technology education; and (3) setting an alternative percentage limitation for corporate charitable contributions to the mathematics and science partnership program. Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish an SBIR-STEM Workforce Development Grant Pilot program awarding bonus grants to grantees under the Small Business Innovation Research program to provide workforce development opportunities to college students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Expresses the sense of the Senate that the maximum Pell Grant should be increased from $4,600 for academic year 2008-2009 to $5,400 for academic year 2012-2013. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to award matching grants to institutions of higher education to: (1) provide stipends or other financial assistance for students enrolled in graduate programs in the sciences, technology, engineering, or mathematics; and (2) support outreach and mentoring activities to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences, technology, engineering, or mathematics at all or any level of education, including elementary, secondary and postsecondary education. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make partnership bonus grants annually to a certain number of elementary and of secondary schools in each state that show the most improvement in mathematics and in science, respectively.

Date: 2007-03-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
American Automobile Industry Promotion Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) offer to enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to assess state-of-the-art battery technologies with potential application for electric drive transportation; (2) conduct a program of research, development, demonstration, and commercial application for electric drive transportation technology (i.e., vehicles that use electric motors for all or part of the motive power); and (3) establish and carry out an Advanced Battery Initiative to support research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of battery technologies in on-road or nonroad vehicles.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to redefine the new advanced lean burn technology motor vehicle credit for high-efficiency diesel passenger automobiles and light trucks to eliminate requirements that such motor vehicles for 2004 and later model years receive a certificate stating they meet or exceed certain weight and emission standards.Amends the Clean Air Act to: (1) define "biodiesel" and "biodiesel blend"; and (2) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations to establish standards for each biodiesel blend.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Energy
Gas Petroleum Refiner Improvement and Community Empowerment Act or the Gas PRICE Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to enter into a domestic fuels facility permitting agreement with a requesting state or Indian tribe under which the process for obtaining all permits necessary for construction and operation of a domestic fuels facility shall use a prescribed interdisciplinary multimedia approach.Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a research and demonstration program to evaluate the air quality benefits of ultra-clean Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, including diesel and jet fuel; (2) evaluate the use of such fuel for reducing engine exhaust emissions; and (3) submit recommendations and reports to Congress. Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Economic Development Administration to give priority to projects supportting commercial-scale cellulosic biomass ethanol projects and coal-to-liquids facilities. Directs the Secretary to make an additional award in connection with a grant made to a recipient (including any Indian tribe for use on Indian land) for a project to support a commercial-scale biomass ethanol facility or coal-to-liquid facility.Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to appoint a task force to report to Congress on: (1) modernization of the hydrocarbon reserves disclosures classification system of the SEC to reflect advances in reserves recovery from nontraditional sources; and (2) creation of a renewable reserves classification system for cellulosic biofuels feedstocks.

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Energy
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to repeal group eligibility requirements for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) that: (1) the country to which the workers' firm has shifted production of the articles be a party to a free trade agreement with the United States; or (2) such country be a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Preference Act, African Growth and Opportunity Act, or the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.Requires the Secretary of Labor, with respect to textile and apparel workers, to make group eligibility determinations without regard to the sales, imports, and production factors of the group eligibility requirements.Requires funds provided to a state to cover the administrative costs associated with its TAA responsibilities to be sufficient to cover all costs associated with operating the program, including caseworker costs.Increases the amount of payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the credit for health insurance costs of certain TAA and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients.Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Labor each to carry out compatible and coordinated programs to simplify the TAA and credit eligibility process.

Date: 2007-06-19
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2007 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to allow the filing of a petition with the Secretary of Labor for certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) by adversely affected workers in a service sector firm, its subdivision, or a public agency.Revises group eligibility requirements for TAA to cover: (1) a shift, by a public agency to a foreign country, of production of articles or in provision of services, like or directly competitive with articles which are produced, or services which are provided by the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency; and (2) instances where the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency obtains or is likely to obtain such services from a foreign country.Provides for industry-wide certification of adversely affected workers for TAA.Increases the amount of payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act.TAA Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax credit for the health insurance costs of certain TAA workers and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients.Sets forth requirements to prevent a lapse of health care coverage for TAA workers and their families. Replaces alternative trade adjustment assistance for older workers provisions with eligibility requirements for wage insurance benefits to older workers who have received an industry-wide certification to apply for TAA.Increases the maximum allowance to cover costs of an adversely affected worker for job search expenses and relocation expenses.Establishes an Office of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Ombudsman.Extends the TAA program for workers through December 31, 2012.Revises the TAA program for communities negatively impacted by trade. Establishes a TAA for communities program to coordinate the federal response. Allows the filing of a petition with the Secretary of Commerce for certification of eligibility to apply for TAA by a service sector firm. Extends the TAA program for firms through FY2012.Makes fishermen and aquaculture producers eligible for TAA without regard to whether such fishermen seek TAA based on an increase in imports of wild stock or an increase of imports of farm-raised stock.Revises TAA group eligibility requirements for certain agricultural commodity producers.Extends the TAA program for farmers through FY2012.

Date: 2007-07-23
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Aeronautics Competitiveness Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2009-FY2011 for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for Science, Aeronautics, and Exploration for aeronautics research.Establishes an advisory committee on priorities in aeronautics research.Requires the NASA Administrator to develop particular aeronautics technologies, including for the Next Generation Air Transportation System, to a demonstration ready level.Sets the maximum number of NASA aeronautics scholarships at no more than seven at any one time. Requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish a program to provide fellowships for graduate students in research in aviation or aeronautics.Requires the Secretary of the Department of Defense (DOD) to prescribe regulations governing DOD's payment of contractors' costs for education and professional development of their aeronautics workforce.

Date: 2007-10-31
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Military Spouse Education and Employment Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include spouses of members of the Armed Forces on extended active duty (more than 90 days or for an indefinite period) and eligible teleworking military spouses (teleworking spouses whose wages are expected to equal or exceed 150% of U.S. median annual earnings) as members of a targeted group for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit. Includes the wife or husband of a member serving on extended active duty within the federal veterans' employment preference. Allows members who have completed two terms of service and have reenlisted for a third term to transfer a portion of their entitlement to basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill. (Current law allows such transfer for members with critical military skills.) Requires studies on: (1) the development of an education grant program for training military spouses in health care and early childhood development careers; and (2) creating work opportunities for undergraduate- and graduate-educated military spouses during the active-duty service of their spouses.

Date: 2008-02-06
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
American Competitiveness Through International Openness Now Act of 2008 or the ACTION Act of 2008 - Directs the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategic plan for increasing U.S. competitiveness for international students, scholars, scientists, and exchange visitors. Establishes in the Executive Office of the President the International Education Coordinating Council. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) revise the "intent" criterion with respect to foreign students; and (2) permit specified employment-based visas to be renewed in the United States. Extends the security clearance for nonimmigrant scientists. Provides for: (1) security clearance portability under specified circumstances; (2) periodic review of the technology alert list (as defined by this Act); and (3) expansion of the social security number enumeration-at-entry program to include eligible exchange visitor nonimmigrants (J-visa) at all U.S. ports of entry. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to temporary driver's licenses and temporary identification cards. Directs the Secretary of State to establish an expedited visa trusted traveler program for international students, researchers, scholars, and individuals engaged in business.

Date: 2008-02-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Immigration
Designates the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) building under construction at the intersection of 120th and L Streets in Omaha, Nebraska, as the "J. James Exon Federal Bureau of Investigation Building."

Date: 2008-05-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commemorations
Passenger Vehicle Loss Disclosure Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to require all insurers and self-insurers of passenger motor vehicles to disclose to the public, in a commercially reasonable, electronically accessible manner, for each passenger motor vehicle declared or determined to be a total loss: (1) the vehicle identification number and odometer reading; (2) the date of and primary reason for the total loss determination; and (3) whether the airbags deployed.

Date: 2008-09-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include a computer technology or equipment development business within the definition of a "qualified business" for purposes of enterprise zone tax incentives.

Date: 2008-12-11
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Consumer Auto Relief Act of 2009 or the CAR Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers a tax deduction for: (1) up to $7,500 of the purchase price of a new passenger automobile or light truck that is purchased in 2009; (2) interest paid on any loan to purchase such vehicles; and (3) state and local sales taxes paid on a vehicle purchase. Excludes from the gross income of lenders 50% of the interest paid on any consumer loan for the purchase of a new passenger automobile or light truck.

Date: 2009-01-09
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Air Force One Built in America Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to enter into a contract for the procurement of an aircraft for use as Air Force One by the President only if it is manufactured in the United States by an American-owned company.

Date: 2009-01-26
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Congressional Made in America Promise Act of 2010 - Amends the Buy American Act to apply Buy American requirements to articles, materials, and supplies acquired for the use of any legislative branch office, including the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the same manner as the Act applies with respect to articles, materials, and supplies acquired for the use of a department or independent establishment. Prescribes a special rule in the case of any product which bears a congressional official insignia (including a mark resembling an official seal) that is acquired for the use of a legislative branch office. Prohibits the head of such office from making a determination under the Act that: (1) it is inconsistent with the public interest to enter into a contract in accordance with the Act; or (2) an article, material, or supply is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of satisfactory quality. Applies this prohibition to otherwise exempted manufactured articles, materials, or supplies procured under any contract the award value of which is less than or equal to the micro-purchase threshold.

Date: 2009-04-22
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Congress
Foreign Business Bribery Prohibition Act of 2009 - Amends the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 to make a foreign concern liable for up to treble damages to any issuer, domestic concern, or U.S. person as a result of violating certain anti-bribery prohibitions. (In effect, authorizes a private right of action against such concerns.)

Date: 2009-04-28
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2010 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S. government should promote policies related to the nation's manufacturing sector intended to promote growth, sustainability, and competitiveness, create well-paying jobs, enable innovation and investment, and support national security; and (2) the President and Congress should act promptly to pursue policies consistent with a National Manufacturing Strategy (Strategy). Directs the President, every four years, to submit to Congress, and publish on a public website, a Strategy. Requires the first Strategy to be submitted within one year after enactment of this Act. Directs the President to establish, within the Department of Commerce, the President's Manufacturing Strategy Board (consisting of both public and private sector members) to: (1) advise the President and Congress on issues affecting the nation's manufacturing sector; (2) conduct a comprehensive analysis of such sector; (3) develop a Strategy; and (4) report annually to the President and Congress on the current state of U.S. manufacturing. Directs the Comptroller General, in each of 2013, 2017, and 2021, to submit to Congress an assessment and analysis of the Strategy. Directs the President, in developing each Strategy, to enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to conduct a study concerning U.S. manufacturing and related assessments and reviews. Requires the NAS to report each study's results to Congress and the President. Requires the President, in preparing each annual budget, to include information regarding that budget's consistency with the goals and recommendations included in the latest Strategy.

Date: 2010-02-25
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
American Job Creation and Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a corporation to elect in 2010 and 2011 to increase its alternative minimum tax (AMT) credits by a specified credit adjustment amount for purposes of increasing its U.S. workforce and making investments in business equipment. Allows a similar election for a taxable year which includes December 31, 2009, with certain restrictions. Terminates such additional credit allowance after December 31, 2011.

Date: 2010-03-16
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 - Establishes, revises, and extends specified science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) programs (including in green energy education), as well as engineering, research, and training programs, and establishes a green chemistry basic research program and a green manufacturing and construction initiative. Authorizes appropriations for FY2011-FY2013 for: (1) the National Science Foundation (NSF); (2) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); and (3) the Department of Energy (DOE) for activities of the Office of Science.

Date: 2010-05-18
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
International Tax Competitiveness Act of 2010 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) treat foreign corporations that are managed, directly or indirectly, within the United States as domestic corporations for U.S. tax purposes; (2) make certain royalty income and income from intangibles received from a controlled foreign corporation subject to U.S. taxation; (3) repeal tax rules exempting foreign source income attributable to the active conduct of a foreign trade or business from withholding of tax requirements; and (4) revise the tax treatment of property other than stock (i.e., boot) received in connection with a corporate reorganization to provide that such property shall be treated as a taxable dividend.

Date: 2010-05-18
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Incentives for Successful Small Businesses Act of 2010 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish: (1) criteria for a long-term U.S. growth plan for any company or enterprise seeking incentives under this Act, as well as for U.S. expansion plans of successful small businesses that would qualify for such incentives; (2) procedures for loan guarantee and interest rate subsidy programs; and (3) a program to disseminate information rapidly about such programs and procedures. Directs the Secretary to establish a five-year program to provide guarantees of up to 80% of the principal of any loan which banks and lenders make at the lowest collateralized rate available to any successful small business to facilitate its U.S. expansion plans. Directs the Secretary to establish a five-year interest rate subsidy program to pay one percentage point of interest on any such loan to the extent the loan's annual percentage rate (APR) does not exceed the lowest collateralized rate available, minus the rate paid by the Secretary.

Date: 2010-05-27
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the phasing in of the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities and permit the full 9% deduction amount for taxable years beginning after 2008. Repeals the limitation on such tax deduction for oil-related production activities.

Date: 2009-01-21
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Restoring America's Manufacturing Leadership through Energy Efficiency Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to require the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to provide funding for a revolving loan program that enables manufacturers to implement commercially available technologies or processes that significantly reduce systems energy intensity and improve U.S. industrial competitiveness. Requires the Secretary to establish collaborative research and development partnerships with other programs within the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to promote early stage energy efficiency technology development and achievement of such other programs' goals. Requires the Secretary to implement: (1) a sustainable manufacturing initiative; and (2) a joint industry-government partnership program to research and develop new sustainable manufacturing and industrial technologies and processes that maximize the energy efficiency of systems, reduce pollution, and conserve natural resources. Requires the Secretary to assess the commercial availability of cost competitive energy efficiency technologies that are not widely implemented within the United States for specified energy intensive industries. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to: (1) make specified research on industry-specific road maps eligible for funding under the Future of Industry Program; and (2) require the Secretary to establish a Center of Excellence at up to 10 of the highest performing industrial research and assessment centers to coordinate with and advise other industrial research and assessment centers. Requires the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to expedite consideration of applications for loans under the Small Business Act that implement such centers' recommendations. Increases the appropriations authorized for FY2010-FY2012 for DOE's program for optimizing energy efficiency and economic competitiveness of energy-intensive industrial and commercial sectors. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to require the Secretary to implement a program to provide funding for state-industry partnerships to develop, demonstrate, and commercialize new technologies or processes for industries that significantly: (1) reduce energy use and energy intensive feedstocks, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and industrial waste; and (2) improve domestic industrial cost competitiveness. Requires the Secretary to: (1) arrange with the National Academy of Sciences for a study of the development of advanced manufacturing capabilities for various energy technologies; and (2) establish an advisory steering committee to provide recommendations on planning and implementation of DOE's Industrial Technologies Program.

Date: 2009-03-19
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Energy
Buy American Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Buy American Act to: (1) extend through FY2013 the requirement for federal agencies to report to specified congressional committees on the amount of agency acquisitions from entities that manufacture products outside the United States; (2) apply such Act to executive, legislative, and judicial branch agencies; and (3) require articles to be treated as made substantially all from articles mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components exceeds 75% of the total cost of all components. Prohibits federal agencies from determining that: (1) it would not be in the public interest to enter into a contract subject to Buy American requirements after a solicitation of offers notice for such contract is published; (2) the cost of acquiring products manufactured in the United States is unreasonable unless such acquisition would increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%; or (3) an article is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of satisfactory quality unless the agency has determined that domestic production cannot be initiated without significantly delaying the project and that a substitutable article is not available from a company in the United States. Requires agencies: (1) to give preference in the procurement process to a company that manufactures the solicited product in the United States if such company's bid is substantially the same as a bid made by a non-U.S. manufacturer or such company is the only one that manufactures the product in the United States; (2) to exclude costs related to the startup of a project from a domestic bid; (3) to apply Buy American requirements without regard to whether products to be acquired are for use outside the United States if they are not needed on an urgent basis or if they are acquired on a regular basis; (4) in determining whether to grant a public interest waiver of Buy American requirements, to consider any predicted significant decrease in domestic employment to be against the public interest; and (5) to publish waivers requested and waivers granted on a publicly available website. Directs: (1) the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to ensure that Buy American requirements apply to component projects that have been disaggregated from a larger project for purposes of avoiding applicability of such requirements to the larger project; and (2) the Comptroller General to report to Congress recommendations to be used in determining whether acquiring articles mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States would be inconsistent with the public interest. Requires this Act to be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.

Date: 2009-12-16
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Government operations and politics
American Job Creation and Investment Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a corporation to elect in 2010 and 2011 to increase its alternative minimum tax (AMT) credits by a specified credit adjustment amount for purposes of increasing its U.S. workforce and making investments in business equipment. Terminates such additional credit allowance after December 31, 2011.

Date: 2010-02-22
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Strengthening Manufacturing and Rebuilding Transit Act of 2010 or SMART Act - Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to give preference to the award of discretionary or competitive grants, loans, loan guarantees, and lines of credit to transportation infrastructure projects, including the purchase of transit vehicle rolling stock, rail, and supporting equipment, in which manufactured goods to be purchased have a domestic content percentage that: (1) exceeds applicable federal requirements; and (2) in the case of rolling stock, is consistent with industry-recognized standards, if available. Directs the Secretary to establish a centralized website that provides rules and guidance, waiver notices, and agency actions of the domestic content standards (Buy America) for DOT federal-aid programs. Requires a federal agency head to subject to public notice and comment any request for waiver, and to publication in the Federal Register and notification to Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of any waiver, of Buy America requirements involving: (1) federal-aid highway and public transportation projects, (2) AMTRAK acquisition and maintenance of equipment and facilities, and (3) intercity passenger rail service corridor capital assistance projects. Directs the DOT Inspector General to report annually to Congress on acquisitions funded by federal transportation infrastructure investments that do not comply with Buy American requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to work with the Hollings Manufacturing Partnership Program and other manufacturing-related local intermediaries to develop a multi-agency comprehensive plan to expand domestic manufacturer rail and transit vehicle supply chains.

Date: 2010-12-16
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Transportation and public works
International Tax Competitiveness Act of 2011 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) treat foreign corporations that are managed, directly or indirectly, within the United States as domestic corporations for U.S. tax purposes; (2) make certain royalty income and income from intangibles received from a controlled foreign corporation subject to U.S. taxation; and (3) revise the tax treatment of property other than stock (i.e., boot) received in connection with a corporate reorganization to provide that such property shall be treated as a taxable dividend.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Automobile Dealers Fair Competition Act of 2011 - Makes it unlawful for any new automobile manufacturer to unreasonably discriminate against or deny a franchise to an automobile dealer who applies for the retention of its franchise. Permits an automobile dealer to file an expedited action in a U.S. district court to restore its franchise. Defines: (1) "new automobile manufacturer" as an automobile manufacturing company established in 2009 that is the successor to another automobile manufacturing company and acquires the assets of the predecessor company in an transaction governed by federal bankruptcy law; and (2) "automobile dealer" as any automobile dealer in the United States that, on January 1, 2009, held a franchise granted by an automobile manufacturing company that was the predecessor company to a new automobile manufacturer to sell that company's automobiles, but has not entered into an agreement with the new manufacturer to continue serving as a franchisee.

Date: 2011-01-05
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
Bring Jobs Back to America Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to create a comprehensive national manufacturing strategy to increase overall domestic manufacturing, create private sector jobs, identify emerging technologies, and identify a strategy for repatriating jobs to the United States. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish targets for manufacturing growth; (2) conduct biennial surveys of U.S. businesses that maintain manufacturing facilities or customer service centers outside the United States; and (3) report on survey results. Directs the Secretary to establish multiple repatriation task forces to promote repatriation (return of a job or facility from a foreign country location to a U.S. location). Establishes the American Economic Security Commission to establish and carry out a program to improve U.S. competitiveness in the global economy through technology-based planning. Amends the Public Works and Economic Development Act of 1965 to make eligible for assistance under such Act projects to facilitate: (1) the relocation to the United States of a foreign source of employment; and (2) the growth of the U.S. manufacturing or customer service sector. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to study the feasibility and potential impact of new tax provisions to encourage U.S. companies to return jobs to the United States. Amends federal patent law to revise requirements regarding the publication of patent applications. Requires abstracts (short summaries of inventions) included with patent applications (instead of the patent applications themselves, as under current law) to be published 18 months after the earliest filing date of the application. Repeals certain requirements relating to: (1) submission of a redacted copy of an application; and (2) procedures to prevent protest and pre-issuance opposition to the grant of a patent. Requires the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to give priority to the examination of a patent application by an institution of higher education or a patent holding company affiliated with such an institution.

Date: 2011-01-26
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
Airports, Highways, High-Speed Rail, Trains, and Transit: Make it in America Act - Eliminates certain grounds for waiving Buy American requirements that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) obligate federal funding for certain air navigation, highway, and rail activities and projects only if U.S. steel, iron, and manufactured goods are used in such projects. (Retains the current waiver of such Buy American requirements for any case where use of U.S. material will increase overall costs of a highway and roadway or highspeed rail project by more than 25%.) Revises waiver of Buy American requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to waive such requirements if the cost of U.S. components and subcomponents is: (1) more than 60% of the cost of all components of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities or equipment or rolling stock (buses and light and heavy rail trains), as under current law, in the case of obligations made on or before December 31, 2011; (2) more than 80% of the cost of all components of such items in the case of obligations made during calendar 2012; or (3) 100% of the cost of all components of such items in the case of obligations made after December 31, 2013. Repeals the Secretary's authority to exempt Amtrak from Buy American requirements in certain circumstances.

Date: 2011-02-10
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Congressional Made in America Promise Act of 2011 - Amends the Buy American Act to apply Buy American requirements to articles, materials, and supplies acquired for the use of any legislative branch office, including the House of Representatives and the Senate, in the same manner as the Act applies with respect to articles, materials, and supplies acquired for the use of a department or independent establishment. Prescribes a special rule in the case of any product which bears an official congressional insignia (including a mark resembling an official seal) that is acquired for the use of a legislative branch office. Prohibits the head of such office from making a determination under the Act that it is inconsistent with the public interest to enter into a contract in accordance with the Act. Makes inapplicable to products with an official congressional insignia the exceptions to the Buy American rule for: (1) articles, materials, or supplies not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of satisfactory quality; or (2) manufactured articles, materials, or supplies procured under any contract the award value of which is less than or equal to the micro-purchase threshold. (Thus applies the Buy American rule to any legislative branch office purchase of products with an official congressional insignia, without exception.)

Date: 2011-03-29
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Congress
Team B Act - Amends the National Security Act of 1947 to establish the Counterterrorism Competitive Analysis Council to: (1) advise the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) on all policy matters relating to threats of international terrorism and domestic radicalization based on all-source information; (2) prepare a competitive analysis of each national intelligence estimate concerning al Qaeda and other foreign terrorist organizations, and submit each analysis to the DNI and the National Intelligence Council; and (3) report annually to Congress on trends in counterterrorism and domestic radicalization.

Date: 2011-04-12
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Armed forces and national security
Keep American Jobs from Going Down the Drain Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to prohibit the use of funds made available from a state loan fund or a state water pollution control revolving fund, respectively, from being used for a project for the construction, alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public water system unless the steel, iron, and manufactured goods used in such project are produced in the United States. Waives such requirement when the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the relevant governor, finds that: (1) applying such requirement would be inconsistent with the public interest; (2) such goods are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) inclusion of such goods will increase the cost of the overall project by more than 25%. Requires the Administrator to: (1) provide public notice and the opportunity to comment on the Administrator's intent to issue a waiver no less than 15 days prior to waiving such requirements; and (2) publish a justification of any waiver issued.

Date: 2011-05-03
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Water resources development
Balancing Trade Act of 2011 - Requires the President, if in three consecutive calendar years the United States has a trade deficit with another country of $10 billion or more, to take the necessary steps to create a trading relationship that would eliminate or substantially reduce that trade deficit by entering into an agreement with that country.

Date: 2011-05-04
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Reciprocal Market Access Act of 2011 - Prohibits the President from agreeing to the reduction or elimination of the existing rate of duty on any product in order to carry out a trade agreement entered into between the United States and a foreign country until the President certifies to Congress that: (1) the United States has obtained the reduction or elimination of tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices of such foreign country with respect to U.S. exports of any product that has the same physical characteristics and uses as the product for which the President seeks to modify its rate of duty; and (2) any violation of the trade agreement is immediately enforceable by withdrawal of the modification of the existing duty on such foreign product until the United States Trade Representative (USTR) certifies to Congress that the United States has obtained the reduction or elimination of the tariff or nontariff barrier or policy or practice of such foreign government. Requires the withdrawal of such a modification in specified circumstances until the USTR makes such a certification to Congress. Directs the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to assess and identify the tariff and nontariff barriers and policies and practices for such products that exist in the foreign country as well as expected opportunities for U.S. exports to such country if such barriers and policies and practices are eliminated.

Date: 2011-05-05
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Buy American Enhancement Act of 2011 - Defines "substantially all" for purposes of Buy American requirements to mean that articles, materials, or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such items exceeds 75% of the total cost of all such items. Requires the head of each federal agency to ensure that certain contracts awarded by such agency include a provision requiring compliance with Buy American requirements. Defines "waiver" for purposes of Buy American requirements.  Requires the head of each federal agency to publish on the agency website a list of each waiver of such requirements within 30 days after it is granted.

Date: 2011-07-06
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Government operations and politics
American Parks American Products Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Interior or the Archivist of the United States to ensure that the items offered for sale in gift shops or visitor centers in units of the National Park System or of the National Archives and Records Administration, respectively, are U.S.- produced.

Date: 2011-11-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Foreign Business Bribery Prohibition Act of 2011 - Amends the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 to make a foreign concern liable for up to treble damages to any issuer, domestic concern, or U.S. person as a result of violating certain anti-bribery prohibitions. (In effect, authorizes a private right of action against such concerns.)

Date: 2011-11-30
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 10, 2012. The summary of that version is repeated here.) American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2012 - Directs the President, in each of 2014 and 2018, to submit to Congress and publish on a public website a strategy to promote growth, sustainability, and competitiveness in the nation's manufacturing sector, create well-paid, stable jobs, enable innovation and investment, and support national security. Establishes, within the Department of Commerce, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Board to: (1) advise the President on issues affecting the nation's manufacturing sector, (2) conduct a comprehensive analysis (analysis) of such sector, and (3) develop a national manufacturing competitiveness strategy (strategy). Directs the Board to: (1) publish in the Federal Register and on a public website a draft report, and to submit to the President for review and revision a final report, on the strategy; and (2) make the analysis available to the public. Requires the President, in preparing the budget for FY2016-FY2022, to include information regarding the consistency of such budget with the goals and recommendations included in the strategy.

Date: 2012-05-30
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce
Bring Jobs Home Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) grant business taxpayers a tax credit for up to 20% of insourcing expenses incurred for eliminating a business located outside the United States and relocating it within the United States, and (2) deny a tax deduction for outsourcing expenses incurred in relocating a U.S. business outside the United States. Requires an increase in the taxpayer's employment of full-time employees in the United States in order to claim the tax credit for insourcing expenses. Allows nonrecognition of gain in a corporate reorganization for corporations that exchange property solely for stock other than nonqualified preferred stock.

Date: 2012-07-19
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Taxation
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should: eliminate tax loopholes that encourage companies to ship American jobs overseas; expand markets for United States exports; promote the development of new, innovative products bearing the inscription "Made in America"; modernize and improve U.S. highways, bridges, and transit systems; modernize and upgrade U.S. rail, levees, dams, and ports; place computers in classrooms; ensure that U.S. small businesses and households have access to high-speed broadband; invest in critical new infrastructure; and streamline U.S. regulatory policies.

Date: 2011-01-25
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Economics and public finance
All-American Flag Act - Requires any flags of the United States acquired for use by the federal government to be entirely manufactured in the United States, from articles, materials, or supplies entirely grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.  Allows the head of an executive agency to waive such requirement if its application would cause unreasonable costs or delays or would adversely affect a U.S. company. Requires the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this Act. Requires this Act to be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.

Date: 2011-06-14
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Team USA Made in America Act of 2012 - Requires the U.S. Olympic Committee to adopt a policy with respect to uniforms to be worn by athletes during ceremonies that are part of the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, or the Pan-American Games that requires it to: (1) purchase or otherwise obtain only uniforms, including accessories (such as ties, belts, shoes, and hats), that meet the standards of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for labeling as "Made in USA"; or (2) make publicly available a detailed justification of the reasons the Committee obtained uniforms that do not meet that requirement.

Date: 2012-07-16
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Sports and recreation
United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2012 - Requires a business enterprise that employs 50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, or 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work at least 1,500 hours per week, exclusive of overtime, in a call center to notify the Secretary of Labor at least 120 days before relocating such center outside of the United States. Subjects violators to a civil penalty of up to $10,000 a day. Directs the Secretary to establish, maintain, and make publicly available a list of all such employers that relocate a call center. Authorizes the Secretary to remove from the list an employer that has relocated the call center from a location outside the United States to a location inside the United States. Requires such an employer to remain on the list for up to three years after each relocation. Makes such an employer ineligible for federal grants or federal guaranteed loans for five years after being added to the list, except where the employer demonstrates that a lack of such loan or grant would threaten national security, result in substantial job loss in the United States, or harm the environment. Requires the head of federal or state executive agency or military department, when awarding a civilian or defense-related contract, to give preference to a U.S. employer that does not appear on the list. Requires a business entity that initiates or receives a customer service communication to require each of its employees or agents participating in the communication to disclose their physical location at the beginning of each such communication unless all involved employees or agents are located in the United States. Exempts any communication: (1) initiated by a consumer if the consumer knows or reasonably should know that the employee or agent is located outside the United States, or (2) related to the provision of emergency services. Requires such a business entity, upon request, to transfer a customer to a customer service agent who is physically located in the United States. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to exclude certain classes or types of business entities or customer services communications from the requirements of this Act under exceptionally compelling circumstances. Sets forth enforcement provisions.

Date: 2012-07-18
Topic: Foreign Trade (Competitiveness)
Subject: Commerce