zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Effective Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2012 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require grant applicants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to include in grant applications a comprehensive statewide plan for the improvement of the administration of the criminal justice system. Makes it unlawful for government entities or their agents to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives indigent defendants of their constitutional rights to assistance of counsel in criminal proceedings.

Date: 2012-06-21
Topic: Law and Crime (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2013 - Establishes the National Criminal Justice Commission.

Directs the Commission to: (1) review all areas of the criminal justice system, including federal, state, local, and tribal governments' criminal justice costs, practices, and policies; (2) make findings regarding such review and recommendations for changes to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, reduce recidivism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the interests of justice at every step of the criminal justice system; (3) consult with government and nongovernment leaders, including the United States Sentencing Commission; and (4) submit a final report on its findings, conclusions, and recommendations to Congress, the President, and state, local, and tribal governments and make such report available to the public. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Commission should work toward unanimously supported findings and recommendations.

Date: 2013-02-01
Topic: Law and Crime (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
National Center for the Right to Counsel Act - Establishes in the District of Columbia a private, nonprofit corporation to be known as the National Center for the Right to Counsel to provide: (1) financial support to supplement, but not supplant, funding for public defense systems that provide legal assistance to indigent defendants in criminal cases, including systems run by state or local governments as well as private entities or individuals providing services under contract with such governments; and (2) financial and substantive support for training programs to improve delivery of legal services to indigent defendants.

Requires each state to have a state advisory council to: (1) monitor, receive, and investigate complaints regarding the compliance of public defense systems that receive funding with applicable laws and regulations; (2) notify the Center of any apparent violations; and (3) collect data on the delivery of public defense services and facilitate information sharing between the state's public defense systems.

Authorizes the Center to: (1) make grants and contracts; (2) undertake research, training, and technical assistance; and (3) serve as a clearinghouse for information.

Prohibits the Center from interfering with attorneys' professional responsibilities to their clients or from abrogating the authority of states or other jurisdictions to enforce such standards.

Requires the Center, to the extent feasible, to have services provided in an indigent defendant's principal language in areas where significant numbers of indigent defendants speak a language other than English.

Directs the Center to make available to the public an online database that includes the contact information for all public defense systems in every state.

Requires the Center to establish regional backup service centers to assist public defense systems with access to investigators, sentencing mitigation specialists, and information about available grants.

Date: 2013-10-30
Topic: Law and Crime (General)
Subject: Law
Faithful Execution of the Law Act of 2014 - Expands the circumstances under which the Attorney General is required to report to Congress regarding the enforcement of laws to include any instance in which the Attorney General, an officer of the Department of Justice (DOJ), or any other federal officer establishes or implements a policy to refrain from: (1) enforcing, applying, or administering any federal statute, rule, regulation, program, policy, or other law within the responsibility of the Attorney General or such officer; or (2) adhering to, enforcing, applying, or complying with, a final decision of any court of jurisdiction respecting the application of the Constitution, any statute, rule, regulation, program, policy, or other law within the responsibility of the Attorney General or such officer. (Currently, reports are not required with respect to the policies of other federal officers and reports concerning nonenforcement of a law are required only when the Attorney General or a DOJ officer refrains on grounds that the provision is unconstitutional.)

Requires such reports to state the grounds for policies of nonenforcement.

Date: 2014-01-29
Topic: Law and Crime (General)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Forensic Science and Standards Act of 2016

 This bill establishes a National Forensic Science Research Initiative, carried out by the Office of Science and Technology Policy, to improve, expand, and coordinate federal research in forensic sciences.

The bill establishes a National Forensic Science Coordinating Office to coordinate with relevant federal agencies in the development of: (1) a unified federal research strategy; and (2) any necessary programs, policies, and budgets to support implementation of the research strategy.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) shall contract with the National Research Council to develop a report: (1) identifying the most critical challenges in forensic science that require further research, and (2) making recommendations for research to address those challenges.

The bill states that each external forensic science research grant awarded by a federal agency under this bill shall be subject to a specified competitive merit-review process.

 The NSF shall:

 award forensic science basic research grants to improve the foundation and practice of forensic science; support one or more forensic science research centers; and conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the NSF's full portfolio of forensic science research and education grants every four years. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shall establish: (1) a competitively selected Center of Excellence focusing on measurement sciences, technology, and standards in forensic science; and (2) scientific area committees to identify gaps in and opportunities for standards development in the forensic sciences.

 NIST and the Department of Justice (DOJ) shall establish a National Commission on Forensic Science to advise the agencies participating in the unified federal research strategy and review recommendations on standards development in forensic science.

DOJ shall:

 encourage the broad adoption of forensic science standards, requiring each DOJ laboratory, and encouraging other federal forensic laboratories, to adopt these standards; promote accreditation and certification based on forensic science standards; and promote recommendations made by the National Commission on Forensic Science.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Law and Crime (General)
Subject: Science, technology, communications
Prohibiting the Department of Labor's Secret Rule Act of 2008 - Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from issuing, administering, or enforcing any rule, regulation, or requirement derived from the proposal submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) entitled Requirements for DOL Agencies' Assessment of Occupational Health Risks.

Date: 2008-07-30
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Job Access and Reverse Commute Program Improvements Act of 2008 - Revises the job access and reverse commute (JARC) program to authorize a state to accept a single combined application for a project funded from at least two of the following programs that provide individuals with transportation to and from a job: (1) the JARC program; (2) the elderly and disabled specialized transit program; (3) the new freedom program (for disabled workers); and (4) any other program the Secretary deems appropriate. Makes eligible for JARC formula grant funding the subsidizing of costs associated with the transportation of low income high school students and young adults to career or technical education, job training, or apprenticeship programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation, at state request, to waive or streamline JARC program reporting and certification requirements, provided program goals are met. Directs the Secretary to study the feasibility of eliminating, revising, or reducing frequency of collection for any reporting or certification requirements relating to the JARC formula grant program, particularly examining the burden on and needs of nonprofit organizations that receive funding and are unaccustomed to Federal Transit Administration (FTA) regulations. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a grant pilot program to: (1) improve education and employment related transportation activities for eligible teens and young adults; (2) evaluate streamlined reporting and certification requirements; and (3) support more comprehensive projects integrated with other federal, state, and local transportation and human service programs, while ensuring the paperwork burden is minimized. Requires the Secretary to continue and expand JARC technical assistance activities so that the Department of Transportation supports various specified efforts, including those that act as an information clearinghouse and information network.

Date: 2008-09-10
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Renames the basic employment eligibility verification pilot program established under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 as the Employment Eligibility Verification System. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide for permanent nationwide implementation of the System. Requires entities hiring individuals for employment in the United States to participate in such System. Phases in compliance requirements over a seven-year period according to the number of persons employed by the entity. Establishes sanctions for noncompliance. Provides for voluntary participation by entities not required to participate.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Immigration
Common Sense English Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that, notwithstanding any other equal employment opportunity provisions of the Act, it is not an unlawful employment practice for an employer to require employees to speak English while engaged in work.

Date: 2009-03-18
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Put America to Work Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make grants to states, local government units, and Indian tribes to create employment opportunities for unemployed and underemployed residents of distressed communities. Specifies grant uses, including funding of fast-track jobs for: (1) painting and repair of schools, community centers, and libraries; (2) restoration of abandoned and vacant properties; (3) expansion of emergency food programs to reduce hunger; (4) augmentation of staffing in Head Start and other early childhood education programs; and (5) renovation and maintenance of parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces. Requires grant recipients to use remaining grant funds to make grants to public entities, nonprofit organizations, public-private partnerships, or small businesses to create employment opportunities in: (1) construction, rehabilitation, and improvements in energy efficiency of residences or public facilities; (2) the provision of human services; (3) remediation and demolition of vacant and abandoned properties; and (4) programs that provide opportunities for employment, education, and training for disadvantaged youth.

Date: 2009-12-10
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Workforce Investment Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) to revise requirements and reauthorize appropriations for: (1) WIA title I, workforce investment systems for job training and employment services; and (2) WIA title II, adult education and family literacy education programs. Revises and reauthorizes workforce investment systems with respect to: (1) state and local planning, allocation, work force investment board membership, and performance accountability; (2) one-stop centers; (3) consolidated funding for adult program activities, including job training, dislocated worker retraining, the employment service system, and reemployment grants; (4) training programs for both out-of-school and in-school youth, including challenge grants; and (5) national job training programs, including the Job Corps and programs for Native Americans, migrant and seasonal farmworkers, and veterans. Requires the Employment and Training Administration of the Department of Labor to be the principal agency to administer WIA title I workforce investment systems for job training and employment services and title III (Job Corps). Exempts religious organizations, with respect to their employment of individuals of a particular religion, from WIA nondiscrimination requirements. Prescribes requirements for the approval of state Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) plans for the carrying out of certain workforce development activities. Repeals Wagner-Peyser Act provisions relating to the U.S. Employment Service. Directs the Secretary of Labor to oversee the development, maintenance, and continuous improvement of a nationwide workforce and labor market information system. Revises requirements and reauthorizes appropriations for: (1) vocational rehabilitation services under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and (2) the Helen Keller National Center Act.

Date: 2009-12-10
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
New Deal for a New Economy Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, from unobligated funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), to make specified sums available for FY2010-FY2012 to the Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, the Interior, and Agriculture. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Education to allocate, and each eligible local educational agency in the state to receive, funds in proportion to amounts received under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and (2) a state to make and distribute the amount allocated to it within 90 days of receipt. Authorizes the use of funds to hire new employees, rehire employees laid off during the year prior to enactment, continue to employ employees scheduled to be laid off as a result of reduced budgets, and prevent furloughs scheduled as a result of reduced budgets. Directs: (1) the Attorney General to award grants to state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to hire, rehire, continue to employ, and prevent furloughs of police officers; (2) the Secretary of DHS, through the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, to award grants through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program to hire, rehire, continue to employ, and prevent furloughs of firefighters; (3) the Secretary of Commerce to award grants to states, cities or other political subdivisions or a consortium of such subdivisions, or Indian tribes, to assist in maintaining basic government services; and (4) the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to fund specific public works projects in national parks and through the National Forest Service, respectively. Establishes in the Department of Labor a New Economy Grant Program, to provide grants for the creation of new jobs on specific public works projects. Limits funding under this Act's Departments of Labor, the Interior, and Agriculture programs to individuals who meet specified criteria. Bars displacement of existing employees. Sets forth requirements regarding the use of funds, the maximum employment period, wages, reporting, and expedited administration.

Date: 2009-12-11
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Employee Misclassification Prevention Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to require every person to: (1) keep records of non-employees (contractors) who perform labor or services (except substitute work), including through an entity such as a trust, estate, partnership, association, company, or corporation, for remuneration; and (2) provide certain notice to each new employee and new non-employee, including classification as an employee or non-employee and information concerning their rights under the law. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) discharge or otherwise discriminate against an individual (including an employee) who has opposed any practice, or filed a complaint or instituted any proceeding related to this Act, including with respect to an individual's status as an employee or non-employee; and (2) fail to classify accurately an employee or non-employee. Doubles the amount of liquidated damages for maximum hours, minimum wage, and notice of classification violations by an employer. Subjects a person who: (1) violates such requirements (including recordkeeping requirements) to a civil penalty of up to $1,100; or (2) repeatedly or willfully violates such requirements to a civil penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation. Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a webpage on the Department of Labor website that summarizes the rights of employees under this Act and other appropriate information. Amends the Social Security Act to require, as a condition for a federal grant for the administration of state unemployment compensation, for the state's unemployment compensation law to include a provision for: (1) auditing programs that identify employers that have not registered under the state law or that are paying unreported compensation where the effect is to exclude employees from unemployment compensation coverage; and (2) establishing administrative penalties for misclassifying employees or paying unreported unemployment compensation to employees. Requires any office, administration, or division of the Department of Labor to report any misclassification of an employee by a person subject to the FLSA that it discovers to the Department's Wage and Hour Division (WHD). Authorizes the WHD to report such information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Date: 2010-04-22
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Exempts an H-2B visa (temporary nonagricultural worker) alien coming to work in the United States in the mobile amusement industry from fiscal year numerical limitations under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Date: 2010-09-22
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Immigration
Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act or the PREEMIE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of NIH with respect to research on the causes and prevention of preterm labor and delivery and the care and treatment of preterm infants; (2) establish within NIH a multicenter clinical program and trans-disciplinary centers for prematurity research; (3) require the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct research, activities, and studies on preterm birth; and (4) require the CDC to award grants for telemedicine demonstration projects for services for high risk pregnancies. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish and implement a national science-based consumer education campaign on the prevention of preterm birth; and (2) conduct and report on research studies and demonstration projects for reducing the rate of preterm birth. Requires the Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality of HHS to report annually to the Secretary on a strategic plan for the conduct of preterm birth-related research.

Date: 2010-09-29
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Health
Accurate Background Check Act of 2013 or the ABC Act of 2013 - Amends the federal judicial code to require the Attorney General (DOJ) to provide procedures to ensure the accuracy and completeness of certain criminal records and information exchanged for employment background checks.

Directs the Attorney General, if a record or information is inaccurate or incomplete, to correct, delete, or amend such information within 10 days after a request is made and prior to releasing the record to the requesting entity. Requires the Attorney General, in such an instance, to also research state and local recordkeeping systems, maintain a disposition document database to be searched along with other federal databases, and notify reporting jurisdictions of any updated information.

Considers a record or information to be incomplete if it indicates that an arrest was made and does not include the disposition of such arrest.

Requires the Attorney General, prior to such an employment background check exchange, to obtain the signed consent of the subject of such information, provide the applicant an opportunity to challenge the record, notify the requesting entity of any such challenge, and complete an investigation of such challenge within 30 days.

Extends the procedures established pursuant to this Act to apply to authorized exchanges for: (1) national security background investigations for employment in federal service, (2) government-wide security standards for forms of identification issued to federal employees and contractors, and (3) government background checks for the issuance of transportation security cards to access the secure areas of shipping vessels and facilities.

Date: 2013-08-02
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Jobs Investment Act of 2014 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop and report on recommendations for assigning to depreciable property a class life, classification, or recovery period that more equitably provides for capital cost recovery across all industries without any significant effect on total tax revenue.

Date: 2014-06-09
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Taxation
Simplifying Technical Aspects Regarding Seasonality Act of 2014 or the STARS Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt seasonal employees from the definition of "full-time employee" for purposes of the employer mandate to provide employees with minimum essential health care coverage. Defines "seasonal employee" as an employee who is employed in a position for which the customary annual employment is not more than six months and which requires performing labor or services that are ordinarily performed at certain seasons or periods of the year.

Date: 2014-09-18
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Taxation
Independent Contractor Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2015 

 Amends the Internal Revenue Code to set forth criteria for classifying a worker as an employee or an independent contractor.

Prohibits: (1) any retroactive assessment of employment tax, except with respect to certain skilled workers, for tax periods after December 31, 1978, unless the employer had no reasonable basis for not treating a worker as an employee, and (2) the issuance, after the enactment of this Act, of Treasury regulations with respect to the employment status of any individual for purposes of the employment tax.

Establishes safe harbor provisions upon which a service recipient or payor may rely in classifying a service provider as an independent contractor rather than as an employee where the service provider: (1) incurs significant financial responsibility for providing and maintaining equipment and facilities to perform work under a contract; (2) incurs unreimbursed expenses or risks income fluctuations because remuneration is directly related to sales or other output rather than solely to the number of hours actually worked or expenses incurred; (3) is compensated on factors related to the work performed and not solely on the basis of hours or time expended; and (4) substantially controls the means and manner of performing the contract services, the specifications of the service recipient or payor, and any additional contractual requirements.

Date: 2015-05-20
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Taxation
Voluntary Protection Program Act

This bill provides statutory authority for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA's) voluntary protection program, under which management, labor, and OSHA establish cooperative relationships at workplaces that have implemented a comprehensive safety and health management system.

Date: 2015-05-21
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Protection of Social Security Benefits Restoration Act

This bill amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the application of, and repeal authority for, administrative offsets to Social Security, railroad retirement, and black lung benefits.

Date: 2016-04-18
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Social welfare
Layoff Prevention Extension Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 with respect to state short-time compensation programs that allow employers to reduce the workweek of their employees in lieu of layoffs. The bill: (1) extends federal financing of the programs for an additional two years; and (2) extends through December 31, 2016, the deadline for a state to submit to the Department of Labor its application for a short-time compensation program grant.

Date: 2016-06-08
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
America Star Act 

This bill directs the Secretary of Labor to establish within the Department of Labor a voluntary America Star program under which the Secretary annually shall designate certain companies, based on specified performance categories, as America Star companies for their support for the U.S. workforce.

Companies are ineligible to participate in the program if they commit serious, repeated, or willful violations of specified federal labor law.

The Secretary shall: (1) market the America Star program annually to the public through the Department's website, and (2) design a label for designated America Star companies to use by displaying it next to the company's logo.

The Federal Trade Commission shall treat as an unfair or deceptive practice the use of a label by a company not designated as an America Star company in violation with the requirements of this Act.

Date: 2015-04-14
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act

This bill declares that the proposed or the final rule of the Department of Labor entitled "Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees" shall cease to have any force or effect. The rule revises the "white collar" exemption of executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees from minimum wage and maximum hour, or overtime, requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA).

If the proposed rule is a final rule on the date of enactment of this bill:

 Labor shall not enforce it based on conduct occurring before that enactment date, an employee shall not have any right of action against an employer for the employer's failure to comply with the final rule at any time before that enactment date, any regulations that were amended by the final rule shall be restored and revived as if the final rule had never taken effect, and nothing in this bill shall be construed to create a right of action for an employer against an employee for the recoupment of any payments made to the employee before the enactment of this bill that were in compliance with that final rule. Labor may promulgate any substantially similar rule only if it has completed certain required actions; but the rule shall not contain any automatic updates to the salary threshold for purposes of exemptions to minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under the FLSA.

The requirement that definitions applicable for such exemptions be defined and delimited from time to time by Labor regulations shall be construed to:

 require Labor to issue a new rule through notice and comment rulemaking for each change in any salary threshold it has proposed; and exclude any rule that would result in changes to any salary threshold for multiple time periods, including through any automatic updating procedure. Labor may not promulgate any final rule that includes any revision to duties tests for exemption from minimum wage and maximum hours requirements unless specific regulatory text for the provision was proposed in the proposed rule.

Date: 2016-03-17
Topic: Labor (General)
Subject: Labor and employment
Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a Pulp and Paper Energy Security Task Force to: (1) identify the energy needs of the forest product industry and similar manufacturing operations, and programs and services provided by the federal and state governments, as well as nongovernment organizations, that may serve to lower energy costs; and (2) assess the extent to which such programs and services serve those needs. Requires the Task Force to make recommendations to the Secretary on: (1) how to more effectively serve such needs; (2) how to promote recommended new programs and services; (3) creation of a permanent advisory board and establishment of an Internet website to receive and dispense relevant information and resources; and (4) development of additional education materials and programs. Requires the Task Force to organize and distribute existing materials that inform and educate with respect to such energy needs of the forest product industry and similar manufacturing operations.

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Energy (Other)
LIHEAP Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 governing state allotments under the low-income energy assistance program (LIHEAP) to limit to 50% the earmark for home heating purposes of amounts appropriated for program implementation.

Date: 2009-01-07
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Energy
Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for paying certain affected participants a one-time lump sum payment. Defines affected participants as persons who retired from active employment at one of the gaseous diffusion plants of the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), or are employed by USEC's operating contractor, on or before its privatization date as vested participants in a pension plan maintained either by USEC's operating contractor or by a contractor employed prior to July 1, 1993, by the Department of Energy to operate a gaseous diffusion plant. Prescribes a formula for the determination of such payments, based on the total recoverable amount of accrued pension benefits.

Date: 2009-11-16
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Labor and employment
USEC Privatization Amendments Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a program for paying certain affected participants a one-time lump sum payment. Defines affected participants as persons who retired from active employment at one of the gaseous diffusion plants of the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), or are employed by USEC's operating contractor, on or before its privatization date as vested participants in a pension plan maintained either by USEC's operating contractor or by a contractor employed prior to July 1, 1993, by the Department of Energy to operate a gaseous diffusion plant. Prescribes a formula for the determination of such payments, based on the total recoverable amount of accrued pension benefits. Authorizes any affected participant who receives such a payment to make one or more rollover contributions up to the payment amount to a regular (non-Roth) individual retirement account (IRA), which shall be excluded from gross income for tax purposes under the Internal Revenue Code. Includes in gross income any such rollover into a Roth IRA.

Date: 2009-05-18
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Labor and employment
American Renewable Energy Jobs Act - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to change from a requirement to discretionary the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to make a grant in lieu of tax credits to each person who places in service specified energy property. Subjects any such grants to Buy American requirements without regard to whether the specified energy property involves a public building or public work. Prohibits the Secretary from making any grant payment unless the Secretary analyzes and takes into consideration domestic job preservation and creation provided by a specified energy property, including domestic job preservation and creation related to: (1) production of equipment for the property; (2) installation of equipment for the property; and (3) operation of the property. Requires submission of a copy of such analysis to specified congressional committees.

Date: 2010-03-03
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to revise the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project offices to: (1) specify Field Office for each of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Offices designated; and (2) replace the Miles City, Montana, field office with the Montana/Dakotas State Office, Montana (Billings).

Date: 2012-09-19
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
This bill directs the Department of Energy to develop and report to specified congressional committees, after public notice and comment, recommended U.S. energy security valuation methods.

The report shall:

 evaluate and define U.S. energy security to reflect modern domestic and global energy markets and the collective needs of the United States and its allies and partners; identify procedures and criteria to ensure that energy-related actions that significantly affect the supply, distribution, or use of energy are evaluated with respect to their potential impact on energy security, consumers and the economy, energy supply diversity and resiliency, well-functioning and competitive energy markets, the U.S. trade balance, and national security objectives; and recommend an implementation strategy meeting specified requirements.

Date: 2015-11-04
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Energy
Tar Sands Tax Loophole Elimination Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to expand the definition of "crude oil" for purposes of the excise tax on petroleum and petroleum products to include any bitumen or bituminous mixture, any oil derived from a bitumen or bituminous mixture (tar sands), and any oil derived from kerogen-bearing sources (oil shale).

The bill also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to classify as crude oil or as a petroleum product subject to such tax any fuel feedstock or finished fuel product transported by pipeline, vessel, railcar, or tanker truck if the Secretary determines that such classification is consistent with the definition of oil under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and such fuel feedstock or finished fuel product is produced in sufficient commercial quantities as to pose a significant risk of hazard in the event of a discharge.

Date: 2015-01-16
Topic: Energy (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Transportation Flexible Savings Accounts Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain employer-provided transportation benefits (i.e., commuting and parking costs, transit passes) under tax-qualified flexible spending arrangements.

Date: 2008-09-26
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Taxation
Authorizes a state agency with jurisdiction over the operation of a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) facility to permit vehicles operated by active duty members of the Armed Forces (including reserve components) and vehicles operated by law enforcement officials to use HOV lane highways, subject to certain requirements.

Date: 2010-02-03
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Holocaust Rail Justice Act - Grants U.S. district courts original jurisdiction over any civil action for damages for personal injury or death that: (1) arose from the deportation of persons to Nazi concentration camps between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1944; and (2) is brought by or on behalf of such person against a railroad that owned or operated the trains on which the persons were deported and that was organized as a separate legal entity. Declares that: (1) no law limiting the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts shall preclude any such action; and (2) no such action shall be barred because a statute of limitations has expired. Makes this Act applicable to any action pending on or commenced after January 1, 2002. Directs the Secretary of State to report to Congress on the status of access to wartime records and archives concerning the wartime activities of any such railroad that engaged in the deportation of such persons to Nazi concentration camps.

Date: 2011-03-17
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Law
Waives compliance with Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) minimum retroreflectivity standards by existing traffic control devices on or before the compliance dates established by the FHWA. Exempts from this waiver (thus requiring compliance with such standards by) traffic control devices installed on or after enactment of this Act. (Replacement of regulatory, warning, and post-mounted guide [except street name] signs is required by January 22, 2015. Replacement of street name signs and overhead guide signs is required by January 22, 2018.)

Date: 2011-06-16
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Stopping Intrusive Government Now Act of 2011 or SIGN Act of 2011 - Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) from promulgating, implementing, or enforcing a minimum retroreflectivity level standard for a traffic control device under the jurisdiction of a state or local government. Directs the Secretary to modify the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways, 2009 Edition, to eliminate federal minimum retroreflectivity level standards for traffic control devices and the schedule for their implementation. (Replacement of regulatory, warning, and post-mounted guide [except street name] signs is required by January 22, 2015. Replacement of street name signs and overhead guide signs is required by January 22, 2018.) Repeals the requirement that the Secretary revise the Manual to include a federal standard for a minimum level of retroreflectivity for pavement markings and signs on all public roads.

Date: 2011-12-16
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Commute Less Act of 2013 - Requires metropolitan planning organization (MPO) transportation plans to include, among other things, employer and transportation management organization outreach activities and strategies to help create and expand employer-based commuter programs.

Defines "employer-based commuter program" to mean a program implemented by employers to provide their employees with alternatives to driving to and from work in a vehicle occupied by a single individual.

Requires each MPO to establish an employer advisory council consisting of representatives of employers in the transportation management area. Requires each council to develop and maintain a commuter trip reduction plan that identifies area goals for the reduction of vehicle miles traveled during peak commuting hours.

Requires MPO transportation improvement programs (TIPs) to include, among other things, a list of projects identified in a commuter trip reduction plan that help achieve such reduction goals.

Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to make a grant to a national nonprofit organization or other entity engaged in efforts relating to employer-based commuter programs to establish and operate an information clearinghouse for employer investment in transportation and employer-based commuter programs.

Requires recipients of federal assistance for the construction of federal-aid highway projects costing $75 million or more, or that will reduce traffic flow for more than 120 days, to prepare congestion mitigation plans that include funding for projects to reduce vehicle miles traveled during peak commuting hours along impacted corridors.

Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a plan to expand and promote employer-based commuter programs; and (2) report to Congress recommendations on how to better integrate such programs into disaster emergency planning, preparedness, and response activities.

Date: 2013-08-01
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Securing America's Facilities, Equipment and Rail: Taking Responsibility for American National Security in Transit Act or the SAFER TRANSIT Act

This bill amends the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to reauthorize through FY2020 the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) program and other specified activities related to public transportation security. (Authorization for the VIPR program expired after FY2011.)

The Department of Homeland Security must: (1) develop a Local Transit Security Instructor Training Program, and (2) take steps necessary to ensure that the Federal Air Marshal Service uses its resources to cover the highest-risk flights.

Date: 2016-07-14
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Increase Transportation Alternatives Investment Program

This bill directs the Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure that states give preference, under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, to eligible projects located in areas that are undergoing extensive repair or reconstruction of federal-aid highways, other federally owned roads open for public travel, passenger rail, and public transportation for the purpose of providing transportation alternatives related to the closure of transportation infrastructure in such areas.

DOT shall: (1) carry out a competitive grant program to support community efforts to invest in transportation alternatives; and (2) give grant preference to projects located in such areas. Entities eligible for grants include state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and rural planning organizations.

Grants may be used to plan for, facilitate, and provide initial support for:

 transportation demand management programs; carpool or telecommuting projects; and planning, design, acquisition of rights-of-way, construction, improvement, and management of streets, pathways, and public transportation facilities to facilitate expanded bicycle and pedestrian mobility and access.

Date: 2016-09-27
Topic: Transportation (Other)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Stop the Treasury Office Nationalization of the Economy Act of 2008 or STONE - Ends the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to purchase troubled assets. Makes $100 billion of the unused funding for such program available to meet specified critical infrastructure needs of the United States, clean water grants, and certain flood control and water resource activities.

Date: 2008-11-20
Topic: Macroeconomics (Price Control)
Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2008 - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to grant the Special Inspector General (SIG) authority to conduct, supervise, and coordinate an audit or investigation of any action taken with regard to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that the SIG deems appropriate. Prohibits any audit or investigation, however, of any action related to: (1) graduated authorization to purchase troubled assets; (2) oversight and audits by the Comptroller General; (3) the Comptroller General's study and report on margin authority; and (4) the Congressional Oversight Panel. Authorizes the SIG to exercise specified employment authorities for additional personnel, but not after six months following enactment of this Act. Prohibits any period of appointment from exceeding the date on which the Office of the SIG terminates. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) either take action to address deficiencies identified by a report or investigation of the SIG or other auditor engaged by the TARP; or (2) certify to congressional committees that no action is necessary or appropriate. Instructs the SIG to work with Inspectors General of designated federal agencies to: (1) avoid duplication of effort; and (2) ensure comprehensive oversight of TARP. Requires the SIG to: (1) report to Congress by July 1, 2009, on the use of any funds received by a financial institution under TARP; and (2) make such report available to the public, including on the home page of the SIG's website within 24 hours after its submission to Congress. Requires funds for the office of the SIG to be made available not later than seven days after the SIG's nomination is first confirmed by the Senate.

Date: 2008-12-10
Topic: Macroeconomics (Price Control)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to repeal the statement that the prohibition against bonus, retention award, or incentive compensation to recipients under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) shall not be construed to prohibit any bonus payment required to be paid pursuant to a written employment contract executed on or before February 11, 2009, as such valid employment contracts are determined by the Secretary of the Treasury (or designee). (Thus makes no exceptions to the prohibition.)

Date: 2009-03-23
Topic: Macroeconomics (Price Control)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Responsible Use of Taxpayer Help Act - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to prohibit a financial institution from using any assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to: (1) purchase or invest in any foreign asset or business; (2) transfer money to, or invest in, a foreign subsidiary of the financial institution; (3) pay any type of compensation to an employee of the financial institution unless such employee is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident; or (4) make any other purchase, payment, transfer, or investment, the primary effect of which is to benefit a foreign entity.

Date: 2009-03-26
Topic: Macroeconomics (Price Control)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Reducing Barack Obama's Unsustainable Deficit Act - Rescinds all unobligated balances of the discretionary appropriations made available in division A of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Repeals subtitles B (Assistance for Vulnerable Individuals) and C (Economic Recovery Payments to Certain Individuals) of title II (the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act) and titles III (Premium Assistance for COBRA Benefits), IV (Medicare and Medicaid Health Information Technology; Miscellaneous Medicare Provisions), V (State Fiscal Relief), VI (Broadband Communications), and VII (Limits on Executive Compensation) of division B of ARRA. Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to terminate upon enactment of this Act (currently, December 31, 2009) the Secretary of the Treasury's authority to establish the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the program to guarantee troubled assets originated or issued before March 14, 2008, including mortgage-backed securities. Repeals the authorization for a two-year extension of such authority if the Secretary submits a specified certification to Congress. Requires the Secretary, each time a financial institution makes a TARP repayment, to transfer such repayments to the special account established in the Treasury for reducing public debt.

Date: 2009-07-09
Topic: Macroeconomics (Price Control)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend the $250 economic recovery payment payable to certain individuals through calendar year 2010. Applies the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance tax in 2010 to certain earnings in excess of $250,000.

Date: 2009-09-17
Topic: Macroeconomics (Price Control)
Subject: Social welfare