zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to increase the maximum amount per individual or corporationof unsecured claims ranked in the fourth (wages, salaries, or commissions) and fifth (employee benefit plan contributions) order of priority. Includes within the scope of a claim in bankruptcy certain equity securities held in a defined contribution plan for the benefit of certain individuals.Ranks in sixth order of priority the diminished value of debtor's equity securities held in a defined contribution plan if the employer or plan sponsor committed fraud regarding the plan.Permits within administrative expenses certain severance pay for termination or layoffs.Prohibits certain senior executive compensation from being disproportionate in light of economic concessions by debtor's nonmanagement workforce.Disallows as an administrative expense specified executive compensation enhancements. Revises requirements governing: (1) rejection of collective bargaining agreements; (2) insurance benefits for retired employees; and (3) the status of certain employee benefits in a sale of business assets. Allows defined benefit plan participants to file claims for certain shortfalls in pension benefits.Permits inclusion within the necessary costs and expenses of preserving property the mandatory recovery of unpaid obligations owed to employees.Directs the court to consider the extent to which alternative reorganization plans maintain: (1) jobs; (2) defined benefit plans; and (3) retiree health benefits.Prohibits assumption of deferred compensation for the benefit of insiders or senior management if an employee defined benefit plan has been terminated. Limits the recovery of executive compensation if the debtor has reduced its contractual obligations under either a collective bargaining agreement or retiree benefits plan. Excepts from an automatic stay: (1) a dispute resolution proceeding established by a collective bargaining agreement prior to commencement of bankruptcy; or (2) an award or settlement under such proceeding.Authorizes the bankruptcy trustee to avoid transfers made for the benefit of an insider or certain consultants in anticipation of bankruptcy. Revises prerequisites to court confirmation of a business reorganization plan which continues retiree benefits.

Date: 2007-09-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Tax Free Tips Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt tips from the income tax, social security and railroad retirement taxes, unemployment taxes, and tax withholding. Defines "tips" as any gratuity provided to a salaried employee by a customer or client of the employer's business.

Date: 2007-09-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Defined Contribution Plan Fee Transparency Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose penalties on: (1) employers and multi-employer defined contribution plans for the failure of their plan administrators to provide to plan participants or beneficiaries written notices of plan fees and expenses and investment alternatives; and (2) providers of services to defined contribution plans for failure to provide certain information to plan administrators, including an estimate of total fees and expenses expected to be paid under a service contract and an itemization of the services to be provided under such contract.

Date: 2007-10-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Trade Adjustment Assistance Improvement Act - 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 FY2012. 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. Extends the TAA program for farmers through FY2012.

Date: 2007-10-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Amends the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the Internal Revenue Code, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to delay until January 1, 2009, the implementation of pension plan funding rules enacted by the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Date: 2007-10-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Trade Adjustment Assistance and Training Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to revise requirements with respect to the filing of a petition for certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) by a group of adversely affected workers in a firm or subdivision (including agricultural firm or subdivision). Revises TAA group eligibility requirements for such workers and for adversely affected secondary workers. Sets forth a process for administrative reconsideration of Secretary of Labor determinations that deny certification of eligibility to apply for TAA by a group of adversely affected workers. Revises: (1) trade readjustment allowance (TRA) eligibility requirements for adversely affected workers (including to provide for the the payment of an additional TRA provided certain conditions are met); and (2) training program requirements for adversely affected workers. Establishes a program where adversely affected workers that have been certified for TAA may alternatively elect to receive wage supplement and health insurance costs tax credit benefits from the state provided certain requirements are met. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to community colleges or entities that provide training for occupations in demand in order to expand available training slots and prepare adversely affected workers for occupations in demand. Extends the TAA program for firms and farmers through FY2012. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) authorize the reduction of the credit against the federal unemployment tax liability of a state that fails to meet certain benchmark requirements in the provision of reemployment services and training to adversely affected workers under the TAA program; and (2) make TAA wage supplement recipients eligible for a health insurance costs tax credit.

Date: 2007-10-23
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Allows employees of commercial passenger airlines who receive payments from a bankruptcy case filed between September 11, 2001, and January 1, 2007, as compensation for lost pension plan benefits to rollover such payments into an individual retirement account (IRA), except for a Roth IRA, without tax or tax penalty.

Date: 2007-11-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Securing Medicare and Retirement for Tomorrow Act of 2007, or SMART Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new part B (Personal Social Security Savings Program) under which each employer shall establish and maintain for each participating employee a personal Social Security account under a Social Security payroll deduction plan. Provides for the participation by self-employed individuals and the investment of personal Social Security account funds in one qualified Social Security mutual fund designated by the participating individual. Establishes the Personal Accounts Management and Review Board, and requires it to establish a program for designating qualified Social Security mutual funds. Provides for election of SSA title II part A (Insurance Benefits) in lieu of part B benefits at retirement. Establishes in the Treasury the Social Security Escrow Fund and provides for investment of its holdings. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) with respect to personal Social Security accounts. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a tax on the failure of Medicare retirees to obtain qualified health insurance coverage. Provides for a reduction in rate of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) tax on employers if the Fund is ever projected to have excess funds during the ensuing calendar year, and will have no need to borrow funds for the next 10 calendar years. Prohibits collection of the FICA tax with respect to individuals who have attained retirement age. Excludes from an individual's gross income any distributions from a personal Social Security account or any amount received under a qualified Social Security annuity. Provides for budget reform transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to the Social Security Escrow Fund of any tax revenues in excess of specified target revenue amounts (if any) for the fiscal year. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for dedication of Social Security surpluses to reduction in the public debt.

Date: 2007-11-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Social welfare
Working Families Flexibility Act - Authorizes an employee to request from an employer a change in the terms or conditions of the employee's employment if the request relates to: (1) the number of hours the employee is required to work; (2) the times when the employee is required to work; or (3) where the employee is required to work. Sets forth certain employer duties with respect to such requests. Makes it unlawful for an employer to interfere with any rights provided to an employee under this Act. Authorizes an employee to file a complaint with the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration of the Department of Labor for any violations of such rights. Provides for the investigation and assessment of civil penalties or the award of relief for alleged violations, including the review in federal courts of appeal of orders of the Administrator. Requires the Secretary of Labor to carry out a research, education, and technical assistance program for employers, labor organizations, and the general public regarding compliance with this Act. Applies the requirements of this Act to certain classes of employees, including employees of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Library of Congress.

Date: 2007-12-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Homeowners' Assistance Act of 2007 - Exempts any qualified mortgage relief distribution from the 10% additional tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code on early distributions from qualified retirement plans. Provides that the aggregate amount of distributions received by an individual which may be treated as qualified mortgage relief distributions for any taxable year shall not exceed the excess (if any) of $25,000, over the aggregate amounts treated as qualified mortgage delinquency relief distributions received by such individual for all prior taxable years. Defines such distributions as those made from an eligible retirement plan between the enactment of this Act and January 1, 2010, if: (1) the distribution is made during any 90-day period beginning on the date of any increase in the interest rate applicable to the acquisition indebtedness of the taxpayer's principal residence; and (2) taxpayer's adjusted gross income for the taxable year of such distribution does not exceed $114,000 ($166,000 in the case of a joint return).

Date: 2007-12-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Savings Account for Every American Act of 2007 - Allows employees and self-employed individuals with a social security number to elect to participate in a S.A.F.E. account. Defines such an account as a trust created exclusively for the benefit of an individual or his or her beneficiaries. Requires: (1) employers of electing employees to establish a payroll deduction program to make employee contributions (6.2% of wages) to such accounts; and (2) employer matching contributions after a participating employee has maintained an account for 15 years. Imposes penalties on employers who fail to make required payroll deductions or pay deducted wages to S.A.F.E. accounts. Directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to study and report to the President and Congress on extending S.A.F.E. accounts to federal civilian and military employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt S.A.F.E. accounts from income taxation. Allows a tax deduction from gross income for cash contributions to such an account. Includes distributions from such an account in employee gross income, with specified exceptions for distributions after age 59 1/2 or death, purchase of certain insurance contracts, and rollovers.Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to exempt S.A.F.E. account participants from social security taxes and exclude such participants from old age, survivors and disability insurance coverage.

Date: 2007-12-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008 - Provides for federal-state agreements during a period of rising unemployment under which a state will pay emergency unemployment compensation to individuals who: (1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under state or federal law for a benefit year (excluding any benefit year that ended before March 1, 2007); (2) have no rights to regular compensation or extended compensation with respect to a week under such law or any other state unemployment compensation law or to compensation under any other federal law; and (3) are not receiving compensation for such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada. Requires federal payments to states to cover 100% of such temporary extended unemployment compensation payments. Provides for federal-state agreements for increased regular unemployment compensation payments to certain individuals. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for special transfers to state accounts in the Unemployment Trust Fund for unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments and for administration.

Date: 2008-01-15
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Small Businesses Add Value for Employees Act of 2008 or the SAVE Act of 2008 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to employer-established simple individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to: (1) repeal certain restrictions on rollovers from simple IRAs: (2) allow employers to elect to terminate qualified salary reduction arrangements at any time during the year; (3) repeal the enhanced 25% penalty on premature withdrawal made from simple IRAs within the first two plan years; (4) allow additional nonelective employer contributions to simple IRAs; (5) establish automatic deferral IRAs; and (6) increase the tax credit for small employer pension plan startup costs.

Date: 2008-01-29
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Giving Relief to Our Small Businesses Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural workers) from annual numerical limitations during FY2008 or FY2009.

Date: 2008-02-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 6.2% federal unemployment tax rate for calendar years 1988 through 2008 and apply the 6.0% rate.

Date: 2008-02-07
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Relief for America's Small and Seasonal Businesses Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker) from annual numerical limitations during FY2008.

Date: 2008-02-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Women's Retirement Security Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain small employers who do not provide retirement plans for their employees to allow eligible employees to participate in a payroll deposit individual retirement account arrangement (automatic IRA); (2) expand eligibility for the tax credit for retirement savings contributions (saver's credit) and make such credit refundable; (3) allow certain part-time employees to participate in qualified cash or deferred arrangements; (4) allow the transfer of up to $500 of unused health plan benefits to qualified retirement plans; (5) treat wage replacement income (e.g., disability pay or unemployment compensation) as earned income for purposes of IRA contribution limits; (6) allow a limited tax exclusion for certain lifetime annuity payments and for qualified retirement planning services; (7) allow certain small employers a tax credit for contributions to employee pension plans; and (8) allow self-employed individuals to deduct pension plan contributions from their self-employment income.Sets forth special rules for: (1) preservation of retirement plan assets distributed under a qualified domestic relations order; (2) eligibility of surviving and divorced spouses for benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act; and (3) military retired pay subject to court orders in domestic relations proceedings. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make grants to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics to provide retirement savings counseling to low-income taxpayers.Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to prepare a financial reference handbook and a retirement readiness checklist for distribution to social security recipients.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums; (2) allow a phased-in tax credit ($1,000 in 2008, increasing by $500 each year to $3,000 in 2012) for family caregivers of spouses and dependents who have long-term care needs; (3) apply certain consumer protection standards to long-term care insurance contracts; and (4) allow tax-free exchanges of such contracts.

Date: 2008-03-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the 10% additional tax on early distributions from qualified retirement plans inapplicable to individuals who have attained the age of 50 and who have been receiving unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks.

Date: 2008-03-06
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
IRA Assistance Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow premature distributions from individual retirement accounts (other than Roth IRAs) without penalty to make hardship loans.

Date: 2008-03-14
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Overtime Restoration Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the earned income tax credit by a weekly overtime bonus for each week a taxpayer receives earned income for more than 40 hours of work.

Date: 2008-03-31
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Targeted Assistance to Restore Growth in Employment Throughout 2008 Act, or the TARGET Act - Provides for federal-state agreements under which a state will make targeted extended unemployment compensation payments, for any week of unemployment beginning in the individual's eligibility period, to individuals who: (1) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under such state law; (2) have no rights to compensation (including both regular and extended compensation) with respect to a week under such law or any other state or federal unemployment compensation law (and are not paid or entitled to be paid such additional compensation); and (3) are not receiving compensation for such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada. Declares that such period of eligibility shall consist of any week which begins between April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. Denies eligibility to an individual unless his or her benefit year ends on or after July 1, 2007. Specifies criteria for Tier-1, Tier-2, and Tier-3 periods of increasing unemployment in a state for purposes of calculating payments under this Act. Prescribes formulas for crediting amounts to recipient accounts for each period. Requires federal payments to states in the amount of specified percentages of the targeted extended unemployment compensation payments a state has paid to individuals. Sets such percentages with respect to a week at: (1) 50% for a Tier-1 period; (2) 75% for a Tier-2 period; and (3) 100% for a Tier-3 period. Provides for handling of fraud and overpayments of such compensation.

Date: 2008-04-03
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Employees Pension Security Act of 2008 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require assets of single-employer pension plans to be held in trust by joint boards of trustees. Requires plan sponsors and administrators to provide all material investment information in an accurate form to participants and beneficiaries. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties for violations of certain information requirements. Sets forth additional requirements for plan termination, to prevent abuse of the bankruptcy and termination process, including requirements relating to: (1) distress termination; (2) bankruptcy court decrees, and the right to intervene to challenge them; (3) consideration of alternatives by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and the plan sponsor; (4) PBGC efforts at consulting on alternatives with plan participants and their union representatives; and (5) notice of the right to challenge determinations relating to plan termination. Amends federal bankruptcy law to include, in a priority order for recovery of expenses and claims, allowed unsecured claims for benefit liabilities to participants and beneficiaries under a single-employer plan in connection with the plan termination, in excess of the benefits payable to them by the PBGC in connection with such termination.

Date: 2008-04-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Social Security Forever Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose on employers, employees, and self-employed individuals an additional employment tax for wages in excess of the social security contribution and benefit base. Requires all Treasury securities to bear a facsimile of the signatures of the President and the Secretary of the Treasury.

Date: 2008-04-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt a taxpayer from the 10% penalty on premature withdrawals from tax-exempt retirement plans if such taxpayer received a foreclosure notice relating to a mortgage on a principal residence and makes a withdrawal from a retirement account after July 31, 2007, and before January 1, 2011.

Date: 2008-04-16
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Seasonal Workforce Assistance Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker) from annual numerical limitations.

Date: 2008-04-17
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Immigration
Commuter Aid and Relief for Suburbs Act of 2008 or the CARS Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers a tax deduction for a specified percentage of the cost of commuting between their residence and place of employment.

Date: 2008-04-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Family Fairness Act of 2008 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to make an employee eligible for coverage under such Act if that employee has been employed for at least 12 months by a covered employer with respect to whom such leave is requested. (Eliminates the requirement, under current law, that the employee have served at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period before the leave request.)

Date: 2008-05-13
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to exempt from ERISA preemption state tort actions to recover damages arising from an employee welfare benefit plan's failure to provide plan disability benefits in a timely manner.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Pension Protection Act ERISA Amendments of 2008 - Makes technical corrections to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. Repeals certain requirements governing the termination date of a defined benefit pension plan of an employee in cases of an employer filing for bankruptcy. Requires the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), with regard to single-employer plan guaranteed benefits in the case of commercial airline pilots required by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation to retire before age 65, to compute the actuarial value of monthly benefits in the form of a life annuity commencing at the required retirement age. Revises requirements to: (1) limit the amount a fiduciary may recover in actions against third parties (Pro-Rata Recovery) to enforce the terms of defined benefit plans on behalf of plan participants or beneficiaries; (2) prohibit the post-retirement reduction of retiree health benefits by group health plans; and (3) establish the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program. Modifies requirements with respect to: (1) crediting and termination of surcharges in connection with multiemployer pension plans in critical status upon adoption of rehabilitation plan; and (2) funding rules for multiemployer pension plans. Requires certain adjustments to determinations of the value of single-employer pension plan assets that are based on the averaging of fair market values (asset smoothing). Prohibits certain payments of benefits from single-employer pension plans that have an adjusted funding target attainment percentage of less than 80% for the year. Applies certain age discrimination safe harbor rules under ERISA and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to civil actions brought on or after April 25, 2007, alleging any age discrimination violation occurring before June 29, 2005, with respect to any benefit provided under the Young Women's Christian Association Pension Plan. Exempts transactions involving the sale of employer securities held in a pension plan account from certain fiduciary requirements under specified conditions. Revises requirements with respect to: (1) special funding rules for at-risk pension plans for employees offered early retirement in 2007; and (2) pension plan funding target determinations. Treats employees of certain cooperatives as affiliated service group employees for purposes of single employer pension plans. Revises requirements regarding: (1) parties in interest affected by the prohibited transaction exemption for block trading; and (2) the scope of the prohibited transaction exemption for electronic communication. Increases bonding requirements for fiduciaries of pension plans primarily invested in employer securities.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to exempt certain long-standing, nonfunctionally-integrated fully-funded type III supporting organizations from requirements that: (1) impose a tax on their excess business holdings; and (2) oblige such organizations to make certain percentage payouts of income or assets to organizations they support (supported organizations). Specifies such an exempt long-standing, nonfunctionally-integrated fully-funded type III supporting organization as one: (1) that was established before January 1, 1970, but has not accepted any substantial contributions after December 31, 1970; (2) none of whose donors was alive on August 17, 2006; and (3) none of whose organization managers is a family member of any donor.

Date: 2008-06-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Climate Market, Auction, Trust & Trade Emissions Reduction System Act of 2008, or the Climate MATTERS Act of 2008 - Declares the purpose of this Act to establish a federal program to reduce US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions substantially enough by 2050 to avert the catastrophic impacts of global climate change. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish an international reserve GHG emission allowance program, whose allowance sales proceeds shall be used to mitigate the negative impacts of global climate change on disadvantaged communities in World Trade Organization (WTO) participant countries. Establishes the International Climate Change Commission to determine annually whether a WTO participant country has taken certain action to limit its GHG emissions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a system for issuing, auctioning, recording, and tracking GHG emission allowances; and (2) impose an excess emissions penalty on owners or operators of covered facilities that fail to submit one or more emission allowances to the Secretary for any year. Establishes a Carbon Market Efficiency Board to: (1) analyze information on the GHG emission allowance market; and (2) authorize the Secretary to carry out cost relief measures if the market poses a substantial harm to the U.S. economy. Provides for the distribution of emission allowances to owners and operators of fossil fuel-fired electric power generating facilities and of energy intensive manufacturing facilities. Establishes: (1) the Deficit Reduction Trust Fund; and (2) the Citizen Protection Trust Fund (CPTF). Directs the Secretary to administer a Climate Change Rebate Program. Provides for a healthy families fund. Sets forth allocations of specified CPTF account funds for: (1) investment in natural resource adaptation to impacts of climate change and ocean acidification; (2) owners and operators of covered facilities who take actions that result in verified GHG emission reductions; (3) states that comply with certain federal building energy standards; (4) states with GHG emission reduction programs exceeding federal GHG emission reduction targets; (5) reductions in GHG emissions from the agriculture and forestry sectors, including those from deforestation activities in foreign countries; and (6) states and load-serving entities that implement energy-efficiency programs. Requires distribution of certain funds for grants for fixed guideway transit and other specified alternative transportation projects. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) develop a federal greenhouse gas registry; (2) make certain GHG emission determinations for covered facilities; and (3) promulgate regulations that require that U.S. GHG emissions in uncovered sectors do not grow.

Date: 2008-06-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Environmental protection
Pension Protection Technical Corrections Act of 2008 - Title I: Technical Corrections Related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 - (Sec. 101) Makes technical corrections to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code to conform to the Pension Protection Act of 2006 regarding various specified items, including: (1) the target normal cost of benefits; (2) specified implementation and effective dates for certain requirements; (3) one-participant retirement plans; (4) special age-related rules in accrued benefit requirements for applicable defined benefit plans; (5) inapplicability in certain cases of the limitation on income deductions (for tax purposes) for employer contributions to one or more defined contribution plans; and (6) adjustments to averaging in the determination of the value of the assets of single-employer defined benefit pension plans for minimum funding purposes. (Sec. 110) Makes technical corrections to the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 with respect to railroad retirement payments to persons not entitled to an annuity. Title II: Other Provisions - (Sec. 201) Requires that the value of assets for any ERISA plan under the averaging method be adjusted for expected earnings (in addition to contributions and distributions, as under current law). (Sec. 202) Modifies the interest rate assumption required with respect to certain small employer plans. (Sec. 203) Makes technical corrections to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 with respect to special age-related rules for determination of the market rate of return in the calculation of interest credits in governmental defined benefit plans. (Sec. 204) Prescribes a special rule for exclusion from gross income of certain reimbursements from governmental plans for health care expenses of a deceased plan participant's beneficiary. (Sec. 205) Requires treatment as a qualified rollover contribution of any airline payment amount received by a qualified airline employee in an airline carrier bankruptcy which is transferred to a Roth IRA. (Sec. 206) Increases by $4 the penalties for failure to file partnership returns and S corporation returns.

Date: 2008-06-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee: (1) shares of stock received from an employer in a qualified employee stock distribution not exceeding the lowest number of shares received by any employee in such distribution; and (2) any gain on such stock if held by such employee for not less than 10 years.

Date: 2008-06-26
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the USEC Privatization Act with respect to certain actions in U.S. district court related to accrued, vested pension benefits of employees of an operating contractor of the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) at one or both of the two USEC gaseous diffusion plants following: (1) termination of or a change in contractor; and (2) consequent transfer of pension plan assets and liabilities. Authorizes specified active or retired participants (or beneficiaries) under the contractor's pension plan to bring an action against the Department of Energy in U.S. district court for relief, in the form of a one-time lump sum payment, in connection with such a transfer of plan assets and liabilities. Authorizes commencement of such an action on or before June 30, 2011. Waives U.S. sovereign immunity to any such an action.

Date: 2008-07-24
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Food Security Act of 2008 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (the Food Stamp Act of 1977 as renamed by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) to increase to 12 months the amount of time certain work capable adults can receive supplemental nutrition assistance benefits (formerly, food stamp benefits). Revises the definition of "covered individual."

Date: 2008-07-30
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Social welfare
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) prohibit tax-exempt employer pension or benefit plans from making a loan to any plan beneficiary through a revolving credit arrangement; and (2) limit to three the number of loans a plan can make to a plan participant or beneficiary without tax consequences.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Worker Savings Account Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish worker savings accounts to make payments to workers during periods of unemployment; (2) treat such accounts in the same manner as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for tax purposes; (3) allow employer matching contributions to such accounts; (4) make a portion of the tax credit for contributions to retirement accounts (saver's credit) refundable; and (5) require increases in the saver's credit to be paid into a worker savings account.Provides that no provision of this Act shall be construed to diminish an employer's obligation to pay federal and state unemployment taxes or to reduce the amount of unemployment compensation to which a worker may be entitled.

Date: 2008-08-01
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to allow for automatic enrollment into church pension plans.

Date: 2008-09-08
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Suspension of Federal Income Tax on Unemployment Benefits Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2007, and before January 1, 2010, the taxation of unemployment compensation.

Date: 2008-09-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to revise the formula for Tier-1 amounts a state credits to an applicant's emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA) for a benefit year. Increases the figures in the formula (the lesser of which shall be the amount credited): (1) from 50% to 80% of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to the individual during the benefit year; and (2) from 13 to 20 times the individual's average weekly benefit amount for the benefit year. Provides an additional Tier-2 period for deposits to an individual's EUCA, using the current formula, if, at the time that the amount established under this Act is exhausted, or at any time thereafter, the individual's state is in an extended benefit period. Prescribes a formula for determining if a state is in an extended benefit period. Allows the Tier-2 period augmentation to be applied to the individual's EUCA only once. Prohibits a Tier-2 augmentation to an individual's EUCA under this Act after March 31, 2009, if the EUCA is exhausted after such date. Extends the period of emergency unemployment compensation through August 27, 2009. Exempts weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and December 8, 2009, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law of such state provides for payment (at any time or under any circumstances) of regular compensation to an individual for his first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.)

Date: 2008-09-10
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment
Family Work Flexibility Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business tax credit for the cost of teleworking equipment used by employees to telework and for expenses to maintain such equipment. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to the lesser of $500 for each teleworking employee or $50,000.

Date: 2008-09-23
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Small Business Efficiency Act of 2008- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat professional employer organizations (PEOs), certified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as employers for employment tax purposes (thus allowing such PEOs to pay wages and collect and remit payroll taxes on behalf of an employer). Sets forth IRS certification requirements for PEOs, including financial review and reporting requirements. Requires a PEO to post a bond (the greater of $50,000 or 5% of the organization's tax liability for the preceding calendar year not to exceed $1,000,000) to guarantee payment of employment taxes.

Date: 2008-09-25
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Entitles to a one-time lump sum payment any persons (affected participants) who: (1) retired from active employment at one of the gaseous diffusion plants of the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) on or before USEC's privatization date as vested participants in a pension plan maintained either by USEC's operating contractor or by a contractor employed before July 1, 1993, by the Department of Energy to operate a gaseous diffusion plant; or (2) are employed by USEC's operating contractor on or before the privatization date, and are vested participants in such a pension plan. Prescribes a formula for determination of the payment. Allows any affected participant to treat such payment as a rollover contribution to a regular individual retirement account (IRA) or a Roth IRA. Prescribes hearing and judicial review rights for any affected participant who may have been prejudiced by any decision with regard to such a payment.

Date: 2008-09-27
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Pension Protection Act IRC Amendments of 2008 - Makes technical corrections to various pension-related provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, including provisions relating to: (1) the interest rate assumption for applying pension plan benefit limitations; (2) minimum individual retirement account (IRA) distribution requirements; (3) employer-owned life insurance contracts; (4) the deductibility of contributions to defined benefit and contribution plans; (5) the treatment of distributions from governmental retirement plans for health and long-term care insurance for public safety officers; (6) safe harbor rules for combined pension plans; and (7) the inclusion of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) in combined pension plans.Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue guidance for allowing a nonspouse pension beneficiary to use a specified life expectancy rule.

Date: 2008-10-02
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Temporary IRA Distribution Suspension Act of 2008 - Suspends for calendar 2008 and 2009 the beginning date for required distributions from certain individual retirement (IRA) plans.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Retirement Fairness and Emergency Relief Act of 2008 - Suspends for calendar 2008 and 2009 the beginning date for required distributions from certain individual retirement (IRA) plans. Waives the 10% additional tax (penalty) under the Internal Revenue Code for early distributions from qualified retirement plans in the case of a qualified financial hardship distribution to an individual during calendar 2008-2009 of up to $15,000 per taxable year, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury (including a qualified foreclosure distribution).

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Seniors' Investment Security Act of 2008 - Suspends for calendar 2008-2010 the minimum required distributions from certain individual retirement (IRA) plans.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase from 70 1/2 to 75 the age at which beneficiaries of tax-exempt pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans must begin taking distributions from such plans and including such distributions in gross income for income tax purposes.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employee: (1) shares of stock received from an employer in a qualified employee stock distribution not exceeding the lowest number of shares received by any employee in such distribution; (2) any gain on such stock if held by such employee for not less than 10 years, and (3) in the case of any qualified disposition of stock that meets such holding requirement, any gain on so much stock acquired during the 60-day period beginning on the date of such disposition as does not exceed the fair market value of the stock so disposed..

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Taxation
Financial Security in Retirement Act of 2008 - Suspends, for calendar 2008 and 2009, minimum distribution requirements for up to $300,000 of an individual's interest in all eligible defined contribution plans as of December 31, 2008.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Workforce Fairness and Tax Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) repeal the inclusion of unemployment compensation in gross income; (2) allow tax-free distributions from retirement plans for unemployed individuals; (3) allow an exclusion from gross income for employee severance payments; and (4) increase the tax credit for the health insurance costs of individuals receiving trade adjustment assistance and certain pension payments.

Date: 2008-12-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Retiree Relief Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend in 2008 and 2009 requirements for minimum distributions from tax-deferred retirement plans. Permits taxpayers who have already received a distribution between January 1, 2008, and the enactment of this Act to recontribute such distribution to their retirement plans by December 31, 2009.

Date: 2008-12-09
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Trade Adjustment Assistance Improvement Act of 2007 - Trade Adjustment Assistance Equity for Service Workers Act of 2007 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to allow the filing of a petition for certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance by adversely affected: (1) workers in a service sector firm, its subdivision, or public agency; and (2) service sector firms. Authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to provide technical assistance to service industries adversely affected by import competition. Requires the Secretary of Labor to: (1) certify as eligible to apply for trade adjustment assistance adversely affected secondary workers in a service sector firm, its subdivision, or a public agency; and (2) upon the request of the President, the U.S. Trade Representative, or resolution of Congress, initiate an investigation to determine the eligibility for trade adjustment assistance for a group of workers or all workers in an occupation (effectively providing another method for petitioning for trade adjustment assistance). Provides for industry-wide certification of workers, including agricultural commodity producers, for trade adjustment assistance where bilateral or other safeguard provisions are invoked or antidumping or countervailing duties have been imposed. Establishes: (1) the Office of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Advisor; and (2) the Office of Trade Adjustment Assistance. Revises alternative trade adjustment assistance program eligibility requirements for older workers. Revises trade readjustment assistance eligibility requirements for adversely affected workers to extend job training enrollment deadlines and the provision of assistance during such training. Extends the trade adjustment assistance program through FY2012. Trade Adjustment Assistance Accountability Act - Requires the Secretary to collect necessary data regarding the trade adjustment assistance program. Makes fishermen who harvest wild stock eligible for trade adjustment assistance. Modifies trade adjustment assistance group eligibility requirements for agricultural commodity producers.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Amends the Pension Protection Act of 2006 to make technical corrections to special funding rules applicable to pension plans sponsored by commercial passenger airlines to provide for plans with plan years beginning on the first day of the month.

Date: 2007-01-04
Topic: Labor (Employee Benefits)
Subject: Labor and employment