zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Economic Growth and Financial Stabilization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prescribe a 0% capital gains rate for individuals. Revises the formula for: (1) the alternative tax for corporations to prescribe a 0% capital gains rate; and (2) the ordinary income tax for corporations by eliminating the two tax rate brackets above 25% and reducing the maximum amount of tax imposed. Establishes in the Department of the Treasury a Distressed Assets Loan Fund under the control of the Secretary of the Treasury to make loans available at low rates of interest to depository institutions with distressed assets. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to increase from $100,000 to $250,000 the maximum amount of deposit insurance and share insurance, respectively. Treats gain or loss from the sale or exchange of any applicable preferred stock by any applicable financial institution as ordinary income or loss.

Date: 2008-10-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to increase the standard maximum amount of deposit insurance from $100,000 to: (1) $250,000, $500,000, $750,000, or $1 million, at the option of the insured depository institution; and (2) $250,000, $500,000, $750,000, or $1 million for eligible retirement accounts, at the institution's option. Requires an annual inflation adjustment. Directs the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board to report to Congress and publish in the Federal Register any such inflation adjustments to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount and to the standard maximum share insurance amount.

Date: 2008-10-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Temporary Increase in FDIC and Credit Union Insurance Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union Act to establish a temporary increase from $100,000 to $250,000, through December 31, 2009, in the maximum insured amount limitation for deposit insurance and credit union share insurance.

Date: 2008-10-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Financial Oversight Commission Act of 2008 - Establishes the Financial Oversight Commission to investigate facts and circumstances relating to the financial crisis of 2008, including any relevant legislation, Executive Order, regulation, plan, policy, practice, or procedure that pertains to: (1) government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), including the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); (2) the stock market; (3) the housing market; (4) credit rating agencies; (5) the financial services sector, including hedge funds, private equity, and the insurance industry; and (6) the role of congressional oversight and resource allocation. Directs the Commission to identify, evaluate, and report to Congress and the President on the lessons learned from the financial crisis regarding the structure, coordination, management policies, and procedures of governmental and nongovernmental entities related to crisis detection, prevention, and response.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Limits the applicability of Treasury Notice 2008-83 (suspending restrictions on the offset of net operating losses and unrealized built-in losses against the taxable income of certain corporate entities that acquire or merge with other entities) to a period beginning on September 30, 2008, and ending on the earlier of the date of the first committee action on this Act or the date on which the Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance issue a joint statement indicating their intent to to terminate the application of such notice. Directs the Inspector General of the Department of the Treasury to conduct an investigation into the issuance of Treasury Notice 2008-83 and report to Congress on such investigation.

Date: 2008-11-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2008 - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to authorize the Special Inspector General to exercise specified employment authorities for additional personnel, but not after six months following enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Special Inspector General to conduct, supervise, and coordinate an audit or investigation of any action taken under such Act, except 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.

Date: 2008-12-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
TARP Accountability Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to require inclusion within each report of condition filed by an insured depository institution which received assistance under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) the amount of any increase in new lending during the period covered by the report (or the amount of any reduction in any decrease in new lending) that is attributable to TARP assistance. Requires, in the alternative, that if the institution cannot accurately quantify the effect such assistance has had on new lending, then it report the total amount of the increase in new lending, if any, during the covered period.

Date: 2008-12-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Troubled Asset Relief Program Inspector General Improvement Act - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 with respect to the Special Inspector General (SIG) for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Makes the first $50 million available to the SIG within three days after his or her nomination is first confirmed by the Senate. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) take action to address deficiencies identified by the SIG or another auditor engaged by the TARP; or (2) certify to appropriate congressional committees that no action is necessary or appropriate. Revises the duties of the SIG to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations to: (1) eliminate the limitation of the object of investigations to the purchase, management, and sale of troubled assets by the Secretary and the Secretary's management of the program to guarantee such assets; and (2) extend the objects of investigation to any activities of the Secretary in the expenditure or obligation of funds under such Act. Requires the SIG to report to specified congressional committees by July 1, 2009, on the use of any funds received by an financial institution under TARP. Authorizes the SIG to exercise specified federal civil service employment authorities. Prohibits the SIG from making any appointment after one year following the date of the first confirmation of his or her nomination as SIG.

Date: 2008-11-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Revised Statutes of the United States, to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").

Date: 2007-01-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Southeast Crescent Authority Act of 2007 - Establishes a Southeast Crescent Authority for all parts of the following southeastern states not eligible for assistance from the Appalachian Regional Commission or the Delta Regional Authority: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. Directs the Authority to perform various functions, including: (1) formulating plans and programs to spur economic development, and approving grants to states and public and nonprofit entities toward that end; (2) establishing priorities in a development plan for the region; (3) supporting local development districts, and creating them where they do not exist; and (4) encouraging private investment in the region. Permits the Authority to request and receive federal, state and local government personnel as employees. States that Authority grants for infrastructure development may be made only to state or local governments. Permits Authority grants for job training, employment-related education, business development, assisting severely distressed and poor areas, or for other purposes in accordance with this Act. Allows the Authority to designate annually: (1) distressed counties; and (2) isolated areas of distress in nondistressed counties. Directs the Authority to garner public participation in the development, revision, and implementation of its plans and programs.

Date: 2007-02-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Economics and public finance
Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1969 to permit the appointment of the United States Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank or the Alternate Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank to the Board of Directors of the Inter-American Foundation.

Date: 2007-02-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: International affairs
Promoting Transparency in Financial Reporting Act of 2007 - Requires the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to provide oral testimony by their respective chairpersons (or a designee), beginning in 2007, and annually for five years, to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on their efforts to reduce the complexity in financial reporting, so that investors are provided with more accurate and clear financial information.

Date: 2007-03-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Oil Industry Merger Antitrust Enforcement Act - Amends the Clayton Act to require, in any civil action in which the plaintiff alleges that the effect of a merger, acquisition, or other transaction (transaction) may be to substantially lessen competition or to create a monopoly in the business of exploring for, producing, refining, marketing, or selling petroleum, oil, natural gas, or their related products and that establishes that the transaction involves competitors in that business, the burden of proof shall be on the defendant to establish that such transaction will not substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly. Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice to jointly review and revise applicable enforcement guidelines and policies in order to: (1) specifically address the above transactions; and (2) ensure that the guidelines will prevent any transaction which substantially lessens competition or creates a monopoly.

Date: 2007-03-14
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Commerce
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax rule exempting dividends, interest, rents, and royalties received or accrued from certain controlled foreign corporations by a related entity from treatment as foreign holding company income (thus permitting tax deferral of such income).

Date: 2007-05-02
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Taxation
Industrial Bank Holding Company Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to apply the bank share or asset acquisition requirements of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to any company that is or would become an industrial bank holding company.Subjects an industrial bank to Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) requirements regarding registration, reporting, and bank examinations. Prohibits the FDIC from imposing capital or capital adequacy requirements on functionally regulated affiliates of any depository institution controlled by industrial bank holding companies meeting certain criteria. Requires a federal supervisory agency of an industrial bank holding company to forego examination of any depository institution subsidiary of the holding company. Authorizes the FDIC to require from either a regulatory agency or a holding company that controls an industrial bank any information necessary to: (1) assess risk to the industrial bank; or (2) determine its condition. Prohibits an industrial bank from being controlled by a commercial firm, except in certain circumstances. Prescribes activity and branching limitations affecting industrial bank subsidiaries of certain commercial firms.Authorizes a federal supervisory agency to order a holding company or a nonbank subsidiary to terminate an activity or its ownership or control over certain depository institution subsidiaries if the activity or ownership or control of a nonbank subsidiary represents a serious risk to a depository institution subsidiary of the holding company.Subjects foreign bank acquisition or control of an industrial bank to approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.Requires a holding company of an industrial bank to serve as a source of financial and managerial strength to its subsidiary banks. Subjects an industrial bank holding company to: (1) enforcement by the FDIC, including its nonbank subsidiaries; and (2) the prompt corrective action requirements of the FDIA.

Date: 2007-05-10
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Community Banks Serving Their Communities First Act, or the Communities First Act - Revises regulatory requirements for community banks, including amendments to: (1) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to permit certain insured depository institutions to submit a short form report of condition; (2) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to exempt certain small-sized depository institutions from annual management assessment of internal controls requirements; (3) the Securities Investor Protection Act of 1970 to exempt certain small-size community banks from its prohibition against advances for customers' net equity claims; (4) the Federal Reserve Act to increase the asset size of banks exempt from the limitation on extensions of credit to executive officers, directors, and principal shareholders; and (5) the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to increase the shareholder registration threshold. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to direct the Federal Reserve Board to prescribe regulations authorizing a consumer to waive the right of rescission as to certain transactions when the creditor is an insured depository institution. Seasoned Customer CTR Exemption Act of 2007 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations to exempt a depository institution from filing a currency transaction report (CTR) in the case of certain qualified customers. Amends additional Acts, including: (1) the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt specified community banks from furnishing a mandatory privacy notice; (2) the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require a consumer's written consent before a consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report upon request from another creditor; and (3) the Federal Reserve Act to limit loans to executive officers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to specified tax provisions for long-term certificates of deposit, loans secured by agricultural real property, qualified small issue bonds, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-insured limited liability companies, and young savers accounts. Repeals the individual alternative minimum tax for individuals and community banks. Reduces the tax rates for community banks. Revises certain Subchapter S requirements for tax treatment of small businesses. Amends the Small Business Act with respect to: (1) reduced fees for specified loans; and (2) a low documentation loan program.

Date: 2007-05-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
New Savers Act - Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to notify individual taxpayers of their options to: (1) have their income tax refunds electronically deposited to a designated bank account (e.g., savings account); and (2) purchase U.S. savings bonds when they file their federal income tax returns.Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make grants to provide matching funds for clinics to assist low-income taxpayers in preparing and filing their federal income tax returns; (2) increase payments to financial institutions to offset the costs of opening electronic transfer accounts; and (3) provide grants to states to increase participation in qualified tuition programs by moderate and low-income families.Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish performance measures to evaluate the extent to which Americans save and use the federal tax filing process to facilitate savings activities; (2) establish a program to support and promote the expansion of access to financial services and development of new financial products and services; (3) convene a federal advisory board to expand access to U.S. savings bonds; and (4) publish an annual report on the use of qualified tuition programs for paying tuition and other higher education costs.Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a performance measure for the percentage of state benefit recipients who receive benefits by direct deposit into insured bank accounts.Establishes as a tax-exempt individual retirement account (IRA) a young savers account, to be treated in the same manner as a Roth IRA.Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow tax credits for contributions to qualified tuition programs and Coverdell education savings accounts and for employer contributions to employee payroll savings plans; and (2) impose certain reporting requirements for managers of qualified tuition programs.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Taxation
United States Employee Ownership Bank Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the United States Employee Ownership Bank to foster increased employee ownership and greater employee participation in company decisionmaking throughout the United States. Requires the Bank to make: (1) loans (subordinated to the interests of all other creditors) and loan guarantees to employees to purchase a business through an employee stock ownership plan or eligible worker-owned cooperative; and (2) grants to states and nonprofit and cooperative organizations with experience in developing employee-owned businesses and worker-owned cooperatives to provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to such employee business efforts. Requires the Bank to insure such loans or loan guarantees against nonrepayment of the outstanding loan balance.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Commerce
Preserving and Expanding Minority Depository Institutions Act - Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 to include the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board) and the Comptroller of the Currency among the persons with whom the Secretary of the Treasury must consult regarding methods for best preserving: (1) the present number of minority depository institutions; and (2) their minority character in cases involving mergers or acquisition of a minority depository institution. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation each to submit an annual report to Congress describing actions taken with respect to the preservation and expansion of minority depository institutions.

Date: 2007-11-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Financial Education and Counseling Assistance Act of 2007 - Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to carry out a grant program to assist eligible organizations to provide financial education and counseling services to homeowners and prospective homebuyers. Requires the Secretary to give preference to established community-based financial education and counseling organizations capable of providing in-person services. Prohibits an organization from receiving such financial assistance unless its financial counselors are HUD-certified.

Date: 2007-11-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Housing and community development
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture $40 million of otherwise unappropriated funds to implement the emergency food assistance program established under the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983.

Date: 2007-12-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Regulatory Relief and Fairness Act - Amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to require rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to permit an insured depository institution, a bank holding company, or a savings and loan holding company to elect voluntarily not to provide otherwise mandatory certifications regarding its quarterly or annual reports or its management assessment of internal controls.

Date: 2008-03-05
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Corporate Executive Compensation Accountability and Transparency Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to the limit annual aggregate amounts which may be deferred under nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. Amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to extend from 12 to 36 months the look-back period for any bonuses, incentive-based or equity-based compensation, or profits realized from the sale of securities which must be reimbursed to a securities issuer by its chief executive officer and chief financial officer if the issuer is required to prepare an accounting restatement because of material noncompliance, as a result of misconduct, with any financial reporting requirement. Requires the Securities Exchange and Commission (SEC) to promulgate regulations to ensure more effective enforcement of such forfeitures. Requires such regulations to cite specified illicit accounting irregularities. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require that any proxy, consent, or authorization for an annual (or special) meeting of shareholders provide for a separate nonbinding shareholder vote on executive compensation, especially executive compensation (golden parachute payments) based on or related to disposition of substantially all the assets of an issuer in an acquisition, merger, consolidation, sale, or other disposition. Directs the SEC to promulgate regulations: (1) clarifying and strengthening requirements governing disclosure of compensation of consultants or advisors to a compensation committee; and (2) requiring each company subject to its jurisdiction to disclose the full grant date present value of equity instruments used as executive compensation awards in the Summary Compensation Table of the company. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require certain federal contractors to disclose their executive compensation structures. Requires Armed Forces defense procurement contracts also to disclose such structures.

Date: 2008-04-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Commerce
Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to reduce the minimum net worth ratio requirements of credit unions. Revises the minimum risk-based net ratio for such capitalizations.Transfers from the federal banking agencies to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) the authority to adjust the net worth levels of credit unions.Instructs the National Credit Union Administration Board (Board) to design the risk-based net worth requirement to take account of material risks to insured credit unions that are taken account of by comparable standards applicable to FDIC-insured institutions.Establishes a temporary waiver of the net worth restoration plan requirement for an undercapitalized credit union which attains its status due to a major natural or man-made disaster.Revamps requirements for limits and restrictions on member business loans.Authorizes credit unions to lease to any business enterprise separate and clearly distinct space in credit union office buildings in underserved areas.Authorizes the Board, in specified circumstances, to encompass within credit union membership any person or organization within an underserved local community, neighborhood, or rural district. Permits a credit union to invest in securities for its own account.Increases the investment and lending limit in credit union service organizations.Exempts certain voluntary mergers involving multiple common-bond credit unions from the numerical limit for eligibility within the field of membership category of a credit union. Directs the Board to prescribe criteria for continued membership of certain member groups in the case of certain credit union conversions to a community charter.Includes just cause as grounds for expulsion from membership.Authorizes term limits for board members of federal credit unions.Revises voting requirements for credit union conversions to mutual savings banks.Amends the Clayton Act to exempt from its pre-merger notification and waiting period requirements any mergers of one insured credit union activities with another which require agency approval under the Federal Credit Union Act.

Date: 2008-05-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Oil Shale Regulatory Act of 2008 - Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal its prohibition against the use of funds to: (1) publish regulations regarding a commercial leasing program for oil shale resources on public lands; or (2) conduct certain oil shale lease sales.Amends the Oil Shale, Tar Sands, and Other Strategic Unconventional Fuels Act of 2005 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to: (1) instruct the Secretary of the Interior to publish final regulations establishing a commercial leasing program for oil shale and tar sands not earlier than 90 days (currently, not later than six months) after completion of a specified programmatic environmental impact statement; and (2) authorize the Secretary, not earlier than December 31, 2011, to conduct a lease sale for oil shale and tar sands in a state that expresses support and interest in the development of tar sands and oil shale resources.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Energy
S Corporation Modernization Act of 2008 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax treatment of S corporations by: (1) reducing from 10 to seven years the period during which S corporation built-in gains are subject to tax; (2) repealing mandatory termination of S corporation elections for excessive passive investment income; (3) allowing S corporations to increase passive investment income from 25 to 60% without incurring additional tax; (4) allowing nonresident aliens to be potential current beneficiaries of an electing small business trust (ESBT); (5) allowing individual retirement accounts (IRAs) to be S corporation shareholders; and (6) allowing ESBTs to claim expanded charitable tax deductions.

Date: 2008-05-22
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Taxation
Financial Consumer Hotline Act of 2008 - Amends the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council Act of 1978 to require federal financial institution regulatory agencies, coordinating through the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, to establish: (1) a single, toll-free telephone number for consumer complaints and inquiries concerning institutions under their jurisdiction; and (2) a system for routing such calls to the federal financial institution regulatory agency that primarily supervises the financial institution, or that is otherwise the appropriate agency to address the subject of the complaint or inquiry.Cites circumstances under which state agencies may receive appropriate call transfers from such federal systems.

Date: 2008-06-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Energy Transition Act of 2008 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to modify requirements governing publication and uses of projected state lines on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Authorizes a state governor to petition the Secretary of Energy to make available for oil and gas leasing any moratorium area within the offshore administrative boundaries beyond the submerged land of a state that is located greater than 50 miles from the state coastline (new producing areas). Amends the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) to repeal the prohibition against producing oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Sets forth an oil and gas leasing program for the Alaskan Coastal Plain, including the Refuge. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, to: (1) designate specified acreage of the Coastal Plain as special areas; (2) exclude from leasing or surface occupancy any such special area; and (3) permit the use of horizontal drilling technology into such areas from the outside. Requires the state of Alaska to establish the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund. Prohibits exportation of oil or gas produced from leases granted under this Act. Allocates revenues among the Energy Independence Fund (established by this Act), the state of Alaska, and the Secretary of the Treasury. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), upon request, to enter into a permitting agreement with a state or Indian tribe under a streamlined approval process for refinery construction and operation. Amends the Clean Air Act with respect to renewable biomass. Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal EPA authority to waive specified prohibitions against certain fuels or fuel additives. Clean-Coal-Derived Fuels for Energy Security Act of 2008 - Directs the President to promulgate regulations to ensure that aviation fuel, motor vehicle fuel, home heating oil, and boiler fuel sold or introduced into commerce in the United States contains the applicable volume of clean coal-derived fuel. Exempts small refineries from compliance with such regulations until 2018, unless the President extends such exemption if compliance would impose a disproportionate economic hardship. Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal the prohibition against final regulations for the commercial leasing program for oil shale resources on public land. Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to require the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey to increase activities relating to the Energy Resources Program and other resource assessment activities related to domestic oil and natural gas reserves. Establishes the Energy Independence Fund. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to develop and report to Congress a strategic and comprehensive plan to eliminate all foreign imports of oil from countries outside of North America by 2028.

Date: 2008-06-27
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Energy
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a state-chartered banking entity to elect to be treated as a partnership or separate entity for tax purposes if it is organized as a limited liability company under state law and has Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance. Exempts such an entity from treatment as a bank under the Internal Revenue Code for purposes of its bad debts, losses, gains from the sale of its securities, and the taxation of its common trust funds.

Date: 2008-07-11
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Taxation
Over-the-Counter Speculation Act - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to authorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), in the case of a major market disturbance, to require any trader required to report under this Act to take action to maintain or restore orderly trading in any contract listed for trading on a registered entity, including: (1) liquidation of any over-the-counter transaction; and (2) fixing of any limit that may apply to a market position involving any over-the-counter transaction acquired in good faith before the date of the CFTC's determination of a major market disturbance.Defines "major market disturbance" and "over-the-counter transaction."Sets forth reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Date: 2008-07-11
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) prohibit tax-exempt employer pension or benefit plans from making a loan to any plan beneficiary through the use of a credit card or other intermediary; and (2) limit to three the number of loans a plan can make to a plan participant or beneficiary without tax consequences.

Date: 2008-07-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Taxation
Saver's Bonus Act of 2007 [sic] - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to develop programs to: (1) match deposits made by low-income individuals into certain savings accounts (saver's bonus); (2) deposit tax refunds electronically into savings accounts; and (3) allow individual taxpayers to purchase U.S. savings bonds on their federal income tax returns. Requires the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to notify low-income taxpayers of their eligibility for the saver's bonus and of their options under this Act.

Date: 2008-07-31
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Federal Reserve Act to repeal the authority of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, in unusual and exigent circumstances, to discount federal reserve bank-indorsed or -secured notes, drafts, and bills of exchange for private individuals, partnerships, or corporations unable to secure adequate credit accommodations from other banking institutions.

Date: 2008-09-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Federal Board of Certification Act of 2008 - Establishes a Federal Board of Certification to certify that the mortgages within a security instrument meet the underlying standards they claim to meet with regards to such mortgage characteristics as: (1) documentation; (2) loan to value ratios; (3) debt service to income ratios; and (4) borrower credit standards and geographic concentration. States that the purpose of this certification process is to increase the transparency, predictability, and reliability of securitized mortgage products.Authorizes market participants, including firms that package mortgage loans into mortgage securities, to elect to have their mortgage securities evaluated by the Board.Authorizes the Board to: (1) promulgate regulations establishing enumerated security standards to use in certifying mortgage securities; (2) establish uniform principles and standards and report forms for the regular examination of such securities; and (3) develop uniform reporting systems for ascertaining mortgage security risk.Grants the Board access to all books, accounts, records, reports, files, memorandums, papers, things, and property belonging to or in use by federal financial institutions regulatory agencies.Requires any publication, transmission, or webpage containing an advertisement for or invitation to buy a mortgage security to carry a disclaimer that certification by the Federal Board of Certification can in no way be considered a guarantee of the mortgage security, but is merely a judgment of the degree of risk offered by the security in question.

Date: 2008-09-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Prohibits a state from imposing any tax on electronic commerce (i.e., transactions conducted over the Internet or through Internet access) of any person unless that person has a physical presence in the state during the period to which such tax applies or is incorporated or domiciled in such state. Sets forth criteria for determining physical presence, including: (1) being physically in a state or assigning one or more employees to a state; (2) using the services of an agent to establish or maintain the electronic commerce in the state; or (3) leasing or owning tangible personal or real property in the state. Exempts from the definition of "physical presence" entering into an agreement to share revenue generated by the electronic commerce of another person, presence in the state for less than 15 days in a taxable year, and presence in a state to conduct limited or transient business activity.

Date: 2008-10-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Commerce
Financial Crimes Accountability Act of 2008 - Directs the Attorney General to establish within the Department of Justice (DOJ) a Special Joint Task Force on Financial Crimes to: (1) provide direction for the investigation and prosecution of financial crimes (i.e., fraud, misrepresentation, or malfeasance involving financial products); and (2) make recommendations to the Attorney General and the President on allocating resources and coordinating governmental efforts to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

Date: 2008-10-01
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Financial Regulation Reform Act of 2008 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to: (1) subject credit-default swap trading clearinghouses to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC); and (2) direct the CFTC to set reporting and recordkeeping requirements for positions involving credit-default swaps. Grants the Federal Reserve Board authority over investment-bank holding companies. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue final rules to: (1) designate clearinghouses for credit-default swaps; and (2) prohibit fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative acts or practices in connection with such swaps. Establishes a temporary Commission on Financial Regulatory Reform to review the financial regulatory structure and propose a comprehensive framework for fundamental reform of financial regulation in the United States.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Stop the Greed on Wall Street Act - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 to limit the amount of aggregate annual compensation for employees and executives of financial institutions assisted under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to the salary of the President of the United States.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act to revise the process for exercising the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to make purchases of troubled assets in any amount in excess of the $350 billion previously obligated. Changes the Joint Resolution of Disapproval, regarding the exercise of such authority, to a Joint Resolution of Approval. Prohibits the Secretary, that is, from exercising any authority to make any such purchases unless within 15 calendar days after Congress receives a report of the Secretary's plan to exercise the authority, a joint resolution approving the plan is enacted into law.

Date: 2008-11-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Financial Oversight Commission Act of 2009 - Establishes the Financial Oversight Commission to investigate the financial crisis of 2008, including relevant legislation, Executive Order, regulation, plan, policy, practice, or procedure that pertains to: (1) government sponsored enterprises; (2) the stock market; (3) the housing market; (4) credit rating agencies; (5) the financial services sector, including hedge funds, private equity and the insurance industry; and (6) the role of congressional oversight and resource allocation. Directs the Commission to identify, review, and evaluate the lessons learned from the crisis in connection with the structure, coordination, management policies, and procedures of governmental and nongovernmental entities regarding crisis detection, prevention, and response.Requires the Commission to report to the President and Congress its findings, conclusions, and recommendations.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and the Revised Statutes of the United States to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Credit Agencies Identity Theft Responsibilities Act of 2009 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require a consumer reporting agency which has reason to suspect identity theft to: (1) report such suspicion to the U.S. Secret Service; and (2) inform the Attorney General for criminal prosecution. Requires the Secret Service to forward such information to either the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), respectively, if it has reason to believe that a suspected case of identity theft involves any suspicion of terrorism or immigration violations. Cites factors for suspicion of identity theft. Requires a consumer reporting agency to review, at regular intervals, all information on consumers it maintains or controls in order to determine whether there is any basis for suspicion of identity theft. Sets forth criminal penalties for agency failure to comply with this Act.

Date: 2009-01-06
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
TARP Accountability Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) to require inclusion within each report of condition filed by an insured depository institution which received assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the amount of any increase in new lending during the period covered by the report (or the amount of any reduction in any decrease in new lending) that is attributable to TARP assistance. Requires, in the alternative, that if the institution cannot accurately quantify the effect such assistance has had on new lending, then it report the total amount of the increase in new lending, if any, during the covered period.

Date: 2009-01-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Troubled Assets Relief Program Targeted Assets Act of 2009 - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the Troubled Asset Restoration and Assistance Program (TARAP) to allow the Treasury to purchase lender or servicer losses on rehabilitated mortgages, on terms and conditions determined by the Secretary. Directs the Treasury, acting through TARAP, to pay up to 80% of the difference between the original asset and the rehabilitated asset to the lender or servicer under certain conditions.Permits the portion of the difference between the original asset and the rehabilitated asset to the lender or servicer that is not paid for by the Secretary to be written to loss. Requires any regulations and other guidance the Secretary may issue to determine qualifications for an independent appraiser, and make final determinations as to: (1) whether an asset is troubled; (2) what the values are that will determine the amount of purchase; (3) the amount of reductions in the purchase price for certain otherwise ineligible assets; and (4) any other functionality issues required to operate the program. Authorizes the Secretary, conforming to specified guidelines, to make all necessary rules and determinations regarding documented best efforts, required timelines, and other processes and procedures. Identifies criteria for eligible assets and eligible lenders or servicers. Sunsets TARAP on December 31, 2009.Prohibits, for a 90-day period, a mortgage servicer, or holder, from taking action to initiate a foreclosure, or any action in connection with a foreclosure already instituted (other than to suspend it), with respect to any eligible mortgage of a consumer. Entitles a consumer to defer initiation of a foreclosure, or any action in connection with one already instituted by any creditor, servicer, or holder of a mortgage, until the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

Date: 2009-01-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Banking)
Subject: Finance and financial sector