zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Federal Efficiency and Performance Act of 2009 - Requires the President to recommend to Congress, with proposed legislation, which existing federal programs and agencies should be modernized, consolidated, reprioritized, and where necessary, terminated in order to: (1) reduce federal expenditures; (2) increase efficiency and effectiveness of government operations; (3) eliminate overlap and duplication in federal programs and offices; (4) terminate agencies, programs, and activities that no longer serve an important governmental purpose; and (5) identify reductions in amounts of discretionary budget authority or direct spending that can be dedicated to federal deficit reduction.

Date: 2009-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Agency Performance Review and Efficiency Act - Amends the Inspector General Act of 1978 to make it the principal duty and responsibility of each Inspector General to review, annually, the operations, efficiency, and effectiveness of federal programs within his or her entity and submit annually to Congress and the President recommendations, accompanied by proposed legislation, on whether an abolishment, reorganization, consolidation, or transfer of existing federal programs and agencies is necessary to: (1) reduce federal expenditures; (2) increase efficiency of government operations; (3) eliminate overlap and duplication in federal programs and offices; (4) abolish agencies or programs that no longer serve an important governmental purpose; and (5) identify reductions in amounts of discretionary budget authority or direct spending that can be dedicated to federal deficit reduction.

Date: 2009-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Strategic Communication Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of State to solicit from tax-exempt national security and foreign policy research organizations offers to establish a Center for Strategic Communication, and select one organization to establish such Center. Includes among Center duties: (1) provision of information and analysis to the Department of State, the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Director of National Intelligence on U.S. security and foreign policy issues; (2) development of U.S. communications strategies and monitoring techniques; (3) support of government-wide strategic communication through services provided on a cost-recovery basis; (4) contracting with private sector and academic entities; and (5) mobilization of nongovernment initiatives.

Date: 2009-01-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: International affairs
Public Retiree's Investment Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to guarantee eligible investments, or reguarantee a guarantee of eligible investments, by any public pension bank capital infusion fund mutually owned by state and local pension plans for the sole purpose of investing in preferred stocks of U.S. banking institutions. Requires each public pension plan with a mutual ownership interest in a capital infusion fund to be authorized by state law to establish, or participate in the formation of, a wholly owned mutual fund or a limited liability corporation, in the case of joint ownership with other public pension plans. Caps the maximum amount of investments by such such a capital infusion fund at $50 billion. Restricts eligible investments to those in the preferred stock of a qualifying financial institution under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) Capital Purchase Program established under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA).

Date: 2009-01-27
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Plain Writing Act of 2010 - Requires the head of each executive agency to: (1) designate one or more senior officials within the agency to oversee the agency's implementation of this Act; (2) communicate this Act's requirements to the agency's employees; (3) train agency employees in "plain writing" (defined as writing that is clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience); (4) establish a process for overseeing the agency's ongoing compliance with this Act's requirements; (5) create and maintain a plain writing section of the agency's website that shall inform the public of agency compliance with the requirements of this Act, provide a mechanism for the agency to receive and respond to public input on agency implementation and agency reports required under this Act, and be accessible from its homepage; and (6) designate one or more agency points-of-contact to receive and respond to public input on the implementation of this Act. Requires each agency, by one year after enactment, to use plain writing in every covered document of the agency that the agency issues or substantially revises. Defines "covered document" to: (1) mean any document that is necessary for obtaining any federal benefit or service or filing taxes, that provides information about any federal benefit or service, or that explains to the public how to comply with a requirement the federal government administers or enforces; (2) include (whether in paper or electronic form) a letter, publication, form, notice, or instruction; and (3) exclude a regulation. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), by six months after enactment, to develop and issue guidance on implementing the requirements of this Act. Authorizes the Director to designate a lead agency and to use interagency working groups to assist in developing and issuing the guidance. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) an interim guidance; (2) initial and annual compliance reports; and (3) judicial review and enforceability. Requires the budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, to be determined by reference to the latest statement titled "Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation" for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

Date: 2009-02-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Agency Program Realignment and Closure Act - Establishes the Federal Agency Program Realignment and Closure Commission to: (1) evaluate each executive agency and its programs; and (2) submit to the President and Congress a list of the agencies and programs it recommends eliminating or realigning. Requires the Commission to recommend that an agency or program be: (1) realigned where a function performed by two or more agencies or programs can be consolidated; (2) eliminated if it performs a function that is also provided by a state or that would be more efficient if performed at the state level; or (3) eliminated if it performs a function that can be more efficiently performed by a private entity.

Date: 2009-02-12
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Amends the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to extend the regulatory jurisdiction of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to audit reports prepared by a domestic registered or foreign public accounting firm regarding issuers, brokers and dealers, and any companies subject to securities laws (currently only issuers and public companies). Directs the Board to: (1) establish standards for independence to be used by a registered public accounting firm; and (2) conduct annual inspections to assess compliance of each registered public accounting firm that regularly provides audit reports for more than 100 brokers and dealers. Declares it shall be unlawful for any person that is suspended or barred from being associated with a registered public accounting firm to willfully become, or remain associated with any broker or dealer (as well as, under current law, any issuer) in an accountancy or financial management capacity. Prescribes a formula for mandatory allocation among non-issuer brokers and dealers of accounting support fees due from them to fund the budget of the Board. Authorizes the Board to: (1) refer an investigation to a self-regulatory organization if the investigation concerns an audit report for a broker or dealer subject to the organization's jurisdiction; and (2) make available to the organization documents or information related to such an investigation or an inspection.

Date: 2009-02-26
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Reducing Information Control Designations Act - Requires each federal agency to reduce and minimize its use of information control designations on information that is not classified. Defines such designations to mean information dissemination controls that are not defined by federal statute or executive order relating to the classification of national security information and that are used to manage, direct, or route information or to control the accessibility of information, regardless of its form or format. Requires the Archivist of the United States to promulgate regulations to address: (1) standards for the use of such designations to maximize public access to information; (2) the process for removing such designations; (3) procedures for identifying and tracking designated information; (4) provisions to minimize the use of such designations, to prevent misuse, and prevent use to improperly interfere with competition in the private sector; and (5) a requirement for agencies to establish a process for individuals and the public to challenge the use of such designations and penalties for repeated failures to comply with designation policies. Requires the head of each federal agency to: (1) implement the regulations promulgated by the Archivist to encourage information sharing; and (2) ensure that such designations do not determine public disclosure requirements under the Freedom of Information Act.Requires the Inspector General of each federal agency to randomly audit and report to Congress on unclassified information with such designations to determine compliance. Directs the Archivist to: (1) require personal identifiers and agency affiliations of individuals applying such designations: (2) require training of such individuals; and (3) implement a program to detail federal employees to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to train such employees. Terminates such detail program on December 31, 2012.Requires promulgation of final regulations and implementation of this Act's requirements within 24 months.

Date: 2009-03-05
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Federal Accounting Oversight Board Act of 2009 - Establishes the Federal Accounting Oversight Board (FAOB) to approve and oversee accounting principles and standards for purposes of the federal financial regulatory agencies and the reporting requirements they require. Directs the FAOB to report annually to Congress, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the International Accounting Standards Board on the principles and standards it has reviewed and approved Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to transfer standard body oversight authority from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the FAOB.

Date: 2009-03-05
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Multilingual Services Accounting Act - Requires federal agency Chief Financial Officers to include multilingual services accounting information in their mandatory annual reports to the agency head and to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Defines multilingual services to include: (1) services provided by interpreters hired by an agency; (2) services resulting in additional expenses which an agency provides to assist its employees or contractors to learn a non-English language; (3) agency preparation, translation, printing, or recordation of materials in a language other than English; and (4) services provided or performed for the federal government by agency employees or contractors that require speaking a non-English language that result in wage differentials or benefits provided by the agency. Requires the OMB Director's annual financial management status report to certain congressional committees to contain a Multilingual Services Expenses Report that includes: (1) a summary and analysis of the multilingual services accounting information prepared by each agency Chief Financial Officer; and (2) a description of any changes to the existing financial management structure of the federal government needed to establish an integrated individual agency accounting of all multilingual services conducted by each agency. Requires the OMB Director to issue guidance that an agency Chief Financial Officer must follow in compiling multilingual services accounting information.

Date: 2009-03-10
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Government Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Accountability Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should establish government-wide strategic and performance plans; and (2) each federal agency head should consult with the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the agency at the beginning of each Congress regarding the agency's performance plan. Requires each agency head to: (1) conduct an assessment of each agency program at least once every five fiscal years; (2) determine how assessment information can help save taxpayers money; (3) develop a plan for merging programs with duplicative missions; (3) identify program best practices for allocating resources; and (4) determine program performance levels and ways to improve low performance. Requires assessment results and resulting agency actions to be submitted in a report to Congress at the same time the President submits the annual federal budget. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to: (1) develop a government-wide system to cross reference programs within each agency to make programs more effective and efficient; (2) provide notice of, and an opportunity for public comment on, each program to be assessed; and (3) develop a process for controlling the quality of program assessment data and certify the quality of such data. Changes: (1) the date by which the heads of each federal agency are required to submit strategic plans for program activities to September 30 of each year following a presidential election; and (2) the period of coverage for strategic plans from five to four years.

Date: 2009-03-11
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Financial System Stabilization and Reform Act of 2009 - Establishes an independent Financial Stability Council to: (1) review, and approve or prohibit issuance of, or require modification of, any rule or regulation issued by any federal financial regulator; (2) require each federal financial regulator to issue or revise its rules and regulations in conformance with the Council's determination; (3) review new financial products and services and recommend regulations for them to the appropriate federal financial regulator; and (4) direct each federal financial regulator to impose appropriate solvency requirements, including capital requirements and long-term debt ratios on any financial institution within its jurisdiction, as the Council deems necessary to prevent systemic risk to the financial system of the United States. Subjects violations of this Act to civil penalties. Grants Council actions precedence in any conflict with any regulatory action of a federal financial regulator. Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to subject each credit-default swap trading clearinghouse to regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Sets forth capitalization, reporting, and recordkeeping for positions involving credit-default swaps. Requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) to promulgate rules: (1) for the examination of the safety and soundness of, and the extent of systemic risk to the financial system of the United States posed by, any investment bank holding company organized in or doing business in the United States; and (2) for reasonable reporting of information by each investment bank holding company, to the extent necessary to implement this Act. Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue final rules that: (1) designate clearinghouses for credit-default swaps; and (2) prohibit fraudulent, deceptive, or manipulative acts or practices in connection with such swaps. Requires such rules to require that clearinghouses: (1) are capitalized by participants to a level adequate to guarantee payments; and (2) are authorized to assess members for a default fund. Requires any person that engages in a credit-default swap transaction to utilize an SEC-designated clearinghouse for such purpose. Abolishes the Office of Thrift Supervision and transfers its authorities, functions, personnel, and property to the Comptroller of the Currency. Prohibits the Secretary of the Treasury from delaying or preventing the issuance or promulgation of any rule or regulation by the Comptroller.

Date: 2009-03-26
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies Act - Establishes the Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies to: (1) evaluate executive agencies and their programs; and (2) submit to Congress a plan recommending agencies and programs that should be realigned or eliminated and proposing implementing legislation. Requires the Commission to recommend: (1) realignment where a function performed by two or more agencies or programs can be consolidated; (2) realignment or elimination of any agency or program that has wasted federal funds; and (3) elimination of any agency or program that has completed its purpose, become irrelevant, or failed to meet objectives.

Date: 2009-03-30
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Clean Up Government Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) expand mail and wire fraud prohibitions to include fraudulent use of the mails or wire to obtain any thing of value (currently, limited to money or property); (2) expand venue for prosecutions of federal offenses; (3) increase prison terms for theft or bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds and for bribery of public officials and witnesses; (4) include theft of District of Columbia property in the federal crime of stealing public money, property or records; and (5) expand the definition of "official act" for purposes of the crime of bribery of public officials and witnesses. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines and policy statements to reflect congressional intent to increase penalties for public corruption.

Date: 2009-03-31
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Anti-Gaming and Collusion in Public-Private Investment Program Act - Prohibits any person who: (1) sells or otherwise disposes of an asset to or through any public-private investment program (including the Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets established by the Secretary of the Treasury) from acquiring any other asset from or through such program; and (2) purchases or otherwise acquires an asset from or through such program from disposing of it or any other asset to or through any such program.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Transparency and Accountability in State and Local Contracting Act - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to: (1) require (current law authorizes) federal agencies receiving funds under the Act to adjust applicable limits on administrative expenditures for federal awards to help award recipients defray the costs of data collection requirements initiated pursuant to the Act; and (2) authorize such agencies to set aside up to 0.5% of covered funds directed to such agencies to conduct comprehensive, agency-wide oversight and administration of projects under the Act.

Date: 2009-04-02
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
United States Public Service Academy Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of State a U.S. Public Service Academy for the instruction in and preparation for public service of selected individuals. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) key personnel positions; (2) faculty and departments; (3) student nominations, qualifications, and admission requirements; (4) curriculum standards; and (5) off-campus learning program requirements. Requires each Academy student to sign an agreement for not less than five years of public service following graduation. Imposes cost repayment requirements for students who fail to graduate or to complete such public service. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) public service assignments; and (2) graduate education and the additional service commitment. Establishes a Board of Visitors to oversee and inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of Academy operations. Directs the President to determine the Academy's location by establishing an advisory commission and through specified procedures. Authorizes the President to acquire land and construct the Academy. Requires each Academy student's education to be fully subsidized by the Academy (or by an international student's home country).

Date: 2009-04-27
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Education
Cord Blood Education and Awareness Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to develop a publication relating to umbilical cord blood that includes: (1) an explanation of the potential value and uses of umbilical cord blood; (2) the medical processes involved in the collection of cord blood; and (3) options for ownership and future use of donated umbilical cord blood. Directs the Secretary to develop a written patient informed consent document relating to cord blood disposition to be presented to and signed by the expectant woman not later than two weeks before her estimated delivery date. Requires such document to include: (1) information on the different options to cord blood banking; (2) information on the medical value of cord blood stem cells in treating disease; and (3) a declaration, to be signed, of a woman's chosen option for disposition. Directs each physician or other health care professional who is primarily responsible for furnishing ambulatory prenatal care to a pregnant woman to: (1) provide her with timely information relating to umbilical cord blood banking options; and (2) obtain written informed consent or a document that the woman refused or declined to provide such consent. Applies such requirement to state Medicaid plans and group health insurance plans. Directs the Secretary to develop professional educational materials on umbilical cord blood stem cells for health care providers who provide prenatal services. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to entities for targeted education about umbilical cord blood stem cells and the different options for banking such cells.

Date: 2009-04-27
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Health
Global Warming Economic Oversight Act of 2009 - Establishes the Global Warming Economic Oversight Commission to conduct ongoing oversight of, and report to the appropriate congressional committees on, the use by the federal government of funds from any auction or sale of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions allowances. Requires the Commission to focus on the use of funds to: (1) create new jobs in industries that produce renewable energy; (2) preserve jobs in existing, previously carbon-intensive industries; (3) assist working families with any increases in the costs of energy, transportation, housing, health care, food, and other necessities that result from federal laws designed to limit GHG emissions; and (4) assist small businesses with increases in energy costs that result from such laws, including costs relating to transportation, facilities, and equipment.

Date: 2009-04-28
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Energy
Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2009 - Requires each executive agency, except for the Department of Defense (DOD), to establish and maintain specified safeguards and internal controls for official purchase cards and convenience checks, including measures to ensure that: (1) records are kept of each card holder and applicable transaction limits; (2) rebates and refunds based on prompt payment, sales volume, or other agency actions on card accounts are reviewed for accuracy; (3) periodic reviews are performed to determine whether each cardholder needs a card; (4) effective systems, techniques, and technologies are used to prevent or identify fraudulent purchases; and (5) steps are taken to recover the cost of erroneous, improper, or illegal purchases made with a purchase card or convenience check through salary offsets. Establishes similar requirements for DOD. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to review existing guidance and prescribe additional guidance governing the implementation of the safeguards and internal controls. Requires each agency head to provide for appropriate adverse personnel actions or other punishment, including dismissal, in cases where employees violate agency policies implementing the guidance or make improper, erroneous, or illegal purchases. Requires the guidance to direct each agency head with more than $10 million in purchase card spending annually and each Inspector General to jointly report to the Director on such violations semiannually. Lists actions that each agency Inspector General should take, including to conduct periodic assessments of agency purchase card or convenience check programs to identify and analyze risks of illegal, improper, or erroneous purchases and payments in order to develop a plan for periodic audits of transactions. Amends the Travel and Transportation Reform Act of 1998 to require each agency to establish safeguards and internal controls over federal contractor-issued travel charge cards to ensure the proper, efficient, and effective use of such cards. Requires agencies that have employees who use a travel charge card that is billed directly to the U.S. government to establish and maintain specified internal control activities, including requirements to: (1) compare items submitted on an employee's travel voucher with items paid for using a centrally billed account on any related travel; (2) dispute unallowable and erroneous charges and track disputed transactions to ensure appropriate resolution; and (3) submit requests to servicing airlines for refunds for fully or partially unused tickets and to track unused tickets to ensure appropriate resolution.

Date: 2009-04-30
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Interagency Cooperation Commission Act - Establishes the Interagency Cooperation Commission to examine the long-term global challenges facing the United States and develop legislative and administrative proposals to improve interagency cooperation.Requires the Commission to: (1) address the role and impact in facilitating or impeding interagency cooperation of a variety of budgetary, planning, and operational factors; and (2) examine interdepartmental cooperation within the Department of Defense (DOD), including the common organizational structures, reference materials, and budget processes, and examine the value of such structures as models for broader government commonality. Lists as the subjects of required assessments: (1) past examples of successful and unsuccessful interagency cooperation; (2) the impact of the Goldwater-Nichols Act within DOD; (3) the effectiveness of current interagency structures and processes to engage in strategic planning and oversee and implement long-term United States policy in global affairs; (4) simulation-based assessments of global scenarios the United States may face in the long-term; and (5) the legal decision-making authority and resources needed in each department and at the highest levels of government to execute reforms proposed by the Commission.

Date: 2009-04-30
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Government Information Transparency Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to adopt a single data standard for: (1) collection, analysis, and dissemination of business and financial information for use by private sector entities in accordance with this Act for information required to be reported to the federal government; and (2) use by agencies for federal financial information. Requires the standard to: (1) be common across all agencies; (2) be a widely accepted, open source, nonproprietary, searchable, computer-readable format for business and financial data; (3) be consistent with and implement U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for federal financial accounting standards, industry best practices, and federal regulatory requirements; (4) improve the transparency, consistency, and usability of business and financial information; and (5) be capable of being continually upgraded. Requires the Director: (1) within 180 days, to issue guidance to agencies on the use and implementation of the single data standard for information required to be reported to agencies by the private sector; (2) within one year, to develop the single data standard required for use by federal agencies for federal financial information; and (3) within 18 months, to issue guidance to agencies on the use and implementation of the single data standard. Directs each agency head to ensure that information collected using the single data standard is accessible to the general public. Requires the Director, within one year, to submit to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs a report on the status of the implementation of this Act.

Date: 2009-05-13
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Municipal Bond Insurance Enhancement Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of the Treasury the Office of Public Finance. Requires the Director of such Office to carry out a program to provide reinsurance for insured losses of municipal bond insurers. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish and submit to Congress within five years after the enactment of this Act a plan for the sale of reinsurance assets acquired under this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that reinsurance provided by this Act shall not be treated as a federal guarantee for purposes of disallowing the exemption of interest on municipal bonds.

Date: 2009-05-21
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Government Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2009 - (Sec. 2) Authorizes the Comptroller General to: (1) obtain federal agency records required to discharge his or her duties, including through bringing civil actions under this Act; and (2) make and retain copies of agency records and interview federal agency officers and employees. (Sec. 3) Requires the Comptroller General's express consent for other Government Accountability Office (GAO) employees to administer oaths to witnesses in matters other than auditing and settling accounts. (Sec. 4) Requires agency statements on actions taken or planned in response to Comptroller General recommendations to be submitted to the congressional committees with jurisdiction over the pertinent agency program or activity and to GAO. (Sec. 5) Authorizes the Comptroller General, for five years following enactment of this Act, to conduct reviews, including on-site examinations, of credit facilities established by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any federal reserve bank, and of the establishment of such facilities, in: (1) carrying out any action or function approved by the Board under provisions authorizing a federal reserve bank to discount for any individual, partnership, or corporation, notes, drafts, and bills of exchange when they are endorsed or otherwise secured to the satisfaction of the bank; or (2) in providing temporary assistance to private institutions as the lender of last resort. Lists as credit facilities to which this section applies: (1) the Money Market Investor Funding Facility; (2) the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility; (3) the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility; (4) the Term Auction Facility; (5) the Primary Dealer Credit Facility; (6) the Commercial Paper Funding Facility; (7) the Term Securities Lending Facility, including the Term Securities Lending Facility Options Program; (8) the Revolving Credit Facility; (9) reciprocal currency arrangements with foreign central banks; (10) the Mortgage Backed Securities Purchase Program, as well as the purchase of debt obligations from a government sponsored enterprise; and (11) any special purpose vehicle through which any such credit facility conducts any activity or lending. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress within 90 days of each review's completion. Provides for access by the Comptroller General to all records and property used by any such credit facility established by an agency. Directs the Comptroller General to prevent unauthorized access to records or property of or used by any such credit facility.

Date: 2009-06-02
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Freedom from Government Competition Act of 2009 - Requires each executive or military department or independent establishment to obtain all goods and services necessary for or beneficial to the accomplishment of its authorized functions by procurement from private sources, except if: (1) such goods or services are required by law to be produced or performed by such agency; or (2) the head of the agency determines and certifies that federal production or performance is necessary for the national defense or homeland security, that a good or service is so inherently governmental in nature that it is in the public interest to require production or performance by government employees, or that there is no private source capable of providing the good or service. Requires such private sector provision of goods and services to be performed through: (1) the divestiture of federal involvement; (2) the award of a contract using competitive procedures; (3) converting an activity to performance by a qualified firm under at least 51% ownership by an Indian tribe or a Native Hawaiian Organization; or (4) conducting a public-private competitive sourcing analysis in accordance with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) procedures and determining that using the private sector is in the best interest of the United States and provides the best value to the taxpayer. Authorizes an agency head to utilize federal employees to provide goods or services previously provided by a private sector entity upon completion of a public-private competitive sourcing analysis and after determining that provision by federal employees provides the best value. Requires the Director to carry out a study, in conjunction with the Comptroller General, to evaluate the activities carried out in each agency.

Date: 2009-06-03
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a certification to the President for any photograph relating to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the U.S. Armed Forces in operations outside of the United States if the Secretary determines that disclosure of such photograph would endanger U.S. citizens or members of the Armed Forces or U.S. government employees deployed outside the United States. Authorizes the Secretary to submit a renewal of a certification at any time. Provides that a certification or a renewal shall expire five years after submission. Exempts such a certified photograph from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Reform Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to rename the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) the Medicare Payment and Access Commission, make it an independent executive branch (instead of a legislative branch) agency, and revise its membership requirements. Directs MedPAC to determine payment rates for items and services furnished under Medicare. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report annually to Congress on changes to payment policies under the Medicare program as a result of the amendments made by this Act. Makes it in order in the Senate or the House to consider any measure that would overrule a MedPAC determination with respect to such payments if three-fifths of the Members agree to such consideration. Authorizes MedPAC to advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), on priorities for health services research. Directs MedPAC to establish: (1) an office of ombudsman to handle complaints on the implementation of certain regulations; and (2) a council of health and economic advisers to advise it on its development, analyses, and implementation of payment policies. Establishes: (1) a consumer advisory council to advise MedPAC on the impact of Medicare payment policies on consumers; and (2) a federal health advisory council.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Health
Senior Executive Service Diversity Assurance Act - Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish within OPM the Senior Executive Service Resource Office (SES Resource Office). Makes it the mission of the SES Resource Office to: (1) improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity of the Senior Executive Service (SES) through policy formulation and oversight; (2) advance the professionalism of the SES; and (3) recruit qualified individuals from appropriate sources to ensure that the SES is reflective of the nation's diversity. Sets forth the functions of the SES Resource Office with respect to the management, training, oversight, and recruitment activities of the SES. Revises the career appointments recruiting process to require agency heads to ensure diversity of executive resources boards and any subgroup or other evaluation panel related to the merit staffing process for career appointees by including members of racial and ethnic minority groups, women, and individuals with disabilities. Requires each federal agency to submit to OPM a plan to enhance and maximize opportunities for the advancement and appointment of minorities, women, and individuals with disabilities to the SES.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Correction of Long-Standing Errors in Agencies' Unsustainable Procurements Act of 2009 or the CLEAN-UP Act - Requires executive agencies to ensure that: (1) inherently governmental functions, functions closely related to such functions, and mission-essential functions are performed by federal employees; (2) other functions are performed by the more efficient form of personnel, whether federal employees, contractors, or military personnel; and (3) consideration is given to using federal employees to perform new functions on a regular basis. Requires each agency head to submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB): (1) an annual report on service contracts for new work; (2) a Functions At Risk Report that describes those functions required to be performed by federal employees that are actually performed by contractors (requires agencies to reduce the total number of contractor employees described in that Report by 70% within six years); and (3) a strategic human capital plan to ensure the capability of the agency's federal employee workforce to perform agency functions. Prohibits an agency from conducting a public-private competition for any function that such plan identifies as experiencing a gap in its federal employee workforce. Requires agencies subject to the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 (other than the Department of Defense [DOD]) to: (1) submit an annual inventory of activities performed pursuant to contracts for services; (2) review those contracts and identify activities that should be considered for conversion to performance by civilian employees; and (3) develop a plan for such conversion by June 30 of the following year. Authorizes agency heads to expedite the hiring of certain professionals in shortage category positions. Requires the Director to: (1) develop guidelines for the establishment of business process re-engineering projects; and (2) conduct annual performance reviews of such projects that are ongoing. Sets forth revisions, requirements, and restrictions applicable to studies and public-private competitions for the conversion of agency functions to contractor performance pursuant to OMB Circular A-76.

Date: 2009-06-04
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Public Corruption Prosecution Improvements Act - Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) establish a six-year limitation period for the prosecution of certain public corruption crimes, including bribery, theft of government property, mail fraud, and racketeering; (2) expand the penalties for theft or bribery involving programs receiving federal funds; (3) expand the prohibition against theft of public money or property to include thefts in the District of Columbia; (4) include certain government theft and bribery offenses as predicates for racketeering and money laundering prosecutions and wiretaps; and (5) expand the definition of "official act" for purposes of the crime of bribery of public officials and witnesses. Authorizes appropriations for additional Department of Justice (DOJ) personnel to investigate and prosecute public corruption offenses.

Date: 2009-06-11
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Crime and law enforcement
Detainee Photographic Records Protection Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to: (1) submit a certification to the President for any photograph taken between September 11, 2001, and January 22, 2009, that relates to the treatment of individuals engaged, captured, or detained after September 11, 2001, by the U.S. Armed Forces in operations outside of the United States if the Secretary determines that disclosure of such photograph would endanger U.S. citizens or members of the Armed Forces or U.S. government employees deployed outside the United States; and (2) submit timely notice of such certification to Congress. Authorizes the Secretary to submit a renewal of a certification at any time. Provides that a certification or a renewal shall expire after three years. Exempts such a certified photograph from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but does not preclude voluntary disclosure.

Date: 2009-06-15
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Government Ownership Exit Plan Act of 2009 - Prohibits the federal government from acquiring, directly or indirectly, any ownership interest in a troubled asset described in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) that was purchased from a financial institution by the Secretary of the Treasury. Requires the Secretary to divest the government of any such interest not later than July 1, 2010, with exceptions allowing ownership interests of not more than six months if: (1) divestiture would have a significant adverse impact on taxpayers; and (2) there is a reasonable expectation that a waiver would allow recovery of the cost of acquiring such interest. Amends EESA to state that the limit of authority to purchase troubled assets is $700 billion (under current law, such limitation, reduced by $1.259 billion, is described as "outstanding at any one time"). Requires all repayments of obligations arising under EESA, and all proceeds from the sale of assets acquired by the government under that Act, to be paid into the general fund of the Treasury for reduction of the public debt. Makes it unlawful for an officer or employee of the executive branch to knowingly make, with the intent to influence, a communication regarding a significant management decision of a recipient of EESA assistance to any officer or employee of the recipient. Makes the Financial Stability Oversight Board responsible for reviewing the ownership interest termination provisions of this Act. Establishes requirements for reports by the Secretary on: (1) ownership interests; (2) plans for compliance with this Act, including for winding down and divestiture; and (3) ending conservatorship and direct ownership by the government of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively).

Date: 2009-06-16
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Young Adults Financial Literacy Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to make competitive grants to, and enter contracts with, eligible institutions to establish centers of excellence to support research, development and planning, implementation, and evaluation of effective programs in financial literacy education for young adults and families ages 15-24 years old. Defines "eligible institution" as any partnership consisting of an institution of higher education and any of the following: (1) one or more local educational agencies; (2) a nonprofit agency, organization, or association; (3) a community-based organization; or (4) a financial institution.

Date: 2009-07-09
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Post-9/11 Terrorist Financing Review Act - Directs the President, through the Secretary of the Treasury, to submit the report on the current state of U.S. efforts to curtail the international financing of terrorism that is required to be submitted under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.

Date: 2009-07-29
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Emergency management
Fair and Cost Effective Federal Travel Act of 2009 - Prohibits any federal department or agency from establishing a travel or conference policy that takes into account the perception of a location as a resort or vacation destination in determining the location for an event.

Date: 2009-07-29
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Scrapping Unsustainable Redundant Programs Leaves Us Solvent Act of 2009 or the SURPLUS Act - Requires the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Interior, Labor, State, Transportation (DOT), Treasury, and Veterans Affairs (VA), the Attorney General, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) determine if any federal programs within his or her agency are duplicative; (2) submit to Congress, and make available to the public, a report on the results; and (3) terminate or consolidate programs performing similar functions, except for any program that is required or authorized by statute. Considers to be duplicative: (1) a grant program the purpose of which the Secretary determines to be to benefit a specific group that is identical or substantially similar to a group that is eligible for another grant program; and (2) any other program the Secretary determines to be performing the same essential function as another program.

Date: 2009-07-31
Topic: Government Operations (Bureaucracy)
Subject: Government operations and politics