This week, the House plans to consider 23 bills, ranging from government accountability to foreign policy. The House may also consider a conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act should the House and Senate reach a deal. We continue to await action on a deficit reduction deal.
Legislation currently planned for consideration this week includes:
H.R. 4606: authorizes the National Park Service to grant a right-of-way permit for the existing 3.5-mile portion of the Montana Power Company natural gas line located within Glacier National Park, allowing the pipeline to continue its current operation.
Barona Band of Mission Indians Land Transfer Clarification Act of 2012 (S. 3193): clarifies that the private land mistakenly included in the Barona Land Trust under the 2004 law is not part of the tribe's reservation lands.
H.R. 6612: redesignates the Dryden Flight Reseach Center at Edwards Air Force Base as the Neil A. Afmstrong Flight Research Center, and redesignates the Western Aeronautical Test Range at the center as the Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range.
H.R. 6633: designates the U.S. courthouse located at 101 East Pecan Street in Sherman, Texas, as the "Paul Brown United States Courthouse."
H.R. 6166: designates the U.S. courthouse located at 333 West Broadway Street in San Diego, California, as the "James M. Carter and Judith N. Keep United States Courthouse."
S. 3311: designates the U.S. courthouse located at 2601 2nd Avenue North, Billings, Montana, as the "James F. Battin United States Courthouse."
H.R. 3197: designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Spokane, Washington, as the "Mann–Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center."
H.R. 6443: designates the facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 9800 West Commercial Boulevard in Sunrise, Florida, as the "William 'Bill' Kling VA Clinic.”
H.R. 3869: designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 600 East Capitol Avenue in Little Rock, Arkansas, as the "Sidney 'Sid' Sanders McMath Post Office Building."
H.R. 3378: designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 220 Elm Avenue in Munising, Michigan, as the "Elizabeth L. Kinnunen Post Office Building."
H.R. 4389: designates the post office located at 19 East Merced Street in Fowler, California, as the "Cecil E. Bolt Post Office.”
Government Employee Accountability Act (H.R. 6016): expands the options available to federal agencies to discipline Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, including allowing the termination of such employees for misappropriation of funds and allowing them to be placed on unpaid leave for "serious of flagrant" conduct.
Public Interest Declassification Board Reauthorization Act of 2012 (S. 3564): extends for two years the Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000, which established the Public Interest Declassification Board. This nine-member board is responsible for advising the executive branch on systematic review of records for declassification and the fullest possible public access.
Hatch Act Modernization Act of 2012 (S. 2170): amends the Hatch Act, which restricts the ability of federal workers from participating in partisan politics, to relax restrictions on state and local employees running for office, make provisions governing D.C. employees more closely match those governing state and local employees rather than federal employees, and expand the penalties that can be enacted against those who violate the Hatch Act.
H.R. 6621: makes numerous technical changes to the America Invents Act, including modifications to the appeals process and the deadline regarding petitioning to initiative a derivation proceeding.
H.R. 2471: amends the Video Privacy Protection Act to clarify that a video tape service provider may obtain a consumer’s informed, written consent to release personally identifiable video rental information on an ongoing basis and that consent may be obtained through the Internet.
Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act of 2012 (H.R. 6014): creates a grant program within the Justice Department to help states create a minimum or enhanced DNA collection process for individuals arrested for or charged with certain felony offenses. Samples collected would be included within the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
Theft of Trade Secrets Clarification Act of 2012 (S. 3642): amends the Economic Espionage Act to clarify that the law’s definition of theft of trade secrets applies to anything that is “a product or service used in or intended for use” in interstate or foreign commerce, not simply a product of product component, including any computer program used to develop or provide services to consumers.
Small Business Investment Company Modernization Act (H.R. 6504): increases from $225 million to $350 million the maximum amount of leverage that can be made available to two or more Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) under common control.
Medicare Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 1509): directs the Department of Health and Human Services to establish cost-effective procedures to ensure that Social Security Numbers are not displayed on Medicare cards issued to beneficiaries.
Medicare IVIG Access Act (H.R. 1845): requires the Department of Health and Human Services to report to Congress regarding a number of access and reimbursement issues involving intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), including the appropriateness of implementing a new Medicare payment methodology for IVIG. IVIG is a blood product administered intravenously to help individuals with primary immune deficiency disease (PIDD) fight disease.
Senate Amendment to the Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act (H.R. 3783): states that it shall be U.S. policy to use a comprehensive government-wide strategy to counter Iran’s growing hostile presence and activity in the Western Hemisphere by working together with U.S. allies to deter Iran. It also requires the State Department to assess threads posed by Iran in the Western Hemisphere, develop a strategy to counter such threats, and report its results to Congress. The Senate’s amendment to this bill, which the House passed in September, stipulates that the report may be classified, but that the Department must then include an unclassified summary.
Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (S. 3331): expands U.S. accreditation standards set by the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to cover adoption agencies for all international adoptions. Currently, those standards apply only to adoptions from countries that are parties to the Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention).