This week, the House will consider 30 bills, ranging from veterans to health care.
Legislation under consideration this week includes:
Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Extension Act of 2012 (H.R. 6060): extends through fiscal year 2019 the Interior Department’s authority to use power revenues collected through the Colorado River Storage Project Act for endangered fish recovery programs in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins.
Manhattan Project National Historical Park Act (H.R. 5987): establishes a Manhattan Project National Historical Park within the areas of Los Alamos, New Mexico, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington.
Mescalero Apache Tribe Leasing Authorization Act (H.R. 1461): authorizes the Mescalero Apache Tribe to lease its adjudicated water right to other parties for no more than 99 years.
H.R. 3319: defines membership of the Pascua Yaqui tribe to consist of any U.S. citizen of Pascua Yaqui blood who is enrolled by the tribe, thereby allowing the tribe to determine its own membership.
Cutting Federal Unnecessary and Expensive Leasing Act of 2012 (H.R. 6324): reduces the number of non-essential vehicles purchased and leased by the federal government, authorizes a review of federal agency vehicles, and limits the dollar amount spent by agencies on leasing vehicles to 20 percent of the fiscal year 2010 level.
H.R. 4158: confirms astronaut ownership of certain astronaut mission mementos from the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo programs, including personal logs, flight manuals, and training articles.
H.R. 6375: authorizes $377 million for construction of new Veterans Affairs facilities and $126 million for the leasing and renovation of existing facilities in Fiscal Year 2013. The bill also extends for one year the authority of the VA to provide housing, mental health care and other aid to homeless veterans.
Veterans Fiduciary Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 5948): directs the VA to overhaul its fiduciary process to include stricter background checks on potential fiduciaries, to decrease compensation for fiduciaries, and to give greater deference to fiduciary and power of attorney appointments.
Andrew P. Carpenter Tax Act (H.R. 5044): excludes from taxable gross income any forgiveness of debt on the private education loans of deceased veterans occurring after October 7, 2001.
H.R. 2827: amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to narrow the scope of financial advisors who would be subject to federal regulation for their work with municipalities.
Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 6361): excludes disabled veterans’ service-related disability benefits from income calculations for federal housing aid.
H.R. 6431: permits the Treasury secretary, in recognition of the Burmese regime releasing thousands of political prisoners and allowing certain public demonstrations over the past year, to instruct the U.S. Executive Director at any international financial institution to vote in favor of providing assistance for Burma.
FEMA Reauthorization Act of 2011 (H.R. 2903): authorizes appropriations for Fiscal Year 2013 for the Urban Search and Rescue Response System, Emergency Management Assistance Compact grants, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Border Security Information Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 6368): requires the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to report to Congress on their ability to track, investigate, and quantify cross-border violence along the Southwest Border.
H.R. 5912: terminates the use of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to fund any national party convention for any election held after 2012.
Disaster Loan Fairness Act of 2012 (H.R. 6296): ensures that the interest rate on a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan awarded after January 1, 2011, will not exceed 4%. Also terminates the use of the Presidential Election Campaign Fund to fund any national party convention for any election held after 2012.
Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 5910): directs the Department of Commerce to conduct a review of U.S. laws and policies on foreign direct investment in the United States and to develop recommendations to make the U.S. more competitive in attracting and retaining investments from abroad.
Contaminated Drywall Safety Act of 2012 (H.R. 4212): directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue regulations that require imported sheets of drywall to be marked with the name of the manufacturer and the date of manufacture, and to issue limits regarding the sulfur content of drywall manufactured or imported for use in the United States.
Veteran Emergency Medical Technician Support Act (H.R. 4124): creates a grant program for state demonstration projects that take military medical training into account when determining what requirements an individual must meet to become an EMT.
National Pediatric Research Network Act (H.R. 6163): creates a National Pediatric Research Network for the purpose of establishing pediatric research consortia consisting of public research institutions or eligible nonprofit entities focused on pediatric rare diseases or conditions.
Taking Essential Steps for Testing Act (H.R. 6118): allows the Department of Health and Human Services to impose alternate sanctions on laboratories that send proficiency testing samples to another lab. Current law bars labs from sending out testing speciments to other labs, which makes it more difficult to seek consultation between labs for such complex medical tests as those for HIV.
Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act of 2012 (H.R. 733): requires the National Cancer Institute to develop a scientific framework for research on each recalcitrant cancer that has a five-year survival rate of less than 10% and causes at least 30,000 deaths in the United States a year. This framework would include a report on the current status of research, an identification of research questions, and recommendations for future research.
Countering Iran in the Western Hemisphere Act of 2012 (H.R. 3783): requires the State Department to assess the threats posed by Iran in the Western Hemisphere, including its Latin American ties and efforts to evade economic sanctions, and to develop a strategy to counter such threats.
H.Res. 526: expresses support for strengthened U.S. engagements with the Republic of Georgia to help Georgia enhance its security and restore its territorial integrity through peaceful means.
H.Res. 786: honors the four United States public servants, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, who were killed in Libya, and condemns the attacks on U.S. diplomatic facilities in Libya, Egypt, and Yemen.
STEM Jobs Act of 2012 (H.R. 6429): increases the number of visas available to individuals who graduate with an advanced degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
H.J.Res. 118: halts implementation of the Department of Health and Human Services’ proposal to allow state waivers of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program work requirements. Current law requires that an adult in 50% of all families and 90% of two-parent families that receive TANF benefits be engaged in work or other approved activity, such as job training programs.
H.R. 3409: prevents the Interior Department from issuing regulations that would adversely affect U.S. coal industry employment. Would also transfer water pollution authority from the EPA to the states and bar the EPA from issuing regulations of greenhouse gas emissions to curb the effects of climate change.