This week, the House is expected to consider 11 bills, ranging from the flood insurance program to environmental protection.
Legislation under consideration this week includes:
The Home Heating Emergency Assistance Through Transportation (HHEATT) Act of 2014 (H.R. 4076): provides an exemption from federal driver hours-of-service and other rules for the delivery of propane and other home heating fuels in states where governors have declared emergencies — thereby eliminating the need for state governors to renew their emergency declarations.
Energy Efficiency Improvement Act of 2014 (H.R. 2126): promotes energy-efficient practices in commercial real estate buildings, including those that house federal agencies. It requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to incorporate energy efficiency into its building leasing program for federal agencies, directs the Energy Department to study the feasibility of energy-efficient small spaces within buildings, and establishes a Tenant Star program to recognize energy-efficient tenants.
United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (H.R. 938): directs the President to report to Congress on efforts to bolster cooperation between the United States and Israel across a range of security issues, including initiatives on joint weapons development, training exercises, missile defense systems, energy development, intelligence gathering and cyberwarfare.
H.Res. 488: states that the House of Representatives supports the people of Venezuela in their pursuit of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly to promote democratic principles in Venezuela.
H.R. 2259: withdraws 430,000 acres of federal lands located along the Flathead River in northwestern Montana from eligibility for any new leasing activity to develop geothermal and mineral resources.
S. 23: designates 32,557 acres of land and inland water within Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan as wilderness. The acreage constitutes the area mapped by the January 2009 National Park Service wilderness study.
H.R. 2197: requires the National Park Service to study a segment of the York River in southwest Maine for potential addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (H.R. 3370): seeks to address the affordability of flood insurance premium increases that followed the implementation of the 2012 Biggert-Waters law. The measure would limit yearly premium increases to an average increase of 15% per year, and provide that, in reaching that average, no individual policy holder would pay a premium increase of greater than 18% per year. The bill contains a provision that reinstates the flood insurance program's grandfathering provision so that homes that complied with previous FEMA flood maps would not be hit with large increases when new maps, showing larger flood risks, are implemented by the agency.
H.R. 4118: eliminates the penalty for 2014 for persons who fail to purchase health insurance under the individual mandate. This penalty, known as the “individual mandate,” helps pay for provisions of the Affordable Care Act that help people with preexisting conditions get care, seniors get free preventive services, and families keep their children on their insurance plans until age 26.
H.R. 3826: limits the EPA's ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fueled power plants — nullifying EPA's recent rules for new electricity-generating power plants and blocking EPA regulation of existing power plants unless Congress later allows EPA to do so.
H.R. 2641: modifies the environmental review process for federally funded projects and federal permits for private projects by setting new deadlines for agency reviews.