Administrative procedure Legislation - Federal Government

A bill to authorize and expedite lease sales within the outer Continental Shelf, and for other purposes. 9/27/2008--Introduced. Drill Now Act of 2008 - Amends the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 to repeal its prohibitions against oil and natural gas preleasing and leasing activities in specified offshore areas, including the North Atlantic, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic planning areas. Declares that the United States reserves the right to designate national defense areas on the outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to conduct leasing, preleasing, and related activities for any opened area before June 30, 2012. Requires any lease issued by the Secretary for submerged land of the OCS in any opened area lying within 25 miles of the coastline of any state to include a prohibition against permanent surface occupancy. [...]

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A bill to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to provide for thorium fuel cycle nuclear power generation. 10/2/2008--Introduced. Thorium Energy Independence and Security Act of 2008 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to direct the Secretary of Energy to establish, and provide funds to, an office for the regulation of thorium fuel cycle nuclear power generation in each of: (1) the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology (ONEST) of the Department of Energy; and (2) the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Directs the NRC Chairman to promulgate regulations for facilities and materials used in thorium fuel cycle nuclear power generation. Requires the heads of the two Offices to: (1) implement demonstration projects for thorium fuel cycle nuclear power generation at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory; and (2) recommend to the Secretary methods of strengthening international partnerships to advance nuclear nonproliferation through thorium fuel [...]

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A bill to amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to require residential carbon monoxide detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/UL standard by treating that standard as a consumer product safety rule, to encourage States to require the installation of such detectors in homes, and for other purposes. 10/1/2008--Introduced. Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to publish the American National Standard for Single and Multiple Station Carbon Monoxide Alarms (American National Standard ANSI/UL 2034-2005) as a mandatory consumer product safety standard. Makes it unlawful for any manufacturer or distributor to import into or distribute any new assembled or unassembled residential carbon monoxide detector unless it complies with the standard. Requires the CPSC to promulgate consumer product safety rules requiring, at a minimum, that every portable generator sold to [...]

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A bill to create a new Consumer Credit Safety Commission, to provide individual consumers of credit with better information and stronger protections, and to provide sellers of consumer credit with more regulatory certainty. 9/26/2008--Introduced. Consumer Credit Safety Commission Act of 2008 - Establishes the Consumer Credit Safety Commission to promulgate consumer credit safety rules that: (1) ban abusive, fraudulent, unfair, deceptive, predatory, anticompetitive, or otherwise anti-consumer practices or product features for creditors; (2) place restrictions on consumer credit practices or product features to reduce the likelihood that they may be provided in a manner inconsistent with this Act; and (3) establish requirements for clear and adequate information appropriate to advance the objectives of this Act. Directs the Commission to: (1) establish and maintain a best practices guide for providers of consumer credit; (2) conduct, or award grants or contracts for,[...]

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A bill to amend the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 to define environmental intervention blood lead level, and for other purposes. 9/26/2008--Introduced. Lead-Safe Housing for Kids Act of 2008 - Amends the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, with respect to lead-based paint hazards in housing, to set the environmental intervention blood lead level as equal to the lower of: (1) ten micrograms of lead per deciliter; or (2) the elevated blood lead level of concern for a child under six years of age recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to amend related regulations to comply with this Act within 90 days. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the status of the Department of Housing and Urban Development "Big Buy" program, and any other voluntary programs the Secretary has implemented or has planned to implement, through [...]

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A bill to enhance drug trafficking interdiction by creating a Federal felony relating to operating or embarking in a submersible or semi-submersible vessel without nationality and on an international voyage. 9/18/2008--Introduced. Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to 15 years for knowingly operating or embarking in any submersible or semisubmersible vessel that is without nationality and that is navigating in, or has navigated into, through, or from, waters beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea of a single country or a lateral limit of that country's territorial sea with an adjacent country, with the intent to evade detection. Grants extraterritorial federal jurisdiction over violations of this Act.Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this Act that a vessel operated at the time of a violation was: (1) a vessel of the Untied States or lawfully registered [...]

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