WRITERS BLOGGERS CHRISTIANS WIFES MOTHER FIGHTERS FOR FREEDOM CHARLENE CLEO EIBEN CHARLENE ZECHENDER Alexandra Day Debra Fish JEFF WALLER charlene zechender
Investigation Launched after Classified Info on Benghazi Attack Was Given to Daily Beast Reporter (Video)
Leak Inquiry Launched After Daily Beast Reporter Was Given Classified Info on Benghazi Attack–
A leak inquiry has been launched after Daily Beast reporter Leslie Gelb was given classified information on the Benghazi attack. Catherine Herridge at FOX News reported:
On Monday Rep. Peter King (R-NY) called on President Obama
to identify the White House staff members who may have unlawfully
disclosed intelligence on the Benghazi attack to journalist Leslie Gelb.
Today,
Rep. Peter T. King (R-NY), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland
Security, called on President Obama to identify White House staff
members who may have unlawfully disclosed intelligence on the Benghazi
attack to journalist Leslie Gelb. Last month Dr. Gelb claimed to have
received a White House intelligence briefing on the attack.
But today Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Central
Intelligence Agency Director David Petraeus denied that Dr. Gelb
received any such briefing from their agencies, and announced a
preliminary inquiry into this possibly criminal disclosure of classified
information.
In response to today’s letter, Chairman King said: “I welcome
Directors Clapper and Petraeus’ initiation of an inquiry into yet
another Obama Administration leak of sensitive national security
information to the media. If the Intelligence Community did not brief
Leslie Gelb on classified information about the Benghazi attack, then
who did? I call upon the White House to immediately identify any staff
members who may have met with Dr. Gelb since September 11, 2012.â€
On October 8th, Dr. Gelb wrote in The Daily Beast that he received a
White House intelligence briefing on the September 11, 2012 attack on
the United States Consulate in Benghazi. Dr. Gelb stated he received
the same intelligence briefing on the subject as U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations Susan Rice, which was itself derived from the
President’s Daily Brief. Dr. Gelb claimed that the initial “daily
intel reports†reviewed by himself, Ambassador Rice and President
Obama confirmed “that the Benghazi mob formed more or less on its own,
mainly in reaction to the American video cartooning sacred Muslim
figures.â€
Today's military has seen an evolution in technology that is creating an
entirely new capability to project power through the use of unmanned
systems while reducing the risk to human life. The contributions of
unmanned systems continue to increase. As of October 2006, coalition
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs), exclusive of hand-launched systems,
had flown almost 400,000 flight hours in support of Operations Enduring
Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) had responded
to over 11,000 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) situations, and
Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMSs) had provided security to ports. As a
result of these successes, the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR)
emphasized the importance of unmanned systems in the Global War on
Terrorism (GWOT).
Unmanned systems are highly desired by combatant commanders (COCOMs)
for the many roles these systems can fulfill. Tasks such as mine
detection; signals intelligence; precision target designation; chemical,
biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive (CBRNE) reconnaissance;
and communications and data relay rank high among the COCOMs' interests.
These unmanned capabilities have helped reduce the complexity and time
lag in the "sensor" component of the sensor-to-shooter chain for
prosecuting "actionable intelligence." Unmanned systems are changing the
conduct of military operations in the GWOT by providing unrelenting
pursuit combined with the elimination of threats to friendly forces;
including injury, capture, or death.
As the Department of Defense (DoD) develops and employs an
increasingly sophisticated force of unmanned systems over the next 25
years (2007 to 2032), technologists, acquisition officials, and
operational planners require a clear, coordinated plan for the evolution
and transition of unmanned systems technology. With the publication of
this document, individual roadmaps and master plans for UASs, UGVs, and
UMSs (defined as Unmanned Undersea Vehicles (UUVs) and Unmanned Surface
Vehicles (USVs)) have been incorporated into a comprehensive DoD
Unmanned Systems Roadmap. This integrated Unmanned Systems Roadmap is
the plan for future prioritization and funding of these systems
development and technology, thus ensuring an effective return on the
Department's investment. Its overarching goal, in accordance with the
Strategic Planning Guidance (SPG), is to guide military departments and
defense agencies toward logically and systematically migrating
applicable mission capabilities to this new class of military tools.
This Roadmap highlights the most urgent mission needs that are supported
both technologically and operationally by various unmanned systems.
These needs, listed below, should be considered when prioritizing future
research, development, and procurement of unmanned systems technology
to ensure an effective return on the Department's investment.
How The Tea Party Was Hijacked by the Koch Brothers
How The Tea Party Was Hijacked by the Koch Brothers
The Tea Party had an opportunity to be a voice for the masses. Unfortunately, they were usurped by the robber barons of the 21st Century -- the
Koch brothers -- and have been repurposed to fight in favor of
corporate fascism and against democracy. All that is needed to prove out
this statement is a look at the movement's platform as listed on the web: 1. Healthcare: No one will argue that our healthcare system is in shambles. America has the highest healthcare expenditure, and gets the 37th best
care as a result. We’re also the only industrialized nation that
doesn’t guarantee health care for its citizens. When we try to fix
something, it makes sense to look around and see what’s working
elsewhere, analyze why it’s working, and build on that success. The Tea
Party doesn’t seem to support that concept. Instead, their platform
doubles down on the same system that got us where we are now. They decry
the concept of “socialized medicine,” and instead ask that insurance companies be further unbridled and encouraged to cross state lines to “allow competition” to drive prices down. Unfortunately, that isn’t what will happen.
First, socialized medicine is nothing more than a large group of
people sharing the medical costs for the entire group. This keeps anyone
from being financially destroyed by medical costs, because your
neighbors will help you with it. Oddly enough, that’s exactly how
insurance works. All of the subscribers pay in to the insurance company,
which then pays the medical bills as they occur. No one gets
financially destroyed by medical costs because the rest of the
subscribers help with them. But there’s a difference. Insurance is
created to make a profit. As a result, it’s in the insurance company’s
best interest to run medical prices up. This makes sure that it’s
difficult to get care without insurance and that they can charge higher
premiums for their policies. This mechanism has been driving up medical
prices for decades. If you truly want a free market in medicine, there
can be no insurance. Insurance companies, and no one else will benefit
from the Tea Party platform. Corporations win. People lose. 2. Right to Life:This
attack on women’s health is strictly an attempt to foist religious
beliefs on people who don’t necessarily share those beliefs. The
separation of church and state is clearly defined by constitutional
authority. The Tea Party claims to be in favor of making government
conform to the constitution – as long as it doesn’t upset their delicate
sensibilities or contradict their mistaken interpretation of the
document. There is an organization in the federal government whose sole
purpose is the interpretation of the Constitution. Its called the
Supreme Court, and they’ve already made that decision.
Personally, I see organized religion as nothing more than an easy way
to make a living for people who think they know better than the rest of
us. They also seem to be power centers controlling how people think and
act, and even though they have been given “not for profit” status, they
seem to have sufficient funds to buy land and build buildings at their
pleasure. In my opinion, just like corporations, they’re all about the
Benjamin’s, and the Tea Party supports them over people who would like
to make their own decisions. This is not freedom. 3. The First Amendment:Similar
to No. 2, this is another step toward theocracy in the U.S. All that’s
needed is a rewrite of the First Amendment, or an interpretation that
agrees with their desire to live in an apparently Baptist theocracy. The
list goes on. I invite everyone to read it.
A concept that I’ve seen mentioned here on PolicyMic by the
right again and again is the “Law of Unintended Consequences.” As I read
through the platform statements of the Tea Party I was able to see many
unintended consequences, some of which I’ve put forth here. There are
more, but the limitations of PolicyMic articles would require
multiple articles to keep saying the same things. Read through the
platforms with the consequences in mind and if you actually have an open
mind you’ll wind up as terrified as I am of these ideas.
But the real evil in the Tea Party is their actions after the 2012
Election. America is in trouble, but instead of trying to find solutions
that would be palatable to all parties, they have chosen to make sure
that nothing is done. This has driven the Democrats to a partisanship
that is just as rabid.
To use an illustration, this would be the equivalent of having a fire
in our backyard. The Democrats, seeing the fire tried to call the fire
department, but the Tea Party said it would be too expensive and ripped
out the phone cord. So the Democrats tried to turn on the garden hose,
but the Tea Party shut off all the water to the house and said, “It’ll
burn itself out if you just leave it alone.”
They’re right; the fire in the backyard will eventually burn itself
out. All fires do in time. The question is whether we or anyone else in
the neighborhood will have a house after it does.
Disarming America
State Department advisory board urges deeper nuclear force cuts including unilateral reductions
A
State Department board of experts is calling for steep cuts in U.S.
nuclear forces beyond the New START treaty limits and recommends
unilateral or informal reductions to avoid expected Senate ratification
battles.
“Treaties are an important but not always necessary method for
reducing nuclear arsenals,” the new report by the International Security
Advisory Board says. “The United States has reduced its nuclear arsenal
without negotiating a new treaty in the past—both unilaterally and
reciprocally with Russia.”
A similar cut in nuclear forces could be considered again “as the
United States reduces the role and number of nuclear weapons in its
national security strategy,” the report says.
Disclosure of the State Department report comes as President Barack
Obama, who has advocated eliminating all U.S. nuclear weapons, is close
to approving a formal strategy that calls for deep cuts in nuclear
forces beyond the 1,550 warheads mandated under the 2010 New START
accord.
According to an arms control official, Obama earlier this month was
ready to sign a new blueprint for the deep nuclear cuts as part of the
Nuclear Posture Review Implementation Study that has been ready for his
signature for months but has been delayed until after the election.
Officials familiar with that study say a draft included a recommendation
to cut U.S. warhead levels to as low as 700 warheads.
The International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) report, signed by
its chairman, former Defense Secretary William J. Perry, also recommends
speeding up reductions or amending the New START treaty to include cuts
in both tactical and strategic warheads.
The report also suggests that further nuclear cuts can be made
through “parallel” U.S. and Russian reductions or even cuts by the
United States alone.
“The question is of expediency versus certainty,” the report said.
“Unilateral and coordinated reductions can be quicker and less
politically costly, relative to treaty with adversarial negotiations and
difficult ratification processes.”
However, the report stated that without a legally binding treaty
informal agreements would lack the ability to verify the reductions
through inspections. Also, without a formal treaty limit, all cuts can
be reversed. “Either side could decide to redeploy or increase the
deployments of weapons previously reduced,” the report said.
The report recommends three “modest initiatives” for the
administration. They include moving up U.S. New START nuclear cuts from
2018 to 2015 and to remove from operational status all strategic
warheads slated for reduction.
A second proposal calls for Washington and Moscow to “lay the
groundwork” for cuts in tactical nuclear weapons as a way of “expediting
the process for a future treaty.”
Third, the board report calls for “mutual” nuclear reductions below New START levels and including non-strategic weapons.
“The United States could communicate to Russia that the United States
is prepared to go to lower levels of nuclear weapons as a matter of
national policy, consistent with the strategy developed in the Nuclear
Posture Review, if Russia is willing to reciprocate,” the report said.
“This could improve stability by reducing Russia’s incentive to deploy a new heavy ICBM.”
The report said the prospect for significant nuclear cuts beyond the three suggested areas is “small.”
“Arms control fatigue, electoral politics and the thorny issue of
missile defense have all converged in 2012, creating poor conditions for
trust and dialogue,” the report said.
Russia is demanding that the United States agree to legally binding
limits to missile defense deployments in Europe. The United States
insists its joint NATO missile defenses are part of efforts to counter
Iranian missile threats. Russia regards the defenses as a threat to its
offensive strategic missiles.
The administration so far has rejected the missile defense limits.
However, Obama was overheard telling then-Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev in March that after his reelection he would have “more
flexibility” in missile defense talks, comments widely interpreted by
critics as a sign he will offer Russia limits on missile defenses as
part of new arms reductions talks.
The Free Beacon obtained a copy of the unclassified 22-page
report, dated Nov. 27. It is based on the work of a blue-ribbon
commission of 24 experts including former policymakers and three retired
generals.
Arms control experts on a study group directly involved in producing
the new ISAB report include Joseph Cirincione, president of the
anti-nuclear activist group Ploughshares Fund and Harvard political
scientist Graham Allison, a defense policymaker during the
administration of President Bill Clinton.
“One option is to amend the New START treaty to a lower ceiling,” the
report says. “Another is to negotiate a new treaty on nonstrategic and
non-deployed weapons or a new treaty aggregating all warheads. The
amendment or new treaty would require Senate and [Russian] Duma
approval.”
Russia currently has several thousand non-strategic nuclear warheads
while the United States has several hundred. The U.S. tactical warheads
are needed for so-called “extended deterrence in Europe and Asia that
have prevented allies from developing their own nuclear forces.”
Critics have said cutting U.S. tactical nuclear weapons could lead other nations to build their own arsenals.
The report also states that cutting U.S. and Russian nuclear forces
below the New START levels would allow both states to avoid “costly or
destabilizing modernization efforts.”
That comment is likely to upset Senate Republicans who agreed to
ratify the New START nuclear cuts in December 2010 only after the
president agreed to commit to an urgently-needed nuclear modernization
programs, including warhead life extension and new infrastructure
projects costing $85 billion over 10 years.
The report also reveals that the New START treaty requires only the
United States to cut its forces because it states that Moscow’s
strategic arsenal will fall below START levels of 700 deployed strategic
delivery vehicle and 1,550 operationally deployed warheads as Moscow’s
nuclear forces reach the end of the life cycles.
As a result, Russia is considering building a new, heavy,
multiple-warhead intercontinental ballistic missile as part of its
current nuclear modernization program, the report says.
By contrast, U.S. nuclear forces will slowly be cut to treaty limits
by downloading warheads from land-based ICBMs and submarines and
reducing launchers while modernizing strategic forces.
A senior Senate arms control specialist criticized the report. “How
can it be that only two years after this administration said 1,550
warheads on 700 deployed delivery vehicles is, a, not something we had
to reach until 2018 and, b, good until 2021 [when New START expires],
that now we have to go lower, and on our own, with or without Russia?”
the specialist asked.
“The answer is that it has always been easier for the disarmers to
reduce American power than to get agreement with the Senate ever to do
it,” the specialist said. “We now see this, plainly and in their own
words. And we are going to fight it.”
The specialist said acting State Department undersecretary of
international security Rose Gottemoeller will be asked to explain the
disagreement in the future when she is expected to seek Senate support.
“Elections may have consequences, but this arrogant report speaks
volumes about the empty, preemptive capitulation that has become the
Obama record,” the specialist said.
“The Obama administration is hell bent to denuclearize the world
starting with our arsenal,” said Frank Gaffney, head of the Center for
Security Policy. “The group they convened to provide political cover for
doing so completely embraces this truly irresponsible and actually
reckless policy approach.”
State Department spokesman Jamie Mannina said the ISAB “provides its recommendations to the Secretary of State.”
“They do not set policy,” he added.
Politicians looking for savings to deal with the national debt crisis should perhaps start by abolishing the President. Barack Obama and his family cost the taxpayer $1.4billion per year, according to a recently published book. By contrast, the British Royal Family costs less than $60million each year.
Pricey: Taking care of Barack Obama and his
family costs the public over $1billion per year, according to a book on
the cost of the presidency
Two of the principal costs of the the
Obama presidency - and any other presidency - are staffing and
security, according to Robert Keith Gray's book Presidential Perks Gone
Royal. When it comes to
keeping the First Family safe, few would dispute that it is worth
paying a high price to keep the President safe from harm.
This means paying for hundreds
of Secret Service agents, travel in the secure space of Air Force and
funding a team of doctors to follow Mr Obama around. But
even this essential expense can be exploited to political ends,
according to Mr Gray, a former staffer for Dwight Eisenhower, Richard
Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
Air Force One: The presidential jet is one massive White House expense
When the President travels around the country on campaign, he is obliged to take Air Force One. His
party reimburses the taxpayer with the cost of a first-class air ticket
per passenger - but this is far from the full cost to taxpayers. It also provides a President running for re-election with a national transport network which is unavailable to his challenger. Moreover, much of the money spent on Mr Obama's family goes to perks such as entertainment and household expenses. For
example, the White House contains a movie theatre which is manned by
projectionists 24 hours a day in case one of the family feels like a
trip to the cinema. And even the Obamas' dog Bo costs the taxpayer thousands of dollars - his handler is reportedly paid over $100,000 a year. Another
huge presidential outgoing, according to Mr Gray, comes in the form of
staff members who can be appointed by the commander-in-chief at his own
personal discretion. 226 members of Mr Obama's staff are apparently paid over $100,000 - and the President can increase their salaries at any time.
H.R. 5326: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013
112th Congress, 2011–2012
Making appropriations for the Departments of
Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes.
This summary was written by the
Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of
Congress. GovTrack did not write and has no control over these
summaries.
5/10/2012--Passed
House amended. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for FY2013 for the
Departments of Commerce and Justice, for science-related programs, and
related agencies.
Title
I
-
Department of Commerce
Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2013 for:
(1) the International Trade Administration;
(2) the Bureau of Industry and Security;
(3) the Economic Development Administration;
(4) the Minority Business Development Agency;
(5) economic and statistical analysis programs;
(6) the Bureau of the Census;
(7) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration;
(8) the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO);
(9) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);
(10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and
(11) departmental management, including for the Office of Inspector General.
Section
105
-
Adopts by reference provisions of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 that:
(1)
set forth determinations that must be made by the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in order for NOAA to enter a contract
for development of a major program (an activity approved to proceed to
implementation that has an estimated life cycle cost of more than $250
million), and
(2)
require the Under Secretary to annually submit a Major Program Annual
Report that includes such required information for the satellite
development program for which NOAA proposes to expend funds in the
subsequent year.
Section
109
-
Directs the Department of Commerce to provide a monthly report to the
Appropriations Committees on any official travel to China by any
employee of the Department.
Title
II
-
Department of Justice
Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ) for FY2013 for:
(1) general administration, including for the Office of Inspector General;
(2) the United States Parole Commission;
(3)
legal activities, including for reimbursement from the Vaccine Injury
Compensation Trust Fund for processing cases under the National
Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, the Offices of the United States
Attorneys, the United States Trustee Program, the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission, the Community Relations Service, and the Assets
Forfeiture Fund;
(4) the United States Marshals Service;
(5) the National Security Division;
(6) interagency crime and drug enforcement;
(7) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
(8) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);
(9) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF);
(10) the federal prison system, including for Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated;
(11)
the Office on Violence Against Women for violence against women
prevention and prosecution programs, including for establishment of a
national clearinghouse to provide training and technical assistance on
issues relating to sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native
women;
(12)
Office of Justice programs, including the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice
Assistance Grant Program, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, a
veterans treatment courts program, the Capital Litigation Improvement
Grant Program, the National Criminal History Improvement Program, and a
program to monitor prescription drugs and scheduled listed chemical
products; and
(13) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS program).
Section
202
-
Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) pay for an abortion, except where
the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to
term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or
facilitate an abortion.
Section
217
-
Prohibits the use of funds by a federal law enforcement officer to
facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual known or
suspected to be an agent of a drug cartel, unless U.S. law enforcement
personnel continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times.
Section
219
-
Prohibits the use of funds to require a person licensed to engage in
the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms or
importing or manufacturing ammunition to report information to DOJ
regarding the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same person.
Title
III
-
Science
Makes
appropriations for FY2013 for: (1) the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP); (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA; and (3) the National Science Foundation (NSF), including for the
Office of the National Science Board.
Title
IV
-
Related Agencies
Makes
appropriations for FY2013 for: (1) the Commission on Civil Rights, (2)
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), (3) the
International Trade Commission, (4) the Legal Services Corporation, (5)
the Marine Mammal Commission, (6) the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR), and (7) the State Justice Institute.
Title
V
-
General Provisions
Section
501
-
Sets forth requirements, restrictions, and limitations on the use of funds appropriated by this Act.
Section
506
-
Makes any person who mislabels a product sold in or shipped to the
United States as "Made in America" ineligible to receive any contract or
subcontract funded by this Act.
Section
509
-
Prohibits the use of funds to promote the sale or export of tobacco or
tobacco products or to seek the removal by any foreign country of
restrictions on marketing of such products, except for restrictions
which are not applied equally to all tobacco products of the same type.
Section
517
-
Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) support or justify the use of
torture by any official or contract employee of the U.S. government, or
(2) authorize or issue a national security letter in contravention of
specified statutes authorizing the FBI to issue national security
letters.
Section
526
-
Rescinds specified amounts of unobligated balances available to DOJ for specified accounts.
Section
529
-
Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) transfer or release to or within the
United States Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who is not a
U.S. citizen or a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and who is or was
held on or after June 24, 2009, at the U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense (DOD); or (2) construct,
acquire, or modify any facility in the United States, its territories,
or possessions to detain or imprison such a detainee.
Section
531
-
Prohibits the distribution of funds to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries.
Section
534
-
Prohibits the use of funds for NASA or OSTP to develop, design, plan,
promulgate, implement, or execute a bilateral policy, program, order or
contract to participate, collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally with
China or any Chinese-owned company unless such activities are
specifically authorized by a law enacted after this Act's enactment.
Specifies that such limitations shall not apply to activities which NASA or OSTP has certified:
(1)
pose no risk of resulting in the transfer of technology, data, or other
information with national security or economic security implications to
China or a Chinese-owned company; and
(2)
will not involve knowing interactions with officials who have been
determined by the United States to have direct involvement with
violations of human rights.
Section
535
-
Directs the head of any department, agency, board, or commission funded
by this Act to submit quarterly reports regarding the costs and
contracting procedures relating to each conference held by it during
FY2013 for which the cost to the government exceeded $20,000.
Section
536
-
Prohibits the use of funds to pay the salaries or expenses of personnel
to deny, or fail to act on, an application for the importation of any
model of shotgun if:
(1) all other legal requirements with respect to the proposed importation are met; and
(2)
no application for the importation of such model of shotgun, in the
same configuration, had been denied by the Attorney General prior to
January 1, 2011, on the basis that the shotgun was not particularly
suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.
Section
542
-
Prohibits the use of funds by the Attorney General to originate or join
in any lawsuit that seeks to overturn, enjoin, or invalidate specified
immigration laws in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
Section
547
-
Prohibits the use of funds: (1) to defend against any action
challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or specified
provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010,
or (2) to litigate against any of the states on behalf of the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) pertaining to secret ballot union
elections.
Section
549
-
Prohibits the use of funds by DOJ: (1) to be a party to a single or
multi-state court settlement where funds are removed from any
residential mortgage-backed securitization trust, or (2) to bring any
action against a state for implementation of a state law requiring voter
identification.
Section
551
-
Prohibits the use of funds:
(1) to conduct the American Community Survey,
(2)
to enforce provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007 prohibiting federal agency procurement of an alternative or
synthetic fuel for any mobility-related use, other than for research or
testing, unless the contract specifies that the life cycle greenhouse
gas emissions associated with such fuel must be less than or equal to
such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel, or
(3) to implement the National Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order 13547.
Section
557
-
Reduces amounts available under specified headings under this Act and
increases the amounts available to DOJ for emergency federal law
enforcement assistance and to the Department of Commerce for NIST
industrial technology services.
Section
561
-
Prohibits the use of funds: (1) in contravention of the Defense of
Marriage Act, or (2) to carry out the activities of the Climate Change
education program or the functions of the Political Science Program in
the Division of Social and Economic Sciences of the Directorate for
Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences of NSF.
112th Congress, 2011–2012
Making appropriations for the Departments of
Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2013, and for other purposes.
This summary was written by the
Congressional Research Service, a nonpartisan arm of the Library of
Congress. GovTrack did not write and has no control over these
summaries.
5/10/2012--Passed
House amended. Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for FY2013 for the
Departments of Commerce and Justice, for science-related programs, and
related agencies.
Title
I
-
Department of Commerce
Department of Commerce Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Commerce for FY2013 for:
(1) the International Trade Administration;
(2) the Bureau of Industry and Security;
(3) the Economic Development Administration;
(4) the Minority Business Development Agency;
(5) economic and statistical analysis programs;
(6) the Bureau of the Census;
(7) the National Telecommunications and Information Administration;
(8) the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO);
(9) the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST);
(10) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and
(11) departmental management, including for the Office of Inspector General.
Section
105
-
Adopts by reference provisions of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 that:
(1)
set forth determinations that must be made by the Under Secretary of
Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in order for NOAA to enter a contract
for development of a major program (an activity approved to proceed to
implementation that has an estimated life cycle cost of more than $250
million), and
(2)
require the Under Secretary to annually submit a Major Program Annual
Report that includes such required information for the satellite
development program for which NOAA proposes to expend funds in the
subsequent year.
Section
109
-
Directs the Department of Commerce to provide a monthly report to the
Appropriations Committees on any official travel to China by any
employee of the Department.
Title
II
-
Department of Justice
Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2013 - Makes appropriations for the Department of Justice (DOJ) for FY2013 for:
(1) general administration, including for the Office of Inspector General;
(2) the United States Parole Commission;
(3)
legal activities, including for reimbursement from the Vaccine Injury
Compensation Trust Fund for processing cases under the National
Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, the Offices of the United States
Attorneys, the United States Trustee Program, the Foreign Claims
Settlement Commission, the Community Relations Service, and the Assets
Forfeiture Fund;
(4) the United States Marshals Service;
(5) the National Security Division;
(6) interagency crime and drug enforcement;
(7) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
(8) the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA);
(9) the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF);
(10) the federal prison system, including for Federal Prison Industries, Incorporated;
(11)
the Office on Violence Against Women for violence against women
prevention and prosecution programs, including for establishment of a
national clearinghouse to provide training and technical assistance on
issues relating to sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native
women;
(12)
Office of Justice programs, including the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice
Assistance Grant Program, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, a
veterans treatment courts program, the Capital Litigation Improvement
Grant Program, the National Criminal History Improvement Program, and a
program to monitor prescription drugs and scheduled listed chemical
products; and
(13) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS program).
Section
202
-
Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) pay for an abortion, except where
the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to
term, or in the case of rape; or (2) require any person to perform or
facilitate an abortion.
Section
217
-
Prohibits the use of funds by a federal law enforcement officer to
facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual known or
suspected to be an agent of a drug cartel, unless U.S. law enforcement
personnel continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times.
Section
219
-
Prohibits the use of funds to require a person licensed to engage in
the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms or
importing or manufacturing ammunition to report information to DOJ
regarding the sale of multiple rifles or shotguns to the same person.
Title
III
-
Science
Makes
appropriations for FY2013 for: (1) the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP); (2) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA; and (3) the National Science Foundation (NSF), including for the
Office of the National Science Board.
Title
IV
-
Related Agencies
Makes
appropriations for FY2013 for: (1) the Commission on Civil Rights, (2)
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), (3) the
International Trade Commission, (4) the Legal Services Corporation, (5)
the Marine Mammal Commission, (6) the Office of the United States Trade
Representative (USTR), and (7) the State Justice Institute.
Title
V
-
General Provisions
Section
501
-
Sets forth requirements, restrictions, and limitations on the use of funds appropriated by this Act.
Section
506
-
Makes any person who mislabels a product sold in or shipped to the
United States as "Made in America" ineligible to receive any contract or
subcontract funded by this Act.
Section
509
-
Prohibits the use of funds to promote the sale or export of tobacco or
tobacco products or to seek the removal by any foreign country of
restrictions on marketing of such products, except for restrictions
which are not applied equally to all tobacco products of the same type.
Section
517
-
Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) support or justify the use of
torture by any official or contract employee of the U.S. government, or
(2) authorize or issue a national security letter in contravention of
specified statutes authorizing the FBI to issue national security
letters.
Section
526
-
Rescinds specified amounts of unobligated balances available to DOJ for specified accounts.
Section
529
-
Prohibits the use of funds to: (1) transfer or release to or within the
United States Khalid Sheikh Mohammed or any other detainee who is not a
U.S. citizen or a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and who is or was
held on or after June 24, 2009, at the U.S. Naval Station, Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, by the Department of Defense (DOD); or (2) construct,
acquire, or modify any facility in the United States, its territories,
or possessions to detain or imprison such a detainee.
Section
531
-
Prohibits the distribution of funds to the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) or its subsidiaries.
Section
534
-
Prohibits the use of funds for NASA or OSTP to develop, design, plan,
promulgate, implement, or execute a bilateral policy, program, order or
contract to participate, collaborate, or coordinate bilaterally with
China or any Chinese-owned company unless such activities are
specifically authorized by a law enacted after this Act's enactment.
Specifies that such limitations shall not apply to activities which NASA or OSTP has certified:
(1)
pose no risk of resulting in the transfer of technology, data, or other
information with national security or economic security implications to
China or a Chinese-owned company; and
(2)
will not involve knowing interactions with officials who have been
determined by the United States to have direct involvement with
violations of human rights.
Section
535
-
Directs the head of any department, agency, board, or commission funded
by this Act to submit quarterly reports regarding the costs and
contracting procedures relating to each conference held by it during
FY2013 for which the cost to the government exceeded $20,000.
Section
536
-
Prohibits the use of funds to pay the salaries or expenses of personnel
to deny, or fail to act on, an application for the importation of any
model of shotgun if:
(1) all other legal requirements with respect to the proposed importation are met; and
(2)
no application for the importation of such model of shotgun, in the
same configuration, had been denied by the Attorney General prior to
January 1, 2011, on the basis that the shotgun was not particularly
suitable for or readily adaptable to sporting purposes.
Section
542
-
Prohibits the use of funds by the Attorney General to originate or join
in any lawsuit that seeks to overturn, enjoin, or invalidate specified
immigration laws in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah.
Section
547
-
Prohibits the use of funds: (1) to defend against any action
challenging the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or specified
provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010,
or (2) to litigate against any of the states on behalf of the National
Labor Relations Board (NLRB) pertaining to secret ballot union
elections.
Section
549
-
Prohibits the use of funds by DOJ: (1) to be a party to a single or
multi-state court settlement where funds are removed from any
residential mortgage-backed securitization trust, or (2) to bring any
action against a state for implementation of a state law requiring voter
identification.
Section
551
-
Prohibits the use of funds:
(1) to conduct the American Community Survey,
(2)
to enforce provisions of the Energy Independence and Security Act of
2007 prohibiting federal agency procurement of an alternative or
synthetic fuel for any mobility-related use, other than for research or
testing, unless the contract specifies that the life cycle greenhouse
gas emissions associated with such fuel must be less than or equal to
such emissions from the equivalent conventional fuel, or
(3) to implement the National Ocean Policy developed under Executive Order 13547.
Section
557
-
Reduces amounts available under specified headings under this Act and
increases the amounts available to DOJ for emergency federal law
enforcement assistance and to the Department of Commerce for NIST
industrial technology services.
Section
561
-
Prohibits the use of funds: (1) in contravention of the Defense of
Marriage Act, or (2) to carry out the activities of the Climate Change
education program or the functions of the Political Science Program in
the Division of Social and Economic Sciences of the Directorate for
Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences of NSF.
