By Ed O’Keefe: September 22
The federal government pays out millions of dollars to dead people each year — including deceased retired federal workers, according to a new report.
In the past five years, the Office of Personnel Management has made more than $601 million in benefits payments to deceased federal annuitants, according to the agency’s inspector general. Total annual payouts range between $100 million and $150 million.
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At least Kagen stood by his District. You lost my Vote for re-election!
SHERWOOD — U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble confirmed reports Tuesday that he recently moved out of the 8th Congressional District and returned to his family’s three-bedroom home on Lake Winnebago in Sherwood, a house he left more than a year ago to challenge incumbent Democrat Steve Kagen in last fall’s midterm election.
Consequently, Ribble is no longer a voter in the district he represents in Congress. Ribble’s Sherwood home is in the 6th Congressional District, where Republican Tom Petri is the incumbent.
Ribble defended the move by asserting, “Northeast Wisconsin is my home and always will be.”
“I have a long and personal tie to the 8th District and assertions to challenge this are just ridiculous,” the Republican congressman wrote in a statement. “I grew up in Appleton, went to Appleton East High School and coached volleyball at Appleton East High School for over 20 years. My roofing business was located in Kaukauna and my wife’s longtime bookstore was also in Appleton.”
Amid reports he recently moved out of an apartment he had been renting in Lawrence in the 8th District, Ribble confirmed he intends to take his Sherwood residence off the sluggish housing market, where it had been on sale for nearly $600,000 as recently as last week, according to online real estate postings.
“My wife and I initially put our Sherwood house up for sale last year,” Ribble wrote. “With the listing contract coming to an end soon, the house is coming off the market until the housing market turns around. We are not immune to the negative effects of the unsteady housing market and just like many Americans across the country, we have had to change our plans.”
Ribble said he had planned to move to a smaller home in the 8th District that “requires less maintenance” given his frequent travel between Washington, D.C., and the Fox River Valley.
“We wish the home would have sold, but unfortunately the tough housing market prevented this from happening,” Ribble wrote.
Ribble’s spokeswoman did not clarify when the move back to Sherwood occurred or whether Ribble intends to transfer his voter registration.
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‘If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
Federal Judge Roger Vinson opens his decision declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional with that citation from Federalist No. 51, written by James Madison in 1788. His exhaustive and erudite opinion is an important moment for American liberty, and yesterday may well stand as the moment the political branches were obliged to return to the government of limited and enumerated powers that the framers envisioned.
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H.R. 6398 / Public Law 111-343
To require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to fully insure Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts.
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3609; 2 pages)
H.R. 6517 / Public Law 111-344
Omnibus Trade Act of 2010
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3611; 7 pages)
S. 3386 / Public Law 111-345
Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3618; 4 pages)
S. 4058 / Public Law 111-346
Helping Heroes Keep Their Homes Act of 2010
(Dec. 29, 2010; 124 Stat. 3622; 1 page)
H.R. 847 / Public Law 111 347
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010
(Jan. 2, 2011; 124 Stat. 3623; 45 pages)
H.R. 81 / Public Law 111-348
To amend the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to improve the conservation of sharks.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3668; 6 pages)
H.R. 628 / Public Law 111-349
To establish a pilot program in certain United States district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3674; 3 pages)
H.R. 1107 / Public Law 111-350
To enact certain laws relating to public contracts as title 41, United States Code, “Public Contracts”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3677; 186 pages)
H.R. 1746 / Public Law 111-351
Predisaster Hazard Mitigation Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3863; 3 pages)
H.R. 2142 / Public Law 111-352
GPRA Modernization Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3866; 19 pages)
H.R. 2751 / Public Law 111-353
FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3885; 89 pages)
H.R. 4445 / Public Law 111-354
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Clarification Act
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3974; 1 page)
H.R. 4602 / Public Law 111-355
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1332 Sharon Copley Road in Sharon Center, Ohio, as the “Emil Bolas Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3975; 1 page)
H.R. 4748 / Public Law 111-356
Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3976; 3 pages)
H.R. 4973 / Public Law 111-357
National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Improvement Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3979; 3 pages)
H.R. 5116 / Public Law 111-358
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 3982; 68 pages)
H.R. 5133 / Public Law 111-359
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 331 1st Street in Carlstadt, New Jersey, as the “Staff Sergeant Frank T. Carvill and Lance Corporal Michael A. Schwarz Post Office Building”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4050; 1 page)
H.R. 5470 / Public Law 111-360
To exclude an external power supply for certain security or life safety alarms and surveillance system components from the application of certain energy efficiency standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4051; 2 pages)
H.R. 5605 / Public Law 111-361
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 47 East Fayette Street in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, as the “George C. Marshall Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4053; 1 page)
H.R. 5606 / Public Law 111-362
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 47 South 7th Street in Indiana, Pennsylvania, as the “James M. `Jimmy’ Stewart Post Office Building”
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4054; 1 page)
H.R. 5655 / Public Law 111-363
To designate the Little River Branch facility of the United States Postal Service located at 140 NE 84th Street in Miami, Florida, as the “Jesse J. McCrary, Jr. Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4055; 1 page)
H.R. 5809 / Public Law 111-364
Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4056; 6 pages)
H.R. 5877 / Public Law 111-365
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 655 Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, as the “Lance Corporal Alexander Scott Arredondo, United States Marine Corps Post Office Building”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4062; 1 page)
H.R. 5901 / Public Law 111-366
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to authorize the tax court to appoint employees.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4063; 3 pages)
H.R. 6392 / Public Law 111-367
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5003 Westfields Boulevard in Centreville, Virginia, as the “Colonel George Juskalian Post Office Building”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4066; 1 page)
H.R. 6400 / Public Law 111-368
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 111 North 6th Street in St. Louis, Missouri, as the “Earl Wilson, Jr. Post Office”.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4067; 1 page)
H.R. 6412 / Public Law 111-369
Access to Criminal History Records for State Sentencing Commissions Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4068; 1 page)
H.R. 6510 / Public Law 111-370
To direct the Administrator of General Services to convey a parcel of real property in Houston, Texas, to the Military Museum of Texas, and for other purposes.
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4069; 3 pages)
H.R. 6533 / Public Law 111-371
Local Community Radio Act of 2010
(Jan. 4, 2011; 124 Stat. 4072; 5 pages)
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H.R. 3800 / Public Law 112-091 View
Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2012
(Jan. 31, 2012; 126 Stat. 3; 3 pages)
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H.R. 2845 / Public Law 112-090 View
Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1904; 21 pages)
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H.R. 2422 / Public Law 112-089 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 45 Bay Street, Suite 2, in Staten Island, New York, as the “Sergeant Angel Mendez Post Office”.
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1903; 1 page)
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H.R. 2056 / Public Law 112-088 View
To instruct the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to study the impact of insured depository institution failures, and for other purposes.
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1899; 4 pages)
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H.R. 1892 / Public Law 112-087 View
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1876; 23 pages)
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H.R. 1801 / Public Law 112-086 View
Risk-Based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1874; 2 pages)
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H.R. 1264 / Public Law 112-085 View
To designate the property between the United States Federal Courthouse and the Ed Jones Building located at 109 South Highland Avenue in Jackson, Tennessee, as the “M.D. Anderson Plaza” and to authorize the placement of a historical/identification marker on the grounds recognizing the achievements and philanthropy of M.S. Anderson.
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1871; 3 pages)
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H.R. 1059 / Public Law 112-084 View
To protect the safety of judges by extending the authority of the Judicial Conference to redact sensitive information contained in their financial disclosure reports, and for other purposes.
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1870; 1 page)
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H.R. 789 / Public Law 112-083 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 20 Main Street in Little Ferry, New Jersey, as the “Sergeant Matthew J. Fenton Post Office”.
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1869; 1 page)
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H.R. 515 / Public Law 112-082 View
Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011
(Jan. 3, 2012; 125 Stat. 1863; 6 pages)
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H.R. 1540 / Public Law 112-081 View
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
(Dec. 31, 2011; 125 Stat. 1298; 565 pages)
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S. 384 / Public Law 112-080 View
To amend title 39, United States Code, to extend the authority of the United States Postal Service to issue a semipostal to raise funds for breast cancer research.
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 1297; 1 page)
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S. 278 / Public Law 112-079 View
Sugar Loaf Fire Protection District Land Exchange Act of 2011
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 1294; 3 pages)
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H.R. 3765 / Public Law 112-078 View
Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 1280; 14 pages)
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H.R. 3672 / Public Law 112-077 View
Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2012
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 1277; 3 pages)
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H.R. 3421 / Public Law 112-076 View
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 1275; 2 pages)
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H.R. 2867 / Public Law 112-075 View
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom Reform and Reauthorization Act of 2011
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 1272; 3 pages)
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H.R. 2055 / Public Law 112-074 View
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012
(Dec. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 786; 486 pages)
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H.R. 2061 / Public Law 112-073 View
Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011
(Dec. 20, 2011; 125 Stat. 784; 2 pages)
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H.R. 470 / Public Law 112-072 View
Hoover Power Allocation Act of 2011
(Dec. 20, 2011; 125 Stat. 777; 7 pages)
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S.J. Res. 22 / Public Law 112-071 View
To grant the consent of Congress to an amendment to the compact between the States of Missouri and Illinois providing that bonds issued by the Bi-State Development Agency may mature in not to exceed 40 years.
(Dec. 19, 2011; 125 Stat. 775; 2 pages)
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S. 683 / Public Law 112-070 View
Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act
(Dec. 19, 2011; 125 Stat. 773; 2 pages)
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S. 535 / Public Law 112-069 View
Fort Pulaski National Monument Lease Authorization Act
(Dec. 19, 2011; 125 Stat. 771; 2 pages)
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H.J. Res. 95 / Public Law 112-068 View
Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes.
(Dec. 17, 2011; 125 Stat. 770; 1 page)
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H.J. Res. 94 / Public Law 112-067 View
Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes.
(Dec. 16, 2011; 125 Stat. 769; 1 page)
S. 1639 / Public Law 112-066 View
To amend title 36, United States Code, to authorize the American Legion under its Federal charter to provide guidance and leadership to the individual departments and posts of the American Legion, and for other purposes.
(Dec. 13, 2011; 125 Stat. 768; 1 page)
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S. 1541 / Public Law 112-065 View
To revise the Federal charter for the Blue Star Mothers of America, Inc. to reflect a change in eligibility requirements for membership.
(Dec. 13, 2011; 125 Stat. 767; 1 page)
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H.R. 2192 / Public Law 112-064 View
National Guard and Reservist Debt Relief Extension Act of 2011
(Dec. 13, 2011; 125 Stat. 766; 1 page)
H.R. 394 / Public Law 112-063 View
Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011
(Dec. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 758; 8 pages)
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S. 1637 / Public Law 112-062 View
Appeal Time Clarification Act of 2011
(Nov. 29, 2011; 125 Stat. 756; 2 pages)
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H.R. 3321 / Public Law 112-061 View
America’s Cup Act of 2011
(Nov. 29, 2011; 125 Stat. 753; 3 pages)
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S. 1412 / Public Law 112-060 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 462 Washington Street, Woburn, Massachusetts, as the “Officer John Maguire Post Office”.
(Nov. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 752; 1 page)
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H.R. 2447 / Public Law 112-059 View
To grant the congressional gold medal to the Montford Point Marines.
(Nov. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 749; 3 pages)
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H.R. 398 / Public Law 112-058 View
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, during active-duty service abroad in the Armed Forces, the periods of time to file a petition and appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis for permanent resident status, and for other purposes.
(Nov. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 747; 2 pages)
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S. 1280 / Public Law 112-057 View
Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011
(Nov. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 736; 11 pages)
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H.R. 674 / Public Law 112-056 View
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the imposition of 3 percent withholding on certain payments made to vendors by government entities, to modify the calculation of modified adjusted gross income for purposes of determining eligibility for certain healthcare-related programs, and for other purposes.
(Nov. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 711; 25 pages)
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H.R. 2112 / Public Law 112-055 View
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012
(Nov. 18, 2011; 125 Stat. 552; 159 pages)
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S. 1487 / Public Law 112-054 View
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act of 2011
(Nov. 12, 2011; 125 Stat. 550; 2 pages)
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S. 894 / Public Law 112-053 View
Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2011
(Nov. 9, 2011; 125 Stat. 548; 2 pages)
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H.R. 818 / Public Law 112-052 View
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to allow for prepayment of repayment contracts between the United States and the Uintah Water Conservancy District.
(Nov. 9, 2011; 125 Stat. 547; 1 page)
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H.R. 368 / Public Law 112-051 View
Removal Clarification Act of 2011
(Nov. 9, 2011; 125 Stat. 545; 2 pages)
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H.R. 2149 / Public Law 112-050 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4354 Pahoa Avenue in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the “Cecil L. Heftel Post Office Building”.
(Nov. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 544; 1 page)
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H.R. 2062 / Public Law 112-049 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 45 Meetinghouse Lane in Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts, as the “Matthew A. Pucino Post Office”.
(Nov. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 543; 1 page)
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H.R. 1975 / Public Law 112-048 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 281 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, as the “First Lieutenant Oliver Goodall Post Office Building”.
(Nov. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 542; 1 page)
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H.R. 1843 / Public Law 112-047 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 489 Army Drive in Barrigada, Guam, as the “John Pangelinan Gerber Post Office Building”.
(Nov. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 541; 1 page)
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H.R. 765 / Public Law 112-046 View
Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011
(Nov. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 538; 3 pages)
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H.R. 489 / Public Law 112-045 View
To clarify the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior with respect to the C.C. Cragin Dam and Reservoir, and for other purposes.
(Nov. 7, 2011; 125 Stat. 535; 3 pages)
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H.R. 2944 / Public Law 112-044 View
United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2011
(Oct. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 532; 3 pages)
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H.R. 3079 / Public Law 112-043 View
United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act
(Oct. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 497; 35 pages)
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H.R. 3078 / Public Law 112-042 View
United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement Implementation Act
(Oct. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 462; 35 pages)
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H.R. 3080 / Public Law 112-041 View
United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
(Oct. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 428; 34 pages)
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H.R. 2832 / Public Law 112-040 View
To extend the Generalized System of Preferences, and for other purposes.
(Oct. 21, 2011; 125 Stat. 401; 27 pages)
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H.R. 1632 / Public Law 112-039 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 5014 Gary Avenue in Lubbock, Texas, as the “Sergeant Chris Davis Post Office”.
(Oct. 12, 2011; 125 Stat. 400; 1 page)
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H.R. 771 / Public Law 112-038 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1081 Elbel Road in Schertz, Texas, as the “Schertz Veterans Post Office”.
(Oct. 12, 2011; 125 Stat. 399; 1 page)
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H.R. 2646 / Public Law 112-037 View
Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvement Act of 2011
(Oct. 5, 2011; 125 Stat. 392; 7 pages)
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H.R. 2608 / Public Law 112-036 View
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012
(Oct. 5, 2011; 125 Stat. 386; 6 pages)
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H.R. 2943 / Public Law 112-035 View
Short-Term TANF Extension Act
(Sept. 30, 2011; 125 Stat. 384; 2 pages)
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H.R. 2883 / Public Law 112-034 View
Child and Family Services Improvement and Innovation Act
(Sept. 30, 2011; 125 Stat. 369; 15 pages)
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H.R. 2017 / Public Law 112-033 View
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012
(Sept. 30, 2011; 125 Stat. 363; 6 pages)
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H.R. 2005 / Public Law 112-032 View
Combating Autism Reauthorization Act of 2011
(Sept. 30, 2011; 125 Stat. 361; 2 pages)
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S. 846 / Public Law 112-031 View
To designate the United States courthouse located at 80 Lafayette Street in Jefferson City, Missouri, as the Christopher S. Bond United States Courthouse.
(Sept. 23, 2011; 125 Stat. 360; 1 page)
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H.R. 2887 / Public Law 112-030 View
Surface and Air Transportation Programs Extension Act of 2011
(Sept. 16, 2011; 125 Stat. 342; 18 pages)
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H.R. 1249 / Public Law 112-029 View
Leahy-Smith America Invents Act
(Sept. 16, 2011; 125 Stat. 284; 58 pages)
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H.R. 2715 / Public Law 112-028 View
To provide the Consumer Product Safety Commission with greater authority and discretion in enforcing the consumer product safety laws, and for other purposes.
(Aug. 12, 2011; 125 Stat. 273; 11 pages)
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H.R. 2553 / Public Law 112-027 View
Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part IV
(Aug. 5, 2011; 125 Stat. 270; 3 pages)
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H.R. 1383 / Public Law 112-026 View
Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act of 2011
(Aug. 3, 2011; 125 Stat. 268; 2 pages)
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S. 365 / Public Law 112-025 View
Budget Control Act of 2011
(Aug. 2, 2011; 125 Stat. 240; 28 pages)
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S. 1103 / Public Law 112-024 View
To extend the term of the incumbent Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(July 26, 2011; 125 Stat. 238; 2 pages)
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S. 655 / Public Law 112-023 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 95 Dogwood Street in Cary, Mississippi, as the “Spencer Byrd Powers, Jr. Post Office”.
(June 29, 2011; 125 Stat. 237; 1 page)
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S. 349 / Public Law 112-022 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4865 Tallmadge Road in Rootstown, Ohio, as the “Marine Sgt. Jeremy E. Murray Post Office”.
(June 29, 2011; 125 Stat. 236; 1 page)
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H.R. 2279 / Public Law 112-021 View
Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part III
(June 29, 2011; 125 Stat. 233; 3 pages)
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S.J. Res. 9 / Public Law 112-020 View
Providing for the reappointment of Robert P. Kogod as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
(June 24, 2011; 125 Stat. 232; 1 page)
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S.J. Res. 7 / Public Law 112-019 View
Providing for the reappointment of Shirley Ann Jackson as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
(June 24, 2011; 125 Stat. 231; 1 page)
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H.R. 754 / Public Law 112-018 View
Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011
(June 8, 2011; 125 Stat. 223; 8 pages)
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S. 1082 / Public Law 112-017 View
Small Business Additional Temporary Extension Act of 2011
(June 1, 2011; 125 Stat. 221; 2 pages)
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H.R. 1893 / Public Law 112-016 View
Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part II
(May 31, 2011; 125 Stat. 218; 3 pages)
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H.R. 793 / Public Law 112-015 View
To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 12781 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard in Inverness, California, as the “Specialist Jake Robert Velloza Post Office”.
(May 31, 2011; 125 Stat. 217; 1 page)
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S. 990 / Public Law 112-014 View
PATRIOT Sunsets Extension Act of 2011
(May 26, 2011; 125 Stat. 216; 1 page)
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H.R. 1308 / Public Law 112-013 View
To amend the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission Act to extend the termination date for the Commission, and for other purposes.
(May 12, 2011; 125 Stat. 215; 1 page)
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S.J. Res. 8 / Public Law 112-012 View
Providing for the appointment of Stephen M. Case as a citizen regent of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution.
(Apr. 25, 2011; 125 Stat. 214; 1 page)
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S. 307 / Public Law 112-011 View
To designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 217 West King Street, Martinsburg, West Virginia, as the “W. Craig Broadwater Federal Building and United States Courthouse”
(Apr. 25, 2011; 125 Stat. 213; 1 page)
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H.R. 1473 / Public Law 112-010 View
Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
(Apr. 15, 2011; 125 Stat. 38; 175 pages)
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H.R. 4 / Public Law 112-009 View
Comprehensive 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011
(Apr. 14, 2011; 125 Stat. 36; 2 pages)
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H.R. 1363 / Public Law 112-008 View
Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011
(Apr. 9, 2011; 125 Stat. 34; 2 pages)
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H.R. 1079 / Public Law 112-007 View
Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011
(Mar. 31, 2011; 125 Stat. 31; 3 pages)
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H.J. Res. 48 / Public Law 112-006 View
Additional Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011
(Mar. 18, 2011; 125 Stat. 23; 8 pages)
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H.R. 662 / Public Law 112-005 View
Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011
(Mar. 4, 2011; 125 Stat. 14; 9 pages)
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H.J. Res. 44 / Public Law 112-004 View
Further Continuing Appropriations Amendments, 2011
(Mar. 2, 2011; 125 Stat. 6; 8 pages)
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H.R. 514 / Public Law 112-003 View
FISA Sunsets Extension Act of 2011
(Feb. 25, 2011; 125 Stat. 5; 1 page)
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S. 188 / Public Law 112-002 View
To designate the United States courthouse under construction at 98 West First Street, Yuma, Arizona, as the “John M. Roll United States Courthouse”.
(Feb. 17, 2011; 125 Stat. 4; 1 page)
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H.R. 366 / Public Law 112-001 View
To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes.
(Jan. 31, 2011; 125 Stat. 3; 1 page)
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A lame-duck session with unexpected victories
By Perry Bacon Jr. Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 22, 2010; 4:34 PM
When the lame-duck session of Congress started more than a month ago, President Obama looked defeated and deflated, publicly acknowledging the “shellacking” his party had taken in the November midterm elections.
Now, a six-week session that was expected to reflect a weakened president has turned into a surprising success. On Wednesday, Obama signed into law the repeal of the military’s ban on openly gay service members, and the Senate approved a new nuclear treaty with Russia that the president had declared a top priority.
Those accomplishments come after Obama successfully negotiated a free-trade agreement with South Korea, reached a deal with Republicans that extended unemployment benefits and prevented a tax hike for millions of Americans and signed a bill that will make school lunches healthier.
This blitz of bill signings completes a dramatic first two years for the nation’s first black president that included the enactment of arguably the most major liberal policies since the Johnson administration but also the Democrats’ biggest loss of House seats in 72 years.
After the election defeats and bitter battles over the health care and financial regulation legislation, the next two years were widely expected to be tied up by gridlock between the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic president. But the past month suggests the future could be different.
Obama and his team reinvented their political approach over the past several weeks to win key Republican votes, no longer relying mainly on the huge Democratic majorities in Congress that they won’t have in the new year.
Tags: A Threat To America·Disillusioned Government·Empty Promises·Government Circus·Government Incompetence·Obama-Nation·Power Hungry·Throw Out The Constitution
By Liz Sly Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, December 22, 2010; 12:56 AM
BAGHDAD – When a series of giant billboards depicting the face of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki mysteriously appeared on a central Baghdad square several weeks ago, the response from Maliki’s office was swift and decisive. Police were dispatched to remove the posters, which echoed the displays that had been ubiquitous under Saddam Hussein.
If Iraq’s prime minister indeed has dictatorial tendencies, as his detractors allege, they do not include self-promotion of the Hussein variety. Maliki’s aides say the prime minister was furious, and they suspect the billboards may have been raised to discredit him at a critical moment in the negotiations for a new government – to fuel perceptions that he is another Iraqi strongman in the making.
Whether he is such a strongman is among the critical questions that loom over Iraq’s young and still-fragile democracy as Maliki embarked Tuesday on his second term as prime minister.
“He has the potential to be a dictator,” said Faleh Jabar, an Iraqi scholar who heads the Beirut-based Iraq Institute for Strategic Studies. “It’s my biggest fear, because that would destroy our democracy.”
The pugnacious, square-jawed Maliki has been credited with steering Iraq out of the chaos of sectarian war earlier in the decade. Now he is destined to lead Iraq beyond the scheduled departure of U.S. forces at the end of next year, into an era in which the U.S. role in Iraq will inevitably wane, along with the ability to shape the country’s political direction toward the democracy that formed a central justification for the war.
That Maliki has an authoritarian streak has been amply demonstrated over the past 4 1/2 years, critics say. Maliki, originally selected in 2006 as a compromise candidate assumed to be weak and malleable, has proved to be a tough and ruthless political operator who cannily subverted parliament to cement his authority over many of the new democracy’s fledgling institutions.
In his role as commander in chief of the armed forces, he replaced divisional army commanders with his appointees, brought provincial command centers under his control and moved to dominate the intelligence agencies.
The widely feared Baghdad Brigade, which answers directly to Maliki’s office, has frequently been used to move against his political opponents. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused him of operating secret prisons in which Sunni suspects have been tortured.
Tags: A Threat To America·Government Incompetence·Not an Obama Priority·Wasteful Spending
By Greg Miller Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 22, 2010; 12:24 AM
The CIA has launched a task force to assess the impact of the exposure of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables and military files by WikiLeaks.
Officially, the panel is called the WikiLeaks Task Force. But at CIA headquarters, it’s mainly known by its all-too-apt acronym: W.T.F.
The irreverence is perhaps understandable for an agency that has been relatively unscathed by WikiLeaks. Only a handful of CIA files have surfaced on the WikiLeaks Web site, and records from other agencies posted online reveal remarkably little about CIA employees or operations.
Even so, CIA officials said the agency is conducting an extensive inventory of the classified information, which is routinely distributed on a dozen or more networks that connect agency employees around the world.
And the task force is focused on the immediate impact of the most recently released files. One issue is whether the agency’s ability to recruit informants could be damaged by declining confidence in the U.S. government’s ability to keep secrets.
“The director asked the task force to examine whether the latest release of WikiLeaks documents might affect the agency’s foreign relationships or operations,” CIA spokesman George Little said. The panel is being led by the CIA’s Counterintelligence Center but has more than two dozen members from departments across the agency.
To some agency veterans, WikiLeaks has vindicated the CIA’s long-standing aversion to sharing secrets with other government agencies, a posture that came under sharp criticism after it was identified as a factor that contributed to the nation’s failure to prevent the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
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By John Fund
The Federal Communications Commission’s new “net neutrality” rules, passed on a partisan 3-2 vote yesterday, represent a huge win for a slick lobbying campaign run by liberal activist groups and foundations. The losers are likely to be consumers who will see innovation and investment chilled by regulations that treat the Internet like a public utility.
There’s little evidence the public is demanding these rules, which purport to stop the non-problem of phone and cable companies blocking access to websites and interfering with Internet traffic. Over 300 House and Senate members have signed a letter opposing FCC Internet regulation, and there will undoubtedly be even less support in the next Congress.
The FCC has approved rules that would give the federal government authority to regulate Internet traffic and prevent broadband providers from selectively blocking web traffic. WSJ’s Amy Schatz explains what the new rules really mean.
Yet President Obama, long an ardent backer of net neutrality, is ignoring both Congress and adverse court rulings, especially by a federal appeals court in April that the agency doesn’t have the power to enforce net neutrality. He is seeking to impose his will on the Internet through the executive branch. FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a former law school friend of Mr. Obama, has worked closely with the White House on the issue. Official visitor logs show he’s had at least 11 personal meetings with the president.
The net neutrality vision for government regulation of the Internet began with the work of Robert McChesney, a University of Illinois communications professor who founded the liberal lobby Free Press in 2002. Mr. McChesney’s agenda? “At the moment, the battle over network neutrality is not to completely eliminate the telephone and cable companies,” he told the website SocialistProject in 2009. “But the ultimate goal is to get rid of the media capitalists in the phone and cable companies and to divest them from control.”
Tags: A Threat To America·Another Dem Reform Bill·Big Brother·Empty Promises·Government Incompetence·Misuse of Power·Something To Hide·Throw Out The Constitution
By Peter Finn and Anne E. Kornblut Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, December 21, 2010; 7:30 PM
The Obama administration is preparing an executive order that would formalize indefinite detention without trial for some detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but allow those detainees and their lawyers to challenge the basis for continued incarceration, U.S. officials said.
The administration has long signaled that the use of prolonged detention, preferably at a facility in the United States, was one element of its plan to close Guantanamo. An interagency task force found that 48 of the 174 detainees remaining at the facility would have to be held in what the administration calls prolonged detention.
“We have a plan to close Guantanamo, and this detainee review process is one element,” said an administration official who discussed the order on the condition of anonymity because it has yet to reach the president.
However, almost every part of the administration’s plan to close Guantanamo is on hold, and it could be crippled this week if Congress bans the transfer of detainees to the United States for trial and sets up steep hurdles to the repatriation or resettlement in third countries of other detainees.
Officials worked intensively on the executive order over the past several weeks, but a senior White House official said it had been in the works for more than a year. If Congress blocks the administration’s ability to put detainees on trial or transfer them out of Guantanamo, the official said, the executive order could still be implemented.
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