Sponsored Legislation

PUBLIC LAWS
Representative Hanna authored the following pieces of legislation which have been signed into public law by the President:

H.R. 2061, Civilian Service Recognition Act of 2011: The Civilian Service Recognition Act would authorize the presentation of a United States flag to the family or next of kin of a federal civilian employee who is killed performing their duty. Every year federal civilian employees are killed at home and abroad doing their duty for our nation. The American flag embodies the values of our nation that these individuals worked to uphold. This legislation would provide a modest, but significant, benefit in honor of these dedicated individuals who sacrificed on our behalf. The bill was co-sponsored by 21 bipartisan Members of Congress. The House approved the bill by a vote of 425 - 0 on November 2, 2011. President Obama, accompanied by Rep. Hanna, signed the bill into law in the Oval Office on December 20, 2011.

H.R. 2244, Corporal Steven Blain Riccione Post Office: This bill would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 67 Castle Street in Geneva, New York, as the "Corporal Steven Blaine Riccione Post Office". Corporal Riccione was a Geneva native who was killed in 1967 while evacuating American soldiers after a fierce battle during the Vietnam War. Naming a Post Office in Corporal Riccione's hometown in his memory is an appropriate way to remember and honor his service to a grateful nation. The bill was co-sponsored by the entire New York delegation and was approved by the House on July 29, 2011. It was signed into law by President Obama on May 15, 2012.

H.R. 2527, National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act: The National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act would authorize the Treasury to mint commemorative coins for the National Baseball Hall of Fame's 75th anniversary in 2014. The Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown, New York. Baseball is the quintessential American pastime with roots in upstate New York. This cost-free legislation with overwhelmingly bipartisan support proves that the love of baseball - our national pastime - is a common bond. The bill is co-sponsored by 296 Members of Congress. The House voted 416 - 3 to approve the bill on October 26, 2011. President Obama signed the bill into law on August 3, 2012.

SPONSORED BILLS
Representative Hanna has sponsored the following pieces of legislation in the 113th Congress:

H.RES.134, Condemning North Korea for its continuing acts of aggression, its expressed intent to break the Korean War Armistice Agreement, and for its repeated violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions: This resolution condemns the continued acts of aggression and threats invoked by North Korea and their continued, deliberate violations of numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions. It calls on North Korea to renounce any further acts of aggression and abide by the statutes of the 1953 Korean War Armistice, and reaffirms the support of the United States to its strategic allies and the continued promotion of peace and international stability. It also seeks to apply the full force of currently imposed sanctions against North Korea as violators of human rights and provocateurs of aggression. The actions of the North Korean regime continue to escalate to a new level of unwarranted hostilities, as they have threatened the United States with pre-emptive nuclear attacks; announced their intention to completely scrap the Korean War Armistice; cut off means of outside communications while declaring that it is operating in a "state of war" against South Korea; and made preparations for conducting offensive military action targeted against U.S. military bases throughout the Pacific and beyond. This resolution aims to curb this aggression and show the resolve of the United States against such escalated threats.

H.R. 776, Security in Bonding Act: The bill would help ensure subcontractors and suppliers who provide services to the federal government are paid for their work. The Security in Bonding Act would protect small businesses and taxpayers by strengthening the bonding process and removing opportunities for fraud and abuse. Specifically, it requires non-corporate sureties to pledge specific and secure assets as required from others providing collateral to the federal government, and requires those assets be held by a government entity to ensure payments can be made in the event they are needed. The bill also raises the guarantee on the Small Business Administration Surety Bond Guarantee program from 70 percent to 90 percent. This change would help more small businesses get bonding at no extra cost to the government, because the program charges fees to participate and has successfully functioned running a surplus.

H.R. 1071, To specify the size of the precious-metal blanks that will be used in the production of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins: The bill would make a technical correction the National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act, requested by the U.S. Mint, to enable the Mint to meet the requirements of the authorizing legislation, accounting for the prescribed curvature of the gold and silver coins.

H.R. 1353, STEM Education Opportunity Act: This bill would help address college affordability and encourage access to higher education in the economically competitive fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). The STEM Education Opportunity Act would provide a federal tax deduction equal to a student's STEM higher education expenses, including tuition, room, and board. Specifically, the STEM Education Opportunity tax deduction may be claimed in one of two ways: as a same taxable year deduction claimed by the parent or benefactor in the year the qualified expense is occurred, or as a carry forward deduction, claimed against earned income when the student utilizes the STEM degree in the future. This legislation also allows for businesses and individuals to receive a tax credit equal to their donation of STEM materials to elementary and secondary schools, to encourage education and interest in STEM from a young age.

H.R. 2310, GUARD Remembrance Act: This bill aims to provide recognition for the honorable service of our nation's guardsmen and reservists by authorizing a memorial headstone or marker to be purchased from the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) for certain servicemembers who are currently denied this eligibility. The "Guard Units and Reservists Deserve Remembrance Act" would grant this authority for patriotic guardsmen and reservists who have trained and stood ready to serve for at least 6 years but were not called to active duty at no fault of their own. This zero-cost measure does not create any new veteran benefits, and does not authorize any new burial benefits or authorities. This legislation would simply allow for the purchase of a VA marker to recognize the spirit of valor inherent in these men and women.

H.R. 2476, SERVE Act: This bill would create a $1,000 income tax credit for bona fide members of volunteer firefighting and emergency medical service organizations. This tax credit would be instrumental in assisting recruitment efforts for volunteer fire departments all across upstate New York and would represent a true and well-deserved "thank you" for those who choose to take on risks and put their lives on the line to keep our communities and families safe. The "Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act of 2013" would help to bring more volunteers into the ranks of this vital service, which will provide a ready force to assist our communities in times of need. These volunteers incur a number of personal expenses through their work, and this bill's tax credit would allow these men and women who contribute their time and resources to our health and safety a bit of reimbursement for those expenses unselfishly endured year after year.

H.R. 2751, Commonsense Construction Contracting Act: Currently, some federal agencies use a "reverse auction" process to award contracts for construction services.  For this method, the government advertises its service needs, and bidders are allowed to offer multiple, consecutively lower bids on a rapid basis, until the lowest price wins.  A May 23, 2013 hearing in Rep. Hanna's Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce showed that the reverse auction process for construction contracting resulted in imprudent bidding, a poor evaluation of businesses, and unfair competition for many small construction contractors.  This legislation would ban the use of reverse auctions for construction services, so agencies would be required to use one of the other statutorily approved contracting processes, such as a sealed bid procurement or a negotiated procurement.  The bill prohibits the use of reverse auctions when a construction services contract is suitable for award to a small business, or when the procurement is made using a small business program.  The Commonsense Construction Contracting Act directs the government to use better methods for choosing construction and design services – so that taxpayers get the best value possible and small businesses, as well as the jobs they support, are protected from unscrupulous bidding behavior.

H.R. 3413, the TRUE Safety Act:  This bipartisan legislation would require the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an assessment of the legally-mandated field study for the new Hours of Service (HOS) final rule for commercial drivers.  The new HOS rules strictly limit the use of the 34 hour restart provisions and mandate inflexible rest periods for drivers, adding to rush hour congestion and causing increased burdens, delays, and costs to our nation’s commercial trucking industry. Disappointingly, and counter to a commonsense approach to regulation, these rules were enacted without the completion of a field study legally-required by Congress.  The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21, Public Law 112-141) directed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to conduct a statistically-valid field study and submit a report on it to Congress by September 30, 2013.  Even with the field study unfinished, the FMCSA finalized and enacted these untested new HOS regulations on July 1, 2013. This legislation would pause the latest 34-hour restart provisions and reinstate the previous restart rule, while GAO conducts an independent assessment of the methodology, data, and research behind the 34-hour restart field study.   The TRUE Safety act would have GAO start the assessment after FMCSA submits its report to Congress, and GAO would have one year to complete and submit its assessment to Congress.

H.R. 3872, the State Transportation and Infrastructure Financing Innovation Act:  In 2005, Congress established the State Infrastructure Bank program, which authorized states to use up to 10 percent of the states existing federal transportation dollars to establish an infrastructure bank for the purpose of financing local road or transit projects.  The program’s authorization expired in 2009, when it was inadvertently not included in the latest surface transportation authorization bill—the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21, Public Law 112-141).  STIFIA would simply amend MAP-21 to authorize states to establish infrastructure banks, if they so choose, using existing federal transportation dollars through 2014.  Further, the bill would increase the amount of federal money allowed to capitalize a state infrastructure bank from 10 percent to 15 percent.  STIFIA would allow states another option to maximize existing transportation dollars.

CO-SPONSORED BILLS

Representative Hanna has cosponsored the following pieces of legislation in the 113th Congress:

H.R. 24, Federal Reserve Transparency Act: This bipartisan legislation would require a full audit by the U.S. Comptroller General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve and the Federal Reserve banks.

H.R. 41, To temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program: The bipartisan bill would - temporarily – increase the borrowing authority for the National Flood Insurance Program by $9.7 billion to enable the processing of more than 100,000 claims from Superstorm Sandy. Sandy killed more than one hundred people and vast quantities of homes and infrastructure, particularly in New York and New Jersey, were destroyed. Rep. Hanna supported this legislation because although our district was not impacted, the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley have previously experienced devastating flooding due to natural disasters. Just as the federal government helped – and continues to help – our region recover from storms, so must we stand with our neighbors downstate and throughout the Northeast recover from the devastation of Sandy. The bill was approved by a vote of 354 – 67 in the House and signed into law by President Obama in January 2013.

H.R. 54, To provide that no pay adjustment for Members of Congress shall be made with respect to any pay period occurring during the 113th Congress: The bill would prevent any pay increase for Members of Congress in 2013 or 2014. Rep. Hanna has never supported a pay raise for members of Congress and believes it would be fiscally irresponsible to increase pay for Members of Congress at this time of high deficits and debt.

H.R. 118, National STEM Education Tax Incentive for Teachers Act: The bipartisan bill would allow certain full-time elementary and secondary school teachers of math, science, engineering, or technology (STEM) courses a refundable tax credit for 10% of their undergraduate tuition up to $1,000 in any taxable year. Teachers in schools serving disadvantaged children could receive an increased credit amount of $1,500.

H.R. 258, Stolen Valor Act of 2013: This bipartisan bill would protect and preserve the honor, service, and sacrifices of our nation's veteran and military heroes by instituting punishments against those who fraudulently claim to be recipients of valorous military decorations and awards or falsely declare military service with the intent to obtain money, property, or other tangible benefits.

H.R. 322, Hunting, Fishing, and Recreational Shooting Protection Act: This bill would clarify existing law in order to protect the use of traditional fishing tackle as well as hunting and sporting ammunition from burdensome regulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.