The Power of the Pen: Bills Signed into Law

Statement by the Press Secretary

On Tuesday, January 3, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 515, the "Belarus Democracy and Human Rights Act of 2011," which reauthorizes and amends the Belarus Democracy Act of 2004;

H.R. 789, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located in Little Ferry, New Jersey, as the Sergeant Matthew J. Fenton Post Office;

H.R. 1059, which extends for six years, through December 31, 2017, the authority of the Judiciary to redact personal and sensitive information in the financial disclosure reports of judicial officers and employees where release of the information could endanger them or their family members;

H.R. 1264, which designates the property between the United States Federal Courthouse and the Ed Jones Building in Jackson, Tennessee, as the M.D. Anderson Plaza and authorizes the placement of a historical/identification marker on the grounds recognizing the achievements and philanthropy of M.D. Anderson;

H.R. 1801, the "Risk-Based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act," which requires the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration to develop and implement a plan to provide expedited security screening services for members of the Armed Forces;

H.R. 1892, the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012," which authorizes FY 2012 appropriations for U.S. intelligence-related activities and establishes and amends various intelligence-related authorities;

H.R. 2056, which requires the Inspector General of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to conduct a comprehensive study on the impact of the failure of insured depository institutions and the Government Accountability Office to carry out a study on the causes of high levels of bank failures;

H.R. 2422, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located in Staten Island, New York, as the Sergeant Angel Mendez Post Office; and

H.R. 2845, the "Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011," which doubles the maximum civil penalties for violations of Federal pipeline safety laws; authorizes the Transportation Department to issue various regulations related to leak prevention and detection; and reauthorizes various programs of the Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.