The Power of the Pen: New Bills Signed Into Law

Statement by the Press Secretary

On Friday, October 5, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 1272, the "Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Judgment Fund Distribution Act of 2012," which provides for the use and distribution of the funds awarded to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe by the United States Court of Federal Claims;

H.R. 1791, which designates the United States courthouse under construction in Fort Pierce, Florida, as the Alto Lee Adams, Sr., United States Courthouse;

H.R. 2139, the "Lions Clubs International Century of Service Commemorative Coin Act," which requires the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in commemoration of the centennial of the establishment of Lions Clubs International;

H.R. 2240, the "Lowell National Historical Park Land Exchange Act of 2012," which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to exchange any land or interest in land within the boundaries of the Lowell National Historical Park in Lowell, Massachusetts, for any land or interest in land owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the city of Lowell, or the University of Massachusetts Building Authority;

H.R. 2706, the "Billfish Conservation Act of 2012," which establishes prohibitions on the sale of billfish, except for certain billfish landed in Hawaii and the Pacific Insular Areas;

H.R. 3556, which designates the new United States courthouse in Buffalo, New York, as the Robert H. Jackson United States Courthouse;

H.R. 4158, which confirms full ownership for U.S. astronauts who participated in the Mercury, Gemini, or Apollo programs of artifacts from their space missions;

H.R. 4223, the "Strengthening and Focusing Enforcement to Deter Organized Stealing and Enhance Safety Act of 2012" or the "SAFE DOSES Act," which makes theft of medical products that have not yet been made available for retail purchase a Federal crime;

H.R. 4347, which designates the United States courthouse in Juneau, Alaska, as the Robert Boochever United States Courthouse;

H.R. 5512, the "Divisional Realignment Act of 2012," which realigns counties among divisions in Federal judicial districts in Missouri and Mississippi;

H.R. 6189, the "Reporting Efficiency Improvement Act," which eliminates statutory reporting requirements for certain Justice Department grant programs for which funds have not been appropriated for several years;

H.R. 6215, which ensures that Federal registration of a trademark does not constitute a defense that bars a Federal claim of dilution asserted against that trademark;

H.R. 6375, the "VA Major Construction Authorization and Expiring Authorities Extension Act of 2012," which authorizes, within specified amounts, appropriations for various major medical facility construction projects for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Fiscal Year 2013 and extends certain expiring authorities;

H.R. 6431, which provides the United States with flexibility to support assistance provided by international financial institutions to Burma;

H.R. 6433, the "FDA User Fee Corrections Act of 2012," which amends the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act (Public Law 112-144) to make technical changes to both the generic drug user fee program and the medical device user fee program;

S. 300, the "Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act of 2012," which codifies a number of management controls to prevent abuse of agency purchase cards, convenience checks, and travel charge cards; and

S. 710, the "Hazardous Waste Electronic Manifest Establishment Act," which directs the Environmental Protection Agency to establish an electronic hazardous waste manifest tracking system.

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