The Power of the Pen: New Bills Signed into Law

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 2467, H.R. 2838, H.R. 3319, H.R. 4014, H.R. 4367, S. 1998, and S. 3542

On Thursday, December 20, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 2467, the "Bridgeport Indian Colony Land Trust, Health, and Economic Development Act of 2012," which transfers approximately 39 acres of Federal land in Mono County, California, currently managed by the Bureau of Land Management, into trust status for the benefit of the Bridgeport Indian Colony;

H.R. 2838, the "Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012," which authorizes FY 2013 and FY 2014 appropriations and amends laws related to the Coast Guard; authorizes FY 2013 appropriations and amends laws related to the Maritime Administration; and amends various other maritime-related provisions of law;

H.R. 3319, which amends current law to allow the Pascua Yaqui Tribe to determine the requirements for tribal membership;

H.R. 4014, which provides that legal privileges related to information are not waived: when information is submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in the course of any supervisory or regulatory process; nor when information is transferred by the CFPB to other Federal agencies;

H.R. 4367, which eliminates the requirement that automated teller machine (ATM) operators post notice of a service fee on or at the ATM equipment, while retaining the requirement that such a notice be posted on the ATM screen or by a paper notice issued from the ATM;

S. 1998, the "DHS Audit Requirement Target Act of 2012" or the "DART Act," which requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: ensure that DHS consolidated financial statements are ready in a timely manner and in preparation for an audit as part of preparing required performance and accountability reports; and submit a report to the DHS Secretary and the Office of Management and Budget on its plans to obtain an unqualified opinion on the full set of financial statements; and

S. 3542, the "No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012," authorizes the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration to determine whether checked baggage on flights originating at foreign airports that has been screened in accordance with an aviation security preclearance agreement must be re-screened in the United States by an explosives detection system before continuing on any additional flights.