[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 40 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1754-S1755]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TEXT OF AMENDMENTS

  SA 3550. Mrs. McCASKILL submitted an amendment intended to be 
proposed by her to the bill H.R. 1586, to impose an additional tax on 
bonuses received from certain TARP recipients; which was ordered to lie 
on the table; as follows:

       At the end of the amendment add the following:
       On page 147, between lines 4 and 5, insert the following:
       (g) Standards.--
       (1) In general.--Within 90 days after the date on which the 
     Comptroller General submits the report required by subsection 
     (d) to the Congressional committees, the Secretary of 
     Transportation and the Secretary of Health and Human Services 
     jointly shall determine whether Federal standards for part 
     135 certificate holders and indirect carriers providing 
     helicopter or fixed wing air ambulance services should be 
     promulgated to address aviation safety or health safety 
     matters in air ambulance operations and shall submit a joint 
     report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
     Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure on their determination.
       (2) Determination factors.--In making the determination 
     required by paragraph (1), the Secretaries--
       (A) shall take into account--
       (i) issues identified by the Comptroller General in the 
     report required by subsection (d); and
       (ii) any other issues deemed necessary or appropriate for 
     consideration by the Secretaries related to the provision of 
     air ambulance services;
       (B) shall consult with representatives of the air ambulance 
     service industry and other appropriate stakeholders;
       (C) shall consult with the Comptroller General, 
     particularly with respect to areas in which data is 
     insufficient to provide necessary information to the Congress 
     and the Secretaries with respect to air ambulance service 
     issues;
       (D) may provide assistance to the Government Accountability 
     Office as necessary for additional analysis to supplement the 
     study and arrange for necessary data collection and analysis, 
     directly or through appropriate competitively awarded 
     contracts; and
       (E) may require air ambulance service providers and users 
     to report such data as may be necessary and appropriate to 
     enable the Secretaries to carry out their responsibilities 
     under this subsection.
       (3) Report contents.--In the report required by paragraph 
     (1), the Secretaries shall--
       (A) explain in detail the rationale for the determination, 
     including--
       (i) if the Secretaries determine that such standards are 
     unnecessary, inappropriate, or contrary to public policy, an 
     explanation of the legal and public policy basis for that 
     determination; or
       (ii) if the Secretaries determine that such standards 
     should be promulgated, a finding with respect to whether the 
     standards should be promulgated by the Federal government or 
     State governments in light of the policies implemented by the 
     Aviation Deregulation Act of 1978 (as those policies are 
     currently reflected in subtitle VII of title 49, United 
     States Code) and an explanation of the legal and public 
     policy basis for that finding; and
       (B) provide a description of non-aviation related health 
     safety matters related to air ambulance service operations 
     that are subject to State regulation under traditional State 
     regulatory authority.
       (4) Application with state and local laws.--Nothing in this 
     subsection, or in the standards established under subsection 
     (a), shall preclude any State or local government from 
     licensing air ambulance service providers, or from 
     promulgating or enforcing air ambulance service requirements, 
     subject to applicable Federal law.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 3551. Mr. LeMIEUX (for himself, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Sessions, Mr. 
Shelby, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Bennett, and Mr. Cochran) submitted an amendment 
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 3452 proposed by Mr. 
Rockefeller to the bill H.R. 1586, to impose an additional tax on 
bonuses received from certain TARP recipients; which was ordered to lie 
on the table; as follows:

       At the end of title VII, add the following:

[[Page S1755]]

     SEC. 723. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF 
                   CONSTELLATION PROGRAM OF THE NATIONAL 
                   AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) Reaffirmation of Prohibition.--The National Aeronautics 
     and Space Administration shall comply with the provisions of 
     the first proviso under the heading ``exploration'' under the 
     heading ``National Aeronautics and Space Administration'' in 
     the Science Appropriations Act (title III of division B of 
     Public Law 111-117; 123 Stat. 3147), relating to a 
     prohibition on the use of funds for the termination or 
     elimination of any program, project, or activity of the 
     architecture of the Constellation Program of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration.
       (b) Limitation.--The provisions of section 1341 of title 
     31, United States Code (commonly referred to as the ``Anti-
     Deficiency Act''), may not be utilized as a basis for the 
     termination or elimination of any contract, program, project, 
     or activity of the Constellation Program of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration.
       (c) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than 180 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 
     General of the United States shall submit to Congress a 
     report on the Constellation Program of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration. The report shall set 
     forth a description and assessment by the Comptroller General 
     of the contracts, programs, projects, or activities of the 
     Constellation Program, if any, that are contrary to law or 
     are experiencing waste, fraud, or abuse.
       (d) Current Shuttle Manifest Flight Assurance.--The 
     Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration shall take all actions necessary to ensure 
     shuttle launch capability, including not terminating any 
     contractor support that will limit or impair the launching 
     of, at a minimum, the payloads manifested for the shuttle as 
     of the date of the enactment of this Act.
                                 ______
                                 
  SA 3552. Mr. REID (for Mr. Nelson of Florida) proposed an amendment 
to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 54, recognizing the life of 
Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died on February 23, 2010, in the custody of 
the Government of Cuba, and calling for a continued focus on the 
promotion of internationally recognized human rights, listed in the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in Cuba; as follows:

       Insert after the 15th whereas clause in the preamble the 
     following:
       Whereas the Department of State reports that the Government 
     of Cuba has not granted prison visits by the International 
     Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, or Human 
     Rights Watch since 1988;

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