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The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release

Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 2606, H.R. 4114, S. 743 and S. 1956

On Tuesday, November 27, 2012, the President signed into law:

H.R. 2606, the "New York City Natural Gas Supply Enhancement Act," which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue permits for rights-of-way or other necessary authorizations for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a natural gas pipeline and related facilities within specified areas of the Gateway National Recreation Area in New York City, New York;

H.R. 4114, the "Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2012," which provides for a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for the beneficiaries of veterans' disability compensation and dependency and indemnity compensation equal to the Social Security COLA;

S. 743, the "Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2012," which amends whistleblower protections for Federal employees by:  clarifying the scope of protected disclosures; tightening requirements for non-disclosure agreements; expanding the penalties imposed for violating whistleblower protections; and establishing a Whistleblower Protection Ombudsmen in certain agencies; and

S. 1956, the "European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011," which requires the Secretary of Transportation to prohibit an operator of a U.S. civil aircraft from participating in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in any case in which the Secretary determines the prohibition to be in the public interest; encourages the Secretary and other appropriate Federal officials to conduct international negotiations to pursue a worldwide approach to address aircraft emissions; and requires these same officials to take necessary actions to hold operators of civil aircraft of the United States harmless from the EU ETS.