Statement by the Press Secretary on H.R. 710, H.R. 875, H.R. 960, H.R. 1150, H.R. 2726, H.R. 3218, H.R. 3784, H.R. 3842, H.R. 4352, H.R. 4465, H.R. 4618, H.R. 4680, H.R. 4887, H.R. 4939, H.R. 5015, H.R. 5065, H.R. 5099, H.R. 5150

On Friday, December 16, 2016, the President signed into law:

H.R. 710, the “Essential Transportation Worker Identification Credential Assessment Act,” which requires the Department of Homeland Security to commission a comprehensive assessment and create a corrective action plan to address the effectiveness of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program at enhancing security and reducing security risks for maritime facilities and vessels.

H.R. 875, the “Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act of 2016,” which authorizes U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to enter into:  (1) fee agreements for CBP to provide inspection services at ports of entry; and (2) agreements for the donation of real and personal property with respect to ports of entry at which CBP performs inspection services;

H.R. 960, which designates the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Newark, Ohio, as the Daniel L. Kinnard VA Clinic;

H.R. 1150, the “Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act,” which amends the International Religious Freedom Act;

H.R. 2726, the “Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act,” which requires the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first manned Moon landing;

H.R. 3218, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1221 State Street, Suite 12, Santa Barbara, California, as the Special Warfare Operator Master Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Louis "Lou" J. Langlais Post Office Building;

H.R. 3784, the “SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016,” which establishes, within the Securities and Exchange Commission, an Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation and a Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee;

H.R. 3842, the “Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers Reform and Improvement Act of 2015,” which authorizes in statute the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) within the Department of Homeland Security and makes several changes to FLETC's management and operations;

H.R. 4352, the “Faster Care for Veterans Act,” which authorizes VA to conduct a pilot program to establish a patient self-scheduling appointment system;

H.R. 4465, the “Federal Assets Sale and Transfer Act of 2016,” which establishes an independent board to be known as the Public Buildings Reform Board to identify opportunities for the Government to reduce significantly its inventory of civilian real property and reduce costs to the Government;

H.R. 4618, which designates the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 121 Spring Street SE in Gainesville, Georgia, as the Sidney Oslin Smith, Jr. Federal Building and United States Courthouse;

H.R. 4680, the “National Park Service Centennial Act,” which authorizes certain programs relating to the National Park Service and for other purposes;

H.R. 4887, which designates the United States Postal Service located at 23323 Shelby Road in Shelby, Indiana, as the Richard Allen Cable Post Office;

H.R. 4939, the “United States-Caribbean Strategic Engagement Act of 2016,” which enhances engagement with the governments in the Caribbean region and with the Caribbean diaspora community in the United States;

H.R. 5015, the “Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016,” which directs the Department of Defense to restore improper tax withholdings from individuals separated from service;

H.R. 5065, the “Bottles and Breastfeeding Equipment Screening Act,” which requires the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to notify air carriers and airport security personnel of TSA's guidelines regarding permitting baby formula, breast milk, and juice on airplanes; 

H.R. 5099, the “CHIP IN for Vets Act of 2016,” which establishes within the Department of Veterans Affairs a pilot program to enter into partnership agreements to construct new departmental facilities;

H.R. 5150, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 3031 Veterans Road West in Staten Island, New York, as the Leonard Montalto Post Office Building;

H.R. 5309, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 401 McElroy Drive in Oxford, Mississippi, as the Army First Lieutenant Donald C. Carwile Post Office Building;

H.R. 5356, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14231 TX–150 in Coldspring, Texas, as the E. Marie Youngblood Post Office;

H.R. 5591, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 810 N US Highway 83 in Zapata, Texas, as the Zapata Veterans Post Office;

H.R. 5612, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2886 Sandy Plains Road in Marietta, Georgia, as the Marine Lance Corporal Squire "Skip" Wells Post Office Building;

H.R. 5676, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6300 N. Northwest Highway in Chicago, Illinois, as the Officer Joseph P. Cali Post Office Building;

H.R. 5687, the “GAO Mandates Revision Act of 2016,” which eliminates or modifies reporting requirements of the Government Accountability Office;

H.R. 5790, the “Federal Bureau of Investigation Whistleblower
Protection Enhancement Act of 2016,” which expands whistleblower protections for FBI employees who report waste, fraud, or abuse in order to protect them from retaliation;

H.R. 5798, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1101 Davis Street in Evanston, Illinois, as the Abner J. Mikva Post Office Building;

H.R. 5877, the “United States-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016,” which authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of State, to enter into cooperative research activities with Israel to enhance capabilities in cybersecurity;

H.R. 5889, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1 Chalan Kanoa VLG in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, as the Segundo T. Sablan and CNMI Fallen Military Heroes Post Office Building;

H.R. 5948, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 830 Kuhn Drive in Chula Vista, California, as the Jonathan "J.D." De Guzman Post Office Building;

H.R. 6014, which authorizes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to enter into a reimbursable agreement with a State or local government agency to carry out certain projects at an airport for which notice to the FAA is required by Federal regulation;

H.R. 6130, the “Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016,” which allows civil actions to recover certain artwork or other property that was lost because of Nazi persecution without regard to Federal or State statutes of limitations;

H.R. 6138, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 560 East Pleasant Valley Road, Port Hueneme, California, as the U.S. Naval Construction Battalion "Seabees" Fallen Heroes Post Office Building;

H.R. 6282, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2024 Jerome Avenue, in Bronx, New York, as the Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. Post Office Building;

H.R. 6302, the “Overtime Pay for Protective Services Act of 2016,” which raises the cap on premium pay that any U.S. Secret Service employee could be paid for performing protective services during 2016 from level IV of the Executive Schedule to level II the Executive Schedule;

H.R. 6304, which designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 501 North Main Street in Florence, Arizona, as the Adolfo "Harpo" Celaya Post Office;

H.R. 6323, which designates the Department of Veterans Affairs health care system in Long Beach, California, the Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center;

H.R. 6400, which revises certain boundaries in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System;

H.R. 6416, the “Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2016,” which amends Department of Veterans Affairs authorities related to:  (1) health care; (2) homelessness matters; (3) educational assistance and vocational rehabilitation; (4) disability compensation and claims appeals; (5) small business and employment matters; (6) burial and memorial affairs; and (7) construction reforms;

H.R. 6431, the "Promoting Travel, Commerce, and National Security Act of 2016,” which establishes United States jurisdiction over offenses committed by employees of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice who are stationed in Canada in furtherance of border security initiatives;

H.R. 6450, the “Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016,” which modifies the authorities and responsibilities of agency Inspectors General and the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency by, among other provisions:  (1) granting timely access to agency information and Federal grand jury materials; (2) requiring the Council to resolve jurisdictional disputes between Inspectors General; (3) adjusting the membership and procedures of the Council's Integrity Committee; (4) requiring additional reporting information to the Congress on investigations; (5) expanding certain agencies' authority to restrict access to information to protect national security or interests; and (6) exempting Inspector General investigations from certain statutes;

H.R. 6451, the "Federal Property Management Reform Act of 2016” which provides for increased collocation with Postal Service facilities and guidance on Postal Service leasing practices; and (2) establishes a Federal Real Property Council; 

H.R. 6477, the “Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act,” which provides sovereign immunity for a foreign state for certain works of art that are imported into the United States from the foreign state for exhibition or display;

S. 8, the “U.S-Norway Nuclear Cooperation Agreement” which provides congressional approval for the Agreement for Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and Government of the Kingdom of Norway;

S. 546, the “RESPONSE Act of 2016,” which establishes the Railroad Emergency Services Preparedness, Operational Needs, and Safety Evaluation Subcommittee under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Advisory Council to provide recommendations on emergency responder training and resources relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads;

S. 612, the “Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act or the “WIN Act”, which authorizes construction of specified Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) water resources projects for flood risk management, navigation, hurricane and storm damage risk reduction, and environmental restoration; (2) modifies previously authorized Corps projects; (3) authorizes several Indian water settlements; (4) amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to authorize several grant programs that address lead and other contaminants in public drinking water systems; and (5) contains numerous other water resources project-related provisions;

S. 1635, the “Department of State Authorities Act, Fiscal Year 2017,” which authorizes, modifies, and extends authorities for the Department of State;

S. 2577, the “Justice for All Reauthorization Act of 2016,” which reauthorizes several Department of Justice grant programs to assist victims of crime and to enhance analysis of DNA samples related to criminal investigations;

S. 2854, the “Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016,” which reauthorizes the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act and expands it to apply to certain civil rights crimes that occurred before 1980; and

S. 2971, the “National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act of 2016,” which authorizes in statute the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Urban Search and Rescue Response System.