Customer Protection and End User Relief Act (HR 4413) – Sponsored by Frank Lukas, R-Okla., this bill would reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The objective of the legislation is to better protect futures customers, provide end users with market certainty, conduct basic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability, and help farmers, ranchers and end users manage risks to help keep consumer costs low, as well as other purposes.

Text of the Scrub Act of 2014 (H.R. 4874) – This bill would establish a Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission. The objective for this nine-person commission would be to review various established sets of rules to determine if any should be repealed to eliminate or reduce the cost of regulating the economy. The commission may meet when, where and as often it determines appropriate, but not less than twice a year. Its guidelines are to review rules 1) that have been in effect for more than 15 years; 2) that impose excessive paperwork burdens; and 3) that impose disproportionately high costs on smaller entities. Its goal is to achieve a reduction of at least 15 percent in the cumulative costs of Federal regulation without impacting effectiveness.

Emerging Business Encouragement Act of 2014 (H.R. 4876) – Introduced by Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., this bill would amend the Small Business Act to provide contracting preferences and other benefits for emerging business enterprises, and for other purposes. Specifically, it would establish criteria for the designation of an emerging business enterprise, such as the number of employees, age of business, salary requirements, etc.

Small Business Women’s Procurement Parity Act(S. 481) – This bill would amend the Small Business Act to provide authority for sole source contracts for certain small business concerns owned and controlled by women, and for other purposes. The bill enables contracts to be awarded to economically disadvantaged small business concerns owned and controlled by women in underrepresented industries.

Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act of 2014 (H.R. 4899) – The bill was assigned to a Congressional committee on June 19. The purpose of this prospective legislation is to lower gasoline prices in the United States by increasing domestic onshore and offshore energy exploration and production, and by streamlining and improving onshore and offshore energy permitting and administration. Provisions include outer continental shelf leasing program reforms, the reorganization of minerals management agencies of the Department of the Interior, process reform for the application of permits to drill, permit streamlining, funding oil and gas resource assessments, oil shale leasing, and long-range planning for American energy.

Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 (H.R. 4031) – Sponsored by Jeff Miller, R-Fla., this bill would give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to remove, transfer or demote any senior executive for performance reasons. The House was scheduled to consider the bill in May and, if approved, it will move on to the Senate.

Both the House and the Senate were busy in May introducing simple resolutions, a nonbinding opinion that does not carry the full force of the law. They are typically matters of operation considered only by the division of Congress in which they are introduced. The vote for a simple resolution is conducted by roll call, in which congressional members may vote yes, no or abstain. A smattering of resolutions in May includes the following:

Condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as Boko Haram in northeastern provinces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (H.Res. 573) – Introduced by Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., this resolution is under consideration by the house.

A resolution designating the week of May 1 through May 7, 2014, as “National Physical Education and Sport Week” (S.Res. 441) – Introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., this resolution was agreed to in the Senate on May 13.

A resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the Congressional declaration of bourbon whiskey as a distinctive product of the United States (S.Res. 446) – Introduced by Senior Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this resolution was agreed to in the Senate on May 15.

A resolution expressing the regret of the Senate for the passage of section 3 of the Expatriation Act of 1907 that revoked the United States citizenship of women who married foreign nationals (S.Res. 402) –Introduced by Junior Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., this resolution was agreed to in the Senate on May 14.

Providing for the Establishment of the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi (H.Res. 567) – Introduced by Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, this resolution was agreed to in the Senate on May 8.

Establishing the budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2015 and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2016 through 2024 (H.Con.Res. 96)
Introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), this bill outlines recommended revenue, spending, and deficit levels and amounts for federal revenues, new budget authority, budget outlays, deficits, debt subject to limit and debt held by the public for fiscal years 2015 through 2024. This resolution was passed in the House on April 10, 2014 and is now in the Senate for consideration.

Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014 (H.R. 4302)
Sponsored by Joseph Pitts (R-PA), this bill was passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the President on April 1, 2014. It amends the Social Security Act to extend Medicare payments to physicians and other provisions of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and for other purposes. The bill extends the current payment schedule through the end of 2014, freezes the payment rate to the single conversion factor at 0.00 percent for Jan. 1, 2015 through March 31, 2015, and requires that the conversion factor for April 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2015, and for 2016 and subsequent years be computed as if such a freeze had never applied.

Driver Privacy Act (S. 1925)
Introduced by Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND), this bill would mandate that if a data recorder is required to be installed in cars, the data pertaining to any subsequent wrecks is the property of the owner (or leaser) of the vehicle. The bill states that the only ways for a third party to retrieve this data is (1) via a court order; (2) if all owners or lessees consent in writing; (3) by an authorized investigation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or the Department of Transportation; (4) to determine the appropriate emergency medical response to a motor vehicle crash; or (5) for traffic safety research (omitting personally identifiable information and VIN numbers). This bill has been reported on by committee and is awaiting a vote in the Senate.

Youth Sports Concussion Act (S. 1014)
This bill is designed to help reduce the incident of concussions in youth sports by authorizing the Consumer Product Safety Commission to make recommendations to protective equipment manufacturers regarding voluntary standards to: (1) reduce the risk of sports-related injury for youth athletes wearing protective equipment; (2) improve the safety of reconditioned protective equipment; and (3) modify protective equipment warning labels. The Act would also make it against the law to sell equipment under false or misleading claims with respect to safety benefits. It is currently in committee review, and was originally sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM).