On July 21, 2010, the House Committee on Financial Services held a hearing on HR 2267: the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which was introduced by Chairman Frank. According to Representative Ron Paul, the bill would repeal the U.S. ban on Internet gambling and establish a process to ensure that gambling sites can comply with existing laws, and thus offer their services to adults who wish to gamble online. (Note that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was codified by Treasury and the Federal Reserve in a 2007 joint final rule that prohibits the funding of unlawful internet gambling. In addition, U.S. online gambling restrictions has been the subject of a WTO dispute.)
On July 22, 2010, Senator Rockefeller (D), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Senator Hutchison (R), Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee, introduced the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2010 (S. 3639), a bill to strengthen security at U.S. ports by focusing resources on critical areas, including especially hazardous cargo, small vessel security, and global supply chain security.
On July 21, 2010, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere heard testimony from the Government Accountability Office on its new report on the Mérida Initiative. Announced in 2009, the Mérida Initiative provides about $1.6 billion in law enforcement support to Mexico and Central American countries. The Department of State manages the Initiative while other U.S. agencies play key roles in implementation. The GAO found that while State has developed some of the key elements of an implementation strategy for the initiative, including a mission, strategic goals, and a resource plan, its strategic documents do not include outcome performance measures that indicate progress toward achieving strategic goals. In addition, State has not developed a comprehensive set of timelines for all expected deliveries, though it plans to provide additional equipment and training in both Mexico and Central America. Copy of report that underlies testimony available here.
On July 22, 2010, the President signed into law H.R. 4213, a bill which extends initial eligibility for emergency unemployment compensation and 100% Federal funding for extended unemployment insurance benefits through November 30, 2010. While an earlier version of H.R. 4213, called the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, included cotton and wool fund provisions, the version signed into law did not.
On July 22. 2010, following hearings and an extended stakeholder process in response to the release of a discussion draft in April, Representative Rush (D), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, and Representative Waxman (D), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, introduced H.R. 5820, the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010, a bill aimed at strengthening and updating the decades-old Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976, the primary statute governing the safety of chemicals in commerce.
During the question and answer portion of a July 21, 2010 Senate Banking Committee hearing on the Federal Reserves Semiannual Monetary Policy Report to Congress, the press reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke stated that, broadly speaking, China's currency policy is a type of subsidy, noting that the literature has reported its value at 10-30%.
On July 22, 2010, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 83, a resolution approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, clearing the measure for the President. (See ITT’s Online Archives or 07/16/10 news, 10071628, for details of H.J. Res. 83.)