The following are the trade-related hearings scheduled for August 2-7, 2010:
On July 30, 2010,the House of Representatives adjourned for its August district work period until September 14, 2010. The Senate is expected to adjourn for its August district work period on August 6, 2010.
On July 30, 2010, the President signed into law S. 3372, which extends from July 31, 2010 to December 18, 2013, a moratorium on the requirement for Clean Water Act permitting of discharges from certain vessels.
On July 29, 2010, the Senate passed H.R. 5874, making supplemental appropriations for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010.
On July 30, 2010, the President signed into law H.R. 5849, which extends the authorizations of certain Small Business Administration programs until September 30, 2010.
On July 29, 2010, the following measures were reported in the Senate:
The House Transit and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Highways and Transit conducted a hearing on July 21, 2010 regarding oversight by the Federal Highway Administration of the Federal Highway Bridge Program (HBP) and the National Bridge Inspection Program. Among others, the Subcommittee heard testimony from the Department of Transportation's Inspector General (IG) for FHWA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The hearing was part of the Subcommittee’s effort to prepare for the reauthorization of Federal surface transportation programs under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU).
During July 21, 2010 testimony at a House Committee for Small Business hearing on "The Impact of Intellectual Property on Entrepreneurship and Job Creation", the Business Software Alliance stated that it will soon be releasing a study to quantify the impact of unfair software competition. Preliminary results estimate that addressing this problem in China alone would add over 25,000 new U.S. software jobs and many times that throughout the rest of the economy. SBA recommended that small businesses continue to be trained to manage their software licenses to protect themselves from the legal, technical and financial consequences of using unlicensed software. BSA has partnered with the Small Business Administration to develop resources for small businesses, including its “Software Strategies for Small Business” guide and its www.smartaboutsoftware.org website.
On July 27, 2010, Senator Reid (D) introduced the "Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act of 2010". The bill would invest $5 billion in a Home Star retrofit rebate program and promote the manufacturing and deployment of clean vehicles that use natural gas and electricity. The bill also has provisions on coral reef ecosystems and would make it unlawful for any person to destroy, take, cause the loss of, or injure any coral reef or any component thereof. The bill would hold BP and all the oil companies involved in the Gulf Coast oil spill fully accountable for the true costs of the damages they caused. The bill as introduced does not appear to include any international reserve allowance or border (import) tax provisions.
On July 30, 2010, the House passed H.Res. 1558, a resolution to express the sense of the House of Representatives that fruit and vegetable and commodity producers are encouraged to display the American flag on labels of products grown in the U.S.