Grow America Act of 2012
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Grow America Act of 2012 - Directs the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance to report tax reform legislation for individual and business taxpayers. Requires such legislation to lower the tax burden on individuals and businesses and to simplify the tax system. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an inflation adjustment to the basis of assets held for more than three years for purposes of determining gain or loss on the sale or exchange of such assets by an individual taxpayer, (2) increase the dividends received deduction for corporations with foreign earnings, and (3) allow an estate tax exclusion of the value of certain family-owned farms or businesses. Prohibits a federal agency from taking any significant regulatory action until the unemployment rate is 7.7% or less. Provides that every exemption from, or special benefit under, any federal law or regulation which is available to any business with up to 200 employees shall be available to every comparable business with 200 or fewer employees. Revises provisions governing congressional review of agency rulemaking to require congressional approval of major rules before they may take effect (currently, major rules take effect unless Congress passes and the President signs a joint resolution disapproving them). Sets forth House and Senate procedures for joint resolutions approving major rules and disapproving non-major rules. Amends the Regulatory Flexibility Act to revise the regulatory process (rulemaking) with respect to small entities (i.e., small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions).
Requires each federal agency to establish a plan for the periodic review (every eight years) of: (1) its rules that have a significant adverse economic impact on small entities, and (2) any small entity compliance guide required to be published by an agency. Sets forth criteria for review of a rule, which shall include the continued need for the rule, the complexity of the rule, and the impact of the rule on small entities. Terminates any rule that is determined to have a significant adverse economic effect on small entities if the issuing agency has failed to complete a required periodic review.
The summary continues for 16 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 15, 2012. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 15, 2012: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced it on March 15, 2012. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 15, 2012, 5292 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5292 days ago, on March 15, 2012.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers