On June 30, 2010, the House of Representatives passed the conference version of H.R. 4173, the financial reform bill, which contains provisions that would impose new requirements on companies that use “conflict minerals” and provide new whistleblower rewards. The Senate is expected to pass this conference version the week of July 12, 2010.
On June 30, 2010, the House agreed to the conference report to accompany H.R. 4173, the financial reform bill. The separately House- and Senate-passed bills contained trade provisions such as requirements for companies using conflict minerals, whistleblower awards for securities violations such as FCPA, expanded authority for the FTC. See future issue of ITT for details on the trade provisions in the conference report. On June 30, 2010, the Senate rejected a motion to close further debate on H.R. 4173.
On May 20, 2010, the Senate passed H.R. 4173, the financial reform bill. The House passed its own version of H.R. 4173 on December 11, 2009.
The Justice Department has issued a press release announcing it has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit1 against Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), Panalpina Inc. and others which alleges that employees of two freight forwarders doing business with the companies provided unlawful kickbacks to KBR transportation department employees.
The Justice Department has intervened in a whistleblower lawsuit against Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), Panalpina Inc. and others that alleges that employees of two freight forwarders doing business with the companies provided unlawful kickbacks to KBR transportation department employees. The government will seek damages and penalties under the False Claims Act and common law, as well as penalties under the Anti-Kickback Act. (DOJ press release, dated 05/05/10, available at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/May/10-civ-529.html)
The signatories to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD's) Anti-Bribery Convention have committed to further steps in their agreement to combat bribery and corruption.
The Census Bureau has issued an Automated Export System broadcast announcing that it has developed AESDirect and AESPcLink Sample Shipment Guides which provide screenshots of the entire filing process in each respective application, along with important information and helpful tips that appear among Census' most frequently asked questions. (Notice, available at http://www.aesdirect.gov/support/userguide.htmlsample_shipments)
On February 11, 2009, Representative Roskam (R), along with co-sponsor Representative Kirk (R), introduced the "Keeping America's Food Safe Act of 2009" (H.R. 999), a bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to improve food safety.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has reorganized its Web site on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) which was enacted as Public Law 110-314 on August 14, 2008.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), which was enacted on August 14, 2008,1 establishes new whistleblower protections for employees of manufacturers (includes importers), private labelers, distributors, or retailers of consumer products (collectively, employees).