United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2009
Acknowledges Beverly Eckert's service to the nation and particularly to the survivors and families of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Recognizes her work to help bring about implementation of the 9/11 Commission recommendations. Extends the deepest condolences of the House of Representatives to the family of Beverly Eckert and the families of all those who lost their lives due to the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Fairness in Nursing Home Arbitration Act of 2009 - Provides that a pre-dispute arbitration agreement between a long-term care facility and a resident (or anyone acting on the resident's behalf) shall not be valid or specifically enforceable.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require a creditor to make specified disclosures when making a payday loan to a consumer. Prohibits a creditor from making a payday loan to any consumer unless: (1) specified notices are posted conspicuously in English and Spanish in the creditor's public lending area, or, if the loan is made using the Internet, fax or other means, posted conspicuously on the creditor's public internet site relating to any such payday loan; and (2) the creditor offers the consumer an extended repayment plan that meets specified requirements. Sets forth prohibited lender practices, including: (1) requiring a consumer to pay interest and fees that, combined, total more than 15 cents for every dollar loaned in connection with a payday loan; (2) threatening or seeking to have the consumer prosecuted in criminal court to collect the loan; and (3) taking or attempting to take an interest in any of the consumer's personal property to secure the loan. Authorizes a consumer to cancel future payment obligations on a payday loan, without cost or finance charges, by: (1) informing the creditor in writing within two days after executing the loan agreement that the consumer wants to rescind the loan; and (2) returning to the creditor the cash amount of the loan principal. Empowers state attorneys general to enforce this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, in honor of the distinguished service of the American military men and women who have been Medal of Honor recipients. Limits the period for coin issuance to calendar year 2011. Imposes a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin and $10 per coin for the $1 coin, to be distributed to the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to help finance educational, scholarship, and outreach programs of the Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 - Repeals the authority of the Comptroller General to carry out an onsite examination of an open insured bank or bank holding company only if the appropriate federal regulatory agency has consented in writing. (Retains the authority of the Comptroller General to audit a federal agency.) Directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Property Mitigation Assistance Act of 2009 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Assistance and Emergency Relief Act to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a grant program to provide assistance to states to promote pre-disaster property mitigation measures within their jurisdictions. Requires a state, to be eligible for assistance, to have: (1) submitted a mitigation plan; (2) established a process for accepting and processing grant and loan applications from individual homeowners and business owners; (3) established a revolving loan fund to which any grant amounts received under this Act shall be deposited; and (4) submitted a detailed plan for how terms and conditions for authorized loans and grants will be set. Directs the Administrator to allocate grant amounts to eligible states according to a formula based on specified factors, including the nature and extent of potential hazards to property in the state, the number of properties at risk in the event that a hazard or natural disaster should occur, the amount of prior property damage incurred by the state during any previous hazard or natural disaster, and any available data on the future risk of occurrence of any hazard or natural disaster in a state. Sets forth provisions regarding baseline amounts for eligible states and matching requirements. Authorizes each state to make grants or loans to assist individual homeowners and businesses in undertaking pre-disaster property mitigation measures from a revolving loan fund established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Expresses the sense of Congress that Lena Horne should be recognized for her achievements as a singer and Hollywood actress, for her contributions to the struggles for equality, and for using her celebrity as a catalyst for change.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property. Makes this Act applicable to property placed in service after April 11, 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in recognition of five United States Army Five-Star Generals: George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry "Hap" Arnold, and Omar Bradley, alumni of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Requires the design of the coins to include portraits of the generals. Restricts the issuance of such coins to calendar 2013. Requires specified surcharges in the sale of such coins, which shall be paid promptly to the Command and General Staff College Foundation to help finance its support of the College.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education Act or the Youth PROMISE Act - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to establish a PROMISE Advisory Panel to assist the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in: (1) assessing and developing standards and evidence-based practices to prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity; and (2) collecting data in designated geographic areas to assess the needs and existing resources for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention. Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award grants to local governments and Indian tribes to: (1) plan and assess evidence-based and promising practices for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention, especially for at-risk youth; and (2) implement PROMISE plans, developed by local PROMISE Coordinating Councils (PCCs), for coordinating and supporting the delivery of juvenile delinquency and gang prevention and intervention programs in local communities. Establishes a National Research Center for Proven Juvenile Justice Practices to provide PCCs and the public with current research and other information about evidence-based practices related to juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang prevention and intervention. Directs the Administrator to award grants to: (1) allow institutions of higher education to serve as regional research partners with PCCs; and (2) hire and train law enforcement officers as youth-oriented police to work with PCCs, other community-based organizations, and high-risk youth. Establishes a Center for Youth-Oriented Policing. Mynisha's Law - Authorizes any local government or Indian Tribe with a PCC to submit an application to the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for designation as a Comprehensive Gang Prevention and Relief Area. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to partnerships comprising state mental health authorities and local or private entities to prevent or alleviate the effects of youth violence in urban communities with a high or increasing incidence of such violence. Prevention Resources for Eliminating Criminal Activity Using Tailored Interventions in Our Neighborhoods Act of 2009 or the PRECAUTION Act - Establishes the National Commission on Public Safety Through Crime and Delinquency Prevention to: (1) carry out a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of certain crime and delinquency prevention and intervention strategies: and (2) make initial and final reports on such strategies to specified federal and state officials. Authorizes the Director of the National Institute of Justice to make three-year grants to public and private entities for the implementation and evaluation of innovative crime or delinquency prevention or intervention strategies. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize grants for the creation and expansion of state, local, and tribal juvenile witness and victim protection grants.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe a regulation prohibiting advertisements accompanying video programming from: (1) being excessively noisy or strident; (2) having modulation levels substantially higher than the accompanying program; and (3) having an average maximum loudness substantially higher than that of the accompanying program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases; (2) establish the National PF Registry; and (3) establish the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Advisory Board. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial lung diseases that can be confused with, misdiagnosed as, and progress to pulmonary fibrosis. Requires the Secretary, in developing the Registry, to: (1) expand and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure; and (2) provide for research access to pulmonary fibrosis data. Directs the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information are made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute pulmonary fibrosis research activities. Requires the Director of CDC to prepare the National Pulmonary Fibrosis Action Plan. Requires the Secretary to: (1) convene a summit of individuals with expertise in research and care of pulmonary fibrosis to provide a detailed overview of NIH research activities and discuss potential collaborations between NIH and other federal health agencies; and (2) make information about NIH activities relating to pulmonary fibrosis publicly available.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2009 - Amends the Peace Corps Act to: (1) authorize appropriations for the Peace Corps; and (2) increase readjustment allowances for Peace Corps volunteers and volunteer leaders.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 - Declares that no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of: (1) an employment, consumer, or franchise dispute, or (2) a dispute arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights. Declares, further, that the validity or enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by a court, under federal law, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement. Exempts from this Act arbitration provisions in collective bargaining agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2009
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Act of 2009 - Establishes the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Designates the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Partnership as the coordinating entity for the Area. Requires the Partnership to develop and submit a management plan for the Area. Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area Act of 2009 - Establishes the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area. Designates the Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance as the coordinating entity for the Area. Requires the Alliance to develop and submit a management plan for the Area.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2009
Intelligence Community Audit Act of 2009 - Reaffirms the authority of the Comptroller General to audit and evaluate financial transactions, programs, and activities of elements of the intelligence community (those elements identified in the National Security Act of 1947) and obtain access to records for such purposes. Allows the Comptroller General to conduct an audit or evaluation of intelligence sources and methods or covert actions only upon a request of a congressional intelligence committee or the majority or minority leader of the Senate or the House of Representatives. Requires the Comptroller General to disclose the results of any such audit or evaluation only to the original requestor, the Director of National Intelligence, and the head of the relevant element of the intelligence community. Requires the Comptroller General to establish safeguards to protect the unauthorized disclosure of all classified and other sensitive information furnished to the Comptroller General in conducting an audit or evaluation. Requires elements of the intelligence community to cooperate with the Comptroller General in providing documentation and information necessary for audits and evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that A. Phillip Randolph should be recognized for his lifelong leadership and work to end discrimination and secure equal employment and labor opportunities for all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Expresses the sense of Congress that Arthur Schomburg should be recognized for his leadership and contributions in documenting, recording, and researching the historical contributions to society of people of African descent and for his efforts to combat racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Recognizes the contributions of the New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in educating the people of the United States about the African-American migration experience.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2009
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Act of 2009 - Establishes the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Designates the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Partnership as the coordinating entity for the Area. Requires the Partnership to develop and submit a management plan for the Area. Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area Act of 2009 - Establishes the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area. Designates the Mississippi Hills Heritage Area Alliance as the coordinating entity for the Area. Requires the Alliance to develop and submit a management plan for the Area.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2009
Satellite Consumers' Right to Local Channels Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require each satellite carrier providing secondary transmissions in the local market of a television broadcast station to carry, on request, the signals of all television broadcast stations located within any local market (under current law, located within that local market), subject to existing broadcast signal retransmission consent provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health the World Trade Center Health Program (WTC program) to provide: (1) medical monitoring and treatment benefits to eligible emergency responders and recovery and cleanup workers who responded to the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; and (2) initial health evaluation, monitoring, and treatment benefits to residents and other building occupants and area workers who were directly impacted and adversely affected by such attacks. Requires the WTC program administrator to: (1) implement a quality assurance program; (2) establish the WTC Health Program Scientific/Technical Advisory Committee; (3) establish the WTC Responders Steering Committee and the WTC Community Program Steering Committee; (4) provide for education and outreach on services under the WTC program; (5) provide for the uniform collection of data related to WTC-related health conditions; (6) conduct research on physical and mental health conditions that may be related to the September 11 terrorist attacks; and (7) extend and expand arrangements with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to provide for the World Trade Center Health Registry. Authorizes the administrator to make grants to the Department to address mental health needs relating to the terrorist attacks. Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to: (1) make individuals eligible for compensation under the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 for harm as a result of debris removal; and (2) extend the deadline for making a claim for compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Performance Rights Act - Amends federal copyright law to: (1) grant performers of sound recordings equal rights to compensation from terrestrial broadcasters; (2) establish a flat annual fee in lieu of payment of royalties for individual terrestrial broadcast stations with gross revenues of less than $1.25 million and for noncommercial, public broadcast stations; (3) grant an exemption from royalty payments for broadcasts of religious services and for incidental uses of musical sound recordings; and (4) grant terrestrial broadcast stations that make limited feature uses of sound recordings a per program license option. Prohibits taking into account license fees payable for public performance via digital audio transmission of sound recordings in any proceeding to set or adjust the license fees for the purpose of reducing or adversely affecting such license fees. (Current law prohibits taking those fees into account in such a proceeding without referencing the purpose.) Prohibits anything in this Act from adversely affecting the public performance rights or royalties payable to songwriters or copyright owners of musical works. Prohibits taking into account the rates established by the Copyright Royalty Judges in any proceeding to reduce or adversely affect the license fees payable for public performances by terrestrial broadcast stations. Requires that such license fees for the public performance of musical works be independent of license fees paid for the public performance of sound recordings. Revises provisions relating to proceeds from the licensing of transmissions.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel, except in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba, or of imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Honors the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as President of the United States. Recognizes the ascension of an African-American to that office as a historic achievement.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2009
Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress on policy issues associated with the recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work. Directs the Commission to study and report to Congress on issues facing the social work profession, including: (1) fair market compensation, high social work educational debt, social work workforce trends, translating social work research to practice, and social work safety; and (2) state-level social work licensure policies and reciprocity agreements for providing services across state lines. Requires such study to assess the professional capacity of the social work workforce to serve and respond successfully to the increasing biopsychosocial needs of individuals, groups, and communities in certain areas, including aging and child welfare. Authorizes the Secretary to award: (1) workplace improvement grants to eligible entities and individuals to address workplace concerns for the social work profession, including caseloads, compensation, social work safety, supervision, and working conditions; and (2) research grants, education and training grants, and community-based programs of excellence grants. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with a national social work research entity to serve as a coordinating center and clearinghouse for information on activities funded under the grants; and (2) develop a multi-media outreach campaign and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the social work profession.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2009
Community Safety Initiative Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs to make grants in FY2010-FY2015 to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to carry out its Community Safety Initiative (a program of partnerships between police and community development corporations in troubled neighborhoods to address issues of persistent crime, disorder, and fear).
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2009
Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce from $18 to $9 ( the pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer; and (2) allow a further reduction in such tax for brewers who produce not more than 2 million barrels annually.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2009
Designates the U.S. courthouse to be constructed at a specified site in Jackson, Mississippi, as the "R. Jess Brown United States Courthouse."
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2009
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the minimum level of sound that is necessary to be emitted from a motor vehicle, or some other method, to alert blind and other pedestrians of the presence of operating motor vehicles while traveling.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2009
All Healthy Children Act of 2009 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish under a new title XXII (All Healthy Children Program) a state-operated program receiving federal financial assistance to provide comprehensive health coverage for children and pregnant and postpartum women in place of benefits previously provided for them under SSA titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP). Establishes a Commission on Children's Health Coverage to: (1) evaluate annually for Congress the status of children's health coverage in the United States; and (2) report to Congress a legislative proposal that would assure health benefits coverage for all U.S. children.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2009
Recognizes the 100th anniversary of the historic founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Honors and praises the NAACP on the occasion of its anniversary for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons.
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2009
Home Front to Heroes Postal Benefits Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide for a program under which postal benefit vouchers are provided during FY2010 for members of the Armed Forces who are serving in overseas operations or who are hospitalized due to a disease or injury incurred as a result of such service. Permits the vouchers to be transferred to another person to allow that person to mail correspondence and small parcels to the member. Limits vouchers to one per month. Allows a voucher earned during FY2010 to be used after the end of that fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to transfer to the Postal Service an amount representing the amount of the vouchers used.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2009
United States Civil Rights Trail System Act of 2009 - Directs the Archivist of the United States to conduct a study of the feasibility of establishing the United States Civil Rights Trail System to mark the geographic locations in the United States, including U.S. territories, of historically significant events related to struggles for civil rights based on racial equality. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to establish and maintain individual trails marking the geographic locations of such events. Authorizes the establishment of such a trail in each state where a significant civil rights event occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2009
United States National Health Care Act or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act - Establishes the United States National Health Care (USNHC) Program to provide all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Prohibits an institution from participating unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that deliver care in their own facilities to participate. Gives patients the freedom to choose from participating physicians and institutions. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Allows such insurers to sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. Sets forth methods to pay institutional providers of care and health professionals for services. Prohibits financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization. Establishes the USNHC Trust Fund to finance the Program with amounts deposited: (1) from existing sources of government revenues for health care; (2) by increasing personal income taxes on the top 5% income earners; (3) by instituting a progressive excise tax on payroll and self-employment income; and (4) by instituting a small tax on stock and bond transactions. Transfers and appropriates to carry out this Act amounts that would have been appropriated for federal public health care programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Requires the USNHC Program to give first priority in retraining and job placement and USNHC employment transition benefits to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced administration. Requires creation of a confidential electronic patient record system. Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to provide advice on quality, access, and affordability. Provides for: (1) the eventual integration of the Indian Health Service into the Program; and (2) evaluation of the continued independence of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2009
Huntington's Disease Parity Act of 2009 - Directs the Commissioner of Social Security to revise the medical criteria for evaluating disability caused by adult-onset and juvenile Huntington's Disease. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the 24-month waiting period for Medicare eligibility for individuals disabled by Huntington's Disease.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2009
Modernize Our Bookkeeping In the Law for Employee's Cell Phone Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to remove certain limitations on the tax deduction for employee use of cellular telephones.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2009
Recognizes the significance of Black History Month as an important time to recognize the contributions of African-Americans in the nation's history. Encourages the continued celebration of this month to provide an opportunity for all peoples of the United States to learn more about the past and to better understand the experiences that have shaped the nation. Recognizes that the ethnic and racial diversity of the United States enriches and strengthens the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2009
Recognizes that U.S. hardwoods are an abundant, sustainable, and legal resource. Urges giving U.S. hardwoods and derivative products full consideration in programs directed at constructing environmentally preferable commercial, public, or private buildings.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2009
FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the National Housing Act to make exceptions to the prohibition against mortgage insurance for mortgages involving a downpayment using funds furnished by: (1) the seller or any party that benefits financially from the transaction (seller-financed downpayment); or (2) any third party that is reimbursed by the seller or any such party. Makes eligible for mortgage insurance, in spite of a seller-financed downpayment, any mortagors with credit scores equivalent to a FICO score of: (1) 680 or more; (2) at least 620 but less than 680; or (3) 619 or less. Prescribes conditions for mortgage insurance in the latter two situations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2009
Fair, Accurate, Secure, and Timely Redress Act of 2009 or the FAST Redress Act of 2009 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish: (1) a timely and fair process for individuals who believe they were delayed or prohibited from boarding a commercial aircraft because they were wrongly identified as a threat when screened against any terrorist watchlist or database used by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) or any component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and (2) an Office of Appeals and Redress within DHS to implement, coordinate, and execute the process. Requires the process to include the establishment of a method for maintaining and appropriately disseminating a Comprehensive Cleared List of individuals who: (1) were misidentified; (2) completed an appeal and redress request and provided required information to verify their identity; and (3) permit their personally identifiable information to be shared between DHS components. Directs the Secretary to: (1) transmit information necessary to resolve misidentifications, improve administration of the advanced passenger prescreening system, and reduce false positives to TSA or any other appropriate DHS component, other federal, state, local, and tribal entities, and domestic and foreign air carriers that use any terrorist watchlist or database; and (2) ensure that the List is considered when assessing an individual's security risk. Terminates the transmission of the List to domestic and foreign air carriers on the date the federal government assumes terrorist watchlist or database screening functions. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into memoranda of understanding with federal, state, local, and tribal entities to improve the appeal and redress process and for other purposes, such as to verify an individual's identity and personally identifiable information; and (2) work with other entities that use any terrorist watchlist or database to ensure that the List is considered when assessing an individual's security risk. Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with DHS's Chief Privacy Officer, to: (1) require that DHS employees complete mandatory privacy and security training before being authorized to handle personally identifiable information; (2) ensure that the information maintained is secured by encryption; (3) limit the information collected from misidentified passengers or other individuals to the minimum amount necessary to resolve an appeal and redress request; (4) ensure that the information maintained is shared or transferred via an encrypted data network that has been audited to ensure that security related software functions perform properly and are updated as necessary; (5) ensure that any DHS employee receiving the information handles it in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 and other specified law; (6) retain the information for only as long as needed to assist the individual traveler in the appeal and redress process; (7) engage in cooperative agreements with appropriate federal entities to ensure that legal name changes are properly reflected in any terrorist watchlist or database and the List; and (8) conduct, publish, and report to specified congressional committees on a privacy impact assessment of the process. Requires the Office of Appeals and Redress, at each airport at which: (1) DHS has a presence, to provide written information to air carrier passengers to begin the appeal and redress process; and (2) DHS has a significant presence, to provide that information and ensure the availability of a TSA supervisor who is trained in such process to provide support to air carrier passengers in need of guidance. Sets forth reporting requirements on the status of information sharing among users at DHS of any terrorist watchlist or database. Incorporates the appeals and redress process into the Secure Flight Program.
United States · United States Congress · 15 January 2009
National Bombing Prevention Act of 2009 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an Office for Bombing Prevention within the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Protective Security Coordination Division of the Office of Infrastructure Protection. Assigns the Office primary responsibility for enhancing the ability and coordinating the efforts of the nation to deter, detect, prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist explosive attacks in the United States. Directs the Secretary to partner with other federal, state, local, and tribal agencies, nonprofit organizations, universities, and the private sector to: (1) develop a pilot program that includes a domestic breeding program for explosives detection canines; (2) increase the number of capability assessments of explosives detection canine units; (3) continue development of a scientifically-based training curriculum to enhance consensus-based national training and certification standards to provide for the effective use of explosives detection canines; and (4) continue engagement in explosives detection canine research and development activities through partnerships with the Science and Technology Directorate and the Technical Support Working Group. Directs the Secretary to develop and periodically update a national strategy to prevent and prepare for terrorist explosive attacks in the United States. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to: (1) ensure coordination and information sharing regarding nonmilitary research, development, testing, and evaluation activities relating to the detection and prevention of, protection against, and response to terrorist attacks in the United States using explosives or improvised explosive devices and the development of tools and technologies necessary to neutralize and disable explosive devices; (2) coordinate with relevant federal department heads to ensure that military policies, procedures, activities, tools, and technologies to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks are adapted to nonmilitary uses; (3) establish a technology transfer program to facilitate the identification, modification, and commercialization of technology and equipment for use by agencies, emergency response providers, and the private sector against such attacks; and (4) establish a working group to advise and assist in the identification of military technologies developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) or the private sector to protect against and respond to explosive attacks. Amends the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 to direct the Comptroller General to utilize explosives detection canine teams of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other DHS agencies to strengthen security and capacity. Directs the Secretary to submit a report to specified congressional committees on the administration of canine procurement activities by DHS to deter, prevent, detect, and protect against terrorist explosive attacks in the United States that includes consideration of the feasibility of reducing the price paid for the procurement of untrained canines.
United States · United States Congress · 14 January 2009
Commends the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Team) of the Arkansas National Guard for their exemplary service to the United States and the completion of their second deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Recognizes the service and sacrifice of the Team members and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2009
Housing Fairness Act of 2009 - Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct, and report to Congress on, a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to reauthorize the fair housing initiatives program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should: (1) fully comply with such Act's requirements to establish, design, and maintain a national education and outreach program for the development and dissemination of the fair housing rights of individuals who seek to rent, purchase, sell, or facilitate the sale of a home; (2) use all amounts appropriated for such program; and (3) promulgate regulations on the fair housing obligations of each recipient of federal housing funds to affirmatively further fair housing. Directs the Secretary to implement a competitive matching grant program to assist private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of specified aspects of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 January 2009
Honors the contributions of school counselors to the success of students in our elementary and secondary schools. Encourages the observation of National School Counseling Week (February 2-6, 2009) with ceremonies and activities that promote awareness of the crucial role school counselors play in preparing students for fulfilling lives as contributing members of society.
United States · United States Congress · 8 January 2009
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the award of a congressional gold medal to the Army's 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
![Official portrait of Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000193_200.jpg)