United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2007
Offers the sincerest congratulations of the U.S. House of Representatives to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments in recognition of its 50th Anniversary and its legacy of outstanding service to the governments and citizens of greater Washington, D.C., metropolitan region, and expresses its appreciation for a job well done.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2007
Condemns the November 6, 2007, attack in the Baghlan province of Afghanistan and all other attacks against the Afghan people. Expresses condolences to the people of Afghanistan and to the members of the Wolesi Jirga. Calls upon the United States and other nations to strengthen their efforts to further the goals and standards set forth in the Afghanistan Compact for improvements in Afghanistan's security, governance, and economic development.
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2007
Congratulates Hostelling International USA for its 75 years of service. Commends Hostelling International USA for its contributions to intercultural exchange and leadership in the field of youth travel.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2007
Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor Program Moratorium Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to effect a one-year moratorium on the Medicare recovery audit contractor program, under which the Secretary contracts with recovery audit contractors to identify underpayments and overpayments, and recoup overpayments, with respect to all services for which payment is made under part A or B of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Requires: (1) the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to evaluate the program for Congress; and (2) the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the use of recovery audit contractors in the Medicare Integrity program.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2007
Repeals specified exceptions to rights of certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees to engage in collective bargaining. Requires a final decision of the VA with respect to the review of an adverse personnel action against a VA employee to be issued not later than 60 days after such action has been appealed. Subjects such decision to judicial review in the appropriate U.S. District Court or, if the decision is made by a labor arbitrator, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2007
Declares that House of Representatives has lost confidence in Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Nancy Nord and urges the President to request her resignation and to nominate a new candidate more capable of serving as the CPSC head.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2007
Recognizes that: (1) contributing to improving health in developing nations is in the vital interest of the United States as it helps protect the health of the American people, facilitates development among partner nations, and cultivates a positive U.S. image; and (2) investments in health, particularly investments that reach disadvantaged populations, contribute to poverty alleviation. Acknowledges the need to strengthen health care systems to meet essential health needs. Expresses support for U.S. investments in reducing the global burdens of HIV/AIDS and malaria through the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief and the President's Malaria Initiative. Encourages the U.S. government to expand adoption and implementation of policies and programs that alleviate the greatest burden of disease in developing nations in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2007
Condemns violent attempts to resist the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and encourages all parties involved in the conflict to reach a lasting cease-fire. Encourages the U.S. government to state publicly its support for the disarmament and reintegration of forces loyal to General Nkunda into the national army. Condemns the infiltration of soldiers into the Virunga National Forest and the danger it poses to the mountain gorillas.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2007
Gulf Coast Civic Works Act - Establishes the Gulf Coast Recovery Authority (Corporation). Requires the Corporation to: (1) administer a Gulf Coast Civic Works Project that employs a minimum of 100,000 Gulf Coast region residents and evacuees for public works projects to rebuild, sustain, and develop the Gulf Coast region; (2) establish job training programs and apprenticeships to recruit and train qualified workers, including from the Gulf Coast region, for specific vacancies in recovery, rebuilding, and development projects; and (3) ensure that all workers are paid wages at not less than the prevailing locality rate (Davis-Bacon Act). Authorizes the Corporation to provide grants to Gulf Coast region residents that possess certain skills for: (1) artistic and cultural projects which reflect the history and culture of the Gulf Coast region; and (2) projects that chronicle the story of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2007
Amends the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to prohibit the bankruptcy court from dismissing or converting a case based on means testing while the debtor: (1) is either on active duty or performing a homeland defense activity for at least 60 days; or (2) was either called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity as a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard after September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2007
Prevention Through Affordable Access Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for the best price component of the formula for determination of the Medicaid rebate for a covered single source outpatient drug or a covered innovator multiple source outpatient drug. (Under current law, best prices shall not take into account prices that are merely nominal in amount.) Revises the list of entities to which sales by a manufacturer of covered outpatient drugs at nominal prices shall be considered to be sales at a nominal price, or merely nominal in amount (and thus excluded from computation of the best price for such drugs). Adds to such list any entity that is: (1) operated by a health center of an institution of higher education, primarily for its students (university-based clinic); or (2) a public or private nonprofit entity that provides family planning services under the Public Health Service Act (safety-net clinic).
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2007
Voter Access Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit an election official from requiring an individual to provide a photo identification as a condition for receiving or casting a ballot in any election for federal office.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2007
Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to declare that any person who printed an expiration date on any receipt provided to a consumer cardholder at a point of sale (POS) or transaction between December 4, 2004, and the enactment of this Act, but otherwise complied with FCRA requirements for such receipt, shall not be in willful noncompliance by reason of printing such expiration date on it.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2007
Preserve America and Save America's Treasures Act - Establishes the Preserve America Program, under which the Secretary of the Interior, in partnership with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, shall provide competitive grants to specified entities to support preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education, and historic preservation planning activities. Sets forth provisions regarding the designation of communities, tribal areas, and neighborhoods as Preserve America Communities. Establishes the Save America's Treasures Program, under which the Secretary shall provide grants to eligible entities for projects to preserve nationally significant collections and historic properties. Provides for, of the amounts available for such grants, not less than 50% to be available for projects to preserve collections and historic properties, which shall be distributed through a competitive grant process. Requires a collection or historic property to be provided a competitive grant only if such collection or property is: (1) nationally significant; and (2) threatened or endangered. Requires historic properties, to be eligible for a grant, to be: (1) listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the national level of significance; or (2) designated as a National Historic Landmark. Sets forth the criteria under which grants shall be provided to projects for eligible collections and historic properties.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2007
Military Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Act - Establishes in the Department of Defense (DOD) an Office of the Victims' Advocate to facilitate access to services for victims of domestic or family violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the military. Directs the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Director of the Office, to require DOD policies for victim assistance, family advocacy, and equal opportunity programs to provide for a victims' advocates program within each military department. Authorizes the Secretary to award contracts to: (1) support DOD crisis intervention services for victims of such violence; and (2) provide training on prevention of such violence. Prohibits any person from restricting a member of the Armed Forces in communicating with the Office or from taking or withholding a personnel action in retaliation for making such a communication. Provides for: (1) employment of a sexual assault nurse examiner, a psychiatrist, and a complimentary clinical team at each DOD military treatment facility; and (2) DOD community level programs and shelter services for active duty members and their families who are victims of such violence shelter . Specifies the rights of victims of such violence reported to a military law enforcement agency. Directs a military commanding officer who receives a qualifying complaint alleging such violence to investigate it and report. Specifies circumstances under which military law enforcement officers shall arrest a person for committing domestic violence. Establishes a Director of Special Investigations in DOD to review investigations of allegations of such violence and refer cases for prosecution. Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice to: (1) include as "aggravated assault" and specify penalty limits for an assault involving domestic or family violence; and (2) provide for court-martial punishment of violations of no contact or protective orders. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) contract for treatment services for members of the Armed Forces who have committed such violence; and (2) ensure that sex offender treatment providers in the contracted program meet the state licensing or certification standards. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) primary care providers receive training in the screening and referral of veterans who have suffered military sexual trauma; and (2) conduct related pilot programs. Prohibits the Secretary of the military department concerned from approving a financial award or a promotion for an officer or employee who has been convicted of or disciplined for committing such violence. Directs the Secretary to study: (1) the prevalence and nature of such violence, of intimate partner violence, and of child maltreatment, abuse, suicide, and homicide in the Armed Forces; and (2) military procedures after an incident is reported.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2007
Share the Sacrifice Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an Iraq War surtax on the net income tax liabilities of individuals, estates and trusts, and corporations. Exempts from such surtax: (1) members of the Armed Forces who have received combat pay after September 11, 2001; (2) survivors of military personnel who received a death gratuity; and (3) taxpayers with adjusted gross income not in excess of $30,000.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2007
Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act - Amends federal transportation law to prohibit a state from prescribing or enforcing any regulation that allows a restricted property-carrying unit (any trailer, semi-trailer, container, or other property-carrying unit longer than 53 feet, except for a fire-fighting unit) to operate on the National Highway System (NHS) (including the Interstate System), unless the operation of such unit is authorized by the state on June 1, 2007, and in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal operations) on or before that date. Prohibits a state from allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle combination on the NHS (except a vehicle or load that cannot be dismantled or divided easily, and that has been issued a special permit under state law) with more than one property-carrying unit (excluding the truck tractor) whose property-carrying units are more than: (1) the maximum combination trailer, semi-trailer, or other type of length limitation allowed by state law on June 1, 2007; or (2) the length of the property-carrying units of those commercial motor vehicle combinations, by specific configuration, in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including continual seasonal operation) in such state on or before June 1, 2007. Amends federal highway law to prohibit a state from allowing the operation of a vehicle or combination (other than a longer combination vehicle) exceeding Interstate weight limits on the Interstate System unless its operation was lawful: (1) on July 1, 1956; (2) in the case of the overall gross weight of any group of two or more consecutive axles, on the date of enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974; or (3) under a special permit pursuant to state (grandfather) law. Declares that Interstate weight limitations on vehicles and combinations (other than longer combination vehicles) that operate on the Interstate System shall also apply to such vehicles and combinations that operate on non-Interstate segments of the NHS, unless: (1) such segments are subject to lower state weight limits; or (2) a state allows the operation of any vehicle or combination on an existing non-Interstate segment of the NHS that could be so operated lawfully on June 1, 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2007
Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2007 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for: (1) establishment of one or more Medicare operated prescription drug plan options; (2) an appeals process for denials of benefits under a Medicare operated prescription drug plan; and (3) pharmacy payments under such a plan.
United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2007
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate final regulations revising case management and targeted case management under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act. (Currently, such regulations may be effective and final immediately on an interim basis as of their publication date.) Requires such regulations to be consistent with: (1) federal rule making notice and comment requirements, except that the period of public comment on them shall be at least 80 days; and (2) congressional review requirements. Makes the regulations effective at least 90 days after publication in the Federal Register or presentation to each chamber or the Comptroller General, whichever occurs later. Repeals the Secretary's authority to change or revise such regulations after completion of the comment period.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
Federal Labor-Management Partnership Act of 2007 - Establishes the Federal Labor-Management Partnership Council to advise the President on matters involving labor-management relations in the executive branch. Includes among the Council's activities: (1) supporting the creation of local labor-management partnership councils that promote partnership efforts; (2) collecting and disseminating information about and providing guidance on such efforts; (3) using the expertise of individuals, inside and outside the federal government, to foster partnership arrangements in the executive branch; and (4) proposing statutory changes to improve the civil service to better serve the public and carry out the mission of the various agencies. Requires the President to designate a Council Chairperson. Requires the President to direct the head of each agency which is subject to labor-management relations provisions or any other authority permitting employees to select an exclusive representative, to: (1) create labor-management partnerships by forming labor-management committees or councils at appropriate levels or adapting existing committees or councils if such groups exist; (2) involve employees and their representatives as full partners with management representatives to improve the civil service to better serve the public and carry out the mission of the agency; (3) provide systemic training of appropriate employees in consensual methods of dispute resolution; (4) negotiate, at the request of the labor organization, on specified subjects and instruct subordinate officials to do the same; and (5) evaluate progress and improvements in organizational performance resulting from such labor-management partnerships.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
Menu Education and Labeling Act or the MEAL Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to require restaurants that are a part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same trade name to disclose: (1) in a statement adjacent to each menu item, the number of calories, grams of saturated fat plus trans fat, and milligrams of sodium in a standard food serving; (2) other information designed to enable the public to understand the significance of the nutrition information provided in the context of a total daily diet; (3) that such information shall be provided in writing upon request; and (4) in a statement adjacent to the name of the food on a menu board, the number of calories in a serving of the food. Exempts condiments, items placed on a table or counter for general use, daily specials, temporary menu items, and irregular menu items from these requirements. Requires restaurants that sell self-serve food, such as through salad bars or buffet lines, to place a sign that lists the number of calories per standard serving adjacent to each food offered. Permits retail food establishments to voluntarily provide, and states to require, additional nutritional information. Requires vending machine operators to provide a conspicuous sign disclosing the number of calories in each item of food offered.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Children's Health Month. Reaffirms our nation's commitment to providing access to health care, ensuring preventative care, seeking cures for debilitating diseases and chronic conditions, and promoting healthy living habits for America's children. Salutes: (1) health care professionals who provide care and treatment for childhood illnesses; and (2) officials who protect children from environmental health and safety risks, and who educate parents, schools, and communities about health risks for children. Encourages states, territories, and possessions of the United States to educate children about healthy living habits when they are young.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Income Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) deny employers a tax deduction for payments of excessive compensation to any employee (i.e., more than 25 times the lowest compensation paid any other employee); and (2) require such employers to file a report on compensation paid to their employees with the Secretary of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Home Health Care Access Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services and adjustments to it for case mix changes. Prohibits any adjustment in the PPS for payment in 2008. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for any adjustment in a subsequent year, to evaluate changes in case mix using standards developed consistent with specified processes, taking certain criteria into account. Directs the Secretary to convene a Technical Advisory Group to advise on the development of such standards. Prohibits the Secretary from taking any action to implement or otherwise carry out provisions in the final rule published on August 29, 2007, that propose to make a case mix adjustment to the standardized payment amounts under the PPS to account for changes in coding that were not related to an underlying change in patient health status. Directs the Secretary to republish any rates specified in such rule to take into account the application of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Shortens the length of the obligated period of active duty service required of certain members of the Armed Forces to receive certain veterans' education benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives concerning the classification and withholding of reports, statements, and other information concerning Iraq, including information concerning the extent of corruption in the Iraqi government, whether corruption is fueling the insurgency, and broad assessments of the Iraqi government.
United States · United States Congress · 12 October 2007
Congratulates Vice President Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for receiving the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize and commends the Norwegian Nobel Committee for selecting them. Recognizes: (1) Vice President Al Gore's work to increase awareness about the dangers of global warming; and (2) the Panel's work to create an informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Recommends that the public takes action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Encourages Congress and the President to enact climate change legislation to substantially reduce U.S. contributions to GHG emissions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act of 2007 - Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reimburse certain veterans without a service-connected disability enrolled as active participants of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care plan for the cost of emergency treatment received in a non-VA facility until such time as such veterans are transferred to a VA facility. Requires (current law authorizes) the Secretary to reimburse certain veterans with a service-connected disability or a non-service-connected disability associated with or aggravating a service-connected disability for the value of emergency treatment for which such veterans have made payment from sources other than the VA.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Veterans Guaranteed Bonus Act of 2007 - Provides that, in the case of a member of the Armed Forces who is retired or separated for disability due to a combat-related injury, the Secretary of Defense shall require the continued payment of any bonuses or special pay to which the member: (1) was entitled to immediately before the retirement or separation; and (2) would continue to be entitled to if not retired or separated. Requires such payment in a lump sum within 30 days after such retirement or separation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2007 - Allows federal employees to substitute any available paid leave for any leave without pay available for either the: (1) birth of a child; or (2) placement of a child with the employee for either adoption or foster care. Makes available for any of the 12 weeks of leave an employee is entitled to for such purposes: (1) eight administrative weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth or placement involved; and (2) any accumulated annual or sick leave. Amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to allow the same substitution for covered congressional employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
African Health Capacity Investment Act of 2007 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance, including through international or nongovernmental organizations, for programs to improve human health care capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. Directs the President to develop and transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a strategy for coordinating, implementing, and monitoring assistance programs for human health care capacity in sub-Saharan Africa.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Expresses support and sympathy for the victims of the flooding that occurred across much of Ohio and the surrounding region in August 2007. Conveys gratitude to those who responded to this emergency and who continue working to restore normalcy. Commends the people of Ohio for their indomitable spirit and for the grace and magnanimity with which they have supported one another during the flooding and continuing recovery.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Calls upon the President to develop within the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) a Women and Girls of Darfur Initiative to improve assistance to victims and potential victims of rape and sexual violence in Darfur, Sudan, eastern Chad, and the Central African Republic. Calls upon the Secretary General of the United Nations, the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU), the Arab League, and other nations to take steps to ensure that a fully funded and fully equipped U.N.-AU peacekeeping force (UNAMID) is deployed to Darfur, including an adequate number of female troops and police to properly manage incidents of rape and sexual violence. Calls upon the Security Council to: (1) find the government of Sudan in noncompliance with Security Council Resolution 1325; (2) call on the government of Sudan to provide legal protections to victims of rape and sexual violence and to bring to justice individuals responsible for such crimes; and (3) enforce the arrest warrants for Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Ali Muhammad Al Abd-Al-Raham, and further recognize the systematic rape of women and girls in Darfur as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Recognizes the 35th anniversary of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act). Recommits to restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters and expresses dedication to working toward a sustainable, long-term solution to address the nation's decaying water infrastructure. Encourages the public and all levels of government to renew commitment to restoring and protecting the nation's rivers, lakes, streams, marine waters, and wetlands for future generations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Supports the observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in order to provide a special opportunity to offer education on the importance of monthly breast self-examinations and annual mammograms. Salutes the more than 2.4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States and the efforts of victims, volunteers, and professionals who combat breast cancer each day. Recognizes and applauds the national and community organizations for their work in promoting awareness about breast cancer, providing information, and offering treatment to its sufferers. Urges organizations and health practitioners to use this opportunity to promote awareness about breast cancer, to support monthly self-examinations, and to encourage annual mammograms.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2007
Military Child College Affordability Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to prohibit a state from charging members of the armed forces who are on active duty for more than 30 days and whose domicile or permanent duty station is in such state, and such members' dependents, more than the in-state tuition for attending a public institution of higher education (IHE) in that state. Provides that, even if such members' permanent duty station is subsequently changed to a location outside the state, they or their dependents must continue to be charged no more than the in-state tuition if they remain continuously enrolled at such IHE in the state.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act - Designates specified public lands in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska, as wilderness areas or components of the National Wilderness Reservation System. Provides with respect to specified public lands in the Tongass National Forest for: (1) designation as Land Use Designation II lands; (2) designation as restoration lands; and (3) designation as special management areas. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate as wild, scenic, and recreational rivers specified waters in the Tongass National Forest.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the use of tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds to finance the purchase of residences for veterans who are exempt from prior homeownership requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2007
Educational Advisor and Contractor Integrity Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to establish a screening process to address conflicts of interest on the part of individuals being considered for service on advisory committees used in the Act's administration. Authorizes the Secretary to grant an exemption to individuals that have a conflict of interest if: (1) the conflict does not compromise the integrity, in fact or appearance, of the committee's efforts; (2) the conflict can be sufficiently mitigated; and (3) reasonable efforts were made to identify alternate conflict-free individuals. Considers such advisory committee members to be special government employees for purposes of the federal criminal code. Directs the Secretary to: (1) work with the Office of Government Ethics to develop policies and procedures to address conflicts of interest on the part of advisory committee members, including the adoption of an alternative confidential financial disclosure form for such members; and (2) seek advice, before convening an advisory group, from the Committee Management Secretariat within the General Services Administration (GSA) as to the applicability of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Requires the Secretary to screen potential providers of technical assistance under the Act for conflicts of interest and implement a process for continually monitoring whether technical assistance providers are appropriately implementing required conflicts of interest policies and procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Global Service Fellowship Program Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of State to establish and administer a Global Service Fellowship Program to fund fellowships to promote international volunteering opportunities as a means of building bridges across cultures, addressing critical human needs, and promoting mutual understanding. Sets forth Program provisions. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Research Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Cancer Institute to enter into cooperative agreements with, or make grants to, public or nonprofit entities to establish and operate centers to conduct research on biomarkers for use in risk stratification for, and the early detection and screening of, ovarian cancer. Designates each center as an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Center of Excellence. Allows federal payments under such an agreement or grant to be used for research on: (1) the development and characterization of new biomarkers and the refinement of existing biomarkers; (2) the clinical and laboratory validation of such biomarkers; (3) the development and implementation of clinical and epidemiological research on the utilization of such biomarkers; and (4) the development and implementation of repositories for new tissue, urine, serum, and other biological specimens. Requires the Director to: (1) make available for research banked serum and tissue specimens from clinical research regarding ovarian cancer that was funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (2) establish an Ovarian Cancer Biomarker Clinical Trial Committee to assist the Director to design and implement national clinical trials to determine the utility of such biomarkers; and (3) establish a national data center to conduct statistical analyses of trial data.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Strategies to Address Antimicrobial Resistance Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish, and appoint the Director of, the Office of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health to develop plans for addressing antimicrobial resistance in the United States and internationally; (2) establish the Public Health Antimicrobial Advisory Board to assist the Director; and (3) develop an antimicrobial resistance strategic research plan. Renews the Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force and sets forth its membership and duties. Requires sponsors of human and animal antimicrobial drug products to report to the Office of Antimicrobial Resistance the amount of such drug products sold or distributed in the United States in a calendar year. Requires the Director to make summaries of drug distribution data publicly available. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish at least 10 Antimicrobial Resistance Clinical Research and Public Health Network sites to describe outbreaks of antimicrobial resistant pathogens and monitor the patterns of such pathogens in individuals; and (2) award competitive grants to establish demonstration projects to assess the scope of the antimicrobial resistance problem and the use of antimicrobial drugs. Requires the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Social Investment and Economic Development for the Americas Act of 2007 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide assistance to reduce poverty, expand the middle class, and foster increased economic opportunity in Western Hemisphere countries. Establishes within USAID the Western Hemisphere Economic Investment and Development Advisory Committee which shall: (1) serve as a link among the U.S. government, nongovernmental organizations, the private sector, and other interested parties; and (2) review projects funded under this Act. Amends the Inter-American Development Bank Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the United States Executive Director at the Bank to use U.S. influence to urge the Bank to establish a Social Investment and Economic Development Fund for the Americas to provide assistance to reduce poverty, expand the size of the middle class, and foster increased economic opportunity in Western Hemisphere countries. Authorizes appropriations for payment to the Inter-American Development Bank of arrears owed by the United States to the Multilateral Investment Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Safety Assurance For Every Consumer Product Act or the SAFE Consumer Product Act - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to require (in current law, authorize) the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to prescribe consumer product testing programs. Requires nongovernmental, independent third party testing of children's products. Increases the actions the CPSC may take in ordering recalls of products presenting substantial hazards. Makes recalled product retail sale unlawful. Requires manufacturers to mark products or packaging to enable purchasers to determine the product's source, date, and production cohort. Removes the cap on Consumer Product Safety Act civil penalties. Removes a requirement that criminal penalties may only be imposed after noncompliance notice. Reduces the period after CPSC notification to manufacturers and private labelers before public disclosure of information obtained under the Act. Requires any person who must give public notice of a substantial product hazard to post a notice on the Internet. Declares any children's product containing more than a specified amount of lead to be a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, allowing a temporary exception for electronic devices. Requires certain actions to facilitate recalls of children's products and authorizes the CPSC to extend the requirements to consumer products other than children's products. Requires children's product's warning labels to be included in Internet advertisements. Removes provisions requiring a minimum number of CPSC members to transact business. Modifies rulemaking notice requirements. Declares the sense of Congress that the full complement of five CPSC members is necessary to conduct CPSC business and the President should fill vacancies expeditiously. Prohibits any consumer product safety standard or other CPSC action after enactment of this Act from containing a preemption provision which affects any action under state statutory or common law unless the provision is expressly authorized by statute.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2007
Iraqi Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons Humanitarian Assistance, Resettlement, and Security Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of State, with respect to each country containing a significant population of Iraqi refugees or internally displaced persons including Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Lebanon, to provide bilateral assistance or funding to international aid organizations and nongovernmental organizations for humanitarian assistance, including adequate food, shelter, clean drinking water, sanitation, health care, education, and security. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a program to assist Jordanian border police, immigration officers, and other individuals responsible for Jordanian border security in the security screening of Iraqi refugees. Authorizes special immigrant status for an alien (and accompanying or joining spouse and children) who: (1) is a national of Iraq; (2) was employed by, or worked for or with, the U.S. government, U.S. companies, or nongovernmental organizations in Iraq on or after March 19, 2003, for at least one year; and (3) fears reprisal, persecution, injury, or death to the alien or the alien's family due to such employment. Directs the Secretary of State to provide such alien with protection or immediate removal from Iraq. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide for expedited processing of Iraqi refugees, with priority for Iraqis who: (1) were employed by the U.S. government, U.S. companies, or nongovernmental organizations; or (2) are members of vulnerable refugee populations, including Iraqis from ethnically mixed families and Iraqis who are members of religious or other minority groups. Directs the Secretary of State to work with the international community to assist Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2007
Protect America's Wildlife Act of 2007 - Amends the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956 to add to airborne hunting offenses a prohibition against any person shooting or attempting to shoot any bird, fish, or other animal before 3:00 a.m. following a day on which the person has traveled by aircraft other than on a regularly scheduled commercial aircraft. Increases the fine for such offenses to not more than $50,000 (currently, $5,000). Prohibits a state from authorizing or undertaking any action otherwise prohibited under such Act for the purpose of increasing any game population or sport hunting. Authorizes a state to shoot predators from an aircraft to prevent a biological emergency, if: (1) the head of the state's fish and wildlife agency determines that such an emergency is imminent and there is no other means available to eliminate the emergency; (2) the shooting is conducted by an officer or employee of such agency or of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA); (3) the shooting occurs only in the area where the emergency exists; and (4) the shooting removes only the minimum number of predators necessary to eliminate the emergency. Allows the Secretary of the Interior to authorize an otherwise prohibited action to prevent the extinction of any endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 if there is no other means available to address the threat of extinction. Authorizes citizen suits under the Fish and Wildlife Act of 1956.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2007
Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law to increase the maximum amount per individual or corporationof unsecured claims ranked in the fourth (wages, salaries, or commissions) and fifth (employee benefit plan contributions) order of priority. Includes within the scope of a claim in bankruptcy certain equity securities held in a defined contribution plan for the benefit of certain individuals. Ranks in sixth order of priority the diminished value of debtor's equity securities held in a defined contribution plan if the employer or plan sponsor committed fraud regarding the plan. Permits within administrative expenses certain severance pay for termination or layoffs. Prohibits certain senior executive compensation from being disproportionate in light of economic concessions by debtor's nonmanagement workforce. Disallows as an administrative expense specified executive compensation enhancements. Revises requirements governing: (1) rejection of collective bargaining agreements; (2) insurance benefits for retired employees; and (3) the status of certain employee benefits in a sale of business assets. Allows defined benefit plan participants to file claims for certain shortfalls in pension benefits. Permits inclusion within the necessary costs and expenses of preserving property the mandatory recovery of unpaid obligations owed to employees. Directs the court to consider the extent to which alternative reorganization plans maintain: (1) jobs; (2) defined benefit plans; and (3) retiree health benefits. Prohibits assumption of deferred compensation for the benefit of insiders or senior management if an employee defined benefit plan has been terminated. Limits the recovery of executive compensation if the debtor has reduced its contractual obligations under either a collective bargaining agreement or retiree benefits plan. Excepts from an automatic stay: (1) a dispute resolution proceeding established by a collective bargaining agreement prior to commencement of bankruptcy; or (2) an award or settlement under such proceeding. Authorizes the bankruptcy trustee to avoid transfers made for the benefit of an insider or certain consultants in anticipation of bankruptcy. Revises prerequisites to court confirmation of a business reorganization plan which continues retiree benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2007
Emergency Home Ownership and Mortgage Equity Protection Act of 2007 - Amends federal bankruptcy law governing a chapter 13 debtor (adjustment of debts of an individual with regular income) to prohibit the holder of a claim in bankruptcy which is secured by debtor's principal residence from adding fees, costs, or charges while the case is pending, unless such claimholder gives timely notice to both debtor and the bankruptcy trustee. Revises requirements for the discretionary features of a chapter 13 debtor's plan. Removes the prohibition against modification of the rights of a holder of a claim secured only by an interest in real property that is the debtor's principal residence. (Thus allows a plan to modify such rights.) Authorizes a chapter 13 bankruptcy plan to provide for payment of allowed claims secured by the debtor's principal residence over a period that exceeds a specified time frame. Eliminates the pre-petition credit counseling requirement for a chapter 13 debtor facing foreclosure if the debtor submits a certification to the court that the holder of a claim secured by the debtor's principal residence has initiated foreclosure on that residence. Adds to conditions for court confirmation of a plan in bankruptcy that the holder of an allowed claim secured by the debtor's principal residence shall retain the lien securing such claim until the claim is paid. Excludes from final discharge of a debtor from all debts any allowed claim secured by the debtor's principal residence before such claim is paid.
![Official portrait of Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_mn_4_mccollum_betty_200.jpg)