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United States · Official source
5,630 records where Rep. Sherman, Brad [D-CA-32] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2007
Genuine American Flag Act - Prohibits the importation for sale of foreign-made flags of the United States of America (regardless of size and whether or not in compliance with the standard proportions prescribed by Executive order).
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Eurasia Foundation Act - Directs the Secretary of State to make an annual grant to the Eurasia Foundation to: (1) promote civil society, private enterprise, and public administration and policy in the former Soviet Union; (2) strengthen indigenous institutions that foster national development, social change, economic growth, and cooperative international relationships consistent with U.S. interests in Eurasia; and (3) conduct programs in the region that would be difficult or impossible for an official U.S. entity.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit oil and gas preleasing, leasing, and related activities in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf located off the coast of California. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to exclude such areas from the waters of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf whose oil and natural gas resources the Secretary of Energy is required to inventory and analyze.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812. Requires a coin design emblematic of the War of 1812, particularly the Battle for Fort McHenry that formed the basis for the Star-Spangled Banner . Authorizes the Secretary to issue the coins only during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2012. Requires specified surcharges in sales of the coin, which shall be paid to the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission for: (1) the purpose of supporting bicentennial activities; and (2) preservation and improvement activities relating to the sites and structures relating to the War of 1812.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007 - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to establish in the Treasury a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide assistance to states, Indian tribes, insular areas, and participating local jurisdictions to increase the supply of decent quality affordable housing, especially for low-income, extremely low-income, and very poor families.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Enhanced Financial Recovery and Equitable Retirement Treatment Act of 2007 - Imposes surcharges for unpaid criminal monetary penalties and for unpaid balances on money judgments obtained by the United States. Increases special assessments on persons convicted of certain criminal offenses against the United States. Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Justice Enhanced Financial Recovery Fund to support Department of Justice debt collection activities. Requires assistant U.S. attorneys to be treated in the same manner as federal law enforcement officers for purposes of federal employee retirement benefit provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2007
Michelle's Law - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from terminating coverage of a dependent child due to a medically necessary leave of absence from a postsecondary education institution or any other change in enrollment at that institution that commences while such child is suffering from a severe illness or injury and causes such child to lose full-time student status before that earlier of: (1) one year after the first day of the medically necessary leave of absence; or (2) the date on which such coverage would otherwise terminate under the terms of the plan. Requires certification by the child's attending physician. Applies such requirement to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat as ordinary income (i.e., income taxed at regular income tax rates) income received by a partner from an investment services partnership interest. Defines "investment services partnership interest" as any interest in a partnership held by a person who provides services to a partnership by: (1) advising the partnership as to the value of specified assets (e.g., real estate, commodities, or options or derivative contracts); (2) advising the partnership about investing in, purchasing, or selling specified assets; (3) managing, acquiring, or disposing of specified assets; or (4) arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2007
Recognizes that Japan is one of the most reliable security partners of the United States. Commends the government of Japan for its role in enhancing stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Expresses appreciation for Japan's efforts in the global war against terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Overseas Private Investment Corporation Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to extend Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) authority to make loans and issue investment insurance and investment guarantees. Revises international worker rights provisions. Requires OPIC to institute a climate change mitigation action plan. Prohibits OPIC from approving any contract for any project which significantly involves an extractive industry (as defined by this Act) without: (1) prior congressional notification; and (2) investor and host country agreement to implement Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative principles. Prohibits OPIC from providing assistance for: (1) any railway connection that does not traverse or connect with Armenia and does connect Azerbaijan and Turkey; (2) a project with North Korea, Sudan, or Iran; or (3) an energy sector project of $20 million or more. Provides for increased project transparency. Authorizes OPIC programs in Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Family and Medical Leave Inclusion Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to provide for employee leave to care for a same-sex spouse as determined under applicable state law, domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent (as well as for a spouse, child, or parent), if such person has a serious health condition. Amends federal civil service law to apply the same leave allowance to federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) should: (1) seek to ensure the linguistic, cultural, and religious rights of the Uyghur people of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; (2) release the children of Rebiya Kadeer from incarceration and house arrest and cease intimidation of the Kadeer family members; and (3) release Canadian citizen Huseyin Celil and allow him to rejoin his family in Canada.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2007
Terrorism Risk Insurance Revision and Extension Act of 2007 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 to extend the Terrorism Insurance Program through calendar 2017. Revises requirements for: (1) insurer deductible; (2) insured loss shared compensation; (3) industry insured losses that trigger the program; (4) recoupment of the federal share; (5) certification prerequisites regarding an act of terrorism; (6) mandatory availability of program coverage; and (7) rate and form filings for coverage. Provides for coverage of group life insurance, including a policy surcharge for terrorism loss risk-spreading premiums. Revises requirements for: (1) insurer copayment and federal share of compensation; (2) post-event reset for previously impacted areas; and (3) mandatory availability of life insurance that does not preclude future lawful travel. Adds coverage for workers' compensation and property and casualty insurance to the topics of a mandatory analysis of market conditions for terrorism risk insurance by the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. Establishes the Commission on Terrorism Risk Insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
Northern California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act - Prohibits oil and gas preleasing, leasing, and related activities in areas of the outer Continental Shelf located off the coast of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte Counties in the state of California. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to exclude such areas from a mandatory inventory of reserves in the Outer Continental Shelf.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 with respect to hours-of-service requirements airline flight crews must meet to qualify for leave under such Act. Declares that a flight attendant or flight crewmember will be considered to meet such requirements if he or she has been paid for or has worked 60% of the employer's monthly hour or trip guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the preceding 12-month period.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), to mint and issue $50 gold and $1 silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Requires all such coin sales to include a surcharge of $50 per $50 coin, and of $10 per $1 coin. Requires distribution of the first $4 million to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties. Requires distribution of: (1) one-half of the next $1 million of the remaining amounts to the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational (D.R.E.M.E.) Science Literacy Foundation and the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence; and (2) the remainder to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation, maintenance, and display of space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum (including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center). Authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the $50 gold coins.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
Congratulates the San Antonio Spurs and Coach Gregg Popovich for winning the 2007 National Basketball Association Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Prostate Cancer Research and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY2012 for: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states and local health departments to carry out preventive health measures related to prostate cancer; and (2) the Director of the National Cancer Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate prostate cancer research activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to establish penalties for knowingly making available a computer-assisted remote hunt (i.e., using a computer or other device, equipment, or software to allow a person remotely to control the aiming and discharge of a weapon to kill or injure an animal while not in the targeted animal's physical presence).
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2007 - Amends the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 with respect to: (1) the provision of emergency and disaster assistance through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands; (2) Palau; and (3) the continuation of legal services to the citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands residing in the United States (including territories and possessions).
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United States strongly supports the new power-sharing government in Northern Ireland; (2) political leaders of Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern should be commended for acting in the best interest of the people of Northern Ireland by forming this government; (3) May 8, 2007, will be remembered as an historic day and an important milestone in cementing peace and unity for Northern Ireland and an example for nations around the world plagued by internal conflict; and (4) the United States stands ready to support this new government and to work with the people of Northern Ireland as they achieve their goal of lasting peace.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2007
NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to: (1) require federal and state agencies to transmit certain criminal and mental health records to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) require the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide information to the Attorney General relevant for determining whether a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm; (3) require the Attorney General to maintain the accuracy, confidentiality, and privacy of records in the NICS and to allow the deletion of records that are inaccurate or obsolete; (4) restrict the types of criminal and mental health records that states may transmit to the NICS; and (5) require states to establish procedures to allow persons with disabilities relating to mental health status or commitment to obtain relief from such disabilities for purposes of firearms eligibility. Requires the Attorney General to make grants to states and Indian tribes to: (1) establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) allow state and tribal courts to automate criminal history dispositions and mental health records and electronically transmit such records to the NICS. Prohibits the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from charging user fees for NICS background checks. Requires: (1) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to states on best practices for handling criminal records and mental health information transmitted to the NICS; and (2) the Comptroller General to audit expenditures for criminal records improvement.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2007
Jubilee Act for Responsible Lending and Expanded Debt Cancellation of 2007 - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to direct the Secretary of the Treasury, within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), and other international financial institutions, to: (1) provide for debt cancellation of eligible low-income countries (as defined by this Act) to such institutions and to the United States; (2) provide for establishment of frameworks for creditor transparency and responsible lending; and (3) provide that such debt cancellation is not conditioned on harmful economic or environmental conditions. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit the debt portfolios of previous governments in certain countries, including South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2007
Condemns the vote by the University and College Union of May 30, 2007, to boycott Israeli academics and academic institutions. Urges the international scholarly community, the European Union, and individual governments, to reject, or continue to reject, calls for an academic boycott of Israel and reaffirm their commitment to academic freedom and cultural and scientific international exchange. Urges governments and educators throughout the world to reaffirm the importance of academic freedom and open dialogue and to condemn measures that would prevent the production, sharing, and exchange of knowledge. Urges other unions and organizations to reject the troubling and disturbing actions of the UCU. Urges the general members of the UCU to reject the call of the union's leadership to boycott Israel.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified maps as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character. Authorizes the Forest Service to modify such maps for the sole purpose of improving their accuracy or inclusiveness. Requires any substantial modification of those maps to be made through the national forest management planning process and documented in an environmental impact statement.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Deems Greece to be designated as a visa waiver country under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY2008 130 percent of the amount obligated during FY2006. Adjusts the amount provided for fiscal years after FY2008 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of other persons eligible but not enrolled who are provided care, multiplied by the per capita baseline amount for FY2006, as increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Prohibits the availability of such funds for: (1) construction, acquisition, or alteration of veterans' medical facilities (other than for repairs provided for before the date of enactment of this Act); or (2) grants for the construction of state home facilities for the furnishing of veterans' domiciliary, nursing home, and hospital care.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
America's Better Classrooms Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for investment in qualified public school modernization bonds, defined to include: (1) bonds for the construction, rehabilitation, or repair of a public school facility or for the acquisition of land for such facility (qualified school construction bonds); and (2) bonds to finance certain academic programs below the postsecondary level in empowerment zones or enterprise communities (qualified zone academy bonds). Establishes a national limitation on the issuance of such bonds and provides for the allocation of bond amounts among the states according to a specified formula. Terminates the authority for issuance of such bonds after 2009. Amends the General Education Provisions Act to apply certain labor standards to public school construction projects financed by this Act. Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to require states to establish employment and training programs relating to the construction or reconstruction of public school facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2007
Recognizes the 100th anniversary of the University of Central Arkansas.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2007
Expresses: (1) concern over the emerging national security implications of the relationships between the leaders of Iran and regimes in the Western Hemisphere like Venezuela; and (2) support for the people of Iran and Venezuela as they strive for freedom, respect for human rights and civil liberties. Supports the existing counterterrorism efforts of Latin American countries. Emphasizes the importance of eliminating Hizbollah's financial network in the tri-border region of South America and throughout the Western Hemisphere. Recommends that the President of the United States create more mechanisms for joint counterterrorism operations and intraregional information sharing among supportive countries in the Western Hemisphere, especially in light of Iran's increased involvement in the region.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Federal Aviation Administration Facility Consolidation Moratorium Act of 2007 - Suspends the authority of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to realign FAA air traffic control facilities and services until January 1, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution. Declares that nothing in such Act shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of the Army or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act related to discharges: (1) composed entirely of agricultural return flows; (2) of stormwater runoff from oil, gas, and mining operations; or (3) of dredged or fill materials resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities or from activities with respect to which a state has an approved program, or for the purposes of maintenance of currently serviceable structures or drainage ditches, construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds, irrigation ditches, or farm, forest, or temporary roads for moving mining equipment, or construction of temporary sedimentation basins on construction sites.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
International Climate Cooperation Re-engagement Act of 2007 - Establishes in the Department of State an Office of Global Climate Change to be headed by the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Climate Change. States that the Ambassador-at-Large's primary responsibility shall be to advance U.S. goals with respect to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the challenges posed by global climate change. Requires: (1) United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support policies and programs in developing countries that promote clean and efficient energy technologies; (2) the Secretary of Commerce to direct the United States and Foreign Commercial Service to expand or create a corps of the Foreign Commercial Service officers to promote U.S. exports in clean and efficient energy technologies and build the capacity of government officials in India and China to become more familiar with available technologies; (3) the Secretary of Commerce to direct the International Trade Administration to expand or create trade missions to and from the United States to encourage private sector trade and investment in clean and efficient energy technologies; (4) the Trade and Development Agency to fund projects that involve the utilization of clean and efficient energy technologies, including trade capacity building and capital investment projects; and (5) the President to provide assistance to the Interagency Working Group to support a clean energy technology exports initiative. Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish a global climate change exchange program. Establishes the International Clean Energy Foundation which shall serve the long-term foreign policy and energy security goals of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Colombian Catholic Church, and the Coalition for Human Rights and Internal Displacement should be commended for their initiative to declare the Year of the Rights of the Internally Displaced People in Colombia; (2) the government of Colombia and the international donor community should be encouraged to prioritize discussion of humanitarian assistance and internal displacement with the international donor community, especially within the context of the London-Cartagena Process; and (3) the government of the United States should increase the resources it makes available to provide emergency humanitarian assistance and protection through international and civilian government agencies and assist Colombia's internally displaced people in rebuilding their lives.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Urges the Government of Canada to end the commercial hunt on seals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Calls on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release Dr. Haleh Esfandiari, replace her lost travel documents, and cease its harassment tactics. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the U.S. government, through all appropriate means and diplomatic channels, should encourage the government of Iran to release Dr. Esfandiari and offer her an apology; and (2) the United States should coordinate its response with its allies throughout the Middle East, other governments, and all appropriate international organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Congratulates: (1) the citizens of Israel on the 40th anniversary of the Six Day War; and (2) the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Israel on the 40th anniversary of the reunification of that historic city. Commends: (1) those former combatant states of the Six Day War, Egypt and Jordan, who in subsequent years had the wisdom and courage to embrace peace and coexistence with Israel; and (2) Israel for its administration of Jerusalem for the past 40 years, during which Israel has respected the rights of all religious groups. Reiterates the commitment to the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and calls upon the President and U.S. officials to abide by its provisions. Urges the Palestinians and Arab countries to join with Israel in peace negotiations to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, including the realization of Israeli and Palestinian democratic states.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Proud to Be an American Citizen Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to make funds available annually to the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or to approved public or private nonprofit entities to support public ceremonies for administering oaths of allegiance to naturalizing legal immigrants. States that such ceremonies shall: (1) be held on a date that is on or near Independence Day; and (2) include appropriate outreach, ceremonial, and celebratory activities. Specifies: (1) ceremony fund limits ($5,000); and (2) permitted fund uses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
WISEWOMAN Expansion Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) remove the limit on the number of states that may receive preventive heath services grants; (2) require a competitive review process; and (3) include among the uses for such grants health education, counseling, and interventions for behavioral risk factors and diseases. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Recognizes the historic ties between the peoples of the United States and the Caribbean. Commends the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for holding the Conference of the Caribbean, and welcomes the delegation of Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Foreign Ministers to Washington, DC.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Declares that the House of Representatives and the American people have lost confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Urges the President to request his resignation and to nominate a new candidate more capable of serving as the head of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Calls upon the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to condemn the atrocities taking place in Darfur, Sudan, and end military and economic assistance to the government of Sudan until Sudan stops civilian attacks and engages in peace negotiations. Recognizes the close relationship between the PRC and Sudan and urges the PRC to use its political, international, and economic influence to stop the violence in Darfur, Sudan. Recognizes that the spirit of the Olympics, which is to bring together nations and people from all over the world in peace, is incompatible with actions supporting acts of genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Prohibits a civil action and certain civil remedies against taxpayers or tax practitioners for infringement of a patent for tax planning methods.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
MediKids Health Insurance Act of 2007 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (Medikids Program), which creates a program to guarantee comprehensive health care coverage, including prescription drugs for all children meeting specified age requirements. Creates the MediKids Trust Fund. Expands the membership of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to 19. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a MediKids premium for the taxable year, with an exemption for very low-income taxpayers; and (2) create a refundable tax credit providing a catastrophic limit on MediKids cost-sharing expenses. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to propose a gradual schedule of progressive tax changes to fund the Medikids program, as the number of enrollees grows in the out-years.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2007
Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) publish biannually in the Federal Register a list of each person, whether within or outside of the United States, that has an investment of more than $20 million in the energy sector in Iran; and (2) maintain on the website of the Department of the Treasury the names of the persons on such list. States it is the policy of the United States to support the decision of state and local governments and educational institutions to divest from, and to prohibit the investment of assets they control in, persons that have investments of more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. Authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit investment of assets in, persons included on the most recent list. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to shield any registered investment company from civil, criminal, or administrative action based upon its divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by companies included on such most recent list. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to shield from treatment as breaching a fiduciary duty any person divesting plan assets from, or avoiding investing plan assets in, persons included on such most recent list. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board should initiate efforts to provide a terror-free international investment option among the funds of the Thrift Savings Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2007
Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2007 - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of uterine fibroids research. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop and disseminate to the public information regarding uterine fibroids, including information on: (1) the incidence and prevalence of uterine fibroids among women; (2) the elevated risk for minority women; and (3) the availability of a range of treatment options. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to develop and disseminate uterine fibroids information to health care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2007
Abusive Tax Shelter Shutdown and Taxpayer Accountability Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise or add provisions relating to tax shelter activity, including provisions to: (1) define "economic substance" for purposes of evaluating tax shelter transactions; (2) increase penalties for large entities and high net-worth individuals for failure to disclose certain tax shelter transactions; (3) impose penalties for understatements of tax due to transactions lacking economic substance; (4) deny material tax advisors a claim of privilege as to the identity of a client; (5) revise standards for the penalty for understatement of tax liability by income tax return preparers and increase the penalties for such understatements; (6) revise and increase the penalties for frivolous tax submissions; (7) deny a tax deduction for interest on underpayments of tax due to nondisclosed reportable transactions and transactions lacking economic substance; (8) expand the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to disallow certain tax benefits arising from the acquisition of corporate stock; (9) modify certain passive loss rules for controlled foreign corporations; and (10) provide a rule for the reduction in basis of corporate stock for which certain extraordinary dividends are received.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 - Extends from one to two years the ban on former senior and very senior executive personnel, former Members of Congress, legislative branch officers and employees, and such individuals who represent foreign entities from making lobbying contacts with any officer or employee of the entity in which such person served before his or her tenure terminated. Requires public disclosure by Members of Congress and congressional staff of employment negotiations. Subjects to fines and penalties a Member of Congress or a congressional employee who wrongfully influences, on a partisan basis, an entity's employment decisions or practices. Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (LDA) to require: (1) quarterly instead of semiannual filing of lobbying disclosures reports; (2) electronic filing; (3) disclosure of registered lobbyist contributions; (4) disclosure by registered lobbyists of all past executive and congressional employment; and (5) maintenance of certain lobbying disclosure information in an electronic data base, available to the public free of charge over the Internet. Amends the LDA to prohibit a registered lobbyist from making a gift or providing travel to a Member, officer, or employee of Congress, unless the gift or travel may be accepted under the rules of the House of Representatives or the Senate. Revises criteria, with regard to disclosure requirements, for determining a coalition or association of groups that retain a person to conduct lobbying activities. Makes amendments made by this Act inapplicable to political committee activities described in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971. Amends the LDA to increase the penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. Amends the Rules of the House to require a Member of the House to prohibit all of his or her staff from having any official contact with the Member's spouse if such individual is a registered lobbyist or is employed or retained by a registered lobbyist to influence legislation. Requires the Clerk of the House to: (1) post certain travel and financial disclosure reports on the public Internet site of the Clerk's Office; and (2) maintain such information for at least six years after receiving such information.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Lobbying Transparency Act of 2007 - Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require a registered lobbyist who bundles two or more contributions made (in an aggregate amount exceeding $5,000) to a covered recipient during a quarterly period to: (1) file a quarterly report with the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House of Representatives; and (2) notify the covered recipient by certified mail before filing such report. Defines "covered recipient" as a federal candidate, an individual holding federal office, a political party committee, or a leadership PAC (an unauthorized political committee which is associated with an individual holding federal office, excluding a political committee of a political party).
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Polar Bear Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 to prohibit issuing permits for the importation of polar bear parts taken in a sport hunt.