United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
NICS Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require: (1) the head of each Federal agency that has records relating to persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate Federal or State law to provide that information to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) the agency, upon being made aware that the basis under which a record was made available no longer applies, to correct the record and notify the Attorney General; and (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security to make available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination that a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm and information about a change in such person's status for removal from NICS, where appropriate. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to: (1) States and Indian tribal governments to establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) States for use by the State court system to improve the automation and transmittal to Federal and State record repositories of criminal history dispositions, records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments. Requires: (1) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to specified States regarding best practices; and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the expenditure of all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement to determine how the funds were expended.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan or group health coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the mental health benefits unless comparable limitations or requirements are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Excludes such requirements for plans and coverage for small employers. Allows a plan or coverage that provides in-network mental health benefits to provide out-of-network mental health benefits using treatment limitations or financial requirements that are not comparable to those applied to medical-surgical benefits if the in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and with reasonable access. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) study the effects of this Act on health insurance costs and access and quality of health care; and (2) provide a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance, including through nongovernmental or international organizations, for basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, including assistance for: (1) community-based care; (2) school food programs; (3) education and employment training; (4) psychosocial support; (5) protection of inheritance rights; and (6) HIV/AIDS care. Directs the Secretary of State to appoint a Special Advisor for Assistance to Vulnerable Populations. Directs the President to: (1) establish a system to evaluate such assistance's effectiveness; and (2) develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a coordinating strategy for such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Childproof Handgun Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any person who is not a licensed collector from manufacturing, selling, delivering, or transferring a handgun that cannot be personalized, with exceptions for individuals acting under the authority of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision. Defines "personalized" to mean a handgun that incorporates a device or feature that: (1) allows the handgun to be fired only by a particular individual; (2) is not capable of being readily deactivated; and (3) may allow the handgun to be personalized to one or more additional individuals. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study to determine whether the technology involved in personalizing firearms will be commercially feasible within five years considering criteria including the reliability of the technology and the difference in price for personalized firearms and equivalent firearms that are not personalized.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Cesar E. Chavez Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the next of kin or other personal representative of Cesar E. Chavez in recognition of his service to the Nation. (Chavez organized farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions, founded the National Farm Workers Association-- predecessor of the United Farm Workers of America-- and was a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Part-time Student Assistance Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide access and assistance to increase college attendance and completion by part-time students. Exempts from student aid need formula determinations earnings up to: (1) $9,000 by dependent students; (2) $12,000 by independent students with no dependents (other than spouse); and (3) $12,000 by independent students with dependents (other than spouse). Provides for a formula for a revised table of income protection allowances. Exempts earned income credits from the calculation of income. Revises and expands a program (child care access means parents in school) which provides grants to institutions of higher education for child care assistance for low-income students. Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a year-round Pell grant pilot program. Authorizes a demonstration program to create a holistic approach to addressing the needs of part-time students. Allows such program to: (1) be at up to 150 associates and bachelors degree-granting institutions; and (2) include grants, leveraging funds from non-Federal sources, comprehensive child care, and better tailored remedial course programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Student Aid Reward Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) title IV (Student Assistance) to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a Student Aid Reward (SAR) Program of payments to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to encourage them to participate in the student loan program under title IV that is most cost-effective for taxpayers. Requires that a SAR payment to an IHE equal at least 50 percent of the savings to the Federal Government generated by the IHE's participation in the most cost-effective student loan program, rather than one not cost-effective for taxpayers. Requires IHEs receiving SAR payments to: (1) provide student loans under that most cost-effective program for five years after the payment date; and (2) use payment funds, where appropriate, to supplement students Pell Grants. Allows such funds to be used also to award need-based grants to lower and middle income graduate students.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D. (who performed the first successful coronary bypass, pioneered the field of telemedicine, was elected the first President of Baylor College of Medicine, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction and the National Medal of Science) in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Smuggled Tobacco Prevention Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require all packages of tobacco products to carry a unique legibly printed serial number by which the Secretary of the Treasury can identify the manufacturer or importer and the location and date of manufacture or importation. Requires tobacco products sold on Indian reservations to be labeled as such. Requires a person to post a bond with the Secretary in order to export tobacco products. Requires a tobacco wholesaler to have a permit and to maintain certain records. Requires export warehouse proprietors to file certain reports with the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into certain tobacco related information exchange agreements with foreign countries. Establishes new criminal offenses relating to the distribution of tobacco products. Raises the $1,000 civil penalty for violations relating to tobacco products to $10,000. Amends the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to: (1) expand the applicability of such Act from cigarettes only to tobacco products (cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco); (2) define a "contraband tobacco product" as a quantity of tobacco product that is equivalent to or more than 2,000 cigarettes (currently, 60,000) which bear no evidence of the payment of applicable State tobacco taxes and that is possessed illegally; and (3) establish new unlawful acts. Allows a State tobacco tax authority to bring a civil action in U.S. district court for the collection of State cigarette taxes. Prohibits retaliation against employees (whistleblowers) who provide information in contraband tobacco cases. Provides for administrative and judicial remedies for such whistleblowers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Quality Nursing Care Act of 2005 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that each participating hospital adopt and implement a staffing system that ensures a number of registered nurses on each shift and in each unit of the hospital to ensure appropriate staffing levels for patient care. Outlines whistle-blower protections.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Colorectal Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide matching grants to States to carry out programs to: (1) screen for colorectal cancer as a preventive health measure; (2) provide referrals for medical treatment to individuals screened and ensure appropriate follow-up services; (3) develop and disseminate information and education programs for the detection and control of colorectal cancer; (4) improve the education, training, and skills of health professions in the detection and control of colorectal cancer; (5) establish mechanisms to monitor the quality of screening procedures for colorectal cancer; and (6) evaluate such activities through surveillance or program-monitoring. Requires States to meet specified matching fund requirements and other criteria to receive a grant, including ensuring that 60 percent of grant money is spent on screening and medical treatment, assuring the quality of screening procedures, giving priority to low-income individuals, and limiting the fees charged. Allows the Secretary to provide training, technical assistance, supplies, equipment, and services to aid the State in carrying out such a program. Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue guidelines for assuring the quality of any colorectal screening procedures carried out under this Act; and (2) evaluate the programs annually.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Family Opportunity Act of 2005 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for such children. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct demonstration projects under which up to ten States are awarded grants, on a competitive basis, to test the effectiveness in improving or maintaining a child's functional level and cost-effectiveness of providing coverage of home and community-based alternatives to psychiatric resident treatment for children enrolled in the Medicaid program. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain SSI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit certain payments to States for expenditures for medical imaging procedures or radiation therapy procedures, unless the State meets specified requirements for State medical radiation licenses, including minimum licensing standards the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Medicare Diabetic Footwear Quality Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to terminate the reduction in Medicare payment for orthopedic shoes and inserts furnished to individuals with diabetes after December 31, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a comprehensive strategy for the protection of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian emergency; and (2) designate an individual within the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the coordinator for such efforts. Authorizes USAID to establish a fellowship program to increase USAID expertise in carrying out protective activities of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, affected by a humanitarian emergency. Prohibits certain Department or USAID funds for refugees or internally displaced persons to be provided to a primary grantee or contractor unless the grantee or contractor has adopted a code of conduct that is consistent with the six core principles recommended by the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Directs the coordinator to seek to provide health services to vulnerable populations, including: (1) prevention of of sexual violence; (2) reduction of HIV transmission; (3) provision of obstetric care; and (4) integrating women's health services into the primary health care services provided during a humanitarian emergency. Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to seek to extend microcredit program availability to internally displaced persons. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to: (1) include the protection of vulnerable populations within military education and training; and (2) authorize the President to provide assistance for programs to protect vulnerable populations during humanitarian emergencies. Directs the United States Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to ensure that World Bank disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs provide benefits to former combatants that are comparable to benefits provided to other individuals. Expresses the sense of Congress that the UN should strengthen the ability of its Department of Peacekeeping Operations to protect civilians, especially women and children, from sexual exploitation by peacekeeping personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control 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.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives information in his possession providing specific evidence for the following statement he made on February 16, 2005, at a meeting in Portsmith, New Hampshire: "And by the way, there is not a Social Security trust."
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Water for the World Resolution - Declares that Congress: (1) recognizes that government policies should ensure that all individuals have equitable access to water and that no one is cut off from water for survival due to economic constraints; and (2) upholds the principle that governments should engage all members of society in direct participation in overseeing decisions about the conservation, distribution, use, and management of water in their communities. Recognizes that more sustainable agricultural practices are necessary to protect water resources. Affirms that Congress firmly commits itself to met the Millennium Development Goals, especially as they pertain to universal access to water and sanitation. Asserts that Federal policies should ensure that in the United States direct and indirect sources of water pollution, including factories, refineries, commercial agriculture, and wastewater treatment plants, are adequately regulated and those responsible held accountable for the pollution they cause.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the community development block grant program should remain under the administration of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
College Loan Assistance Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for student loans and Pell Grants. Allows refinancing of student consolidation loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. Reduces the amount of a cap on interest rate under the FFEL program. Extends authority for the Pell Grant program. Increases the maximum amount of an individual Pell Grant award to $7,000 for each of academic years 2005-2006 through 2010-11. Prohibits eligible lenders or the Secretary of Education from collecting origination fees from borrowers, under the FFEL or the Federal direct loan program, for any loan made on or after the first July 1 after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Veterans Employment and Respect Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring certain: (1) veterans of military service in Afghanistan or Iraq; and (2) dependents of deceased members of the Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Captive Primate Safety Act - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to add non-human primates to the definition of "prohibited wildlife species" to which such Act's requirements (e.g., prohibition against sale or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce) apply.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005 - Reinstates for ten years repealed criminal provisions regarding assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (the assault weapons ban). Revises the definition of "semiautomatic assault weapon" to include conversion kits (for converting a firearm to such a weapon) and any semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and that has specified characteristics, including a telescoping stock. Prohibits the transfer of such a weapon except through a licensed dealer or a State or local law enforcement agency, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any such weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has been used in relation to a crime, and of the nature and circumstances of the crime involved; and (2) annually submit the record to Congress and make it available to the public. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of any assault weapon with a large capacity ammunition feeding device; and (2) a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer who transfers such a device that was manufactured on or before this Act's enactment from failing to certify to the Attorney General, within 60 days of the transfer date, that the device was manufactured on or before that date. Sets penalties for violations. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of such a weapon or device to a juvenile; and (2) the importation of such a device.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Protection of Civil Liberties Act - Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to make the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (Board) an independent agency within the Executive branch. (Currently, such Board is established within the Executive Office of the President.) Requires the Board to be composed of a full-time chairman and four additional members, all to be confirmed by the Senate. Prohibits Board members, while so serving, from being an elected official, officer, or employee of the Federal Government. Provides six-year terms. Gives the Board subpoena power. Requires the Board to: (1) receive and review reports from privacy and civil liberties officers; and (2) report at least semiannually to specified congressional committees on Board activities and other appropriate matters. Directs the heads of specified Federal agencies to designate at least one senior officer for appropriate assistance with respect to privacy and civil liberties concerns as they relate to terrorism prevention. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security complies with the protections for human research subjects in research conducted or supported by such Department.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 2005 - States that the right of an individual who is a citizen of the United States to vote in any election for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institute or facility at the time of the election. Authorizes the Attorney General, in a civil action, to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief to remedy a violation of this Act. Provides for a private right of action. Prohibits any State, unit of local government, or other person from receiving or using any Federal grant amount, to construct or otherwise improve a prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, unless that person has in effect a program under which each U.S. citizen incarcerated in that person's jurisdiction is notified, upon release, of that citizen's rights.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat as a tax-exempt political organization for purposes of the disclosure and other requirements applicable to such organizations (with certain modifications) any coalition or association that is identified as a client on any registration filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 and that is not a political organization. Requires any such coalition or association to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of: (1) its existence within 72 hours after one of its lobbyists makes an initial contact; and (2) any change in membership within 72 hours. Requires such notice to include a general description of the business or activities of each member of the coalition or association and the amount reasonably expected to be contributed by each member toward coalition or association activities of influencing legislation. Imposes a penalty tax for failure to give required notices. Exempts from the disclosure requirements imposed by this Act: (1) public charities and other tax-exempt organizations which have substantial exempt activities other than lobbying; and (2) members of a coalition or association who contribute less than $2,000 per year for lobbying activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act - Includes as a protected disclosure by a Federal employee any lawful disclosure an employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible evidence of waste, abuse, or gross mismanagement, without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure. Requires a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study on security clearances revocations taking effect after 1996 with respect to personnel that filed claims in connection with such security clearance revocations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
One Strike and You're Out! Act of 2005 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exempt a tenant in public housing or housing assisted under the section 8 rental assistance program from the eviction for criminal or drug-related criminal activity provisions if such activity was engaged in by a member of the tenant's household or any guest or other person under the tenant's control and the tenant: (1) is an elderly or disabled person; and (2) did not know and should not have known of the activity, or the tenant or member of household was the victim of the criminal activity. Requires public housing agencies to report annually on the number of such evictions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005 - Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to redefine the term "client" with respect to coalitions and associations on whose behalf a lobbyist must file a registration. Provides that, in the case of a coalition or association that employs or retains other persons to conduct lobbying activities, each of the individual members of the coalition or association, and not the coalition or association itself as under current law, is the client for whom a registration must be filed. Makes an exception for certain tax-exempt associations and for certain members of a coalition or association if the amount reasonably expected to be contributed by such member toward specific legislation-influencing activities of the coalition or association is less than $1,000 per any semiannual period.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Fairness and Accountability in International Taxation Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny reduced withholding tax treaty benefits to a foreign entity on any deductible foreign payment (deductible payment made by a domestic entity to a related foreign entity) unless such entity is predominantly owned by individuals who are residents of such foreign country. Exempts from such provision: (1) corporations with substantial business activities in a treaty country with specified tax rates; (2) payments received by controlled foreign corporations from U.S. shareholders; and (3) certain conduit payments made by foreign corporations. Provides a special income and deduction allocation rule for related-party inbound (transfer price reduced by deflected tax haven income) and outbound (transfer price increased by deflected tax haven income) transactions. Defines "related-party inbound transaction," "related-party outbound transaction," and "deflected tax haven."
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Requires the House of Representatives, when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, to take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of such Amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 332 South Main Street in Flora, Illinois, as the "Robert T. Ferguson Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
College Aid Made EZ Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and simplify the Federal student aid application process, including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Provides for: (1) a FAFSA-EZ form with fewer pages and questions; (2) a pre-FAFSA process, allowing application for HEA student assistance one year earlier, in junior year of high school; (3) greater Internet access to FAFSA forms; (4) more students qualifying for using a simplified form; and (5) automatic qualification for a simplified form for those students eligible for specified Federal programs, including school lunches. Reduces the types of income and benefits which are considered untaxed for purposes of student assistance need analysis. Removes specified requirements relating to suspension of student aid eligibility due to drug-related offenses. Revises requirements relating to income protection allowances and student contributions from available income.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Best Help for Rape Victims Act - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 to require the Attorney General to include within the national protocol on sexual assault forensic examinations a recommendation that a victim of sexual assault who is at risk of pregnancy from rape should be: (1) offered information about emergency contraception; and (2) provided with such contraception on site at the victim's request. Requires the Attorney General to revise any existing protocol in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005 or Johanna's Law - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecologic cancers, which shall include: (1) maintaining a supply of written materials to provide information to the public on gynecologic cancers; and (2) developing and placing public service announcements to encourage women to discuss their risks of gynecologic cancers with their physicians. Requires the Secretary to award grants to nonprofit private entities to test different outreach and education strategies for increasing such awareness among women and health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal collectively to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Terrorist Apprehension and Record Retention Act of 2005 or the TARR Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that if the national criminal background check system indicates that a person attempting to purchase a firearm or applying for a State permit to possess, acquire, or carry a firearm is identified as a known or suspected member of a terrorist organization in records maintained by the Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security, including the Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File: (1) all information related to the prospective transaction shall be automatically and immediately transmitted to the appropriate Federal and State counterterrorism officials, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (2) the FBI shall coordinate the response; and (3) all records generated in the course of the check that are obtained by Federal and State officials shall be retained for at least ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to make Alzheimer's disease research a priority within the National Institute on Aging. Requires the Director of the Institute to: (1) undertake an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative to accelerate the discovery of new risk and protective factors, to rapidly identify therapies and preventive interventions, and to implement effective prevention and treatment strategies; (2) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's; and (3) conduct research concerning early detection and diagnosis, the relationship between Alzheimer's and vascular disease, and interventions designed to help caregivers. Authorizes the Director to establish a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to facilitate collaboration among Alzheimer's Disease Centers and Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to educate the public and public health community regarding Alzheimer's disease. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop coordinated respite care programs on a statewide basis. Defines "respite care" to mean planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with a special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of such child or adult. Directs the Secretary to award a grant or cooperative agreement to a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2005 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether State law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the FLRA to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such FLRA regulations and authority through appropriate State courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed. Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement staffing plans that meet specified ratios for direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing levels for each unit and other requirements, including for receiving input from nurses. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to further limit such ratios as needed to ensure public safety and to establish ratios for units not specified. Provides an exception to such staffing requirements for a declared state of emergency. Requires hospitals to provide the Secretary with their staffing plan and annual updates. Requires the Secretary to conduct audits to ensure the implementation of adequate staffing plans. Requires the Secretary: (1) acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to complete a study of licensed practical nurse staffing and its effects on patient care in hospitals; and (2) to establish requirements for hospitals based on the outcome of the study. Requires the Secretary to adjust payments to cover additional Medicare costs that are attributable to this Act. Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to submit to Congress and the Secretary a report estimating total costs and savings attributable to compliance with nurse staffing requirements. Provides nurses with the right to refuse to accept assignments that would violate staffing requirements or for which they are not prepared. Prohibits retaliation by hospitals for such refusals or for reporting violations of staffing requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Children's Hospitals Education Equity and Research (CHEER) Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments through FY 2010 (currently, through FY 2005) to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs. Excludes reductions for unused resident positions when calculating the number of full-time residents in a children's hospital's approved training program for purposes of reimbursing direct expenses. Requires the Secretary to adjust the proportion of such a hospital's costs attributable to wages for differences in hospital wage levels by geographic area. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2010 for direct and indirect expenses associated with operating such programs. Requires that funds appropriated for such programs for a fiscal year remain available for obligation through the end of the succeeding fiscal year. Limits the ability to recoup funds unless a demand for recoupment is made by the end of the fiscal year. Sets forth an appeals procedure and limitations on retroactivity for decisions affecting the amount of payments to a hospital for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Establishes the American Veterans Congressional Internship Program, under which each Member of the House of Representatives may hire for a maximum 12-month period, one additional employee who meets specified eligibility criteria to serve as the American Veteran Congressional Intern. Provides that such employment by a Member and the payment of the Intern's salary shall be in addition to all personnel and allowances otherwise made available to Members under other provisions of law, rule, or other authority.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Removing Impediments to Students Education Act - RISE Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal provisions which make persons convicted of drug offenses ineligible to receive student financial assistance for a certain period.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Rockies Prosperity Act - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; and (6) Blackfeet Wilderness. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Establishes the Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve as a National Park System unit. Repeals Federal law provisions that establish the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) implement a program of ecosystem restoration in the Preserve; and (2) study the feasibility of creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve in the area generally known as the Glacier View Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System and the National Wildland Recovery Corps. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to assure nonexclusive access to the specified areas and corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Disabled Veterans Right to Commissaries and Space Available Travel Act - Requires veterans with disabilities rated at 30 percent or more (and their dependents) to be permitted to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as members of the Armed Forces eligible for retired or retainer pay. Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide transportation on Department of Defense aircraft on a space-available basis for any veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 50 percent or more (and their dependents) on the same basis as members entitled to retired or retainer pay.
![Official portrait of Rep. Schakowsky, Janice D. [D-IL-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_il_9_schakowsky_janice_200.jpg)