United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Great Ape Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Great Ape Conservation Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of the Interior to use amounts in the Great Ape Conservation Fund to provide emergency financial and technical assistance for great ape conservation needs in Aceh Province, Indonesia, arising from the tsunami of December 2004; (2) authorize the Secretary to approve projects to address the root causes of threats to great apes in range states; (3) require the Secretary to convene the panel of experts created under the Great Ape Conservation Act not later than 120 days after the enactment of this Act and quadrennially thereafter; (4) increase funding for administrative expenses; and (5) extend through FY2010 the authorization for appropriations to the Great Ape Conservation Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
College Affordability and Accountability Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to require state maintenance of effort in providing funding to public institutions of higher education (IHEs). Requires all IHEs to plan, engage in, and report on cost containment strategies. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to conduct research on such strategies. Directs the Secretary to publish an annual report on college affordability and to disseminate certain data, including the net price tuition index (NTPI) for each IHE through a college price calculator on an enhanced college opportunities on line (COOL) website. Establishes a Pell Plus program to provide an increased award to each Pell Grant recipient at IHEs that maintain specified types of: (1) low tuition; (2) guaranteed tuition; or (3) affordable tuition. Establishes a program of grants for cooperative education for IHEs that restrain tuition increases. Authorizes grants and contracts for cooperative education demonstration and innovation projects, training and resource centers, and research. Directs the Secretary to commission the National Research Council to study the viability of developing and implementing standards in environmental, health, and safety areas to provide for differential regulation of: (1) industrial laboratories and facilities; and (2) research and teaching laboratories. Authorizes the Secretary to select IHEs, IHE systems, or IHE consortia for voluntary participation in an articulation agreement demonstration program to specify the acceptability of courses in transfer toward meeting specific degree requirements, as a means to lower tuition prices for students. Directs the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to convene a task force of experts to: (1) determine the best methods to finance higher education in the long-term; (2) help public institutions utilize long-term budgeting; (3) review the trends of financing of higher education; and (4) define the role played by the states, the federal government, families, and outside entities in financing higher education, and determine the best methods to strengthen this partnership.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Clinical Social Work Medicare Equity Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to exclude clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system (thus permitting direct payment under the Medicare program for clinical social worker services provided to residents of skilled nursing facilities).
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress is committed to achieving domestic hunger goals and ending hunger by 2015; (2) federal food and nutrition programs should receive adequate funding; and (3) the entitlement nature of the child and adult care food program, the food stamp program, the school breakfast and lunch programs, and the summer food service program should be preserved. Directs: (1) the American Communities Survey to collect and submit food security information to the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) the Secretary to conduct an annual study of hunger in the United States and develop recommendations on reducing domestic hunger. Directs the Secretary to make: (1) hunger-free communities collaborative grants to eligible public food program service providers or nonprofit organizations; (2) hunger-free communities infrastructure grants to eligible emergency feeding organizations; and (3) hunger-free communities training and technical assistance grants to eligible national or regional nonprofit organizations. (States that such grants' federal share shall not exceed 80 %.) Sets forth grant priorities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to revise the definition of dealer (in animals) to include: (1) sellers of dogs imported from outside the United States; and (2) persons who sell more than 25 dogs or cats or who whelp for sale more than six litters of dogs or cats annually. Defines "retail pet store" for purposes of the Act as a public retail establishment that sells animals commonly kept as pets in U.S. households (e.g., dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, and hamsters). Excludes from such definition: (1) a person breeding animals to sell to the public as pets; (2) a person selling hunting, security, or breeding dogs; or (3) a person selling wild animals. Requires dealers and retail pet stores to provide the Secretary of Agriculture with source records relating to the purchase or acquisition of dogs and cats. Authorizes the Secretary to extend the period for the temporary suspension of a dealer license for a violation of the Act from 21 to 60 days, if the Secretary believes that such violation will continue past the initial 21-day period and will jeopardize the health of any animal. Authorizes the Secretary to apply directly to a U.S. district court for a temporary restraining order or injunction to address violations of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Housing Preservation Matching Grant Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make matching grants to States (including the District of Columbia and U.S. commonwealths, territories, and possessions) for low-income housing preservation. Sets forth requirements for projects: (1) with Department of Housing and Urban Development-insured mortgages; (2) with section 8 assistance; or (3) purchased by the residents.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Abusive Tax Shelter Shutdown and Taxpayer Accountability Act of 2005 - 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 · 25 May 2005
Positive Aging Act of 2005 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Aging to establish the Office of Older Adult Mental Health Services within the Administration on Aging to develop and implement initiatives to address the mental health needs of older individuals. Directs the Assistant Secretary to make grants to: (1) states for systems to deliver mental health screening and treatment services to older individuals lacking access to such services and for programs to increase public awareness of the benefits of preventing and treating mental disorders; and (2) public and nonprofit private entities for demonstration projects providing mental health screening and treatment services to older individuals residing in rural areas or in naturally occurring retirement communities in urban areas. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for: (1) demonstration projects integrating mental health services for older patients into primary care settings; and (2) multidisciplinary geriatric mental health outreach teams in community settings where older adults reside or receive social services. Requires the Director to designate a Deputy Director for Older Adult Mental Health Services. Requires membership of the advisory council for the Center for Mental Health Services to include representatives of older Americans, their families, and geriatric mental health specialists. Includes among projects of national significance the targeting of substance abuse by older individuals. Includes services for older individuals under community mental health services block grant state plan criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2005
Antifreeze Bittering Act of 2005 - Requires engine coolant or antifreeze that is manufactured six months after the enactment of this Act, and that contains more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, to include denatonium benzoate at a minimum of 30 parts per million and a maximum of 50 parts per million as a bittering agent so as to render the coolant or antifreeze unpalatable. Requires a coolant or antifreeze manufacturer to maintain records of compliance with this Act. Limits the liability of manufacturers, distributors, recyclers, or sellers of engine coolant or antifreeze who are in compliance with the requirements of this Act for personal and property loss or damage to the environment that results from the inclusion of denatonium benzoate in any coolant or antifreeze. Declares this Act inapplicable to: (1) the sale of a motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze; or (2) wholesale containers of engine coolant or antifreeze containing 55 gallons or more of engine coolant or antifreeze.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2005
Responsible Education About Life Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to States for family life education, including education on abstinence and contraception, to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Expresses the sense of Congress that States are encouraged but not required to provide matching funds. Requires the Secretary to provide for a national evaluation of a representative sample of such programs for effectiveness in changing adolescent sexual behavior, including delaying sexual and high-risk activity, preventing pregnancy and disease (including HIV/AIDS), and increasing contraceptive knowledge. Requires States receiving such grants to provide for an individual evaluation of the State's program by an external, independent entity.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2005
Amends Federal civil service law to provide for the indexation of deferred annuities, including survivor annuities, under the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS), Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), and for individuals becoming subject to FERS by election. Terminates for remarriage before age 55 (currently remarriage at any age) a survivor's entitlement to an annuity based on the service of a deferred annuitant who dies before establishing a valid claim for annuity under CSRS (conforms with requirements under FERS).
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2005
Recognizes the historical significance to the Nation, and supports the continued celebration, of Juneteenth Independence Day (June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved African Americans were free). Declares the sense of Congress that: (1) history should be regarded as a means for understanding the past and solving the challenges of the future; and (2) the celebration of the end of slavery is an important and enriching part of the history and heritage of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Combating Autism Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) a program to provide information and education on autism and its risk factors to health professionals and the general public; and (2) the Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate autism related activities within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide autism screening, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants or cooperative agreements to provide technical assistance to state agencies to conduct applied autism research.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and (3) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day. Makes federal minimum wage requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually increased to equal the federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Space Preservation Act of 2005 - Reaffirms U.S. policy that activities in space should be devoted to peaceful purposes. Directs the President to: (1) ban U.S. space-based weapons and the use of U.S. weapons to destroy or damage objects in orbit in space; (2) terminate research and development, testing, manufacturing, production, and deployment of all U.S. space-based weapons; and (3) direct the U.S. representatives to the United Nations and other international organizations to work toward negotiating, adopting, and implementing an international treaty banning space-based weapons and the use of weapons to destroy or damage objects in space.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act - Prohibits any federal or state government agent from: (1) killing, hazing, or capturing any buffalo on federal land or land held under federal conservation easements; or (2) using any form of bait to lure buffalo from any federal land onto private land until specified duties are accomplished by the Secretary of the Interior and certain other federal agencies. Provides exceptions for: (1) legally-authorized, state-managed buffalo hunts; (2) hazing if a person is physically endangered or property is damaged; (3) National Park Service employees moving buffalo to address physical public safety threats; and (4) certain non-lethal federal research. Establishes criminal penalties and fines for violations of this Act. Sets forth duties of the the Secretary relating to grazing and other matters affecting the Yellowstone buffalo herd that must be accomplished within three years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Expresses the sense of the House that the President should: (1) mobilize necessary economic and scientific support for the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise (an alliance of the world's leading scientists and independent organizations committed to accelerating the development of an HIV vaccine by enhancing coordination, information sharing, and collaboration globally); and (2) urge members of the Group of Eight (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to garner support from their own communities for the development of an HIV vaccine. Calls for such countries to: (1) take further measures to explore and implement Enterprise initiatives; (2) leverage financial contributions from the international philanthropic community to provide funding to promote the development of an HIV vaccine; (3) include the scientific and political leadership of the countries most affected by the pandemic of HIV and AIDS; and (4) develop a plan for furthering such efforts prior to their June 2005 meeting. Urges the President to generate global support for the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise by carrying out an initiative that: (1) coordinates and partners with member countries, the private sector, and other countries; (2) encourages Group of Eight countries to act swiftly to mobilize resources; (3) includes a strategic plan to prioritize challenges to the development of an HIV vaccine, to coordinate research and product development, and to encourage greater use of information-sharing networks and technologies; (4) encourages the establishment of coordinated global HIV vaccine development centers; and (5) increases cooperation and communication among regulatory agencies on issues related to AIDS and HIV.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Commends orchestras for their artistic and educational contribution to U.S. communities. Congratulates the American Symphony Orchestra League on the occasion of its 60th national conference.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to equalize and increase to $200, with a modified cost-of-living adjustment, the tax exclusion for both transportation and parking fringe benefits. Extends such benefits to federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
Condemns the vote by the British Association of University Teachers (BAUT) on April 22, 2005, to boycott Bar-Ilan University and Haifa University. Calls on BAUT to overturn this vote at its hearing on May 26, 2005. Denounces BAUT's call for professors from these universities to take loyalty oaths disavowing the Israeli Government. Urges governments and educators throughout the world to generate dialogue regarding their differences and not bar students and professors from engaging with and learning from each other.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Pension Security Disclosure Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to disclose publicly certain information on the funding status of pension plans, through making it available: (1) for inspection at PBGC headquarters; (2) in written form upon request of a plan participant or beneficiary; and (3) on a PBGC website. Requires pension plan administrators to provide to each plan participant and beneficiary a written summary of material provided to the PBGC, and notification that such material is on the PBGC website. Authorizes, only in cases of hardship, the Secretary of Labor to extend the deadline for a pension plan to file an annual report past 275 days after the close of the plan year. Requires actuarial valuations in an annual report to be determined as of the last date of the plan year. Directs the Secretary to display annual report information on a Department of Labor website. Requires such information also to be displayed on any website maintained by the plan sponsor or administrator on the sponsor's behalf. Requires issuance of summary annual reports within 15 days after annual report filing. Requires such summaries to include disclosure of plan assets and liabilities and notification that certain annual report information is on the Department of Labor website and on a plan sponsor or administrator website. Authorizes the Secretary to prescribe simplified requirements for summary annual reports of pension plans covering less than 100 participants.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Rail Security Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to: (1) develop a security assessment of railroad transportation identifying critical railroad assets and infrastructures, including threats and vulnerabilities specific to the rail transportation of hazardous materials; (2) use the security assessment to develop a transportation modal security plan that establishes a strategy for minimizing terrorist threats to railroad transportation systems; (3) develop prioritized recommendations for improving railroad security; (4) carry out a research and development (R&D) program to improve railroad security; (5) develop guidance for a rail worker security traning program to prepare rail workers for potential threat conditions; and (6) develop a national plan for public outreach and awareness to increase awareness of measures that the general public and railroad passengers and employees can take to increase railroad system security. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to freight and passenger railroad carriers (including shippers of hazardous materials) for security upgrades to prevent or respond to acts of terrorism or sabotage. Authorizes appropriations to Amtrak for fire and life-safety improvements and infrastructure upgrades to certain tunnels in New York, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Sets forth certain whistleblower protections for rail employees or other persons providing information about perceived security threats. Directs the Secretary to analyze the cost and feasibility of requiring security screening for passengers, baggage, and cargo on passenger trains. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) issue emergency responder training standards; and (2) provide grants to Operation Respond Institute. Amends Federal transportation law to require the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), as soon as practicable after a rail passenger accident involving a major loss of life, to: (1) designate and publicize a NTSB employee who shall be a director of support services for the families of passengers involved; and (2) designate an independent, experienced nonprofit organization with primary responsibility for coordinating the emotional care and support of such families. Directs each rail passenger carrier to submit to the Secretary of Transportation and the Chairman of the NTSB a plan for addressing the needs of such families. Directs the Secretary to establish a task force to develop a model plan to assist passenger rail carriers in responding to passenger rail accidents.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Restore Open Government Act of 2005 - Revokes the "Memorandum for Heads of all Federal Departments and Agencies on The Freedom of Information Act" and "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Department and Agencies on Action to Safeguard Information Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and Other Sensitive Documents Related to Homeland Security." Directs the Archivist of the United States to: (1) report on the use of psuedo-classification designations; and (2) promulgate regulations banning unnecessary psuedo-classification designations. Provides for standards for information control designations related to the classification of national security information, if needed. Revokes specified executive orders limiting access to presidential records. Requires publishing the names of Presidential interagency advisory committee members. Requires public disclosure of non-governmental committee contacts. Permits the Archivist to charge an agency a specified fee to cover costs required for activities of the Public Interest Declassification Board, if funds appropriated for the Board are insufficient. Restricts the availability of a record under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) pertaining to the vulnerability of and threats to critical infrastructure that is furnished voluntarily to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Amends the FOIA concerning additional matters to be included in agency reports to the Attorney General. Prohibits aggregating public information requests with information on individuals in reports. Amends the FOIA to permit assessing the United States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case seeking information under any other Federal law in which the complainant has substantially prevailed.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Imposes a six-month moratorium on terminations of certain pension plans, instituted under specified provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), in cases in which reorganization of contributing sponsors is sought in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to payment for physicians' services to: (1) eliminate the sustainable growth rate payment update system; and (2) establish in its place an update to the single conversion factor for 2006 of at least 2.7 percent, and a formula for an update to the single conversion factor for years beginning with 2007. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in calculating the formula for the single conversion factor, to establish an input price index and estimate annually a productivity adjustment factor.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Medical Malpractice Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business tax credit for taxable years beginning in 2005 or 2006 for expenditures for medical professional malpractice insurance. Allows a credit for: (1) 30 percent of the malpractice insurance expenditures of a physician who practices in any surgical specialty or subspecialty, emergency medicine, obstetrics, or anesthesiology or who does intervention work that is reflected in medical malpractice insurance expenditures; and (2) 20 percent of such expenditures of a physician who practices in general medicine, allergy, dermatology, pathology, or other specialty and of any hospital, clinic, or long-term care provider. Limits the amount of expenditures that may be taken into account to twice the average of costs of medical malpractice insurance for similarly situated health care providers. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to make grants to certain nonprofit hospitals, clinics, and long-term care providers to assist such entities in defraying their medical malpractice insurance expenditures. Limits the amount of such grants to 15 percent of the medical malpractice insurance expenditures incurred by such entities in any year.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Andrew Carnegie Public Libraries Act - Amends the Library Services and Technology Act to authorize the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to make grants for the construction or modernization of public libraries. Sets forth application requirements for persons or entities desiring to receive such grants. Allows the non-federal share of project costs to be provided from state, local, or private sources, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Provides for recovery of funds if a grant recipient or successor ceases or fails to be a public or nonprofit institution, or if the facility ceases to be used as a library.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements for health plans or issuers of health insurance coverage, including requirements for: (1) utilization review activities; (2) procedures for claims benefits processing, prior authorization determinations, appeals, and internal reviews; and (3) access for an independent, external review. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Health Care Consumer Assistance Fund to award grants to States for consumer assistance activities designed to provide information, assistance, and referrals to consumers of health insurance products. Sets forth requirements for managed care programs and their access to care, including requiring such programs to: (1) offer coverage that allows for non-network coverage through another plan or issuer; (2) provide access to out-of-network emergency care without prior authorization; and (3) provide timely access to specialists. Requires certain annual disclosures from health plans or issuers, including disclosures of covered benefits, cost-sharing requirements, and participating providers. Prohibits a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting a health care professional's ability to advise a patient on the health of an individual or on medical care or treatment for the individual's condition or disease; and (2) operating any physician incentive plan. Establishes a cause of action against a plan or issuer that fails to exercise ordinary care in making a decision that results in a personal injury or death to a participant or beneficiary. Provides a tax credit to small businesses for expenses paid by the business for health insurance coverage of employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) establish ongoing collaborations with community organizations; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions; (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation; and (5) use innovative approaches to study unexplored areas of the environment and breast cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to make recommendations for and to review grants awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Children's Vision Improvement and Learning Readiness Act of 2005 - Authorizes 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 for providing: (1) comprehensive eye examinations for children, with priority given to children under nine years old; (2) subsequent vision treatment or services to correct vision problems; and (3) educational materials to parents, teachers, and health care practitioners on recognizing signs of visual impairment in children. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop criteria to collect data related to vision assessment and the utilization of follow-up services; and (2) coordinate the grant program with appropriate federal and state child services programs. Requires states to annually submit to the Secretary a program evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community Act of 2005 - Establishes the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community to develop a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of the American Latino Community in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 567 Tompkins Avenue in Staten Island, New York, as the "Vincent Palladino Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Health Security for All Americans Act - Amends the Social Security Act to provide participating States with funding to provide health insurance coverage through State-administered plans targeted at low-income residents. Requires States to implement systems to ensure universal health insurance coverage for their residents by 2010, including by requiring employers to contribute to health insurance premiums for their employees. Requires health plans to: (1) create entities to serve as employers for their home care providers; (2) ensure that enrollees will continue to receive health services if the plan's services are terminated; and (3) supply the State with information on their health care workers. Incorporates the Bipartisan Patient Protection Act, as passed by the Senate on June 29, 2001, and the Patient Safety and Health Care Whistleblower Protection Act of 2001, as introduced on June 27, 2001. Establishes the Health Care Quality, Patient Safety, and Workforce Standards Institute (and a related advisory committee) within the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) with a mission to demonstrate how patient safety issues and workplace conditions are linked to quality patient care, reduce medical errors, and improve patient safety and care. Requires that individuals entitled to Medicare benefits be provided full mental health and substance abuse treatment parity. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct research to identify model programs for the provision of long-term and home health care services. Expresses the sense of Congress that funds to implement this Act should be offset by: (1) general revenues available as a result of an on-budget surplus for a fiscal year; (2) direct saving in health care expenditures; and (3) reductions in unnecessary Federal tax benefits available to individuals and large corporations in the maximum tax brackets.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century Act - Revises, expands, or provides new rights and benefits for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their dependents and survivors, including, among others: (1) an FY 2006 increase in funding for veterans' medical care; (2) a prohibition until the end of FY2006 on medication copayments and on the imposition of a health care system enrollment fee; (3) an extension until 2010 of Vietnam veterans' eligibility for readjustment counseling services; (4) the collection of data from pre- and post-deployment health assessments, and preventive maintenance post-deployment intervention; (5) the prevention, early detection, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for returning troops; (6) a Department of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs Council on Post-Deployment Mental Health; (7) survivors' and dependents' eligibility for family and bereavement counseling; (8) certain educational initiatives; (9) a National Steering Committee on PTSD Education and a PTSD public awareness program; (10) certain benefits and outreach services for disabled veterans; (11) an increase in survivors' dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC); (12) certain pay increases and bonuses for active-duty members; (13) an expansion of benefits under under both the active-duty and reserve Montgomery GI Bill programs; (14) employment assistance for homeless veterans; (15) expanded reserve member eligibility under the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program); (16) certain recruitment and retention incentives for Selected Reserve members; and (17) certain pay matters with respect to Federal employees performing active-duty reserve service. Repeals the: (1) DIC offset from Survivor Benefit Plan surviving spouse annuities; (2) pay reduction and high school graduation requirement for participation in the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program; (3) delimiting date for entitlement to basic educational assistance under such program; (4) time limitation on the exclusion of combat zone compensation by reason of hospitalization; (5) tax cut (implemented in 2001) for high-income taxpayers; (6) scheduled termination of the phaseout of personal exemptions; and (6) scheduled phaseout of the overall limitation on itemized deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so through: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final federal or state court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. Requires withholding of specified portions of its federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in federal district courts. Directs the Commissioner of Education Statistics to study the effects of educational disparities on economic growth and on national defense.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Gas Price Spike Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a windfall profit tax on crude oil, natural gas, or products of crude oil or natural gas. Defines "windfall profit" as so much of the profit on a sale of crude oil, natural gas, or related products as exceeds a reasonable profit. Establishes the Reasonable Profits Board to determine levels of reasonable profit from the sale of such products. Allows a tax credit for the purchase of certain fuel-efficient, American-made passenger vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to operators of mass transit systems, including bus and commuter rail systems, to reduce passenger fares on such systems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
FamilyCare Act of 2005 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program. Provides for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents and pregnant women under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as under new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on FamilyCare assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) authorization of a State to use simplified procedures under Medicaid for families under Family care; (6) revision of the transitional medical assistance program; (7) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under Medicaid and FamilyCare; (8) a limitation on cost-sharing to 2.5 percent for families with income below 150 percent of the poverty level; and (9) increased Federal reimbursement for language services under Medicaid and FamilyCare. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on funding under SSA title XXI. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award demonstration grants to up to seven States (or other qualified entities) to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to enroll homeless individuals and families and provide them services under specified programs for the homeless (including Medicaid and FamilyCare).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Asthma Act - Authorizes additional appropriations to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Directs the Program's coordinating committee to report concerning the scope of, and federal programs concerned with, asthma problems in the United States. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to collaborate with states to expand specified asthma-related activities. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out related outreach activities. Gives grant priorities to communities disproportionately affected by asthma or underserved by health programs and in which a significant number of low-income individuals reside. Authorizes the Secretary of HHS to make matching grants to states to carry out activities to assist children with respect to asthma. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to local educational agencies in communities with significant numbers of low-income or underserved individuals for elementary and secondary school asthma-related activities. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) hospitals and managed care plans should undertake certain efforts to increase asthma-related education and training; and (2) federal, state, and local activities should promote Public Health Service asthma diagnosis and management guidelines.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Medicare Early Access Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to add a new part E (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals 55 to 65 Years of Age). Provides access to Medicare benefits for individuals 55 to 64 years of age who do not have coverage under a Federal health insurance program or under a group plan. Requires enrollees to pay a premium to receive Medicare coverage. Requires the Secretary to base the premium on the Secretary's estimate of the average, national annual per capita amount of the cost of providing services to the population. Allows early retirees with access to retiree coverage to enroll under this part while keeping their Federal or State COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation coverage. Allows an employer that offers employment-based retiree health coverage to an individual who enrolls under this part to modify such coverage to provide for: (1) employer payment of items and services for which payment may not be made under Medicare; and (2) employer payment of 25 percent of the monthly premium applicable to the individual after enrollment. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums collected under this Act and to support the new program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow program enrollees to receive a 75 percent advance, refundable credit to offset Medicare early access premium costs (thus requiring program enrollees in the Medicare early access program to be responsible for 25 percent of the monthly premiums).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Small Business Health Insurance Promotion Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain small employers (not more than 50 employees) a business tax credit equal to 50 percent of amounts paid by such employers for the health care coverage of their employees under a qualified health pooling arrangement. Limits the period during which the tax credit may be taken to four years from the date the employer begins participating in a qualified health pooling arrangement. Defines "qualified health pooling arrangement" as a national or state arrangement that provides health benefits coverage substantially similar to that of the four largest health benefit plans offered to Federal employees. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Labor to provide for the offering and oversight of qualified State and national health pooling arrangements and to conduct a study, through the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, of the operation of such arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Condemns the attacks on U.S. citizens by Palestinian terrorists and demands that the Palestinian Authority (PA) work with Israel to protect all innocent individuals, regardless of citizenship, from terrorist atrocities. Offers condolences to the families of U.S. citizens killed by Palestinian terrorist attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Amends the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to declare that, if the following conditions exist, the presumption of abuse guidelines do not apply and the bankruptcy court is prohibited from dismissing or converting a Chapter 7 petition based on any form of means testing: (1) while the debtor is on, and during the 180-day period after release from active duty in the U.S. military service; or (2) while the debtor is performing, and during the 180-day period after the debtor is no longer performing, a homeland defense activity performed for at least 60 days; and (3) if after September 11, 2001, the debtor was called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity, while a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American veterans. Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, the coins should be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, Limits the period for coin issuance to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010. Imposes a $10 surcharge per coin, to be distributed to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Focus On Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake Act - FOCUS Act - Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allot funds to eligible states (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) for distribution directly, or at state option through local governments, to pay the federal share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care providers under both such programs. Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary to allot funds to eligible states (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at state option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of several such funded state programs representing various approaches to increasing the rate of coverage for child care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Government of Saudi Arabia must immediately and unconditionally: (1) cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation of terror groups and individuals; (2) close permanently all organizations in Saudi Arabia that fund, train, encourage, or in any way aid terrorism anywhere in the world; (3) end funding for terror organizations outside Saudi Arabia; and (4) block funding from private Saudi citizens and entities to Saudi-based or offshore terror organizations. Directs the President to prohibit certain exports to Saudi Arabia and restrict travel of certain Saudi diplomats if the President cannot certify to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Saudi Arabia: (1) is fully cooperating with the United States in investigating and preventing terrorist attacks; (2) has closed permanently all Saudi-based terror organizations; (3) has ended funding for any offshore terror organization; and (4) has made all efforts to block funding from private Saudi citizens and entities to offshore terror organizations. Allows the President to waive such sanctions for national security reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to expand and intensify research and related activities on postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Requires the Director of NIMH to conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, such conditions. Directs the Secretary to make grants to establish, operate, and coordinate effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such conditions and their families. Allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions regarding employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) elimination of the lifetime limit on inpatient mental health services; (2) parity in treatment for outpatient mental health services; (3) coverage of intensive residential services under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and of intensive outpatient services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (4) exclusion of clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system; and (5) coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on whether the criteria for coverage of any therapy service or any oupatient mental health care service under Medicare unduly restricts the access to such a service of any Medicare beneficiary with Alzheimer's disease or a related mental illness because the coverage criteria requires the Medicare beneficiary to display continuing clinicial improvement to continue to receive the service.
![Official portrait of Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/n000002_200.jpg)