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
Declares that the existence of racially restrictive covenants in housing documents is inconsistent with the principles and values embodied in Supreme Court precedent and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and causes harm to not only property owners but to all members of American society. Commends California and the Missouri State Senate for taking roles in such covenants' removal. Urges States to enact laws that: (1) will more readily permit property owners to remove racially restrictive covenants from their property titles, deeds, or other documents; and (2) require homeowner associations to strike racially restrictive covenants from all declarations or other governing documents.
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 · 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 · 21 April 2005
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2005 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Celebrates the life and accomplishments of Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield, one of only four jockeys to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies, who continuously overcame racism and other significant obstacles during his lifetime. Recognizes the significant contributions and excellence of African American jockeys and trainers in horse racing and in the history of the Kentucky Derby.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Observes the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Republic of Vietnam to the Communist forces of North Vietnam. Supports all individuals taking part in events in Washington, D.C. and across the United States to observe this tragic event.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Second Chance Act of 2005: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions regarding adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects, including by authorizing funds to: (1) provide structured post-release housing and transitional housing; (2) facilitate specified collaboration to promote the employment of people released from prison and jail; (3) carry out programs that support children of incarcerated parents; and (4) establish or expand the use of reentry courts. Sets forth grant priorities and requirements, including that each state, territory, tribe, or local government recipient establish a Reentry Task Force or other authority. Authorizes the Attorney General to make a grant to provide for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center. Directs the Attorney General to establish an interagency task force on federal programs regarding offender reentry. Authorizes the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics to conduct research on offender reentry. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the role of state child protective services at the time of arrest and establish services for the preservation of families impacted by the incarceration of a family member; and (2) the Secretary of Labor to implement a program to educate employers about one-stop centers, existing incentives for the hiring of former prisoners, and tax credits, and to make grants to nonprofit organizations to provide transitional services. Amends the federal criminal code to direct a court to revoke a term of supervised release or a sentence of probation for a defendant who commits a crime of violence against, or an offense of unlawful sexual contact with, a person who has not attained the age of 16 years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act - Declares it is U.S. policy to protect and preserve living and other resources of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (Farallones NMS) and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Cordell Bank NMS) marine environments. Makes certain adjustments to expand the boundaries of the Farallones NMS and the Cordell NMS. Prohibits within the Farallones NMS and the Cordell Bank NMS: (1) the leasing, exploration, development, production, or transporting by pipeline of minerals or hydrocarbons; (2) the conduct of aquaculture (with exceptions); and (3) the discharge of materials and substances or a change in the salinity. Prohibits the conduct of aquaculture within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to complete an interim supplemental management plan for each sanctuary that focuses on protective resource management in the areas added by this Act. Requires the Secretary to review the operations of the Farallones NMS to determine whether area added to it by this Act shall be designated as a new and separate NMS.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Family Planning State Empowerment Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow States to provide family planning services and supplies to certain individuals not otherwise eligible for Medicaid. Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Amends PHSA to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. Preventing Teen Pregnancy Act - Amends PHSA to authorize the Secretary to award grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Truth in Contraception Act - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Fair Pay Act of 2005 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests.) Prohibits the discharge of or any other discrimination against an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Directs the EEOC to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; and (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act. Makes conforming amendments relating to congressional and executive branch employees to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Presidential and Executive Office Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey; (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity; and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require any pharmacy receiving prescription drugs or prescription devices in interstate commerce to: (1) ensure that any in stock prescription that one pharmacist refuses to fill on the basis of a personal belief is filled by another pharmacist employed by the pharmacy without delay; (2) ensure that any individual who presents a prescription for an item that is not in stock which one pharmacist refuses to order on the basis of a personal belief is immediately informed that the product can be ordered by the pharmacy and to order such product without delay; and (3) not employ any pharmacist who engages in any conduct with the intent to prevent or deter an individual from filling a valid prescription, including refusing to return a prescription form, refusing to transfer a prescription, or subjecting the individual to humiliation or harassment. Provides that this Act does not require the pharmacy to keep any particular product in stock nor does it apply with respect to a product for a health condition if the pharmacy does not keep in stock any product for such condition. Sets forth civil penalties. Allows a private cause of action for a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Military Health Services Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe a requirement that members of the Armed Forces: (1) deploying to a combat theater receive a pre-deployment mental health evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional; and (2) returning from service of more than 30 days in a combat theater, or injured in a combat theater, receive a post-deployment combat stress evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional. Directs the Secretary to implement a program designed to: (1) raise awareness about mental health issues that members may encounter during and after deployment; and (2) reduce the stigma associated with mental health care. Directs the Secretary to develop a program to improve awareness of the availability of mental health services for, and warning signs about mental health problems in, dependents of members who served or will serve in a combat theater during the previous or next 60 days. Requires such program to include a toll-free number and informational website. Directs the Secretary: (1) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a memorandum of understanding to improve the transition of mental health-related cases from the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); (2) to create an information clearinghouse to improve the availability of information about mental health professionals who treat combat stress; and (3) to provide for the availability (for a two-year period) of mental health services under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) for reserve personnel who performed certain active duty (and their family members).
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Recognizes the 140th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude) on December 6, 1865. Encourages the American people to educate and instill pride and purpose into their communities about the history of liberation and the civil rights movement in the United States and to observe such anniversary each year.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) honors Johnnie Cochran, Jr., for his service to the Nation, his pioneering work as a lawyer, author, TV commentator, and philanthropist, and his personal integrity and professional excellence; and (2) expresses its deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and admirers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Fisheries Science and Management Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to revise requirements for the appointment and training of the voting members of the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils. Requires each science and statistical committee established by a Council to include a fishery and marine science subcommittee. Sets forth subcommittee functions, primarily to determine for the Council biological catch limits that will prevent overfishing in a fishery and any protections required for threatened or endangered species. Revises requirements regarding the disclosure of financial interests by and recusal of members with respect to voting on Council decisions. Revises provisions required to be in a fishery management plan to require such a plan to allocate any quotas or other conservation and management measures fairly and equitably among the commercial, recreational, and charter fishing sectors in the fishery, and allow fishery sectors to develop allocation plans subject to Council approval. Provides for peer review of fishery and marine science subcommittee determinations to the Council. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to carry out a cooperative research, data collection, and gear modification program to conduct conservation projects to minimize the mortality of unavoidable bycatch or fishery impacts on essential fish habitat through modifications of fishing gear and practices. Amends the Saltonstall-Kennedy Act to make certain funds available to implement the cooperative research, data collection, and gear modification program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Darfur Genocide Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide. Directs the President to: (1) block the property and assets of civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan and their family members implicated in the Darfur atrocities, and property and assets controlled by the National Congress Party; and (2) prohibit an entity engaged in any commercial activity in Sudan from raising capital in the United States, or from trading its securities in any capital market in the United States. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) prohibit visas for civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan, and militia members and others implicated in the Darfur atrocities; (2) reduce the Sudanese diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., and restrict or control the remaining staff's movement within the United States; and (3) instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) to oppose any UN or other international conference from being held in Sudan. Authorizes the President to: (1) use force to stop the Darfur genocide, including establishment of a no-fly zone and use of unmanned armed planes; and (2) deny U.S. port entry to ships doing business in the Sudan oil sector and /or with the Sudan armed forces.
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
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
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
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
Supports: (1) the goal of increasing U.S. homeownership; (2) first-time homeownership programs, including the With Ownership Wealth Initiative of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Recognizes homeownership's importance in establishing financial independence. Urges Federal, State, and local governments to: (1) take appropriate actions to encourage homeownership and fair housing practices; and (2) confront all forms of predatory lending with swift legislative action. Recommits Congress to making fair housing and homeownership a 109th Congress priority.
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
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
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
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 · 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
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
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
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 · 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
Prohibit Predatory Lending Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act in connection with consumer credit cost disclosure to redefine: (1) high-cost mortgage; (2) the formula used to adjust certain percentage points in connection with a consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling; and (3) related points and fees. Sets forth a formula to calculate: (1) points and fees for open-end loans; and (2) bona fide discount points and prepayment penalties. Revises requirements for: (1) prepayment penalties; (2) balloon payments; and (3) extension of credit without regard to consumer's payment ability. Prohibits in connection with high-cost mortgages: (1) a lender from recommending a default on an existing debt prior to and in connection with the closing of a high-cost mortgage that refinances all or any portion of such existing loan or debt; (2) specified late fees; (3) certain accelerations of debt; (4) certain evasions, structuring of transactions, and reciprocal arrangements; (5) certain modification and deferral fees; and (6) mandatory arbitration or other nonjudicial procedures. Mandates pre-loan counseling as a prerequisite for a high-loan mortgage. Revises guidelines governing lender liability for correction of errors. Prohibits a lender from knowingly or intentionally engaging in the unfair act or practice of flipping (the making of a loan or extension of credit to a consumer which refinances an existing mortgage when the new loan or credit extension does not have reasonable, tangible net benefit to the consumer, considering all of the circumstances, including the terms of both the new and the refinanced loans or credit, the cost of the new loan or credit, and the consumer's circumstances). Prohibits single premium credit insurance. Doubles civil money penalties for certain violations. Extends to three years the statute of limitations for violation of certain statutory disclosure requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to provide that no application by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a U.S. court for an order requiring the production of tangible things for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information from a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism may be made for the sole purpose of searching for, or seizing from, a bookseller or library documentary materials that contain personally identifiable information concerning a patron. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude a physical search for documentary materials (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) under other provisions of law. Defines "personally identifiable information" as information that identifies a person as having used, requested, or obtained specific reading materials or services from a bookseller or library. Revises congressional reporting requirements under FISA to require the Attorney General, in informing Congress with respect to applications for orders approving requests for the production of tangible things, to: (1) describe the specific purpose of each order application; (2) analyze the effectiveness of each application that was granted or modified in protecting U.S. citizens against terrorism; and (3) make public such information provided in a manner consistent with the national security of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Justice and Understanding By International Loan Elimination and Equity Act of 2005 or JUBILEE Act of 2005 - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to commence immediate efforts, within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), and other international financial institutions (multilateral development institutions (MDI's)) to accomplish: (1) the cancellation of all debts owed to each institution by specified eligible poor countries, and the financing of such debt cancellation from the institution's ongoing operations, procedures, and accounts; (2) the limitation of any waiting period before receipt of debt cancellation to one month from the date of an eligible poor country's application for it; and (3) encouragement of the government of each eligible poor country to allocate at least 20 percent of its national budget, including the savings from such debt cancellation, for the provision of basic health care services, education services, and clean water services to individuals in the country. Sets forth requirements for: (1) establishment of a framework to ensure transparency regarding each international financial institution's activities; and (2) availability on the Treasury Department's website of U.S. Executive Directors' remarks at meetings of international financial institutions' Boards of Directors. Requires the Secretary to commence immediate efforts, within the Paris Club, the IMF, and other appropriate MDI's, to ensure that the provision of debt cancellation to such countries is not conditioned on any agreement by such a country to implement or comply with specified policies that deepen poverty or degrade the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Save Our Waters From Sewage Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice of the bypass in accordance with this Act; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance. Requires POTWs to provide the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or the State if the State has an approved permit program) with: (1) prior notice of an anticipated bypass; and (2) notice of an unanticipated bypass within 24 hours of becoming aware of such bypass as well as follow-up notice. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security each to transmit to the House of Representatives all documents in their possession relating to the security investigations and background checks relating to access to the White House granted to James D. Guckert (known as Jeff Gannon), and any requisite instructions for handling such documents.
![Official portrait of Rep. Waters, Maxine [D-CA-43]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000187_200.jpg)