United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish: (1) voluntary guidelines, based on the best currently available scientific knowledge, for the remediation of former methamphetamine laboratories, including guidelines regarding preliminary site assessment and the remediation of residual contaminants; and (2) a program of research to support the development and revision of such guidelines. Directs the Administrator to: (1) periodically convene a conference of appropriate state agencies, as well as individuals or organizations involved in research and other activities directly related to the environmental or biological impacts of former methamphetamine laboratories; and (2) enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences for a study of the status and quality of research on the residual effects of methamphetamine laboratories. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to support a research program to develop: (1) new methamphetamine detection technologies, with an emphasis on field test kits and site detection; and (2) appropriate standard reference materials and validation procedures for methamphetamine detection testing.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to revise provisions governing the importation of prescription drugs. Waives the limitation on importation of prescription drugs that have been exported from the United States. Prohibits the importation of a qualifying drug unless such drug is imported by: (1) a registered importer; or (2) an individual for personal use. Establishes registration conditions for importers and exporters. Requires the Secretary to inspect places of business, verify chains of custody, inspect facilities, and determine compliance with registration conditions. Sets forth provisions governing the importation of qualifying drugs that are different from U.S. label drugs, including standards for judging such differences. Prohibits manufacturers from: (1) discriminating against registered exporters or importers; (2) causing there to be a difference in a prescription drug distributed in the United States and one distributed in a permitted country; (3) engaging in actions to restrict, prohibit, or delay the importation of a qualifying drug; or (4) engaging in any action that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) determines discriminates against a person that engages or attempts to engage in the importation of a qualifying drug. States that the resale in the United States of prescription drugs that were properly sold abroad is not patent infringement. Requires the Secretary to educate consumers regarding prescription drug importation. Sets forth provisions governing the sale of prescription drugs through an Internet site. Includes the dispensing or selling of a prescription drug in violation of this Act as a prohibited act under FFDCA. Prohibits the introduction of restricted transactions with unregistered foreign pharmacies into a payment system or the completion of such transactions using a payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Redesignates the: (1) Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps; and (2) Secretary of the Navy as the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. Makes similar redesignations with respect to Department Assistant Secretaries and the General Counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to make permanent (currently, terminates on December 31, 2006) the authority for the provision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of government markers or memorial headstones for the marked graves of veterans buried in private cemeteries. Amends the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 to make eligible for such markers or headstones certain veterans dying on or after November 1, 1990 (currently, September 11, 2001).
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
District of Columbia Fair and Equal House Voting Rights Act of 2007 - Considers the District of Columbia a congressional district for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives. Applies to the District in the same manner as it applies to a state the federal law providing for the fifteenth and subsequent decennial censuses and for apportionment of Representatives in Congress. Limits the District to one Member under any reapportionment of Members. Modifies the formula regarding the number of presidential electors to subject it to the Twenty-Third amendment to the Constitution in the case of the District. Increases membership of the House from 435 to 437 Members. Provides for a reapportionment of Members resulting from such increase. Requires the: (1) President to submit to Congress a revised version of the most recent statement of such apportionment; and (2) Clerk of the House, upon receipt of such revision, to send to the executive of each state a certificate of the number of Representatives to which such state is entitled and to identify to the Speaker of the House the state (other than the District) which is entitled to one additional Representative. Subjects the general elections for such additional Representatives to specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Prohibits the U.S. government from obligating or expending funds to increase the number of U.S. forces in Iraq above the number for such forces which existed as of January 9, 2007, without a specific congressional authorization for such increase.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should take into consideration the special needs of such veterans and of elderly veterans who are at high risk for depression and experience high rates of suicide in developing and implementing the comprehensive program outlined in this Act. Directs the Secretary to develop and carry out a comprehensive program designed to reduce the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs who interact with veterans; (2) screening of veterans who receive medical care at a Department facility for suicide risk factors; (3) referral of at-risk veterans for counseling and treatment; (4) a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (5) research for suicide prevention and for mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (7) a toll-free hotline.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act - Amends federal military retired pay provisions to: (1) permit veterans with a service-connected disability of less than 50% to claim both retired pay and disability compensation; (2) eliminate provisions requiring a phase in between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, of concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation; (3) provide a special reduction rule with respect to the concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation in the case of disability retirees with less than 20 years of creditable service; and (4) extend combat-related special compensation to certain veterans with less than 20 years of service who have a combat-related disability.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) after more than 3,000 American casualties, over $300 billion in expenditures, and almost four years of fighting, an increase in the number of members of the U.S. Armed Forces deployed in Iraq is the wrong course of action and should not be done without an express authorization for the increase in an Act of Congress; and (2) a drastic shift in U.S. political and diplomatic strategy, as well as the mission of the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq, is needed to secure and stabilize Iraq so that a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops can begin as soon as possible.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Universal Right to Vote by Mail Act of 2007 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prohibit a state from imposing additional conditions or requirements on the eligibility of an individual to cast a vote in federal elections by mail, except to the extent that it imposes a deadline for requesting the ballot and returning it to the appropriate state or local election official.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to: (1) prohibit the sale or transfer of any free-roaming horse or burro or its remains on U.S. public lands for consideration for processing into commercial products; and (2) repeal provisions permitting the sale of certain excess animals or their remains and excluding from criminal fine or imprisonment a person who processes or permits the processing of such animals' remains.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Retired Pay Restoration Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only a disability rated at 50 percent or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act - Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Geological Survey (administering agencies) to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation and coordination of this Act; and (2) develop a marine and freshwater research program to support efforts to assess introduction rates and patterns of invasive nonnative species into the aquatic ecosystem, and efforts to detect, prevent, and eradicate them. Requires the administering agencies to: (1) develop standardized protocols for conducting ecological and pathway surveys of such species; (2) conduct research to identify the relationship between the introduction and establishment of such species; and (3) analyze the data collected and develop a profile that determines whether a species planned for importation is likely to invade an aquatic ecosystem. . Requires the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a central, national pathway and ecological surveys database of information. Makes the Invasive Species Council responsible for disseminating such information and develop a national strategy for how it will be shared with federal, state, and local entities. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a grant program to fund research, development, demonstration and verification of environmentally sound, cost-effective technologies and methods to control and eradicate such species. Reauthorizes the ship pathway technology demonstration program. Requires the Coast Guard and the EPA to develop a research program to support implementation of ship pathway standards to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by ships. Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program for researchers at institutions of higher education and museums to carry our research programs in systematics and taxonomy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. Limits such research to stem cells that meet the following ethical requirements: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act - Establishes a national policy to protect, maintain, and restore the health of marine ecosystems and requires that federal agencies administer U.S. policies and laws accordingly. Allows more stringent federal and state requirements. States that there shall be an agency known as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), declares that Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970 (concerning NOAA) shall have no further force or effect, and sets forth NOAA's mission and functions. (Reestablishes NOAA and requires a reorganization plan.) Creates an Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and makes that person the Administrator of NOAA. Requires maintenance within NOAA of: (1) the National Weather Service; (2) programs to protect, maintain, and restore the health and sustainability of coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes resources; (3) the Office of Education; and (4) a Science Advisory Board. Establishes: (1) a National Oceans Advisor; (2) a Committee on Ocean Policy; and (3) the Council of Advisors on Oceans Policy. Designates certain ocean regions for ecosystem-based management and establishes a Regional Ocean Partnership for each region. Requires the Administrator to establish a network of regional ocean ecosystem resource information systems for each ocean region and other specified bodies of water. Authorizes related contracts. Establishes in the Treasury the Ocean and Great Lakes Conservation Trust Fund. Requires payments to coastal states for development and implementation of Regional Ocean Strategic Plans. Requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide for a special postage stamp to afford the public a convenient way to support efforts to protect, maintain, and restore marine ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) sponsoring or exhibiting a bird in a fighting venture in a state where it would not otherwise be in violation of the law, only if the person knew that any bird in the venture was knowingly bought, sold, delivered, transported, or received in interstate or foreign commerce for such purpose; or (2) knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting in an animal fighting venture any other animal that was moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Prohibits knowingly: (1) selling, buying, transporting, delivering, or receiving, for purposes of transportation in interstate or foreign commerce, any dog or other animal to participate in an animal fighting venture; (2) using interstate mail service for commercial speech promoting an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the states (with an exception for bird fights in states whose laws allow them); or (3) selling, buying, transporting, or delivering in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument to be attached to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture. Increases the penalties to a fine and up to three years' imprisonment for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Public Housing Drug Elimination Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 to authorize appropriations for the assisted housing drug elimination program. Limits activities for programs designed to reduce drug use in and around assisted low-income housing to: (1) providing drug abuse treatment through rehabilitation or relapse prevention; (2) providing education about the dangers and consequences of drug use or violent crime; (3) identifying drug users, and assisting drug use discontinuance through education or treatment programs; (4) providing after school youth activities; and (5) providing capital improvements and security services to discourage or eliminate drug use or violent crime.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for benefits under SSA title XVIII (Medicare); and (2) eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions to become eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study the range of disability conditions that can be delayed or prevented if individuals receive access to health care services and coverage before a condition reaches disability levels.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Combat-Related Special Compensation Act - Authorizes monthly combat-related special compensation pay to any military retiree who is entitled to retired pay and has a combat-related disability. (Currently, a retiree must meet those requirements and also have completed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service.) Provides a special compensation rule with respect to retirees with less than 20 years of service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and the Revised Statutes of the United States to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Social Security Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Calls on the Board of Directors of the National High School Mock Trial Championship to: (1) accommodate the religious beliefs of students participating in the competition; and (2) restructure the competition's rules to allow qualifying students of all faiths to compete fully without betraying their religious beliefs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Urges the League of Arab States to: (1) declare the systematic torture, rape, and displacement of Darfurians a genocide; (2) pass a resolution to support and accept U.N. peacekeepers to enforce the ceasefire, protect civilians, and ensure access to humanitarian assistance in Darfur; and (3) work with the United Nations, the African Union, and the United States Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan, Andrew Natsios, to bring about peace and stability to Darfur, the refugee camps, and along the Chadian border.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S. Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring former Representative Shirley Chisholm; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to instruct the Secretary of the Interior to agree to any lessee request to amend any lease issued as a result of a Central or Western Gulf of Mexico lease sale held between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 1999, to incorporate price thresholds applicable to certain royalty suspension provisions in the amount of $34.73 per barrel (2005 dollars) for oil and of $4.34 per million Btu (2005 dollars) for natural gas, adjusted for changes in the implicit price deflator. Directs the Secretary to establish a conservation of resources fee for producing leases at $9 per barrel for oil and $1.25 per million Btu for gas (2006 dollars). Applies such fee only to leases issued with deep water royalty relief for which royalties are not being paid when prices exceed specified amounts per barrel. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit the royalty revenues in the Treasury, to be available to the Secretary of the Interior, without further appropriation, for FY2007-FY2016, for disbursement to Gulf producing states and coastal political subdivisions. Expresses the intent of Congress: (1) that this Act result in a healthy and growing American industrial, manufacturing, transportation, and service sector employing America's workforce in the development of affordable energy from the OCS; and (2) to OCS monitor deployment of personnel and material to encourage development of American technology and manufacturing, as well as the establishment of important industrial facilities to support expanded access to American resources.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
House Staff Privacy Act - Amends the House of Representatives Administrative Reform Technical Corrections Act to: (1) exclude from the public reports on disbursements of the House of Representatives any information on salaries paid to individual employees of the House or on payments for services rendered by any individual who received a salary for rendering them; but (2) include in such reports the aggregate amount of payments made for salaries of individuals employed by each office of a Member of the House.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2006
Provides that, for purposes of carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (Inspector General), any funds appropriated or otherwise made available for FY2007 for the Iraq Security Forces Fund shall be treated as amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. Amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 to terminate the Office of the Inspector General ten months after the date on which 80 percent of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to both the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund and the Iraq Security Forces Fund have been expended.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2006 - Amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 and the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to extend through FY2011 the authorization of appropriations for housing assistance for Native Americans and loan guarantees for Native Hawaiian housing. Amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 to: (1) make the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of the state of Hawaii eligible for loan guarantees; and (2) extend through FY2011 the authorization of appropriations for the credit subsidy to cover the costs of federal guarantees for financing for tribal housing activities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2006
Requests the President to provide to the House of Representatives all documents in his possession regarding: (1) intelligence on Iran's nuclear program and Iran's capability to threaten the United States with nuclear weapons; (2) any decision to remove the ruling regime from power in Iran; (3) covert action being conducted by any U.S. Armed Forces in Iran and training by such forces of any group or organization for the conduct of operations hostile to that regime; (4) creation of a new Department of Defense (DOD) office similar to the former Office of Special Plans; (5) "Prepare to Deploy" orders by the U.S. Navy to waters near Iran; and (6) all National Intelligence Estimates or other intelligence community analysis regarding the consequences of attacking Iran.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2006
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Senate should act swiftly to give its advice and consent to ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2006
Authorizes appropriations for FY2007 to carry out title XXVI of the Public Health Service Act (popularly known as the Ryan White Care Act). Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in determining the amounts of formula grants for FY2007, from using a methodology for counting the number of AIDS or HIV cases that is different than the methodology used by the Secretary for FY2006.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2006
Damaged Vehicle Information Act - Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue a regulation to require persons who terminate a motor vehicle contract due to flood or water damage, collision, fire damage, theft and recovery, or any circumstance that adversely affects the fair market value of the vehicle to disclose information of such vehicle damage to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2006
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Iraq has been in the midst of a civil war since the February 22, 2006, bombing of the Golden Mosque in Samarra, Iraq, one of the holiest places for Shiite Muslims.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Homeless Veterans Assistance Act of 2006 - Extends through: (1) FY2011 the homeless veterans comprehensive services program; (2) 2011 the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide treatment and rehabilitation for seriously mentally ill and homeless veterans; (3) 2011 the authority of the Secretary to transfer to homeless veterans' housing programs real property obtained by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) through foreclosure of home mortgages; (4) FY2011 a VA grant program for homeless veterans with special needs; (5) FY2011 the authorization of appropriations for the VA technical assistance grant program; and (6) FY2011 the Advisory Committee on Homeless Veterans. Authorizes the Secretary to make emergency grants to entities providing care to homeless veterans for repairing or replacing facilities damaged or destroyed by a disaster. Directs the Secretary to provide financial assistance to eligible entities to provide supportive services for very low income veteran families residing in permanent housing. Requires the equitable distribution of such assistance across geographic regions, including rural communities and tribal lands. Requires the Secretary to carry out a demonstration program on preventing homelessness of veterans who are at risk of homelessness after they are discharged or released from active military service. Makes permanent and extends to at least 12 (currently, six) locations a VA demonstration program of referral and counseling services for veterans transitioning from certain institutions (including penal and mental illness institutions) who are at-risk for homelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Prescription Coverage Now Act of 2006 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Service to provide for an expedited process for the qualification for low-income assistance through a request to the Secretary of the Treasury for tax return and other information sufficient to identify: (1) whether the individual involved is likely eligible for subsidies; and (2) the amount of premium and cost-sharing subsidies for which they would qualify based on such information. Increases the maximum permissible resource level for subsidy eligibility. Waives the late enrollment penalty for subsidy-eligible individuals for the first 24 months of non-enrollment.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Prohibits the owner of a foreign vessel (other than a ferry) having the capacity to transport more than 100 passengers from using a U.S. port if the owner does not notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) within 24 hours of a crime against a U.S. citizen while aboard such vessel.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month, including efforts to: (1) raise public awareness about Alzheimer's; (2) promote early evaluation, diagnosis, planning, and treatment; and (3) encourage progress toward the development of a national health policy to raise awareness about Alzheimer's and to ensure that people with dementia receive a diagnosis and appropriate care. Encourages Americans who may be experiencing memory impairment to seek an evaluation and diagnosis.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2006
Stevens-Inouye International Fisheries Monitoring and Compliance Legacy Act of 2006 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize the promotion of improved compliance for high seas fisheries or fisheries governed by international fishery management agreements. Requires actions to improve the effectiveness of international fishery management organizations in managing fish stocks. Mandates reports on a nation whose fishing vessels are engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing or fishing resulting in certain bycatch. Modifies requirements regarding Pacific Insular Area fisheries monitoring. Mandates research on Atlantic billfish. Reauthorizes the Atlantic Tunas Conventions Act of 1975. Requires the application of alternate provisions (established by this Act) when determined that an area within a Regional Fishery Management Council's geographical area of authority is overfished or approaching a condition of being overfished due to excessive international fishing pressure. Adds a provision to the "bycatch" definition exclusion. Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act - Regulates U.S. representation on the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Sets forth authorities of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Commerce. Makes certain acts unlawful. Requires masters of certain commercial fishing vessels to give notice of the circumstances under which they will enter U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters. Pacific Whiting Act of 2006 - Provides for the appointment of members of various bodies under the Agreement between the Government of the United States and the Government of Canada on Pacific Hake/Whiting. Sets the U.S. catch level for pacific whiting according to the standards and procedures of the Agreement and the provisions of this Act rather than under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2006
Hawaiian Homeownership Opportunity Act of 2006 - Amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 and the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 to extend through FY2011 the authorization of appropriations for housing assistance for Native Americans and loan guarantees for Native Hawaiian housing. Amends the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 to: (1) make the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands of the state of Hawaii eligible for loan guarantees; and (2) extend through FY2011 the authorization of appropriations for the credit subsidy to cover the costs of federal guarantees for financing for tribal housing activities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2006
Veterans Identity and Credit Security Act of 2006 - Requires: (1) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish policies and standards for federal agencies to follow in the event of a breach of data security involving the disclosure of sensitive personal information; and (2) each federal agency to establish procedures for notifying individuals whose sensitive personal information is compromised. Establishes in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) an Under Secretary for Information Services. Outlines responsibilities of the VA's Chief Information Officer with respect to personal information security management. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to report quarterly to the congressional veterans' committees on any data breach with respect to sensitive personal information possessed or maintained by the VA. Requires within the VA, with respect to each data breach, an independent risk analysis to determine the level of risk for the potential misuse of such information. Provides for, after a data breach: (1) fraud alerts; (2) credit security freezes; and (3) credit protection services. Outlines requirements for contractors who contract to perform any VA function that requires access to sensitive personal information. Directs the Secretary, in order to ensure appropriate information security skills for VA employees, to carry out programs to provide financial support for the education of such personnel in information security at institutions of higher education. Authorizes: (1) a scholarship program under which the Secretary may provide financial assistance to an individual for up to five years with a limit of $50,000 per year; and (2) a debt reduction program under which the Secretary makes payments on loans taken by VA employees to obtain appropriate information security education, with a payment limit of $82,500 over a five-year period. Provides a first and second priority, in the provision of assistance under this section, to: (1) veterans with service-connected disabilities; and (2) other veterans. Requires any veteran receiving assistance to have been discharged from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2006
Calls upon the President to: (1) appeal to all sides in the current Middle East crisis for an immediate cessation of violence; (2) commit U.S. diplomats to multiparty negotiations with no preconditions; and (3) send a high-level diplomatic mission to the region to facilitate such negotiations. Urges such negotiations to begin as soon as possible, including delegations from the governments of Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA), Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. Supports an international peacekeeping mission to southern Lebanon to prevent cross-border skirmishes during such negotiations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2006
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs who interact with veterans; (2) screening of veterans who receive medical care at a Department facility for suicide risk factors; (3) referral of at-risk veterans for counseling and treatment; (4) a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (5) research for suicide prevention and for mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (7) a toll-free hotline. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary should take in the special needs of PTSD-afflicted veterans in developing and implementing the program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2006
Recognizes that National POW/MIA Recognition Day is one of six days specified by law on which the POW/MIA flag is to be flown over specified federal facilities and national cemeteries, military installations, and post offices. Applauds the personnel of the Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) of the Department of Defense (DOD), the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, the Air Force Life Sciences Equipment Laboratory, and the military departments for seeking the fullest possible accounting of Americans unaccounted for as a result of the nation's previous conflicts. Extends the thanks of Congress and the nation to the personnel of those offices, commands, and laboratories and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for their efforts to achieve the fullest possible accounting of Americans who remain unaccounted for as a result of the Vietnam War. Encourages and recognizes the efforts of the U.S. government, POW/MIA families and veterans, and host nations in supporting such mission. Recognizes and honors eight Americans and nine Vietnamese who paid the ultimate sacrifice in supporting such mission. Thanks Vietnam for continued assistance and cooperation in the humane recovery, identification, and repatriation of the remains of American personnel remaining unaccounted for from the Vietnam era. Recognizes that the efforts and involvement of POW/MIA families contribute significantly to the success of the JPAC.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2006
Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for a budget-neutral two-year moratorium on certain Medicare physician payment reductions for imaging services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2006
Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2006 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) pursue a global HIV prevention strategy that emphasizes the needs of married and unmarried women and girls and addresses the factors that lead to gender disparities in HIV infection rates; and (2) balance funding for HIV prevention methods. Directs the President to: (1) formulate and submit to the appropriate congressional committees, and make available to the public, a comprehensive and culturally appropriate global HIV prevention strategy that addresses the HIV vulnerability of married and unmarried women and girls and seeks to reduce the factors that lead to gender disparities in HIV infection rates; (2) ensure that the United States coordinates its overall HIV/AIDS policy and programs with foreign governments, international organizations, other donor countries, and indigenous organizations; (3) provide clear guidance to U.S. field missions; and (4) implement a monitoring and evaluation system.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2006
Declares that it is U.S. policy to oppose any effort by the Iraqi government to grant amnesty to anyone known to have attacked, kidnapped, wounded, or killed members of the U.S. Armed Forces or U.S. citizens. Calls for the President to notify the Iraqi government of such opposition.