United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2005
Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives (House), within 14 days of the adoption of this resolution, all documents in the possession of the President relating to the disclosure of the identity of Ms. Valerie Plame as an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the period beginning on May 6, 2003, and ending on July 31, 2003. Directs: (1) the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, CIA Director, and Attorney General to each transmit to the House, within such 14 days, all documents in possession of such officials relating to such disclosure during such period; and (2) the CIA Director to transmit to the House, within such 14 days, the results of any internal investigation by the CIA into such disclosure, whether such results (or reports) are in draft or final form.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2005
Conditions the receipt of federal housing funds by a state, political subdivision, or any agency or office thereof on the preparation of a state economic housing impact analysis regarding any new rule proposed by the state, political subdivision, agency or office that has a significant adverse economic impact on housing construction costs or housing affordability in excess of $50 million annually. Sets forth analysis requirements. Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to develop a model analysis.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2005
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act - Entitles domestic partners of federal employees to benefits available to spouses of federal employees. Specifies certifications required for benefit eligibility, filing requirements regarding partnership dissolution, and confidentiality requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for employer contributions to accident and health plans to domestic partners under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2005
Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants or cooperative agreements to an agency, organization, or political subdivision to: (1) develop lifespan respite care at the state and local level; (2) provide respite care services for family caregivers caring for children or adults; (3) train and recruit respite care workers and volunteers; (4) provide information to caregivers about available respite or support services; and (5) assist caregivers in gaining access to such services. 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. Instructs the Secretary to work cooperatively with existing federal respite program officers to ensure coordination of services for family caregivers. Permits the use of funds for: (1) training programs for family caregivers; (2) other services essential to the provision of respite care; or (3) training and education for new caregivers. Limits grants to five years. Directs the Secretary to award a grant or cooperative agreement to a public or private nonprofit entity to establish the National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care to: (1) maintain a national database on lifespan respite care; (2) provide training and technical assistance to state, community, and nonprofit respite care programs; and (3) provide information, referral, and educational programs to the public on lifespan respite care.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Health Care Relief for Military Families Act - Makes federal executive agencies responsible for paying, for any employee who is a member of a reserve component of the armed forces who is called or ordered to active duty for a period of more than 30 days, for the employee's share of the premium for health care coverage provided under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program during such period.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Immediate Access to Medicare for the Disabled Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to waive the 24-month waiting period for Medicare (SSA title XVIII) coverage of certain disabled individuals who have no health insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) national and community organizations and health care providers should be recognized for their role in promoting obesity awareness; (2) the federal government has a responsibility to raise awareness about obesity's medical complications and to increase funding for related research, prevention, and treatment, including activities aimed at children and adolescents; (3) the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute should continue a leadership role in the fight against obesity through the expansion of genetic research; and (4) a National Obesity Awareness Month should be established.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2005 - Sets forth the sense of Congress with respect to the situation in Darfur, Sudan, including the sense of Congress that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur are genocide. Amends the Comprehensive Peace in Sudan Act of 2004 to direct the President, with waiver authority upon congressional notification, to block the assets and deny visas and entry to any individual (and family member) responsible for acts of genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity in Sudan. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to reinforce the deployment and operations of an expanded African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). Directs the President to instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to advocate NATO reinforcement of AMIS, upon request of the African Union. Amends the Sudan Peace Act to include entry denial at U.S. ports to certain cargo ships or oil tankers among the measures available to the President if the government of Sudan fails to take specified peace measures in Darfur. Prohibits, with waiver authority, U.S. assistance to a country in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1556 and 1591(embargo on military assistance to Sudan). Directs the President to instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to urge the adoption of a Security Council resolution supporting AMIS' expansion.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, VAWA of 2000 (VAWA-2000), the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (OCCSSA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), the Social Security Act (SSA), the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, the Safe Homes for Women Act of 1994, the United states Housing Act of 1937, the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reauthorize, revise, and establish various programs for prevention and treatment of violence against women, including domestic violence, child abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (violence). Establishes VAWA grant programs: (1) by the Department of Justice (Justice) for assisting children and youth exposed to violence, and for engaging men, women, and youth in preventing violence; and (2) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for services, education, protection, and justice for young victims of violence, and for research on effective interventions in the healthcare setting. Revises and reauthorizes: (1) grants under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to reduce violence against women on campus; (2) safe havens for children under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Reauthorizes PHSA rape prevention and education programs, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Establishes related PHSA grants. Establishes VAWA grant programs to address the housing needs of victims of violence. Supporting Teens through Education and Protection Act of 2005 - STEP Act - Authorizes the Attorney General, through the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (Justice), to make grants to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in middle and high schools. Security and Financial Empowerment Act - Sets forth entitlement standards and implementation guidelines for employee use of emergency leave to address domestic or sexual violence. Authorizes state use of funds under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) to provide nonrecurrent short-term emergency benefits for emergency leave precipitated by domestic or sexual violence . Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to approval of state unemployment compensation laws to prohibit denial of compensation where an individual is separated from employment due to circumstances resulting from the individual's experience of domestic or sexual violence. Victims' Employment Sustainability Act - Prohibits certain discriminatory employer practices relating to terms or conditions of employment in connection with victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits denial or restriction of insurance coverage based on the status of the applicant or insured regarding abuse or abuse-related claims. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide a grant for a clearinghouse and resource center to provide information and assistance to employers, labor organizations, and advocates on behalf of victims of domestic or sexual violence. Immigrant Victims of Violence Protection Act of 2005 - Revises the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 (under VAWA-2000) with respect to victims of violence, including victims of crimes of human trafficking, VAWA petitioners, and children. Prescribes requirements regarding the safety of Indian women. 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. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide various protections for victims of trafficking. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a special unit to investigate trafficking in persons.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Fair Access to Clinical Trials Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to establish and operate a data bank of registry information on clinical trials for drugs, biological products, and devices. Requires the Secretary to collect, catalog, store, and disseminate such information. Specifies information required for registration of clinical trials, including the purpose and results of the trial. Requires the responsible person to submit clinical trial information to the Secretary. Sets forth provisions regarding periodic updates of data bank information, compliance with requirements, and violations of this Act. Allows the Secretary to identify any false or misleading information in the data bank and include an accurate version of the information. Requires the Secretary to: (1) disseminate data bank information through an Internet site and through other appropriate means; (2) establish procedures to allow voluntary submission of clinical trial information not required by this Act; and (3) enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the extent to which data submitted to the data bank has impacted the public health.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Montgomery GI Bill Second Chance Act of 2005 - Authorizes certain members of the Armed Forces to make an irrevocable election during October of any year beginning in 2005 to become entitled to basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill. Requires a reduction in basic pay of those members electing such educational assistance or, if the member is discharged or released from active duty prior to such reduction, the collection of specified amounts from the member or an equivalent reduction in retired or retainer pay. States that members who are enrolled in the post-Vietnam era veterans' educational assistance program shall be disenrolled from that program upon electing the educational assistance described in this Act. Requires the Secretary concerned, in conjunction with the Secretary of Defense, to provide notice of the opportunity created by this Act to elect educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Medicare Medically Necessary Dental Care Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of medically necessary dental procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax deduction for meal and entertainment expenses to 80 percent (currently 50 percent) of such expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Community Restoration and Revitalization Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an increased rehabilitation tax credit for certain low-income buildings; (2) allow a basis reduction adjustment for property eligible for the credit; (3) increase the credit for certain smaller buildings; (4) allow property eligible for the credit to be used for lodging purposes; (5) modify placed-in-service rules for credit property; (6) modify qualification rules for credit property that is tax-exempt use property; (7) increase the credit for buildings in high cost areas; and (8) exempt certain condominium transactions from rehabilitation tax credit recapture requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 29 June 2005
Commemorates the victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. Calls upon: (1) the President to commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide; and (2) the government of the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the culpability of its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, for the Armenian Genocide, and to promote rapprochement with the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people. Supports the Republic of Turkey's accession to the European Union (EU) if Turkey acknowledges culpability, pursues rapprochement, and meets other EU accession criteria, and calls upon the EU to look with favor upon such actions by the government of the Republic of Turkey. Calls upon the President, the Secretary of State, the EU, and others to assist the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people in this process.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2005
Mortgage Insurance Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. Reduces the amount of such deduction for taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes exeeding $100,000. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to require informational returns from any individual who receives payment of more than $600 in mortgage insurance premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2005
Small Employer Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to direct the Secretary of Labor to establish the Small Employer Health Benefits Program under which: (1) qualifying small employers are provided access to qualifying health insurance coverage for their employees; and (2) such employees may elect alternative forms of coverage offered by various health insurance issuers. Limits such program to small employers that elect to: (1) offer health insurance coverage to each individual employed for three months or longer; and (2) pay at least half the total premium for qualifying health insurance coverage for such individual. Provides for coverage of part-time employees. Requires the Secretary to enter into contracts with health insurance issuers for the offering of such insurance coverage. Reduces by five percent the total premium otherwise payable by such employer if an average of fewer than 25 employees were employed during the preceding calendar year. Requires the Secretary to provide premium subsidies (calculated according to specified formulae) to: (1) employers for coverage of employees whose individual income is at or below 200 percent of the poverty line; as well as (2) such employees.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2005
Recognizes the 60th anniversary of the United Nations (UN). Encourages: (1) the UN to commit to structural reforms; and (2) the United States to serve in a leadership role at the UN summit in September 2005. Requests the President to: (1) issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe the 60th anniversary of the UN; and (2) exert U.S. leadership to ensure that substantive UN reforms are adopted at the summit.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2005
Southern New Jersey Veterans Comprehensive Health Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to determine, and notify Congress, whether the needs of veterans in southern New Jersey (the counties of Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Cape May) for full-service medical care shall be met through a project for: (1) a public-private venture to provide inpatient and outpatient services and long-term care to veterans at an existing facility in southern New Jersey; or (2) construction of a new full-service, 100-bed Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in southern New Jersey. Directs the Secretary: (1) if the public-private venture option is chosen, to enter into an appropriate agreement for the provision of such care and services; or (2) if the new construction option is chosen, to carry out an appropriate major medical facility construction project for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2005
Medicare Occupational Therapy Coverage Eligibility Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to make occupational therapy eligible for Medicare coverage of home health services in any event, by repealing the condition that the individual first has needed and been furnished home health skilled nursing care on an intermittent basis or physical or speech therapy, but no longer needs such care or therapy (other than the occupational therapy).
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2005
Expresses the the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should accelerate Iraqi security force training, and urge the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other international organizations to take a more prominent training role; (2) the President and the Secretary of Defense should develop a comprehensive plan to deal with the problems that the U.S. military is experiencing because of high operational tempo in Iraq; and (3) the President should develop and explain to the people of the United States a strategy for success in Iraq which includes plans for quicker and more effective training of Iraqi army and police forces, and U.S. military withdrawal once Iraqi security forces are able to provide security on a self-sustaining basis.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Establishes in the legislative branch the Independent Commission on the Investigation of Detainee Abuses to conduct a full, complete, independent, and impartial investigation of the abuses of detainees in connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any operation within the Global War on Terrorism, including, but not limited to: (1) the extent of the abuses; (2) why the abuses occurred; and (3) who is responsible. Directs the Commission, in connection with the investigation, to assess, analyze, and evaluate relevant persons, policies, procedures, reports, and events. Authorizes the Commission to report interim findings, conclusions, and recommendations to Congress and the President. Requires a final report containing recommendations for corrective measures. Terminates the Commission 60 days after its final report.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on pulmonary hypertension and to coordinate the Director's activities with related activities of other national research institutes and National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies. Requires the Director to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct research and programs on pulmonary hypertension, including: (1) basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease; (2) training programs for scientists and health professionals; (3) programs to provide information and continuing education to health professionals; and (4) programs for the dissemination of information to the public. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a data system for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data derived from patient populations with pulmonary hypertension; and (2) an information clearinghouse to facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of pulmonary hypertension by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Uniting American Families Act or the Permanent Partners Immigration Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include permanent partners (as defined by this Act) within the scope of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Volunteer Firefighters' Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an employer certain health care subsidy payments paid by a local government to an employer on behalf of a volunteer firefighter.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2005
Survivor Benefit Plan Insurable Interest Fairness Act - Amends Federal provisions concerning the Survivor Benefit Plan for military personnel and their dependents to provide that, if the reason for discontinuance in the Plan is the death of the beneficiary, the Plan participant may designate a new beneficiary, who must be a natural person with an insurable interest in the participant. Requires such designation within 180 days after the death of the previous beneficiary.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the tax deduction for state and local income and property taxes as an adjustment in computing alternative minium taxable income.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2005
Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable tax deduction for the expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers to $400; (2) allow the deduction of professional development expenses; and (3) make such deduction permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Preservation of Civil Rights Protections Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Arbitration Act to modify the definition of commerce so as to exclude employment contracts from arbitration provisions (currently, employment contracts of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce are excluded). Makes arbitration clauses in employment contracts unenforceable, with exceptions for: (1) consent by the involved parties after a claim arises; and (2) enforcement of rights or terms of collective bargaining agreements. Provides that this Act shall apply to existing and future employment contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Atomic Veterans Relief Act - Includes within the definition of a "radiation-risk activity" for purposes of eligibility criteria for veterans' disability compensation the exposure to ionizing radiation due to residual contamination resulting from participation in a nuclear detonation. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include in regulations pertaining to the service-connection of veterans' disabilities additional provisions to ensure, in the case of a claim by a radiation-exposed veteran for service-connection of a nonpresumptive disability, that the procedures for establishment of whether the disability is service-connected do not require imputation to the veteran, through a process known as dose reconstruction, of any particular level of exposure to ionizing radiation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2005
Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act - Specifies a national oceans policy. Establishes national standards to require any federal agency or federally funded activities that affect U.S. ocean waters or ocean resources to be conducted in a manner that protects and maintains healthy marine ecosystems and, where appropriate, restores degraded marine ecosystems. Reestablishes in the Department of Commerce (what already exists under Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), administered by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (Administrator). Directs the President to submit to Congress recommendations on, and a plan and proposed schedule for, the transfer of oceanic or atmospheric programs, functions, services, and associated resources to NOAA from other federal agencies. 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. Establishes a Regional Ocean Partnership for each designated ocean region. Requires each Partnership to prepare a Regional Ocean Strategic Plan for each ocean region. Establishes a Committee on Ocean Science, Education, and Operations (OSEO Committee). Directs the Chair of the Committee on Ocean Policy to develop a National Strategy for Ocean and Coastal Science. Establishes: (1) a Subcommittee on Ocean Education within the OSEO Committee; (2) an interagency ocean and coastal education program; (3) a National Marine Scholarship Program; and (4) a NOAA Office of Education. Establishes: (1) an Office of Ocean Exploration within the Ocean and Atmospheric Research and Data Services Office; and (2) a Subcommittee on Ocean Exploration within the OSEO Committee. Establishes in the Treasury the Ocean and Great Lakes Conservation Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2005
Save Biotechnology Innovative Research Act of 2005 or SABIR Act - Amends provisions of the Small Business Act relating to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (a program under which a portion of a Federal agency's research or research and development funds are reserved for award to small businesses) to require a small business, in order to be SBIR-eligible, to have no more than 500 employees and be one of the following; (1) at least 51 percent owned and controlled by individuals or eligible venture capital companies who are U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens; (2) not more than 49 percent owned and controlled by a single eligible venture capital company; (3) at least 51 percent owned and controlled by another business that is itself at least 51 percent owned and controlled by U.S. Citizens or permanent resident aliens; or (4) a joint venture in which each entity meets one of these ownership requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2005
Supports: (1) initiatives developed by the Firefighter Life Safety Summit and the mission of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the United States Fire Administration to reduce firefighter fatalities and injuries; and (2) the goals of the national "stand down" called by fire organizations beginning on June 21, 2005, and encourages all fire departments to participate in this effort. Encourages implementation of the new "Everyone Goes Home" campaign to make firefighter safety a national priority.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2005
Cultural Radio Tax Credit Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business tax credit for 125 percent of the fair market value of a radio broadcasting commercial license and 100 percent of the fair market value of radio station assets donated to a tax-exempt organization which agrees to operate the station on a for-profit basis and to donate operational profits to support nonprofit fine arts and performing arts organizations in its service area.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2005
Commends the European Court of Human Rights for its judgments in favor of Titina Loizidou in the Loizidou v. Turkey case and on the admissibility of the Xenides-Arestis v. Turkey case. Urges: (1) the Court to consider current and future cases brought by Greek Cypriots against Turkey for violation of their property rights; and (2) Turkey to respect Court decisions with respect to Cyprus, and end the illegal exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties in the areas under Turkish military occupation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, VAWA of 2000 (VAWA-2000), the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (OCCSSA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), the Social Security Act (SSA), the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, the Safe Homes for Women Act of 1994, the United States Housing Act of 1937, the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reauthorize, revise, and establish various programs for prevention and treatment of violence against women, including domestic violence, child abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (violence). Provides for specified VAWA judicial and law enforcement programs, including STOP grants, a stalker database, cyberstalking prevention, and dating violence prohibitions. Establishes VAWA grant programs: (1) by the Department of Justice (Justice) for assisting children and youth exposed to violence, and for engaging men, women, and youth in preventing violence; and (2) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for services, education, protection, and justice for young victims of violence, and for research on effective interventions in the healthcare setting. Revises OCCSSA requirements for Justice grants for violence against women programs, and establishes programs for sexual assault services and for assistance for victims of abuse. Requires grants for public information campaigns relating to violence prevention. Requires a National Domestic Violence Hotline study. Revises and reauthorizes: (1) grants under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to reduce violence against women on campus; (2) safe havens for children under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Reauthorizes PHSA rape prevention and education programs, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Establishes PHSA grants by HHS for: (1) training and education of health professionals in domestic and sexual violence; (2) fostering public health responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and (3) identification and treatment services at community health centers. Revises SSA requirements for Federal health programs' response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Establishes VAWA grant programs to address the housing needs of victims of violence. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require: (1) public and Indian housing authority plans to report on programs offered to victims of violence; and (2) certification and confidentiality with respect to victims of violence in the low-income housing assistance voucher and public housing programs. Requires emergency leave, under VAWA, for employees experiencing domestic or sexual violence. Sets forth provisions relating to the safety of Indian women. Supporting Teens through Education and Protection Act of 2005 - STEP Act - Authorizes the Attorney General through the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (Justice) to make grants to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in middle and high schools. Immigrant Victims of Violence Protection Act of 2005 - Revises the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 (under VAWA-2000) with respect to victims of violence, including victims of crimes of human trafficking, VAWA petitioners, and children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Supply Our Soldiers Act of 2005 - Directs the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Secretary of Defense to provide a program under which postal benefits are made available for personal correspondence and other mail matter sent from within the United States by designated representatives (next-of-kin) to members of the Armed Forces who are: (1) serving on active duty abroad in support of military operations or against an enemy of the United States or other hostile force; or (2) hospitalized in a U.S. military facility as a result of disease or injury incurred during service overseas. Limits postal benefits to $150 per calendar quarter, and limits the size and weight of allowable parcels. Allows charitable organizations to apply for such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Detainee Treatment Accountability Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to transmit a copy of any confidential or exclusive report provided to the Department of Defense (DOD) by an entity outside the U.S. government concerning treatment of DOD detainees held at any location in connection with an armed conflict, including the war on terror, within 15 days of receipt to: (1) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the crisis regarding the Iranian nuclear program should be primarily resolved through diplomatic means; and (2) if the European Union's (EU) diplomatic overture fails, the United States should consider other options, including a multilateral coalition to restrict Iran's gasoline supply.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2005
Louis Braille Bicentennial--Braille Literacy Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Louis Braille, whose design: (1) on the obverse shall bear a representation of the image of Louis Braille; and (2) on the reverse shall emphasize Braille literacy and include the word for Braille in Braille code. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such coins only during 2009. Subjects all coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin. Requires all surcharges to be promptly paid by the Secretary to the the National Federation of the Blind to further its programs to promote Braille literacy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2005
Teacher Excellence for All Children Act of 2005 - Revises and establishes programs relating to recruitment, preparation, distribution, and retention of public elementary and secondary school teachers and principals. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish: (1) teacher education assistance for college and higher education (TEACH ) grants for undergraduate and graduate students who agree to serve as teachers in high-need schools or fields; and (2) grants to recruit teachers with mathematics, science, or language majors. Extends the authorization of appropriations for HEA teacher quality enhancement grants for states and partnerships. Revises HEA student loan forgiveness requirements to: (1) extend permanently additional amounts for teachers in mathematics, science, or special education provided by the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004; (2) increase other amounts, making reading specialists eligible for such forgiveness; and (3) apply forgiveness in annual increments rather than in a lump sum at end of service. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to establish grant programs to improve teaching at high-need schools. Requires states to provide assurances of their reasonable progress toward equitable access to teacher quality as a condition of assistance under ESEA. Amends the Education Sciences Reform Act to direct the Statistics Commissioner to publish results of certain schools and staffing surveys. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from gross income up to $15,000 for compensation of teachers and principals in certain high-need schools or teaching certain high-need subjects; and (2) increase to a maximum of $500 and make permanent the above-the-line deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary schoolteachers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2005
Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act or PREEMIE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and coordinate NIH research on preterm labor and delivery, infant mortality, and low birthweight infants. Establishes the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network and the Neonatal Research Units Network within NIH. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) expand and coordinate CDC activities on preterm labor and delivery and infant mortality; (2) conduct a study on the relationship between prematurity, birth defects, and developmental disabilities; and (3) review the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey. Requires the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's national longitudinal study of environmental influences on children's health and development to consider the impact of assisted reproduction technologies. Requires the Director of NIH to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the health and economic consequences of preterm birth. Directs the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to assess certain core performance and outcome measures utilized under the Social Security Act for purposes of expanding such measures to include known risk factors of low birthweight and prematurity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct a demonstration project to improve the provision of information on prematurity to health professionals and the public; (2) conduct projects to support the informational and emotional needs of families during the stay of an infant in a neonatal intensive care unit, during the transition of the infant to the home, and in the event of a newborn death; and (3) establish an Interagency Coordinating Council on Prematurity and Low Birthweight.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health coverage from denying benefits or coverage otherwise provided under the plan for the treatment of an injury solely because it was sustained while a person was engaged in any particular mode of transportation specified in the plan, consisting of the use of a motorcycle, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, or other similar recreational vehicle or horseback riding, unless such mode of transportation or its use was illegal.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2005
FHA Energy Efficiency Act - Amends the National Housing Act to require that residential mortgage insurance energy certifications be conducted by an individual certified by an accredited home energy rating system provider.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2005
Rural Housing Opportunity and Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Doug Bereuter Section 502 Single Family Housing Loan Guarantee Act of the Housing Act of 1949 with respect to the single family rural housing loan guarantee program to: (1) eliminate low and moderate income eligibility requirements; (2) reduce maximum guarantee fees paid by lenders; and (3) require any regulation limiting borrower eligibility based upon the borrower's debt-income ratio to provide for a higher income-to-debt ratio for newly-constructed property loans. Revises refinancing loan guarantee provisions to: (1) authorize a specified lender guarantee fee; (2) permit a guarantee to acquire or construct an eligible single-family residence; (3) amend closing cost provisions; (4) eliminate income requirements; (5) prohibit that an appraisal credit report be required in connection with the loan, or that the residence be in a rural area for an existing loan; and (6) require that the borrower is not delinquent with respect to existing loan payments, and that monthly refinance payments be at least $50 less than existing monthly payments. Requires agricultural housing loans to be recorded as Department of Agriculture, rather than conventional, loans. Revises the definition of "rural area." Increases direct loan income limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2005
Screening Mammography Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, that provides coverage for diagnostic mammography for any class of participants or beneficiaries to also provide coverage for annual screening mammography for that class under terms that are not less favorable. Prohibits: (1) denying screening coverage on the basis that the screening is not medically necessary or is not pursuant to a referral or recommendation; (2) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal solely to avoid this requirement; (3) providing monetary incentives to participants or beneficiaries to encourage them to accept less than such minimum protections; (4) penalizing providers because they provide such care; or (5) providing incentives to induce providers to provide such care. Declares that this Act does not preempt any state laws providing at least these protections. Applies such requirements and prohibitions to health coverage offered in the individual market. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to mandate coverage of annual screening mammographies.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2005
Camp Safety Act of 2005 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require organized camps to comply with specified health and safety standards as a condition for their exemption from minimum wage requirements. Directs the Secretary of Labor to monitor and enforce such compliance. Preempts State laws only to the extent that they provide lesser protection for campers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2005
Medicare Infertility Coverage Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide coverage under the Medicare program of infertility treatment services for individuals entitled to health insurance benefits under that program by reason of a disability.
![Official portrait of Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/a000210_200.jpg)