United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2005 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and (3) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day. Makes federal minimum wage requirements applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage there shall be gradually increased to equal the federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Yellowstone Buffalo Preservation Act - Prohibits any federal or state government agent from: (1) killing, hazing, or capturing any buffalo on federal land or land held under federal conservation easements; or (2) using any form of bait to lure buffalo from any federal land onto private land until specified duties are accomplished by the Secretary of the Interior and certain other federal agencies. Provides exceptions for: (1) legally-authorized, state-managed buffalo hunts; (2) hazing if a person is physically endangered or property is damaged; (3) National Park Service employees moving buffalo to address physical public safety threats; and (4) certain non-lethal federal research. Establishes criminal penalties and fines for violations of this Act. Sets forth duties of the the Secretary relating to grazing and other matters affecting the Yellowstone buffalo herd that must be accomplished within three years after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Depleted Uranium Munitions Study Act - Requires the Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to study and report jointly to Congress on: (1) the health effects of exposure to depleted uranium munitions upon veterans and their children born after such exposure; and (2) a public health assessment of persons thought to have an epidemiological link to any U.S. military installation or production facility at which depleted uranium munitions have either been, or currently are being, used or produced. Instructs the Secretary of Defense to provide to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency a list of all sites in the United States where depleted uranium munitions have been used or produced, and a site-specific map of each site. Directs the Administrator to report to the Secretary and to certain congressional committees on the results of a comprehensive environmental evaluation of possible contamination of the soil, air, water, and vegetation by depleted uranium at the listed sites. Requires the Secretary to develop and implement a plan for the mitigation and cleanup of depleted uranium at the pertinent sites.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
Honor Our Fallen Prisoners of War Act - Requires the Secretary concerned to award the Purple Heart to members of the Armed Forces who die in captivity under circumstances not otherwise establishing eligibility for the Purple Heart. Makes this Act effective as to members of the Armed Forces who die on or after December 7, 1941, including those who die prior to enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
Condemns the vote by the British Association of University Teachers (BAUT) on April 22, 2005, to boycott Bar-Ilan University and Haifa University. Calls on BAUT to overturn this vote at its hearing on May 26, 2005. Denounces BAUT's call for professors from these universities to take loyalty oaths disavowing the Israeli Government. Urges governments and educators throughout the world to generate dialogue regarding their differences and not bar students and professors from engaging with and learning from each other.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to extend coverage of orthopedic shoes under Medicare part B (Supplemenetary Medical Insurance) to individuals without diabetes who medically require them.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to reduce the minimum net worth ratio requirements of well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, under capitalized, and significantly undercapitalized credit unions. Sets the minimum risk-based net ratio at 8%. Revises the requirement that the National Credit Union Administration Board design the risk-based net worth standard to take account of any material risks to insured credit unions. Requires the standard to be designed in relation to risk assets, and to be based on comparable standards for taking into account material risks to insured depository institutions under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act that are applicable to credit unions. Revises definitions relating to net worth of credit unions. Cites circumstances in which the Board may waive the requirement that an undercapitalized credit union submit an acceptable net worth restoration plan. Revamps guidelines governing limits and restrictions on member business loans. Authorizes credit unions to lease to any business enterprise separate and clearly distinct space in buildings in credit union offices in underserved areas. Permits a credit union to invest securities for its own account. Increases from 12 to 15 years the term of credit union loans. Increases from 1% to 3% the investment limit in credit union service organizations. Permits credit unions to offer check cashing and money transfer services to persons within the field of membership (instead of, as currently, to members only). Extends to voluntary mergers on or after August 7, 1998, involving multiple common-bond credit unions the exemption from the numerical limit (only a group with fewer than 3,000 members) for eligibility for inclusion in the field of membership category of such a credit union. Requires the Board to prescribe criteria for continued membership of certain member groups in the case of conversions of certain credit unions to a community charter. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to treat credit unions as banks which shall not be considered brokers or dealers because the credit unions engage in certain broker- or dealer-related activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Imposes a six-month moratorium on terminations of certain pension plans, instituted under specified provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), in cases in which reorganization of contributing sponsors is sought in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Preserving Patient Access to Physicians Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to payment for physicians' services to: (1) eliminate the sustainable growth rate payment update system; and (2) establish in its place an update to the single conversion factor for 2006 of at least 2.7 percent, and a formula for an update to the single conversion factor for years beginning with 2007. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in calculating the formula for the single conversion factor, to establish an input price index and estimate annually a productivity adjustment factor.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements for health plans or issuers of health insurance coverage, including requirements for: (1) utilization review activities; (2) procedures for claims benefits processing, prior authorization determinations, appeals, and internal reviews; and (3) access for an independent, external review. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Health Care Consumer Assistance Fund to award grants to States for consumer assistance activities designed to provide information, assistance, and referrals to consumers of health insurance products. Sets forth requirements for managed care programs and their access to care, including requiring such programs to: (1) offer coverage that allows for non-network coverage through another plan or issuer; (2) provide access to out-of-network emergency care without prior authorization; and (3) provide timely access to specialists. Requires certain annual disclosures from health plans or issuers, including disclosures of covered benefits, cost-sharing requirements, and participating providers. Prohibits a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting a health care professional's ability to advise a patient on the health of an individual or on medical care or treatment for the individual's condition or disease; and (2) operating any physician incentive plan. Establishes a cause of action against a plan or issuer that fails to exercise ordinary care in making a decision that results in a personal injury or death to a participant or beneficiary. Provides a tax credit to small businesses for expenses paid by the business for health insurance coverage of employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) establish ongoing collaborations with community organizations; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions; (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation; and (5) use innovative approaches to study unexplored areas of the environment and breast cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to make recommendations for and to review grants awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Children's Vision Improvement and Learning Readiness Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states for providing: (1) comprehensive eye examinations for children, with priority given to children under nine years old; (2) subsequent vision treatment or services to correct vision problems; and (3) educational materials to parents, teachers, and health care practitioners on recognizing signs of visual impairment in children. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop criteria to collect data related to vision assessment and the utilization of follow-up services; and (2) coordinate the grant program with appropriate federal and state child services programs. Requires states to annually submit to the Secretary a program evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Pension Fairness and Full Disclosure Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to establish a termination fairness standard that limits availability of benefits under an employer's nonqualified deferred compensation plans if such employer's defined benefit pension plan is subjected to: (1) a termination based on bankruptcy reorganization; or (2) a conversion to a cash balance plan. Prohibits funding nonqualified deferred compensation plans while maintaining underfunded defined benefit plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose excise taxes on funding nonqualified deferred compensation plans: (1) in the event of a pension plan termination based on bankruptcy reorganization or of a conversion to a cash balance plan; or (2) while maintaining underfunded defined benefit plans. Requires disclosure with respect to nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Chemical Security Act of 2005 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations to: (1) designate certain combinations of chemical sources and substances of concern as high priority categories based on the severity of the threat posed by an unauthorized release from the chemical sources; and (2) require each owner and operator of a high priority category chemical source to conduct an assessment of the vulnerability of the source to a terrorist attack or other unauthorized release, identify hazards that may result from an unauthorized release, and prepare a prevention, preparedness, and response plan. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide owners and operators of chemical sources with relevant threat information; (2) each such owner and operator to certify that it has conducted such assessments, completed such plan, and reviewed the adequacy of the assessment or plan; and (3) the Administrator to develop protocols necessary to protect copies of such assessments and plans from unauthorized disclosure. Directs the Administrator: (1) to establish a publicly available clearinghouse to compile and disseminate information on the use and availability of inherently safer technologies; (2) and the Secretary of Energy to establish and administer a Technology Transition Fund to provide grants to assist chemical facilities that demonstrate financial hardship in implementing inherently safer technologies; and (3) to make grants to provide for training of first responders and of employees at chemical sources in identifying opportunities to reduce the chemical source's vulnerability to a release of a substance of concern through the use of safer technologies or in emergency response procedures. Sets forth provisions regarding Administrator: (1) certifications of source compliance with assessment and plan requirements; (2) provision of compliance assistance; (3) authorization to order compliance; and (4) actions to secure relief necessary to abate a terrorist threat. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for source violations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Cameron Gulbransen Kids and Cars Safety Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations for all light passenger vehicles to: (1) require that power windows and panels automatically reverse direction when they detect an obstruction to prevent children from being trapped, injured, or killed; (2) require a system of driver notification or a reminder system once the ignition switch is in the off position if passengers remain in any of the rear seating positions of the vehicle; and (3) require a rearward visibility performance standard to prevent backing incidents. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a database of, and collect data on, injuries and deaths in nontraffic, noncrash events involving motor vehicles; and (2) either supplement a consumer information program on child safety or create a new program with information about hazards to children in nontraffic, noncrash incident situations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 567 Tompkins Avenue in Staten Island, New York, as the "Vincent Palladino Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
United States Cadet Nurse Corps Equity Act - Deems service of a person as a member of the United States Cadet Nurse Corps between July 1, 1943, and December 15, 1945 (qualified service), to be active military service for purposes of all laws administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Defense to issue an honorable discharge to each person whose qualified service warrants one; and (2) the discharge to be issued before the end of the one-year period beginning on the enactment of this Act. Prohibits benefits from being paid to persons as a result of such enactment for any period before the enactment date.
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
Service Members' Enhanced Transition Services Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary concerned to transmit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the service medical records of each Armed Forces member who is entitled to preseparation counseling and other services. Directs the Secretary concerned to: (1) require preseparation counseling for members (including officers) of reserve components being separated from service on active duty for more than 30 days; and (2) ensure that commanders authorize such members to obtain counseling during duty time. Requires preseparation counseling on: (1) certification and licensure requirements for civilian occupations; (2) civilian occupations that correspond to military occupational specialties; and (3) Government employment. Enlarges the scope of counseling topics. Extends preseparation counseling to members of the National Guard being separated from long-term duty. States that counseling locations shall include: (1) military installations; (2) armories and military family support centers of the National Guard; (3) Armed Forces inpatient medical care facilities; and (4) locations reasonably convenient for members on the temporary disability retired list. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to require participation in the Department of Labor transitional services program unless members previously participated in the program or are returning to previously held employment or educational pursuits. Enlarges the scope of the Department of Labor transitional services program. Makes members of the reserve components being separated from service on active duty for a period of more than 30 days and members of the National Guard being separated from full-time National Guard duty eligible for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Meat Promotion Act of 2005 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to replace current mandatory country of origin labeling requirements with a voluntary country of origin labeling program for meat and meat products. Sets forth: (1) limitations on use of United States country of origin labels; and (2) civil penalties for program violations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
FamilyCare Act of 2005 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program. Provides for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents and pregnant women under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as under new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on FamilyCare assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) authorization of a State to use simplified procedures under Medicaid for families under Family care; (6) revision of the transitional medical assistance program; (7) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under Medicaid and FamilyCare; (8) a limitation on cost-sharing to 2.5 percent for families with income below 150 percent of the poverty level; and (9) increased Federal reimbursement for language services under Medicaid and FamilyCare. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on funding under SSA title XXI. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award demonstration grants to up to seven States (or other qualified entities) to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to enroll homeless individuals and families and provide them services under specified programs for the homeless (including Medicaid and FamilyCare).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Medicare Early Access Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to add a new part E (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals 55 to 65 Years of Age). Provides access to Medicare benefits for individuals 55 to 64 years of age who do not have coverage under a Federal health insurance program or under a group plan. Requires enrollees to pay a premium to receive Medicare coverage. Requires the Secretary to base the premium on the Secretary's estimate of the average, national annual per capita amount of the cost of providing services to the population. Allows early retirees with access to retiree coverage to enroll under this part while keeping their Federal or State COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation coverage. Allows an employer that offers employment-based retiree health coverage to an individual who enrolls under this part to modify such coverage to provide for: (1) employer payment of items and services for which payment may not be made under Medicare; and (2) employer payment of 25 percent of the monthly premium applicable to the individual after enrollment. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums collected under this Act and to support the new program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow program enrollees to receive a 75 percent advance, refundable credit to offset Medicare early access premium costs (thus requiring program enrollees in the Medicare early access program to be responsible for 25 percent of the monthly premiums).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Small Business Health Insurance Promotion Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain small employers (not more than 50 employees) a business tax credit equal to 50 percent of amounts paid by such employers for the health care coverage of their employees under a qualified health pooling arrangement. Limits the period during which the tax credit may be taken to four years from the date the employer begins participating in a qualified health pooling arrangement. Defines "qualified health pooling arrangement" as a national or state arrangement that provides health benefits coverage substantially similar to that of the four largest health benefit plans offered to Federal employees. Directs the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Labor to provide for the offering and oversight of qualified State and national health pooling arrangements and to conduct a study, through the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, of the operation of such arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act - Transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the Controlled Substances Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall not, in a state in which marijuana may legally be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use, prohibit or otherwise restrict: (1) a physician from prescribing or recommending marijuana for medical use; (2) an individual from obtaining and using marijuana from a prescription or recommendation by a physician for medical use; (3) a pharmacy from obtaining and holding marijuana for such a prescription or recommendation; and (4) an entity established by a state from producing and distributing marijuana for such a prescription or recommendation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act of 2005 - Requires a manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to disclose to the vehicle owner or to a repair facility of the motor vehicle owner's choosing the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. Sets forth protections for trade secrets. Instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe a uniform methodology for manufacturer disclosure in writing and on the Internet. Prohibits the FTC from prescribing rules that interfere with the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding motor vehicle emissions control diagnostics systems. States that manufacturer noncompliance with this Act constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting commerce within the purview of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Amends the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to declare that, if the following conditions exist, the presumption of abuse guidelines do not apply and the bankruptcy court is prohibited from dismissing or converting a Chapter 7 petition based on any form of means testing: (1) while the debtor is on, and during the 180-day period after release from active duty in the U.S. military service; or (2) while the debtor is performing, and during the 180-day period after the debtor is no longer performing, a homeland defense activity performed for at least 60 days; and (3) if after September 11, 2001, the debtor was called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity, while a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Recognizes the bravery, sacrifice, and patriotism of the soldiers, airmen, sailors, and Marines who participated in Operation Eagle Claw (the April 24, 1980, rescue attempt of the American hostages in Iran). Commends all of the Special Operation Forces currently in service.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American veterans. Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, the coins should be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, Limits the period for coin issuance to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010. Imposes a $10 surcharge per coin, to be distributed to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Focus On Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake Act - FOCUS Act - Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allot funds to eligible states (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) for distribution directly, or at state option through local governments, to pay the federal share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care providers under both such programs. Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary to allot funds to eligible states (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at state option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of several such funded state programs representing various approaches to increasing the rate of coverage for child care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Protecting America's Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Heath Act of 1977. Sets forth increased protections for whistleblowers under OSHA. Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA violators. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) victims' rights; (2) posting of employee rights; (3) investigations of fatalities and serious injuries; (4) prohibition of unclassified citations; (5) right to contest citations and penalties; and (6) objections to modifications of citations. Directs the Secretary to revise regulations and promulgate OSHA standards to require employers to provide personal protective equipment for employees at no cost to employees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of substitute adult day care services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Stop Solid Waste Incineration Act of 2005 - Requires each State to adopt and submit to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a three-year implementation plan to achieve: (1) increased recycling by at least 75 percent; (2) water source pollution reduction; (3) restriction of landfill dumping to materials that are not recyclable or compostable; (4) the phasing out of solid waste incineration within four years and six months after this Act's enactment; (5) a waste reduction rate of ten percent; and (6) an increase in composting of ten percent. Provides for Federal implementation plans for States that fail to meet plan submission and approval requirements. Authorizes the Administrator to impose a prohibition on the approval by the Secretary of Transportation of certain highway projects or awarding of highway grants applicable to a State that fails to submit a plan, has a plan submission disapproved, or fails to implement a requirement of an approved plan. Provides for grants to States that phase out the incineration of solid waste prior to the deadline established under this Act. Grants a State the authority to limit or restrict the importation of solid waste on the date the State phases out solid waste incineration.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management to administer a separate health insurance program for non-Federal employees who are either self-employed or employees of a small business with fewer than 100 employees. Allows the Office to contract with carriers to provide health insurance under this Act. Requires rates charged to reasonably and equitably reflect the costs of the benefits provided. Requires a carrier to determine the amount of premiums to assess for coverage based on a community rate that may be annually adjusted based on geographic area, family status, and age. Permits the Office to reimburse a carrier for costs that exceed premiums received by a specified percentage. Requires a carrier to make payments to a contingency reserve fund established by the Office if the carrier's costs are lower than expected by a specified percentage. Allows the Office to use such funds to provide assistance to carriers that experience unanticipated financial hardships. Requires the Office to establish a reinsurance fund to provide payments to carriers that experience a catastrophic claim (a claim over $50,000) for benefits provided to an individual enrolled under this Act. Allows a participating employer to offer supplemental coverage options to employees for excepted benefits that are not subject to the Public Health Service Act requirements for health plans. Allows a refundable tax credit for health insurance expenses of small employers who pay a specific percentage of employee expenses under such a health plan. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to extend requirements that certain legislation which increases the deficit will trigger an offsetting sequestration (pay-as-you-go or PAYGO requirements).
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Government of Saudi Arabia must immediately and unconditionally: (1) cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation of terror groups and individuals; (2) close permanently all organizations in Saudi Arabia that fund, train, encourage, or in any way aid terrorism anywhere in the world; (3) end funding for terror organizations outside Saudi Arabia; and (4) block funding from private Saudi citizens and entities to Saudi-based or offshore terror organizations. Directs the President to prohibit certain exports to Saudi Arabia and restrict travel of certain Saudi diplomats if the President cannot certify to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Saudi Arabia: (1) is fully cooperating with the United States in investigating and preventing terrorist attacks; (2) has closed permanently all Saudi-based terror organizations; (3) has ended funding for any offshore terror organization; and (4) has made all efforts to block funding from private Saudi citizens and entities to offshore terror organizations. Allows the President to waive such sanctions for national security reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Standardizes the grade specified by law (major general) for the senior dental officer of the Air Force with that of the senior dental officer of the Army.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions regarding employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Directs the Secretary of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers, to establish standards and regulations regarding the inspection and safety of piers and waterfront structures. Requires the Chief of Engineers to use as a guide in developing such standards and regulations bill number 020310, adopted by the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which amends the the Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code. Requires a State, to be eligible to receive project funds through the Army Corps of Engineers, to provide annual documentation to the Chief of Engineers that it has adopted and is enforcing standards and regulations at least as rigorous as those established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Makes Mohammed Manir Hossain, Ferdous Ara Manir, and Maish Samiha Manir each eligible for issuance of an immigrant visa or for adjustment of status to that of a lawful permanent resident of the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, upon payment of the required visa fees.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Administrative Law Judges Retirement Act of 2005 - Sets forth separate provisions governing Government and employee contributions, annuity eligibility requirements (ten years of service and age 55), early retirement, and annuity computation (2.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, of average pay for each year of service) for administrative law judges under the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees' Retirement System.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to V nonimmigrants (spouses or minor children of lawful permanent residents who are awaiting family-based immigrant visas) to: (1) extend the required filing deadline for family-based petitions from the date of enactment of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act to January 1, 2011; and (2) reduce the required waiting period for family-based immigrant visas from three years to six months.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Open Air Drug Market Penalty Act of 2005 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to impose an additional five years' imprisonment for knowingly committing a Federal offense, of which an element is the distribution of a controlled substance and for which the maximum term of imprisonment equals or exceeds five years, within 500 feet of the place where such an offense was committed within the preceding 48 hours. Prohibits: (1) the court from placing on probation or suspending the sentence of anyone convicted for such a violation; and (2) the term of imprisonment imposed from running concurrently with any other term of imprisonment.
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
Child Support Collection Enforcement Act - Amends the Social Security Act to revise child support enforcement program provisions to require States to: (1) establish procedures to ensure that interest accrues on child support payments which are in arrears; (2) use child support late payment fees to carry out approved State plans for the child support enforcement program; and (3) report on their collection of child support arrearages and interest on child support obligations. Permits certain delays in State plan compliance with such additional requirements if the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines that State legislation is required for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act, or the COAST Anti-Drilling Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in either the Mid-Atlantic or the North Atlantic planning areas.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Private Prison Information Act of 2005 - Provides that each nongovernmental entity contracting with the Federal Government to provide a prison or other correctional facility shall have the same duty to release information about its operation as a Government owned and run facility has under the Freedom of Information Act. Authorizes any party aggrieved by a violation of that duty to obtain relief in a civil action.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Establishes triple damages as the remedy for any person who brings a product liability action in a Federal or State court for injuries sustained from use of a product which is not in compliance with a voluntary or mandatory standard issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Directs the Commission to reissue, within 90 days, each voluntary and mandatory standard it has for a product with a notification to product manufacturers of such treble damages.
![Official portrait of Rep. Andrews, Robert E. [D-NJ-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/a000210_200.jpg)