United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member of the Armed Forces entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about the factors that lead to chronic kidney disease, how to prevent it, how to treat it, and how to avoid kidney failure, as well as enhance surveillance systems and expand research to better assess the prevalence and incidence of kidney disease; and (2) enable individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to develop self-management skills. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; and (2) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services or other treatment modalities under Medicare. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee. Establishes the annual update framework for the Medicare ESRD composite rate. Directs the Secretary to establish a three-year continuous quality improvement initiative under which quality payments are provided to renal dialysis facilities, providers of services, and physicians that: (1) provide items and services to individuals with ESRD enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); and (2) meet quality benchmarks and demonstrate quality improvements. Requires the Secretary to make quality incentive payments to facilities and providers whose services to individuals with ESRD have substantially improved or exceeded a certain threshold. Extends Medicare as secondary payer with respect to individuals with ESRD.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on communication services (i.e., local telephone service, toll telephone service, and teletypewriter exchange service).
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Resuming Education After Defense Service Act of 2007 - Makes eligible for basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill a member of the Selected Reserve who (among other qualifications), during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on December 31, 2008, serves on active duty in the Armed Forces for one or more periods aggregating not less than two years. Entitles such individuals to one month of educational assistance for each month served on active duty. Makes the amount of such assistance equivalent to that provided for active-duty personnel who have served a minimum of two years of active duty. Requires the basic pay of qualifying members to be reduced by $100 for each of first 12 months of such active duty service. Requires the Secretaries of the military departments concerned to inform eligible Selected Reserve personnel of such entitlement.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Lupus Research, Education, Awareness, Communication, and Healthcare Amendments of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to expand research on lupus to include: (1) basic research to discover the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the disease; and (2) research to validate lupus biomarkers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to work with a consortium of academic health institutions to undertake an epidemiological study to determine the prevalence and incidence of lupus in the United States. Requires the Director of CDC to: (1) enter into a cooperative agreement with such consortium to develop, implement, and manage a system for lupus data collection and analysis; and (2) ensure that such consortium represents different geographic areas and includes individuals of racial and ethnic backgrounds disproportionately affected by lupus. Requires the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine to study and make recommendations related to lupus, to include: (1) evaluating federal and state activities related to lupus and recommending ways to expand such activities; (2) identifying gaps in federal research; and (3) recommending ways to improve the quality of life for people with lupus. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office on Women's Health, to conduct and support a national lupus public awareness and health professional education campaign, with an emphasis on reaching populations at highest risk for the disease.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Congratulates former Vice President Al Gore on the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film given to An Inconvenient Truth. Commends director Davis Guggenheim and producers Lawrence Bender and Laurie David. Recognizes Al Gore's role in making climate change one of the major issues of the 110th Congress. Expresses the hope that Congress and the President will enact meaningful climate change legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Healthy Hospitals Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require public reporting of health care-associated infections data by hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a pilot program under Medicare to provide financial incentives or grants to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers that demonstrate a satisfactory reduction in the rate of occurrence (or elimination) of health care-associated infections in the applicable hospital or ambulatory surgical center. Expresses the sense of Congress that health care providers and facilities should take measures to reduce the rate of occurrence of health care-associated infections to zero, with respect to patients to whom such providers and facilities furnish services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007 - 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 make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of 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) include community organizations in the geographic area served by the center; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions and community groups; and (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years, with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation. Requires the Secretary to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to: (1) develop a comprehensive research strategy for centers; (2) make recommendations with respect to the mechanisms, peer review criteria, and allocations under this Act; (3) assist in the overall program evaluations; and (4) make recommendations for the dissemination of information on program process. Requires the Director of NIH to provide for coordination of information among, and an equitable geographical distribution of, centers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Increases from $1,000 to $2,000 the monthly special pension paid to Medal of Honor recipients. Provides for payment of such pension to the surviving spouse of a deceased recipient as long as the surviving spouse was married to the recipient: (1) for one year or more; or (2) for any period of time if a child was born of the marriage or was born to them before the marriage.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Provides that, in the case of a member of the Armed Forces who dies while serving on active duty or inactive duty for training, and who dies without a surviving spouse but with one or more children under age 18 who will be in the custody of a parent, brother, or sister, the death gratuity for such member shall be payable to such parent, brother, or sister as designated by the member.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services"; and (2) make physical therapists eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (to assure an adequate supply of physical therapists among other health professionals).
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Freedom to Fly Act of 2007 - Allows a pilot who has attained 60 years of age to serve as a passenger airline pilot until the age of 65 years old only if the pilot serves: (1) as a required pilot in multi-crew aircraft operations; and (2) with another required pilot who has not yet attained 60 years of age. Terminates the age-60 rule (mandatory retirement age) 30 days after enactment of this Act. Declares that such requirements shall not provide the basis for a claim of seniority made under any labor bargaining agreement in effect between the pilots and an air carrier by any pilot who has attained age 60 before the effective date of this Act and who is seeking a position as a pilot with such carrier following that pilot's termination or cessation of employment or promotion or transfer to another position with such air carrier.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Wartime Treatment Study Act - Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of European Americans to review U.S. government wartime treatment (from September 1, 1939, through December 31, 1948) of European Americans and European Latin Americans. Requires the Commission to review: (1) government actions with respect to European Americans and European Latin Americans pursuant to the Alien Enemies Acts, Presidential Proclamations 2526, 2527, 2655, 2662, 2685, Executive Orders 9066 and 9095, and related directives pertaining to the registration, arrest, exclusion, internment, exchange, or deportation of such people; (2) registration requirements, travel and property restrictions, internment, and forced abandonment of property; (3) participation by European Americans in the U.S. Armed Forces; and (4) appropriate remedies, including future protection of civil liberties during wartime. Establishes the Commission on Wartime Treatment of Jewish Refugees to review the U.S. government's refusal to allow entry into the United States of Jewish and other refugees fleeing persecution or genocide in Europe. Directs the Commission to include reviews of: (1) the rationale for such refusal, its perceived benefit, and its impact on refugees; and (2) federal refugee policy concerning those fleeing persecution or genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day" to honor those members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
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 resulted from participation in a legal mode of transportation or recreational activity.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act of 2007 - Prohibits any state other than the home state of an insured from requiring a premium tax payment for nonadmitted insurance. Authorizes states to establish procedures to allocate among themselves the premium taxes paid to an insured's home state. Allows an insured's home state to require surplus lines brokers and certain insureds to file annually tax allocation reports detailing the portion of the nonadmitted insurance premiums attributable to properties, risks, or exposures located in each state. Declares that Congress intends that each state adopt a nationwide or uniform procedure that provides for the reporting, payment, collection, and allocation of premium taxes for nonadmitted insurance. Subjects nonadmitted insurance solely to the regulatory requirements of the insured's home state. Declares that only an insured's home state may require a surplus lines broker to be licensed to conduct nonadmitted insurance business with respect to such insured. Prohibits a state from collecting fees relating to licensure of a surplus lines broker in the state unless it has a regulatory mechanism in effect for participation in the national insurance producer database of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), or any other equivalent uniform national database. Prohibits a state from: (1) establishing eligibility criteria for nonadmitted insurers domiciled in a U.S. jurisdiction except in conformance with the Non-Admitted Insurance Model Act; or (2) prohibiting a surplus lines broker from placing nonadmitted insurance with, or procuring nonadmitted insurance from, a nonadmitted insurer domiciled outside the United States and listed on the NAIC International Insurers Department Quarterly Listing of Alien Insurers. Prohibits a state from denying credit for reinsurance if the state of domicile of an insurer purchasing reinsurance (ceding insurer) recognizes credit for reinsurance for the insurer's ceded risk, and: (1) is either an NAIC-accredited state; or (2) has financial solvency requirements substantially similar to NAIC accreditation requirements. Reserves to reinsurer's state of domicile the sole responsibility for regulating the reinsurer's financial solvency if such state is either NAIC-accredited, or has financial solvency requirements substantially similar to NAIC. Prohibits a state from requiring a reinsurer to provide financial information other than that required to be filed with its NAIC-compliant domiciliary state.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Authorization Act - Extends through December 31, 2009, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Total Force Educational Assistance Enhancement and Integration Act of 2007 - Recodifies under federal veterans' benefits law (currently codified under federal armed forces law) provisions relating to educational assistance for members of the reserves. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) (currently, the Secretary of each military department) to carry out such assistance. Makes eligible for such assistance under this Act those who, after October 1, 2008: (1) enlist or extend an enlistment in the Selected Reserve for not less than six years; or (1) are appointed or agree to serve in the Selected Reserve for at least six years. Includes under this Act those eligible for such assistance as of October 1, 2008. Increases monthly amounts of authorized assistance. Removes restrictions on the use of such assistance for apprenticeships and on-job training, flight training, licensing and certification tests, and individualized tutorial assistance. Requires the Secretary (currently, the military department Secretaries) to provide educational assistance to reserve personnel ordered to active duty in response to a war or national emergency. Makes eligible for such assistance under this Act those who, on or after October 1, 2008: (1) serve on active duty in support of a contingency operation for 90 days or more; or (2) perform full-time National Guard duty for 90 days or more in response to a national emergency. Includes under this Act those eligible for such assistance as of October 1, 2008. Revises provisions concerning assistance amounts. Requires funding for benefits accruing under this Act: (1) on or after October 1, 2008, to be made from funds available to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the payment of readjustment benefits; and (2) before such date from the Department of Defense Education Benefits Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require that any lists of congressional earmarks, limited tax, and tariff benefits (and the name of the requesting Member), required for legislation reported or not reported by a committee or included in a conference report, be made publicly available on the Internet in a searchable format at least 48 hours before a measure's consideration.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Community Restoration and Revitalization Act of 2007 - 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 · 13 February 2007
Agricultural Export Facilitation Act of 2007 - Amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 (TSREEA of 2000) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to authorize, under a general license, certain travel-related transactions for travel to, from, or within Cuba in connection with: (1) sales and marketing activities, including organization and participation in product exhibitions; and (2) sea or air transportation of products. Authorizes a consular official to issue a temporary tourist/business visa for a Cuban national (who is not otherwise inadmissible) whose itinerary documents an intent to conduct activities, including phytosanitary inspections, related to purchasing U.S. agricultural goods under the provisions of TSREEA of 2000. Defines "payment in cash" with respect to certain prohibitions on financing of U.S. agricultural sales to Cuba. Prohibits the President from restricting direct transfers from a Cuban financial institution to a U.S. financial institution executed in payment for a product authorized for sale under TSREEA of 2000.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Safeguarding America's Families by Enhancing and Reorganizing New and Efficient Technologies Act of 2007 or the SAFER NET Act - Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish an Office of Internet Safety and Public Awareness to be headed by a Director. Requires the FTC, acting through the Office, to carry out a nationwide program to increase public awareness and education regarding Internet safety, that utilizes existing resources and efforts of all levels of government and other appropriate entities and that includes: (1) evaluating and improving the efficiency of Internet safety efforts provided by such entities; (2) identifying and promoting best practices; (3) establishing and carrying out a national outreach and education campaign; (4) serving as the primary contact in the federal government and as a national clearinghouse for Internet safety information; (5) facilitating access to, and the exchange of, such information; (6) providing expert advice to the FTC; and (7) providing technical, financial, and other appropriate assistance to such entities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act or the HEART for Women Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to require an application for approval or for investigation of a drug, device, or biological product to include information stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity, including any differences in safety and effectiveness. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) withhold approval of such an application or place a clinical hold on an investigation if such information is not included; and (2) report to the scientific community and make information available to the public on such stratified data upon approval of an application. Requires the Comptroller General to study the drug approval process to ensure compliance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to require that all nonidentifiable patient safety work product reported to a patient safety database be stratified by sex. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to report to Congress concerning the quality of and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Provides for an educational campaign relating to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases in women. Authorizes appropriations to enable the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program projects in all states and territories.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
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 · 13 February 2007
Repeals provisions of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 requiring federal, state, and local governmental entities to withhold 3% of payments due to vendors providing goods and services to such entities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Alzheimer's Treatment and Caregiver Support Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand treatment services for patients with Alzheimer's disease and training and support services for families and caregivers of such patients.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether state law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the Authority to issue regulations establishing rights and responsibilities for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the Authority, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such Authority regulations and authority through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Edward William Brooke III Congressional Gold Medal Act - Awards a congressional gold medal to Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, in recognition of his unprecedented and enduring service to our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2007
Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to small business to: (1) extend through 2008 the work opportunity tax credit: (2) qualify certain individuals between age 18 and 40 living in an empowerment zone, enterprise community, or renewal community for the work opportunity tax credit and expand the eligibility for, and amount of, such credit for certain disabled veterans; (3) increase to $125,000 (adjusted for inflation) the expensing allowance for small business assets and extend such increased allowance through 2010; (4) allow employers to claim a business tax credit for social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips without regard to any increase in the federal minimum wage rate; (5) allow a full credit against alternative minimum tax liability for the work opportunity tax credit and the employer credit for social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips; (6) treat certain businesses jointly owned by married couples as sole proprietorships for tax purposes; (7) deny preferential tax rates on capital gains and dividend income to certain dependents of taxpayers; and (8) grant the Internal Revenue Service with an additional four months to notify taxpayers of tax deficiencies before the suspension period for interest and penalties on underpayments takes effect. Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase the estimated tax rate for corporations with assets of not less than $1 billion in the third quarter of 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act - Establishes an Unsolved Crimes Section in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and an Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Investigative Office in the Civil Rights Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Makes the Chief of the Section (Chief) and the Chief Investigator of the Office responsible for investigating violations of criminal civil rights statutes in which the alleged violation occurred before January 1, 1970 and resulted in death. Requires: (1) consultation with state or local officials regarding venue when there has been a violation of a criminal civil rights statute that is also a violation of a state or local law; and (2) referral to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division if the subject of the complaint has violated a criminal civil rights statute but the violation does not meet the requirements for the Unsolved Crimes Section. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to authorize staff of an Inspector General to assist the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by conducting reviews of inactive case files to develop recommendations for further investigations and engaging in similar activities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income and to exempt from social security, unemployment taxes, and withholding of tax requirements rebates of real or personal property taxes or any other benefit provided by a State or local government to a member of a volunteer emergency response organization providing firefighting or emergency medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Supports the goals of International Women's Day. Recognizes and honors the women who have fought and continue to struggle for equality. Reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to ending discrimination and violence against women and girls, to ensuring their safety and welfare, and to pursuing policies that guarantee their basic rights. Encourages the President to: (1) affirm his commitment to pursue policies to protect human rights and civil liberties, particularly of women and girls; and (2) issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe International Women's Day.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Veterans Employment and Respect Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring veterans of Afghanistan or Iraq who served after October 6, 2001, in the Operation Iraqi Freedom Area or the Operation Enduring Freedom Area.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
High School Athletics Accountability Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct coeducational elementary and secondary schools, if they participate in any ESEA program, to: (1) report certain information on equality in their school athletic programs to the Commissioner for Educational Statistics; and (2) make such information available to their students and potential students, upon request, and to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007 - Establishes the United States Bipartisan Commission on Access to Emergency Medical Services to: (1) identify and examine factors in the health care delivery, financing, and legal systems that affect the effective delivery of screening and stabilization services furnished in hospitals that have emergency departments pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and (2) make specific recommendations to Congress with respect to federal programs, policies, and financing needed to assure the availability of such screening and stabilization services and the coordination of state, local, and federal programs for responding to disasters and emergencies. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for additional payments for certain physicians' emergency services furnished pursuant to EMTALA. Requires critical access hospitals with an emergency department to report annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services information on the hospital's average admission period for the year. Requires the Secretary to post the reported information promptly on the official public Internet site of the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary, based on the information reported for 2008, to develop an emergency department quality measure, if it is determined that one should be included in the performance measures hospitals are required to report.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Congratulates the National Football League champion Indianapolis Colts for winning Super Bowl XLI and for bringing the city of Indianapolis and the state of Indiana their first Lombardi Trophy.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Department of Peace and Nonviolence Act - Establishes a Department of Peace and Nonviolence, which shall be headed by a Secretary of Peace and Nonviolence appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. Sets forth the mission of the Department, including to: (1) hold peace as an organizing principle; (2) endeavor to promote justice and democratic principles to expand human rights; and (3) develop policies that promote national and international conflict prevention, nonviolent intervention, mediation, peaceful resolution of conflict, and structured mediation of conflict. Establishes in the Department the Intergovernmental Advisory Council on Peace and Nonviolence, which shall provide assistance and make recommendations to the Secretary and the President concerning intergovernmental policies relating to peace and nonviolent conflict resolution. Transfers to the Department the functions, assets, and personnel of various federal agencies. Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Peace and Nonviolence. Establishes Peace Day. Urges all citizens to observe and celebrate the blessings of peace and endeavor to create peace on such day.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act - Directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to promulgate final child-resistance product safety standards for closures on portable gasoline containers intended for use by consumers. Prescribes criteria for such standards.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan or coverage provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Applies such prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act of 2007 - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. At-Risk Communities Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Requires the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention research. Truth in Contraception Act of 2007 - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates. Unintended Pregnancy Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicaid's coverage of family planning services. Responsible Education About Life Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary to make grants to states for family life education, including education on abstinence and contraception, to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) with respect to: (1) ballot verification and mandatory paper record audit capacity; and (2) accessibility and ballot verification of results for individuals with disabilities. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to study, test, and develop best practices to enhance the accessibility of ballot verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, voters whose primary language is not English, and voters with difficulties in literacy. Requires laboratories to meet standards prohibiting conflicts of interest as a condition of accreditation for the testing of voting system hardware and software. Outlines additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Extends the authorization of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Directs the chief auditor of each state to appoint an Election Audit Board to administer, without advance notice to the precincts selected, random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots required to be produced and preserved for each such election held in the state. Repeals the exemption of the EAC from certain government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief. Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the outpatient therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Amends federal provisions relating to the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to change from October 1, 2008, to October 1, 2007, the effective date on or after which no reduction may be made in the retired pay of an SBP participant for any month after the later of: (1) the 360th month for which such pay was so reduced; and (2) the month during which the participant attains 70 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Fair Currency Act of 2007 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to expand the authority of the administering authority or the International Trade Commission (ITC) to impose countervailing duties on products from a nonmarket economy country that have been provided a countervailable subsidy. Includes exchange-rate misalignment (undervaluation of a foreign currency) by a country as a countervailable subsidy. Requires the administering authority to use methodologies that measure certain benchmarks outside of a nonmarket economy country where exchange-rate misalignment exists when measuring the benefit of a countervailable subsidy bestowed on a product by such country in a countervailing duty proceeding. Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to include exchange-rate misalignment by the People's Republic of China as a condition in determining market disruption to the domestic producers of a like or directly competitive product from products imported from China. Prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from procuring defense articles imported from China if such articles are competitive with domestic industry articles critical to the defense industrial base of the United States. Applies provisions of this Act to goods from Canada and Mexico. Amends the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to consider in the annual analysis of foreign exchange rate policies whether countries have a currency that is in fundamental misalignment, and if so, to initiate bilateral corrective negotiations. Directs the Secretary, prior to U.S. approval of a change in an international financial institution's governance, to determine whether a member who would benefit from such change has a currency that is manipulated or in fundamental misalignment, and if so, oppose such change. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the administering authority, in determining whether a country is a nonmarket economy country, to consider whether such country's manipulation or fundamental misalignment of its currency adversely affects the U.S. economy.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Lyme and Tick-Borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. Requires the Committee to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding how officials can: (1) ensure interagency coordination and communication and minimize overlap regarding efforts to address tick-borne diseases; (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies and private organizations addressing such diseases; (3) ensure interagency coordination and communication with constituency groups; (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints is represented in public heath policy decisions and that information disseminated to the public and physicians is balanced; and (5) advise relevant federal agencies on priorities related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Requires the Secretary, acting through the appropriate federal officials, to provide for the coordination of all federal programs and activities related to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, including: (1) developing sensitive and accurate diagnostic tools and tests, (2) improving the efficient utilization of diagnostic testing currently available; (3) accurately determining the prevalence of such diseases; (4) evaluating the feasibility of creating a national uniform reporting system; (5) providing and promoting access to a clearinghouse of information on such diseases; (6) increasing public education related to such diseases; (7) creating a physician education program; (8) establishing epidemiological research objectives to determine the long term course of illness for Lyme disease; and (9) determining the effectiveness of different treatment modalities by establishing treatment outcome objectives
![Official portrait of Rep. Boswell, Leonard L. [D-IA-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000652_200.jpg)