United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Fair and Speedy Treatment (FAST) of Medicare Prescription Drug Claims Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require prompt payment of clean claims to pharmacies by prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD Plans). Defines "prompt payment" as within 14 calendar days from submission for claims submitted electronically, and within 30 calendar days for claims submitted otherwise. Requires payment of interest, also, if a payment is not issued, mailed, or otherwise transmitted within the applicable number of calendar days. Makes it unlawful for a PDP sponsor to display on any explanatory prescription drug information and enrollee cards the name, brand, or trademark (co-branding) of any pharmacy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Encourages Americans to demonstrate their support for veterans on Veterans Day each year. Encourages schools and teachers to educate students on the great contributions veterans have made to the country and its history, both while serving as members of the Armed Forces and after completing their service. Requests that the President issue a proclamation each year in connection with the observance of Veterans Day calling on Americans to observe that day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to revise the classification criterion used to determine whether a hospital or hospital unit is an inpatient rehabilitation facility under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Eliminates the current schedule of applicable percentages. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, instead, to require in the classification criterion a compliance rate no greater than the 60% compliance rate that became effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2006. Requires the Secretary, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2008, to include patients with comorbidity in the inpatient population that counts towards such 60% compliance rate. Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Medicare fiscal intermediaries, Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, and other government agents to use and apply the criteria established in HCFA Ruling 85-2, as issued on July 31, 1985, as the sole standard for determining the medical necessity of servivces provided by inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units to Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees: (1) an examination of the impact of the 75% rule on the Medicare program, and specifically on Medicare beneficiaries; and (2) alternatives to the 75% rule policy for determining exclusion criteria for inpatient rehabilitation hospital and unit designation under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) pluralistic and geographic expansion is necessary for its continued effectiveness and relevance; (2) Israel's demonstrated commitment to uphold democracy and to combat terrorism, in addition to its strategic and military capabilities, make Israel deserving of NATO membership; (3) the United States, as Israel's strong ally, should take the lead in supporting an upgrade in Israel's NATO relationship to that of a leading member of NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue and a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace; and (4) Israel's deepened relationship with NATO would be mutually beneficial to both Israel and NATO member states, including the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends specified law prohibiting the killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia to declare that nothing in it or any other provision of law shall authorize or be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Redefines "machine gun" to include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on possession of handgun restricted pistol bullets; and (3) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked. Repeals the definition of restricted pistol bullet as any bullet designed for use in a pistol which, when fired from a pistol with a barrel of five inches or less in length, is capable of penetrating commercially available body armor with a penetration resistance equal to or greater than that of 18 layers of kevlar. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person. Amends the District of Columbia Code to extend to firearms generally (currently, only to pistols) the prohibition against carrying such a weapon either openly or concealed within the District without a license issued pursuant to D.C. law. Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Agricultural Protection and Prosperity Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to: (1) include the definition of "manure"; and (2) exclude manure from the meaning of "hazardous substance" or "pollutant or contaminant" under that Act. Provides that such exclusion shall not: (1) impose liability under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 with respect to manure; (2) affect any provision of the Air Quality Agreement entered into between the Administrator and operators of animal feeding operations; or (3) affect the applicability of any other environmental law as it relates to the definition of manure or the responsibilities or liabilities of any person regarding the treatment, storage, or disposal of manure. Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to exempt releases associated with manure (as defined under CERCLA) from the emergency notification requirements under that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 - States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of force or the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iran. Subjects, with respect to prohibited transactions with Iran, a parent company to penalties for violations committed by certain subsidiaries outside the United States that would be subject to prohibitions if committed inside the United States or by a U.S. person. Establishes specified additional import and export sanctions against Iran. Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to require the imposition of procurement sanctions as part of the sanctions against a person contributing to Iran's petroleum resources. Directs the President to report every six months to the appropriate congressional committees (committees) respecting investment activity that could contribute to Iran's development of petroleum resources, and U.S. steps in response to such activity. Expands the definitions of "petroleum resources" and "person." Eliminates the national security waivers for imposition of sanctions. Directs the President to determine and report to the committees whether the the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be: (1) designated as a foreign terrorist organization; (2) placed on the list of designated global terrorists; and (3) placed on the list of weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Authorizes the President to carry out exchange programs with the people of Iran. Directs the President to reduce annual U.S. contributions to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) based upon Bank amounts provided to entities and projects in Iran. Restricts nuclear cooperation with countries assisting Iran's nuclear program or transferring advanced conventional weapons or missiles to Iran. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate specified geological and geophysical expense amortization benefits if petroleum-related sanctions are imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 on any member of an expanded affiliated group whose common parent is a foreign corporation. Revises the definition of "affiliated group." States that specified restrictions respecting Iran shall not have effect if the President determines and certifies to the committees that Iran: (1) has ended efforts to develop or acquire nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, or ballistic missiles; (2) has been removed from the list of countries supporting international terrorism; and (3) poses no significant threat to U.S. national security, interests, or allies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 320 South Lecanto Highway in Lecanto, Florida, as the "Sergeant Dennis J. Flanagan Lecanto Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Amends the Florida National Forest Land Management Act of 2003 to: (1) authorize the conveyance of an additional tract of federal land pursuant to the Act; and (2) provide for the disposition of the net proceeds derived from sales or exchanges under the Act to be available for expenditure by the Secretary of Agriculture for the acquisition, construction, or maintenance of administrative improvements for units of the National Forest System in Florida. Permits: (1) proceeds from the sale or exchange of such additional tract to be used exclusively for the purchase of inholdings in the Apalachicola National Forest; and (2) proceeds from any sale or exchange of land under this Act to be used for administrative improvements, as authorized above, only if the land generating the proceeds was improved with infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey; (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity; and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Lane Evans Veterans Health and Benefits Improvement Act of 2007 - Makes a veteran who served on active duty during a period of war eligible for a mental health evaluation and hospital care, medical services, nursing home care, and family and marital counseling for any identified mental health condition, notwithstanding insufficient medical evidence to conclude that the condition is attributable to such service. Requires: (1) post-deployment medical and mental health screenings to be conducted within 30 days after a deployment; (2) each member, upon discharge, to be provided an electronic copy of all military records of such member; and (3) the Secretary of Defense to ensure appropriate outreach to members of the National Guard and reserves concerning benefits and services available upon discharge or deactivation. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish and maintain a Global War on Terrorism Veterans Information System. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Defense on the effects on veterans and on each such department of participation in the Global War on Terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to prohibit U.S. courts from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any assertion of rights by an individual (currently, by a designated Cuban national) of a mark, trade name, or commercial name that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated by the Cuban government unless the original owner of such mark or name, or such owner's bona fide successor, has expressly consented. Applies such prohibition only if the individual asserting the rights knew or had reason to know at the time of acquiring the rights asserted that the mark or name was the same or substantially similar to the mark or name used in connection with the business or assets that were confiscated.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to limitations on payments for physicians' imaging services. Renames the imaging services concerned advanced diagnostic imaging services. Eliminates X-ray and ultrasound (including echocardiography) services from payment limitations for such services. Confines existing payment limitations to diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) (all specified under current law), plus nuclear cardiology procedures. Imposes a two-year moratorium, however, on the application of existing payment limitations for such services. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on patient access and service issues relating to the availability and quality of advanced diagnostic imaging services in physician offices and freestanding clinics that would have resulted (but for the moratorium declared by this Act) from payment changes made under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the classification, for depreciation purposes, of any motorsports entertainment complex as seven year property.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Makes permanent 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 · 16 February 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D. (who performed the first successful coronary bypass, pioneered the field of telemedicine, was elected the first President of Baylor College of Medicine, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction and the National Medal of Science) in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the nation.
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
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 · 15 February 2007
Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act - Amends the definition of the term "law enforcement officer" under provisions of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to include: (1) federal employees not otherwise covered by such term whose duties include the investigation or apprehension of suspected or convicted individuals and who are authorized to carry a firearm; and (2) such employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whose duties are primarily the collection of delinquent taxes and the securing of delinquent returns. Requires such service that is performed by an incumbent law enforcement officer: (1) after enactment of this Act to be treated as service performed as a law enforcement officer for federal retirement purposes; and (2) before, on, or after enactment as service performed as such an officer for federal retirement purposes only if an appropriate written election is submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) within five years after enactment or before separation from government service, whichever is earlier. Provides that nothing under current law respecting mandatory separation from government service under CSRS or FERS shall cause the involuntary separation of an officer before the end of the three-year period following enactment.
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
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase, over five cost reporting periods, the Medicare caps on the total number of full-time equivalent residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine (graduate medical education (GME) positions) for states with a shortage of residents. Requires the aggregate number of such increases for a state to be at least 15, but no more than the state resident cap increase.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Save Our Shores Act - Amends the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 to extend the authorization of appropriations for research, education, and monitoring activities related to the prevention, reduction, and control of harmful algal blooms and hypoxia. Requires that all federal financial assistance for harmful algal bloom research be awarded on a competitive, peer reviewed basis.
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
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 · 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
Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2007 or STOPP Act of 2007 - Prohibits federal financial assistance under defined federal economic development programs to a state or local government entity that: (1) uses the power of eminent domain to take property from a private entity and transfer ownership to another private entity; or (2) fails to provide, to any person displaced by the use of eminent domain for any economic development purpose, relocation assistance under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970. Excepts from the first clause property taken for: (1) use by a public utility; (2) a road open to the public or common carriers; (3) an aqueduct, pipeline, or similar use; (4) a prison or hospital; or (5) any use during and in relation to a national emergency or national disaster declared by the President. Provides a private right of action for the owner of any real property taken by conduct prohibited under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Community Pharmacy Fairness Act of 2007 - Entitles independent pharmacies negotiating contract terms with a health plan for the provision of health care items or services to the same treatment under the antitrust laws as the treatment to which bargaining units recognized under the National Labor Relations Act are entitled. Treats such a pharmacy as an employee engaged in concerted activities in connection with such negotiations. Exempts actions taken in good faith reliance on this Act from being subject to criminal sanctions or civil penalties beyond actual damages incurred. Prohibits: (1) exempting from the antitrust laws any agreement or otherwise unlawful conspiracy that excludes, limits the participation or reimbursement of, or otherwise limits the scope of services to be provided by any independent pharmacy or group of independent pharmacies with respect to the performance of services that are within their scope of practice as defined or permitted by relevant law or regulation; and (2) applying this Act to negotiations between independent pharmacies and health plans pertaining to federal health benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Recognizes the importance of veterans to the United States. Expresses support for the goals of Veterans Educate Today's Students Day (programs that educate children about the service and sacrifices of veterans and their families).
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Midwifery Care Access and Reimbursement Equity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of and payment for certified midwife services. (Currently only certified nurse-midwife services are covered.)
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Honors Rafael Jose Diaz-Balart for his lifetime of accomplishments contributing to democracy. Recognizes the Florida International University dedication of the Rafael Diaz-Balart Hall at the College of Law as an appropriate tribute to his memory.
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 · 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
Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide under the Refuge Ecology Protection, Assistance, and Immediate Response Grant Program or the REPAIR Program (established by this Act): (1) a grant to any eligible applicant to carry out a qualified control project to control harmful nonnative species; and (2) a grant to any state to carry out an assessment project to identify harmful nonnative species, assess the needs to restore, manage, or enhance native fish, wildlife, and habitats, identify priorities, and identify mechanisms to increase capacity building for native fish, wildlife, and habitats. Requires the Secretary to consult with the Invasive Species Advisory Committee on: (1) the projects proposed for such grants; and (2) regarding the development of a database concerning control projects carried out with such grants. Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial assistance to enable an immediate response to outbreaks of harmful nonnative species that threaten or may negatively impact refuge resources that are at a stage at which rapid eradication or control is possible, and to ensure eradication or immediate control of such species. Directs the Secretary to establish a Cooperative Volunteer Invasives Monitoring and Control Program to document and combat invasive species in national wildlife refuges.
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
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
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Japan should: (1) formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery (comfort women) during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II; (2) have this official and public apology presented by the Prime Minister of Japan; (3) refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the comfort women never occurred; and (4) educate current and future generations about this crime while following the international community's recommendations with respect to the comfort women.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) recognizes that African American spirituals are a poignant and powerful genre of music that have become one of the most significant segments of American music in existence; (2) expresses the deepest gratitude, recognition, and honor to the former enslaved Africans in the United States for their gifts to our Nation, including their original music and oral history; and (3) requests that the President issue a proclamation that reflects on the important contribution of African American spirituals to American history, and naming the African American spiritual a national treasure.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Veterans Reassignment Protection Act - Prohibits a preference eligible federal employee (including a preference eligible serving in or under the U.S. Postal Service) from being involuntarily separated for failing to accept a directed reassignment to a position outside his or her commuting area or to accompany a position outside of such area pursuant to a transfer of function unless such preference eligible: (1) receives written notice of the reassignment at least 30 days before the effective date of the reassignment; and (2) is allowed to elect to have the selection of employees for release conducted in the same manner as would be required in the case of a reduction in force. Entitles a preference eligible involuntarily separated in the circumstances described above to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board any failure to comply with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Transit System Flexibility Protection Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make public transportation formula grants for operating costs of equipment and facilities for use in public transportation in an urbanized area with a population of at least 200,000 if the state or regional authority providing public transportation for the area operates less than 100 buses in fixed-route service in the area during peak service hours.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Timber Tax Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction (available to taxpayers whether or not they itemize deductions) for up to 60% of gains from certain sales or exchanges of timber.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2007
War Funding Accountability Act - Establishes initial and subsequent quarterly reporting requirements for the Inspector General of the Department of Defense respecting funds for military operations in Iraq and for the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction respecting funds for the reconstruction of Iraq. Provides that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) shall report to Congress if two consecutive quarterly reports are not submitted. Expresses the sense of Congress that if an Inspector General or GAO finds that a government contractor carrying out a military or reconstruction contract in Iraq has, or is suspected of having, engaged in fraud or war profiteering such contractor shall be subjected to criminal, civil, or administrative proceedings or investigations.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Early Pest Detection and Surveillance Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a cooperative agreement with any state department of agriculture that agrees to conduct early plant pest detection surveillance activities, including inspection and surveillance of domestic plant shipments between a state and other states.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Requires: (1) the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction to report quarterly to Congress respecting the expenditures of military and reconstruction funds in Iraq, including efforts to obtain assistance from other countries and an assessment of future funding needs; (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an audit if either Inspector General fails to submit such report; and (3) the imposition of sanctions against contractors who have engaged in profiteering or fraud. States that: (1) Congress should create a Truman Committee to conduct an ongoing study and investigation of Operation Iraqi Freedom contracts; (2) funding requests for Operation Iraqi Freedom beginning with FY2008 must come through the regular appropriations process and not through emergency supplementals; and (3) the Administration should condition further American financial, military, and political resources upon improvement in Iraqi assumption of principal responsibility for internally policing Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
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 U.S. 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 · 22 January 2007
Restoring the Everglades, an American Legacy Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out the project for ecosystem restoration, water supply, flood control, and protection of water quality, Indian River Lagoon, South Florida, at a specified total cost, in accordance with the recommendations of the report of the Chief of Engineers, dated August 6, 2004. Deauthorizes certain projects authorized under the Water Resources Development Act of 2000 and the Flood Control Act of 1968. Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out the project for ecosystem restoration, Picayune Strand, Collier County, Florida, at a specified total cost in accordance with section 601 of Water Resources Development Act of 2000 (relating to the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan) and the report of the Chief of Engineers, September 15, 2006.
![Official portrait of Rep. Boyd, Allen [D-FL-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000716_200.jpg)