United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2006
Commends the people of the Republic of Haiti for holding democratic elections on February 7, 2006. Congratulates President-elect Rene Garcia Preval on his victory. Pledges support and assistance for national reconciliation, democracy, and development for the people of Haiti.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2006
Infant and Toddler Durable Product Safety Act - Instructs the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to: (1) promulgate a consumer product safety standard for durable infant or toddler products; and (2) establish an Infant and Toddler Product Review Panel to advise the CPSC on guidelines and standards for such products. Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to declare the limitation on maximum civil penalties inapplicable to this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2006
Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase, as of December 1, 2006, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2006
Katrina Health Access, Recovery, and Empowerment Act of 2006 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide low-interest loans to small business concerns located in a Hurricane Katrina-affected area for the restoration of health care and health care services. Provides for tax credits, deductions, and grants for medical malpractice insurance and medical liability insurance for providers located in such areas. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to make payments from the Health Safety Net Infrastructure Trust Fund (established under this Act) for capital financing assistance to eligible health care facilities located in such an area for replacement, modernization and renovation projects, and capital equipment acquisition. Requires the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements to enable higher education institutions in such an area to resume health care-related programs. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, to designate as medically needy Katrina recovery zones areas located in a Hurricane Katrina-affected area that experience disproportionate racial and ethnic disparities in health status and health care. Provides for grants to: (1) such recovery zones; (2) public health facilities for constructing, modernizing, or repairing health facilities damaged as a result of Hurricane Katrina; and (3) organizations in a Hurricane Katrina-affected area seeking to improve health of minorities and reduce health disparities. Requires states to provide Disaster Relief Medicaid Assistance to Katrina survivors as a condition of participation in the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2006
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 215 West Industrial Park Road in Harrison, Arkansas, as the "John Paul Hammerschmidt Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2006
Disabled Veterans Adaptive Housing Improvement Act - Increases from: (1) $50,000 to $60,000 the maximum amount authorized to be provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to certain disabled veterans for the construction of specially adapted housing; and (2) $10,000 to $12,000 the maximum amount authorized for specially adapted features in a home. Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to annually increase such amounts to reflect increases in the cost of residential home construction.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2006
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue, during 2014, no more than 350,000 one-dollar coins designed to be emblematic of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its contribution to civil rights in America. Requires sales to include a $10 surcharge per coin, which shall be paid to the United Negro College Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2006
Permanent Protection for Florida Act of 2006 - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in the Florida exclusion zone. Expresses the sense of Congress that states are encouraged not to issue a permit or lease for new oil and natural gas slant, directional, or offshore drilling in or under any of the Great Lakes. Declares this Act applicable to non-producing leases. Withdraws the Florida exclusion zone from: (1) any Outer Continental Shelf protraction diagram prepared by the Minerals Management Service; and (2) consideration for inclusion in any five-year Outer Continental Shelf leasing program of the Department of the Interior. Declares that any non-producing or similar lease that is suspended as of the enactment of this Act in the Eastern planning area of the Gulf of Mexico (with a specified exception), and that is also active, non-producing, or in suspension as of such date, is relinquished and abandoned in exchange for royalty forgiveness for revenue streams owed by oil and gas lessees producing on that date in the Central and Western planning areas of the Gulf of Mexico. Specifies the characteristics of any relinquished and abandoned lease whose lessee is ineligible for royalty forgiveness. Extends until June 30, 2020, the expiration date for the withdrawal of areas of the Outer Continental Shelf described in a specified Memorandum.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2006
Tanning Accountability and Notification Act of 2006 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to determine whether: (1) the labeling requirements for indoor tanning devices provide sufficient information to consumers regarding the risks that the use of such devices pose for the development of irreversible damage to the eyes and skin, including skin cancer; (2) adding the warning suggested by the American Academy of Dermatology or any other additional warning to the current warning label would communicate such risks more effectively; and (3) there is no warning that would be capable of adequately communicating such risks. Requires the Secretary, in making such determinations, to: (1) conduct appropriate consumer testing using the best available methods for determining consumer understanding of label warnings; and (2) hold public hearings and solicit comments from the public.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2006
Commends the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands for the contributions and sacrifices they made to the U.S. nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands. Acknowledges the first detonation of a hydrogen bomb by the United States on March 1, 1954, on the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Remembers that 60 years ago the United States began its nuclear testing program in the Marshall Islands.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2006
Federal Aviation Administration Fair Labor Management Dispute Resolution Act of 2006 - Amends federal transportation law to revise certain federal aviation administration personnel management system requirements to prohibit the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from implementing any proposed change to the FAA personnel management system in cases where the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service do not lead to an agreement between the Administrator and FAA employees unless a bill is enacted into law by Congress that authorizes the change during the 60-day period beginning from the time Congress received the proposed change. (Current law does not require congressional action.) Requires the Administrator and FAA employee bargaining representatives to submit the proposed change to binding arbitration if Congress does not enact a bill into law within the 60-day period.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2006
Services To Prevent Veterans Homelessness Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide financial assistance to eligible entities (private nonprofit organizations or consumer cooperatives) to provide and coordinate the provision of various supportive services for very low-income veteran families occupying permanent housing. Requires: (1) equitable geographic distribution of such assistance; and (2) the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance to participating entities regarding the planning, development, and provision of such services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2006
Urges: (1) the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to continue to take a leadership role in identifying a cure and developing safer, more effective treatments for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis; and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to convene, by August 2006 (Psoriasis Awareness Month), a special panel to study and make recommendations regarding access to care for individuals with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2006
Disabled Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow members of the uniformed services whose retired pay in any taxable year is reduced due to an award of disability compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs an extension of the three-year limitation period for filing tax refund claims until one year after the date of a disability determination. Limits the period for which such refund claims may be filed to taxable years beginning less than 15 years before the date of a disability determination.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2006
Honors and praises the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 97th anniversary for its work to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all persons.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2006
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to promote the emergence of a democratic Palestinian governing authority that denounces and combats terrorism, upholds human rights for all people, and has agreed to recognize Israel as an independent Jewish state. Amends the the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance under such Act or any other provision of law to the Palestinian Authority (PA) only during a period for which a presidential certification has determined: (1) that no PA ministry, agency, or instrumentality is controlled by a foreign terrorist organization and no member of a foreign terrorist organization serves in a PA ministry, agency, or instrumentality; (2) that the PA has publicly acknowledged Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and is adhering to all previous agreements and understandings with the government of the United States, the government of Israel, and the international community; and (3) that the PA has made demonstrable progress toward purging from its security services individuals with ties to terrorism, dismantling all terrorist infrastructure and cooperating with Israel's security services, halting anti-Israel incitement, and ensuring democracy and financial transparency. Directs the President to make and transmit such certifications to Congress every six months. Prohibits during a period in which a certification is is not in effect with respect to the PA.: (1) assistance to nongovernmental organizations for the West Bank and Gaza (exempts assistance for basic human health needs from such limitation.); (2) U.S. contributions to the United Nations intended for U.N. agencies providing assistance directly to the PA; (3) visa issuance to any PA official or affiliated person (with a case-by-case exemption for U.S. security needs); (4) travel outside of a 25-mile radius of the U.N. headquarters building for officials and representatives of the PA and of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who are stationed at the United Nations in New York City; and (5) establishment of an office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities within U.S. jurisdiction at the direction of, or with funds provided by, the PA or the PLO. Requires the President to direct the executive director at each international financial institution to use U.S. influence to prohibit assistance to the PA during any such period. Directs the Secretary of State to audit and report respecting duplicative entities and functions of: (1) the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights; (2) the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; (3) the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority; (4) the NGO Network on the Question of Palestine; (5) the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories; and (6) any other entity the Secretary determines results in duplicative efforts or funding or fails to ensure balance in the approach to Israeli-Palestinian issues. Withholds specified U.S. contributions to the United Nations for such entities until the report's recommendations are implemented. Expresses the sense of Congress that during any such period the territory controlled by the PA should be deemed to be in use as a terrorist sanctuary for purposes of the Export Administration Act of 1979, and of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989. Prohibits funds to be used by any U.S. officer or employee to negotiate, attend official meetings, or have official contacts with members or official representatives of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, or any other Palestinian terrorist organization, until such organization: (1) recognizes Israel's right to exist; (2) renounces terrorism; (3) dismantles the terrorist infrastructure; and (4) recognizes all previous agreements and understandings between Israel and the PA.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2006
Medicare Drugs for Seniors (MEDS) Act of 2006 -Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to replace the current part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) program, adopted by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, with a revised prescription drug benefit program under a new part D (Prescription Medicine Benefit for the Aged and Disabled) for all Medicare beneficiaries. Provides for reductions in the price of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to: (1) revise requirements with respect to the commercial and personal importation of prescription drugs and the disposition of certain drugs denied admission; and (2) prescribe requirements with respect to Internet sales of prescription drugs. Provides that if any federal agency or any non-profit entity undertakes federally funded health care research and development, and is to convey or provide a patent or other exclusive right to use such research and development for a drug or other health care technology, such agency or entity shall not make such conveyance or provide such patent or other right until the recipient first agrees to a reasonable pricing agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, or the Secretary determines that the public interest is served by a waiver of the reasonable pricing agreement. Sets forth Medigap transition requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2005
Thanks Bono, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates for their charitable efforts. Congratulates each of them on their selection as Time Magazine's Persons of the Year.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2005
Teachers for Tomorrow's Careers Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2006 the tax deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses; and (2) allow an unlimited deduction for the expenses of certified science, technology, engineering, or math teachers and professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2005
Code Talkers Recognition Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the presentation of a congressional gold medal: (1) to persons, including specified individuals, who served as Sioux or Comanche Code Talkers during World War II; (2) honoring the Choctaw Code Talkers of World War I; and (3) to any other Native American member of the armed forces, identified by the Secretary of Defense, who served as a Code Talker in any foreign conflict in which the United States was involved during the 20th Century. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medals struck under this Act and to deposit the proceeds in the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund to pay for the costs of the medals awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2005
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro Tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, in recognition of his many contributions to peace and religious understanding.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2005
Requests that the President issue a proclamation annually calling upon the people of the United States to observe Global Family Day, One Day of Peace and Sharing dedicated to eradicating violence, hunger, and poverty, and to establishing greater trust and fellowship among peace-loving nations and families everywhere. Requests that the President invite former U.S. Presidents, Nobel laureates, and other notables, including American business, labor, faith, and civic leaders, to join the President in promoting appropriate activities for Americans and in extending appropriate greetings from the families of America to families in the rest of the world.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from issuing any final rule that would change the Department of Transportation's (DOT) interpretation of what constitutes "actual control" of an airline with respect to requirements prohibiting foreign interests from exercising actual control over all airline operations. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the impact of DOT's proposed change of allowing foreign interests to control economic and competitive decisions while requiring U.S. citizens to control decisions concerning commitments to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, transportation security, safety, and organizational documents. (Under current law, only an airline that qualifies as "a citizen of the United States" may provide service between U.S. cities or on international routes obtained by the United States through international agreements. Defines "a citizen of the United States" as an individual who is a citizen of the United States, a partnership each of whose partners is an individual who is a citizen of the United States, or a corporation or association in which at least 75% of the voting interest is owned or controlled by persons that are citizens of the United States).
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Veterans Housing Fairness Act of 2005 - Authorizes the use of veterans' housing loan benefits to purchase stock or membership in a development, project, or structure (structure) of a cooperative housing corporation as long as such structure: (1) complies with criteria prescribed by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and (2) is a one-family residential unit.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Urges the President to issue annually a proclamation calling on state and local governments and the people of the United States to observe an American Jewish History Month.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2005
Directs the Joint Committee on the Library to accept the donation of a bust depicting Sojourner Truth and display it in a suitable permanent location in the rotunda of the Capitol. Expresses the sense of Congress that the most suitable location for the placement of the bust is one adjacent to the statue known as the Portrait Monument.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2005
Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to restore federal aid for the repair, restoration, and replacement of private nonprofit educational facilities damaged or destroyed by a major disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2005
Minority-Owned Venture Empowerment Act of 2005 - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a program, to be known as the Pre-8(a) Program, to provide technical assistance to small businesses with respect to the receipt and performance of federal procurement contracts. Prohibits a participating small business from being awarded a contract under the Program which is awarded using procedures other than competitive procedures under section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (wherein the SBA provides for the performance of federal procurement contracts by small, disadvantaged, and minority-owned businesses). Limits to $750,000 the maximum net worth of a small business Program participant. Modifies the 8(a) program under the Small Business Act to require small businesses to complete the Pre-8(a) Program before participating in the 8(a) program. Limits to $100 million the aggregate value of contracts an 8(a) participant may enter into. Requires the Administrator, for the 8(a) program, to establish for each industry classification a maximum level of net worth for an economically disadvantaged individual, but prohibits establishing a net worth of less than $750,000. Makes some small businesses eligible for 8(a) participation in a contract using other than competitive procedures (restricted competition), under certain circumstances. Allows a contracting officer, under specified conditions, to utilize restricted competition in the award of federal procurement contracts for small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2005
Federal Emergency Management Agency Restoration Act - Establishes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a cabinet-level independent establishment in the executive branch that is responsible for emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for all hazards, including major disasters, acts of terrorism, and other emergencies. Requires the FEMA Director to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among persons who have extensive experience in emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation for all hazards, including major disasters, acts of terrorism, and other emergencies.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2005
Gulf Coast Recovery Act of 2005 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) to reimburse an eligible state or local government 75% of the eligible expenses incurred between January 1 and June 30, 2006, for base pay and overtime expenses of employees who provide essential government services for response and recovery operations with respect Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on or after August 29, 2005. Amends the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 to limit a disaster loan to 50% of a local government's operating budget for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs. Sets at 100% the federal share of assistance for debris removal under the Stafford Act with respect to such hurricanes. Requires the President to contribute at least 75% of the cost of hazard mitigation measures approved under the Stafford Act in the one-year period following enactment of this Act with respect to such hurricanes. Amends the Stafford Act to double from 7.5% to 15% of the estimated aggregate amount of federal disaster relief grants to be made with respect to a major disaster the limit on the total amount of contributions the President may make for cost-effective hazard mitigation measures in the disaster area. Extends unemployment assistance in the case of an eligible individual affected by the hurricane disasters. Amends the Stafford Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to state and local governments to: (1) purchase or improve commercially available interoperable communications equipment; (2) purchase mobile equipment to generate emergency power; and (3) train first responders and emergency personnel on how to best use such equipment effectively.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2005
Crackdown on Deadbeat Dealers Act of 2005 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to increase the number of allowed inspections for compliance with record-keeping requirements by firearms dealers to not more than three times (currently, once) during any 12-month period. Increases penalties for: (1) knowingly making false statements or furnishing false or misrepresented identification regarding any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale or other disposition of such firearm or ammunition; or (2) making false entries in, or failing to properly maintain, required firearms records. Authorizes the Attorney General to suspend a firearms dealer's license and to assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for firearms violations, including failure to have secure gun storage or safety devices (current penalties are limited to license revocation). Permits any licensed firearms dealer who is indicted for a felony to continue to operate until the date of conviction (currently, until the conviction becomes final). Authorizes appropriations for the hiring and training of 500 additional inspectors for the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2005
Reaffirms the House of Representatives' commitment to the security of Israel. Asserts that: (1) terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, should not be permitted to participate in Palestinian elections until such organizations recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, cease incitement, condemn terrorism, and disarm and dismantle their terrorist infrastructure; and (2) Hamas' or any other terrorist group's inclusion into the Palestinian governing structure will inevitably raise serious U.S. policy considerations, potentially undermining the ability of the United States to provide financial assistance and conduct normal relations with the PA. Calls on the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas before the election to declare openly his intention to dismantle the terrorist organizations. States that progress in the peace process requires sustained Palestinian effort to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2005
States that: (1) the deployment of U.S. forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date; (2) a quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region; and (3) the United States shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2005
Bringing America Home Act - Declares that it is a national goal to fulfill the basic human need of shelter by ending homelessness in the United States. Establishes in the Treasury the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) incremental rental assistance; (2) housing program funding; (3) rural housing and economic development; and (4) veterans homeless comprehensive services programs. Federal Homelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Association Act - Establishes the Federal Hopelessness to Housing Mutual Mortgage Association (Hollie Mae) which may develop mutual housing (generally, a nonprofit cooperative ownership housing association) that is affordable for low-income individuals and families. Provides for: (1) use of federal property to assist the homeless; (2) preservation of HOPE VI public housing units; and (3) establishment of an Emergency Rent Relief Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a temporary ex-offender low-income housing credit. Revises assistance provisions under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, including establishing a continuum of care program. Expresses the sense of Congress respecting the need to expand Medicaid and keep it affordable to beneficiaries. Authorizes appropriations, and sets forth program provisions, for mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2005
Disabled Veterans Sports and Special Events Promotion Act of 2005 - Establishes in the Department of Veterans Affairs an Office of National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events, headed by a Director, to promote, establish, and carry out programs for the participation of disabled veterans in approved sporting and other events.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2005
Hurricane Wilma Taxpayer Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue to provide tax relief for victims of Hurricane Wilma, including by: (1) exempting retirement plan distributions for Hurricane Wilma relief made after October 23, 2005, and before January 1, 2007, from the penalty for premature retirement plan distributions. (2) allowing three-year income averaging, for income tax purposes, of retirement plan distributions for Hurricane Wilma relief; (3) allowing the recontribution of retirement plan distributions intended for home purchases that were canceled due to Hurricane Wilma; (4) allowing tax-free loans from retirement plans for Hurricane Wilma relief; (5) suspending limitations on the tax deduction for the charitable contributions of corporations for Hurricane Wilma relief; (6) increasing the standard mileage rate for the charitable use of a vehicle for Hurricane Wilma relief; (7) excluding from the gross income of charitable volunteers reimbursements for the use of automobiles to provide Hurricane Wilma relief; (8) suspending limitations on the tax deduction for personal casualty losses attributable to Hurricane Wilma; and (9) extending from two to five years the mandatory replacement period for property compulsorily or involuntarily converted due to Hurricane Wilma. Declares that any provision of this Act causing an effect on receipts, budget authority, or outlays is designated as an emergency requirement (pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 [109th Congress]).
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2005
Agriculture Hurricane Recovery Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency assistance to farm or aquacultural producers (other than sugarcane producers) in a disaster county who incurred qualifying crop or quality losses with respect to the 2004, 2005, or 2006 crop due to damaging weather or related condition. Limits: (1) assistance to only one crop year; and (2) 2006 crop losses to only those losses caused by a 2005 hurricane or tropical storm. Directs the Secretary to make emergency financial assistance to: (1) commercial ornamental nursery and fernery producers in a disaster county for eligible inventory losses due to a 2005 hurricane; (2) tropical fruit producers in a disaster county who have suffered a qualifying loss due to a 2005 hurricane; (3) citrus and vegetable producers in a disaster county for losses caused by a 2005 hurricane or tropical storm; (4) certain sugar processors in Florida and Louisiana to compensate first processors and producers for crop and other losses related to 2005 hurricanes, tropical storms, excessive rains, and floods; (5) livestock producers in a disaster county for 2005 or 2006 losses (as elected by a producer); and (6) producers in a disaster county for specified infrastructure losses caused by a 2005 hurricane. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to include nursery trees, Christmas trees, pecan trees, timber, and forest products in the tree assistance program. Waives specified cost-sharing requirements related to 2005 hurricane assistance. Amends the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to include nursery or fernery crop producers in the emergency conservation program. Provides assistance for farm producers in a disaster county for repairing structures, barns, storage facilities, poultry houses, beehives, greenhouses, and shade houses due to 2005 hurricane damage. Provides emergency grants for low-income migrant and seasonal farmworker assistance. Provides assistance for: (1) reseeding, rehabilitation, and restoration of oyster reefs in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, or Mississippi; (2) fisheries disaster assistance; and (3) lump sum payments to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida for assistance to persons in a disaster county who have experienced significant economic hardship due to the loss of fisheries, oysters, lobsters, stone crabs, or clams, destroyed or damaged processing facilities, or closures due to red tide or other water quality issues. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to timber losses resulting from Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita, or Wilma to: (1) increase allowable reforestation expenses; and (2) exempt such losses from capital loss limits.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Nursing Home Staffing Act of 2005 - Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate standards for minimum nurse staffing levels in nursing facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid payments. Reinstitutes (Boren amendment) payment methodology, providing for payment of Medicaid services through the use of rates determined pursuant to the criteria under state Medicaid plan requirements as in effect on August 1, 1997. Establishes safe harbor rates. Provides a permanent 1.5% increase of the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for a state beginning with FY 2006. Authorizes inclusion of: (1) financial accountability requirements in the survey and certification process with respect to facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid payments; and (2) professionals trained in financial accounting and auditing in the multidisciplinary survey teams of professionals under Medicare and Medicaid.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2005
Veterans Outreach Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish, maintain, and modify as necessary procedures for ensuring the effective coordination of outreach activities of the Department of Veterans Affairs between and among the Office of the Secretary, the Office of Public Affairs, the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration. Directs the Secretary to ensure that state and local outreach assistance is provided in locations that: (1) have relatively large concentrations of veterans; or (2) are experiencing growth in veteran populations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to state veterans agencies for state and local outreach services.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2005
Expresses condolences to the people and government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the tragic loss of life suffered in the crash of Bellview Airlines Flight 210 on October 22, and the tragic death of Stella Obasanjo, wife of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, at a hospital in Spain on October 23, 2005. Urges the government of the United States to provide assistance to the government of Nigeria in the investigation to determine the cause and responsibility of such crash.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to provide, beginning on October 1, 2004, and for each of the seven succeeding one-year periods, duty-free treatment for apparel items wholly assembled or knit-to-shape in Haiti (without regard to the country of origin of the fabrics, components, or yarns) if the President certifies to Congress that Haiti: (1) has established or is progressing toward specified political, economic, and social reforms; (2) does not engage in activities that undermine U.S. security or foreign policy; (3) does not engage in gross violations of human rights or activities in support of international terrorism; and (4) is meeting specified enforcement conditions aimed at preventing tariff or quota avoidance, customs evasion, unlawful transshipment, or false information or false document use in order to obtain such preferential treatment. Applies such provisions to goods entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption on or after October 1, 2004, including a retroactive application to certain warehouse entries or withdrawals made between such date and the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Reclamation. Restoration, Reconstruction and Reunion Act of 2005 - Hurricane Katrina Victim Restoration Fund of 2005 - Provides for the determination of eligibility for compensation for any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who sustained economic or noneconomic losses as a result of Hurricane Katrina so that the individual (or relatives) are restored as nearly as possible to their condition before Hurricane Katrina. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a Comprehensive Environmental Sampling and Toxicity Assessment Plan. Provides for federal and state government to notify hurricane survivors of health risks they may face upon returning to their domiciles. Provides for the offer of alternative land and/or housing as compensation to residents whose homes or businesses have been destroyed or terminally compromised. Revises the TANF Emergency Response and Recovery Act of 2005 to provide for reimbursement of states for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits provided under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to families from other states affected by Hurricane Katrina. Sets forth requirements relating to emergency extended unemployment compensation. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program of emergency health coverage continuation relief. Sets forth housing and education requirements. Displaced Citizens Voter Protection Provisions of 2005 - Prescribes requirements for the protection of voting rights of Katrina evacuees. Prescribes requirements for: (1) regulatory relief for financial services; and (2) disaster loans and small business relief. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for: (1) a tax credit for an eligible homebuyer who purchases a principal residence in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area; (2) an increase in the housing credit dollar amount; and (3) tax-exempt bonds for qualified Gulf Coast recovery projects. Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the federal bankruptcy code to exempt victims of natural disasters, including small businesses, from certain requirements for debtors seeking relief. Directs the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a temporary flood insurance buy-in program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should present, within six months, a plan to eradicate poverty in the United States by 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2005
Recognizes the need for every child to be vaccinated against polio. Urges all appropriate federal departments and agencies to immediately educate: (1) Americans about the need for polio vaccination; and (2) U.S. polio survivors and medical professionals about the cause and treatment of post-polio sequelae. Expresses support for the goals and ideals of observing the Year of Polio Awareness (the year beginning November 1, 2005).
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2005
Honors the memory of, and identifies, 2,249 members of the Armed Forces who died in service to the United States in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom as of October 25, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
School Energy Crisis Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a grants program for eligible local educational agencies that have experienced the highest percentage increase (or expenditure increase) in transportation and heating fuel costs among all local educational agencies (LEA's) in a state for a specific time period during the 2005-2006 school year, in comparison to the same time period during the 2004-2005 school year. Authorizes the use of funds for: (1) the cost of transportation or heating fuel purchased by eligible LEA's; or (2) transportation fuel purchased by entities under contract to provide transportation services to such LEA's.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the portion of tax cuts enacted in or after 2001 that benefited the wealthiest 5% of Americans should be repealed and the revenues from such repeal should be used to alleviate poverty in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of Rosa Parks and to place the statue in the Capitol in a suitable permanent location in National Statuary Hall.
![Official portrait of Rep. Brown, Corrine [D-FL-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000911_200.jpg)