United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to expand and intensify research and related activities on postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Requires the Director of NIMH to conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, such conditions. Directs the Secretary to make grants to establish, operate, and coordinate effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such conditions and their families. Allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2005 - 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 · 20 April 2005
Public Servant Retirement Protection Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to repeal the current windfall elimination provision (WEP) (that reduces the Social Security benefits of workers who also have pension benefits from employment not covered by Social Security) for individuals first performing non-covered service beginning one year after enactment of this Act. Establishes a new formula for the treatment of non-covered earnings in determining Social Security benefits. Applies such formula to individuals subject to the current WEP if the benefit under the new formula would be higher.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Sets forth an energy research and development program, including: (1) energy efficiency; (2) renewable energy; (3) oil and gas; (4) coal; (5) Indian energy; (6) nuclear matters and security; (7) vehicles and motor fuels, including ethanol; (8) hydrogen; (9) electricity; and (10) energy tax incentives. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to: (1) institute grant programs for low-income community energy efficiency and energy efficient public buildings; and (2) revise energy conservation standards for additional consumer products. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to prescribe incentive payments for renewable energy production facilities. Amends the Federal Power Act to prescribe guidelines for hydroelectric licensing proposals for alternative conditions and requirements governing project works within a federal reservation. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to make incentive payments to promote hydroelectric production. Amends the Natural Gas Act with respect to: (1) construction, expansion, or operation of liquefaction or gasification natural gas terminals; and (2) natural gas market transparency. Prescribes procedural guidelines for the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding oil and gas leasing on federal lands. United States Refinery Revitalization Act of 2005 - Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) designation of refinery revitalization zones; and (2) coordination and expeditious review of permitting process for such zones. Sets forth a Clean Coal Power Initiative campaign that includes grants to universities to establish Centers of Excellence for Energy Systems of the Future. Authorizes federal loan guarantees for designated coal gasification projects. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to prescribe implementation guidelines for a clean air coal program. Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act of 2005 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to establish the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs to promote Indian tribal energy resource development through grants and loans. Prescribes guidelines for energy efficiency in federally assisted housing on Indian lands. Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2005 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to modify and extend indemnification authority and liability limits for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensees and Department of Energy (DOE) contractors. Prohibits assumption by the U.S. Government of liability for certain foreign incidents. Directs the NRC to establish a training and fellowship program for individuals with critical nuclear safety regulatory skills. Revises requirements for: (1) uranium sales; (2) special demonstration projects for the uranium mining industry; (3) whistleblower protection requirements; (4) medical isotope production; (5) uranium enrichment facilities; and (6) the national uranium stockpile. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish an Advanced Reactor Hydrogen Co-Generation Project. Provides for disposal of: (1) Fernald uranium processing facility byproduct material; and (2) greater-than-class C radioactive waste. Establishes programs to promote: (1) hybrid vehicles; (2) hybrid retrofit and electric conversion technologies for combustion engine vehicles; and (3) alternative fuels for dual-fueled vehicles. Sets forth implementation guidelines for pilot programs that target: (1) alternative fueled vehicles; (2) fuel cell buses and alternative fuel and altra-low sulfur diesel fuel (clean) school buses; (3) advanced vehicles; and (4) hybrid vehicles. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to conduct programs that address: (1) production of hydrogen from diverse energy sources; and (2) solar and wind technologies. Directs the Secretary to conduct: (1) a secondary electric vehicle battery use program; and (2) a Next Generation Lighting Initiative. Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement initiatives regarding: (1) energy efficiency; (2) distributed energy and electric energy systems; (3) renewable energy; (4) nuclear energy; (5) fossil energy; (6) ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas, and other petroleum resources; (7) energy sciences; (8) energy and environment; (9) United States-Israel cooperation; and (10) Department of Energy management. Electric Reliability Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Power Act to grant Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulatory jurisdiction over an Electric Reliability Organization. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to: (1) require electric utilities to make net metering and smart metering available upon consumer request; and (2) terminate mandatory purchase and sale requirements pertaining to cogeneration and small power production utilities. Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 - Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Amends the Federal Power Act to: (1) direct FERC to promulgate market transparency rules governing wholesale electric energy and transmission services; and (2) prohibit round trip trading. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue rules that prohibit in the absence of consumer consent: (1) the change of selection of an electric utility ("slamming"); and (2) the sale of goods and services to an electric consumer ("cramming"). Revises Federal Power Act requirements for electric utility mergers. Directs FERC to convene a joint board to study the issue of security constrained economic dispatch for a market region. Retains the effect of Department of Energy Order No. 202-03-2 (August 28, 2003) regarding transmission security. Extends the attainment date for certain downwind ozone nonattainment areas. Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (Administrator) to promulgate regulations ensuring that domestic motor vehicle fuel consumption includes renewable fuel containing ethanol. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make grants to provide assistance to merchant producers of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in making the transition from producing MTBE to producing iso-octane, iso-octene, alkylates, or renewable fuels. Prohibits the use of MTBE in motor vehicle fuel by December 31, 2014, in any state that does not specifically authorize it. Authorizes the President to determine by June 30, 2014, that this prohibition against the use of MTBE in motor vehicle fuel shall not take place and that the legal authority to prohibit its use in motor vehicle fuel shall become null and void. Eliminates the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline. Conditions the Administrator's approval of state fuel restrictions upon a finding that they will neither cause fuel supply or distribution interruptions nor have a significant adverse impact on fuel producibility. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to: (1) make loan guarantees for private sector construction of facilities for the processing and conversion of municipal solid waste and cellulosic biomass into fuel ethanol and other commercial byproducts; and (2) provide grants for construction of ethanol production facilities. Underground Storage Tank Compliance Act of 2005 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator to distribute specified fund percentages from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to states to pay costs for regulation of underground storage tanks (USTs). Amends the Clean Air Act to cite conditions under which the Administrator may waive the prohibition against the use of extreme and unusual fuel or fuel additive supplies ("boutique fuels").
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Consumer Rental Purchase Agreement Act - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prescribe consumer protection guidelines for rental-purchase transactions, including: (1) the determination of rental-purchase cost; (2) disclosure requirements; (3) prohibitions against confessions of judgment, wage assignments, and waiver of consumer claims or defenses; (4) furnishing of statements of account; (5) point-of-rental disclosures; and (6) rental-purchase advertising disclosures. Establishes civil and criminal liability for violations of this Act. Grants enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission and to state attorneys general.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Simplify Tax Filing for Seniors Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make available a new Federal income tax Form 1040S (similar to Form 1040EZ) to individuals who have turned 65 as of the close of the taxable year. Allows the form to be used even if income includes: (1) social security benefits; (2) distributions from qualified retirement plans, annuities, or other such deferred payment arrangements; (3) interest and dividends; or (4) capital gains and losses.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) so long as all of the active members of such clubs are full-time students at the college or university with which such clubs are associated. Defines "collegiate housing and infrastructure grants" to include grants to provide, improve, operate, or maintain collegiate housing.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Recognizes the University of Pittsburgh on the fiftieth anniversary of the milestone discovery of the Salk polio vaccine, and the pioneering achievement of Dr. Jonas Salk and his University research team in the vaccine's development. States the appreciation of the House of Representatives to: (1) the University of Pittsburgh for the elimination of a disease that caused countless deaths and disabling consequences; (2) the members of Dr. Salk's research team; (3) the individuals, a majority of whom were Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, residents, who generously agreed to participate in the vaccine clinical trials; and (4) the family members of Dr. Salk for their participation in medical history.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Jessica Lunsford Act - Amends the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act to direct that State procedures include a process under which the State mails a nonforwardable verification form at least twice a year to the last known address of the person required to register as a sexually violent offender, to be returned within ten days after receipt, with failure to return the form within the period allowed punishable in the same manner as a failure to register. Requires a State prison officer, the court, or another responsible officer or official, if a person required to register is released from prison or placed on parole, supervised release, or probation, to: (1) notify the agency responsible for supervising the person that such person is required to register; and (2) provide that agency with the registration information relating to that person. Provides that a person required to register who has two or more convictions for failing to register or failing to keep such registration current shall, upon release from imprisonment, be required to wear a location-transmitting device (such as an anklet) at all times for not less than five years (ten years if the person is a sexually violent predator). Requires the State to frequently monitor the information transmitted. Sets forth provisions regarding compliance dates and loss of Federal funding for failure to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent maximum tax rate on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from this repeal.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Firearm Commerce Modernization Act - Amends Federal firearms provisions to permit a licensed importer, manufacturer, dealer, or collector to: (1) sell or deliver a firearm (currently, a rifle or shotgun) to a resident of a State other than a State in which the licensee's place of business is located or temporarily located if the transferee meets in person with the transferor to accomplish the transfer; and (2) conduct business temporarily at any gun show or event sponsored by any national, State, or local organization, or any affiliate devoted to the collection, competitive use, or other sporting use of firearms (currently, only at such a location in the State specified on the person's license). Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to diminish the right of a licensee to conduct firearms transfers (currently, "curios or relics" firearms transfers) with another licensee away from the transferor's business premises.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
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 · 17 March 2005
Integrated Water Resources Management Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to include as a primary mission of the Army Corps of Engineers the provision of technical services and assistance to support planning, conservation, and responsible integrated management of water resources by State, tribal, interstate water resources organizations, and local governments. Amends the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 1974 to authorize: (1) the Secretary, at the request of a governmental agency or non-Federal interest, to provide technical assistance in managing water resources; and (2) the non-Federal contribution for preparation of a plan subject to the cost-sharing program to be made by the provision of services, materials, supplies, or other in-kind services. Amends the WRDA of 1986 to set the non-Federal share of the costs of a watershed and river basin assessment on or after December 11, 2000, at 25 percent. Authorizes the Secretary to allow a non-Federal interest credit toward its share of the costs for certain projects or studies. Directs the Secretary to undertake: (1) measures to more effectively meet the current water resources needs of the areas impacted by Corps reservoirs; and (2) a program to provide public access to water resources and related water quality data. Modifies provisions under the Flood Control Act of 1970 and the WRDA of 1986 regarding partnership agreements for water resources projects. Directs the Secretary to establish a program to provide environmental assistance to non-Federal interests in Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any person or entity, in or affecting interstate commerce, from knowingly: (1) performing or attempting to perform human cloning; (2) participating in such an attempt; (3) shipping or receiving an embryo produced by human cloning or any product derived from such embryo; or (4) importing such an embryo or derived product. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties. Provides that nothing in this Act restricts areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited above, including research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques to produce molecules, DNA, cells other than human embryos, tissues, organs, plants, or animals other than humans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Child Predator Act of 2005 - Amends the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act to: (1) expand the definition of "criminal offense against a victim who is a minor" to include every offense, whether Federal, State, local, tribal, foreign, or otherwise, that involves one or more of specified characteristics (such as kidnapping or sexual conduct), when committed against a minor; and (2) define "child predator" as a person who is convicted of such an offense that is sexual in nature, where the minor is age 13 or younger. Directs that State procedures require a child predator to: (1) report a change of residence within ten days; and (2) notify appropriate entities within that person's community, including schools, public housing, at least two media outlets, and law enforcement. Sets penalties of up to two years' imprisonment, a fine, or both, for violations. Requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to disclose to the public, on a free-access Internet site, all information collected regarding each child predator, including a recent photograph. Requires the site to: (1) include a feature under which a member of the public can specify an address and be provided with registration information of all such predators within a radius of that address, as well as other searching and sorting capabilities; and (2) display the information in a manner that clearly indicates that the person is a child predator, along with the statutory definition of that term.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Kidney Care Quality and Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) grant full coverage of dialysis access procedures in the ambulatory surgical center setting for individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Hospital Insurance); and (2) structure the relative value units applicable to physicians' services for vascular access procedures to encourage clinically appropriate placement of natural vascular access for dialysis patients. Directs the Secretary to establish demonstration projects for an outcomes-based ESRD financial incentives reimbursement system to evaluate methods that improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the: (1) establishment of annual update framework for the Medicare end stage renal disease composite rate; and (2) extension of Medicare as secondary payer. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of the temporary codes (G-codes) for nephrologists' services applicable under the Medicare fee schedule for physician's services. Requires the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about chronic kidney disease; (2) enhance surveillance systems and expand chronic kidney disease research; and (3) enable individuals with ESRD to develop self-management skills. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; (2) provide for appropriate incentives to improve the Medicare home dialysis benefit; (3) 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 under Medicare; and (4) establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Community Health Center Volunteer Physician Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem volunteer practitioners at health centers as employees of the Public Health Service for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to providing services to patients at such health centers. Defines "volunteer practitioner" as a licensed physician who: (1) at the request of the entity, provides services to patients of a public or nonprofit entity receiving Federal funds for serving medically underserved areas; (2) provides such service at a site at which the entity operates or at a site designated by the entity; and (3) does not receive any compensation for the provision of services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
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 · 10 March 2005
Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005 or Johanna's Law - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecologic cancers, which shall include: (1) maintaining a supply of written materials to provide information to the public on gynecologic cancers; and (2) developing and placing public service announcements to encourage women to discuss their risks of gynecologic cancers with their physicians. Requires the Secretary to award grants to nonprofit private entities to test different outreach and education strategies for increasing such awareness among women and health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
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 collectively to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide for reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms in different States by persons who are not prohibited by Federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm and who are: (1) carrying a valid State license or permit for carrying a concealed firearm; or (2) otherwise entitled to carry a concealed firearm in their State of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to make Alzheimer's disease research a priority within the National Institute on Aging. Requires the Director of the Institute to: (1) undertake an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative to accelerate the discovery of new risk and protective factors, to rapidly identify therapies and preventive interventions, and to implement effective prevention and treatment strategies; (2) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's; and (3) conduct research concerning early detection and diagnosis, the relationship between Alzheimer's and vascular disease, and interventions designed to help caregivers. Authorizes the Director to establish a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to facilitate collaboration among Alzheimer's Disease Centers and Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to educate the public and public health community regarding Alzheimer's disease. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop coordinated respite care programs on a statewide basis. Defines "respite care" to mean planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with a special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of such child or adult. Directs the Secretary to award a grant or cooperative agreement to a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Children's Hospitals Education Equity and Research (CHEER) Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments through FY 2010 (currently, through FY 2005) to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs. Excludes reductions for unused resident positions when calculating the number of full-time residents in a children's hospital's approved training program for purposes of reimbursing direct expenses. Requires the Secretary to adjust the proportion of such a hospital's costs attributable to wages for differences in hospital wage levels by geographic area. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2010 for direct and indirect expenses associated with operating such programs. Requires that funds appropriated for such programs for a fiscal year remain available for obligation through the end of the succeeding fiscal year. Limits the ability to recoup funds unless a demand for recoupment is made by the end of the fiscal year. Sets forth an appeals procedure and limitations on retroactivity for decisions affecting the amount of payments to a hospital for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to provide public access to, use of, and recreational opportunities at the Navassa National Wildlife Refuge and Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge pursuant to special use permits issued under the Refuge Recreation Act, the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, and regulations issued under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to limit access to such refuges to specified time periods but requires access to each refuge during at least one period each year. Directs the Secretary, in issuing special use permits under this Act, to give priority to permit applications that do not negatively impact opportunities for wildlife-dependent recreation. Authorizes the Secretary to include in any permit issued under this Act conditions that the Secretary determines are necessary to protect fish and wildlife populations or habitat or public health and safety.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Alternative Minimum Tax Repeal Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the alternative minimum tax for individual and corporate taxpayers .
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Social Security Number Protection Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to make it unlawful for any person to sell or purchase a Social Security number in a manner that violates a regulation promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), except in certain circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 151 West End Street in Goliad, Texas, as the "Judge Emilio Vargas Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Osteoporosis Education and Prevention Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national campaign to increase awareness and knowledge with respect to osteoporosis. Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Aging to make demonstration program grants to public and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions to provide information and outreach for the prevention of osteoporosis.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Reforming, Accelerating, and Protection Interstate Design Act - Amends Federal highway law to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations authorizing a State transportation department or local transportation agency to award a design-build contract (for both design and construction) for a Federal-aid highway project using a procurement process permitted under applicable State and local law if certain environmental requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop and implement a process for the expedited environmental review and approval of safety emergency highway construction or maintenance projects that correct or improve hazardous locations on a highway. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations that: (1) allow the use of the process for any project correcting or improving hazardous locations on a highway within a State where the motor vehicle accident rate is at least 50 percent higher than the statewide average for similar classes of highways, if the project only includes roadway safety improvements that have a high potential to reduce the number of motor vehicle accidents; and (2) establish criteria for approving deviations from procedures established in regulations issued by the Secretary implementing the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Requires each Federal agency that has jurisdiction over environmental issues that may be affected by such a project and the analysis of which would be part of any environmental document required by NEPA, or that may be required by Federal law to independently conduct an environmental review or analysis for such project, determine whether to issue a permit, license, or approval of the project, or render an opinion or recommendation on the project's environmental impact, to issue regulations providing for the expedited processing of, and approval of deviations for, the project. Exempts a Federal agency approving such a deviation from the requirement to consult with the Council on Environmental Quality.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Freedom Flat Tax Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize an individual or a person engaged in business activity to make an irrevocable election to be subject to a flat tax (in lieu of the existing tax provisions) of 19 percent for the first two years after an election is made, and 17 percent thereafter. Calculates taxable income for individual taxpayers by subtracting a basic standard deduction and an additional standard deduction for each dependent from the total of wages, retirement distributions, and unemployment compensation. Defines "business taxable income" to mean gross active income reduced by the cost of certain business inputs. Imposes an employer tax on the value of excludable compensation provided to employees not engaged in business activity of 19 percent for the first two years after an election is made under this Act and 17 percent thereafter. Repeals the estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Requires a two-thirds vote of the House of Representatives or the Senate to increase the flat tax rate proposed by this Act or to reduce the amount of the standard deduction or business-related deductions allowed by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 301 South Heatherwilde Boulevard in Pflugerville, Texas, as the "Sergeant Byron W. Norwood Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for: (1) an employer to recognize or bargain collectively with a labor organization that has not been selected by a majority of the employees in a secret ballot election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board; and (2) a labor organization to cause or attempt to cause an employer to recognize or bargain collectively with a representative that has not been selected in such manner.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Provides for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Tiger Woods in recognition of his service to the Nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship and in breaking barriers with grace and dignity by showing that golf is a sport for all people.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act of 2005 - 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 · 17 February 2005
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 - Declares that the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, which terminate its application to estates of decedents dying, gifts made, or generation skipping transfers, after December 31, 2010, shall not in fact apply to title V of such Act, which repeals estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes. (Thus makes the repeal of such taxes permanent.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Federal Government should urge the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the strongest possible terms not to enact into law the so-called “anti-secession” legislation or any other legislation that threatens Taiwan or in any way jeopardizes peace between China and Taiwan, continue to encourage a regional high-level dialogue on the best means to ensure stability, peace, freedom of the seas, and deterrence in East Asia, and reaffirm its unwavering commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act as the cornerstone of U.S. relations with Taiwan; (2) the President should seek from the PRC leaders an immediate and unequivocal public renunciation of any threat or use of force against Taiwan, encourage further dialogue between democratic Taiwan and the PRC, direct all appropriate Federal officials to raise these concerns with the appropriate PRC officials, and seek a public, immediate, and unequivocal renunciation from the PRC leaders of any threat or use of force against Taiwan; and (3) Taiwan's future should be determined peacefully and with the express consent of its people.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2005
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act - Prohibits a qualified civil liability action from being brought in any state or federal court against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm, ammunition, or a component of a firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce (or against a trade association of such manufacturers or sellers) for damages, punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, or penalties, or other relief, resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Requires pending actions to be dismissed. Excludes actions: (1) brought against a person who has been convicted of transferring a firearm knowing that it would be used to commit a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, by a party directly harmed by such crime; (2) brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence per se; (3) in which a manufacturer or seller of a firearm knowingly violated a state or federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing of the firearm, if the violation was a proximate cause of the harm for which relief is sought; (4) for breach of contract or warranty in connection with the purchase of the firearm; or (5) for death, physical injuries, or property damage resulting directly from a defect in design or manufacture of the firearm when used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable manner, except that if the discharge was caused by a volitional act that constituted a criminal offense, such act shall be considered the sole proximate cause of any resulting death, personal injury, or property damage.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2005
Citizenship Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit automatic citizenship at birth to a child born in the United States who: (1) was born in wedlock to a parent either of whom is a U.S. citizen or national, or is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence who maintains such residence; or (2) was born out of wedlock to a mother who is a U.S. citizen or national, or is an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence who maintains such residence. Defines "born in wedlock" to exclude common law marriages.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Personal Responsibility in Food Consumption Act - Prohibits new and dismisses pending civil actions by any person against a manufacturer or seller of food or a trade association for any injury resulting from a person's consumption of food and weight gain, obesity, or any associated health condition, excluding actions alleging: (1) a knowing and willful violation of a Federal or State statute applicable to the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, advertisement, labeling, or sale of food where the violation was a proximate cause of injury related to a person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; (2) a breach of express contract or express warranty in connection with the purchase of food; or (3) a violation under the Federal Trade Commission Act or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Requires, in any action alleging such a violation of an applicable Federal or State statute or a breach of express contract or express warranty: (1) a stay of discovery during the pendency of any motion to dismiss, unless necessary to preserve evidence or to prevent undue prejudice; and (2) document preservation during the stay. Requires the complaint in an action alleging such a violation of an applicable statute to plead with particularity the Federal and State statutes that were allegedly violated and the facts that are alleged to have proximately caused the injury claimed.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
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. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the monthly part B premium (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) with respect to: (1) an individual who is entitled to military retired or retainer pay based upon service that began before December 7, 1956; and (2) the spouse, widow, or widower of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for establishment and governance of association health plans (AHPs), which are group health plans whose sponsors are trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce, or similar business associations, and which meet certain ERISA certification requirements. (Thus, through ERISA preemption of State laws, certified AHPs are exempted from State regulation of health insurance providers, including State consumer protection laws and State requirements for health care benefits to be offered by such entities, with certain exceptions.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to enter into contracts with qualified cord blood stem cell banks to assist in establishing and maintaining a National Network of Cord Blood Stem Cell Banks to: (1) acquire, tissue type, test, cryopreserve, and store donated units of human cord blood acquired with the informed consent of the donor; (2) make cord blood units available to transplant centers for stem cell transplantations; and (3) allocate up to 10 percent of the cord blood inventory each year for peer-reviewed research. Requires the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a Board of Directors to administer the Network. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to establish as part of the Network a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Registry to: (1) operate a system for identifying, acquiring, and distributing donated units of cord blood; (2) provide health care professionals with the ability to search the registry for suitable matches for patients; and (3) maintain a database to document the collection, storage, distribution, and transplantation of cord blood units and the clinical outcomes of Network transplantations. Requires the Administrator to report to the Secretary regarding the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of the clinical, research, and education activities of the Network. Requires the Board to ensure that: (1) the Network donor banks meet confidentiality and privacy requirements; and (2) the Network and their birthing hospital collection sites are geographically distributed throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support State comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of Federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current Federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to specify the calculation of contingent and other attorney's fees in proposed class action settlements that provide for the award of coupons to class members. Prohibits a Federal district court from approving: (1) a proposed coupon settlement absent a finding that the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) a proposed settlement involving payments to class counsel that would result in a net monetary loss to class members, absent a finding that the loss is substantially outweighed by nonmonetary benefits; (3) a proposed settlement that provides greater sums to some class members solely because they are closer geographically to the court; or (4) a proposed settlement that provides for the payment of a greater share of the award to a class representative versus other class members. Grants district courts original jurisdiction of any civil action in which the matter in controversy exceeds $5 million, exclusive of interest and costs, and that is between citizens of different States or between citizens of a State and a foreign State or its citizens or subjects. Lists those factors pursuant to which a district court may decline to exercise jurisdiction over a class action. Sets forth provisions governing the removal of interstate class actions to Federal district court and the review on appeal of remand orders. Grants the Federal courts of appeals jurisdiction to hear appeals of class action certification orders if notice of appeal is filed within 10 days of entry of such an order. Requires discovery and other proceedings to be stayed during the pendency of an appeal unless the court finds that specific discovery is necessary to preserve evidence or to prevent undue prejudice.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Permanent Sales Tax Deduction Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make provisions authorizing a taxpayer election to deduct State and local sales taxes in lieu of State and local income taxes permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Declares the sense of the Congress that music education grounded in rigorous instruction is an important component of a well-rounded academic curriculum and should be available to every student in every school. Recognizes NAMM, the International Music Products Association, for its efforts to emphasize the importance of school music programs in the academic and social development of children.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
Natural Gas Production Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to qualify an onshore well from a formation more than 15,000 feet deep for the tax credit for producing fuel from a nonconventional source.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
National Right-to-Work Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act and the Railway Labor Act to repeal those provisions that permit employers, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement that is a union security agreement, to require employees to join a union as a condition of employment (including provisions permitting railroad carriers to require, pursuant to such an agreement, payroll deduction of union dues or fees as a condition of employment).
![Official portrait of Rep. Burgess, Michael C. [R-TX-26]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b001248_200.jpg)