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United States · Official source
3,230 records where Rep. Butterfield, G. K. [D-NC-1] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to define outpatient speech-language pathology services.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Recognizes that prostate cancer has created a health crisis for African American men. Urges federal agencies to designate additional funds for research and education, awareness, and early detection efforts at the grassroots levels to end such crisis.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp honoring Rosa Louise McCauley Parks should be issued; (2) the provision requiring that an honoree must have died at least 10 years before this honor should be waived; and (3) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Supports the goals and ideals of a National Suffragists Day to promote awareness of the women suffragists who worked for the right of U.S. women to vote.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states and Indian tribes for colorectal cancer programs that include: (1) providing colorectal cancer screening to individuals who are over 50 years of age or at high risk for such cancer; (2) providing case management and referrals for medical treatment; (3) ensuring the full continuum of follow up and cancer care for individuals screened; (4) carrying out activities to improve the education, training, and skills of health professionals in the detection and control of colorectal cancer; and (5) developing and disseminating public information and education programs for the detection and control of colorectal cancer and promoting the benefits of receiving screenings through this program. Gives priority to low-income individuals who lack adequate coverage under health insurance and health plans with respect to screenings for colorectal cancer. Allows the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance with respect to the planning, development, and operation of programs funded by a grant under this Act. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow states to provide medical assistance to individuals who have been screened for colorectal cancer under this Act and who need treatment for complications due to screening or colorectal cancer. Applies provisions related to breast and cervical cancer programs to programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Safe Drinking Water for Healthy Communities Act of 2007 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for perchlorate.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to permit the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): (1) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate NIH activities on paralysis research; (2) to award grants to plan, establish, improve, and provide basic operating support for Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia; (3) to educate and disseminate information and receive public comment on NIH programs and research regarding paralysis; (4) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research, to expand and coordinate NIH research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis; and (5) to make grants to plan, establish, improve, and provide basic operating support for multicenter clinical trial networks to design clinical rehabilitation intervention protocols and measures of outcomes on paralysis. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to study the health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities and carry out projects and interventions to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. Permits the Secretary to award grants for activities related to paralysis, including to: (1) establish paralysis registries; and (2) disseminate information to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Trade Adjustment Assistance Reform Act - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to repeal group eligibility requirements for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) that: (1) the country to which the workers' firm has shifted production of the articles be a party to a free trade agreement with the United States; or (2) such country be a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Preference Act, African Growth and Opportunity Act, or the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act. Requires the Secretary of Labor, with respect to textile and apparel workers, to make group eligibility determinations without regard to the sales, imports, and production factors of the group eligibility requirements. Requires funds provided to a state to cover the administrative costs associated with its TAA responsibilities to be sufficient to cover all costs associated with operating the program, including caseworker costs. Increases the amount of payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the credit for health insurance costs of certain TAA and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients. Requires the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Labor each to carry out compatible and coordinated programs to simplify the TAA and credit eligibility process.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property. Makes this Act applicable to property placed in service after April 11, 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Declares that the United States Postal Service (USPS) should discontinue the practice of contracting out mail delivery services.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Pool and Spa Safety Act - Requires each swimming pool or spa drain cover manufactured, distributed, or entered into commerce in the United States to conform to specified ASME/ANSI entrapment protection standards. Considers that requirement to be a consumer product safety rule issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) under certain provisions of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Establishes a program of grants to states to: (1) hire and train enforcement personnel; and (2) educate pool construction, installation, and service companies, pool owners and operators, and other members of the public. Conditions grants on a state imposing certain requirements by statute, including: (1) enclosure of residential pools and spas to prevent small children from gaining unsupervised access; and (2) drain entrapment prevention devices and systems on all pools and spas. Requires the CPSC to establish and carry out a public education program on methods to prevent drowning and entrapment in pools and spas. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits denying or abridging equality of rights under the law by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
All Healthy Children Act of 2007 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish under a new title XXII (All Healthy Children Program) a state-operated program receiving federal financial assistance to provide comprehensive health coverage for children and pregnant and postpartum women in place of benefits previously provided for them under SSA titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP). Establishes a Commission on Children's Health Coverage to: (1) evaluate annually for Congress the status of children's health coverage in the United States; and (2) report to Congress a legislative proposal that would assure health benefits coverage for all U.S. children. Provides for expedited congressional consideration of such proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
National Liberty Memorial Act - Authorizes the National Mall Liberty Fund D.C. (previously, the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation) to establish a memorial on specified federal land in the District of Columbia to honor the slaves and free persons who served as soldiers and sailors or provided civilian assistance during the American Revolution and to honor the men, women, and children who ran away from slavery or filed petitions with courts and legislatures seeking their freedom. Requires the National Mall Liberty Fund D.C. to establish the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Recognizes the historical significance of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade to the world. Respects the memory of those who died as a result of slavery, including through exposure to the horrors of the Middle Passage and in resistance to enslavement.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Railroad Antitrust Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the Clayton Act to grant the United States exclusive authority to bring suit for injunctive relief against a common carrier that is not a rail common carrier subject to the jurisdiction the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Revises provisions prohibiting anticompetitive transactions except for those approved by specified federal agencies acting under certain statutes to eliminate the exemption for certain STB approved transactions. Provides that, in any civil action against a rail common carrier, the U.S. district court shall not be required to defer to the primary jurisdiction of the STB. Empowers the Federal Trade Commission to regulate, and engage in antitrust enforcement regarding, collective rate agreements and certain transactions, including railroad mergers and acquisitions. Applies to rail common carriers subject to STB jurisdiction requirements governing the amount of recovery or prejudgment interest (treble damages) by injured persons, without regard to whether: (1) such railroads have filed rates; or (2) a complaint has been filed that challenges a rate. Amends federal transportation law to terminate the exemptions from antitrust laws for collective ratemaking agreements. Requires the STB, and other reviewing agencies, when reviewing a proposed agreement, to take into account its impact upon shippers, consumers, and affected communities. Revises STB authority to provide that a rail carrier, corporation, or a person participating in an approved transaction is not exempt from specified antitrust laws.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2007
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to authorize appropriations through FY2012 for the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. Specifies Commodity Credit Corporation fund amounts to be used for the Program in each of FY2008-FY2012. Makes the Secretary of Agriculture responsible for specified program administration provisions currently delegated to the President.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in recognition of Constantino Brumidi's contributions to the Nation as a designer and decorator of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to arrange for the gold medal to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Constantino Brumidi.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act - Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the people of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make specified payments to: (1) living Guam residents who were raped, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; and (2) survivors of compensable residents who died in war or survivors of compensable injured residents (such payments to be made after payments have been made to surviving Guam residents). Defines "compensable Guam decedent" and "compensable Guam victim." Directs the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to specify injuries that would constitute a severe personal injury or a personal injury. Authorizes the Commission to adjudicate claims and determine payment eligibility. Requires: (1) claims to be filed within one year after the Commission publishes public notice of the filing period in the Federal Register; and (2) the Commission to make filing period information available to the public through the media in Guam. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish a grant program for research, educational, and media activities that memorialize the events surrounding the occupation of Guam during World War II or honor the loyalty of the people of Guam during such occupation, or both.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable amount of the railroad track maintenance tax credit; (2) extend such credit through 2010; and (3) allow such credit against alternative minimum tax liabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act or EAT Healthy America Act - Amends provisions with respect to: (1) specialty crops; (2) the tree assistance program; (3) the conservation reserve program; (4) the wetlands reserve program; (5) the farmland protection program; (6) the grassland reserve program; (7) the wildlife habitat incentive program; (8) the environmental qualities incentives program; (9) air quality improvement; (10) integrated pest management initiative; (11) the conservation loan guarantee program; (12) agricultural trade; (13) invasive pests and diseases; (14) nutrition; (15) agricultural research; (16) renewable energy, including crop biomass waste; and (17) farm labor housing.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce from $18 to $9 (its pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Prescription Coverage Now Act of 2007 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Service to provide for an expedited process for the qualification for low-income assistance through a request to the Secretary of the Treasury for tax return and other information sufficient to identify: (1) whether the individual involved is likely eligible for subsidies; and (2) the amount of premium and cost-sharing subsidies for which they would qualify based on such information. Provides for modification of resource standards for determination of eligibility for low-income subsidy and revision of income and asset rules. Requires indexing of deductibles and cost-sharing above the annual out-of-pocket threshold for individuals with income below 150% of the poverty line. Requires screening by the Commissioner of Social Security for eligibility under Medicare savings programs. Creates a special enrollment period for subsidy eligible individuals. Waives the late enrollment penalty for subsidy eligible individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Mercury Export Ban Act of 2007 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to: (1) prohibit any federal agency from conveying, selling, or distributing to any other federal, state, or local agency, or any private individual or entity, any elemental mercury under the control or jurisdication of such agency; (2) prohibit the export of elemental mercury from the United States effective January 1, 2010; (3) require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to report to Congress on mercury compounds that may currently be used in products or processes; and (4) establish the Excess Mercury Storage Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Children's Health First Act - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)) of the Social Security Act to grant states the option to expand coverage of children whose family income is any percentage up to 400% of the poverty-line. Authorizes states to offer purchase of coverage for uncovered children under SCHIP who are not otherwise eligible for assistance under SCHIP or Medicaid. Provides subsidies for employment-based coverage of children eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid. Requires coverage of early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services, including dental services, federally-qualified health services, and rural health clinic services. Establishes the Medicaid-SCHIP Payment Advisory Commission. Provides for an increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for medical assistance for children for states that expand coverage of children. Outlines state options for additional coverage expansions, including older children under Medicaid, targeted low-income pregnant women under SCHIP, and legal immigrants under both programs. Establishes new base SCHIP allotments responsive to increases in health care costs and enrollment expansions. Provides for a two-year initial availability of SCHIP allotments, and for redistribution of unused allotments to address state funding shortfalls. Prescribes a special rule for school-based outreach and enrollment activities. Gives states the option to require certain individuals to present satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality for Medicaid eligibility. Gives states the option to provide for "express lane" and simplified determinations of a child's financial eligibility for Medicaid or SCHIP. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate a model process for the coordination of Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment and coverage of children who frequently change their state of residency or are temporarily outside such state. Requires a state Medicaid plan to apply outreach procedures to all pregnant women and children.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Honors the work of U.S. Attorneys and thanks David Iglesias, Daniel Bogden, Paul Charlton, Harry E. Cummins, III, Carol Lam, John McKay, Margaret Chiara, and Kevin Ryan for their service and contributions to the legal system.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Fuel Economy Reform Act - Amends federal transportation law to: (1) revise the definition of automobile to require including all automobiles up to 10,000 pounds (currently, not all automobiles up to 10,000 pounds are required to be included in the definition); and (2) continue applying the current minimum corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for non-passenger and passenger automobiles to automobiles manufactured through model year 2011, but, for passenger automobiles, adds an increase of 4% per year in such standard for model years 2009 through 2011. Requires an average fuel economy standard of 27.5 miles per gallon for automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for model year 2012, and an average fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon for automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for model year 2018, with a minimum increase of 4% in the average fuel economy from the level for the prior model year for model year 2013 and beyond, with specified exceptions from the 4% increase permitted. Prohibits this Act from being construed to limit, supercede, or expand the Secretary of Transportation's authority under federal transportation law to prescribe motor vehicle safety standards to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries due to such accidents.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Expresses support for the designation of National Brain Injury Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Anthony DeJuan Boatwright Act - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require a state to include as part of its regulatory process for issuance and renewal of licenses to providers of child care services, a recommendation to each provider that it carry current liability insurance. Requires state plans for the use of child care and development block grant funds to certify that there are in effect state or local health and safety requirements that each child care provider: (1) post publicly and conspicuously in the service area of its premises a notice specifying whether it carries current liability insurance; and (2) give written notice to parents about whether it carries such insurance, obtain the signature of at least one parent per child acknowledging receipt of such notice, and maintain records of such signed notice while a child receives services and for one year thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Fair and Speedy Treatment (FAST) of Medicare Prescription Drug Claims Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require prompt payment of clean claims to pharmacies by prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD Plans). Defines "prompt payment" as within 14 calendar days from submission for claims submitted electronically, and within 30 calendar days for claims submitted otherwise. Requires payment of interest, also, if a payment is not issued, mailed, or otherwise transmitted within the applicable number of calendar days. Makes it unlawful for a PDP sponsor to display on any explanatory prescription drug information and enrollee cards the name, brand, or trademark (co-branding) of any pharmacy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to revise the classification criterion used to determine whether a hospital or hospital unit is an inpatient rehabilitation facility under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Eliminates the current schedule of applicable percentages. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, instead, to require in the classification criterion a compliance rate no greater than the 60% compliance rate that became effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2006. Requires the Secretary, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2008, to include patients with comorbidity in the inpatient population that counts towards such 60% compliance rate. Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Medicare fiscal intermediaries, Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, and other government agents to use and apply the criteria established in HCFA Ruling 85-2, as issued on July 31, 1985, as the sole standard for determining the medical necessity of servivces provided by inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units to Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees: (1) an examination of the impact of the 75% rule on the Medicare program, and specifically on Medicare beneficiaries; and (2) alternatives to the 75% rule policy for determining exclusion criteria for inpatient rehabilitation hospital and unit designation under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Men's Health Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) the Office of Men's Health. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Office, to: (1) conduct or support programs and activities to improve the state of men's health; and (2) provide for consultation among HHS offices and agencies to coordinate programs and activities relating to men's health.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Agricultural Protection and Prosperity Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to: (1) include the definition of "manure"; and (2) exclude manure from the meaning of "hazardous substance" or "pollutant or contaminant" under that Act. Provides that such exclusion shall not: (1) impose liability under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 with respect to manure; (2) affect any provision of the Air Quality Agreement entered into between the Administrator and operators of animal feeding operations; or (3) affect the applicability of any other environmental law as it relates to the definition of manure or the responsibilities or liabilities of any person regarding the treatment, storage, or disposal of manure. Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to exempt releases associated with manure (as defined under CERCLA) from the emergency notification requirements under that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
States that the President shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, an individual to serve as the Director of the American Institute in Taiwan.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey; (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity; and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for health centers to meet the health care needs of medically underserved populations.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2007
Medicare Advanced Laboratory Diagnostics Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to: (1) correction of erroneous determinations and other changes in fee schedule and national limitation amounts for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; (2) issuance of regulations on gap-filling methodology in determining the Medicare fee schedule for such tests; (3) increased transparency of the process for determining fee schedule amounts for new tests; and (4) mandatory advance notice of clinical diagnostic laboratory test amounts being considered for adjustment under inherent reasonableness authority. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a demonstration project to evaluate new approaches to coding and payment under the Medicare program for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests; and (2) appoint a standing panel to determine tests to be included in the project and make recommendations derived from project results to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2007 - 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 · 1 March 2007
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to make it unlawful for anyone, within 60 days before a federal election, to knowingly communicate, or attempt to communicate, false election-related information about that election, with the intent to prevent another person from exercising the right to vote. Increases the penalty for intimidation of voters. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of any offense under this Act. Authorizes any person to report to the Attorney General false election information or intimidation of voters. Requires the Attorney General, immediately after receiving such a report, to consider and review it and, if there is a reasonable basis to find that a violation has occurred, to: (1) undertake all effective measures necessary to provide correct information to voters affected by the false information; (2) refer any pertinent matter to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for prosecution; and (3) refer the matter to the appropriate federal and state authorities for criminal prosecution or civil action after the election. Directs the Attorney General to study the feasibility of providing such corrective information through public service announcements, the emergency alert system, or other forms of public broadcast. Requires the Attorney General to establish a Voting Integrity Task Force.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefits Gap Elimination Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on how to eliminate the gap in benefits for covered part D drugs under the Medicare prescription drug program under Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII of the Social Security Act after a part D eligible individual's costs exceed the initial coverage limit, and before the individual obtains protection against high out-of-pocket expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Makes permanent provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Act of 1998 to: (1) direct the Secretary of the Interior to appoint at least eight full time equivalent staff; and (2) revise funding provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise national quality assurance standards to assure consistent performance by laboratories of valid and reliable cytology services, to include requirements that each clinical laboratory: (1) ensure that all individuals involved in screening and interpreting cytological preparations participate annually in an approved continuing medical education program in gynecologic cytology that provides each participant with gynecologic cytologic preparations designed to improve locator, recognition, and interpretive skills; and (2) maintain a record of program results. Requires the Secretary to terminate individual proficiency testing that was in effect before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Keeping Faith With the Greatest Generation Military Retirees Act - 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 · 28 February 2007
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member of the Armed Forces entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about the factors that lead to chronic kidney disease, how to prevent it, how to treat it, and how to avoid kidney failure, as well as enhance surveillance systems and expand research to better assess the prevalence and incidence of kidney disease; and (2) enable individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to develop self-management skills. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; and (2) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services or other treatment modalities under Medicare. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee. Establishes the annual update framework for the Medicare ESRD composite rate. Directs the Secretary to establish a three-year continuous quality improvement initiative under which quality payments are provided to renal dialysis facilities, providers of services, and physicians that: (1) provide items and services to individuals with ESRD enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); and (2) meet quality benchmarks and demonstrate quality improvements. Requires the Secretary to make quality incentive payments to facilities and providers whose services to individuals with ESRD have substantially improved or exceeded a certain threshold. Extends Medicare as secondary payer with respect to individuals with ESRD.