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United States · Official source
4,004 records where Rep. Capps, Lois [D-CA-24] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2009
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2009 - 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 · 24 June 2009
Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009 or the TRADE Act of 2009 - Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) review biennially certain free trade agreements (including Uruguay Round Agreements) between the United States and foreign countries to evaluate their economic, environmental, national security, health, safety, and other effects; and (2) report on them to the Congressional Trade Agreement Review Committee (established by this Act), including analyses of specified aspects of each agreement and certain information about agreement parties, such as whether the country has a democratic form of government, respects certain core labor rights and fundamental human rights, protects intellectual property rights, and enforces environmental laws. Declares that implementing bills of new trade agreements shall not be subject to expedited consideration or special procedures limiting amendment, unless such agreements include certain standards with respect to: (1) labor; (2) human rights; (3) environment and public safety; (4) food and product health and safety; (5) provision of services; (6) investment; (7) procurement; (8) intellectual property; (9) agriculture; (10) trade remedies and safeguards; (11) dispute resolution and enforcement; (12) technical assistance; (13) national security; and (14) taxation. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the renegotiation of existing trade agreements to bring them into compliance with such standards. Establishes a Congressional Trade Agreement Review Committee. Expresses the sense of Congress that certain processes for U.S. trade negotiations should be followed when Congress considers legislation providing special procedures for implementing bills of trade agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2009
School-Based Health Clinic Establishment Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for the cost of operating school-based health clinics (SBHCs) to provide comprehensive primary health services during school hours to children and adolescents by health professionals. Requires SBHCs to: (1) provide services to children and adolescents for whom parental or guardian consent has been obtained; (2) provide on-site access during the academic day when school is in session and have an established network of support and access to services with backup health providers when the school or SBHC is closed; and (3) comply with federal, state, and local laws concerning patient privacy and student records. Allows the Secretary to: (1) give preference to applicants who demonstrate an ability to serve populations of children and adolescents that have historically demonstrated difficulty in accessing health and mental health services; and (2) waive certain requirements under this Act for no more than two years. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide technical and other assistance to SBHCs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Water System Adaptation Partnerships Act of 2009 - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make grants to water systems to assist in planning, designing, constructing, implementing, or maintaining any program, strategy, or infrastructure improvement to: (1) conserve water or increase water use efficiency; (2) carry out water metering to measure water efficiency effectiveness of a water efficiency program; (3) preserve or improve water quality; (4) enhance water management by increasing source water preservation and protection, or natural or engineered green infrastructure, in the management, conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater; (5) increase energy efficiency or the use and generation of renewable energy in the management, conveyance, or treatment of water, wastewater, or stormwater; (6) support the adoption and use of advanced water treatment, water supply management, or water demand management technologies or processes that maintain or increase water supply or improve water quality; (7) complete studies or assessments to project how climate change may impact the future operations and sustainability of the water system; or (8) carry out any other activity or project to address any ongoing or forecasted climate-related impact on the water quality or quantity of a region of the United States that increases the resiliency of a water system to the impacts of climate change. Sets forth grant application requirements. Requires the Administrator to conduct a competitive process to select and fund applications, giving priority to applications that: (1) are submitted by water systems that are at the greatest and most immediate risk of facing significant climate-related negative impacts; (2) will impact the largest numbers of water users; and (3) will provide the greatest benefit per dollar expended. Limits the federal share to 50% of the cost.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Medicare Safe Needle Disposal Coverage Act of 2009 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover as a part D drug any devices approved for home use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the safe and effective containment, removal, decontamination, and disposal of home-generated needles, syringes, and other sharps through a sharps container, decontamination/destructive device, or sharps-by-mail program or similar program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Congratulates the Los Angeles Lakes for winning their 15th National Basketball Association World Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Congratulates the men's volleyball team of the University of California, Irvine, for winning the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Volleyball National Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2012 the current authorization of appropriations for the national public awareness campaign for gynecologic cancers (Johanna's law). Authorizes appropriations in subsequent fiscal years at levels necessary to carry out such campaign. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) collaborate with nonprofit gynecologic cancer organizations to determine the best practices for providing gynecologic cancer information and outreach services to varied populations; and (2) make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects to test outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness and knowledge of women and health care providers regarding gynecologic cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities. Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, identify and address perceptions regarding U.S. entry policy, and promote U.S. travel. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require (under current law, authorize) the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and collect a fee for the use of an electronic data sharing system concerning the admissibility of certain aliens into the United States that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering such system. Terminates such fee following FY2014. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to: (1) revise the membership of the Tourism Policy Council; and (2) require the Council to provide the Corporation with certain information concerning U.S. admission procedures and travel promotion strategies. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess barriers to entry into the United States by foreign travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
MRSA Infection Prevention and Patient Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to promulgate regulations relating to MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), including regulations that provide a list of best practices for preventing MRSA infections and such other antibiotic resistant pathogens as the Secretary determines appropriate. Requires each acute care hospital to screen each patient entering an intensive care unit or other high-risk hospital department. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a process and a timetable for extending the screening requirements to patients admitted to all hospitals by January 1, 2014; and (2) report to Congress on whether payment adjustments should be made under Medicare to assist certain hospitals in defraying the cost of screening for, and the subsequent treatment of, MRSA or other infections. Requires all hospitals to: (1) comply with specified MRSA best practices, including contact precautions and patient notification; and (2) report hospital-acquired MRSA and other infections that occur in the facility. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish systems for identifying infected transferred patients and for promptly informing any facility that has transferred an infected patient; and (2) publish the names of providers who fail to take steps to reduce the incidence of MRSA infections. Permits a hospital to apply to the Secretary for a one-year increase in the amount of the capital-related costs payment made to the hospital under the prospective payment system to provide for the rapid implementation of MRSA screening programs and initiatives. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to award a grant for a pilot program to develop a rapid, cost-effective method for testing for MRSA using a molecular testing method. .
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Oncology Care Quality Improvement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a pilot program of oncology care quality improvement (OCQI) under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to evaluate the impact of three provider-led approaches to improve the care quality and outcome for Medicare beneficiaries with cancer while addressing care cost drivers by creating greater efficiencies in the program. Specifies the three provider-led approaches as: (1) evidence-based guideline adherence; (2) patient education and care coordination services; and (3) end-of-life planning and counseling services. Directs the Secretary to appoint an advisory committee to collaborate with the Secretary on the creation and implementation of the OCQI program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009 - Requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), as soon as practicable after Congress completes action on any Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) legislation, to provide an estimate of its budgetary effects to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Requires OMB to maintain and make publicly available a document containing a PAYGO ledger and, within seven days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) after the enactment of any PAYGO legislation, record on such ledger its estimate of the legislation's budgetary effects in each fiscal year, applying the look-back and averaging requirements of this Act. Exempts from the requirements of this Act any PAYGO legislation designated as an emergency requirement by the President and enacted by Congress. (Requires OMB to display the budgetary effects of such legislation as an addendum in the document containing the PAYGO ledger but not record the budgetary effects in it.) Requires OMB: (1) to make publicly available an annual PAYGO report and publish a notice of it in the Federal Register, including information on how it can be obtained; and (2) if such report shows a debit on the PAYGO ledger for the budget year, to prepare and the President to issue a sequestration order for submission to Congress. Prescribes requirements for calculating a sequestration for certain nonexempt and Medicare mandatory programs. Sets forth a special temporary rule to address the scoring of legislation affecting current policy for: (1) payments made under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for physician services; (2) the Estate and Gift Tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) under the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 or the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2003 that amended the Code extending middle-class tax cuts for individuals (or provisions in later statutes further amending such amendments). Makes such rule effective through December 31, 2010, or, in specified circumstances, until December 31, 2011. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to modify the assumptions used to calculate the baseline. Requires: (1) temporary mandatory funding and tax provisions related to major natural or man-made disasters to be assumed to expire on schedule, and discretionary funding for them to not be projected; and (2) the baseline to include a disaster allowance that is not designated as mandatory or discretionary and is not allocated to any congressional committee. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to specify additional Social Security, veterans, Tier I Railroad Retirement benefits and other programs and activities exempt from a sequestration order as well as certain economic recovery programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to revise requirements for the audit capacity of voting systems, particularly those for a permanent paper record. Requires the voting system to require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted, and which shall be counted by hand or read by an optical scanner or other counting device. Requires the voting system to provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any system-made error in the voter-verified paper ballot before it is permanently preserved. Requires each paper ballot used to be: (1) suitable for a manual audit; and (2) counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any federal election. Sets forth a special rule for treatment of disputes when paper ballots have been shown to be compromised. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to make grants to eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy. Specifies additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Requires the NSF Director to make grants to eligible entities to conduct research on the development of election-dedicated voting system software. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Requires each state to administer audits of federal election results, without advance notice to the precincts selected, consisting of random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots. Makes an exception from this requirement for elections in which the winning candidate had no opponent or received 80% or more of the vote total. Prescribes requirements for determination of the number of ballots counted under the audit. Prescribes the process for administering audits. Requires the Election Auditor of a state, as soon as practicable after the completion of an audit, to submit the results to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for publication. Prohibits certification of the results of any election until completion of audits. Provides for payments to states for the costs of conducting audits. Exempts from this Act any election for which a recount under state law will commence before certification of the election results. Repeals the EAC's exemption from certain federal government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Comprehensive Problem Gambling Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to establish and implement programs for the identification, prevention, and treatment of problem and pathological gambling. Requires the Secretary to carry out a national campaign to increase knowledge and raise awareness of problem gambling. Requires the Secretary to: (1) administer and coordinate the voluntary donation of resources to assist in implementing new programs and augmenting existing national campaigns to provide national strategies for dissemination of information intended to address problem gambling; (2) encourage media outlets to provide information aimed at preventing problem gambling; and (3) target radio and television audiences of, but not limited to, sporting events and gambling. Requires the President to: (1) establish and implement a national program of research on problem gambling; (2) appoint an advisory commission to coordinate federal research; and (3) consider the National Gambling Impact Study Commission's recommendations. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to states, local, and tribal governments, and nonprofit agencies to provide comprehensive services with respect to treatment and prevention of, and education about, problem gambling. Directs the President, acting through the Administrator, to develop a Treatment Improvement Protocol for problem gambling Expresses the sense of Congress that every state should contribute a percentage of its revenue from gambling towards prevention and treatment of, and services and education about, problem gambling.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
High School Athletics Accountability Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct coeducational elementary and secondary schools that participate in any ESEA program to annually: (1) report certain information on equality in their school athletic programs to the Commissioner for Educational Statistics; and (2) make such information available, upon request, to their students, potential students, and the public. Directs the Commissioner to ensure that such data are posted on the Department of Education's Web site within a reasonable period of time.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2009
Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to disregard for SSI income eligibility purposes any compensation in the amount of the first $2,000 per year received by an individual for participation in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Strengthening Medicaid for America's Children Act of 2009 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require an increased federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for children in certain states that implement at least three of nine specified policies regarding medical assistance to children.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Special Disability Workload Liability Resolution Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with each state to reach an agreement on the amount of a payment for the state related to the Medicare program liability under title XVIII of the Social Security Act as a result of the Special Disability Workload project. (The special workload was the result of discovering a substantial number of recipients of Supplemental Security Income [SSI] benefits whose disability insured status under the title II [OASDI] Disability Insurance program was not previously recognized.) Prohibits any such payment to a state unless it: (1) waives the right to file a civil action (or to be a party to any action) in federal or state court in which the relief sought includes a payment to the state from the United States related to such Medicare liability; and (2) releases the United States from any further claims for reimbursement of state expenditures as a result of the Special Disability Workload project.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Expresses support for Olympic Day. Encourages the International Olympic Committee to select Chicago, Illinois, as the host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Supports the designation of Home Safety Month. Recognizes the contributions of: (1) home safety related nonprofit organizations; and (2) the Home Safety Council for introducing www.MySafeHome.org to help adults identify the dangers present in and around the home, and for promoting the Hands on Home Safety Campaign. Encourages adults, parents, and caregivers to take greater actions to reduce unintentional injuries and educate themselves on the importance of home safety. Encourages: (1) manufacturers to develop innovative safety products and features to help lessen the number of home injuries and accidents; and (2) local and national government leaders to support funding for critical home safety education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Commends the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the occasion of its 125th anniversary for the exemplary service its administrators and employees provide in collecting and disseminating vital information for the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act - Transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. Provides that no provision of the Controlled Substances Act or the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall prohibit or otherwise restrict, in a state in which marijuana may, under state law, be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use: (1) a physician from prescribing or recommending marijuana for medical use; (2) an individual from obtaining, possessing, transporting, manufacturing, or using marijuana in accordance with such a prescription or recommendation; (3) an individual authorized under state law to do so from obtaining, possessing, transporting, or manufacturing marijuana on an authorized patient's behalf; (4) a pharmacy or other entity authorized to do so from obtaining, possessing, or distributing marijuana to such patients; or (5) an entity established by such a state or local government thereof to do so from producing, possessing, or distributing marijuana for such a prescription or recommendation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include lactation (i.e., breastfeeding or the expressing of milk from the breast) as protected conduct under such Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit for 50% of their qualified breastfeeding promotion and support expenditures, up to $10,000 for any taxable year. Defines "qualified breastfeeding promotion and support expenditures" as business expenses incurred for breast pumps and other equipment specially designed to assist mothers who are breastfeeding their children and for consultation services relating to breastfeeding. Expands the tax deduction for medical expenses to include expenses for breastfeeding equipment and consultation services. Safe and Effective Breast Pumps Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) effect a performance standard for breast pumps without regard to their classification under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and (2) issue a compliance policy guide to provide women with information about breast pumps. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to require employers with 50 or more employees to provide their breastfeeding employees with break time and private areas to express breast milk for their nursing children.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Roadmap to End Global Hunger and Promote Food Security Act of 2009 or the Roadmap Act of 2009 - Declares that it shall be U.S. policy to reduce global hunger, advance nutrition, increase food security, and ensure that relevant federal policies and programs: (1) provide emergency response and direct support to vulnerable populations in times of need; (2) increase resilience to and reduce, limit, or mitigate the impact of shocks on vulnerable populations; (3) increase and build the capacity of people and governments to sustainably feed themselves; (4) ensure adequate access to the required calories and nutrients needed to live healthy lives; (5) strengthen the ability of small-scale farmers to sustain and increase their production and livelihoods; and (6) incorporate sustainable and environmentally sound agricultural methods and practices. Establishes in the Executive Office of the President a White House Office on Global Hunger and Food Security. Directs the President to appoint, as head of such Office, a Coordinator on Global Hunger and Food Security to implement a comprehensive government-wide strategy to address global hunger and food security and to ensure that the strategy: (1) contributes to achieving the Millennium Development Goal of reducing global hunger by half not later than 2015 and to advancing the United Nations Comprehensive Framework for Action with respect to global hunger and food security; and (2) is integrated into any review or development of a federal strategy for global development. Requires: (1) the Office to work with all relevant federal departments and agencies; (2) the Coordinator to establish, schedule, and administer a high-level, government-wide global hunger and food security meeting each week; and (3) the Comptroller General to submit to Congress biennial reports evaluating the design, implementation, and federal coordination of the strategy. Establishes a Permanent Joint Select Committee on Hunger. Expresses the sense of Congress that not less than $50.36 billion should be made available for FY2010-FY2014 for federal programs addressing global hunger and food security.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Healthy Schools Act of 2009 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to require the state to certify that it has implemented procedures to pay for covered items and services furnished by school-based health clinics under Medicaid and CHIP.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
GPCI Justice Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, with respect to the geographic practice cost index (GPCI) for adjustments to physician fee schedule areas, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise the fee schedule areas for California to use the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) iterative Geographic Adjustment Factor methodology, in accordance with specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Children and Families Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Expresses support for: (1) the HHT Foundation International's designation of a National Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia Month; and (2) the Foundation's work to find a cure while saving lives and improving the well-being of those affected by Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) through research, outreach, education, and support. Recognizes the need to pursue research into better treatments and a cure for HHT.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
America's Wildlife Heritage Act - Sets forth requirements concerning the maintenance of viable populations of existing native and desired non-native species within each planning area in the National Forest System's or the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) public lands. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to adopt and implement a strategically targeted monitoring program for determining the status and trends of native and desired non-native species populations on System and BLM lands. Defines: (1) native species to mean species of plants and animals indigenous to a planning area; and (2) desired non-native species to mean those wild species of plants and animals that are not indigenous to a planning area but are valued for their contribution to species diversity or their social, cultural, or economic value. Requires the Secretaries to coordinate the management of planning areas of the System and the BLM with the management of the National Wildlife Refuge System and National Park System, other federal agencies, state fish and wildlife agencies, other state agencies responsible for management of natural resources, tribes, local governments, and non-governmental organizations engaged in species conservation. Requires the Secretaries to issue regulations implementing this Act within one year of its enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Medicare Transitional Care Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of benefits for transitional care services for qualified individuals following discharge from a hospital or critical access hospital.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act of 2009 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) repeal the exemption from restrictions on underground injection of fluids near drinking water sources granted to hydraulic fracturing operations under such Act; and (2) require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Expresses the House of Representatives' support for the National Day on Writing. Encourages participation in the National Gallery of Writing, which is maintained by the National Council of Teachers of English and contains examples of writing by individuals throughout our country. Encourages educational institutions to submit the compositions of their students and employees to such Gallery and support the efforts of community members to submit compositions to the Gallery.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Act - Establishes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a voluntary Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Program through which the Secretary of Transportation shall: (1) authorize the issuance of an electronic voucher to offset the purchase or lease price for a new fuel efficient automobile upon the surrender of an eligible trade-in vehicle to a participating dealer; (2) register dealers for Program participation; (3) make electronic payments to them for eligible transactions they accept between specified dates; and (4) establish and provide for the enforcement of measures to prevent and penalize fraud under the Program. Prescribes requirements, including combined fuel economy, for $3,500 and $4,500 vouchers to offset the purchase or lease price for a qualifying passenger automobile or truck. Limits the number of vouchers to one per customer, including joint registered owners of a single eligible trade-in vehicle. Requires a dealer to certify about each eligible trade-in vehicle that the dealer: (1) will arrange for transfer to the United States of the vehicle's title; (2) will accept possession of the vehicle on behalf of the United States; (3) has not and will not sell, lease, exchange, or otherwise dispose of the vehicle for use as an automobile anywhere in the world; and (4) will transfer, on behalf of the United States, the vehicle and its title to an entity that will ensure that the vehicle will be crushed or shredded within the Program period, and has not been, and will not be, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of for use as an automobile anywhere in the world. Prescribes standards which any regulations issued by the Secretary for the Program must meet. Makes it unlawful for any person to violate this Act or any regulations issued under it, particularly by fraud. Prescribes civil penalties for any such violation. Directs the Secretary to make Program information available on an Internet website and through other means.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Nurse-Managed Health Clinic Investment Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants for operating nurse-managed health clinics. Defines "nurse-managed health clinic" as a nurse-practice arrangement that provides primary care or wellness services to underserved or vulnerable populations regardless of insurance status or ability to pay and that is associated with an educational institution, health center, or social services agency. Requires the Secretary to provide technical assistance and services to such clinics in meeting the requirements of this Act and to develop and implement a plan for evaluating such clinics.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1615 North Wilcox Avenue in Los Angeles, California, as the "Johnny Grant Hollywood Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Expands the urbanized area formula grants program to include public transit projects: (1) in urbanized areas with a population of at least 200,000, and urbanized areas with a population of between 200,000 and 400,000, if the state or regional authority that provides public transportation for the area operates less than 100 buses in fixed-route service in the area during peak service hours; and (2) in urbanized areas with graduated populations of between 400,000 and capping out at 1 million or more. Establishes certain grant limits for such projects. Revises grant eligibility requirements for FY2010-FY2015 for such projects in urbanized areas with a population of at least 200,000.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Honors the life, achievements, and distinguished career of Jacques Cousteau, explorer, researcher, and pioneer in marine conservation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 - Establishes: (1) national transportation objectives to provide a 21st century vision for the national surface transportation system, including to promote energy efficiency and achieve energy security, ensure environmental protection and safety for all transportation users, improve economic competitiveness and transportation system conditions, and provide equal access to transportation in urban, suburban, and rural communities; and (2) national transportation performance targets to meet such objectives, including to reduce per capita vehicle miles traveled by 16% and transportation-generated carbon dioxide levels by 40%, triple walking, biking, and public transportation use, increase freight transportation provided by railroad and intermodal services by 20%, and improve public safety and lower congestion costs by reducing traffic crashes by 50%. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) develop baseline levels and appropriate data collection systems for meeting the national transportation performance targets; and (2) develop and implement a National Surface Transportation Performance Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Reuniting Families Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007. Establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to: (1) mean a child, spouse, or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (and for each family member of a citizen or resident, such individual's accompanying spouse or child), except that in the case of parents such citizens shall be at least 21 years old; (2) permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen or resident to seek permanent resident status if married at least two years at the time of the citizen's or resident's death or, if married less than two years, by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and (3) include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of the citizen's or resident's death if the alien files a petition within two years after such date or prior to reaching 21 years old. Increases immigration visas for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and (2) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Provides a 60,000 visa allocation for the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens. Increases annual per country (10% of annual total) and dependent area (5% of annual total) limits for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas. Expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status; (2) parole eligibility; (3) permanent resident status adjustment; and (4) processing of immigrant visas. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Exempts children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations. Makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status provided that the child's age is determined using such child's age at the date that the petition to classify such child's parent as a K-visa alien is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security. Authorizes the Secretary or the Attorney General to adjust the status of a finacee/fiance or alien spouse and any minor children (K-visa) to conditional permanent resident status if such alien marries the petitioner within three months after U.S. admission. Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of the Act to include a stepchild under 21 years old. (Current law includes a stepchild who has not reached 18 years old at the time the marriage creating the status of stepchild occurred.) Uniting American Families Act of 2009 - Amends INA to include a "permanent partner" within the scope of such Act. Defines "permanent partner" as an individual 18 or older who: (1) is in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 or older in which both individuals intend a lifelong commitment; (2) is financially interdependent with the other individual; (3) is not married to, or in a permanent partnership with, anyone other than the individual; (4) is unable to contract with the other individual a marriage cognizable under this Act; and (5) is not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of the other individual. Defines "permanent partnership" as the relationship existing between two permanent partners. Defines "alien permanent partner" as the individual in a permanent partnership who is being sponsored for a visa.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Act of 2009 - Requires the President to establish, in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (STEM education) within the National Science and Technology Council. Establishes an Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education in the Department of Education, to be administered by an Assistant Secretary. Requires the Assistant Secretary to conduct at least every five years an evaluation of the STEM education programs administered by the department. Requires the Secretary of Education to award a grant to establish a voluntary State Consortium on STEM Education and a grant to the National Science Digital Library to establish the STEM Education Resource Alliance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Student-to-School Nurse Ratio Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make demonstration grants to states in which the student-to-school nurse ratio in public secondary schools, elementary schools, and kindergarten is 1,000 or more students to every school nurse to reduce such ratio.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Congratulates the University of Southern California's men's tennis team for winning the 2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Tennis Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Offers the condolences of the House of Representatives to the family of Dr. George Tiller. Declares that the House commits to the American principle that tolerance must always be superior to intolerance, and that violence is never an appropriate response to a difference in beliefs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Climate and Ocean Research and Coordination Act of 2009 - Reestablishes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its leadership. (NOAA was created by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970.) Includes in NOAA the National Weather Service and the Science Advisory Board. National Climate Enterprise Act of 2009 - Directs the President to establish a National Climate Enterprise to coordinate international, federal, and nonfederal activity to provide scientifically based climate and climate impact data, information, products, and services to better forecast climate, climate change, and climate variability and to understand climate impacts at regional and local scales. Requires that the Enterprise consist of an Interdepartmental Oversight Board, an Interagency Coordinating Committee, and a Climate Operations Office established by this Act, and nonfederal contributors. Requires the Office, subject to appropriations, to develop and implement a quality assurance program to certify climate products and services that satisfy this Act's standards. Defines "climate product and service" as any publicly or commercially available product or service produced by a nonfederal contributor that includes or displays climate data, meta-data, or information. Allows the Enterprise to authorize the use of the emblem or any trademark of the Enterprise on a certified climate product or service. Establishes in the Treasury the Climate Products And Services Account. Requires the Enterprise Advisory Board to provide advice to the Interagency Coordinating Committee on policy implementation by the Climate Operations Office, the effectiveness of data, meta-data, information, products, and services delivered to end-users, priorities for climate research and information needs, the performance of non-federal contributors, and critical climate research needs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Empowered at Home Act of 2009 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the income eligibility level for home and community-based (HCBS) services for elderly and disabled individuals. Revises the income eligibility limit for the state option to provide HCBS services under a waiver. Replaces the income limit of 150% of the poverty line with a limit of 300% of the supplemental security income (SSI) benefit rate. Authorizes a state to offer HCBS services under a waiver to eligible individuals that differ in type, amount, duration, or scope from the HCBS waiver services offered to other such individuals so long as they are within the scope of services for which the Secretary has authority to approve a waiver and do not include room or board. Increases the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for the provision of HCBS services under Medicaid through the state plan amendment option. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report annually to Congress on state use of Medicaid state plan amendment option for HCBS services for elderly and disabled individuals. Directs the Secretary to award assistance grants to states electing to provide HCBS waiver services under Medicaid through the state plan amendment option. Reauthorizes Medicaid investment grants (currently called transformation grants) at increased funding and specifies additional permissible uses to facilitate the provision of HCBS and other long-term care (LTC) services. Directs the Secretary to award grants on a competitive basis to eligible states to conduct an evidence- and community-based health promotion program. Amends SSA title XIX, with respect to treatment of the income and resources of HCBS waiver services recipients who would otherwise be institutionalized, to repeal the state option for (thus requiring) application to such individuals of spousal impoverishment protection requirements. Requires states to exclude up to six months of the average cost of nursing facility services from an individual's assets or resources for purposes of eligibility for HCBS waiver services. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to revise certain data reporting forms and systems to ensure uniform and consistent state reporting under this Act. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on: (1) the provision of home health services under different state Medicaid plans; and (2) the extent to which states offer consumer self-direction of such services, or allow for other consumer-oriented policies with respect to them.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2009
Expresses the House of Representatives' support for Hillel's mission of service to Jewish college students and partnership with the campus community. Congratulates the students, lay leaders, and professionals of the Hillel movement on reaching its 85th birthday.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Keep America's Waterfronts Working Act of 2009 - Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to direct the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to establish a Working Waterfront Grant Program to make a grant, through a regionally equitable, competitive funding process, to any coastal state to implement a plan to preserve and expand access to coastal waters for persons engaged in commercial fishing, recreational fishing, aquaculture, boatbuilding, or other water-dependent coastal-related business. Authorizes the Secretary to award planning grants to coastal states to develop or revise comprehensive working waterfront plans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Gender Equity in Health Premiums Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from requiring any individual to pay a premium or contribution which is greater than that for a similarly situated individual enrolled in the plan on the basis of the gender of such individual or such individual's dependent. Applies such prohibition to individual health insurance coverage. Directs the Comptroller General to evaluate enforcement of group and individual health insurance market rules.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Women Veterans Access to Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), in providing health care services to women veterans, to emphasize: (1) with respect to physical health, conditions including reproductive health, preventive medicine and early detection, sexual trauma, special needs of women with prosthetics, and rehabilitation; (2) with respect to mental health, issues including stress reduction, services for depression, anxiety, post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD), and substance abuse, and conflict resolution; (3) improving health-related telecommunications technologies; (4) providing care to women veterans who served in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom, live in a rural area, or are homebound or elderly; and (5) with respect to health professionals employed by the VA, hiring health professionals who are specialist in fields related to women's health, and offering additional training on special issues regarding women veterans. Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct a study on health care for women veterans; and (2) carry out an information outreach program for women veterans and their families.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from an employee's gross income employer-provided accident and health plan benefits extended to a domestic partner or non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiary eligible to receive such benefits under an employer plan (i.e., "eligible beneficiary"); (2) exempt such benefits paid to eligible beneficiaries from applicable employment and unemployment taxes; (3) allow self-employed individuals a tax deduction for the health insurance costs of their eligible beneficiaries; (4) allow tax-exempt volutary employees' beneficiary associations to provide sick and accident benefits to the domestic partners and non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiaries of their members; and (5) allow reimbursement of the medical expenses of an eligible beneficiary from a health savings account (HSA). Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide guidance relating to reimbursements from a flexible spending arrangement and a health reimbursement arrangement attributable to an eligible beneficiary as defined by this Act.