United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Gasoline Price-Gouging Act of 2005 - States that it is unlawful for a commercial vendor to sell either gasoline or diesel fuel at a price that is a 10% or greater increase from the average price prevailing in an area prior to its having been declared or designated as a major disaster area. Excepts from such prohibition a fuel price that is: (1) attributable to a reasonable additional cost incurred attendant to a major disaster; or (2) consistent with national or international market trends. Makes such prohibition applicable for 90 days after a declaration or designation is made. Grants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement powers to treat violation of this prohibition as an unfair or deceptive act or practice. Requires the FTC, within five days following a declaration of a major disaster, to post on its Internet website the average price of gasoline and diesel fuel in such area for the 30-day period preceding the declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend. Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide that, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under state law. Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in nonpublic education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with state law, without written parental consent. Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under state law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under state law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.) Amends specified federal law with respect to policies on recruitment and enlistment of home schooled students in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Gas Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend the excise tax on highway motor fuels, other than aviation fuels, for a period of 30 days after the enactment of this Act. Provides for adjustments to such excise tax for floor stocks of highway motor fuels held by dealers prior to, or after, the suspension period provided by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Border Protection Corps Act - Authorizes the governor of a state to establish and command a militia, to be known as the Border Protection Corps, for that state. Allows such a Corps to include only U.S. citizens with no criminal history and no history of mental illness. Requires such militia to be called into service to patrol and defend its international border to prevent individuals from entering the United States at any location other than an authorized port of entry. Requires militia members to work in cooperation with state and local law enforcement officials and the U.S. Border Patrol. Allows militia members to take individuals into custody, but requires individuals taken to be promptly delivered to a federal law enforcement authority. Provides reimbursement through the Department of Homeland Security for a state's militia costs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Access Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from awarding any contracts under the competitive durable medical equipment items and services acquisition program unless: (1) the quality standards have been implemented; and (2) the Secretary has received advice from the program oversight committee. Requires the Secretary (who currently is authorized), in carrying out competitive acquisition programs, to exempt: (1) rural areas and areas with low population density within urban areas that are not competitive, unless there is a significant national market through mail order for a particular item or service; and (2) items and services for which the application of competitive acquisition is not likely to result in significant savings. Adds to such exemptions smaller metropolitan statistical areas. Modifies requirements for the protection of small suppliers in bidding and contracting. Requires the Secretary to permit suppliers classified as small businesses to continue to participate as suppliers at the selected award price so long as they submit bids at less than the fee schedule amount otherwise applicable to the items and they otherwise comply with applicable program requirements. Provides for appeal rights (currently denied). Requires the Secretary to exempt from competitive acquisition requirements items and services for which the application of competitive acquisition is not likely to result in significant savings of at least 10%. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing a program with respect to an item or service unless the Secretary demonstrates a probability of achieving significant savings of at least 10%, compared to the fee schedule in effect on January 1, 2006, by including the item or service in the program. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing certain requirements for the payment basis for covered items furnished after January 1, 2009, with respect to the application of rates in an area that is not a competitive acquisition area, unless the Secretary has completed and published in the Federal Register a comparability analysis to ensure the application is appropriate. Requires application of the comparability analysis requirement to certain other part B items and services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medicaid prospective payment system for federally-qualified health centers is critical to ensuring that both Medicaid recipients and the nation's uninsured population have access to quality affordable primary and preventive care services. Recognizes the critical role of such health centers as an essential source of care for millions of Medicaid recipients and uninsured Americans and supports continuation of the prospective payment system in helping to maintain this system of care.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2005
Second Amendment Protection Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not provide financial support to international entities that abridge the constitutionally protected rights of law-abiding U.S. citizens to keep and bear arms. Prohibits U.S. funding to the United Nations for a fiscal year unless the President certifies to Congress that the United Nations has not taken action to restrict or otherwise adversely infringe upon the rights of U.S. individuals to possess a firearm or ammunition, including the imposition of a tax that will interfere with the right to own a firearm or ammunition.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2005
Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2005 or STOPP Act of 2005 - Prohibits the provision of federal financial assistance under federal economic development programs to any state or unit of local government that: (1) uses the power of eminent domain to take property from one private individual or entity for economic development purposes and transfer ownership to another private individual or entity; or (2) fails to pay relocation costs to any person displaced by the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes. Allows the head of a federal agency to rely upon a certification by the chief executive officer of a state or unit of local government that such state or unit has not engaged in such acts. Specifies the federal economic development programs from which assistance will be prohibited.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2005
Federal Tax Withholding Act of 2005 - Amend the Internal Revenue Code to repeal withholding of tax requirements for income, railroad retirement, and social security taxes. Requires estimated tax payments for social security and railroad retirement taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each House, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each House to increase the public debt limit. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority of each House by rollcall vote. Authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Infectious Diseases Research and Development Act of 2005 - Limits the liability of manufacturers of qualified infectious disease products by limiting: (1) punitive damages unless the manufacturer acted with malicious intent to injure the individual or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury that the manufacturer knew the individual was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) non-economic damages to $250,000. Sets forth circumstances under which the term of a patent may be extended for qualified infectious disease products. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate qualified infectious disease products as fast-track products for approval. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to expand and intensify efforts to assist small manufacturers to conduct end-stage clinical trials on qualified infectious disease products. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish an infectious disease research credit and a qualified infectious disease products manufacturing facilities investment credit. Authorizes appropriations for activities related to antimicrobial resistance. Establishes the Commission on Infectious Diseases Product Development to identify infectious pathogens that are a significant threat to public health and make recommendations to the Secretary on how best to address such pathogens. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to issue guidelines for the conduct of clinical trials with respect to antibiotic drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Upper Colorado and San Juan Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Implementation Programs Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to undertake capital projects for the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin and the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program through FY2010. Limits to $126 million the total costs of such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005 - Prohibits a state or political subdivision from using economic development as a reason for exercising its power of eminent domain if federal funds would contribute in any way to: (1) the project for which eminent domain is exercised; or (2) the exercise and enforcement of eminent domain over the project. Renders a state or political subdivision that violations this prohibition ineligible for any such federal funds and directs the federal agency involved to withhold those funds. Prohibits the federal government from using economic development as a reason for exercising eminent domain. Defines "economic development" to mean any activity other than making private property available in substantial part for use by the general public or by an entity that makes the property available for use by the general public, or as a public facility, or to remove harmful effects.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Veterans Road to Health Care Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay the travel expenses of a veteran whose travel is in connection with treatment or care for a non-service-connected disability at a non-Department of Veterans Affairs facility if the treatment or care: (1) is provided upon the recommendation of Department medical personnel; and (2) is not available at the Department medical center or clinic at which the recommendation is made. Requires the Secretary, in calculating travel expenses under the Veterans Beneficiary Travel Program, to utilize the current Federal mileage reimbursement rates for the use on official business of privately owned vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Major Regulation Cost Review Act of 2005 - Amends Federal civil service law to require each Federal agency to publish in the Federal Register a plan, which may be amended at any time by publishing a revision, for the periodic review of all the major rules issued by the agency. Requires that the plan provide for review within five years after publication as a final rule, with a five year extension permitted. Directs the agency, in reviewing major rules, to consider: (1) the continued need for the rule; (2) the nature of complaints or comments received from the public concerning the rule; (3) the complexity of the rule; (4) the extent to which the rule overlaps, duplicates, or conflicts with other Federal rules, and with State and local governmental rules; and (5) the length of time since the rule has been evaluated or the degree to which technology, economic conditions, or other factors have changed in the area affected by the rule. Requires that: (1) the review include a cost-benefit analysis of the rule, including an identification and consideration of a range of less costly regulatory alternatives; and (2) each year each agency publish a list of the major rules which are to be reviewed and which are to be included in the accounting statement and associated report submitted to Congress by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Makes conforming changes to the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Declares that people retain the right to pray and to recognize their religious beliefs, heritage, and traditions on public property, including schools. Prohibits the United States or the states from establishing any official religion or requiring any person to join in prayer or religious activity.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2005
Parents' Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide for a minimum tax credit for household and dependent care services for dependents under the age of six; (2) increase to $5,000 the amount of the personal tax exemption; (3) eliminate the marriage penalty in all income tax brackets; (4) establish a standard tax deduction for expenses related to business usage of a home; (5) make permanent increases in the child tax credit and adjust the amount of such credit for inflation on an annual basis after 2005; (6) allow employers a tax credit for employees who telecommute; and (7) allow an exclusion from employee gross income for employer-provided computer equipment used to work at home. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to award social security credits to parents who stay at home, instead of working outside the home, to care for children who are either under age six or under age 10 and disabled. Authorizes transfers from the general fund to specified Social Security trust funds to cover the cost of such credits.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2005
Expresses disagreement with the majority opinion in Kelo et al. v. City of New London et al. ( Kelo) and its holdings that effectively negate the public use requirement of the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that state and local governments: (1) should only execute the power of eminent domain for the public good; (2) must always justly compensate affected individuals in accordance with the Fifth Amendment; (3) should never use eminent domain to advantage one private party over another; and (4) should not construe Kelo as justification to abuse the power of eminent domain. Reserves to Congress the right to address through legislation any abuses of eminent domain by state and local government in light of Kelo .
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2005
Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable tax deduction for the expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers to $400; (2) allow the deduction of professional development expenses; and (3) make such deduction permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Amends the Small Business Act to authorize a Small Business Development Center in an eligible state to apply for an additional Small Business Administration grant to be used solely to provide services to assist with outreach, development, and enhancement on Indian lands of small business startups and expansions owned by Indian tribe members, Native Alaskans, and Native Hawaiians (members and Natives). Defines an eligible state as one in which at least one percent of its population is comprised of such members and Natives. Limits each grant to $300,000 in a fiscal year. Requires a state receiving such a grant to request the advice of local tribal councils on how best to provide assistance to such members or Natives and where to locate satellite centers to provide such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2005 - Amends the federal criminal code to replace provisions regarding the purchase of prison-made products by federal departments with provisions establishing a government-wide procurement policy relating to purchases from Federal Prison Industries (FPI), which shall generally require the use of competitive procedures. Authorizes a contract award to be made to FPI using other than competitive procedures: (1) if a product or service is only available from FPI; and (2) by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (the Bureau). Requires that an analysis of the probable impact of a proposed expansion of sales within the federal market by FPI on private sector firms and their non-inmate workers be made whenever FPI proposes to authorize the sale of a new specific product or service or to expand production of a current product or service. Prohibits the total dollar value of FPI sales to the government in FY 2007 through 2011 from exceeding specified percentages of FPI sales for the base period. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require an executive agency: (1) before purchasing a product listed in the latest edition of the FPI catalog, to determine whether the FPI product is comparable to products available from the private sector; and (2) if such product is not comparable, to use competitive procedures or make an individual purchase under a multiple award. Authorizes FPI to enter into a contract with a federal contractor to produce products as a subcontractor or supplier in the performance of a federal procurement contract. Includes services within the scope of a prohibition against transporting (in interstate commerce or from a foreign country) goods produced by prisoners. Establishes within the Bureau of Prisons: (1) the Enhanced In-Prison Educational and Vocational Assessment and Training Program; and (2) the Cognitive Abilities Assessment Demonstration Program. Directs: (1) the Chief Operating Officer of FPI to develop proposals to have FPI donate products and services to eligible entities that provide goods or services to low-income individuals who would likely otherwise have difficulty purchasing such products or services; (2) the Director of the Bureau to afford to inmates opportunities to participate in programs and activities designed to help prepare such inmates to obtain employment upon release; and (3) the Comptroller General to undertake to have an independent study conducted on the effects of eliminating FPI's mandatory source authority.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend until January 1, 2009, the tax credit for fuel produced from certain nonconventional sources, including coalbed methane, tight sands gas, and gas produced from Devonian shale, and for fuel produced from landfill gas.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Commends the millions of fathers who serve as wonderful, caring parents for their children. Calls on fathers across the nation to use Father’s Day to reconnect and rededicate themselves to their children’s lives, to spend Father’s Day with their children, and to express their love and support for their children. Urges men to understand the level of responsibility fathering a child requires, especially in the encouragement of the moral, academic, and spiritual development of children. Encourages active involvement of fathers in the rearing and development of their children, including the devotion of time, energy, and resources.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2005
Louis Braille Bicentennial--Braille Literacy Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Louis Braille, whose design: (1) on the obverse shall bear a representation of the image of Louis Braille; and (2) on the reverse shall emphasize Braille literacy and include the word for Braille in Braille code. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such coins only during 2009. Subjects all coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin. Requires all surcharges to be promptly paid by the Secretary to the the National Federation of the Blind to further its programs to promote Braille literacy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that it is necessary to ensure that Congress is presented with reliable information from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the Joint Committee on Taxation as to the dynamic macroeconomic feedback effects to changes in federal law and the probable behavioral responses of taxpayers, businesses, and other parties to such changes. Requires the Joint Committee and CBO to prepare fiscal estimates of each proposed change in federal revenue law on the basis of assumptions that estimate the probable behavioral responses of personal and business taxpayers and other relevant entities to such change and its dynamic macroeconomic feedback effects. Applies such requirement only to proposed changes that, pursuant to static fiscal estimates, have a fiscal impact exceeding $250 million in any fiscal year.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln in commemoration of the bicentennial of his birth. Permits issuance of such coins only during 2009. Subjects the coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
Clean Energy Bonds Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow holders of clean energy bonds a nonrefundable tax credit of 25 percent of an annual credit amount as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. Defines "clean energy bond" as any bond issued by a clean energy bond lender, a cooperative electric company, a governmental body, or the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that is used for capital expenditures for specified projects for producing electricity from certain renewable resources, such as wind, biomass, solar energy, small irrigation power, and municipal solid waste. Sets forth rules for maturity limitations, arbitrage, and expenditures, including a requirement that 95 percent of proceeds from the sale of a bond issue be spent on a renewable resource project within five years from the date of a bond issuance. Terminates the authority to issue clean energy bonds after 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Public Expression of Religion Act of 2005 - Amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to limit the remedy to injunctive relief and deny attorneys' fees in a civil action against a state or local official for deprivation of rights where the deprivation consists of a violation of a prohibition in the Constitution against the establishment of religion.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Salt Cedar and Russian Olive Control Demonstration Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (the Secretary), acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey, to carry out a salt cedar (Tamarix spp) and Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) assessment and demonstration program to: (1) assess the extent of the infestation by salt cedar and Russian olive trees in the western United States; (2) demonstrate strategic solutions for the long-term management of such trees and the reestablishment of native vegetation; and (3) assess economic means to dispose of biomass created as a result of removal of those trees. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into a memorandum of understanding for the administration of such program. Requires the Secretary to: (1) complete an assessment of the extent of the infestation on public and private land; (2) identify and document long-term management and funding strategies that could be implemented by federal, state, and private land managers in addressing the infestation and that should be tested as components of specified demonstration projects; and (3) establish a program that selects and funds at least five projects proposed by and implemented in collaboration with federal agencies, state and local governments, national laboratories, Indian tribes, institutions of higher education, individuals, organizations, or soil and water conservation districts to demonstrate and evaluate the most effective methods of controlling salt cedar and Russian olive trees. Directs the Secretary to complete an analysis of economic means to use or dispose of biomass created by salt cedar and Russian olive tree removal.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Federal Wetlands Jurisdiction Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to clarify that waters of the United States, including the territorial seas, are subject to the jurisdiction of the permitting program for the discharge of dredged or fill material (permitting program) if such waters are: (1) navigable; (2) connected to navigable waters through a continuous, naturally occurring surface water connection; or (3) wetlands adjacent to such navigable or connected waters. States that waters are considered connected to navigable waters for purposes of this Act if connected by perennial or intermittent streams that contribute flow to navigable waters. Excludes from the definition those waters connected by: (1) sheet flow (non-channelized water flowing over upland); (2) ephemeral waters, ground water, manmade ditches, or pipelines; or (3) a municipal separate storm sewer system or any other regulated point source. Excludes fastlands (areas located behind legally constituted manmade structures) from the jurisdiction of the permitting program. Grants sole authority to the Secretary of the Army to determine the waters subject to the jurisdiction of the permitting program. Sets forth procedures whereby property owners, or those with written authorization from such owners, may: (1) request that the Secretary determine jurisdiction under this Act and thereafter seek judicial review or injunctive relief; or (2) proceed under the administrative appeals process.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2005
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make federal provisions which prohibit the obligation or expenditure of funds either in excess of appropriated amounts or in violation of sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1986 inapplicable to: (1) any amount collected or received as federal universal service contributions; or (2) the expenditure or obligation of amounts attributable to such contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Frivolous Lawsuit Reduction Act - Amends the Federal judicial code to authorize parties in civil diversity litigation to serve written settlement offers on an adverse party at any time not less than 10 days before trial. Authorizes the court, at any time before judgment is entered, to exempt from settlement any claim that presents a novel and important question of law or fact that substantially affects nonparties. Voids all settlement offers made by the parties with respect to such exempted claims. Authorizes an offeror whose proposed settlement was declined by an offeree to file a petition with the court seeking payment by the offeree of costs and fees, including attorney's fees, from the date of the last settlement offer by either party if the ultimate judgment or order is not more favorable to the offeree than the proposed settlement. Requires the court to order payment by the offeree in such circumstances unless requiring payment would be manifestly unjust. Limits attorney's fees ordered under this Act to: (1) the actual attorney's fees incurred by the offeree in connection with the claim; or (2) if no such cost was incurred due to a contingency fee agreement, a reasonable cost that would have been incurred by the offeree absent a contingency fee agreement. States that this Act does not apply to claims seeking equitable remedies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
College 529 Invest in Education Savings for Tomorrow Act of 2005 - Makes permanent the provisions relating to qualified tuition programs enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA).
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Pledge Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any Federal court, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance or its validity under the Constitution. Makes this limitation inapplicable to: (1) any court established by Congress under its power to make needful rules and regulations respecting the territory of the United States; or (2) the Superior Court of the District of Columbia or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
National Geologic Mapping Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the National Geologic Mapping Act of 1992 to extend deadlines for development of a five-year strategic plan for the geologic mapping program and for appointment of the advisory committee. Removes from program objectives the development of a geophysical- and geochemical- map database. Directs that mapping priorities be based in part on the needs of the Department of the Interior land management agencies. Modifies the composition of the advisory committee. Directs that the national geologic database include information on how to obtain specified maps, databases, and data, including all maps developed with funding provided under the national cooperative geologic mapping program. Authorizes appropriations for each of FY 2006 through 2010. Increases the percentages allocated for the State and education components.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
Honor Our Fallen Prisoners of War Act - Requires the Secretary concerned to award the Purple Heart to members of the Armed Forces who die in captivity under circumstances not otherwise establishing eligibility for the Purple Heart. Makes this Act effective as to members of the Armed Forces who die on or after December 7, 1941, including those who die prior to enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Health Care Choice Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide that the laws of the primary state (as designated by the health insurance issuer) apply to individual health insurance coverage offered by that issuer both in the primary state and in any secondary state if the coverage and issuer comply with this Act. Exempts health insurance issuers from any laws of the secondary state that would: (1) regulate the operation of the health insurance issuer in the secondary state, except for certain activities, including paying taxes and registering with the state insurance commissioner; (2) require any individual health insurance coverage issued by the issuer to be countersigned by an agent or broker residing in the secondary state; or (3) discriminate against the issuer issuing insurance in both the primary state and any secondary state. Prohibits a health insurance issuer that provides individual health insurance coverage in a primary or secondary state from: (1) upon renewal, taking certain actions based on health-status related factors, including increasing premiums assessed; and (2) offering coverage in a secondary state that is not currently offered for sale in the primary state. Allows states to require brokers to obtain a license from that state, but not to impose any requirements that discriminate against nonresident brokers. Requires health insurance issuers offering coverage in both primary and secondary States state to submit to the insurance commissioner of each state: (1) a copy of a plan of operation, a feasibility study, or similar statement; (2) written notice of any change in designation of its primary state; and (3) quarterly financial statements. Sets forth requirements (regarding determination of capital and an independent review process) that must be met by primary states in order for an issuer to provde insurance in a secondary state. Gives sole jurisdiction to primary states to enforce the covered laws in primary and secondary states.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Rural Disaster Assistance Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the President to designate a Small State Advocate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency to advocate for the fair treatment of rural communities in the provision of assistance under such Act. Requires the Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response of the Department of Homeland Security to report to specified congressional committees on the extent to which disaster declaration regulations: (1) meet the needs of States with populations of less than 1 million; and (2) comply with existing statutory restrictions on the use of arithmetic formulas and sliding scales based on income or population.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Totalization Agreement Congressional Approval Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that any agreement to establish a totalization arrangement which is entered into with another country shall enter into force with respect to the United States if (and only if): (1) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the date on which he enters into the agreement, notifies each House of Congress of his intention to enter into it, and promply thereafer publishes notice of such intention in the Federal Register; (2) he transmits the text of such agreement to each House of the Congress; and (3) a joint resolution regarding such agreement has passed both Houses of Congress and been enacted into federal law. Sets forth procedures for the consideration of such a joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Federal Land Compensation Act - Provides for the phasing-in of permanent funding for the following programs: (1) Bureau of Land Management Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT); and (2) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refuge revenue sharing program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that due to the allegations of fraud and mismanagement within the U.N. oil-for-food program, the growing record of human rights abuses by U.N. personnel in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the lack of U.N. response to the Darfur genocide, Kofi Annan should resign as U.N. Secretary General.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Family Budget Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to eliminate the May 15 deadline for consideration of annual appropriations measures. Requires annual joint (currently, concurrent) budget resolutions signed by the President. Provides for an amendment to change the statutory limit on the public debt. Requires consideration of budget-related legislation before the budget resolution becomes law. Provides expedited procedures for presidential vetoes of joint budget resolutions. Provides for establishment of a reserve fund for emergencies. Requires: (1) biennial (currently, annual) budget resolutions; (2) biennial appropriations Acts; and (3) biennial government strategic and performance plans. Provides spending caps on the growth of entitlements and mandatory budget outlays. Excludes from such limitation until FY2008 direct spending programs and direct spending under part D (relating to the Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Health Insurance for the Aged and Disabled) under the Social Security Act (SSA) or spending under part C of such title (relating to the Medicare+Choice Program) that is attributable to such part D. Exempts benefits payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of SSA, Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, and benefits payable under part A of title XVIII (relating to Hospital Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) of SSA and part C of such title (relating to the Medicare+Choice program) from required reductions under the Balanced Budget and Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), along with specified government accounts and activities. Provides other exceptions, limitations, and special rules with respect to sequestration exemptions. Directs the Chairman of the House and Senate Committees on the Budget each to maintain a Budget Protection Mandatory Account and a Budget Protection Discretionary Account. Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require: (1) an analysis of long-term unfunded obligations in the President's budget submission; and (2) long-term unfunded obligation analyses by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Makes it out of order to consider legislation, if upon enactment, it would increase the long-term unfunded obligation of the Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) as defined in the CBA. Freezes at current levels spending authority for each unearned entitlement and high-cost discretionary spending program unless such spending authority is reauthorized after the enactment of this Act. Establishes the Commission to Eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. Provides for accrual funding of the: (1) Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (2) Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System; and (3) Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Retirement Fund; (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Retirement Fund; and (3) the Coast Guard Military Retirement Fund. Changes the name of the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to Uniformed Services Health Care Fund (thus, providing health care programs for all uniformed service retirees, under certain conditions). (Currently, such programs are for Department of Defense Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.) Decreases the limit on the public debt from $6.4 trillion to $4.393 trillion. Repeals rule XXVII of the House of Representatives (the Gephardt Rule, relating to mandatory adjustment of the statutory limit on the public debt to conform to a budget resolution). Prohibits consideration of extraneous appropriations in omnibus appropriations measures.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) establish ongoing collaborations with community organizations; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions; (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation; and (5) use innovative approaches to study unexplored areas of the environment and breast cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to make recommendations for and to review grants awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2005 - Provides a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record any firearm acquired before October 31, 1968, by a veteran while a member of the armed forces stationed outside the continental United States. Grants such an individual limited immunity under the Federal criminal code and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the acquisition, possession, transportation, or alteration of such firearm before or concurrent with such registration. Extends such immunity to a veteran who attempts to register a qualifying firearm outside of the amnesty period if the veteran surrenders the firearm within 30 days after being notified of potential criminal liability for continued possession. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) transfer each firearm qualifying as a curio or relic which has been forfeited to the United States to the first qualified museum that requests it; and (2) publish information identifying each such firearm which is available to be transferred to a museum. Prohibits the Attorney General from destroying any such firearm which has been forfeited until five years after the forfeiture. Requires that any firearm transferred to a qualified museum be registered to the transferee. Makes a prohibition against transfer or possession of a machine-gun inapplicable to a transfer to or by, or possession by, a museum which is open to the public and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under applicable State law.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Thanks John R. Bolton, President George W. Bush's nominee to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, for his long-standing history of confronting corruption at the United Nations (UN). Urges him to continue his hard work and dedication to the implementation of measures that will restore the UN's credibility.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Railroad Competition Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends federal transportation law to specify the primary objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy. Requires a rail carrier, upon shipper request, to establish a rate for transportation and provide requested service between any two points on the carrier's system where traffic originates, terminates, or may reasonably be interchanged. Prohibits the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from issuing a certificate authorizing construction and operation of railroad lines, or exempting a person, class of persons, or a transaction or service from the certificate requirement, if such an activity involves a transfer of interest in a line of railroad from a Class I rail carrier to a Class II or III rail carrier, and the activity directly or indirectly would restrict: (1) the ability of the Class II or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with other carriers; or (2) competition of rail carriers in the region affected by the activity in a manner that would violate federal antitrust laws. Prescribes a procedure for shipper petition and STB review of any activity alleged to have resulted in a restriction of competition for at least ten years. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the STB's authority to require: (1) a rail carrier's terminal facilities to be used by another rail carrier subject to certain conditions; and (2) rail carriers to enter into reciprocal switching agreements. Prohibits the STB, in either instance, from requiring evidence of anticompetitive conduct by a rail carrier from which such access is sought. Requires the STB to designate any state or substantial part of a state as an area of inadequate rail competition after finding that: (1) it encompasses rail shipping origins and destinations served exclusively by one Class I railroad; and (2) persons that ship by rail or receive rail shipments in it pay rates exceeding a certain mark, or have experienced competitive disadvantage in the marketplace or other economic adversity because of high cost or poor rail service quality. Specifies actions the STB may take to resolve such anti-competitive conditions. Requires submission to arbitration of rail rate disputes. Requires the STB to adopt new methods for determining the reasonableness of rail rates. Establishes within the Department of Transportation (DOT) the Office of Rail Customer Advocacy. Requires the STB, in a proceeding involving the merger or control of at least two Class I railroads, to consider among other things the safety and environmental effect of the proposed transaction on local communities and rail passenger transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend, through December 31, 2008, the duty on Acrylic fiber tow (polyacrylonitrile tow) consisting of 1 to 12 sub-bundles crimped together, each containing 24,000 filaments (plus or minus 0.06) and 4-8 percent water, such acrylic fiber containing a minimum of 92 percent acrylonitrile, not more than 0.1 percent zinc, and average filament denier of 1.5 decitex (plus or minus 0.08).
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, upon request of the Secretary of Homeland Security, to assign members of the Armed Forces to assist: (1) the Bureau of Border Security of the Department of Homeland Security in preventing the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, and illegal aliens into the United States; and (2) the U.S. Customs Service in the inspection of cargo, vehicles, and aircraft at U.S. points of entry to prevent the entry of weapons of mass destruction and their components, prohibited narcotics or drugs, or other terrorist or drug trafficking items. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to certify that such request is necessary to respond to a threat to national security. Requires the Secretaries to establish a training program that must be completed by military personnel serving in such capacity. Requires any member so serving to be accompanied by a civilian law enforcement officer from the agency concerned. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish ongoing joint task forces to respond to threats to national security posed by the entry of terrorists, drug traffickers, or illegal aliens. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the governor and local governments of the State involved of the deployment of such members and the types of tasks to be performed. Prohibits any such assignment after September 30, 2007.
![Official portrait of Rep. Cubin, Barbara [R-WY-At Large]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000962_200.jpg)