United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2007
Nutrition and Opportunities for the Underserved and Rural Incentives to Secure the Heartland Act of 2007 or NOURISH Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish a program through FY2013 to provide greater access and opportunities for minority and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to Department of Agriculture programs and services; and (2) establish the USDA Minority Producer Land Preservation Commission (to terminate nine years after enactment of this Act) to review pending Department foreclosure proceedings. Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to extend authorization of appropriations for education grants for Hispanic-serving institutions. Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to revise pesticide recordkeeping provisions. Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for the inclusion of long-term health effects in labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish, within the Department's Office of Civil Rights and Community Outreach of the Risk Management Agency, an office of Farmworker Coordination; (2) establish a conservation initiative for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; (3) provide cost-share payments and incentive payments to individual producers to address air quality concerns associated with agriculture; (4) implement an integrated pest management initiative in priority areas; and (5) establish the rural regional entrepreneurship program. Authorizes the Secretary to make emergency grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers. Revises the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967. Establishes within the Department the Office of Special Counsel for Competition Matters which shall: (1) investigate and prosecute violations of this Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921; and (2) serve as a liaison between, and act in consultation with, the Department and the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector. Provides for Department and Department of Defense procurement of locally produced agricultural products. Establishes the national organic certification and transition cost share program (in lieu of the current national organic certification cost share program). Extends the: (1) conservation reserve program; (2) grassland reserve program; (3) environmental quality incentives program; (4) conservation innovation grant program; (5) wildlife habitat incentive program; (6) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) farmers' market nutrition program; (7) senior farmers nutrition program; (8) the community food project competitive grant program; (9) fresh fruit and vegetable program; and (10) farmers' market promotion program. Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to rename the food stamp program as the secure nutrition access program (program). Revises program provisions with respect to: (1) standard deduction increases; (2) combat pay, retirement account, and education account exclusions; (3) minimum benefit increases; (4) countable resource increases; (5) legal immigrant eligibility; (6) work requirements; (7) program administration; (8) cash payment pilot projects; (9) program reauthorization; (10) block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa; (11) outreach; (12) natural disasters; (13) Puerto Rico; (14) farmers' markets; and (15) the emergency food assistance program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2007 - Makes the repeal of the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes under the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 permanent (under the Act, those taxes would be reinstated after December 31, 2010).
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Financial Security Accounts for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt financial security accounts for individuals with disabilities to pay certain expenses of such individuals, including expenses for education, medical care, and employment training.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Recognizes the public service of Tony Blair during his tenure as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Expresses appreciation to Mr. Blair for his support for the United States and Britain's invaluable alliance to our nation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
States that the House of Representatives is deeply appreciative of the State Visit recently conducted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and celebrates the State Visit as having been an occasion to reaffirm the depth of the friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Syria Accountability and Liberation Act - States that U.S. sanctions, controls, and regulations relating to Syria shall remain in effect until the President certifies that Syria has ceased support for terrorism, has dismantled biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons programs and has committed to combat their proliferation, respects the boundaries and sovereignty of all neighboring countries, and upholds human rights and civil liberties. Imposes specified trade, assistance, and military sanctions, as appropriate, on persons or countries that transfer goods or technology so as to contribute to Syria's biological, chemical, nuclear, or advanced conventional weapons programs. Imposes specified sanctions aimed at Syria's energy sector. Sets forth diplomatic measures intended to isolate the government of Syria. Directs the President to provide assistance to support a democratic transition in Syria. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $500 for the purchase of a qualified hearing aid for an individual who is either: (1) age 55 or older; or (2) is claimed as a dependent of the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Federal Energy Price Protection Act of 2007 - Makes it an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act for any person to sell crude oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, or any biofuel at a price that constitutes price gouging. Instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to promulgate enforcement rules within six months after enactment of this Act. Grants enforcement authority exclusively to: (1) the FTC; (2) the Attorney General of the United States; or (3) state attorneys general. Prescribes guidelines for enforcement of civil actions by state attorneys general. Preempts state action while federal action is pending. Subjects violations of this Act to specified civil and criminal penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Supports implementation of the July 8, 2006, U.N.-brokered agreement between President of the Republic of Cyprus Tassos Papadopoulos and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat relating to the reunification of Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Hurricane Preparedness Week. Encourages the staff of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), especially at the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center, and other appropriate federal agencies to continue their outstanding work to educate people about hurricane preparedness. Urges the people of the United States to recognize such week as an opportunity to learn more about the Center's work and the risks associated with hurricanes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2007
Striving Readers Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to provide peer-reviewed grants for literacy initiatives benefiting students in grades 4 through 12 to: (1) local educational agencies (LEAs) eligible for school improvement funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, if appropriations under this Act are less than $200 million; or (2) state educational agencies (SEAs), and through them, to LEAs, if appropriations equal or exceed such amount. Allots funds to SEAs on the basis of their relative proportion of needy children aged 5 to 17 and eighth graders underachieving in reading. Requires SEAs, in addition to providing subgrants, to use grant funds to: (1) provide professional development assistance to LEAs; (2) enhance public higher education for students preparing to teach any of grades 4 through 12; (3) recommend improvements to state licensure and certification standards for reading instruction in such grades; and (4) report to the Secretary of Education on SEA and LEA progress in improving adolescent literacy. Requires LEAs to use grant or subgrant funds on literacy initiatives that include: (1) student need and progress assessments and reports; (2) development of adolescent literacy plans for underperforming students that provide intensive, accelerated, and extended instruction for such students and professional development for teachers; and (3) initiative training for school leaders. Prohibits the use of subgrant funds on schools that do not meet specified need criteria. Authorizes the withholding of grant or subgrants funds from SEAs and LEAs making insufficient progress in improving adolescent literacy. Requires a national evaluation and the dissemination of information regarding the effectiveness of the grant and subgrant programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins emblematic of the 100th anniversary of President Wilson's proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such coins beginning January 1, 2014, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date. Terminates such minting authority after December 31, 2014. Requires coin sales to include a $10 surcharge per coin, with distribution of such surcharges to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Osteoporosis Foundation for the purpose of furthering research.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2007
Montgomery GI Bill for Life Act of 2007 - Provides that, if an individual eligible for educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill is enrolled in an educational institution and the period of such individual's entitlement (ten years after discharge or release from active duty) would expire during a term, quarter, or semester of enrollment, that period shall be extended to the end of that term, quarter, or semester. Allows such an extension until the later of the end of the course or 12 weeks, in the case of an educational institution not regularly operated on a quarter or semester basis. Repeals the: (1) 14-year (after first becoming entitled) limit on the use of educational assistance by members of the Selected Reserve; and (2) ten-year limit on the use educational assistance by members of the Ready Reserve who are separated due to disability after supporting contingency and certain other operations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
Retirement Security for Life Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income for 50 percent of the amount otherwise includible in gross income as guaranteed payments from certain annuity or life insurance contracts. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $20,000 in any taxable year. Provides for an inflation adjustment of the $20,000 limitation beginning in 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to: (1) conduct, coordinate, and support research and other activities with respect to pre-diabetes and diabetes in minority populations; and (2) conduct and support programs to treat diabetes in minority populations. Requires the Director of NIH, through the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, to provide for: (1) health care professionals' mentoring; and (2) minority health professionals' participation in diabetes-focused research programs. Directs the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to develop and implement a federal plan to address diabetes mellitus within communities of color. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) conduct and support research and other activities with respect to diabetes in minority populations; (2) direct the Division of Diabetes Translation to conduct and support programs to educate the public on diabetes in minority populations; and (3) carry out diabetes health promotion and prevention programs for minority populations. Directs the Secretary to carry out: (1) education and awareness programs designed to increase participation of minority populations in clinical trials; and (2) mentorship programs for minority researchers who are conducting research on diabetes in minority populations. Provides for studies on the shortage of adult and pediatric endocrinologists specializing in diabetes and on outcomes of minority children with diabetes compared to non-minority children.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2007
Supports the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the world's largest humanitarian network, by honoring World Red Cross Red Crescent Day.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Investment in America Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase from 12 to 20% the rate of the alternative simplified tax credit for research expenses; (2) make permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities; and (3) repeal the alternative incremental tax credit for research expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Automatic IRA Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) require certain small employers who do not offer qualified retirement plans or arrangements to their employees to allow eligible employees to participate in a payroll deposit individual retirement account (IRA) arrangement (automatic IRAs); (2) allow employers who do not have more than 100 employees a tax credit for costs associated with establishing a payroll deposit IRA arrangement; and (3) treat automatic IRAs as individual retirement accounts (and as Roth IRAs) for income tax purposes. Establishes in the executive branch the TSP II Board to establish policies and procedures relating to payroll deposit IRA arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Thomas J. Manton Prostate Cancer Early Detection and Treatment Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states to carry out: (1) prostate cancer prevention programs (including screening and referrals for treatment); and (2) demonstration projects to provide preventive health services with respect to prostate cancer (including blood pressure and cholesterol screenings). Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow states to provide medical assistance to individuals who have been screened for prostate cancer under this Act and who need treatment for prostate cancer. Applies provisions related to breast and cervical cancer programs to programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Urges the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to observe its obligations under the 1995 U.N.-brokered Interim Accord which directs the parties (FYROM and Greece) to prohibit hostile activities or propaganda by state-controlled agencies and to discourage acts by private entities likely to incite hatred or hostility and review the contents of textbooks, maps, and teaching aids to ensure that such tools are stating accurate information. Urges the FYROM to work, within the framework of the U.N. process, with Greece to reach a mutually-acceptable official name for the FYROM.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) restrictions on U.S. visits by high-level elected and appointed officials of Taiwan, including the President of Taiwan, should be lifted; (2) the United States should allow direct Cabinet level exchanges in order to strengthen a policy dialogue with Taiwan; and (3) it is in the U.S. national interest to strengthen links with the democratically-elected government of Taiwan and demonstrate stronger support for democracy in the Asia-Pacific region.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should increase trade opportunities with Taiwan by launching negotiations to enter into a free trade agreement with Taiwan.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2007
Medicare Anesthesiology Teaching Funding Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) to set forth a special payment rule of 100% of the fee schedule amount for teaching anesthesiologists involved in the training of physician residents, if certain presence and availability requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2007
Federal Employee Combat Zone Tax Parity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of civilian federal employees compensation for active service in a combat zone or for periods of hospitalization for wounds, diseases, or injuries incurred while serving in a combat zone.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2007
Liberian Refugee Immigration Protection Act of 2007 - Provides for the permanent resident status adjustment of certain Liberian nationals who were granted, or are eligible to apply for, temporary protected status on or after March 27, 1991.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2007
Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or would be entitled to such pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits recoupment by the Secretary of Defense of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member. Changes to October 1, 2007 (previously October 1, 2008) the effective date for paid-up coverage provisions under the SBP and the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2007
Commemorates the 400th Anniversary of the founding of the colony Jamestown in 1607, and urges all Americans to honor this seminal event in our nation's history.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Mortgage Cancellation Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income amounts attributable to the discharge of certain residential mortgage obligations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Expanding the Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene, on behalf of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Treatments, Interventions, and Services Evaluation Task Force to evaluate evidence-based biomedical and behavioral treatments and services for individuals with autism; (2) establish a multi-year demonstration grant program for states to provide evidence-based autism treatments, interventions, and services. (3) establish planning and demonstration grant programs for adults with autism; (4) award grants to states for access to autism services following diagnosis; (5) award grants to University Centers of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities to provide services and address the unmet needs of individuals with autism and their families; (6) make grants to protection and advocacy systems to address the needs of individuals with autism and other emerging populations of individuals with disabilities; and (7) award a grant to a national nonprofit organization for the establishment and maintenance of a national technical assistance center for autism services and information dissemination. Directs the Comptroller General to issue a report on the financing of autism services and treatments.
United States · United States Congress · 16 April 2007
Commends the University of Florida Gators for their historic win in the 2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. Recognizes the achievements of the players, coaches, students, and support staff who were instrumental in the Gators' victory.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 1 Freedom Way in Augusta, Georgia, as the "Charlie Norwood Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center."
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD), or the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), and acting through existing programs at the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, to establish a grant program for joint ventures, comprised of both Israeli and U.S. private business entities or of U.S. and Israeli academic persons, to implement projects to encourage cooperation between the United States and Israel on research, development, or commercialization of alternative energy, improved energy efficiency, or renewable energy sources. Establishes in the Department of Energy an International Energy Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the grant program and grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Managing Arson Through Criminal History (MATCH) Act of 2007 - Requires jurisdictions (i.e., states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and possessions, and federally recognized Indian tribes) to establish and maintain jurisdiction-wide arsonist registries and make such registries available on the Internet. Requires a criminal arsonist to register in each jurisdiction in which such arsonist resides, is an employee, or is a student. Sets forth other registration requirements and the information required to be provided in a registry by the criminal arsonist and jurisdictions. Allows jurisdictions to exempt from disclosure certain information about an arsonist, including the arsonist's employer and enrollment at an educational institution. Requires the Attorney General to maintain a national database at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (to be known as the National Arsonist Registry) and a national arsonist Internet site containing information on each criminal arsonist registered in a jurisdiction's registry or listed on a jurisdiction's Internet site, respectively. Directs the Attorney General to establish a Criminal Arsonist Management Assistance program for awarding grants to jurisdictions to offset the costs of implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exempt certain returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker) from annual numerical limitations.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Catastrophe Savings Accounts Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create tax-exempt catastrophe savings accounts (CSAs). Allows tax-free distributions from CSAs to pay expenses resulting from a presidentially declared major disaster. Limits CSA balances to: (1) $2,000 (for individuals with homeowner insurance deductibles of not more than $1,000); and (2) the lesser of $15,000 or twice a homeowner's insurance deductible (for individuals with deductibles of more than $1,000).
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2007 - Requires the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative and to cooperate with other specified federal agencies to carry it out. Requires such Initiative to set research objectives (based on a National Science Board report on the need for such Initiative) to: (1) make recommendations to the Board; (2) assemble the expertise of U.S. science and engineering capabilities through a multi-agency effort focused on infrastructure, the natural environment, and improving understanding of hurricane prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal populations; and (3) make grants for hurricane research, including regarding hurricane dynamics, modification, and observation, air-sea interaction, relationships between hurricanes and climate, predicting flooding and storm surge, coastal infrastructure, building construction, emergency communication networks, information utilization by public officials, and sharing computational capability. Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate U.S. activities related to the Initiative as a formal program with a well-defined organizational structure and execution plan. Directs the Under Secretary and the Director to: (1) establish a National Infrastructure Database to catalog infrastructure, provide information to improve information public policy related to hurricanes, and provide data to improve researchers' abilities to measure hurricane impacts in order to improve building codes and urban planning; and (2) develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct integrative research and facilitate the transfer of research knowledge to operational applications.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Celebrates the 500th anniversary of the first use of the name "America" to describe areas in the Western Hemisphere. Honors the explorations of Amerigo Vespucci and other navigators who contributed to the discovery of the Western Hemisphere. Acknowledges the significance of Martin Waldseemuller's 1507 map of the world and accompanying book, "Cosmographiae Introductio" which changed the accepted geographical view of the world and first officially used the name "America." Encourages the inhabitants of all countries of the Western Hemisphere who have the privilege to share this great name "America" to join with the House of Representatives and citizens of the United States of America in this historic celebration.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act of 2007 - Amends federal law governing the National Archives and Records Administration to direct the Archivist of the United States to: (1) establish a collection of records known as the Holocaust Insurance Registry, consisting of specified information provided under the Holocaust Victims Insurance Relief Act of 2007; and (2) make it accessible to the public. Requires the Secretary of State to seek agreements with European countries to make information on covered policies available to the Registry. Requires: (1) insurers to file certain disclosures of Holocaust-Era policies with the Secretary of Commerce; and (2) the Secretary to provide them to the Archivist. Subjects insurer noncompliance to a civil penalty. Requires the Secretary to notify each state's commissioner of insurance of the identity of each noncompliant insurer. States that this Act does not preempt state holocaust insurance statutes. Establishes a federal cause of action for treble damages for any claim against insurer or related company arising out of or related to an insurance policy: (1) in effect at any time between January 30, 1933, and December 31, 1945; and (2) issued to a policyholder domiciled in any area that was occupied or controlled by Nazi Germany or by any ally or sympathizer of Nazi Germany.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 601 Banyan Trail in Boca Raton, Florida, as the "Leonard W. Herman Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Act -States that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) undertake measures to deny the government of Cuba, the Cuban Communist Party, or any of their instrumentalities the financial resources to engage in activities that threaten U.S. national security and other interests, threaten Cuba's environment and natural resources and Florida's marine environment, and prolong the dictatorship that oppresses the Cuban people; and (2) deter foreign investments that would enhance the Cuban regime's ability to develop its petroleum resources. Amends the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996 to exclude from U.S. entry an alien who: (1) is an officer or principal of an entity, or a shareholder who owns a controlling interest in an entity that makes an investment (as defined by this Act) of $1 million or more (or any combination of investments that equals or exceeds $1 million in any 12-month period), that significantly contributes to Cuba's ability to develop petroleum resources off its submerged lands; or (2) is a spouse, minor child, or agent of such person. Exempts on a case-by-case basis entries: (1) for medical reasons or property-related litigation; or (2) where a transition government is in place. Defines "investment" and "petroleum resources" for purposes of this Act. Directs the President to impose two or more specified export, procurement, financial institution, loan, or Export-Import Bank sanctions if the President determines that a person has made an investment of $1 million or more (or any combination of investments that in the aggregate equals or exceeds $1 million in any 12-month period) that contributes to the enhancement of Cuba's ability to develop petroleum resources off its submerged lands or has made an investment of any amount of money that contributes to such an enhancement and has trafficked in confiscated U.S. property. Makes it illegal for a U.S. person to facilitate Cuba's ability to develop petroleum resources off its submerged lands. Directs the Secretary of State to report annually respecting the impact of the development of Cuba's petroleum resources on the environment and natural resources of Cuba's submerged lands and Florida's marine environment.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Condemns the Islamic Republic of Iran for the seizure of 15 British marines and sailors and demands their unconditional release. Calls on the U.N. Security Council to condemn this seizure and explore new sanctions against Iran, including gasoline restrictions, to prevent further Iranian hostile action, deny Iran's ability to militarize the Persian Gulf, and enforce Iran's nonproliferation commitments.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007 or STRIVE Act of 2007- Prohibits the Secretary of Homeland Security from implementing the New Worker Program established in title IV or grant conditional nonimmigrant classification under title VI of this Act prior to certification to the President and to Congress that specified conditions have been met respecting: (1) border security; (2) document security; and (3) first phase implementation of the electronic employment verification system. Sets forth border security and enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) personnel and asset increases and enhancements; (2) a National Strategy for Border Security; (3) border security initiatives, including biometric data enhancements and a biometric entry-exit system, and document integrity, (4) international cooperation; (5) Central American gangs; and (6) National Guard use on the southern border. Authorizes a border relief grant program for a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency in a county: (1) no more than 100 miles from a U.S. border with Canada or Mexico; or (2) more than 100 miles from any such border but which is a high impact area. Sets forth protections for asylum seekers and other immigrants who are subject to expedited removal and/or detention. Establishes within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) an Office of Detention Oversight. Provides for a secure (detention) alternatives program. Directs the Secretary to develop a plan to combat human smuggling. Sets forth interior enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) criminal aliens; (2) voluntary departure; (3) expedited removal; (4) background checks; (5) the state criminal alien assistance program; (6) tribal lands security; (7) state and local enforcement of immigration laws; (8) detention and alternatives; (9) passport and immigration fraud; (10) illegal entry and reentry; (11) detention and removal; (12) criminal penalties; (13) alien street gang members; and (14) alien smuggling. Makes it unlawful to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer for a fee an unauthorized alien. Sets forth verification provisions. Provides for implementation of an electronic employment verification system, which shall include required, voluntary, and excluded employer categories. Sets forth system provisions respecting: (1) procedures; (2) criminal and civil penalties; and (3) privacy and anti-discrimination safeguards. Provides for additional worksite and fraud detection personnel. Establishes a temporary guest worker program (H-2C visa) (New Worker Program) of 400,000 initial entrants. Provides for: (1) a three-year admission with one additional three-year extension; (2) issuance of H-4 nonimmigrant visas for accompanying or following spouses and children; (3) U.S. and guest worker protections; (4) implementation of an alien employment management system; (5) specified employer obligations; and (6) establishment of a Standing Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets. Provides for H-2C adjustment of status to permanent resident if the alien: (1) has been employed in H-2C status for a cumulative period of at least five years and establishes evidence of employment; (2) pays a $500 application fee; (3) is physically present in the United States; and (4) is pursuing English language and U.S. history education. Directs the Secretary of State to negotiate bilateral agreements with H-2C worker home countries. Sets forth backlog reduction provisions respecting: (1) family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels, including recapture of unused visas; (2) country limits; (3) immigrant visa allocations; (4) shortage occupations; (5) nurses and physical therapists; (6) Iraqi and Afghan translators; (7) aliens of extraordinary artistic ability; (8) Canadian powerline workers and boilermakers; (9) aliens in specialty occupations; (10) U.S. educated immigrants; (11) students; (12) L-visa (intracompany transfer) aliens; and (13) minor children and widows. Provides for status adjustment filing of qualifying employment based immigrants regardless of whether an immigrant visa is immediately available. Establishes a special immigrant category for certain children and women at risk of harm. Exempt sons and daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized under the Immigration Act of 1990 from worldwide or numerical limitations on immigrant visas. Provides that determinations under the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 as to whether an individual is a child of a parent shall be made using the individual's age and status on October 21, 1998. Expands the S-visa (witness/informant) classification. Limits the L-visa (intracompany transfer) classification. Replaces the existing fashion model H-1B visa classification with an O-visa classification. Return of Talent Act - Directs the Secretary to establish the return of talent program to permit eligible aliens to temporarily return to their country of citizenship in order to make a material contribution if the country is engaged in post-conflict or natural disaster reconstruction activities. Major Disaster and Emergency Victims Immigration Benefits Preservation Act - Sets forth disaster- or emergency-related immigration benefit preservation provisions respecting: (1) special immigrant status; (2) filing or reentry deadline extensions; (3) surviving spouses and children, including surviving spouses and children of refugees and asylees; (4) waiver of public charge inadmissibility grounds; (5) age-out protection; (6) documents and address requirements; and (7) foreign students. Authorizes a six-year conditional nonimmigrant status for a qualifying alien (and spouse and children as conditional nonimmigrant dependents) who has been illegally and continually present and employed in the United States since before June 1, 2006 up to the present. Requires: (1) criminal and security background checks; (2) payment of a $500 fine and applicable application fees; and (3) payment of tax obligations. Prohibits such status for an alien who has: (1) participated in persecutions; or (2) been convicted of a felony or three or more misdemeanors. Permits permanent resident status adjustment. Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2007 or DREAM Act of 2007 - Repeals the denial of an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on state residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such state residence. Authorizes the Secretary to cancel the removal of, and adjust to conditional permanent resident status, an alien who: (1) entered the United States before his or her sixteenth birthday, and has been present in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding enactment of this Act; (2) is a person of good moral character; (3) is not inadmissible or deportable under specified grounds; (4) at the time of application, has been admitted to an institution of higher education, or has earned a high school or equivalent diploma; and (5) from the age of 16 and older, has never been under a final order of exclusion, deportation, or removal. Sets forth the conditions for conditional permanent resident status. Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2007 or AgJOBS Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary to confer "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed agricultural employment in the United States for at least 863 hours or 150 work days during the 24-month period ending on December 31, 2006; (2) applied for such status during the 18-month application period beginning on the first day of the seventh month that begins after the date of enactment of this Act; (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States; and (4) has not been convicted of any felony or a misdemeanor, an element of which involves bodily injury, threat of serious bodily injury, or harm to property in excess of $500. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and minor children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Amends the Social Security Act to exempt blue card aliens from prosecution for social security-related identity or payment false statements if such conduct occurred prior to the granting of blue card status. Revises H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Replaces the existing labor certification requirement with a labor attestation requirement containing: (1) a description of the nature and location of the job; (2) the job's expected beginning and ending dates; (3) the number of jobs; and (4) specified labor assurances respecting job opportunities covered by collective bargaining agreements and non-covered job opportunities. Authorizes an initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grant program. Strengthening American Citizenship Act of 2007 - Directs the Chief of the Office of Citizenship of DHS to provide grants to assist legal U.S. residents who declare an intent to apply for citizenship in the United States to meet naturalization requirements. Provides that a legal U.S. resident who demonstrates English fluency will satisfy the residency requirement upon the completion of four years (currently, five years) of continuous U.S. legal residency. Directs the Secretary to establish an American citizenship grant program for qualified entities to provide civics, history, and English classes to promote the patriotic integration of prospective citizens. Authorizes the Secretary to establish the United States Citizenship Foundation to support the functions of the Office of Citizenship. Establishes a new citizens award program to recognize citizens who: (1) have made an outstanding contribution to the United States; and (2) were naturalized during the ten-year period ending on the date of such recognition. Authorizes the Secretary of State to award a grant to a U.S. land grant university to establish a national program for a broad, university-based Mexican rural poverty mitigation program. Provides for increases in DHS immigration attorneys and Department of Justice immigration attorneys and judges. Expresses the sense of Congress that an effective and fair immigration court system should be established. Sets forth citizenship assistance provisions for members of the Armed Forces. Provides permanent resident status adjustment or cancellation of removal and permanent resident status adjustment for a requesting alien who was on September 10, 2001, the wife, child, or dependent son or daughter of a lawful nonimmigrant alien who died as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States. Authorizes an alien who is under removal or ordered to depart voluntarily from the United States to apply for such status adjustment. Excludes from such provisions an alien who is: (1) inadmissible or deportable under criminal or security grounds, including September 11, 2001, terrorist activity; or (2) a family member of such an alien. Establishes: (1) the Office of Internal Corruption Investigation; (2) the State Impact Assistance Account; and (3) the New Worker Program and Conditional Nonimmigrant Fee Account; and (4) the Immigrant Entrepeneur Regional Account Center. Provide permanent resident status adjustment for certain persecuted religious minorities. Establishes grants for state courts to implement programs to assist individuals with limited English proficiency to understand court proceedings. Provides for notice and hearing if DHS intends to remove an alien to a country other than the one designated at the removal hearing. Requires that Department of State and Department of Justice immigration documents comply with specified authentication, documentation, and machine readable standards.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Children's Access to Reconstructive Evaluation & Surgery (CARES) Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, that cover surgical benefits to also cover outpatient and inpatient diagnosis and treatment of a congenital or developmental deformity, disease, or injury of a minor child (defined as child under the age of 22). Requires that such coverage: (1) be subject to pre-authorization or pre-certification requirements of the plan or issuer; and (2) include any surgical treatment deemed by the treating physician to be medically necessary to approximate a normal appearance. Defines "treatment" to include reconstructive surgical procedures that are performed on abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects, abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease, including: (1) procedures that do not materially affect the function of the body part being treated; and (2) procedures for secondary conditions and follow-up treatment. Excludes cosmetic surgery performed to reshape normal structures of the body to improve appearance or self-esteem.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in recognition of Constantino Brumidi's contributions to the Nation as a designer and decorator of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to arrange for the gold medal to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Constantino Brumidi.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act - Repeals, as of the later of October 1, 2007, or the date of enactment of this Act, certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military pay or who would be entitled to retired pay except for being under 60 years of age. Provides for the recoupment of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to waive the recoupment requirement in certain cases. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable amount of the railroad track maintenance tax credit; (2) extend such credit through 2010; and (3) allow such credit against alternative minimum tax liabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act or EAT Healthy America Act - Amends provisions with respect to: (1) specialty crops; (2) the tree assistance program; (3) the conservation reserve program; (4) the wetlands reserve program; (5) the farmland protection program; (6) the grassland reserve program; (7) the wildlife habitat incentive program; (8) the environmental qualities incentives program; (9) air quality improvement; (10) integrated pest management initiative; (11) the conservation loan guarantee program; (12) agricultural trade; (13) invasive pests and diseases; (14) nutrition; (15) agricultural research; (16) renewable energy, including crop biomass waste; and (17) farm labor housing.
![Official portrait of Rep. Diaz-Balart, Lincoln [R-FL-21]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000299_200.jpg)