United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2007
Earmark Reform Act 2007 - Amends the Congressional Budget of 1974 to subdivide amounts allocated to the congressional appropriations committees into: (1) a specified total of new budget authority and outlays for earmarks in appropriations measures for the first fiscal year of the first concurrent budget resolution; and (2) an amount of total new budget authority and outlays for such earmarks for the first fiscal year of each ensuing budget resolution equal to 1% of total new budget authority and total outlays allocated to such committees. (Thus caps total earmarks at 1% of total new budget authority and total outlays allocated each fiscal year to such committees.) Makes it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, or amendment if its enactment would cause the applicable allocation of new budget authority or outlays for a fiscal year to be exceeded.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2007
Securing America's Future Economy Commission Act, or SAFE Commission Act - Establishes the Securing America's Future Economy (SAFE) Commission to develop legislation designed to address: (1) the unsustainable imbalance between long-term federal spending commitments and projected revenues; (2) increases in net national savings to provide for domestic investment and economic growth; (3) the implications of foreign ownership of federally issued debt instruments; and (4) revision of the budget process to place greater emphasis on long-term fiscal issues. Requires the Commission to: (1) develop one or two methods for estimating the cost of legislation as an alternative to the current Congressional Budget Office (CBO) method; and (2) hold at least one town-hall style public hearing within each federal reserve district. Requires the Commission to submit a legislative proposal to Congress and the President. Authorizes the President to submit to Congress an alternative proposal. Authorizes the Committee on the Budget of either chamber to publish its own alternative proposal in the Congressional Record. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such legislation. Requires CBO to prepare a long-term cost estimate and have it published in the Congressional Record as expeditiously as possible whenever requested to do so by the Commission, the President, or the chairman or ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget of either chamber.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2007
Equity for Our Nation's Self Employed Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow self-employed individuals to deduct health insurance costs in computing the tax on self-employment income.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the 15-year recovery period for purposes of the tax deduction for depreciation of qualified restaurant property. Revises the term "qualified restaurant property" to include existing buildings as well as improvements to buildings.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2007
Protecting Children from Indecent Programming Act - Amends the Public Telecommunications Act of 1992 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in applying regulations prohibiting the broadcasting of indecent programming, to maintain a policy that a single word or image may constitute indecent programming.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2007
Accountability in Enforcing Immigration Laws Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to subject all illegal alien entrants to fines. (Under current law, first-time offenses are subject to such fines and/or six months' imprisonment, and subsequent offenses are subject to such fines and/or two years' imprisonment.) Directs United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide for: (1) detention of illegal aliens who are apprehended by state or local law enforcement officers; and (2) reimbursement of state and local detention costs. Requires certain airport security screeners to undergo immigration status checks. Requires owners and operators of high-risk critical infrastructure sites, in order to receive buffer zone protection grants, to conduct terrorist watchlist and immigration status database checks of security employees. Condemns rapes by smugglers along the U.S. land border and urges the government of Mexico to work with United States Customs and Border Protection to take preventive action. Affirms the inherent authority of state and local law enforcement personnel to assist in immigration enforcement while carrying out their routine duties. States that such provision shall not be construed to require such personnel to: (1) report the identity of a victim of, or a witness to, a criminal offense to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); or (2) arrest such victim or witness for an immigration-related violation. Directs DHS to establish an immigration-related training manual for state and local law enforcement personnel. Provides financial assistance to state and local law enforcement agencies for immigration enforcement assistance. Continues the institutional removal program and expands it to all states. Authorizes permanent appropriations for the state criminal alien assistance program. Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center Database.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2007
Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act of 2007 or the Charlie Norwood CLEAR Act of 2007 - States that: (1) state and local law enforcement personnel, in the course of their routine duties, have the inherent authority to investigate, apprehend, or transfer to federal custody aliens in the United States (including interstate transportation of such aliens to detention centers) in order to assist in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; and (2) effective two years after enactment of this Act, a state that has in effect a statute, policy, or practice prohibiting such law enforcement assistance shall not receive certain federal incarceration assistance. Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center database. Directs states and localities to provide the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) with specified information about apprehended aliens who are believed to be in violation of U.S. immigration laws. Provides federal reimbursement for related state and local costs. (States that such provision shall not require state or local enforcement officials to provide DHS with information related to a victim of a crime or witness to a criminal offense.) Directs the Secretary to make grants to states and political subdivisions that enforce immigration laws in the course of their routine law enforcement duties for special equipment and facilities related to arresting, detaining, or transporting illegal aliens. Directs the Secretary to: (1) construct or acquire 20 additional detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal (or a decision on removal); and (2) consider the transfer of military installations under base closure laws for such purposes. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local request; and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. States with respect to an alien subject to removal that the Attorney General or Secretary shall ensure such alien's detention in an adequate (as defined by this Act) state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility prior to his or her removal examination. Directs the Secretary to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides: (1) personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties under this Act; and (2) civil rights money damage immunity for state or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement. Continues the institutional removal program (IRP), which shall be expanded to all states. Authorizes state or local detention of an illegal alien after completion of such alien's prison sentence for: (1) up to 14 days to facilitate federal transfer; or (2) until transfer to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 and subsequent fiscal years for the state criminal alien assistance program (SCAAP).
United States · United States Congress · 4 August 2007
Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to request the Senate to return H.R. 3161 (making FY2008 appropriations for agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, and related agencies programs) and modify the engrossment of the bill to prohibit fund use: (1) to employ an alien who is not authorized to be employed in the United States; and (2) for rental housing assistance to an alien not authorized to receive such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Federal Dog Protection Act - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to make it unlawful to knowingly: (1) sponsor or exhibit an animal in, or knowingly attend, a dog fighting venture; (2) sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive for purposes of transportation any dog or other animal for the purpose of having the dog or other animal, or offspring of the dog or other animal, participate in a dog fighting venture; or (3) use the U.S. mail service or any instrumentality of interstate commerce for commercial speech that promotes or furthers such prohibited actions. Makes costs incurred for the care of animals seized and forfeited recoverable from the owner (currently recoverable costs are limited to those incurred by the United States). Allows animal control agencies, humane societies, or societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals to commence a civil suit to enjoin any private party who is alleged to be in violation of provisions concerning animal fighting. Provides for enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2007
National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty, and history of the U.S. Infantry, in commemoration of the legacy of the U.S. Army Infantry and the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center. Expresses the sense of Congress that the coins should be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York, to the greatest extent possible. Restricts coin issuance to calendar year 2012. Requires a $10 surcharge per coin, and payment of all surcharges received to the National Infantry Foundation to establish an endowment to support the maintenance of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2007
Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to redefine "electronic surveillance" as: (1) the installation or use of an electronic, mechanical, or other surveillance device for acquiring information by intentionally directing surveillance at a particular person believed to be in the United States when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes; or (2) the intentional acquisition of the contents of any communication when that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and a warrant would be required for law enforcement purposes, if both the sender and all intended recipients are believed to be in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2007
Saving Our Community Pharmacies Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for: (1) use of median retail acquisition cost as the basis for Medicaid reimbursement limits on generic drugs; and (2) establishment of an evidence-based prescription drug program. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the costs of community retail pharmacies to dispense prescription drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
Amends commercial motor vehicle safety requirements to exempt drivers of intrastate commercial vehicles engaged in agricultural-related activities from certain federal commercial motor vehicle and operator regulations. Revises the definition of the term "commercial motor vehicle" with respect to federal commercial motor vehicle laws, including to mean a motor vehicle used in commerce to transport passengers or property that has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 26,001 pounds (under current law, a motor vehicle used in commerce to transport passengers or property that has a gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight of at least 26,001 pounds, whichever is greater, or a lesser gross vehicle weight rating or gross vehicle weight the Secretary of Transportation prescribes by regulation, but not less than a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds).
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2007
No More Excuses Energy Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations for the taxpayer election to expense the cost of certain refinery property not later than 60 days after the enactment of this Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow the issuance of tax exempt facility bonds for the financing of domestic use oil refinery facilities; (2) extend through 2018 the tax credit for producing electricity from wind facilities; and (3) allow tax credits for the production of electricity from nuclear energy, natural gas production, and carbon dioxide tertiary injectant processes. Requires the President to designate at least 10 sites for oil or natural gas refineries on federal lands and make such sites available to the private sector for construction of refineries. Prohibits the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from denying an application for nuclear waste disposal on the grounds of present or future insufficient capacity. Terminates all existing federal laws prohibiting expenditures to conduct oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing activities in the Outer Continental Shelf. American-Made Energy and Good Jobs Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish and implement a competitive oil and gas leasing program in the Coastal Plain of Alaska. Repeals the prohibition against producing oil and gas from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Sets forth requirements for the sale of oil and natural gas leases in the Coastal Plain, environmental protection, transportation easements, and royalty payments to Alaska. Establishes in the Treasury the Coastal Plain Local Government Impact Aid Assistance Fund to assist Alaska jurisdictions that are directly impacted by oil and gas exploration and production in the Coastal Plain.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2007
Patient and Pharmacy Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007, to limit to Controlled Substances Act schedule II narcotics the use of tamper-resistant prescription pads required under the Medicaid program for payment of amounts expended for covered outpatient drugs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812. Requires a coin design emblematic of the War of 1812, particularly the Battle for Fort McHenry that formed the basis for the Star-Spangled Banner . Authorizes the Secretary to issue the coins only during the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2012. Requires specified surcharges in sales of the coin, which shall be paid to the Star-Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission for: (1) the purpose of supporting bicentennial activities; and (2) preservation and improvement activities relating to the sites and structures relating to the War of 1812.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Broadcaster Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), notwithstanding any other provision of any Act, from having the authority to require broadcasters to present opposing viewpoints on controversial issues of public importance, commonly referred to as the Fairness Doctrine.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Revises corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE standards) provisions for non-passenger and passenger automobiles to: (1) provide for increased average fuel economy standards for non-passenger and passenger automobiles; (2) permit separate average fuel economy standards for non-passenger and passenger automobiles based on vehicle attributes related to fuel economy; (3) establish a a corporate average fuel economy credit transferring program within a manufacturer's fleet; (4) establish an account to fund domestic commercialization and production of advanced technology vehicles and vehicle components; and (5) extend for 10 years provisions providing manufacturing incentives for alternative fuel automobiles. Establishes a national tire fuel efficiency consumer information program. Provides for the establishment of a public education campaign to provide information to U.S. drivers about immediate measures that may be taken to conserve transportation fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2007
Honors the life and accomplishments of Tom Lea (a renowned artist and war artist correspondent for Life magazine during World War II) on the 100th anniversary of his birth.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to establish penalties for knowingly making available a computer-assisted remote hunt (i.e., using a computer or other device, equipment, or software to allow a person remotely to control the aiming and discharge of a weapon to kill or injure an animal while not in the targeted animal's physical presence).
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2007
Help Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2007 - Sets conditions for lawsuits arising from health care liability claims regarding health care goods or services or any medical product affecting interstate commerce. Sets a statute of limitations of three years after the date of manifestation of injury or one year after the claimant discovers the injury, with certain exceptions. Provides that nothing in this Act limits recovery of the full amount of available economic damages. Limits noneconomic damages to $250,000. Makes each party liable only for the amount of damages directly proportional to such party's percentage of responsibility. Allows the court to restrict the payment of attorney contingency fees. Limits the fees to a decreasing percentage based on the increasing value of the amount awarded. Allows the introduction of collateral source benefits and the amount paid to secure such benefits as evidence. Prohibits a provider of such benefits from recovering any amount from an award in a health care lawsuit involving injury or wrongful death. Authorizes the award of punitive damages only where: (1) it is proven by clear and convincing evidence that a person acted with malicious intent to injure the claimant or deliberately failed to avoid unnecessary injury the claimant was substantially certain to suffer; and (2) compensatory damages are awarded. Limits punitive damages to the greater of two times the amount of economic damages or $250,000. Denies punitive damages in the case of products approved, cleared, or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or otherwise considered in compliance with FDA standards. Provides for periodic payments of future damages.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Boutique Fuel Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends the Clean Air Act to add as "extreme and unusual circumstances that prevent the distribution of an adequate supply of fuel or fuel additives to consumers" under which the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may temporarily waive a control or prohibition on the use of a fuel or fuel additive circumstances that are the result of unexpected problems with equipment necessary for transportation and delivery of fuel or fuel additives. States that EPA shall have no authority, when considering a state implementation plan (SIP) or SIP revision, to approve any fuel included in such plan or revision if the effect of such approval increases the total number of fuels set forth on the published list of approved fuels (currently EPA does not have the authority to approve a fuel if it increases the total number of fuels approved as of September 1, 2004, in all SIPs). Requires notice and opportunity for comment before the Administrator removes a fuel from the list. Requires EPA to remove a fuel from the list if such fuel has ceased to be included in an SIP or is identical to a federal fuel control or prohibition. Repeals provisions prohibiting EPA from reducing the total number of authorized fuels. Requires EPA to publish a revised list reflecting the reduction in the number of fuels. Deletes as a condition under which the Administrator's authority to approve a control or prohibition respecting any new fuel is limited that such new fuel will increase the total number of fuels on the list.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Revises federal coin design requirements for $1 coins honoring each of the Presidents of the United States. Transfers from the edge of such a coin to either the obverse or the reverse face the inscription "In God We Trust."
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Calls for the establishment of a National Youth Sports Week to promote awareness of the importance of youth sports and the need to restore the focus in youth sports on the child's experience and character development.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Parental Consent Act of 2007 - Prohibits federal funds from being used to establish or implement any universal or mandatory mental health, psychiatric, or socioemotional screening program. Prohibits federal education funds from being used to pay any local educational agency or other instrument of government that uses the refusal of a parent or legal guardian to provide consent to mental health screening as the basis of a charge of child abuse, child neglect, medical neglect, or education neglect until the agency or instrument demonstrates that it is no longer using such refusal as a basis of such charge. Defines a screening program under this Act as any mental health screening program in which a set of individuals is automatically screened without regard to whether there was a prior indication of a need for mental health treatment, including: (1) any program of state incentive grants to implement recommendations in the July 2003 report of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the State Early Childhood Comprehensive System, grants for TeenScreen, and the Foundations for Learning Grants; and (2) any student mental health screening program that allows mental health screening of individuals under 18 years of age without the express, written, voluntary, informed consent of the parent or legal guardian of the individual involved.
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 · 15 May 2007
New Markets for State-Inspected Meat and Poultry Act of 2007 - Rewrites and renames title III (currently titled,"Federal and State Cooperation") of the Federal Meat Inspection Act as "State Meat Inspection Programs." States that: (1) the goal of a safe and wholesome supply of meat and meat food products would be better served if a consistent set of requirements were applied to all meat and meat food products whether produced under state or federal inspection; (2) under such a system state and federal meat inspection programs would function together to ensure food safety; and (3) such a system would ensure the viability of state meat inspection programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to approve a qualifying state meat inspection program and allow the shipment in commerce of carcasses, parts of carcasses, meat, and meat food products so inspected. Sets forth eligibility requirements, including that a state must enforce the requirements of titles I, II, and IV of the Act and enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to review approved plans annually. Directs the Secretary to review each state's meat and poultry inspection program, which shall include: (1) a determination of the plan's effectiveness; and (2) identification of changes necessary to ensure enforcement of federal inspection requirements. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a cooperative agreement with a state that, among other things: (1) establishes the terms governing the relationship between a state program and the Secretary; (2) requires a state to adopt provisions identical to titles I, II, and IV of the Act; and (3) meets labeling requirements. Directs the Secretary to reimburse a state for at least 50% of the state's costs of meeting federal requirements. Prohibits from state inspection plan participation establishments that have more than 50 employees, except for those subject to state inspection as of 90 days after the effective date of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to temporarily suspend or take over a noncomplying state program (or an establishment). Permits an establishment in a state with an approved state program to apply for either state or federal inspection. Exempts from such inspection provisions retail stores and restaurants (including specified central kitchen facilities) if the operations are conducted for sale of such prepared articles in normal retail quantities or for service of the articles to consumers at such establishment. Makes similar amendments to the Poultry Products Inspection Act. Prohibits a state or local government from prohibiting or restricting in interstate commerce the movement or sale of meat or meat food products that have been inspected and passed in accordance with the Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2007
ALS Registry Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neuron disorders that can be confused with ALS, misdiagnosed as ALS, or progress to ALS; and (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of such data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to review information and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning: (1) the development and maintenance of the registry; (2) the type of information to be included; (3) the manner in which data is to be collected; (4) the use and availability of such data; and (5) the collection of information about diseases and disorders that primarily affect motor neurons that are considered essential to furthering the study and cure of ALS. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on ALS and other motor neuron disorders. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for research access to ALS data as recommended by the Advisory Committee in a manner that protects personal privacy. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information is made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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 · 10 May 2007
Requires the President to designate not less than three closed military installations or portions thereof that are appropriate for siting a refinery for gasoline or other fuel. Designates the Department of Energy as the lead agency for coordinating applicable federal refinery authorizations and related environmental reviews with respect to a designated refinery. Gives the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions relating to federal refinery authorizations.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2007
Commonsense Consumption Act of 2007 - Prohibits new, and requires dismissal of pending, civil actions by any person against a manufacturer, marketer, distributor, advertiser, or seller of food, or a trade association, for any injury related to a person's accumulated acts of consumption of food and weight gain, obesity, or any associated health condition. Subjects to such prohibition: (1) any action brought by a person other than the person on whose weight gain, obesity, or health condition the action is based; and (2) any derivative action brought by or on behalf of any person or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that person. Excludes from this prohibition any actions alleging: (1) a breach of express contract or express warranty provided that the grounds of recovery are unrelated to a person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; (2) a knowing violation of a federal or state statute applicable to the marketing, advertisement, or labeling of food with intent for a person to rely on that violation, where such person relied on that violation, and where such reliance was the proximate cause of injury related to that person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; or (3) a violation brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Federal Trade Commission Act or by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Parent's Right to Know Act of 2007 - Prohibits any funds appropriated for carrying out federal family planning programs from being made available to any family planning project if any service provider in the project knowingly provides contraceptive drugs or devices to a minor, unless: (1) such provider has given actual written notice to a custodial parent or legal guardian at least five business days prior to providing the drugs or prescription devices; (2) the minor has written consent of a parent or legal guardian; (3) the minor is emancipated; or (4) a court has directed that the minor may receive such drugs or prescription devices. Requires providers to certify to the Secretary of Health and Human Services compliance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2007
Public Prayer Protection Act of 2007 - Denies the Supreme Court and district courts jurisdiction to review any matter related to the alleged establishment of religion involving the expression of public prayer by any federal, state, or local government entity or a government officer or agent acting in an official capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) provide cost-share payments to agricultural producers for water conservation projects on farms involving the construction, improvement, or maintenance of irrigation ponds and the implementation of other measures that improve groundwater and surface water conservation; and (2) administer such payments as part of the environmental quality incentives program. Bases project priority on: (1) irrigation cost effectiveness (in cases of comparable project purposes); and (2) control of surface water runoff.
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 · 25 April 2007
Civil Rights Act of 1964 Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue, during 2014, up to 350,000 one-dollar coins designed to be emblematic of the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its contribution to civil rights in America. Requires sales to include a $10 surcharge per coin, which shall be paid to the United Negro College Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2007
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is: (1) a U.S. citizen or national; (2) a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States; or (3) an alien performing active service in the armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2007
Timber Revitalization and Economic Enhancement (TREE) Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax deduction for 60% of qualified timber gains; (2) exempt deductible timber gains from the excise tax on the undistributed income of real estate investment trusts (REITs); (3) provide for the treatment of timber gains as qualifying REIT income and for mineral royalty income as qualifying income for timber REITs; and (4) provide special rules relating to income limitations and prohibited transactions for timber REITs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2007
Save the Family Farm and Ranch Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross estate of a decedent the value of farmland used by an heir of the decedent for farming purposes. Imposes a recapture tax on an heir who disposes of such farmland after the decedent's death or who ceases to use it for farming purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Medicare Access to Rural Anesthesiology Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide payment under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) on a reasonable cost basis for anesthesia services furnished by a physician who is an anesthesiologist in certain rural hospitals in the same manner as payment is made for anesthesia services furnished by a certified registered nurse anesthetists in such hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Farm Risk Management Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt farm risk management accounts to allow taxpayers engaged in the business of farming or ranching to use distributions from such accounts to offset operational losses in lieu of receiving, after a specified transitional period, federal subsidies to purchase crop insurance; (2) allow a tax deduction for cash contributions to such accounts; (3) specify minimum levels of contributions to, and maximum levels of distributions from, such accounts; (4) require the Secretary of Agriculture to make matching contributions to such accounts; and (5) set forth tax rules relating to account distributions, excess contributions, and prohibited transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Fair and Speedy Treatment (FAST) of Medicare Prescription Drug Claims Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII of the Social Security Act to require prompt payment of clean claims to pharmacies by prescription drug plans (PDPs) and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans (MA-PD Plans). Defines "prompt payment" as within 14 calendar days from submission for claims submitted electronically, and within 30 calendar days for claims submitted otherwise. Requires payment of interest, also, if a payment is not issued, mailed, or otherwise transmitted within the applicable number of calendar days. Makes it unlawful for a PDP sponsor to display on any explanatory prescription drug information and enrollee cards the name, brand, or trademark (co-branding) of any pharmacy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to revise the classification criterion used to determine whether a hospital or hospital unit is an inpatient rehabilitation facility under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Eliminates the current schedule of applicable percentages. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, instead, to require in the classification criterion a compliance rate no greater than the 60% compliance rate that became effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2006. Requires the Secretary, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2008, to include patients with comorbidity in the inpatient population that counts towards such 60% compliance rate. Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Medicare fiscal intermediaries, Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, and other government agents to use and apply the criteria established in HCFA Ruling 85-2, as issued on July 31, 1985, as the sole standard for determining the medical necessity of servivces provided by inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units to Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees: (1) an examination of the impact of the 75% rule on the Medicare program, and specifically on Medicare beneficiaries; and (2) alternatives to the 75% rule policy for determining exclusion criteria for inpatient rehabilitation hospital and unit designation under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends specified law prohibiting the killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia to declare that nothing in it or any other provision of law shall authorize or be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Redefines "machine gun" to include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on possession of handgun restricted pistol bullets; and (3) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked. Repeals the definition of restricted pistol bullet as any bullet designed for use in a pistol which, when fired from a pistol with a barrel of five inches or less in length, is capable of penetrating commercially available body armor with a penetration resistance equal to or greater than that of 18 layers of kevlar. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person. Amends the District of Columbia Code to extend to firearms generally (currently, only to pistols) the prohibition against carrying such a weapon either openly or concealed within the District without a license issued pursuant to D.C. law. Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to assess the suitability and feasibility of designating a specified study area in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin (Alabama and Georgia) as the "Chattahoochee Trace National Heritage Corridor."
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support state comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Veterans Identity Protection Act or VIP Act - Establishes as an independent office in the executive branch the Office of Veterans Identity Protection Claims, headed by a Director, to receive, process, and pay claims for injuries suffered as a result of the unauthorized use, disclosure, or dissemination of identifying information stolen from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or otherwise compromised as a result of a security breach. Authorizes judicial review of claim determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2007 - Repeals the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and other specified related laws. Directs the President to terminate U.S. participation in the United Nations, including any organ, specialized agency, commission, or other affiliated body. Requires closure of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. Prohibits: (1) the authorization of funds for the U.S. assessed or voluntary contribution to the United Nations; (2) the authorization of funds for any U.S. contribution to any U.N. military operation; and (3) the expenditure of funds to support the participation of U.S. Armed Forces as part of any U.N. military or peacekeeping operation. Bars U.S. Armed Forces from serving under U.N. command.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Freedom to Fly Act of 2007 - Allows a pilot who has attained 60 years of age to serve as a passenger airline pilot until the age of 65 years old only if the pilot serves: (1) as a required pilot in multi-crew aircraft operations; and (2) with another required pilot who has not yet attained 60 years of age. Terminates the age-60 rule (mandatory retirement age) 30 days after enactment of this Act. Declares that such requirements shall not provide the basis for a claim of seniority made under any labor bargaining agreement in effect between the pilots and an air carrier by any pilot who has attained age 60 before the effective date of this Act and who is seeking a position as a pilot with such carrier following that pilot's termination or cessation of employment or promotion or transfer to another position with such air carrier.
![Official portrait of Rep. Everett, Terry [R-AL-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/267ae0ed9da694d5ce8e34d18f77b47c_200.jpg)