United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a research agenda for the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and facilitate surveillance and prevention of such disorders. Requires the Secretary to award grants for individuals with FASD, including to: (1) establish programs of surveillance, prevention, and treatment for such individuals; (2) identify best practices for educating affected children, educating officials in the criminal justice system on coping with such individuals, and educating adoption or foster care agency officials about services for children with FASD; and (3) provide for transitional services for such individuals, for respite care for their caretakers, and for increased awareness and identification of FASD at community health centers. Requires: (1) the Secretary to provide for continuation of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; and (2) the Comptroller General to evaluate and make recommendations regarding appropriate federal FASD activities. Requires the Secretary to issue public service announcements to raise awareness of the risks associated with alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Requires the National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders to identify and describe the ten most important actions that must be taken to reduce prenatal alcohol exposure and all its adverse outcomes. Requires the Secretary of Education to direct the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to take certain actions with regard to individuals with FASD, including implementing screening procedures and introducing curricula on how to educate children with such disorders. Requires the Attorney General to direct the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to take certain actions with regard to individuals with FASD, including educating officials on how to treat such individuals, studying the inadequacies of the current system for dealing with such individuals, and developing transition programs for such individuals who are released from incarceration.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Hurricane Katrina Recovery, Reclamation. Restoration, Reconstruction and Reunion Act of 2005 - Hurricane Katrina Victim Restoration Fund of 2005 - Provides for the determination of eligibility for compensation for any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who sustained economic or noneconomic losses as a result of Hurricane Katrina so that the individual (or relatives) are restored as nearly as possible to their condition before Hurricane Katrina. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to develop a Comprehensive Environmental Sampling and Toxicity Assessment Plan. Provides for federal and state government to notify hurricane survivors of health risks they may face upon returning to their domiciles. Provides for the offer of alternative land and/or housing as compensation to residents whose homes or businesses have been destroyed or terminally compromised. Revises the TANF Emergency Response and Recovery Act of 2005 to provide for reimbursement of states for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) benefits provided under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to families from other states affected by Hurricane Katrina. Sets forth requirements relating to emergency extended unemployment compensation. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program of emergency health coverage continuation relief. Sets forth housing and education requirements. Displaced Citizens Voter Protection Provisions of 2005 - Prescribes requirements for the protection of voting rights of Katrina evacuees. Prescribes requirements for: (1) regulatory relief for financial services; and (2) disaster loans and small business relief. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for: (1) a tax credit for an eligible homebuyer who purchases a principal residence in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area; (2) an increase in the housing credit dollar amount; and (3) tax-exempt bonds for qualified Gulf Coast recovery projects. Hurricane Katrina Bankruptcy Relief and Community Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the federal bankruptcy code to exempt victims of natural disasters, including small businesses, from certain requirements for debtors seeking relief. Directs the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a temporary flood insurance buy-in program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should present, within six months, a plan to eradicate poverty in the United States by 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Urges: (1) the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to observe its 1995 Interim Accord obligations and take steps to halt the proliferation of negative propaganda toward Greece and review textbooks, maps, and teaching aids to ensure their accuracy; and (2) FYROM to work within the U.N. process to reach a mutually acceptable permanent name.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the portion of tax cuts enacted in or after 2001 that benefited the wealthiest 5% of Americans should be repealed and the revenues from such repeal should be used to alleviate poverty in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of Rosa Parks and to place the statue in the Capitol in a suitable permanent location in National Statuary Hall.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Requests the President to provide to the House of Representatives certain federal agency documents in his possession on the effects of climate change on the coastal regions of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Community Cancer Care Preservation Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to subject to quarterly reconciliation any payments to physicians for drugs or biologicals made according to average sales price payment methodology in order to assure that they do not exceed or fall short of the actual average sales price during any preceding period. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review all such payments in the preceding quarter and compare them to the verified average sales price reported by the manufacturer for such quarter. Removes prompt pay discounts from the calculation of the manufacturer's average sales price. Extends through December 31, 2006, the current demonstration project to identify and assess oncology services that positively affect cancer outcomes. Requires the Secretary to make an additional 2% for drug administration services payment to physicians for overhead and related costs. Directs the Secretary to develop indicators for the evaluation of the quality of oncology services provided in the physician office setting. Requires the Director of the National Cancer Institute to develop a strategic plan to increase the number of cancer patients who enroll in clinical trials.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Advocates Dedicated to Older Child Parental Tax Credit (ADOPT) Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a $2,000 tax credit for costs associated with the adoption of a child who has reached nine years of age before the adoption decree becomes final. Allows the credit each year until such child attains the age of 19.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Requests the President and directs the Secretary of State to provide to the House of Representatives: (1) all documents from 2003 pertaining to the taskforce organized by Andrew Card, consisting of Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, Nicholas E. Calio, James R. Wilkinson, Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley and I. Lewis Libby, known as the White House Iraq Group; (2) all drafts of all white papers concerning Iraq's nuclear threat assembled in 2003 by the Group; and (3) all documents, including notes from meetings, memos, telephone and electronic mail records, logs and calendars, and records of internal discussions in the possession of the President or the Secretary relating to the Group.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2005
Pakistani Temporary Protected Status Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the extraordinary and temporary conditions caused by the earthquake in Pakistan qualifies Pakistan for designation under the Immigration and Nationality Act pursuant to which its nationals would be eligible for temporary protected status (TPS) in the United States (for an initial 12-month period). Sets forth related TPS eligibility requirements, including continuous U.S. presence since October 8, 2005. Requires the Secretary to give prior consent to such aliens for temporary trips abroad in emergency and extenuating circumstances.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2005
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and make available to local educational agencies a voluntary policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools. Directs that such policy address: (1) a parental obligation to provide the school with information regarding a student's food allergy and anaphylaxis; (2) communication strategies between schools and emergency medical services; (3) strategies to reduce the risk of exposure in classrooms and common areas; (4) food allergy management training of school personnel; (5) authorization of school personnel to administer epinephrine when the school nurse is not immediately available; and (6) creation of an individual health care plan tailored to each child's risk for anaphylaxis.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
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 (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of ALS data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to study 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. 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 public access to an electronic national database that accepts data from state registries, health care professionals, and others 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 · 7 October 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to use U.S. influence to urge the United Nations to establish a commission on slavery, human trafficking, and exploitation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Pays tribute to the Africa-America Institute (AAI) for its more than 50 years of service, through education, in nurturing and unleashing the productive capacities of African leaders. Embraces AAI's mission and supports its work.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Ensure Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2005 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to lengthen through June 30, 2007, the initial enrollment period for the Medicare prescription drug program. Extends through December 31, 2007, the period during which a discount card eligible individual may enroll in an endorsed discount card program..
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Condemns: (1) specified comments made by William J. Bennett on his radio program on September 25, 2005, as outrageous racism of the most bigoted and ignorant kind; and (2) all manifestations and expressions of racism and ethnic tolerance.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Downed Animal Protection Act - States that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory livestock in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such livestock become nonambulatory. Amends the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations providing for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Requires an entity to: (1) humanely euthanize nonambulatory livestock (while not limiting the Secretary's ability to test nonambulatory livestock for disease, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy); and (2) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious, and ensure that such livestock remains unconscious until death. Prohibits an inspector at an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock, carcass, or carcass parts through inspection. Requires an inspector or other employee at such establishment to label such material as "inspected and condemned." Defines "covered entity," "nonambulatory livestock," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Large Employer Medicaid and SCHIP Responsibility Act of 2005 - Makes any large employer that employs one or more employees enrolled (or any of whose spouses or dependent children are enrolled) under Medicaid or SCHIP (titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security Act) for a month in a year liable to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for payment of a per capita penalty with respect to each such employee, spouse, or dependent. Prescribes a formula for determination of such penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
States' Right To Innovate in Health Care Act of 2005 - Amends the Social Security Act to add a new title XXII (State Comprehensive Health Care and Cost Containment Demonstration Projects) to allow up to ten states to receive from the Secretary of Health and Human Services planning and demonstration grants to develop a cost-effective delivery system of universal, comprehensive health care with simplified administration.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Medicare Informed Choice Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for an extended period of open enrollment during all of 2006 without late enrollment penalty; (2) give Medicare beneficiaries the opportunity to make a one-time change in prescription drug plan enrollment at any point in 2006; and (3) provide protection from loss of employment-based retiree health coverage upon enrollment for Medicare prescription drug benefit, including a Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug benefit, during 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem hospitals, emergency rooms, physicians, and physicians groups that provide emergency care to uninsured individuals to be employees of the Public Health Service for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to items and services furnished. Requires the Attorney General to make separate estimates as to the cost of claims expected to arise under this Act and to establish separate funds for such claims. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to limit the total amount of payments under this Act to the amounts appropriated in advance for such purposes. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide additional payments from the Federal Supplementary Insurance Trust Fund for physicians' services in the emergency department of a hospital or critical access hospital to a Medicare recipient. Provides for incentive payments to hospitals that certify to the Secretary that they meet established standards for prompt admission by a hospital of individuals presenting to the emergency department that need inpatient hospital services. Requires the Comptroller General to submit to the relevant congressional committees a report that evaluates whether such standards will achieve the stated objectives and recommends any changes. Sets forth civil monetary penalties for filing a false certification and engaging in a pattern or practice of failing to meet established standards.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2005
Credit Card Minimum Payment Warning Act of 2005 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to include among the mandatory disclosures at each billing cycle of open end consumer credit plans: (1) the words "Minimum Payment Warning: Making only the minimum payment will increase the amount of interest that you pay and the time it will take to repay your outstanding balance;" (2) the number of years and months it would take the consumer to pay the entire amount of the balance if the consumer pays only the required minimum monthly payments; (3) the total cost to the consumer, as well as a breakdown in principal and interest payments, of paying that balance in full if the consumer pays only the required minimum monthly payments, and if no further advances are made; (4) the monthly payment amount that would be required to eliminate the outstanding balance in 36 months if no further advances are made; and (5) a toll-free telephone number for information about accessing credit counseling and debt management services. Directs the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Trade Commission to issue jointly guidelines for creditors to establish and maintain a toll-free telephone number for such disclosures.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2005
Microbicide Development Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Office of AIDS Research to: (1) expedite the implementation of the Federal strategic plan for the conduct and support of microbicide research; and (2) expand, intensify, and coordinate all activities with respect to research and development of microbicides to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to: (1) establish within the Division of AIDS an organizational unit to carry out microbicide research and development; and (2) assign priority to ensuring adequate funding and support for the integration of basic science and clinical research. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fully implement the CDC's topical microbicide agenda to support microbicide research and development. Directs the head of the Office of HIV/AIDS of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop and implement a program to support the development of microbicides products and facilitate wide-scale availability of such products.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2005
Military Victims of Violence Confidentiality Act of 2005 - Amends the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) to provide that a client has a privilege to refuse to disclose, and to prevent any other person from disclosing, a confidential communication made between the client and a victim service organization, or between the client and a health care professional, in a case arising under the UCMJ, if such communication was made for securing advice, counseling, treatment, or assistance concerning the client's mental, physical, or emotional condition caused by domestic violence, family violence, dating violence, stalking, or sexual assault. Provides privilege exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2005
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) a requirement that U.S. citizens obtain photo identification cards before being able to vote has not been shown to ensure ballot integrity and places an undue burden on the legitimate voting rights of citizens; (2) the Department of Justice should vigorously enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and challenge any state law that limits a citizen's ability to vote based on discriminatory photo identification requirements; and (3) any effort to impose national photo identification requirements for voting should be rejected.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 770 Trumbull Drive in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the "Clayton J. Smith Memorial Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2005
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to extend from September 2005 through September 2006 the qualified individual program (under which medical assistance is available for Medicare cost-sharing for individuals who would be qualified Medicare beneficiaries but for the fact that their income exceeds the state-established income level, and is between 120% and 135% of the official poverty line). Prescribes additional allocations for such program for the extended period.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2005
AmeriCorps Disaster Relief Corps Act of 2005 - Establishes an AmeriCorps Disaster Relief Corps, administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, to carry out service projects that: (1) provide food, clothing, shelter, and other humanitarian assistance for victims of major disasters and emergencies; (2) involve cleaning, repair, and reconstruction of structures, facilities, and lands located within the disaster area; and (3) perform other activities in response to the consequences of major disasters and emergencies. Authorizes the Corporation to: (1) make grants to, or enter into agreements with states, local governments, or other organizations to support AmeriCorps projects; (2) support the National Civilian Community Corps authorized under the National and Community Service Act; (3) support the VISTA program under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act; and (4) enter into a contract or other agreement with another Federal agency.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2005 - Provides for increased regular unemployment compensation payments or emergency extended unemployment compensation for certain individuals who held employment or resided in an area declared a disaster as a result of Hurricane Katrina in the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Establishes in the legislative branch a bipartisan Katrina Commission to: (1) examine and report upon the federal, state, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other affected areas; (2) evaluate and report on the information developed by all relevant governmental agencies related to Hurricane Katrina before it struck the United States and in the days and weeks following; (3) make a complete accounting of the circumstances surrounding the approach of Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf states, and the extent of the Government's preparedness for and response to it; (4) examine planning necessary for future cataclysmic events that will require a significant marshaling of federal resources, mitigation, response, and recovery to avoid significant loss of life; (5) analyze whether any decisions differed with respect to response and recovery for different communities and what problems occurred as a result of a lack of a common plan, communication structure, and centralized command structure; and (6) investigate and report to the President and Congress on immediate corrective measures that can be taken to prevent problems with federal response to future cataclysmic events.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act - Reinstates the application of the wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act to all federal contracts in counties affected by Hurricane Katrina, notwithstanding the President's proclamation dated September 8, 2005, or any other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation by regulation to prescribe (corporate) average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles manufactured after 2008 that ensure that the CAFE achieved by automobiles manufactured after 2015 is at least 33 miles per gallon, and meets other specified criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to establish separate standards for different classes of automobiles according to size. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a CAFE credit trading program to allow a manufacturer that exceeds fuel economy standards to sell credits to another manufacturer.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
National Women's Rights History Project Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to designate a vehicular tour route, to be known as the Votes for Women History Trail Route, to link properties in New York State that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women's suffrage in the United States. Requires the National Park Service to administer the Trail through the Women's Rights National Historical Park (established under prior law). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make annual grants to state historic preservation offices for up to five years for assistance in surveying, evaluating, and nominating women's rights history properties to the National Register of Historic Places; and (2) make matching grants and technical assistance for development of a network of governmental and nongovernmental entities providing interpretive and educational program development of national women's rights history, including historic preservation.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Displaced Student Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make grants to local educational agencies in FY2005-FY2006 to facilitate the enrollment, attendance, and success in public elementary and secondary schools of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Limits such grants to a maximum of $8,305 per student. Deems such students eligible for free lunches under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Stamp Act - Directs the United States Postal Service (USPS), in order to afford the public a convenient means by which to contribute to disaster relief for Hurricane Katrina victims, to provide for the issuance and sale of a semipostal (a postage stamp issued and sold at a premium in order to help provide funding for a cause). Transfers all semipostal amounts from the sale of such semipostal to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund for Hurricane Katrina.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2005
Emergency Action for Vulnerable Children Act - Entitles each state which makes foster care maintenance payments on behalf of foster children in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, for a 12-month period beginning with September 2005, to payments equal to its total expenditures for: (1) such children in foster family homes or child care institutions; and (2) provision of child placement services, plan administration, or services to improve the children's well-being (as the Secretary of Health and Human Services finds necessary).
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2005
HRIFA Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) include document fraud among the grounds of inadmissibility which shall not preclude an otherwise qualifying Haitian alien from permanent resident status adjustment; and (2) provide that determinations with respect to children shall be made using the age of an individual as of the date of enactment of this Act. Permits new status adjustment applications to be filed for a limited time period. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish procedures for reopening status adjustment applications based upon the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's research activities on inflammatory bowel disease, with an emphasis on: (1) genetic research on susceptibility for inflammatory bowel disease; (2) research targeted to increase knowledge about the causes and complications of inflammatory bowel disease in children; (3) animal model research; (4) clinical research; (5) expansion of the Institute's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centers program with a focus on pediatric research; and (6) other research initiatives identified in specified documents. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prepare a National Inflammatory Bowel Disease Action Plan to: (1) address the burden of inflammatory bowel disease in both adult and pediatric populations; (2) address strategies for determining the prevalence of the disease in the United States and the unique demographic characteristics of the patient community; (3) focus on strategies for increasing awareness about the disease within the general public and the health care community; and (4) address mechanisms designed to prevent the progression of the disease and the development of complications.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Minority Diabetes Initiative Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers for the purpose of providing treatment for diabetes in minority communities. Conditions grants on the recipient agreeing to provide: (1) services in the languages most appropriate for, and with consideration for the cultural backgrounds of, service recipients; (2) outreach activities; and (3) offsite information on diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Cancer Testing, Education, Screening, and Treatment Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to qualifying health centers and nonprofit organizations for programs providing cancer screening, counseling, and treatment and information and education on cancer prevention. Targets service populations with significant numbers of low-income minority individuals who are at-risk for cancer, requiring programs to provide: (1) services in the languages most appropriate for, and with consideration for the cultural backgrounds of, services recipients; (2) outreach activities; and (3) cancer information. Requires the Secretary to designate the type(s) of cancer covered by a grant.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Alzheimer's Treatment and Caregiver Support Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and nonprofit private health care providers to expand treatment services for patients with Alzheimer's disease and training and support services for families and caregivers. Conditions grants on the recipient agreeing to: (1) employ a comprehensive approach to care that integrates the treament of patients with training and support services for families and caregivers; (2) provide services in the languages most appropriate for, and with consideration for the cultural backgrounds of, service recipients; (3) provide outreach activities; and (4) provide information on Alzheimer's. Allocates 10% of grant funds for medically underserved communities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Commends the Biotechnology Industry Organization for a successful 2005 Annual International Convention at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act - FamilyCare Act of 2005 - Renames title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act as the FamilyCare Program and extends coverage to certain low-income adults. Establishes the National Commission for Expanded Access to Health Care. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide limited English proficient individuals with improved access to health care, including by establishing the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Healthcare. Provides for activities regarding: (1) health workforce diversity; (2) disparities in health and health care experienced by racial and ethnic minorities; and (3) data collection, analysis, and reporting by race, ethnicity, and primary language. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) the Office of Health Disparities within the Office of Civil Rights to prevent discrimination in federal programs; and (2) the Office of Minority Affairs within the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Restablishes the Indian Health Service as an agency of the Public Health Service to be administered by an Assistant Secretary of Indian Health. Minority Health and Genomics Act of 2005 - Establishes the Minority Health and Genomics Commission to study issues relating to genomics research as applied to minority groups. Establishes the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice and the Federal Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Sets forth programs designed to improve the quality of and access to health care for minorities, including by establishing the Health Safety Net Infrastructure Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) the Annie Dodge Wauneka and Susan Laflesche-Picotte Native American Health and Wellness Foundation; and (2) a Joint Working Group on Telehealth. Authorizes integrative eldercare, American Indian and Alaska Native, and oral health telehealth demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
GEAR UP & GO Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise specified requirements for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to facilitate the transition of low-income high school students into postsecondary education. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to carry out a GEAR UP & GO grants program to provide low-income high school students participating in GEAR UP partnerships or state programs opportunities for dual/concurrent enrollment in college courses while still enrolled in high school. Provides that students in such program: (1) shall not be required to apply for admission to the institution of higher education; and (2) may receive college credit. Requires up to 25 percent of GEAR UP & GO program funds to be reserved for grants to early/middle college high schools designed to provide 9th through 12th grade low-income and first-generation college students with a coherent course of study enabling them to earn simultaneously a high school diploma and college credit toward a postsecondary degree.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Total Health Requires Improved Vaccination Efforts Act of 2005 or the THRIVE Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the Center for Disease Control's adult immunization program by: (1) authorizing additional appropriations for activities to increase immunizations rates for adults; and (2) making grants to states for demonstrations projects to provide influenza immunizations to uninsured adults at high risk for influenza. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop and disseminate guidelines to ensure that immunizations are routinely offered to adults by health care providers; and (2) provide for an educational campaign on the importance of adult immunizations. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to: (1) establish standards for adult influenza immunizations under the Medicare and Medicaid programs; (2) determine the feasibility and advisability of including such immunizations as a performance measure under program quality initiatives; and (3) establish standards for immunizations for influenza of health care workers. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to study the best practices of health insurers and managed care organizations to encourage the use of adult immunizations for influenza by enrollees. Requires the Secretary to determine the feasibility and advisability of requiring compliance with recommendations for immunizations for all health care workers for provider accreditation. Prohibits a contract or plan under the federal employees health benefit program from being made or approved which does not offer and waive the deductible for pneumococcal and influenza immunization services to high risk adult enrollees.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Act Amendments of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise provisions regarding a research planning conference required to be convened by the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to require such conference to: (1) investigate Parkinson's research funded by NIH; and (2) identify shortcomings and opportunities for more effective treatments and a cure for Parkinson's disease. Requires the result of each conference to be included in a research investment plan that also: (1) provides for measurable results with the goals of better treatments and a cure for Parkinson's disease determining the allocation of research dollars; (2) includes an outline of how to fully utilize the Udall Center program; and (3) includes a budget and implementation strategy. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure adequate funding to carry out activities described in the investment plan. Requires the Director to ensure funding for an additional Morris K. Udall research center to coordinate activities conducted by, and manage the interdisciplinary efforts of, the other centers. Requires each research center to ensure that there is a significant clinical component and ongoing basic research. Requires the Director to establish an application review process for grants to fund such research centers. Directs (currently, allows) the Director to award grants to support qualified investigators with potential for significant future Parkinson's disease breakthroughs. Requires the Director to investigate and report to Congress on the incidence of Parkinson's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
The Future of Healthcare-- Granting Access to Innovation in America Act (GAIA Act) - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to hospitals and skilled nursing facilities to carry out demonstration projects aimed at reducing the rate of medication errors and improving the quality of care by installing or upgrading computerized technology that: (1) provides information on drug-allergy contraindications and drug interactions; (2) ensures that all drug orders are legible; and (3) provides physicians and other clinicians with a menu of medications, complete with default doses and a range of potential doses for each medication. Requires grant applicants to agree to provide for technology including software that assists clinicians who order prescription drugs and tests in making medication-related decisions and that provides for an electronic medication administration record. Authorizes grant expenditures to purchase, install, and update such technology. Sets forth matching requirements. Requires each applicant to agree to submit to the Secretary, acting through the National Health Information Technology Coordinator, a report detailing: (1) quantitative reductions in medication errors; (2) the level of staff compliance; (3) the difference between administrative and clinical workflows before and after implementation of the technology; (4) alterations and improvements regarding the workflow in facilities that have the technology; (5) an analysis of the improvement of the quality of care and patient satisfaction within the hospital or skilled nursing facility involved; and (6) the overall economic savings associated with usage of the technology.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 210 West 3rd Avenue in Warren, Pennsylvania, as the "William F. Clinger, Jr. Post Office Building."
![Official portrait of Rep. Fattah, Chaka [D-PA-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000043_200.jpg)