United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who create literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions or similar property a fair market value (determined at the time of contribution) tax deduction for contributions of such properties, the copyrights thereon, or both, to certain tax-exempt organizations, if such properties are properly appraised and are donated no sooner than 18 months after their creation. Limits the amount of such deduction based upon the donor's artistic adjusted gross income, as defined by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to establish programs related to mental health services for children and adolescents, to include: (1) entering into contracts with qualified individuals to pay educational loans in exchange for providing mental health services to children and adolescents; (2) awarding scholarships to students who agree to work as child and adolescent mental health service professionals after graduation or completion of residency; (3) entering into contracts with higher education institutions to establish or expand internship or other field placement programs for students receiving specialized training or clinical experience in child and adolescent mental health; (4) awarding grants to State-licensed mental heath organizations to pay for programs for preservice or in-service training of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health workers; and (5) awarding grants to higher education institutions to establish or expand graduate child and adolescent mental health programs. Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to adjust the graduate medical education program to: (1) exclude a reasonable number of residents or fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry when calculating the maximum number of residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine for which the hospital may be paid; and (2) extend the period of board eligibility for residents and fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the distribution of, and need for, child mental health service professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act - Declares that the Congress affirms the basic economic rights and responsibilities under the 1944 "Economic Bill of Rights," while updating and extending it to include: (1) certain rights to decent jobs, income security for individuals unable to work for pay, a decent living for farm families, freedom from monopolies, decent housing, adequate health services, Social Security in old age, sickness, accidental injury, and unemployment, and education and work training; and (2) certain other rights relating to collective bargaining, a safe working environment, information on trends in pollution sources and products and processes that affect the well-being of workers throughout the world, voting and campaigning, and personal security. Requires corporations registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose fully in annual reports the impact of their activities on environmental quality and on the rights of other stakeholders, including employees, consumers, and communities. Requires each State to require all State-chartered corporations to submit such annual reports. Directs the Attorney General to establish a computerized registration program of all corporations found guilty of violating a Federal or State law. Authorizes the President to deny Federal contracts, loans, or loan guarantees to non-compliant corporations. Requires Federal agencies and commissions, including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to help establish and maintain conditions under which all adult Americans may freely exercise the economic rights specified in 1944 and in this Act. Prohibits Federal agencies or commissions from promoting recession, stagnation, or unemployment to reduce wages or inflation. Directs the President to establish a full employment framework for the annual budget submitted to the Congress that meets specified goals for: (1) quality of life and environment; (2) responsible, sustainable growth; (3) unemployment reduction; and (4) human rights. Requires the Joint Economic Committee to oversee actions under this Act and submit an annual Concurrent Resolution on Economic Policy setting forth its proposed employment goals.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005 - Repeals current Department of Defense (DOD) policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces. Prohibits the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation against any member of the Armed Forces or any person seeking to become a member. Authorizes the re-accession into the Armed Forces of otherwise qualified individuals previously separated for homosexuality, bisexuality, or homosexual conduct. Requires such Secretaries to ensure that regulations governing the personal conduct of members of the Armed Forces are written and enforced without regard to sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that all U.S. citizens who are eighteen years of age or older shall have the right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides. Requires each State to: (1) administer public elections in the State in accordance with election performance standards established by the Congress; and (2) provide any eligible voter the opportunity to register and vote on the day of any public election.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to Federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Student Loan Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for consolidation loans. Repeals a prohibition against refinancing consolidation loans. Allows borrowers to select lenders of consolidation loans. Requires lenders and institutions to provide certain information on consolidation loans to applicants. Revises interest rates on consolidated and reconsolidated loans.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to revise the procedures of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Repeals the requirement that a complaint be dismissed if an investigative subcommittee has not been established within 45 days after the complaint is filed (Automatic Dismissal Rule). Requires the committee to establish an investigative subcommittee if a complaint is not disposed of within the 45 days (or a 45-day extension). Subjects to such (automatic) subcommittee establishment rule the current related requirement that an investigative committee be established only by an affirmative of the majority of the committee members, if at any time during the applicable time period either the committee chairman or ranking member places on the agenda the issue of whether to establish such an investigative subcommittee. Requires the Committee to establish an "investigative" instead of "adjudicatory" subcommittee when requested by a Member, officer, or employee of the House, contesting the contents of a written complaint. (Thus repeals the right of a Member, officer, or employee to demand an immediate trial by an adjudicatory committee within the initial 45-day period, before a case has been adequately prepared.) Revises the right to counsel of a respondent or witness. Strikes provisions allowing a respondent or witness appearing before the investigative subcommittee or investigative hearing to obtain counsel of his or her choice, even if such counsel represents another respondent or witness. (Thus allows the committee to adopt a rule that prohibits a counsel from representing more than one respondent or witness.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the maximum Pell Grant, under student aid provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965, should be increased to $5,800.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2005 - Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Program to assist eligible educational institutions in acquiring, and augmenting use of, digital and wireless networking technologies to improve the quality and delivery of educational services at such institutions. Defines as eligible institutions: (1) historically Black colleges or universities, (2) a Hispanic-, Alaskan Native-, or Native Hawaiian-serving institution; (3) a tribally controlled college or university; or (4) an institution with a sufficient enrollment of needy students as defined under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Outlines authorized assistance activities. Directs the Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology to: (1) establish an advisory council to advise on the best approaches toward maximum Program participation by eligible institutions; and (2) ensure that grant awards are made to all types of eligible institutions. Requires Program assessment every three years by the National Academy of Public Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Video Description Restoration Act of 2005 - Considers authorized and ratified by law the video description rules of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) contained in the year 2000 FCC report and order identified as Implementation of Video Description of Video Programming, notwithstanding the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit in Motion Picture Association of America, Inc., et al., v. Federal Communications Commission, et al. Directs the FCC to: (1) reinstate such rules; and (2) initiate a proceeding to consider whether it is economically and technically feasible and consistent with the public interest to include "accessible information" in such rules. Authorizes the FCC to amend, repeal, or otherwise modify such rules.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Requires the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract to revise the statue commemorating women's suffrage located in the rotunda of the United States Capitol (known as the Portrait Monument) to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Witness Security and Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to provide for the establishment within the United States Marshals Service of a Short Term State Witness Protection Section to provide protection for witnesses in State and local trials involving homicide or involving a serious violent felony or serious drug offense, pursuant to cooperative agreements with State and local district attorneys and the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia (DC). Directs the Section to give priority in awarding grants and providing services to prosecutor's offices in States with an average of at least 100 murders per year during the five-year period immediately preceding an application for protection. Authorizes: (1) the Attorney General to make grants to State and local district attorneys and the U.S. attorney for DC for providing such witness protection; (2) each grant recipient to use the grant to provide witness protection or to credit the grant to the Section to cover the Section's costs of providing witness protection on the recipient's behalf; and (3) grants to be awarded only in States with an average of not less than 100 murders per year during the most recent five-year period.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Count Every Vote Act of 2005 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 with respect to: (1) requirements for voter verification and manual audit capacity; (2) accessibiliity of the voting system for language minority individuals in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access, participation, inspection, and verification as for other voters; (3) prohibition of the use of undisclosed software and of wireless communication devices in voting systems; (4) certification of software and hardware used in electronic voting systems; (5) security standards for manufacturers of voting systems used in Federal elections; (6) mandatory recounts; (7) study, testing, and development of best practices to enhance accessibility and voter verification mechanisms for disabled voters; (8) voter verification and audit capacity funding; (9) security consultation services; (10) casting and counting of provisional ballots; (11) minimum required voting systems, poll workers, and election resources; (12) remedial plans for States with excessive voter wait times; (13) absentee voting; (14) public reports on Federal elections; (15) training of election officials; (16) impartial administration of elections; (17) standards for purging voters; (18) election day registration and early voting; (19) voter registration and identification; (20) prohibition of certain campaign activities; (21) voting rights of individuals convicted of criminal offenses; (22) election day as a public holiday; and (23) the Election Assistance Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2005 - Directs the President to work with the Government of Haiti and international organizations to establish a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat infectious diseases in Haiti, including HIV/AIDS, and to establish a comprehensive health infrastructure in Haiti. Authorizes the President: (1) acting through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), to provide assistance to Haiti to develop its health sector, including by supporting infrastructure and education and prevention activities; and (2) acting through the Secretary of State and the Corps of Engineers, to provide assistance to develop Haiti's basic sanitation and transportation infrastructure. Directs the President to establish a program to recruit U.S. health care professionals and engineers to rebuild the health care and physical infrastructures of Haiti. Authorizes the President to provide financial incentives to encourage program participation. Conditions assistance upon a presidential submission to the appropriate congressional committees that Haiti has a democratically elected government.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid Act of 2005 - Establishes the Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid to review: (1) each of Medicaid's major functional responsibilities; (2) issues that either threaten or improve the long-term financial condition of Medicaid; (3) Federal and State policies for Medicaid and Medicare enrollment (including enrollment sites), income eligibility, outreach, and documentation; (4) the operation and effectiveness of Medicaid premium assistance programs; and (5) Medicaid payment policies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State Medicaid plan coverage of community-based attendant services and supports for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals. Outlines requirements for: (1) an enhanced Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for ongoing activities of early coverage States that enhance and promote the use of community-based attendant services and supports; and (2) increased Federal financial participation for certain expenditures incurred by the State for the provision of such services and supports. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives; and (2) conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating service coordination and cost-sharing approaches with respect to the provision of community-based services and supports to non-elderly dually eligible individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the outpatient therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to each State to carry out a program for making available throughout that State the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on health and human services, including volunteer services. Requires a participating State to ensure that at least 50 percent of the resources of the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources. Requires a State seeking a grant to carry out its activities through a lead entity to be known as a 2-1-1 Collaborative. Requires grant amounts to be used solely to make available to a State 2-1-1 telephone service for community information and referral on human services to all citizens of that State with phone access, including telephone connections between families and individuals seeking services and the service providers. Requires grant recipients to: (1) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers; and (2) collaborate with human service organizations to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to provide information or referral to individuals utilizing the 2-1-1 service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Teacher Tax Credit Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an eligible educator an annual $2,000 tax credit. Defines: (1) "eligible educator" as an individual who is a kindergarten through grade 12 teacher, instructor, counselor, principal, or aide in an eligible elementary or secondary school for at least 900 hours during a school year; and (2) "eligible elementary or secondary school" as a school that is eligible for schoolwide assistance under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Calls on: (1) all authorities with jurisdiction, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the State of Mississippi, to expeditiously bring those responsible for the 1955 murder of Emmett Till to justice and provide all the resources necessary to ensure a timely and thorough investigation; and (2) DOJ to fully report the findings of the investigation to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Improving Access to Nurse-Midwifery Care Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of and payment for certified midwife services. (Currently only certified nurse-midwife services are covered.) Declares that nothing precludes certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives from teaching or supervising an intern or resident-in-training.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Help Our Patriotic Employers at Helping Our Military Employees Act or HOPE at HOME Act - Entitles a Federal employee who is a member of a reserve component and is absent from Federal employment under a call or order to active duty for a period of more than 30 days to the difference between the amount of the civilian base pay that would otherwise have been payable to such employee for such period and the amount of military compensation received for the active-duty service. Continues such entitlement: (1) while the employee is hospitalized for, or convalescing from, an injury or illness incurred in or aggravated during such active duty; or (2) during the 14-day period following the end of such active duty. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide as a general business credit for employers a Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit equal to the lesser of: (1) 50 percent of the actual compensation paid with respect an employee who is absent from employment during the above periods; or (2) $30,000. Provides for the tax treatment of differential wage payments made under this Act. Provides an employer credit for income differential payments made with respect to the employment of activated military reservist and replacement personnel. Permits, without loss of tax benefits, employer payments to an individual retirement plan while an employee is performing active duty military service for a period of more than 30 days.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the government of Japan should: (1) issue an apology for the sexual enslavement of young women (known as "comfort women") during the colonial occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands during World War II; (2) pay reparations to the victims; (3) educate future generations about this crime against humanity; and (4) publicly refute claims that the subjugation and enslavement of such women never occurred.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2005
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. Limits such research to stem cells that meet the following ethical requirements: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2005
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) sponsoring or exhibiting a bird in a fighting venture in a State where it would not otherwise be in violation of the law, only if the person knew that any bird in the venture was knowingly bought, sold, delivered, transported, or received in interstate or foreign commerce for such purpose; or (2) knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting in an animal fighting venture any other animal that was moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Prohibits knowingly: (1) selling, buying, transporting, delivering, or receiving, for purposes of transportation in interstate or foreign commerce, any dog or other animal to participate in an animal fighting venture; (2) using interstate mail service for commercial speech promoting an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the States (with an exception for bird fights in States whose laws allow them); or (3) selling, buying, transporting, or delivering in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument to be attached to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture. Increases the penalties to a fine and up to two years' imprisonment for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2005
Recognizes the importance of honoring the Nation's children. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that a National Children's Day should be established in honor of the Nation's children. Encourages adults in the United States to set aside time to support and listen to a child.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2005
Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to place limitations on mandatory overtime for nurses, prohibit retaliation against them in any manner with respect to any aspect of employment, and establish civil money penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on standards to establish for the maximum number of hours that a nurse may work without compromising the safety of patients. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to study and report to Congress on the extent to which federally operated medical facilities have in effect practices and policies for overtime requirements for nurses that are inconsistent with the requirements added by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2005
Recognizes the teams and players of the barnstorming African-American basketball teams for their achievement, dedication, sacrifices, and contribution to basketball and to the nation prior to the integration of the white professional leagues.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2005
Declares that Marcus Garvey (founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association): (1) was innocent of the charges brought against him by the U.S. Government; and (2) should be recognized internationally as a leader and thinker in the struggle for human rights and dignity. Calls upon the President to endeavor to restore Marcus Garvey's honor and good name by granting a full posthumous pardon that proclaims his conviction to have been unjust and affirms his innocence.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2005
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp should be issued in honor of former Representative Shirley Chisholm; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2005
Next Generation Hispanic-Serving Institutions Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise requirements for Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) under title V (Developing Institutions). Establishes a program of competitive grants to eligible HSIs that offer postbaccalaureate certifications or degrees (part B grants). Limits a part B grant award's duration to not more than five years. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from awarding more than one part B grant to an HSI in any one fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for: (1) the current part A program of grants to HSIs that offer baccalaureate degrees or are junior or community colleges; and (2) the new part B program of grants to HSIs that offer postbaccalaureate certifications or degrees. Eliminates the requirement that an eligible HSI provide assurances that at least 50 percent of its Hispanic students are low-income students. Includes, among authorized activities under part A grants, articulation agreements and student support programs to help transfers from two-year to four-year institutions. Eliminates the two-year wait-out period between any two five-year part A grants to an HSI.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2005
Resuming Education After Defense Service Act of 2005 - Makes eligible for basic educational assistance under the Montgomery GI Bill a member of the Selected Reserve who (among other qualifications), during the period beginning on September 11, 2001, and ending on December 31, 2006, serves on active duty in the Armed Forces for one or more periods aggregating not less than two years. Entitles such individuals to one month of educational assistance for each month served on active duty. Makes the amount of such assistance equivalent to that provided for active-duty personnel who have served a minimum of two years of active duty. Requires the basic pay of qualifying members to be reduced by $100 for each of first 12 months of such active duty service. Requires the Secretaries of the military departments concerned to inform eligible Selected Reserve personnel of such entitlement.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2005
Climate Stewardship Act of 2005 - Expands Federal climate change research initiatives by: (1) establishing a graduate fellowship program; (2) creating a grant program for research in identified priority areas; and (3) instituting research programs on potential abrupt climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) related standards, measurement technologies, and processes. Amends the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 to require the Secretary of Commerce to: (1) report to Congress on the oceanic and coastal impacts of climate change; and (2) assist certain coastal States in preparing persons to adapt to climate change. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a National Greenhouse Gas Database consisting of: (1) an inventory of GHG emissions by covered entities (specified entities that emit more than 10,000 metric tons of GHGs per year); and (2) a registry of GHG emission reductions and increased sequestration, applicable to both covered and noncovered entities. Establishes a program for the market-driven reduction of GHGs by covered entities through the use of tradeable emissions allowances. Requires covered entities, beginning in 2010, to submit to the Administrator one tradeable allowance for every metric ton of GHGs emitted. Allows tradeable allowances to be sold, exchanged, purchased, retired, or otherwise used as authorized by this Act. Establishes the Climate Change Credit Corporation (CCCC) to receive, manage, buy, and sell tradeable allowances. Directs the Administrator to make allocations of allowances to covered sectors and entities, and to the CCCC, providing initial allocations for early action and accelerated participation. Imposes civil penalties on covered entities that fail to submit allowances.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2005
Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act of 2005 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) offer one or more Medicare operated prescription drug plans nationally that offer qualified prescription drug coverage and access to negotiated prices, while allowing the plan to offer supplemental prescription drug coverage in the same manner as other qualified prescription drug coverage offered by other prescription drug plans; and (2) enter into negotiations with pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce the purchase cost of covered Medicare part D drugs for eligible part D individuals, and encourage the use of more affordable therapeutic equivalents. Requires the monthly beneficiary premium charged under such a plan to be uniform nationally. Makes the premium for months in 2006 $35. Bases the premium for months in succeeding years on the average monthly per capita actuarial cost of offering the Medicare operated prescription drug plan for the year involved, including administrative expenses. Allows for adjustment of such premium amount in case of supplemental prescription drug coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2005
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 · 9 February 2005
Recognizes the Virginia Fire Chief's Association on the occasion of its 75th anniversary and commends it for sponsoring annually the Mid-Atlantic Expo and Symposium.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act) - Establishes the United States National Health Insurance Program (the Program) to provide all individuals residing in the United States and in U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, and mental health services. Prohibits an institution from participating in the Program unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that actually deliver care in their own facilities to participate in the Program. Gives patients the freedom to choose from participating physicians and institutions. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Allows such insurers to sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits. Sets forth methods to pay hospitals and health professionals for services. Prohibits financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization. Authorizes appropriations and provides for appropriated sums to be paid for: (1) by vastly reducing paperwork; (2) by requiring a rational bulk procurement of medications; (3) from existing sources of Government revenues for health care; (4) by increasing personal income taxes on the top five percent income earners; (5) by instituting a modest payroll tax; and (6) by instituting a small tax on stock and bond transactions. Requires the Program to give first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced administration. Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to advise the Secretary and the Director to ensure quality, access, and affordability. Provides for the eventual integration of the health programs of the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Indian Health Service into the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2005 - Amends the Teacher-Taxpayer Protection Act of 2004 to make applicable to all eligible teachers in mathematics, science, and special education certain additional amounts of student loan forgiveness. (Current law makes such additional amounts applicable only with respect to those who are new borrowers on or after October 1, 1998, and before October 1, 2005.) Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to treat certain speech-language pathologists as special education teachers for purposes of student loan forgiveness, under both the Federal Family Education Loan program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the family of Thurgood Marshall (the first African-American Justice to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court) in recognition of Marshall's contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) include certain additional expenses, such as fees, books, supplies and equipment, as qualified tuition and related expenses for purposes the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit; (2) exclude Federal Pell Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant payments as mandatory reductions to expenses eligible for the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit; and (3) exempt the additional expenses allowed by this Act from certain tax reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
Recognizes the extraordinary contributions of the late Ossie Davis for his service to the Nation in the military, as a civil rights leader, and as an actor. Honors him as a great American and pioneer in the annals of American history. Expresses its deepest condolences upon his death to his wife Ruby Dee Davis, his other family members, and his friends.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2005 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 with respect to: (1) voter verification and mandatory paper record audit capacity; and (2) accessibility and voter verification of results for individuals with disabilities. Requires the Election Assistance Commission to study, test, and develop best practices to enhance the accessibility of voter-verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities and for voters whose primary language is not English, including best practices for the mechanisms themselves and the process through which the mechanisms are used. Outlines additional voting system requirements. Requires laboratories to meet standards prohibiting conflicts of interest as a condition of accreditation for the testing of voting system hardware and software. Provides for the filing of complaints by aggrieved persons with the Attorney General. Extends the authorization of Election Assistance Commission permanently. Makes available additional funding to enable States to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Directs the Election Assistance Commission to conduct random, unannounced, hand counts of the voter-verified records for each Federal general election in at least two percent of the precincts in each State. Requires Federal certification of the technological security of voter registration lists.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Free Flow of Information Act of 2005 - Prohibits Federal entities from compelling covered persons (specified media outlets or their employees) to testify or produce any document unless a court determines by clear and convincing evidence that: (1) the entity has unsuccessfully attempted to obtain such testimony or document from all non-covered persons; and (2) in a criminal matter, based on information from a non-covered person, there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime has occurred and the testimony or document is essential to the investigation, prosecution, or defense; or (3) in a non-criminal matter, based on information from a non-covered person, the testimony or document is essential to a dispositive issue of substantial importance. Requires the content of compelled testimony or documents to be: (1) limited to the purpose of verifying published information; and (2) narrowly tailored in subject matter and time period covered. Excludes certain commercial or financial information from coverage under this Act. Prohibits compelled disclosure, notwithstanding this Act's conditions for such disclosure, of: (1) the identity of a confidential source; or (2) information reasonably expected to lead to the discovery of such identity. Makes this Act applicable to testimony or documents sought from third parties that are related to business transactions with covered persons. Authorizes compelled disclosure in such cases only where the covered person has received notice and an opportunity to be heard. States that publication or dissemination of testimony or documents does not waive the requirements for compelled disclosure set forth in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
High School Athletics Accountability Act of 2005 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct coeducational elementary and secondary schools, if they participate in any ESEA program, to: (1) report certain information on equality in their school athletic programs to the Commissioner for Educational Statistics; and (2) make such information available to their students and potential students, upon request, and to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member of the Armed Forces entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the monthly part B premium (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) with respect to: (1) an individual who is entitled to military retired or retainer pay based upon service that began before December 7, 1956; and (2) the spouse, widow, or widower of such individuals.
![Official portrait of Rep. Fattah, Chaka [D-PA-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000043_200.jpg)