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United States · Official source
1,701 records where Rep. Ford, Harold E., Jr. [D-TN-9] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2006
Congratulates the St. Louis Cardinals on winning the 2006 World Series.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2006
Honors the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2006
Public Service Academy Act of 2006 - Establishes, in the Department of Homeland Security, a United States Public Service Academy providing a fully subsidized liberal arts education to students selected from a pool of candidates nominated by Congress and the President. Reserves 100 first-year seats for international students, whose tuition and expenses are to be covered by their home countries. Requires incoming students to sign an Honor Code and be at least 17 years old, unmarried, and without dependents. Requires students to: (1) participate in daily public service programming and, during their final year, plan and implement a one-year public service project; (2) take foreign language and international relations courses in preparation for spending their junior year studying abroad and interning at a U.S. mission; (3) spend eight weeks each summer engaged in specified training and internship activities; and (4) by the completion of their fourth semester, choose a public service concentration in the economy, education, emergency management, the environment, foreign policy, health care, law enforcement, or the public infrastructure. Directs the Academy to assign graduates to public service employment in their field of concentrated study, where they must serve for at least five years. Includes private nonprofit organizations and private entities deemed to meet critical national needs, among acceptable public service employers. Requires foreign students to sign an agreement with the student's home country that meets the same conditions applicable to U.S. students. Authorizes the Academy to subsidize a student's graduate education in return for an extended public service commitment. Requires the Academy to raise 20% of its annual budget from private sources.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2006
Older Kids Act of 2006 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions allowing a tax credit for adoption expenses to increase: (1) the dollar limitation on the amount of adoption expenses eligible for the credit for children with special needs or children age nine or older; and (2) the adjusted gross income limitation applicable to such credit.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2006
Pregnant Women Support Act - Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states for collecting and reporting abortion surveillance data. Requires health facilities that perform abortions to obtained informed consent from a pregnant woman seeking an abortion, except in a medical emergency. Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow states to extend health care coverage to an unborn child. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a health insurance issuer offering individual coverage from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion or a waiting period or otherwise discriminating against a woman on the basis that she is pregnant. Allows the Secretary to make grants for the purchase of ultrasound equipment for examinations of pregnant women. Provides for the collection and dissemination of information on Down syndrome and other prenatally diagnosed conditions. Provides for services to pregnant women and mothers who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. Requires states to have a pregnant "box check" on homicide death certificates. Allows the Secretary to make grants to public institutions of higher education to assist pregnant and parenting students in continuing their studies and graduating. Requires the Secretary to provide for programs to work with pregnant or parenting teens to finish high school. Requires group homes for pregnant and parenting women to provide counseling on adoption and parenting skills. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and make refundable the tax credit for adoption expenses. Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to increase the eligibility threshold for food stamps.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2006
Honors the memory of domestic violence victims. Celebrates the Milwaukee Mujeres Against Domestic Violence Brides Walk. Recognizes all bride walks in protest of domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2006
Reducing the Need for Abortion and Supporting Parents Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to provide education on preventing teen pregnancies. Provides for: (1) grants to prevent teen pregnancy; and (2) a national center for parents of adolescents to support parents in preventing teen pregnancy. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of Social Security Act to expand coverage of family planning services. Sets forth requirements for primary care clinics that receive federal financial assistance and provide abortion services. Expands state options to provide health care coverage to low-income pregnant women. Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2006 - Authorizes appropriations for voluntary family planning projects. Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit individual health insurance coverage from excluding pregnancy as a preexisting condition. Provides for: (1) grants for ultrasound equipment and prenatal testing for pregnant women; and (2) programs to better identify and treat pregnant women and mothers who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Allows the Secretary to make grants to public institutions of higher education to assist students who have decided to carry their pregnancies to term and parenting students in continuing their studies and graduating. Requires the Secretary to require that federally funded group homes for pregnant and parenting women provide, upon request, adoption counseling and counseling on parenting skills. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the tax credit for adoption expenses; (2) make such tax credit refundable; and (3) increase the exclusion from gross income for employer-paid adoption expenses. Provides for: (1) education of teen and first-time mothers through home visits by registered nurses; and (2) the collection and reporting of abortion surveillance data.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2006
Congratulates the Professional Golfers' Association of America on its 90th anniversary and applauds its contributions to employment and economic growth.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Linking Educators and Developing Entrepreneurs for Reaching Success (LEADERS) Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to support business incubation at institutions of higher education that award associate or baccalaureate degrees. Directs the Secretary to make competitive, matching awards to: (1) a nonprofit entity that manages or provides technical assistance to a degree-granting institution's affiliated incubator (or to the institution that manages in the absence of such an entity), for helping acquire or renovate space for incubators, and for developing curricula, providing services, or providing programming for entrepreneurs housed in an incubator; and (2) a degree-granting institution or a nonprofit local government or community development organization, for feasibility studies to determine the need for or siting of incubators. Requires the Secretary to reserve certain amounts for research regarding best practices for incubator programs, including the development of a benchmarking system based on uniform measures, and for dissemination of information regarding such practices. Authorizes contracts for such purposes with organizations with expertise in business incubation practices.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Program for Real Energy Security Act or the PROGRESS Act - Establishes the National Commission on Energy Security and Transition to New Fuels. Sets forth the duties of the Commission, including to make recommendations to Congress and the President for: (1) preserving the national energy security in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster; and (2) reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil over a specified period. Establishes: (1) the New Manhattan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles; and (2) the Advisory Council on Federal Participation. Requires the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of grants to federal and private sector researchers (including the Center) to research and develop alternative fuels and technologies to improve the productivity of U.S. automotive firms in the manufacture of high efficiency vehicles. Establishes a grant program to provide assistance to retail and wholesale motor fuel dealers or other entities to install, replace, or convert motor fuel storage and dispensing infrastructure for use in the storage and dispensing of biobased fuels. Sets forth requirements calling for: (1) the production and distribution of biobased fuels (ethanol) and deployment of new engine technologies for fuel-flexible, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and biodiesel vehicles; (2) greater use of alternative fuels in dual fueled vehicles operating in the federal fleet; and (3) the increase and expansion of employer-provided mass transit fringe benefits. Transit Rail Accommodation Improvement and Needs Act - Allows for the shared use of rail carrier trackage and rail rights-of-way by mass transportation authorities. Authorizes capital investment grants to improve intercity passenger rail service. Allows a tax credit to holders of qualified high-speed rail infrastructure bonds. Railroad Track Modernization Act of 2006 - Establishes a capital grant program for the rehabilitation, preservation, or improvement of railroad track of class II and class III railroads. Requires the issuance of regulations implementing reliability standards for the safe transportation of energy supplies by rail.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Butterfield Overland Trail Study Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a resource study along the "Ox-Bow Route" of the Butterfield Overland Trail in the states of Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Requires that the study evaluate a range of alternatives for protecting and interpreting the resources of the trail area, including alternatives for potential addition of such area to the National Trails System.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Supports the goals and ideals of Financial Planning Week, and encourages Americans to observe it with appropriate programs and activities. Recognizes the significant impact that sound financial planning can have on securing financial independence and achieving life's goals and dreams.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Expresses support for the people still affected by Hurricane Katrina. Acknowledges deficiencies in the ability of Gulf Coast cities to provide social services and to attract the return of displaced residents. Reaffirms Congress's commitment to assist in rebuilding the Gulf Coast region, improving the quality of life for its residents, and ending poverty in America.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2006
Mathematics and Science Teaching Corps Act of 2006 - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to create a Math and Science Teaching Corps to significantly improve mathematics and science achievement among secondary school students. Requires the Director of the Corps to carry out a program that awards: (1) Math and Science Teaching Corps Fellowships for Prospective Teachers (MSTC Fellowships) to teachers possessing comprehensive subject area knowledge; (2) grants to partner institutions to pay the tuition, fees, and overhead costs of the fellows; and (3) grants to participating local educational agencies to pay the expenses associated with facilitating the induction and professional development services for the fellows. Requires MSTC Fellowship recipients to: (1) receive specified pedagogical training; (2) teach mathematics or science, for a specified stipend, in a public secondary school for four years, and participate in induction and professional development programs; (3) participate in additional weekend or summer professional development activities in their first two years of teaching; and (4) receive mentoring training in their third year of teaching, and provide mentoring in their fourth year. Requires the Director to carry out a program that awards Math and Science Teaching Corps Fellowships for Experienced Teachers (MSTC Master Fellowships). Requires an MSTC Master Fellowship recipient to: (1) continue to teach mathematics or science, for a specified stipend, in a secondary school of a participating agency for at least five of the seven years after receiving such fellowship; (2) serve as a leader and mentor within the individual's department and school; and (3) attend subject or pedagogy workshops offered by the participating local educational agency. Requires that at least 30% of the recipients in each category of fellowship teach at hard-to-staff schools. Provides bonus stipends to such recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2006
Honors York, the first African American to explore the lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, for his contributions to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Urges students of American history to study his role in the expedition.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2006
Civil Rights History Project Act of 2006 - Requires the Librarian of Congress and the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (acting through the Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture) to establish an oral history project to: (1) collect video and audio recordings of, and visual and written materials relevant to the personal histories of, participants in the Civil Rights movement; and (2) make the collection available for public use through the Library of Congress and the Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2006
Requires the President's budget for each fiscal year after FY2007 to include: (1) a request for funds for ongoing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq; (2) an estimate of all funds expected to be required in that fiscal year for such operations; and (3) a detailed justification of the funds requested.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2006
Energy Efficient Buildings Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable amount of the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial building costs; and (2) extend such deduction through 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2006
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs who interact with veterans; (2) screening of veterans who receive medical care at a Department facility for suicide risk factors; (3) referral of at-risk veterans for counseling and treatment; (4) a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (5) research for suicide prevention and for mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (7) a toll-free hotline. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary should take in the special needs of PTSD-afflicted veterans in developing and implementing the program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2006
Green Vehicles Promotion Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax credits through 2010 for the purchase of a qualified flexible fuel motor vehicle and for the conversion of an existing motor vehicle into a qualified flexible fuel motor vehicle. Defines "qualified flexible fuel vehicle" to include a vehicle using fuel with an 85% ethanol content. Establishes in the Treasury the Alternative Fueling Infrastructure Trust Fund to create a grant program for the construction and operation of alternative fuel refueling stations. Defines "alternative fuels" to mean: (1) fuels with an 85% ethanol content, liquefied petroleum gas, or hydrogen; or (2) biodiesel mixtures. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to remit 90% of the civil penalties collected for violations of automobile fuel economy standards to the Trust Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2006
Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community Enhancement Act of 2006 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-preferred empowerment zones, enterprise communities, and renewal communities to: (1) extend the period of designation for empowerment zones and renewal communities through 2015; (2) provide a safe harbor standard for employee residency requirements in empowerment zones; (3) eliminate certain residency requirements for the empowerment zone employment tax credit; (4) grant authority to expand the boundaries of empowerment zones and enterprise communities; (5) allow carryovers of unused expensing allowances for enterprise zone businesses; (6) allow certain empowerment zone businesses to elect to receive payments in lieu of tax benefits; and (7) allow federal guarantees and tax exemptions for enterprise zone facility bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2006
Green Energy Education Act of 2006 - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to contribute energy research and development funds to the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship program to support graduate education related to such energy projects. Authorizes the Secretary to contribute funds for advanced energy technology research and development for high performance buildings to the NSF for curriculum development to improve undergraduate or graduate interdisciplinary engineering and architecture education related to the design and construction of such buildings.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2006
Safe Climate Act of 2006 - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate: (1) targets for a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions each year from 2010-2050 ; and (2) regulations requiring reductions to meet such targets, including by setting caps on emissions of sources and sectors with the largest emissions or the best opportunities to reduce them, by issuing and authorizing trading of emission allowances, and by imposing penalties for excess emissions. Requires relevant federal agencies to finalize a rule to carry out the National Academies' recommendations for regulatory action needed to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations or explain their reasons for declining to act. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the distribution of emission allowances (including through auctions) and the use of proceeds (to be deposited in a Climate Reinvestment Fund) for specified goals, including mitigating the effects of energy cost increases and climate change. Requires the EPA to ensure that emissions and allowances are accurately tracked, reported, and verified. Authorizes the emission reduction regulations to include: (1) additional requirements for any source or sector; and (2) performance standards, best management practices, and technology-based requirements. Requires such regulations to set standards for the reduction of greenhouse emissions from motor vehicles at least as quickly as the standards adopted by the California Air Resources Board at its September 2004 hearing. Requires the EPA to revise such standards in 2014 and every five years thereafter to further reduce emissions. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) require, beginning in 2009, an annual increase in the percentage of electric energy generated from renewable sources that is sold at the retail level in the United States and to require such percentage to be at least 20% of the total electricity sold by 2020; and (2) set end-user savings targets for retail electric-energy and natural gas suppliers. Authorizes DOE to: (1) increase the required percentage of end-user savings for years after 2020; and (2) allow suppliers to achieve the targets through a market-based trading system.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2006
Renewable Fuels and Energy Independence Promotion Act of 2006 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the income and excise tax credits for alcohol and biodiesel used as fuel.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2006
Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise the prohibition on importing convict-made goods into the United States to make it unlawful to: (1) import into, or export from, the United States any sweatshop good; or (2) introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell, or transport or distribute in U.S.commerce, any sweatshop good. Grants the President, for reasons of national interest, authority to recommend waiver of the applications set forth in this Act in connection with the goods of any country with respect to one or more of the principles and rights defined in this Act as a core labor standard. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such a waiver. Makes it unlawful for persons to introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell or transport or distribute in commerce any sweatshop good. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this prohibition as if it were an unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Allows specified persons with standing to bring a civil action in U.S. district courts against sellers of goods, wares, articles, or merchandise on grounds of a violation of such prohibition. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and federal law regarding the Armed Forces to prohibit executive agencies from entering into procurement contracts for sweatshop goods.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2006
Honors the life and accomplishments of James Cameron (founder of the America's Black Holocaust Museum).
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2006
Declares that Congress: (1) recognizes that minorities and women still face unique challenges entering into and obtaining upper level positions within the financial services industry; and (2) encourages financial institutions to take specified steps to increase participation of women and minorities in the industry. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) active measures should be taken by employers and educational institutions to increase the demographic diversity of the financial services industry; and (2) diversity within the financial services industry is vitally important not only to promoting innovation and creativity in the industry but to developing a more inclusive workforce for a fair and just economy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2006
Comprehensive Veterans' Data Protection and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2006 - Places upon the Secretary of Veterans Affairs an affirmative obligation to protect from any data breach the sensitive personal information of veterans and any other individuals that the Department of Veterans Affairs possesses, creates, or maintains, as well as information or tools (including passwords and encryption keys) used to protect the integrity of such data. Requires the Secretary to: (1) implement and maintain reasonable security policies and procedures to protect such information; and (2) prescribe policies and procedures regarding employee and third party access to, and use of, such information which the Department receives, maintains, or transmits. Directs the Secretary, upon discovery of a data breach, to: (1) notify the United States Secret Service, the Department's Inspector General, the congressional veterans' committees, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (2) notify each individual whose information was acquired or accessed by an unauthorized person; and (3) place a conspicuous notice on the Department's Internet website. Requires the Secretary, upon request of an affected individual, to: (1) include a fraud alert in the file of the individual with each nationwide consumer reporting agency; (2) apply a security freeze to the file of such individual; and (3) provide free damage mitigation services, including credit monitoring and annual copies of consumer credit reports. Establishes within the Department an Ombudsman for Data Security.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2006
North American Wetlands Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2006 - Authorizes appropriations to carry out the North American Wetlands Conservation Act for FY2008-FY2011.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2006
Expresses the sense of Congress that it is the goal of the United States that by January 1, 2025, U.S. agricultural, forestry, and working land should provide from renewable resources not less than 25% of the total U.S. energy consumption and continue to produce safe, abundant, and affordable food, feed, and fiber.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2006
Identity Theft Protection Act of 2006 - Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to permit a consumer to request a consumer reporting agency to place a security freeze upon his consumer report. Prohibits a consumer reporting agency, if a security freeze is in place, from releasing a consumer report to a third party without prior express authorization from the consumer. Prescribes procedures for removal and temporary suspension of a security freeze. Requires a consumer reporting agency to notify the consumer in writing before removing the security freeze. Identifies specified entities, including governmental agencies, to which these prohibitions and requirements do not apply. Permits a consumer reporting agency to charge a reasonable fee for placing or temporarily suspending a security freeze on a consumer report. Prohibits a consumer reporting agency from charging a fee for placing, removing, or temporarily suspending a security freeze if a consumer: (1) has either filed a police report, or made a complaint to a police department concerning identity theft; or (2) has received notice that a breach of data security has occurred with respect to information required by law to be maintained securely and in confidence. Exempts specified entities from this Act, including certain aggregators and other agencies acting only as resellers of credit information which do not maintain a permanent data base of consumer information from which new consumer reports are produced.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2006
Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act of 2006 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to restore Medicare treatment of ownership of oxygen equipment that existed prior to the enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Repeals: (1) the limitation of Medicare payment to the supplier for such equipment (including portable oxygen equipment) to 36 months of continuous use; and (2) the requirement that the equipment supplier transfer title to the individual at the end of such period, with payments continuing at specified monthly rates.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2006
Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require a House committee or subcommittee, whenever it receives a report on the following subject matters within its jurisdiction, to hold a hearing on the issues raised: (1) a Federal Office of Inspector General report documenting fraud, waste, abuse, or mismanagement in the government that results in a cost to the government of at least $1 million; or (2) a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report documenting waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in federal programs, including high-risk government-operations. Amends Rule X (Organization of Committees) to require the House Committee on Government Reform to hold : (1) hearings to question heads of departments or agencies whenever their auditors issue disclaimers or restatements of financial statements; and (2) at least two hearings during each session on the Program Assessment Rating Tool recommendations of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure a complementary relationship between the Administration and Congress to improve government performance.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2006
Veterans Eagle Parks Pass Act - Makes the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass available at a discount to certain veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2006
Veterans Identity Protection Act of 2006 - Directs the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) certify in writing to Congress that any individual whose personal information is compromised due to lax data security at the VA has been appropriately notified in writing of such compromise; and (2) provide free of charge to each such individual credit monitoring services during the one-year period beginning on the date of this Act's enactment and a copy of the affected individual's credit report (in addition to any other credit report provided under otherwise applicable law) once annually during the two-year period beginning on the date on which the credit monitoring services terminate.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2006
Reaffirms the national motto, "In God We Trust," on its 50th anniversary. Commends it as fundamental to America's national life and affirms its substance as vital to the nation's future success.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2006
Commends efforts by members of faith-based and community organizations in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Encourages all government agencies to consider such organizations in disaster relief and recovery in the future.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2006
Bioenergy Innovation, Optional Fuel Utilization, and Energy Legacy (BIOFUEL) Act of 2006 - Amends the Clean Air Act to revise the schedule for the volume of renewable fuels, the volume for cellulosic biomass, and the volume of biodiesel. Amends federal transportation law to require manufacturers of new dual fueled automobiles to ensure that the percentage of the total of such automobiles, manufactured and distributed in commerce for sale in the United States, meets prescribed percentages for specified model years. Directs the Secretary of Energy to require motor fuel retailers in each geographic region the Secretary establishes, when flexible-fuel vehicle market penetrations reach a certain level, to install an E-85 fuel pump or pumps at their retail fuel facilities. Establishes in the Treasury a Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Fund to implement a related grant program. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a renewable energy strategic feedstock reserve program to purchase and store agricultural commodities with their producers. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to: (1) redefine bioenergy as ethanol derived from cellulosic feedstocks; and (2) reauthorize the Department of Agriculture bioenergy program. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make loans to enable eligible farmers, ranchers, and certain domestic entities controlled by them to create or expand facilities designed to convert agricultural commodities into fuel. Prohibits the Secretary from requiring a lender to obtain an unsubordinated interest in a borrower's farming or ranching operation as a prerequisite to a federal loan guarantee. Amends the Farm Credit Act of 1971 to declare eligible for credit assistance certain associations of farmers, producers, or harvesters of aquatic products engaged in commercial activities related to renewable energy products. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish a research and development program related to: (1) ethanol production; (2) extraction of energy from biological sources; (3) biomass gasification; and (4) new vehicle efficiency technologies. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish a biofuels production facility grant program. Expresses the sense of Congress that Congress should enact policies that: (1) reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and (2) encourage systems that compensate American agricultural producers for the beneficial role that they play in reducing greenhouse gases and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend tax credits for ethanol and biodiesel; (2) increase tax credits for refueling property for ethanol and biodiesel; and (3) increase the small ethanol producer credit. Revises requirements for infrastructure bonds for facilities producing motor vehicle fuel from biomass.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2006
Amends the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to instruct the Secretary of Energy to establish and operate a Strategic Refinery Reserve (SRR) in order to provide petroleum products to: (1) the general public; and (2) the federal government, including the Department of Defense, and state and local governments which choose to purchase refined petroleum products from the SRR. Restricts availability of petroleum products from the SRR to: (1) periods of severe energy supply interruption; or (2) a regional petroleum product supply shortage of significant scope and duration, as determined by the President, if such action would assist directly and significantly in reducing the adverse impact of such shortage. Directs the Secretary to ensure that SRR refineries are designed to enable a rapid increase in production capacity during such periods. Requires the owner or operator of a domestic refinery to notify the Secretary at least six months in advance of permanently closing the refinery, and include in such notice an explanation of the reasons for the proposed closing.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2006
Department of Energy Contractor Employee Equitable Treatment Act of 2006 - Prohibits any funds from being expended to implement, administer, or enforce the guidance of the Department of Energy (DOE) relating to contractor employee pension and medical benefits policy. (DOE will no longer reimburse contractors for new employees' pension and medical costs under defined benefit plans, but will now reimburse only such costs under defined contribution, market-based plans that vary from the average cost of such market-based plans by no more than 5%.) Requires the Secretary of Energy to: (1) withdraw such guidance not later than one day after enactment of this Act; and (2) reinstate eligibility or reimbursement for benefits or reinstate reimbursement for benefits if the Secretary has acted on such guidance.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2006
Platform Equality and Remedies for Right Holders in Music Act of 2006 or the Perform Act of 2006 - Requires Copyright Royalty Judges (CRJs) to establish rates for a statutory license for the transmission of sound recordings by organizations that most clearly represent the fair market value of the rights licensed. Replaces the different processes for setting rates and terms of royalty payments for subscription transmissions by preexisting subscription services, satellite digital radio services, and eligible nonsubscription transmission services with one process for all such transmissions. Directs CRJs, when setting such rates and terms, to consider: (1) the fair market value of the rights licensed; and (2) the degree to which reasonable recording affects the potential market for sound recordings and the additional fees that are required to be paid by services for compensation. Conditions statutory licensing of transmissions on the transmitting entity using technology that is reasonably available, technologically feasible, and economically reasonable to prevent the making of copies or phonorecords embodying the transmission in whole or in part, except for reasonable recording. (Current law provides for limits on phonorecords of the transmission directly in a digital format.) Allows a performing rights society or a mechanical rights organization to monitor public performances or other uses of copyrighted works contained in transmissions. Requires the Register of Copyrights to convene a meeting among affected parties to discuss whether to recommend creating a new category of limited interactive services within certain statutory licenses for subscription transmissions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2006
HOPE VI Reauthorization Act of 2006 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to extend appropriations for FY2007-FY2011 for demolition, site revitalization, replacement housing, and tenant-based assistance grants for public housing projects. Extends the sunset date for such assistance to September 30, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2006
Reform of National Security Reviews of Foreign Direct Investments Act - Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to direct the President, upon receiving written notification by any party involved of a possible merger, acquisition, or takeover which could result in foreign control of any person engaged in interstate commerce in the United States (covered transaction), or upon a motion of a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to review the covered transaction to determine whether it threatens to impair U.S. national security and whether such threat can be mitigated. Requires CFIUS, if it determines that the covered transaction is a foreign government-controlled transaction, to conduct its own investigation. Requires the President, in his investigation, to take necessary action to protect national security with respect to the covered transaction. Makes any review final and complete only after its findings and report are approved and signed by both the Secretaries of the Treasury and Homeland Security. Requires the Director of National Intelligence to carry out an analysis of the threat to national security of any covered transaction. Makes CFIUS a statutory committee under the Defense Production Act of 1950, with a revised membership. Requires the consideration, as additional factors in determining whether it should be investigated, of whether a covered transaction: (1) has a security-related impact on critical infrastructure; and (2) is a foreign government-controlled transaction. Authorizes CFIUS to: (1) negotiate, impose, and enforce any agreement or condition with any party to a covered transaction in order to mitigate any threat to national security; (2) track withdrawn notifications; and (3) monitor the enforcement of any agreements. Requires reports to Congress by the President and CFIUS concerning investigations of covered transactions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2006
Alternative Energy Refueling System Act of 2006 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a program to provide eligible entities (refueling vendors or owners or operators of a facility where an alternative energy refueling system is located), for FY2007-FY2011, reimbursement from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund for a portion of the costs of purchasing and installing one or more alternative energy refueling systems (systems used to refuel motor vehicles with an alternative fuel such as compressed natural gas or E-85 ethanol). Prohibits an entity that receives a federal tax credit for placing in service a qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property from receiving reimbursement under this Act if the system cost was taken into consideration in calculating the tax credit. Limits reimbursement to: (1) two systems for each facility owned by an eligible entity; and (2) the lesser of 30% of a system's cost or $30,000.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2006
Accountability in Government Act of 2006 - Prohibits a federal agency head from continuing in office without reappointment by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate, in any case in which the Comptroller General's annual report under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 states that the agency is not in substantial compliance with federal financial management systems requirements, applicable accounting standards, and the U.S. Government Standard Ledger at the transaction level.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2006
Restoring Emergency Services to Protect Our Nation From Disasters Act of 2006 or the RESPOND Act of 2006 - Reestablishes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a cabinet-level independent establishment in the executive branch to be headed by a Director appointed by the President. Requires FEMA to: (1) include all functions and authorities prescribed by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster and Emergency Assistance Act; (2) carry out its mission by leading and supporting the nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system; and (3) be the lead agency for the National Response Plan. Provides for an Office of the Inspector General within FEMA. Requires the Director to develop a human capital strategy. Establishes within FEMA a disaster workforce reserve cadre to meet surge requirements during emergencies. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a program to assist states and local governments representing areas at substantial risk for a catastrophic incident; (2) maintain and operate a national emergency operations center; (3) develop an efficient, transparent, and flexible logistics system for procurement and delivery of goods and services; and (4) establish and maintain an interoperable communications capability. Amends the Stafford Act to require the President, acting through the Director, to establish at least three national response teams, sufficient regional and other response teams, and a national emergency preparedness goal and system. Requires the Director to: (1) carry out a grant program to improve state and local government emergency response capabilities; (2) establish a comprehensive system to assess the nation's overall emergency preparedness; and (3) establish a National Emergency Preparedness Task Force. Establishes a national incident management system.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2006
Recognizes and honors the 30th Anniversary of the California victory at the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting and recognizes the historical significance of this event to the U.S. wine industry.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2006
Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) extend the 2006 and 2007 initial enrollment periods for the Medicare prescription drug benefit; (2) suspend the late enrollment penalty through December 31, 2007; and (3) permit Medicare beneficiaries to change enrollment in a prescription drug plan during the first 12 months of enrollment. Prohibits a PDP sponsor, beginning with 2006, from removing a covered part D drug from the plan formulary, or imposing a restriction or limitation on the coverage of such a drug, other than at the beginning of each plan year, except as the Secretary may permit to take into account new therapeutic uses and newly covered part D drugs. Requires each PDP sponsor to furnish to each plan enrollee, at the time of each annual coordinated election period, a notice of any changes in the formulary or other part D drug coverage restrictions or limitations that will take effect for the upcoming plan year.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2006
Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 - Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to revise requirements for: (1) the use of election examiners and observers; (2) declaratory judgment on the issue of voting qualifications or standards intended to diminish the ability of U.S. citizens to elect preferred candidates; and (3) award of attorney fees in enforcement proceedings to include expert fees and other reasonable costs of litigation. Extends bilingual election requirements through August 5, 2032. Revises the requirements for determining states and political subdivisions covered by them to require use of 2010 American Community Survey census data. Amends the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with respect to the prohibition against the use of tests or devices to deny the right to vote in any federal, state, or local election. Extends both the prohibition and the date for mandatory congressional reconsideration of it.