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![Official portrait of Rep. Ford, Harold E., Jr. [D-TN-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000262_200.jpg)
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 · 8 February 2005
Increases the biweekly contribution payable by the Government for a Federal employee or annuitant enrolled in a Federal employee health insurance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2005
Honors and recognizes the achievements of Emmitt Smith in giving back to his community, promoting excellence, breaking barriers, and showing that football is a sport for all people. Urges all Americans to recognize the contributions to American society made by Emmitt Smith through his achievements and community involvement.
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
Guard and Reserve Readiness and Retention Act of 2005 - Makes an individual eligible for retired pay for non-regular (reserve) military service if such individual: (1) satisfies one of specified combinations of minimum age (between 53 and 60) and years of service (between 20 and 34); (2) performed the last six years of qualifying service in currently authorized categories of military service, but not while a member of a regular component, the Fleet Reserve, or the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve; and (3) is not entitled to any other retirement pay from an armed force or as a member of the Fleet Reserve or Fleet Marine Corps Reserve. Authorizes a member of the Selected Reserve to enroll for self or self and family coverage under the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program).
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.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Authorizes the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to Garlin Murl Conner of Clinton County, Kentucky, for acts of valor while serving in the Army during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to extend the Act through FY2013. Revises requirements regarding the merchantable material contracting pilot program. Requires counties participating in county projects to submit a specified notification for each project for which the participating county obligated county funds. Provides for the review of such notifications.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2007 130 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2005. Adjusts the amount provided for fiscal years after FY 2007 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of other persons eligible but not enrolled who are provided care, multiplied by the per capital baseline amount for FY 2005, as increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Prohibits the availability of such funds for: (1) construction, acquisition, or alteration of veterans' medical facilities (other than for repairs provided for before the date of enactment of this Act); or (2) grants for the construction of State home facilities for the furnishing of veterans' domiciliary, nursing home, and hospital care.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support State comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of Federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current Federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Amends the Federal Law Enforcement Pay Reform Act of 1990 to revise the special pay adjustments for (percentage differentials payable to) Federal law enforcement officers in specified consolidated metropolitan statistical areas. Includes Capitol Police as law enforcement officers under such Act. Eliminates the limitation on the aggregate of basic pay and premium pay with respect to availability pay for Federal criminal investigators.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Permanent Sales Tax Deduction Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make provisions authorizing a taxpayer election to deduct State and local sales taxes in lieu of State and local income taxes permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 2 February 2005
Declares the sense of the Congress that music education grounded in rigorous instruction is an important component of a well-rounded academic curriculum and should be available to every student in every school. Recognizes NAMM, the International Music Products Association, for its efforts to emphasize the importance of school music programs in the academic and social development of children.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction which is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2000 Allston Way in Berkeley, California, as the "Maudelle Shirek Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2005
Recognizes the second century of Big Brothers Big Sisters, and supports the mission and goals of that organization.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2005
Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $500 for the purchase of a qualified hearing aid for an individual who is either: (1) age 55 or older; or (2) is claimed as a dependent of the taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2005
Medicare's Equitable Drugs for Seniors Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal provisions prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from: (1) interfering with the negotiations between drug manufacturers and pharmacies and prescription drug plan sponsors; and (2) requiring a particular formulary to institute a price structure for the reimbursement of covered Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) drugs. Grants the Secretary instead, in order to ensure that beneficiaries enrolled under prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans pay the lowest possible price, authority similar to that of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other Federal agencies and departments that purchase prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of covered Medicare part D drugs, consistent with the requirements and in furtherance of the goals of providing quality care and containing costs under such part.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income hazard mitigation payments received under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or the National Flood Insurance Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2005
Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than: (1) 500,000 $1 coins with the image of Theodore Roosevelt as a Rough Rider on one side and an eagle design on the other side; and (2) 500,000 $1 coins with the image of Roosevelt on horseback on one side and a flaming sword of righteousness on the other side. Expresses the sense of Congress that the coins should be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such minted coins beginning on January 1, 2006, and to initiate coin sales before such date. (2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's award of the Nobel Peace Prize.) Requires payment of $10 surcharges from the coin sales to the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be used exclusively for educational programs at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, including a visitor's center.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue coins commemorating the 50th anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Requires the design of such coins to be emblematic of the desegregation of Little Rock Central High School and its contribution to civil rights in America. Specifies the sale price of such coins and applicable surcharges. Requires surcharges collected from sales to be used equally for: (1) the Jefferson National Parks Association for support of the activities and mission of Little Rock Central High National Historic Site; and (2) site improvements.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Keep Our Promise to America's Children and Teachers Act - Keep Our PACT Act - Makes appropriations in order to provide for the full funding of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (ESEA-NCLBA), and for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Makes such appropriations for ESEA-NCLBA programs in amounts for each of FY 2006 through 2011 which equal the difference between other appropriations and specified amounts for each of those fiscal years. Amends IDEA to authorize and make appropriations for: (1) each of FY 2006 through 2011 in specified amounts; and (2) for FY 2012 and each subsequent fiscal year, in the amount that is the total for all States of the maximum amounts necessary to fully fund 40 percent of the average per pupil expenditure for IDEA part B programs of assistance for education of all children with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Alice Paul Congressional Gold Medal Act - Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the posthumous presentation of a congressional gold medal in commemoration of Alice Paul, to recognize her role in the women's suffrage movement and in advancing equal rights for women. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of such medal. Requires proceeds from the sale of such medals to be deposited into the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
State and Local Law Enforcement Discipline, Accountability, and Due Process Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to set forth the due process rights, including procedures, that shall be afforded a law enforcement officer (officer) who is the subject of an investigation or disciplinary hearing. Declares that an officer shall not be: (1) prohibited from engaging in political activity or be denied the right to refrain from engaging in such activity, except when on duty or acting in an official capacity; and (2) prohibited from being a candidate for an elective office or from serving in such elective office solely because of the officer's status as an officer, with exceptions. Requires that: (1) each agency adopt and thereafter comply with a written complaint procedure that meets specified requirements; and (2) an investigation based on a complaint from outside the agency commence not later than 15 days after receipt of the complaint by the agency employing the officer against whom the complaint has been made, or any other agency charged with investigating such complaint. Directs that any officer who is the subject of an investigation be notified of the investigation 24 hours before the commencement of questioning. Establishes rights of officers before and during questioning, including the right to counsel. Requires questioning to be conducted at reasonable hours. Prohibits an officer from being compelled to submit to the use of a lie detector.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Supports the goals and ideals of National Mentoring Month, including efforts to recruit more mentors in the United States. Praises the millions of caring adults who have already committed their time and energy to mentor a child.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2005
Calls for the President to grant a pardon, posthumously, to Jack Johnson, the first African-American professional boxer to hold the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2005
Military Death Benefit Improvement Act of 2005 - Increases from $12,000 to $100,000 the death gratuity payable to the survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die: (1) while on active duty or inactive duty training; or (2) within 120 days after discharge or release from such duty or training, if the death resulted from an injury or disease incurred or aggravated during such duty or training.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2005
Iran Freedom Support Act - States that: (1) U.S. sanctions, controls, and regulations relating to weapons of mass destruction with respect to Iran shall remain in effect until the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that Iran has permanently and verifiably dismantled its weapons of mass destruction programs and has committed to combating such weapons' proliferation; and (2) such certification shall have no effect on other sanctions relating to Iranian support of international terrorism. Amends the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act of 1996 to: (1) eliminate mandatory sanction provisions respecting Libya; (2) impose mandatory sanctions on a person or entity that aids Iran acquire or develop weapons of mass destruction or destabilizing types and numbers of conventional weapons; (3) revise multilateral regime reporting requirements, including provisions respecting sanctions on individuals aiding Iranian petroleum development; (4) enlarge the scope of sanctionable entities; and (5) eliminate the sunset provision. Authorizes the President to provide financial and political assistance to eligible foreign and domestic individuals and groups that support democracy in Iran and that are opposed to the Government of Iran. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the President should appoint a special assistant on Iranian matters; (2) contacts should be expanded with democratic Iranian opposition groups; and (3) the President should designate at least one such eligible group within 90 days of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish a program of student loan forgiveness for borrowers who agree to remain employed, for at least three years, as public attorneys who are: (1) State or local criminal prosecutors; or (2) State, local, or Federal public defenders in criminal cases. Directs the Secretary of Education to provide such student loan repayment benefits for such public attorneys on a first-come, first-served basis, and subject to the availability of appropriations. Requires priority to be given to borrowers who received repayment benefits for the preceding fiscal year and have completed less than three years of the first required service period. Allows the borrower and the Secretary to enter into an additional agreement, after the required three-year period, for a successive period of service which may be less than three years. Limits the amount paid under such program on behalf of any borrower to $6,000 per calendar year and $40,000 total. Includes public defenders among those eligible under a current HEA program of cancellation of student loans for certain public service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to mint and issue: (1) ten dollar gold coins; (2) five dollar gold coins; (3) one dollar silver coins; and (4) half-dollar silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Directs each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has in its possession any craft or any part of a craft that flew in space to: (1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal that may be used in the production of any coins under this Act from such craft or part; and (2) deposit such metals with the Director of the United States Mint. Requires that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a surcharge of : (1) $75 per coin for the ten dollar coin; (2) $35 per coin for the five dollar coin; (3) $10 per coin for the one dollar coin; and (4) $3 for the half-dollar coin, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the purposes of providing financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Revised Statutes of the United States, to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Ensuring College Access for All Americans Act - Prohibits the application of the annual updates (prescribed in the Federal Register on December 23, 2004) to the allowance for State and other taxes in the tables used in the Federal Needs Analysis Methodology to determine a student's expected family contribution for the award year 2005-2006 under the Higher Education Act of 1965, to the extent such updates will reduce the amount of Federal student assistance for which the student is eligible.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
College Fire Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive demonstration grants to private or public colleges or universities, fraternities, or sororities for up to half the cost of installing fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention technologies, in student housing and dormitories owned or controlled by such entities. Requires grant priority to be given eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest financial need. Reserves the following portions of grant funds made available for each fiscal year: (1) at least ten percent for eligible entities that are historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities; and (2) at least ten percent for eligible entities that are social fraternities and sororities. Provides that any application for assistance under this Act, any negative determination on the part of the Secretary with respect to such application, or any statement of reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity (except a proceeding to enforce an agreement entered into between the Secretary and an eligible entity under this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Higher Education Science and Technology Competitiveness Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award grants for articulation agreements between institutions of higher education that specifies the acceptability of courses in transfer toward meeting specific degree requirements, especially in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Allows the use of grant funds to establish articulation agreements: (1) statewide, among public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education, to provide a seamless transition for the transfer of students through a common core curricula that reflects the workforce needs of private industry; and (2) within community colleges, between occupational competency or certification programs and associate degree programs, to increase the proportion of students who enroll to complete their associate degree. Allows such grants also to be used to: (1) collect data on transfers from two-year to four-year institutions, for monitoring purposes; (2) develop a statewide articulation guide in consultation with public colleges and universities to provide students with descriptions of articulation requirements; and (3) develop a plan for professional development of two-year college faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
National Security Language Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish programs to encourage early foreign language instruction, including grants to: (1) partnerships of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) for activities relating to foreign language instruction at elementary or secondary schools, with priorities for high-need LEAs and less-commonly taught foreign languages; and (2) IHEs that develop innovative programs for the teaching of foreign languages, with priorities for combining foreign languages with science and technology and for less-commonly taught foreign languages. Provides undergraduate student loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for students who major in a critical foreign language and are employed as teachers of such language in elementary or secondary schools or as using such language regularly in a Federal agency. Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) establish a foreign language education marketing campaign to encourage students at secondary schools and IHEs to study foreign languages, particularly ones less commonly taught and critical to national security; and (2) conduct a study to identify foreign language heritage communities and recruit speakers of such critical languages. Amends the David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 to establish an International Flagship Language Initiative with grants to IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Military In-State Tuition Act of 2005 - Prohibits a member of the armed forces on active duty for a period of more than 30 days whose domicile or permanent duty station is in a State, and the dependents of such a member, from being charged tuition for attendance at a public institution of higher education in that State at a greater rate than that charged for residents of that State. Requires such rate to continue notwithstanding a subsequent change in permanent duty station outside that State.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Social Security Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) pension offset provisions applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination provisions with respect to computation of the primary insurance amount of an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Amends Federal aviation law to prohibit the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, solely by reason of a person's age if the person has not attained his or her Social Security retirement age, from: (1) denying, deferring as to, or failing to renew for any such person an airman or medical certificate for the operation of a commercial aircraft; (2) imposing restrictions or limitations on an airman or medical certificate following initial or periodic competency or medical testing which has the same age discriminatory effect on the person; or (3) requiring an air carrier to terminate the employment of, or not to employ, or to take any other action having the same age discriminatory effect on, such person as a pilot of an aircraft. Declares that such requirements shall not provide the basis for a claim of seniority made under any labor bargaining agreement in effect between the pilots and an air carrier by any pilot seeking re-employment by an air carrier following the pilot's previous termination or cessation of employment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Lumbee Recognition Act - Extends Federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946 (or to their survivors). Includes service in the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. Exempts benefits paid under this Act from taxation. Provides for benefits for World War II Merchant Mariners under title II (Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act - Amends Federal postal service law to direct the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) (established by this Act) to establish a modern system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products (all first-class mail, special services, periodicals, standard mail, media mail, library mail, and bound printed matter). Directs the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service to establish rates and classes for products in the competitive category of mail (priority mail, expedited mail, mailgrams, international mail, and parcel post). Authorizes the Postal Service to conduct market tests of experimental products. Directs the PRC to establish rules to ensure that workshare discounts (presorting, barcoding, etc.) do not exceed the cost that the Postal Service avoids as the result of private sector workshare activity. Establishes in the Treasury a revolving Postal Service Competitive Products Fund which shall be available to the Postal Service without fiscal year limitation for the payment of: (1) costs attributable to competitive products; and (2) all other costs incurred by the Postal Service, to the extent allocable to competitive products. Requires the Postal Service to: (1) compute its assumed Federal income tax (which would be the taxable income of a corporation) on competitive products income for such year; and (2) transfer from the Competitive Products Fund to the Postal Service Fund the amount of that assumed tax. Prohibits the Postal Service from: (1) establishing anti-competitive rules or regulations; (2) compelling the disclosure, transfer, or licensing of intellectual property to any third party; or (3) obtaining information from a person that provides any product, and then offering any product or service that uses or is based in whole or in part on such information, without the person's consent. Makes the Secretary of State responsible for foreign policy related to international postal services and other international delivery services. Replaces the Postal Rate Commission with the Postal Regulatory Commission. Directs the Postal Service to report to the President, Congress, and: (1) PRC on universal postal service in the United States; and (2) Postal Service Board of Governors on the postal processing and distribution network. Repeals the authority of the Postal Service to impose fines on air carriers transporting mail beyond U.S. borders for unreasonable or unnecessary delays and other delinquencies. Directs the Postal Service to prescribe regulations for the safe transportation of hazardous materials in the mail. Provides civil penalties, plus cleanup costs, for violations. Revises postal pension funding requirements under the Civil Service Retirement System. Establishes the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Democracy Day Act of 2005 - Requires the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in 2008 and in each even-number year thereafter (Election Day) to be treated in the same manner as November 11 (Veterans Day) for purposes of any laws relating to Federal employment. Urges private employers to give their employees that day off to enable them to vote. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a study of the impact of such requirement on voter participation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the tax credit for biodiesel used as fuel to include a credit for the production of agri-biodiesel fuel equal to 10 cents for each gallon produced. Limits: (1) the amount of qualified agri-biodiesel production of a producer to 15 million gallons for any taxable year; and (2) eligible producers to those with a productive capacity not exceeding 60 million gallons. Revises the small ethanol producer tax credit to: (1) expand the eligibility of small ethanol producers for the credit; (2) exclude the credit from the definition of passive activity credit; and (3) exclude credit amounts from inclusion in gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Supports the goals and ideals of National Campus Safety Awareness Month.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2004
Permanent Sales Tax Deduction Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make the taxpayer election to deduct State and local sales taxes in lieu of State and local income taxes permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2004
Act to Save America's Forests - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to revise eligibility criteria for members of the land and resource management scientific committee. Revises the committee termination date. Directs the Chief of the Forest Service, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to each prepare a continuous inventory of forest land administered by each agency head and to document whole-system measures that will be taken as a result of the inventory. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for conservation and restoration of native biodiversity in forested areas. Prohibits clearcutting or other even-age logging operations on any stand or watershed on certain Federal land, National Forest System land, and National Wildlife Refuge System land. Provides for Federal enforcement and a private right of action. Designates special areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas,Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Requires the Secretaries concerned to appoint a committee of independent scientists to recommend additional special areas. Restricts road construction and logging on Federal land in ancient forests, special areas, roadless areas, and watershed protection areas. Provides for Federal enforcement and a private right of action. States that this Act shall not apply to Federal wilderness areas designated under the Wilderness Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2004 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers for community policing; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for certain educational costs. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other entities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding termination of grants for hiring officers. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts; and (3) in paying overtime to existing career law enforcement officers. Reserves specified funds for local governmental units with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted for police officer retention.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Influenza Vaccine Emergency Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require influenza vaccine manufacturers to include a provision in any contract for the sale of the vaccine in interstate commerce expressing the policy that the Secretary of Health and Human Services has the authority to take title to necessary quantities of the vaccine if the Secretary declares that there is a public health emergency by reason of an influenza vaccine shortage, and that the manufacturer will reimburse the purchaser for any such quantity not received. Requires the Secretary to pay the manufacturer or distributor for any quantity taken at the price the manufacturer or distributor would have received for that quantity of vaccine. Requires the Secretary to determine the extent of compliance with guidelines for the distribution of influenza vaccine and, before using the authority to take title to the vaccine, to publish notice that such compliance has not been sufficient to constitute an adequate response to the emergency. Allows the Secretary, in lieu of taking title to a vaccine, to order any vaccine manufacturer or distributor to honor its contracts with States or political subdivisions. Requires the Secretary to provide any influenza vaccine to States, political subdivisions, and such other public or private entities as appropriate as a response to the emergency involved. Allows the Secretary to make an emergency declaration if the delivery waiting time for States or political subdivisions to receive the vaccine constitutes a significant threat to children, adolescents, or adults served by the immunization program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Up-Skilling Tax Credit Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a general business tax credit for up to 20 percent of the cost of technical training for employees performing services in a trade or business of the taxpayer. Limits the amount of the credit to $1,000 for each employee, reduced by credit amounts for all prior taxable years. Terminates the credit after 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a program to award competitive grants, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to institutions of higher education (IHEs) for increased education and job training of U.S. nationals who are undergraduate or graduate students in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Requires such grants to be provided to IHE applicants that demonstrate they will institute creative and innovative methods of encouraging students to study and enter into careers focused on those disciplines. Requires IHE applications to include: (1) financial incentives to students; (2) commitment to expose students to different industries; and (3) commitment to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented students in those disciplines. Allows IHE recipients to use grant funds: (1) for major research equipment, facilities construction, repair and upgrades, textbooks, and other purposes necessary to create a quality academic program in one or more of those disciplines; and (2) to create interdisciplinary programs in those disciplines to better meet rapidly changing needs in emerging fields.