United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Military Retirees Health Care Protection Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) and the nation have a committed health benefits obligation to retired military personnel that exceeds the obligation of corporate employers to civilian employees; and (2) DOD has many additional options to constrain the growth of health care spending in ways that do not disadvantage beneficiaries, and should pursue such options rather than seeking large fee increases for beneficiaries. Prohibits an increase after: (1) April 1, 2006, in a premium, deductible, copayment, or other charge prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for medical and dental health care coverage for military personnel; and (2) September 30, 2007, in the dollar amount of a cost-sharing requirement under the DOD pharmacy benefits program. Prohibits: (1) charges for DOD inpatient care from exceeding $535 per day; and (2) beginning on April 1, 2006, an increase in premiums under TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) for certain members of the Selected Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Savings for Seniors Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to establish in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund a Social Security Surplus Protection Account to hold the Social Security surplus. Denies the availability of the balance in the Account for investment by the Managing Trustee. Establishes in the executive branch of Government a Social Security Investment Commission to study and report to the President and Congress on the most effective vehicles for investment of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund, other than investment in the form of U.S. obligations resulting in the transfer of Trust Fund assets to the general fund of the Treasury.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Congressional Pardon for Border Patrol Agents Ramos and Compean Act - Orders: (1) the criminal convictions and sentences of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean vacated; and (2) the release of said agents from government custody. Prohibits any further criminal prosecution or other proceedings against said agents. Express the sense of Congress that the Department of Homeland Security should review the rules of engagement presently used by the U.S. Border Patrol.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Teacher Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable tax deduction for the expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers to $400; (2) allow the deduction of professional development expenses; and (3) make such deduction permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of items and services under a cardiac rehabilitation program and a pulmonary rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Securing America's Energy Independence Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016: (1) the energy tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property; and (2) the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures. Allows such credits to be applied against alternative minimum tax liability. Includes advanced energy storage systems as energy property for purposes of the tax credit. Provides for a special credit amount for solar photovoltaic energy property and residential energy efficient property based upon kilowatt capacity. Allows accelerated depreciation (three-year recovery period) for solar energy and fuel cell property.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
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 · 17 January 2007
States that Congress will not cut off or restrict funding for units and members of the Armed Forces that the Commander in Chief has deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Tax Code Termination Act - Terminates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after December 31, 2010, except for self-employment taxes, Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes, and Railroad Retirement taxes. Declares that any new federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that: (1) applies a low rate to all Americans; (2) provides tax relief for working Americans; (3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses; (4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment; (5) promotes economic growth and job creation; and (6) does not penalize marriage or families. Requires that the new federal tax system be approved by Congress in its final form by July 4, 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Recognizes Benny Parsons as one of the greatest race car drivers ever to participate in the sport of auto racing and recognizes his many contributions to the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2007 - Provides that, if there is a deficit in a fiscal year, then: (1) any pay adjustment (including a cost of living adjustment) for Members of Congress scheduled to take effect in the succeeding calendar year shall be null and void; and (2) rates of pay for Members shall be reduced by a specified percentage, but not below zero. Specifies the mandatory pay rate reduction at: (1) 5%, for the first year; or (2) 10%, for any consecutive subsequent year that expenditures exceed revenues. Specifies conditions for restoration of the original pay rate, together with otherwise scheduled adjustments. Vests authority in the Director of the Congressional Budget Office to make determinations of whether or not a deficit exists in any fiscal year. States that, in making any such determination, the Director shall exclude any budget outlays which directly relate to a military conflict that lasts over 30 days or that is in direct response to a terrorist attack on the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Amends the Small Business Act to include Campbell County, Virginia, as a qualified nonmetropolitan county for purposes of the HUBZone (heavily underutilized business zone) programs under such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2007 - Exempts provisions expanding the adoption tax credit and adoption assistance programs enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 from the general terminating (sunset) provisions of that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2007
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 · 11 January 2007
Veterans' Disability Compensation Automatic COLA Act - Requires that, whenever there is an increase in benefit amounts payable under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall increase by the same percentage the amounts payable as veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled adult children, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Notch Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the benefit computation formula for individuals affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who became eligible (at age 62) for (early retirement) old-age insurance benefits after 1978 and before 1989 (and reached age 65 for full-retirement benefits after 1981 and before 1992). Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55% to 5% keyed to the year an individual became eligible for (early retirement) benefits between 1978 and 1989. Provides for an election to receive such payments in a lump sum.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the requirement that individual retirement accounts (other than Roth IRAs) and elective deferrals under qualified cash or deferred arrangments must have a beginning date for mandatory distributions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
HUBZone Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Small Business Act redefine a Hubzone Qualified Area to count as a qualified nonmetropolitan county any county located within a metropolitan statistical area if: (1) its total population is 80,000 or less; (2) the population residing within the county's urbanized areas is 10% or less of the county's total population; and (3) the county meets either a specified median household income or a specified unemployment rate requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Social Security Disability Determination Simplification Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to eliminate any mandatory intervening reconsideration from the benefit entitlement decision review process.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should provide notice of the withdrawal of the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Redesignates the: (1) Department of the Navy as the Department of the Navy and Marine Corps; and (2) Secretary of the Navy as the Secretary of the Navy and Marine Corps. Makes similar redesignations with respect to Department Assistant Secretaries and the General Counsel.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Amends federal veterans' benefits provisions to make permanent (currently, terminates on December 31, 2006) the authority for the provision by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of government markers or memorial headstones for the marked graves of veterans buried in private cemeteries. Amends the Veterans Education and Benefits Expansion Act of 2001 to make eligible for such markers or headstones certain veterans dying on or after November 1, 1990 (currently, September 11, 2001).
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Disabled Veterans Tax Termination Act - Amends federal military retired pay provisions to: (1) permit veterans with a service-connected disability of less than 50% to claim both retired pay and disability compensation; (2) eliminate provisions requiring a phase in between January 1, 2004, and December 31, 2013, of concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation; (3) provide a special reduction rule with respect to the concurrent receipt of retired pay and disability compensation in the case of disability retirees with less than 20 years of creditable service; and (4) extend combat-related special compensation to certain veterans with less than 20 years of service who have a combat-related disability.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Military Retiree Health Care Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit for premiums paid to enroll military retirees and their spouses and surviving spouses for supplementary medical insurance under part B of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Amends provisions concerning Appalachian regional development to revise the definition of "Appalachian region" to include Franklin, Henry, and Patrick Counties.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop techniques for the isolation, derivation, production, or testing of stem cells that are capable of producing all or almost all of the cell types of the developing body and may result in improved understanding of treatments for diseases and other adverse health conditions, but are not derived from a human embryo. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide guidance concerning the next steps required for additional research; (2) prioritize research with the greatest potential for near-term clinical benefit; and (3) take into account techniques outlined by the President's Council on Bioethics and any other appropriate techniques and research.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2007
Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that wages earned, and self-employment income derived by, individuals while they were not U.S. citizens or nationals, and were in the United States illegally, shall not be credited for coverage under the OASDI program.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Robo COP Act: Robo Calls Off Phones - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), notwithstanding any other provision of law, to revise the do-not-call registry provisions of the Telemarketing Sales Rule to prohibit politically-oriented recorded message telephone calls to telephone numbers listed on that registry. Defines politically-oriented recorded message telephone call.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Retired Pay Restoration Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that military retired pay should not be reduced because a military retiree is also eligible for veterans' disability compensation awarded for a service-connected disability. Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only a disability rated at 50 percent or more). Repeals provisions phasing in the full concurrent receipt of such pay through December 31, 2013. Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Solid Waste Interstate Transportation Act of 2007 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to prohibit a landfill or incinerator (facility) from receiving out-of-state municipal solid waste (MSW) for disposal or incineration unless the waste is received pursuant to a new or existing host community agreement or an exemption from this prohibition (which may be limited by the state). Establishes conditions for exemptions. Authorizes states to establish limits on the amount of out-of-state MSW received annually for disposal at each facility. Sets the limitation amount for any facility that began receiving documented out-of-state waste before enactment of this Act at the amount received during 1993 (or first subsequent year of documentation). Prohibits state limits from conflicting with permits or host community agreements. Authorizes states to require that a permit for a new or expanded facility include an annual limitation of not less than 20% on the total quantity of out-of-state MSW relative to the total waste received by the facility. Requires percentage limitations to be uniform and not discriminate against out-of-state MSW according to state of origin. Allows states to limit the amount of out-of-state MSW received annually at each facility to the amount received during 1995 if the state has a comprehensive, statewide recycling program. Prohibits discrimination against shipments of such waste on the basis of state of origin. Authorizes states to require inspectors to be onsite during operation of a facility that receives out-of-state MSW.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Social Security Totalization Agreement Reform Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that any agreement to establish a totalization arrangement which is entered into with another country shall enter into force with respect to the United States if (and only if): (1) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the date on which he enters into the agreement, notifies each House of Congress of his intention to enter into it, and promply thereafter publishes notice of such intention in the Federal Register; (2) he transmits the text of such agreement to each House of the Congress; and (3) a joint resolution regarding such agreement has passed both Houses of Congress and been enacted into federal law. Sets forth procedures for the consideration of such a joint resolution.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Personal Health Investment Today Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat up to $1,000 of amounts paid annually for exercise equipment and physical exercise programs as tax deductible medical expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Amends the federal criminal code to establish a national standard for the carrying of certain concealed firearms by non-residents. Authorizes a person who has a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state and who is not prohibited from carrying a firearm under federal law to carry a concealed firearm in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state or as specified under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Employment Eligibility Verification and Anti-Identity Theft Act - Directs the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration to notify a person or entity each time that the combination of name and Social Security account number it has submitted for an individual does not match Social Security Administration records. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (HS) to notify a person or entity each time that: (1) an immigration status or employment authorization document presented or referenced by an individual during the employment eligibility verification process was assigned to another person; or (2) there is no agency record that the document was assigned to any person. Directs the HS Secretary to establish a system, meeting specified requirements, for verifying an individual's identity and employment eligibility. Requires any person or entity that has received a discrepancy notice under this Act to verify the individual's employment authorization and identity through such system. Places the burden of resolving errors in the verification mechanism on the individual whose employment eligibility and identity have not been verified. Requires the individual to terminate any employment in the United States if a final nonverification is received. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to provide the last known name, address, and location of a nonverified individual to the Secretary of Homeland Security. Provides for sanctions against employers who continue to employ an individual after receiving a final nonverification. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to require any person or entity that receives written notice about more than 20 individuals in one calendar year to: (1) participate in a basic pilot project for employment eligibility confirmation; and (2) comply with specified terms and conditions. Provides for: (1) a remedy under the Federal Tort Claims Act for job dismissals occasioned by verification mechanism errors; and (2) protection from civil and criminal liability for persons or entities that take action in good faith on the basis of verification mechanism information.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Southeast Crescent Authority Act of 2007 - Establishes a Southeast Crescent Authority for all parts of the following southeastern states not eligible for assistance from the Appalachian Regional Commission or the Delta Regional Authority: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. Directs the Authority to perform various functions, including: (1) formulating plans and programs to spur economic development, and approving grants to states and public and nonprofit entities toward that end; (2) establishing priorities in a development plan for the region; (3) supporting local development districts, and creating them where they do not exist; and (4) encouraging private investment in the region. Permits the Authority to request and receive federal, state and local government personnel as employees. States that Authority grants for infrastructure development may be made only to state or local governments. Permits Authority grants for job training, employment-related education, business development, assisting severely distressed and poor areas, or for other purposes in accordance with this Act. Allows the Authority to designate annually: (1) distressed counties; and (2) isolated areas of distress in nondistressed counties. Directs the Authority to garner public participation in the development, revision, and implementation of its plans and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Social Security Preservation Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require the Managing Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds) to ensure that the annual surplus of the Social Security Trust Funds is invested in: (1) marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed by the United States; or (2) certificates of deposit in insured depository institutions. Outlines requirements for determining the annual surplus of the Trust Funds. Prohibits disinvestment of Social Security Trust Fund amounts from public debt obligations, any refraining from making such investments, or any delay in making normal deposits in such Trust Funds for public debt limit-related purposes. Authorizes, with certain conditions, the sale of Social Security Trust Fund public debt obligations for the payment of cash benefits and administrative expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Identity Theft Notification Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to notify individuals and appropriate authorities of evidence of a certain misuse of individual Social Security account numbers. Requires the Commissioner to determine, in certain instances of wage reports involving multiple addresses for the same employee name, whether there is evidence that the wages were not paid to the individual to whom the Social Security account number was assigned.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Renames the basic employment eligibility verification pilot program established under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 as the Employment Eligibility Verification System. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide for permanent nationwide implementation of the System. Requires entities hiring individuals for employment in the United States to participate in such System. Phases in compliance requirements over a seven-year period according to the number of persons employed by the entity. Establishes sanctions for noncompliance. Provides for voluntary participation by entities not required to participate.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Veterans Timely Access to Health Care Act - Makes the standard for access to care for a veteran seeking primary care from the Department of Veterans Affairs 30 days from the date the veteran contacts the Department. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to prescribe an appropriate standard for waiting times at Department health-care facilities as measured from the time a visit is scheduled until the time the veteran is seen. Directs the Secretary to periodically review the performance of Department health-care facilities in meeting such standards. Authorizes the Secretary to contract for health care services in non-Department facilities in a case in which the Secretary is unable to meet access standards. Prohibits such contracting-out with respect to a Department geographic service area that has a compliance rate in meeting such standards of 90 percent or more. Requires quarterly reports from the Secretary to the congressional veterans' committees on the Department's experience with respect to waiting times.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2007 - Deems the approved application for the drug mifepristone (marketed as Mifeprex, commonly known as RU-486, and used for the chemically induced termination of intrauterine pregnancy) to have been withdrawn. Deems the drug misoprostol to be misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) if it bears labeling providing that the drug may be used for the medical termination of intrauterine pregnancy. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report on the process by which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone. Provides for the reinstatement of the approved application for such drug if the report determines the approval to have been in accordance with FFDCA.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for benefits under SSA title XVIII (Medicare); and (2) eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions to become eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study the range of disability conditions that can be delayed or prevented if individuals receive access to health care services and coverage before a condition reaches disability levels.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Representatives to be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by counting the number of persons in each state who are U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Social Security for Americans Only Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) prohibit the wages earned, and self-employment income derived, by individuals who are not U.S. citizens or nationals from being credited for coverage under the OASDI program; and (2) authorize the President to enter into (totalization) agreements with other nations to resolve entitlement and participation questions about their respective social security systems, taking into account such limitation on the crediting of wages and self-employment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, effective January 1, 2007, the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Constitutional Amendment - Prohibits outlays for a fiscal year (except those for repayment of debt principal) from exceeding total receipts for that fiscal year (except those derived from borrowing) unless Congress, by a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber, authorizes a specific excess of outlays over receipts. Requires a three-fifths rollcall vote of each chamber to increase the public debt limit. Directs the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress annually. Prohibits any bill to increase revenue from becoming law unless approved by a majority of each chamber by rollcall vote. Authorizes waivers of these provisions when a declaration of war is in effect or under other specified circumstances involving military conflict.
![Official portrait of Rep. Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [R-VA-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000280_200.jpg)