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United States · Official source
2,311 records where Rep. Goode, Virgil H., Jr. [R-VA-5] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that a commemorative postage stamp be issued by the United States Postal Service to honor our nation's disabled veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2007
Health Care Access and Rural Equity (H-CARE) Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to: (1) the Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) adjustment for rural hospitals; (2) payment for clinical laboratory tests furnished by critical access hospitals; (3) rebasing for sole community hospitals; (4) establishment of a rural community hospital program; (5) hold harmless provisions for small rural hospitals and sole community hospitals under the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department services; (6) coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (7) permanent treatment of certain physician pathology services; (8) extension of the Medicare incentive payment program for a physician scarcity area; (9) proportional representation of rural area interests on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC); and (10) additional payments for providers furnishing ambulance services in rural areas and prompt payment of clean claims by Medicare prescription drug plans and MedicareAdvantage-Prescription Drug (MA-PD) plans under the Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program). Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to extend: (1) certain Medicare hospital wage index reclassifications and the disregarding of certain hospital reclassifications for purposes of group reclassifications; (2) Medicare reasonable costs payments for certain clinical diagnostic laboratory tests furnished to hospital patients in certain rural areas; and (3) the temporary Medicare payment increase for home health services furnished in a rural area. Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award competitive grants to eligible entities in rural areas for qualified health information technology systems; (2) direct the Secretary to establish a Rural Health Quality Advisory Commission; (3) provide for Delta Region rural disparities and health systems development, as well as small rural health care provider quality improvement grants; and (4) provide for expanded application of the 340B program of limited drug prices to drugs provided in rural hospitals, including hospital provision to states of Medicaid credits on certain inpatient drugs. Directs the Secretary to encourage and facilitate the adoption of telehealth provisions allowing for multistate practitioner access across state lines.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Medicare Equity and Accessibility Act of 2007 - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to certain factors and indices in geographic adjustments to the fee schedule for determination of payments for physicians' services. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to increase the practice expense geographic index to 1.0 for any location for which the practice expense geographic index is less than 1.0. Repeals the current termination date in order to extend permanently the 1.0 floor for the work expense geographic index.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) , to conduct a comprehensive study to: (1) compare total health outcomes, including the risk of autism, between vaccinated and unvaccinated U.S. populations; and (2) determine whether vaccines or vaccine components play a role in the development of autism spectrum or other neurological conditions. Requires the Secretary to seek to include in the study U.S. populations that have traditionally remained unvaccinated for religious or other reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2007
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize expansion of Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services to diseases, conditions, or disorders other than diabetes or a renal disease.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
National Environment and Energy Development Act - Declares without force or effect all federal prohibitions against the expenditure of appropriated funds to conduct natural gas leasing and preleasing activities for any area of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Revokes all withdrawals of federal submerged lands from leasing for natural gas exploration and production. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from: (1) granting a natural gas lease for any OCS located within 25 miles of a state coastline; or (2) issuing any lease for natural gas exploration or development in any OCS area located within 50 miles of a state coastline unless the state has enacted a law approving such lease. Prohibits the Secretary from issuing a lease for natural gas exploration or development in any OCS area located more than 50 miles and less than 100 miles from the coastline of a state if the state has enacted a law disapproving such lease issuance. Sets forth an allocation schedule (including designated reserve accounts) for revenues derived from bonus bids and royalties under qualified gas leases on submerged lands located within the seaward boundaries of a state. Modifies requirements for deeming state seaward boundaries. Authorizes the Secretary to issue leases for development and production of natural gas and associated condensate. Expresses the intent of Congress that this Act result in a healthy and growing American industrial, manufacturing, transportation, and service sector employing America's workforce to assist in the development of affordable energy from the OCS.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Commends Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros for reaching 3,000 base hits as a Major League Baseball player and for his outstanding service to the community through his charitable work and dedication to the Houston Astros organization.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2007
Expresses the House of Representatives' belief respecting specified immigration-related steps that the Administration should take that will reduce illegal immigration and improve U.S. border security.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2007
Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY2009-FY2013 for: (1) type I diabetes research; and (2) diabetes prevention and treatment through Indian health facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
Voluntary Medicare Quality Reporting Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to evaluate the quality reporting system under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act as applied for 2007 before transition to a new voluntary Medicare quality reporting system. Allows eligible professionals to continue to report to the Secretary specified quality measures for covered professional services in order for the Secretary to refine systems for reporting them. Prohibits use of the Physician Assistance and Quality Initiative Fund for quality reporting bonus payments in 2008. Specifies quality measures for covered professional services for the voluntary Medicare quality reporting program. Revises requirements for medical registry-based reporting of quality measures. Directs the Secretary to treat quality measures data as confidential, unavailable to any other party or person. Shields such data from discovery or admission into evidence in any federal or state civil judicial or administrative proceeding.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2007
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 $50 gold and $1 silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Requires all such coin sales to include a surcharge of $50 per $50 coin, and of $10 per $1 coin. Requires distribution of the first $4 million to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties. Requires distribution of: (1) one-half of the next $1 million of the remaining amounts to the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational (D.R.E.M.E.) Science Literacy Foundation and the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence; and (2) the remainder to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation, maintenance, and display of space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum (including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center). Authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the $50 gold coins.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Prostate Cancer Research and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations through FY2012 for: (1) 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 and local health departments to carry out preventive health measures related to prostate cancer; and (2) the Director of the National Cancer Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate prostate cancer research activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2007 - Repeals the general termination date of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (i.e., December 31, 2010), thus making the tax reductions enacted by that Act permanent. Repeals the termination date for provisions of the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 reducing income tax rates on dividends and capital gains. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent: (1) the tax deduction for state and local sales taxes; (2) the tax deduction for tuition and related expenses; (3) the increased expensing allowance for small business assets and related provisions; and (4) the tax credit for increasing research activities. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the Committee on Ways and Means should report legislation on or before December 31, 2008, to simplify the federal income tax system.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Children's Hope Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit of up to $100 ($200 for joint returns) for charitable contributions to an education investment organization that disburses 90% of its contributions to provide grants to students for elementary and secondary education expenses, if at least 50% of such disbursements go to students who qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunches. Requires a taxpayer claiming such credit, as a condition of eligibility to receive it, to first claim a state qualified scholarship tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Constitutional Amendment - States that a person born to a mother and father, neither of whom is a citizen of the United States nor a person who owes permanent allegiance to the United States, shall not be a citizen of the United States or of any state solely by reason of U.S. birth.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2007
Military Spouses Employment Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include spouses of members of the Armed Forces on extended active duty (more than 90 days or for an indefinite period) as members of a targeted group for purposes of the work opportunity tax credit (thus giving employers a tax incentive for hiring military spouses). Repeals certain restrictions on disposals to foreign nations of naval vessels in excess of 3,000 tons or less than 20 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2007
Commends the millions of fathers who serve as wonderful, caring parents for their children. Calls on fathers across the United States to use Father's Day to: (1) reconnect and rededicate themselves to their children's lives; (2) spend Father's Day with their children; and (3) express their love and support for their children. Urges men to understand the level of responsibility fathering a child requires, especially in the encouragement of children's moral, academic, and spiritual development. Encourages active involvement of fathers in the rearing and development of their children, including the devotion of time, energy, and resources.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2007
340B Program Improvement and Integrity Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the drug discount program to allow participation as a covered entity by certain: (1) children's hospitals; (2) critical access hospitals; (3) entities providing maternal and child health services, community mental health services, or treatment services for substance abuse; (4) Medicare-dependent, small rural hospitals; (5) sole community hospitals; and (6) rural referral centers. Prohibits enrolled hospitals from obtaining covered outpatient drugs through a group purchasing arrangement. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish reasonable exceptions to such requirements, including for drugs unavailable through the program and to facilitate generic substitution when a generic covered drug is available at a lower price. Expands the program to include a drug used in connection with an inpatient or outpatient service by enrolled hospitals. (Currently, only outpatient drugs are covered under the program.) Requires hospitals enrolled in the 340B drug discount program to provide to each state a credit on the estimated annual costs to such hospital of single source and innovator multiple source drugs and noninnovator multiple source drugs provided to Medicaid recipients for inpatient use. Sets forth a formula for calculating the credit. Allows a hospital to avoid paying such credits under certain circumstances. Requires the Secretary to: (1) carry out activities to improve compliance by manufacturers and covered entities with the requirements of the drug discount program; and (2) establish an administrative process for resolving claims by covered entities and manufacturers of violations of such requirements. Requires manufacturers to offer each covered entity covered drugs for purchase at or below the applicable ceiling price if such a drug is made available to any other purchaser at any price.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2007
Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) limit the penalty for late enrollment under part B to 10% and twice the period of no enrollment; and (2) exclude periods of COBRA and retiree coverage from such late enrollment penalty. Provides for a special enrollment period for individuals whose COBRA or retiree coverage terminates.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2007
Border Tax Equity Act of 2007 - Requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to submit to Congress a report certifying whether or not U.S. objectives to revise World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on border tax treatment of goods and services from countries with indirect tax systems have been met in WTO negotiations. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose a tax on imports of goods and services from any country with an indirect tax system and deposits taxes so collected into a special account; and (2) upon request of a U.S. exporter, grant a rebate to such exporter from such account of indirect taxes paid. Imposes such requirements if the USTR fails to certify to Congress that U.S. objectives have been met.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2007
Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any public or private person or entity, in or affecting interstate commerce, from: (1) performing or attempting to perform human cloning; (2) participating in an attempt to perform human cloning; or (3) shipping, receiving, or importing the product of human cloning for any purpose. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties for violations. Provides that nothing in this Act shall restrict areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited by this Act, including research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques to produce molecules, DNA, cells other than human embryos, tissues, organs, plants, or animals other than humans.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Amends the the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to require federal contractors and subcontractors (as defined by this Act) to participate in the employment eligibility verification pilot program. Directs the Attorney General to ensure that the pilot program is applied to all of the contractor's or subcontractor's employees and not just to those performing the contract or subcontract.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
United Nations Voting Accountability Act of 2007 - Prohibits providing U.S. assistance (as defined by this Act) to a country that opposed the U.S. position in the United Nations. Authorizes the Secretary of State to (temporarily) exempt a country from such prohibition if since the beginning of the most recent session of the General Assembly there has been a fundamental change in the country's leadership and policies so that the country will no longer oppose the U.S. position in the United Nations. Authorizes the President to exempt a country from such prohibition for national security reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Disabled Veterans Commissary and Exchange Store Benefits Act - Permits a veteran with any compensable service-connected disability (and the veteran's dependents) to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as a member of the Armed Forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Essential Oral Health Care Act of 2007 - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to up to six entities to participate as pilot sites for the Community Dental Health Coordinator model developed as a new mid-level allied dental professional who will work in underserved communities where residents have no or limited access to oral health care. Requires the Secretary also to award grants to eligible entities to: (1) purchase portable or mobile dental equipment; and (2) pay for appropriate operational costs for the provision of free dental services to underserved populations. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) and title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)) to provide for an increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for states implementing requirements that ensure that children enrolled in the state Medicaid plan and/or SCHIP have access to oral health care services to the same extent as such services are available to the pediatric population of the state. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the donation of qualified dental services to qualified low income individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Revises federal coin design requirements for $1 coins honoring each of the Presidents of the United States. Transfers from the edge of such a coin to either the obverse or the reverse face the inscription "In God We Trust."
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Calls for establishment of a National Cancer Research Month to support the American Association for Cancer Research in public education efforts to make cancer research a national and international priority. Congratulates the Association on its 100-year anniversary. Expresses gratitude for the Association's contributions and progress in advancing cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2007
Commends the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for working with leading scientists and researchers to organize the first NIH conference on hydrocephalus in September 2005 and the Inaugural Cerebellar Development: Bench to Bedside International Conference in November 2006. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Director of NIH should continue the current collaboration, with respect to Dandy-Walker syndrome, among the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Office of Rare Diseases; (2) further research into such syndrome should be conducted and supported; (3) NIH should take the lead in sponsoring an annual workshop to increase awareness and set national research priorities for such syndrome and hydrocephalus; (4) the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should form a coordinating committee for such syndrome and hydrocephalus research; and (5) public awareness and professional education regarding Dandy-Walker research should increase through partnerships between the federal government and patient advocacy organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2007
Expresses support for: (1) the goals and ideals of National Peripheral Arterial Disease Awareness Month; (2) efforts to educate people about the disease; and (3) raising awareness of the consequences of undiagnosed and untreated peripheral arterial disease and the need to seek appropriate care. Acknowledges the importance of peripheral arterial disease awareness to improve national cardiovascular health.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2007
Citizens Protection Act of 2007 - Repeals provisions of the federal criminal code that prohibit the possession of a firearm in a school zone.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Public Safety Officer Family Health Benefits Act - Authorizes an individual who is a family member of a public safety officer killed in the line of duty to enroll in an approved federal employee health benefits plan as an individual or for self and family. Specifies the individual's and the government's contributions toward the enrollment charge.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2007
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2007 - Makes the repeal of the estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes under the Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 permanent (under the Act, those taxes would be reinstated after December 31, 2010).
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2007
Syria Accountability and Liberation Act - States that U.S. sanctions, controls, and regulations relating to Syria shall remain in effect until the President certifies that Syria has ceased support for terrorism, has dismantled biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons programs and has committed to combat their proliferation, respects the boundaries and sovereignty of all neighboring countries, and upholds human rights and civil liberties. Imposes specified trade, assistance, and military sanctions, as appropriate, on persons or countries that transfer goods or technology so as to contribute to Syria's biological, chemical, nuclear, or advanced conventional weapons programs. Imposes specified sanctions aimed at Syria's energy sector. Sets forth diplomatic measures intended to isolate the government of Syria. Directs the President to provide assistance to support a democratic transition in Syria. Authorizes appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2007
ALS Registry Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other motor neuron disorders that can be confused with ALS, misdiagnosed as ALS, or progress to ALS; and (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of such data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to review information and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning: (1) the development and maintenance of the registry; (2) the type of information to be included; (3) the manner in which data is to be collected; (4) the use and availability of such data; and (5) the collection of information about diseases and disorders that primarily affect motor neurons that are considered essential to furthering the study and cure of ALS. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on ALS and other motor neuron disorders. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for research access to ALS data as recommended by the Advisory Committee in a manner that protects personal privacy. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information is made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2007
Perpetual Purple Heart Stamp Act - Directs the Postmaster General to provide for the issuance of a forever stamp (a stamp that meets first-class postage requirements even if postage rates increase) to honor the sacrifices of the men and women of the Armed Forces who have been awarded the Purple Heart.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins emblematic of the 100th anniversary of President Wilson's proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such coins beginning January 1, 2014, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date. Terminates such minting authority after December 31, 2014. Requires coin sales to include a $10 surcharge per coin, with distribution of such surcharges to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Osteoporosis Foundation for the purpose of furthering research.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Requires the President to designate not less than three closed military installations or portions thereof that are appropriate for siting a refinery for gasoline or other fuel. Designates the Department of Energy as the lead agency for coordinating applicable federal refinery authorizations and related environmental reviews with respect to a designated refinery. Gives the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions relating to federal refinery authorizations.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2007
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to award the Army Combat Action Badge to any member of the Army who participated in combat during which the person actually engaged, or was personally engaged by, the enemy at any time between December 7, 1941, and September 18, 2001, as long as such person has not been previously recognized for such participation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2007
AMT Rate Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to reduce to 24% the rate of the tentative alternative minimum tax for noncorporate taxpayers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Transportation may not grant authority to Mexico-domiciled motor carriers to operate beyond the commercial zones of the U.S.-Mexico border.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2007
Retirement Security for Life Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income for 50 percent of the amount otherwise includible in gross income as guaranteed payments from certain annuity or life insurance contracts. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $20,000 in any taxable year. Provides for an inflation adjustment of the $20,000 limitation beginning in 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2007
Commonsense Consumption Act of 2007 - Prohibits new, and requires dismissal of pending, civil actions by any person against a manufacturer, marketer, distributor, advertiser, or seller of food, or a trade association, for any injury related to a person's accumulated acts of consumption of food and weight gain, obesity, or any associated health condition. Subjects to such prohibition: (1) any action brought by a person other than the person on whose weight gain, obesity, or health condition the action is based; and (2) any derivative action brought by or on behalf of any person or any representative, spouse, parent, child, or other relative of that person. Excludes from this prohibition any actions alleging: (1) a breach of express contract or express warranty provided that the grounds of recovery are unrelated to a person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; (2) a knowing violation of a federal or state statute applicable to the marketing, advertisement, or labeling of food with intent for a person to rely on that violation, where such person relied on that violation, and where such reliance was the proximate cause of injury related to that person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; or (3) a violation brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Federal Trade Commission Act or by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent maximum tax rate on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from this repeal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Volunteer Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow sponsors of certain deferred compensation plans to elect to include length of service award plans for bona fide volunteers providing fire fighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, ambulance services, and emergency rescue services. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations exempting a length of service award program from treatment as an employee pension benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that judicial interpretations of the U.S. Constitution should not be based on judgments, laws, or pronouncements of foreign institutions unless such judgments, laws, or pronouncements inform an understanding of the original meaning of the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2007
Empowering Our Local Communities Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a minimum mandatory prison term of five years and a maximum term of 40 years on any illegal alien who commits manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to impose criminal penalties on individuals present in the United States in violation of immigration laws. Requires the Department of Homeland Security to continue to operate and implement the Institutional Removal Program for the identification and removal from the United States of criminal aliens. Requires such program to be extended to all states. Authorizes states to detain criminal aliens after the completion of their prison sentences to effectuate their transfer to federal custody. Authorizes appropriations for the training of state and local government officers or employees to perform certain functions of a federal immigration officer.
United States · United States Congress · 2 May 2007
Public Prayer Protection Act of 2007 - Denies the Supreme Court and district courts jurisdiction to review any matter related to the alleged establishment of religion involving the expression of public prayer by any federal, state, or local government entity or a government officer or agent acting in an official capacity.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Family Budget Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA) to eliminate the May 15 deadline for consideration of annual appropriations measures. Requires annual joint (currently, concurrent) budget resolutions signed by the President. Provides for an amendment to change the statutory limit on the public debt. Requires consideration of budget-related legislation before the budget resolution becomes law. Provides for establishment of a reserve fund for emergencies. Prescribes requirements for biennial budget resolutions, appropriations Acts, and government strategic and performance plans instead of annual ones if the President and Congress so agree. Provides spending caps on the growth of entitlements and mandatory budget outlays. Exempts certain Social Security benefits, Tier 1 railroad retirement benefits, and Medicare benefits from required reductions under the Balanced Budget and Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act), along with specified government accounts and activities. Provides other exceptions, limitations, and special rules with respect to sequestration exemptions. Directs the Chairman of the House and Senate Committees on the Budget each to maintain a Budget Protection Mandatory Account and a Budget Protection Discretionary Account. Amends the CBA to require: (1) an analysis of long-term unfunded obligations in the President's budget submission; and (2) long-term unfunded obligation analyses by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Makes it out of order to consider legislation which, if enacted, would increase the long-term unfunded obligation under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI)) of the Social Security Act, as defined in the CBA. Freezes at current levels spending authority for each unearned entitlement and high-cost discretionary spending program unless such spending authority is reauthorized after the enactment of this Act. Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to propose the cancellation (line item veto) of any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, item of direct spending, limited tariff benefit, or targeted tax benefit. Dedicates any cancellation only to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus. Expresses the sense of Congress on abuse of proposed cancellations. Amends Rule XIII (Calendars and Committee Reports) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require that bills always be considered under open rules. Establishes the Commission to Eliminate Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. Provides for accrual funding of: (1) the Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund; (2) the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System; and (3) the Foreign Service Retirement and Disability System. Establishes in the Treasury: (1) the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Retirement Fund; (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps Retirement Fund; and (3) the Coast Guard Military Retirement Fund. Changes the name of the Department of Defense Medicare-Eligible Retiree Health Care Fund to Uniformed Services Health Care Fund (thus, providing health care programs for all uniformed service retirees, under certain conditions). (Currently, such programs are for Department of Defense Medicare-eligible beneficiaries.) Makes it out of order in the House to consider any legislation unless: (1) the required list of congressional earmarks, limited tax and tariff benefits, and the name of the requesting Member is also set forth in the text of the measure; and (2) such list is made publicly available on the Internet in a searchable format at least 48 hours before a measure's consideration. Decreases the limit on the public debt from $6.4 trillion to $4.393 trillion. Repeals Rule XXVII (the Gephardt Rule, relating to mandatory adjustment of the statutory limit on the public debt to conform to a budget resolution). Amends the CBA to require the President's budget submission to Congress to be based upon the risk-assumed cost of federal insurance programs for accrual budgeting purposes. Prohibits consideration of extraneous appropriations in omnibus appropriations measures.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a national combat veteran reintegration program (to be known as the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program) to provide National Guard members and their families with information, services, referral, and outreach opportunities throughout the entire deployment cycle. Requires the Program to consist of informational events and activities for such members, their families, and community members through the following phases of the deployment cycle: (1) pre-deployment; (2) deployment; (3) demobilization; and (4) post-deployment-reconstitution. Requires the: (1) National Guard Bureau to establish the Office for Reintegration Programs to administer state National Guard reintegration programs; and (2) Bureau Chief to establish a Center for Excellence in Reintegration.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) federal authorities should use all tools at their disposal to strengthen and enforce immigration laws; (2) the policy of certain cities and other political subdivisions of providing sanctuary to illegal aliens encourages illegal immigration; (3) state and local law enforcement officials should report immigration violations to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (4) Congress should reject legislation which would grant amnesty to illegal aliens currently residing in the United States until all existing immigration laws are enforced; and (5) federal immigration laws must be enforced to ensure the integrity of our immigration system and the sovereignty of our nation.