United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2009
Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax shelter activities to: (1) establish legal presumptions against the validity of transactions involving offshore secrecy jurisdictions (i.e., foreign tax havens identified in this Act and by the Secretary of the Treasury); (2) impose restrictions on foreign jurisdictions, financial institutions, or international transactions that are of primary money laundering concern or that impede U.S. tax enforcement; (3) treat certain foreign corporations managed and controlled primarily in the United States as domestic corporations; (4) increase the period for Internal Revenue Service (IRS) review of tax returns involving offshore secrecy jurisdictions; (5) require tax withholding agents and financial institutions to report certain information about beneficial owners of foreign-owned financial accounts and accounts established in offshore secrecy jurisdictions; (6) disallow tax advisor opinions validating transactions in offshore secrecy jurisdictions; (7) subject dividend equivalents and substitute dividends to the 30% tax on foreign income; and (8) impose reporting requirements for transactions involving a passive foreign investment company. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and other federal enactments to impose a penalty for failure to disclose holdings or transactions involving a foreign entity. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to publish a final rule requiring unregistered investment companies, including hedge funds or private equity funds, to establish anti-money laundering programs, and to submit suspicious activity reports. Modifies requirements for certain third party summonses used to obtain information in tax investigations that do not identify the person with respect to whose liability the summons is issued (John Doe summons). Increases penalties for promoting abusive tax shelters and for aiding and abetting the understatement of tax liability. Prohibits the patenting of tax planning inventions. Prohibits tax advisor contingent fee agreements for obtaining tax savings or benefits. Allows increased disclosure of tax information for enforcement purposes. Directs the Secretary to impose standards for written tax opinions by tax practitioners. Denies tax deductions for certain fines and penalties for violations of law and for interest paid on certain understatements of tax. Sets forth rules for the application of the economic substance doctrine and imposes penalties for underpayments of tax due to transactions lacking economic substance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2009
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish the Center for Tobacco Products to implement this Act. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Authorizes the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if appropriate for the protection of the public health. Sets forth limits on such regulations, including prohibiting establishment of a minimum age greater than 18 for product purchases. Prohibits: (1) cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee; or (2) a tobacco product manufacturer from using tobacco that contains a greater level of pesticide chemical residue than is specified by any tolerance applicable to domestically grown tobacco. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) banning all cigarettes, all smokeless tobacco products, all little cigars, all other cigars, all pipe tobacco, or all roll-your-own tobacco products; or (2) requiring the reduction of the nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Revises tobacco product warning labels and advertising requirements. Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends provisions related to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), including to provide for: (1) automatic enrollment of new employees; and (2) a Roth contribution program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2009
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Arnold Palmer (golf professional) in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2009 or the ABLE Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt ABLE accounts for individuals with a disability to pay certain expenses of such individuals, including expenses for education, housing, transportation, employment support, medical care, and certain life necessities. Defines "individual with a disability" as an individual who is eligible to receive certain supplemental security income benefits under the Social Security Act. Allows individual taxpayers a tax deduction, up to $2,000 per year, for contributions to an ABLE account. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on the use of ABLE accounts and the effect of the tax deduction for contributions to such accounts. Requires ABLE accounts to be disregarded in determining eligibility for Medicaid benefits and for purposes of determining eligibility for other means-tested federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, in honor of the distinguished service of the American military men and women who have been Medal of Honor recipients. Limits the period for coin issuance to calendar year 2011. Imposes a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin and $10 per coin for the $1 coin, to be distributed to the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to help finance educational, scholarship, and outreach programs of the Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 - Repeals the authority of the Comptroller General to carry out an onsite examination of an open insured bank or bank holding company only if the appropriate federal regulatory agency has consented in writing. (Retains the authority of the Comptroller General to audit a federal agency.) Directs the Comptroller General to complete, before the end of 2010, an audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and of the federal reserve banks, followed by a detailed report to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a geography education grant program under title II, Teacher Quality Enhancement. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to a national nonprofit educational organization or consortium, with 75% to be used for subgrants to institutions of higher education associated with state geographic alliances, nonprofit educational organizations, or state or local educational agencies. Requires various grantee and subgrantee activities designed to expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through grade 12 students by improving their teachers' professional development programs offered through institutions of higher education. Includes among such activities state-based conferences to assess geographic literacy and identify improvement strategies.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in recognition of five United States Army Five-Star Generals: George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry "Hap" Arnold, and Omar Bradley, alumni of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Requires the design of the coins to include portraits of the generals. Restricts the issuance of such coins to calendar 2013. Requires specified surcharges in the sale of such coins, which shall be paid promptly to the Command and General Staff College Foundation to help finance its support of the College.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2009 - Establishes the United States Bipartisan Commission on Access to Emergency Medical Services to: (1) identify and examine factors in the health care delivery, financing, and legal systems that affect the effective delivery of screening and stabilization services furnished in hospitals that have emergency departments pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and (2) make specific recommendations to Congress with respect to federal programs, policies, and financing needed to assure the availability of such screening and stabilization services and the coordination of state, local, and federal programs for responding to disasters and emergencies. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for additional payments for certain physicians' emergency services furnished pursuant to EMTALA. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to convene a working group that includes experts in emergency care, inpatient critical care, hospital operations management, nursing, and other relevant disciplines to develop boarding and diversion standards for hospitals and guidelines, measures, and incentives for implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of such standards. Requires the CMS working group to: (1) identify barriers contributing to delays in timely processing of patients requiring admission as inpatients who initially sought care through the hospital's emergency department; (2) identify best practices to improve patient flow within hospitals; and (3) report to Congress and the Secretary a detailed description of the standards, guidelines, measures, and incentives developed, as well as identified barriers and best practices. Directs the Secretary to establish a mechanism to make public information regarding any hospital that fails to report information requested by the CMS working group.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Establishes in the Treasury the National Military Family Relief Fund to make grants to Armed Forces members who are serving, or have served, in Iraq or Afghanistan to assist the families of such members. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow every individual taxpayer to designate $1 or more of any overpayment to be paid to the Fund; and (2) in addition to any payment of income tax liability, make a contribution of an additional amount which shall be paid over to the Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2009
Local Community Radio Act of 2009 - Repeals provisions in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 that required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) modify rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations to prescribe minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels; (2) prohibit applicants who have engaged in the unlicensed operation of any station from obtaining a low-power FM license; and (3) conduct a program to test whether low-power FM radio stations will result in harmful interference to existing FM radio stations if minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels are not required. Requires the FCC to modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation requirements between specified stations. Requires the FCC to retain rules that provide third-adjacent channel protection for full-power noncommercial FM stations that broadcast radio reading services via a subcarrier frequency from potential low-power FM station interference. Requires the FCC, when licensing FM translator stations, to ensure that: (1) licenses are available to both FM translator stations and low-power FM stations; and (2) such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2009
Biogas Production Incentive Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business-related tax credit for the production, sale, or use of biogas. Defines "biogas" as a gas that is derived by processing qualified energy feedstock (i.e., manure of agricultural livestock and other organic agricultural or food industry byproduct waste material) in an anaerobic digester and that contains at least 52% methane and carbon dioxide and trace gases. Provides an increased credit for biogas produced from qualified cellulosic energy feedstock.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2009
Artist-Museum Partnership Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who create literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions or similar property a fair market value (determined at the time of contribution) tax deduction for contributions of such properties, the copyrights thereon, or both, to certain tax-exempt organizations, if such properties are properly appraised and are donated no sooner than 18 months after their creation. Limits the amount of such deduction based upon the donor's artistic adjusted gross income, as defined by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 February 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable amount of the railroad track maintenance tax credit; (2) revise the types of expenditures eligible for such credit; and (3) extend such credit through 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education Act or the Youth PROMISE Act - Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 to establish a PROMISE Advisory Panel to assist the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in: (1) assessing and developing standards and evidence-based practices to prevent juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity; and (2) collecting data in designated geographic areas to assess the needs and existing resources for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention. Authorizes the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to award grants to local governments and Indian tribes to: (1) plan and assess evidence-based and promising practices for juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang activity prevention and intervention, especially for at-risk youth; and (2) implement PROMISE plans, developed by local PROMISE Coordinating Councils (PCCs), for coordinating and supporting the delivery of juvenile delinquency and gang prevention and intervention programs in local communities. Establishes a National Research Center for Proven Juvenile Justice Practices to provide PCCs and the public with current research and other information about evidence-based practices related to juvenile delinquency and criminal street gang prevention and intervention. Directs the Administrator to award grants to: (1) allow institutions of higher education to serve as regional research partners with PCCs; and (2) hire and train law enforcement officers as youth-oriented police to work with PCCs, other community-based organizations, and high-risk youth. Establishes a Center for Youth-Oriented Policing. Mynisha's Law - Authorizes any local government or Indian Tribe with a PCC to submit an application to the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for designation as a Comprehensive Gang Prevention and Relief Area. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to partnerships comprising state mental health authorities and local or private entities to prevent or alleviate the effects of youth violence in urban communities with a high or increasing incidence of such violence. Prevention Resources for Eliminating Criminal Activity Using Tailored Interventions in Our Neighborhoods Act of 2009 or the PRECAUTION Act - Establishes the National Commission on Public Safety Through Crime and Delinquency Prevention to: (1) carry out a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of certain crime and delinquency prevention and intervention strategies: and (2) make initial and final reports on such strategies to specified federal and state officials. Authorizes the Director of the National Institute of Justice to make three-year grants to public and private entities for the implementation and evaluation of innovative crime or delinquency prevention or intervention strategies. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize grants for the creation and expansion of state, local, and tribal juvenile witness and victim protection grants.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe a regulation prohibiting advertisements accompanying video programming from: (1) being excessively noisy or strident; (2) having modulation levels substantially higher than the accompanying program; and (3) having an average maximum loudness substantially higher than that of the accompanying program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Student Privacy Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to revise provisions for military recruiter access to secondary school student information. Requires ESEA-assisted local educational agencies (LEAs) to notify each secondary school student's parent of the option to consent to a release of the student's name, address, and telephone listing to military recruiters, and to give the parent the opportunity to provide such consent in writing. Requires such LEAs to provide military recruiters, upon their request, with access to such information on a student only if the student's parent has given such written consent.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Troubled Asset Relief Program Transparency Reporting Act - Prohibits the use by a recipient or its subsidiary of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for lobbying expenditures or political contributions. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury, through enhanced internal reporting and oversight requirements, to develop and publish corporate governance principles and ethical guidelines for such recipients, including specified restrictions. Sets forth recipient reporting and certifying requirements governing such TARP funds. Requires the Secretary to make such reports and certifications publicly available online and free of charge. Subjects persons to civil fines for violating such prohibition on the use of TARP funds or failing to file the required report or certification. Bars recipients from future TARP funds for noncompliance with such guidelines unless the Secretary determines that reasonable steps have been taken to bring their actions into compliance with and to prevent future violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Notch Fairness Act of 2009 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise the formula for the computation of minimum Old Age Insurance benefits for individuals who reached age 65 in or after 1979, and to whom applies the 15-year transition period for the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977. Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55% to 5% and keyed to the year an individual became eligible for such benefits between 1979 and 1988. Allows such beneficiaries, in the alternative, to receive lump sum payments over four years totaling $5,000.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2009 - Amends the Peace Corps Act to: (1) authorize appropriations for the Peace Corps; and (2) increase readjustment allowances for Peace Corps volunteers and volunteer leaders.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2009
Keep Our Promise to America's Children and Teachers Act or the Keep Our PACT Act - Makes appropriations for: (1) programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 for FY2009-FY2014; and (2) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, including specified amounts for FY2009-FY2016 and an amount determined pursuant to a specified formula (based on the number of children who received special education, the average per-pupil expenditure, and the rate of change in a state's population) for FY2017 and thereafter. Requires such appropriated amounts to be expended consistent with pay-as-you-go requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Uniting American Families Act of 2009 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to include a "permanent partner" within the scope of such Act. Defines a "permanent partner" as an individual 18 or older who: (1) is in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 or older in which both individuals intend a lifelong commitment; (2) is financially interdependent with the other individual; (3) is not married to, or in a permanent partnership with, any other individual other than the individual; (4) is unable to contract with the other individual a marriage cognizable under this Act; and (5) is not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of the other individual. Defines a "permanent partnership" as the relationship existing between two permanent partners.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Asset Management Improvement Act of 2009 - Prohibits the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from imposing restrictions or limitations on the amount of management and related fees for a public housing project which the public housing agency (PHA) determines reasonable, unless such restriction or limitation: (1) is determined pursuant to a negotiated rulemaking convened by the Secretary no earlier than April 1, 2010, with representatives from interested parties; and (2) is effective only on or after January 1, 2012. Allows any PHA that owns or operates fewer than 500 public housing units under the United States Housing Act of 1937 to elect to be exempt from asset management requirements imposed by the Secretary. Prohibits the Secretary from imposing any requirement relating to asset management restricting the use by PHAs of amounts for Capital Fund assistance for costs of any PHA central office. Requires the Secretary to ensure that PHAs encourage the reasonable efforts of residents to organize. Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed to make illegal immigrants eligible for housing assistance. Prohibits the Secretary from accepting any fees for enforcing a lease that requires the registration, or prohibits the possession, of firearms for personal protection or sport, if the registration or possession is not prohibited by law. Amends the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 to permit a PHA or owner of federally assisted housing to terminate the tenancy or assistance for any household with a member illegally using a firearm.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 - Declares that no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of: (1) an employment, consumer, or franchise dispute, or (2) a dispute arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights. Declares, further, that the validity or enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by a court, under federal law, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement. Exempts from this Act arbitration provisions in collective bargaining agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 - Requires, beginning with FY2011, a two-fiscal-year discretionary new budget authority for the following accounts of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): (1) Medical Services; (2) Medical Support and Compliance; and (3) Medical Facilities. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the adequacy and accuracy of VA baseline model projections for health care expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Veterans Physical Therapy Services Improvement Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): (1) the position of Director of Physical Therapy Service; and (2) degree and license requirements for appointment to a physical therapist position. Establishes the Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatric, Amputee, Polytrauma, and Rehabilitation Research Fellowships Program to assist in the recruitment of qualified physical therapists for VHA positions specializing in the areas of geriatrics, amputee rehabilitation, polytrauma care, and rehabilitation research.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2009
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2009
Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem; (5) Greater Hells Canyon ecosystem; (6) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; and (7) Blackfeet Wilderness. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as wilderness and components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System and the National Wildland Recovery Corps. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to assure nonexclusive access to the specified areas and corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2009
Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of provisions concerning the National Health Service Corps. Makes physical therapists eligible for repayment of their educational loans in order to ensure an adequate supply of physical therapists.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2009
Stop Taxpayer-Offensive Practices Act of 2009 or the STOP Act - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to instruct the Secretary of the Treasury to establish policies which prohibit excessive or luxury expenditures by any recipient of assistance under such Act in connection with: (1) entertainment or events; (2) office and facility renovations; (3) aviation or other transportation service; and (4) any other activity or event that is not a reasonable expenditure for any conference, staff development, performance incentive. Requires the board of directors of each recipient to establish company-wide policies for limiting excessive or luxury expenditures that are not inconsistent with the policies established by the Secretary. States that any policy established by the Secretary or any board of directors that is applicable to any recipient of EESA assistance remains effective while the assistance remains outstanding.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Repeals specified exceptions to rights of certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees to engage in collective bargaining. Requires a final decision of the (VA) with respect to the review of an adverse personnel action against a (VA) employee to be issued not later than 60 days after such action has been appealed. Subjects such decision to judicial review in the appropriate U.S. District Court or, if the decision is made by a labor arbitrator, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Compensation Owed for Mental Health Based on Activities in Theater Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Act or COMBAT PTSD Act - Defines "combat with the enemy," for purposes of proof of service-connection for veterans' disability compensation, as service on active duty: (1) in a theater of combat operations during a period of war; or (2) in combat against a hostile force during a period of hostilities.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2009 - Provides that: (1) specified diseases, including heart disease, lung disease, tuberculosis, hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and specified cancers, of federal employees in fire protection activities shall be presumed to be proximately caused by such employment; (2) the disability or death of such an employee due to such a disease shall be presumed to result from personal injury sustained while in the performance of duty; and (3) such presumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence. Defines an "employee in fire protection activities" as a firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, rescue worker, ambulance personnel, or hazardous material worker, who: (1) is trained in fire suppression; (2) has the legal authority and responsibility to engage in fire suppression; (3) is engaged in the prevention, control, and extinguishment of fires or response to emergency situations where life, property, or the environment is at risk; and (4) performs such activities as a primary responsibility of his or her job. Directs the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to examine the implementation of this Act and appropriate scientific and medical data related to the health risks associated with firefighting and to report to Congress on: (1) an analysis of the injury claims made under this Act; (2) an analysis of the available research related to the health risks associated with firefighting; and (3) recommendations for any administrative or legislative actions necessary to ensure that those diseases most associated with firefighting are included in the presumption created by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Requires the total service of an employee who retires eligible for an annuity under the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS) (currently, an employee who retires on an immediate FERS annuity from the position of a registered nurse with the Veterans Health Administration), or who dies leaving a survivor entitled to benefits, to include the employee's days of unused sick leave for annuity computation purposes. Provides that those days will not be counted in determining average pay or annuity eligibility.
United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2009
Honors Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) for his success in encouraging children to discover the joy of reading. Honors the 12th anniversary of Read Across America Day, which occurs on March 2, 2009. Encourages parents to read with their children for at least 30 minutes on Read Across America Day.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2009
Stop Child Abuse in Residential Programs for Teens Act of 2009 - Directs the Assistant Secretary for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services to require each location of a covered program to meet specified minimum standards if individually or together with other locations it has an effect on interstate commerce. Defines "covered program" as one operated by a public or private entity that with respect to one or more children unrelated to the program owner or operator: (1) provides a residential environment; and (2) operates with a focus on serving children with emotional, behavioral, or mental health problems or disorders, or problems with alcohol or substance abuse. Directs the Assistant Secretary to: (1) implement an ongoing review process for investigating and evaluating reports of child abuse and neglect; (2) establish public websites with information about each covered program, as well as a national toll-free telephone hotline to receive complaints; (3) establish civil penalties for violations of standards; and (4) establish a process to ensure that complaints received by the hotline are promptly reviewed by persons with appropriate expertise. Requires the Assistant Secretary to refer any violation of such standards to the Attorney General for appropriate action. Authorizes the Attorney General to file such a complaint on his or her own initiative regardless of whether such a referral has been made. Amends the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to establish additional eligibility requirements for grants to states to prevent child abuse and neglect at residential programs. Require such states to develop policies and procedures to prevent child abuse and neglect at covered programs consistent with the standards specified by this Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on outcomes for children in both private and public covered programs under this Act encompassing a broad representation of treatment facilities and geographic regions.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2009
Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 with respect to the hours-of-service requirement airline flight crews must meet to be eligible for leave under such Act. Declares that a flight attendant or flight crewmember will be considered to meet such requirement if he or she has worked or been paid for: (1) 60% of the applicable monthly guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the preceding 12-month period; and (2) a minimum of 504 hours during such period. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to provide, by regulation, a method for calculating such leave for airline flight crews.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2009
Commemorates the bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln. Recognizes his commitment to unity and harmony in the United States. Encourages the people of the United States to recommit to fulfilling his vision of equal rights for all.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Renewable Fuel Pipelines Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to allow federally-guaranteed loans for renewable fuel pipeline construction without regard to whether an appropriation for the cost has been made. Includes ethanol and biodiesel as renewable fuel. Allows a maximum guarantee by the Secretary of Energy of 90% of the project cost and more than one guarantee for a project (as long as the total guaranteed amount does not exceed 90%). Sets forth factors to be considered in guarantee determinations, including volume and quality of fuel, size of markets served, experience of the entity working with renewable fuel, and associated storage, production, and terminal facilities. Authorizes an entity implementing a fuel pipeline project for which a guarantee is made, when such entity is unable to acquire the necessary right-of-way to construct, operate, and maintain pipelines and the necessary land or property for the location of pump stations, pressure apparatus, and other necessary facilities or equipment by contract, to acquire what is necessary through eminent domain if determined by the Secretary to be necessary or desirable in the public interest. Authorizes the Secretary to provide grants for renewable fuel pipeline projects to assist in carrying out permit acquisition, planning, and other preparatory activities in advance of participation in the guarantee program. Limits the sum of grants and amounts guaranteed for a project that receives both to 90% of the project's cost.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Public Diplomacy Resource Centers Act of 2009 - Amends the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to direct the Secretary of State to ensure that diplomatic and consular mission libraries and resource centers: (1) are open to the general public to the greatest extent practicable, subject to security considerations; and (2) schedule public showings of American films that showcase American culture, society, values, and history. Directs the Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy to report to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations respecting the functions and effectiveness of such libraries and resource centers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Blind Persons Return to Work Act of 2009 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to: (1) apply a specified earnings test in the determination of the amount of monthly insurance benefits for blind beneficiaries; (2) limit to once a year any review of a determination of disability based on blindness; and (3) reduce any excess earnings of blind beneficiaries by the amount of impairment related work expenses. Directs the Commissioner of Social Security, with respect to the mandatory annual report of earnings by an individual entitled to a monthly insurance benefit, to develop procedures to avoid paying less than the correct amount of benefits to any such individual as a result, during the year, of a termination of employment or a significant reduction in hours of work.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2009
Accountability from Corporations for Outlays Under TARP Act, or the Account Act - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to require any financial institution that receives assistance under the Act to publicize prominently on its corporate website specified information on its expenditures, updated monthly, including total expenditures made for travel and lobbying.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2009
Dorothy I. Height and Whitney M. Young, Jr. Social Work Reinvestment Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Social Work Reinvestment Commission to provide independent counsel to Congress on policy issues associated with the recruitment, retention, research, and reinvestment in the profession of social work. Directs the Commission to study and report to Congress on issues facing the social work profession, including: (1) fair market compensation, high social work educational debt, social work workforce trends, translating social work research to practice, and social work safety; and (2) state-level social work licensure policies and reciprocity agreements for providing services across state lines. Requires such study to assess the professional capacity of the social work workforce to serve and respond successfully to the increasing biopsychosocial needs of individuals, groups, and communities in certain areas, including aging and child welfare. Authorizes the Secretary to award: (1) workplace improvement grants to eligible entities and individuals to address workplace concerns for the social work profession, including caseloads, compensation, social work safety, supervision, and working conditions; and (2) research grants, education and training grants, and community-based programs of excellence grants. Directs the Secretary to: (1) contract with a national social work research entity to serve as a coordinating center and clearinghouse for information on activities funded under the grants; and (2) develop a multi-media outreach campaign and issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the social work profession.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2009
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Encourages the continued participation of schools and communities in providing opportunities for girls and women in elementary, secondary, and college sports to promote awareness of: (1) the positive influence of sports participation in their lives and health; and (2) the continuing struggle for equality and access for women in sports.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hare, Phil [D-IL-17]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001040_200.jpg)