United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act - Amends provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 that prohibit the importation of dog or cat fur to modify the definitions of "cat fur" and "dog fur" to include the pelt or skin of the domestic cat or dog, respectively. Amends the Fur Products Labeling Act to expand the definition of "fur product" to include all fur as defined by such Act regardless of the quantity used.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007 - 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. Requires critical access hospitals with an emergency department to report annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services information on the hospital's average admission period for the year. Requires the Secretary to post the reported information promptly on the official public Internet site of the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary, based on the information reported for 2008, to develop an emergency department quality measure, if it is determined that one should be included in the performance measures hospitals are required to report.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Commends the Girl Scouts of the United States of America for: (1) its efforts to launch a national dialogue on the issue of obesity among young girls; (2) its leadership and expertise in knowing the needs of girls through the work of the Girl Scout Research Institute; and (3) actively promoting issues important to girls.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan or coverage provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Applies such prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act of 2007 - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. At-Risk Communities Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Requires the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention research. Truth in Contraception Act of 2007 - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates. Unintended Pregnancy Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicaid's coverage of family planning services. Responsible Education About Life Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary to make grants to states for family life education, including education on abstinence and contraception, to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) with respect to: (1) ballot verification and mandatory paper record audit capacity; and (2) accessibility and ballot verification of results for individuals with disabilities. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to study, test, and develop best practices to enhance the accessibility of ballot verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, voters whose primary language is not English, and voters with difficulties in literacy. Requires laboratories to meet standards prohibiting conflicts of interest as a condition of accreditation for the testing of voting system hardware and software. Outlines additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Extends the authorization of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Directs the chief auditor of each state to appoint an Election Audit Board to administer, without advance notice to the precincts selected, random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots required to be produced and preserved for each such election held in the state. Repeals the exemption of the EAC from certain government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Authorizes federal agencies and legislative branch offices to purchase qualified tradeable: (1) greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets; and (2) renewable energy credits. Requires the Secretary of Energy to promulgate rules regarding approved open market transactions involving such offsets and credits. Requires such rules to accommodate forward purchasing and crediting of offsets and credits on an estimated basis from small scale offset and renewable energy generators and other open market transactions that help enable short-term purchases of offsets and credits to contribute to the implementation of such generators. Defines "greenhouse gas offsets" to mean a reduction in GHG emissions that results from actions that would not have occurred in the absence of the opportunity to sell an offset for the resulting reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief. Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Federal Electronic Equipment Donation Act of 2007 - Directs each federal agency to identify useful federal electronic equipment that the agency has determined is surplus property and: (1) transfer such equipment to the Administrator of General Services (GSA) for transfer for donation to a qualifying recipient in accordance with provisions relating to the donation of personal property through state agencies; (2) transfer such equipment directly to a qualifying recipient, through an arrangement made by the GSA Administrator; or (3) transfer such equipment directly to a qualifying recipient pursuant to provisions of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. Defines the term "qualifying recipient" to mean any an educational recipient, a qualifying small town, a qualifying county, or a library. States that this Act supersedes Executive Order No. 12999 of April 17, 1996 (entitled "Educational Technology: Ensuring Opportunity for All Children in the Next Century ").
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007 - Expands the: (1) authority of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau (Bureau) to include membership on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) (and raises the grade of the Chief from lieutenant general to general); and (2) functions of the Bureau to include facilitating and coordinating, with other federal agencies and the states, the use of Guard personnel and resources for, and in, contingency operations, military operations other than war, natural disasters, and support of civil authorities. Directs the Chief to: (1) identify gaps between federal and state capabilities to prepare for and respond to emergencies; and (2) make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on Guard programs and activities to address such gaps. Requires annual Department of Defense (DOD) budget justification documents to include separate amounts for Guard training and equipment for military assistance to civil authorities and other domestic operations. Expresses the sense of Congress calling for consideration of eligible reserve officers for promotion to the grades of lieutenant general or vice admiral on the active duty list. Treats service as a Bureau adjutant general as joint duty experience. Requires the position of Deputy Commander of the U.S. Northern Command to be filled by a qualified Guard officer eligible for promotion to the grade of lieutenant general. Requires an annual plan for the use of the Armed Forces and National Guard for responding to disasters and acts of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Home Energy Generation Act - Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to require each state regulatory authority and nonregulated electric utility to conduct a hearing, and on the basis of such hearing, adopt a net metering standard. Requires retail electric suppliers to offer to arrange to make net metering available to retail customers on a first-come-first-served basis. Prescribes implementation requirements regarding: (1) net energy measurement; (2) billing practices; (3) ownership of credits; (4) safety and performance standards; (5) interconnection and model standards; and (6) consumer friendly contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2007
Industrial Bank Holding Company Act of 2007 - Requires an industrial bank holding company to register and file certain reports with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) within ninety days after becoming an industrial bank holding company. Prohibits such holding company from being controlled by a commercial firm. Grandfathers certain institutions to exempt them from the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Taxpayer Abuse and Harassment Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into contracts with private collection agencies to collect unpaid taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Requires: (1) the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction to report quarterly to Congress respecting the expenditures of military and reconstruction funds in Iraq, including efforts to obtain assistance from other countries and an assessment of future funding needs; (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an audit if either Inspector General fails to submit such report; and (3) the imposition of sanctions against contractors who have engaged in profiteering or fraud. States that: (1) Congress should create a Truman Committee to conduct an ongoing study and investigation of Operation Iraqi Freedom contracts; (2) funding requests for Operation Iraqi Freedom beginning with FY2008 must come through the regular appropriations process and not through emergency supplementals; and (3) the Administration should condition further American financial, military, and political resources upon improvement in Iraqi assumption of principal responsibility for internally policing Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to restore Medicare treatment of ownership of oxygen equipment that existed prior to the enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Repeals the limitation of Medicare payment to the supplier for such equipment (including portable oxygen equipment) to 36 months of continuous use.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow certain investors a business tax credit for 25% of equity investments made in small businesses, up to an annual limit of $500,000. Terminates such credit after 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility, and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish standards to ensure the safety and accuracy of medical imaging studies and radiation therapy treatments. Imposes such standards on personnel who perform, plan, or evaluate, or verify patient doses for, medical imaging studies and radiation therapy procedures and not on the equipment used. Exempts physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. Directs the Secretary to ensure that individuals demonstrate compliance with such standards. Requires the Secretary to provide a method for the recognition of individuals whose training and experience are determined to equal or exceed that of: (1) a graduate of an accredited educational program in that specialty; or (2) an individual who is regularly eligible to take the licensure or certification examination for that discipline. Directs the Secretary to certify qualified nonprofit organizations as approved bodies to provide accreditation to individuals that demonstrate compliance with such standards. Requires individuals who provide medical imaging services relating to mammograms to continue to meet standards under the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992. Deems state standards for licensure or certification of personnel, accreditation of educational programs, or administration of examinations to be in compliance with the standards under this Act unless the Secretary determines otherwise. Requires the Secretary to establish a process by which a state may appeal such a determination. Requires the Secretary to ensure that all programs under the authority of the Secretary meet such standards. Authorizes the Secretary to develop alternative standards for rural areas or health professional shortage areas as appropriate to assure access to quality medical imaging.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2007 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to extend its jurisdiction to certain: (1) "included energy transactions" traded on an electronic trading facility; and (2) certain energy commodities involved in over-the-counter transactions. Sets forth reporting and recordkeeping requirements for: (1) certain contract participants that enter into or execute "included energy transactions;" and (2) electronic trading facilities for energy commodities. Extends prohibitions against fraudulent transactions to: (1) filling an order by offset against the other person's order; and (2) knowingly and willfully becoming the buyer in respect to another person's selling order, or the seller in respect to another person's buying order, without the other person's prior consent. Empowers the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to impose civil and criminal penalties for price manipulation and other violations of such Act.
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 · 18 January 2007
Children of Fallen Soldiers Pell Grant Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Educaton Act of 1965 to eliminate the expected family contribution used in determining Pell Grant eligibility in the case of a student applicant whose parent or guardian was killed while performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Full Funding for IDEA Now Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to set forth a mandatory minimum level of federal grant payments to states for assistance for education of all children with disabilities under IDEA part B. Entitles a state to receive such a minimum grant allotment in an amount determined by current formulas for maximum authorization levels in specified fiscal years (which such minimum entitlement replaces). Eliminates the current authorization of appropriations for specified fiscal years for such grants.
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
Buildings for the 21st Century Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable amount of the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial building costs; and (2) extend such deduction through 2013.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act of 2007 - Prohibits any federal funds from being provided to a hospital under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act or to a state, with respect to hospital services, under title XIX (Medicaid) of such Act, unless the hospital meets certain conditions related to a woman who is a victim of sexual assault, including that the hospital: (1) provides the woman with accurate and unbiased information about emergency contraception; (2) offers emergency contraception to the woman; (3) provides the woman such contraception at the hospital on her request; and (4) does not deny any such services because of the inability of the woman or her family to pay.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007, or the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the deduction from gross income of any attributable to domestic production activities. Excludes from domestic production gross receipts those derived from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of oil, natural gas, or any related primary product. (Thus denies a deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, natural gas, or their related primary products.) Increases from five to seven years the amortization schedule for geological and geophysical expenditures for certain major integrated oil companies. Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act of 2007 - Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to agree to any lessee request to amend any lease issued for any Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) tract during 1998 and 1999 to incorporate specified price thresholds applicable to royalty suspension provisions. Reaffirms the authority of the Secretary to vary, based on the price of production from a lease, the suspension of royalties under specified leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. Cites conditions for the issuance of new leases authorizing oil or natural gas production in the Gulf. Instructs the Secretary to establish conservation of resources fees for both producing and nonproducing federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf. Sets forth terms restricting the transfer of such leases. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal: (1) specified incentives for natural gas production from deep wells in shallow waters of the Gulf; (2) royalty relief for deep water production in the Gulf; and (3) the prohibition on cost recovery fees for drilling-related permit application during the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to remove the Planning Areas offshore Alaska from the list of areas for which the Secretary is authorized to reduce or eliminate any royalty or net profit share set forth in the pertinent lease. Amends the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to repeal provisions governing oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska regarding: (1) renewal of competitive oil and gas leases, with or without discoveries; and (2) waiver, suspension, or reduction of rental fees or royalties on leaseholds as exploration incentives. Establishes the Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to hold federal receipts acquired as a result of the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
College Student Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to phase-in cuts in the interest rate charged undergraduate student borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2011. Limits FFEL lender insurance to 95% of the unpaid balance of such loans. (Currently, 97% of a FFEL issued after June 2006 is federally-insured.) Provides for graduated reductions in the percentage of defaulted FFEL loan collections a guaranty agency is allowed to retain until, beginning in October 2010, it is equal to the average rate paid to collection agencies that have contracts with the Secretary of Education. Eliminates exceptional performer status for lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies, which rewards such entities for high due diligence in FFEL collection. Reduces special allowance payments made to FFEL lenders to compensate them for the difference between FFEL interest rates and market rates. Exempts small lenders from such reduction. Increases the loan fee charged FFEL lenders from .5% to 1% of the principal amount of loans disbursed after June 2007. Prohibits its collection from borrowers. Increases, after June 2007, the rebate fee charged a holder of FFEL consolidated loans, provided that at least 90% of the total principal and accrued unpaid interest outstanding on loans held by such holder are such loans.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Provides that: (1) no provision of law enacted before the date of the enactment of this joint resolution shall be construed to authorize the use of U.S. military force against Iran; and (2) absent a national emergency created by an attack or imminent attack by Iran upon the United States, its territories or possessions or its Armed Forces, the President shall consult with Congress, and receive specific authorization pursuant to law from Congress, prior to initiating military force against Iran.
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 · 10 January 2007
Freedom from Automated Political Calls Act - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) 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 · 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
Condemns Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's statements and policies aimed at Israel's destruction. Calls on the U.N. Security Council to charge President Ahmadinejad with violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and Article 2, Section 4, of the U.N. Charter. Calls on the Security Council and all U.N. member states to consider measures to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, which would be a dangerous violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a potential means of carrying out President Ahmadinejad's threats against Israel. Reaffirms the strategic U.S.-Israel partnership and reasserts the U.S. commitment to defend Israel's right to exist as a free and democratic state.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the prices that may be charged to prescription drug plan sponsors and Medicare Advantage organizations for covered part D drugs for part D eligible individuals enrolled under a prescription drug plan or under a Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plan.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. Limits such research to stem cells that meet the following ethical requirements: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 - Provides for implementation of recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission). Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to set forth provisions governing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants for first responders to prevent, prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, or recover from terrorist attacks. Directs the DHS Secretary to: (1) evaluate and prioritize applications based on the degree to which applicants would lessen the threat to persons and critical infrastructure; and (2) ensure that each state receives no less than .25% of grant funds available in a fiscal year (.45% for international border states). Requires the Secretary to establish the Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program. Requires state, local, and tribal governments to pre-identify sites where a unified command system can be quickly established. Establishes the Checkpoint Screening Security Fund. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to inspect 100% of cargo transported on passenger aircraft. Permits containers to enter the United States only if scanned with equipment, and secured by seals, that meet prescribed standards. Directs the Secretary to: (1) take specified actions regarding human trafficking and terrorist travel; and (2) report on international collaboration and a plan to accelerate implementation of an automated biometric system. Requires the Secretary to carry out a Fusion and Law Enforcement Education and Teaming Grant Program. Establishes in DHS the Border Intelligence Fusion Center Program. Homeland Security Information Sharing Enhancement Act of 2007 - Renames the Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection as the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Directs the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis to implement a Homeland Security Advisory System. Establishes, within the Office, an Internal Continuity of Operations Plan. Homeland Security Information Sharing Partnerships Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative; and (2) establish a Homeland Security Information Sharing Fellows Program. Establishes, within DHS, an Office of Infrastructure Protection. Protection of Civil Liberties Act - Makes the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board an independent agency within the executive branch. Privacy Officer With Enhanced Rights Act of 2007 or the POWER Act - Sets forth provisions governing the DHS privacy officer's investigative authority. Directs the Secretary to prepare vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure and to establish a National Asset Database, a National At-Risk Database, a National Asset Database Consortium. Requires the Secretary to establish a Strategic Transportation Security Information Sharing Plan. Directs the Secretary to implement a program to enhance private sector preparedness for acts of terrorism and other emergencies and disasters through the promotion of the use of voluntary consensus standards. Repeals or modifies limitations on assistance for preventing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should strive to expand and strengthen the Proliferation Security Initiative, including by working with the United Nations Security Council to authorize the Initiative under international law. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and for the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration programs to prevent WMD proliferation and terrorism. Establishes: (1) within the Executive Office of the President the Office of the United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism; and (2) the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. Nuclear Black Market Counter-Terrorism Act of 2007 - Directs the President to impose sanctions for transfers of nuclear technology involving foreign persons and terrorists. Requires the President to: (1) identify nuclear proliferation network countries; and (2) suspend arms sales to such countries. 9/11 Commission International Implementation Act of 2007 - Declares U.S. policy regarding increasing the availability of modern basic education in Arab countries. Authorizes: (1) the President to establish an International Arab and Muslim Youth Opportunity Fund; and (2) the Secretary of State to fund a private, nonprofit Middle East Foundation. Sets forth authority for providing a surge capacity for international broadcasting activities to support U.S. foreign policy objectives. Requires reports on: (1) expanding U.S. scholarship, exchange, and library programs in Arab and predominantly Muslim countries; and (2) progress towards implementing 9/11 Commission recommendations for developing a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists. Sets forth statements of U.S. policy and strategy with respect to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and (3) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day. Applies federal minimum wage requirements to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage in the Commonwealth shall be gradually increased to equal the federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Small Business Tax Fairness and Simplification Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow self-employed individuals to participate in cafeteria pension plans; (2) allow long-term care insurance under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements; (3) allow accelerated amortization of certain intangible assets (e.g., good will) acquired from a small business; (4) increase the tax exclusion of gain from the sale of certain small business stock; (5) provide a $2,500 standard tax deduction for home business expenses; (6) permit certain small businesses to elect a taxable year ending in a month from April to November; (7) increase the allowable number of S corporation shareholders; and (8) exempt certain small businesses from withholding of tax requirements for payments made by government entities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946 (or to their survivors). Includes service in the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. Exempts from taxation benefits paid under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007 - Supports state, city, and university efforts to divest funds from, or restrict investments in, companies that conduct business operations in Sudan. Directs: (1) the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require all companies trading in registered securities that conduct business operations directly or through parent or subsidiary companies in Sudan to disclose the nature of such operations; and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the existence and extent of such companies' Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board investments. Prohibits U.S. government contracts with such companies, with exceptions for companies whose activities are related to: (1) southern Sudan, southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State, Blue Nile State, or Abyei; (2) the implementation of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement; (3) the provision of military equipment for nongovernmental organizations in the Darfur region of Sudan, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), or the United Nations; or (4) the provision of humanitarian assistance that is of immediate and substantial benefit to the majority of people of the Darfur region of Sudan or the majority of people of eastern Sudan, including the Red Sea, Kassala, and Gedaref States. Authorizes a national security waiver of such prohibition on a case-by-case basis.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act - Designates specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and the Revised Statutes of the United States to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Social Security Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.
![Official portrait of Rep. Hodes, Paul W. [D-NH-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/h001043_200.jpg)