United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations for FY2006-FY2007 to: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants to programs in the United States to cover the costs of services provided by domestic treatment centers in the rehabilitation of victims of torture (including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture), social and legal services, and research and training of health care providers outside of treatment centers or programs to enable them to provide such services; (2) the President for grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries that carry out projects and activities specifically designed to treat victims of torture for the physical and psychological effects of torture; and (3) the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
1901 Missouri African American Expulsion Commission Act - Establishes the 1901 Missouri African American Expulsion Commission to: (1) investigate the expulsion of any African-American resident in or around the Missouri cities of Aurora, Monett, Newburg, Pierce City, Cassville, or Webb City from his or her home or farm between August 1894 and August 1901; (2) identify any person who is a relative of such resident or whom the Commission determines sustained an identifiable loss (including a loss to the personal relations, real property, or personal property of such person) because of the expulsion, whether or not it has previously been the subject of a legal proceeding; (3) research and develop a historical record of the expulsion; and (4) make recommendations regarding the feasibility of providing reparations to the person and the appropriate method to provide it.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Living Organ Donor Job Security Act of 2005 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to entitle employees covered by FMLA to leave to provide a living organ donation, including for time spent for: (1) tests to determine medical suitability of the employee for donation; (2) physical, psychological, and social evaluations of the donor; (3) pretransplant outpatient services; (4) postoperative inpatient and outpatient transplantation services; (5) travel in connection with such tests, evaluations, and services; and (6) recuperation.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to expand and intensify research and related activities on postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Requires the Director of NIMH to conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, such conditions. Directs the Secretary to make grants to establish, operate, and coordinate effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such conditions and their families. Allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions regarding employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2005 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Celebrates the life and accomplishments of Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield, one of only four jockeys to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies, who continuously overcame racism and other significant obstacles during his lifetime. Recognizes the significant contributions and excellence of African American jockeys and trainers in horse racing and in the history of the Kentucky Derby.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
HRIFA Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) include document fraud among the grounds of inadmissibility which shall not preclude an otherwise qualifying Haitian alien from permanent resident status adjustment; and (2) provide that determinations with respect to children shall be made using the age of an individual as of the date of enactment of this Act. Permits new status adjustment applications to be filed for a limited time period. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish procedures for reopening status adjustment applications based upon the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Second Chance Act of 2005: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions regarding adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects, including by authorizing funds to: (1) provide structured post-release housing and transitional housing; (2) facilitate specified collaboration to promote the employment of people released from prison and jail; (3) carry out programs that support children of incarcerated parents; and (4) establish or expand the use of reentry courts. Sets forth grant priorities and requirements, including that each state, territory, tribe, or local government recipient establish a Reentry Task Force or other authority. Authorizes the Attorney General to make a grant to provide for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center. Directs the Attorney General to establish an interagency task force on federal programs regarding offender reentry. Authorizes the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics to conduct research on offender reentry. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the role of state child protective services at the time of arrest and establish services for the preservation of families impacted by the incarceration of a family member; and (2) the Secretary of Labor to implement a program to educate employers about one-stop centers, existing incentives for the hiring of former prisoners, and tax credits, and to make grants to nonprofit organizations to provide transitional services. Amends the federal criminal code to direct a court to revoke a term of supervised release or a sentence of probation for a defendant who commits a crime of violence against, or an offense of unlawful sexual contact with, a person who has not attained the age of 16 years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Family Planning State Empowerment Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow States to provide family planning services and supplies to certain individuals not otherwise eligible for Medicaid. Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act - 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 provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Amends PHSA to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act - 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 - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. Preventing Teen Pregnancy Act - Amends PHSA to authorize the Secretary to award grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Truth in Contraception Act - 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.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
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 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. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Fair Pay Act of 2005 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to prohibit discrimination in the payment of wages on account of sex, race, or national origin. (Allows payment of different wages under seniority systems, merit systems, systems that measure earnings by quantity or quality of production, or differentials based on bona fide factors that the employer demonstrates are job-related or further legitimate business interests.) Prohibits the discharge of or any other discrimination against an individual for opposing any act or practice made unlawful by this Act, or for assisting in an investigation or proceeding under it. Directs courts, in any action brought under this Act for violation of such prohibition, to allow expert fees as part of the costs awarded to prevailing plaintiffs. Allows any such action to be maintained as a class action. Directs the EEOC to: (1) undertake studies and provide information and technical assistance to employers, labor organizations, and the general public concerning effective means available to implement this Act; and (2) carry on a continuing program of research, education, and technical assistance with specified components related to the purposes of this Act. Makes conforming amendments relating to congressional and executive branch employees to the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 and the Presidential and Executive Office Accountability Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey; (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity; and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require any pharmacy receiving prescription drugs or prescription devices in interstate commerce to: (1) ensure that any in stock prescription that one pharmacist refuses to fill on the basis of a personal belief is filled by another pharmacist employed by the pharmacy without delay; (2) ensure that any individual who presents a prescription for an item that is not in stock which one pharmacist refuses to order on the basis of a personal belief is immediately informed that the product can be ordered by the pharmacy and to order such product without delay; and (3) not employ any pharmacist who engages in any conduct with the intent to prevent or deter an individual from filling a valid prescription, including refusing to return a prescription form, refusing to transfer a prescription, or subjecting the individual to humiliation or harassment. Provides that this Act does not require the pharmacy to keep any particular product in stock nor does it apply with respect to a product for a health condition if the pharmacy does not keep in stock any product for such condition. Sets forth civil penalties. Allows a private cause of action for a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
States that Executive Order 12898 (pertaining to Federal actions to address environmental justice in minority and low-income populations) shall remain in force until changed by law. Makes the provisions of this Act applicable to such Executive Order. Defines environmental justice. Establishes criteria for defining an environmental justice community. Requires specified Federal agencies and offices to establish an Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ). Requires Federal agencies to integrate the environmental justice strategy developed under the Executive Order into the operation and mission of the agency and to address compliance with this Act in specified activities. Directs the interagency Federal Working Group on Environmental Justice to: (1) coordinate an integrated environmental justice training plan for those Federal agencies and offices required to establish OEJs; (2) formalize public participation efforts; (3) survey Federal agencies and offices with regard to outreach efforts; (4) develop a strategy for allocating responsibilities and ensuring participation; and (5) coordinate plans to communicate research results. Requires: (1) each Federal agency and office with an OEJ to undertake outreach activities and report such activities to the Working Group; and (2) Federal agencies and the Working Group to develop ways to enhance partnerships and coordination with stakeholders. Directs Federal agencies to fund community technology centers to provide assistance relating to environmental justice.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Election Weekend Act - Amends Federal law to change the date for the election of: (1) President and of Vice President to the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November in every fourth year succeeding every presidential election; and (2) Members of Congress to the first consecutive Saturday and Sunday in November in every even numbered year. Expresses the sense of Congress that private employers in the United States should give their employees a day off on either of such days starting in November 2006 to enable them to cast votes in the Federal and other elections held on that day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Loan Shark Prevention Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to set a cap upon: (1) the annual percentage rate applicable to any extension of credit; and (2) the amount of any fee or charge that a creditor may impose under the terms of a credit transaction. Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit a credit card issuer from using negative information contained in a consumer report to increase the annual percentage rate applicable to a credit card account, or to remove or increase any introductory annual percentage rate of interest applicable to such account, for reasons other than actions or omissions of the card holder that are directly related to such account.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Family and Workplace Balancing Act of 2005 - Balancing Act of 2005 - Provides assistance for working families through: (1) family and medical care leave; (2) expanded child care for young children and incentives for child care providers; (3) preschool, in-school, and afterschool nutrition and education; (4) temporary and part-time workers pension and health plan benefits; and (5) encouragement of business use of employee telecommuting. Family Income to Respond to Significant Transitions Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make five-year grants to a State or local government to pay for the Federal share of the cost of carrying out projects that assist families by providing wage replacement for eligible individuals responding to caregiving needs resulting from the birth or adoption of a son or daughter or other family caregiving needs. Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to allow employees covered by FMLA to take up to four hours during any 30-day period, and up to 24 hours during any 12-month period, of parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children's or grandchildren's educational and extracurricular activities. Amends Federal civil service law to apply the same parental involvement leave allowance to Federal employees. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize additional funds for expanding child care activities for young children less than three years of age. Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the Federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at State option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Child Care Construction and Renovation Incentive Grants Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to provide for use of community development block grants to establish child care facilities. Amends the National Housing Act to provide for insurance for mortgages: (1) on new and rehabilitated child care facilities; and (2) for acquisition of or the refinancing of debt on existing child care facilities. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make technical and financial assistance grants to acquire or improve child care facilities or equipment. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a business child care incentive grant program. Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of HHS to make grants to State agencies to develop full-day, full-year universal prekindergarten programs for all children three, four, and five years old. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a universal free school breakfast program without regard to family incomes. Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program of healthy school nutrition environment incentive grants. Afterschool Education Enhancement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require State educational agencies to give priority to 21st century community learning centers program applications submitted jointly by eligible entities. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for treatment of employees working at less than full-time under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans and under group health plans. United States Business Telework Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct, in not more than five States, a pilot program to raise awareness about telework among employers, and encourage them to offer telework options to employees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
National Guard and Reserve Bill of Rights Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Defense to limit the length of assignment of reservists during U.S. Central Command deployments of not less than one year. Requires the Secretary to submit to specified congressional committees a report on Department of Defense (DOD) policies and communications regarding the length of deployments for reservists in connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom. Directs the Secretary of the Army to designate a senior level official of the Department of the Army to implement recommendations for executive action to address military pay problems. Removes conditions on Ready Reserve members' eligibility for TRICARE enrollment. Makes such eligibility permanent. Requires the Secretary concerned to pay applicable premiums to continue qualified health benefit plan coverage for family members of eligible reservists serving on active duty for the benefits coverage continuation period. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to fund child care for members of the Armed Forces on active duty for Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom. Expands eligibility for monthly educational assistance benefits to include reservists who have served on active duty for a cumulative period of 24 months during any five-year period. Reduces from 60 to 55 the age at which members of Reserve components may receive military retirement pay. Establishes the position of Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (Reserve Affairs). Eliminates the position of Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Reduces the number of Assistant Secretaries of Defense. Makes National Guard appropriations available to establish and operate offices to assist in readjusting to civilian life Guard personnel being released from active or full-time duty of more than 30 days.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Urges the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to transfer Charles Ghankay Taylor, former President of the Republic of Liberia, to the jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to undergo trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Chinese Currency Act of 2005 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 regarding countervailing duty investigations to revise the definition of countervailable subsidy to include exchange-rate manipulation. Defines "exchange-rate manipulation" as protracted large-scale intervention by an authority to undervalue its currency in the exchange market that prevents effective balance-of-payments adjustment or that gains an unfair competitive advantage over any other country. Specifies factors for determining whether exchange-rate manipulation is occurring and a benefit thereby conferred. Applies the definition of "exchange-rate manipulation" to the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) or any other public entity within its territory. Specifies: (1) factors for determining whether exchange-rate manipulation is occurring in the PRC; (2) actions to be taken, if a petition for an investigation alleges and reasonably documents that it is occurring; and (3) the standard for presidential action to prevent or remedy the market disruption at issue (including import relief and its modification and extension). Directs the Secretary of Defense, upon proper request or resolution, to report to the U.S. International Trade Commission any determination as to whether or not the articles of the PRC that are the subject of the investigation are like or directly competitive with domestically produced articles critical to the U.S. defense industrial base. Prohibits the Secretary from procuring, directly or indirectly, such products if the Commission or the President or the U.S. Trade Representative makes an affirmative determination that the Secretary's determination is accurate. Provides for presidential waiver of the prohibition in the national security interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Security and Freedom Ensured Act of 2005 (SAFE Act) - Amends the USA PATRIOT Act to modify provisions regarding roving wiretaps under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to require that: (1) an order approving an electronic surveillance specify either the identity of the target or the place to be wiretapped; and (2) surveillance be conducted only when the suspect is present at the place to be wiretapped. Revises provisions governing search warrants authorized under the USA PATRIOT ACT to: (1) limit the authority to delay notice of the issuance of such a search warrant to circumstances where providing immediate notice of the warrant will endanger the life or physical safety of an individual, result in flight from prosecution or the intimidation of a potential witness, or result in the destruction of or tampering with the evidence sought under the warrant; and (2) require such delayed notification to be issued within seven days (currently, within a "reasonable period") after execution, with extensions by the court for additional periods of up to 21 calendar days each time that the court finds reasonable cause to believe that notice of the execution of the warrant would have such consequences. Requires the Attorney General, on a semiannual basis, to transmit to Congress and make public a report concerning all requests for delays of notice and for extensions of such delays. Amends FISA to require, with respect to access by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to business records for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations, that there be specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the person to whom the records pertain is a foreign power or agent. Provides that libraries shall not be treated as wire or electronic communication service providers under provisions granting counterintelligence access to provider subscriber information, toll billing records information, or electronic communication transactional records. Redefines "domestic terrorism" to mean activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that constitute a Federal crime of terrorism (currently, that violate criminal laws).
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Safe Food Act of 2005 - Establishes the Food Safety Administration to administer and enforce food safety laws. Directs the Administrator of the Food Safety Administration to: (1) promulgate regulations to ensure the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination; (2) implement Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts to protect the public health; (3) develop consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (4) coordinate and prioritize food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (5) prioritize Federal food safety efforts and deployment of resources to achieve the greatest possible benefit in reducing food-borne illness; (6) coordinate the Federal response to food-borne illness outbreaks with other Federal and State agencies; and (7) integrate Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of specified Federal agencies that relate to the administration or enforcement of food safety laws, including (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; and (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Requires the Administrator to: (1) administer a national food safety program based on an analysis of the hazards associated with different food and the processing of different food; (2) establish standards for processors of food and food establishments; (3) establish a certification system for foreign governments or food establishments seeking to import food to the United States; (4) establish requirements for tracing food and food producing animals from point of origin to retail sale; (5) maintain an active surveillance system of food, food products, and epidemiological evidence; (6) establish a sampling system to monitor contaminants in food; (7) rank and analyze hazards in the food supply; (8) establish a national public education campaign on food safety; and (9) conduct research relating to food safety. Sets forth provisions regarding prohibited acts, administrative detention, condemnation, temporary holds, recall, penalties for violations of food safety laws, whistle blower protection, and civil actions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to design national strategies for providing services in supportive housing that will assist in ending chronic homelessness and to implement programs that address chronic homelessness. Requires the Secretary to make matching grants to eligible entities to provide services that promote recovery and self-sufficiency and that address barriers to housing stability to chronically homeless individuals in, or who are scheduled to become residents of, permanent supportive housing and to other individuals and families who have voluntarily chosen to seek other housing opportunities after a period of tenancy in supportive housing. Directs the Secretary to require grantees to report data regarding the performance outcomes of projects carried out under this Act, which shall include measuring and reporting specific performance outcomes related to the long-term goals of: (1) increasing stability within the community for people who have been chronically homeless; and (2) decreasing recurrence of periods of homelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) honors Johnnie Cochran, Jr., for his service to the Nation, his pioneering work as a lawyer, author, TV commentator, and philanthropist, and his personal integrity and professional excellence; and (2) expresses its deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and admirers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Honors the life's work of the late Pope John Paul II. Extends sympathy and condolences to members of the Roman Catholic Church. Recognizes the significant contributions Pope John Paul II made during his lifetime.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Inclusive Home Design Act of 2005 - Requires, with exceptions, newly constructed, federally assisted single family houses and town houses to include at least one level that complies with the following accessibility features for persons with disabilities: (1) accessible entrance; (2) accessible interior doors; (3) accessible environmental controls; and (4) accessible habitable space and an accessible bathroom. Requires: (1) each applicant for Federal financial assistance to submit compliance assurances to the relevant Federal agency; and (2) each person who arranges for design or construction of a covered dwelling to submit architectural and construction plans for State or local approval. Prohibits Federal financial assistance to a State or local government unit unless the recipient is taking certain enforcement actions with regard to covered dwellings. Permits: (1) private civil actions in a U.S. District Court or State court for violations under this Act; and (2) the Attorney General to commence civil actions or intervene in civil actions under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Darfur Genocide Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide. Directs the President to: (1) block the property and assets of civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan and their family members implicated in the Darfur atrocities, and property and assets controlled by the National Congress Party; and (2) prohibit an entity engaged in any commercial activity in Sudan from raising capital in the United States, or from trading its securities in any capital market in the United States. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) prohibit visas for civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan, and militia members and others implicated in the Darfur atrocities; (2) reduce the Sudanese diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., and restrict or control the remaining staff's movement within the United States; and (3) instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) to oppose any UN or other international conference from being held in Sudan. Authorizes the President to: (1) use force to stop the Darfur genocide, including establishment of a no-fly zone and use of unmanned armed planes; and (2) deny U.S. port entry to ships doing business in the Sudan oil sector and /or with the Sudan armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan or group health coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the mental health benefits unless comparable limitations or requirements are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Excludes such requirements for plans and coverage for small employers. Allows a plan or coverage that provides in-network mental health benefits to provide out-of-network mental health benefits using treatment limitations or financial requirements that are not comparable to those applied to medical-surgical benefits if the in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and with reasonable access. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) study the effects of this Act on health insurance costs and access and quality of health care; and (2) provide a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Assistance for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children in Developing Countries Act of 2005 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to provide assistance, including through nongovernmental or international organizations, for basic care for orphans and other vulnerable children in developing countries, including assistance for: (1) community-based care; (2) school food programs; (3) education and employment training; (4) psychosocial support; (5) protection of inheritance rights; and (6) HIV/AIDS care. Directs the Secretary of State to appoint a Special Advisor for Assistance to Vulnerable Populations. Directs the President to: (1) establish a system to evaluate such assistance's effectiveness; and (2) develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a coordinating strategy for such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Cesar E. Chavez Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the next of kin or other personal representative of Cesar E. Chavez in recognition of his service to the Nation. (Chavez organized farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions, founded the National Farm Workers Association-- predecessor of the United Farm Workers of America-- and was a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Student Aid Reward Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) title IV (Student Assistance) to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a Student Aid Reward (SAR) Program of payments to institutions of higher education (IHEs) to encourage them to participate in the student loan program under title IV that is most cost-effective for taxpayers. Requires that a SAR payment to an IHE equal at least 50 percent of the savings to the Federal Government generated by the IHE's participation in the most cost-effective student loan program, rather than one not cost-effective for taxpayers. Requires IHEs receiving SAR payments to: (1) provide student loans under that most cost-effective program for five years after the payment date; and (2) use payment funds, where appropriate, to supplement students Pell Grants. Allows such funds to be used also to award need-based grants to lower and middle income graduate students.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Smuggled Tobacco Prevention Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require all packages of tobacco products to carry a unique legibly printed serial number by which the Secretary of the Treasury can identify the manufacturer or importer and the location and date of manufacture or importation. Requires tobacco products sold on Indian reservations to be labeled as such. Requires a person to post a bond with the Secretary in order to export tobacco products. Requires a tobacco wholesaler to have a permit and to maintain certain records. Requires export warehouse proprietors to file certain reports with the Secretary. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into certain tobacco related information exchange agreements with foreign countries. Establishes new criminal offenses relating to the distribution of tobacco products. Raises the $1,000 civil penalty for violations relating to tobacco products to $10,000. Amends the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act to: (1) expand the applicability of such Act from cigarettes only to tobacco products (cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco); (2) define a "contraband tobacco product" as a quantity of tobacco product that is equivalent to or more than 2,000 cigarettes (currently, 60,000) which bear no evidence of the payment of applicable State tobacco taxes and that is possessed illegally; and (3) establish new unlawful acts. Allows a State tobacco tax authority to bring a civil action in U.S. district court for the collection of State cigarette taxes. Prohibits retaliation against employees (whistleblowers) who provide information in contraband tobacco cases. Provides for administrative and judicial remedies for such whistleblowers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Consumer Assurance of Radiologic Excellence Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit certain payments to States for expenditures for medical imaging procedures or radiation therapy procedures, unless the State meets specified requirements for State medical radiation licenses, including minimum licensing standards the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
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, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a comprehensive strategy for the protection of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian emergency; and (2) designate an individual within the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the coordinator for such efforts. Authorizes USAID to establish a fellowship program to increase USAID expertise in carrying out protective activities of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, affected by a humanitarian emergency. Prohibits certain Department or USAID funds for refugees or internally displaced persons to be provided to a primary grantee or contractor unless the grantee or contractor has adopted a code of conduct that is consistent with the six core principles recommended by the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Directs the coordinator to seek to provide health services to vulnerable populations, including: (1) prevention of of sexual violence; (2) reduction of HIV transmission; (3) provision of obstetric care; and (4) integrating women's health services into the primary health care services provided during a humanitarian emergency. Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to seek to extend microcredit program availability to internally displaced persons. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to: (1) include the protection of vulnerable populations within military education and training; and (2) authorize the President to provide assistance for programs to protect vulnerable populations during humanitarian emergencies. Directs the United States Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to ensure that World Bank disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs provide benefits to former combatants that are comparable to benefits provided to other individuals. Expresses the sense of Congress that the UN should strengthen the ability of its Department of Peacekeeping Operations to protect civilians, especially women and children, from sexual exploitation by peacekeeping personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives information in his possession providing specific evidence for the following statement he made on February 16, 2005, at a meeting in Portsmith, New Hampshire: "And by the way, there is not a Social Security trust."
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Water for the World Resolution - Declares that Congress: (1) recognizes that government policies should ensure that all individuals have equitable access to water and that no one is cut off from water for survival due to economic constraints; and (2) upholds the principle that governments should engage all members of society in direct participation in overseeing decisions about the conservation, distribution, use, and management of water in their communities. Recognizes that more sustainable agricultural practices are necessary to protect water resources. Affirms that Congress firmly commits itself to met the Millennium Development Goals, especially as they pertain to universal access to water and sanitation. Asserts that Federal policies should ensure that in the United States direct and indirect sources of water pollution, including factories, refineries, commercial agriculture, and wastewater treatment plants, are adequately regulated and those responsible held accountable for the pollution they cause.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
College Loan Assistance Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for student loans and Pell Grants. Allows refinancing of student consolidation loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. Reduces the amount of a cap on interest rate under the FFEL program. Extends authority for the Pell Grant program. Increases the maximum amount of an individual Pell Grant award to $7,000 for each of academic years 2005-2006 through 2010-11. Prohibits eligible lenders or the Secretary of Education from collecting origination fees from borrowers, under the FFEL or the Federal direct loan program, for any loan made on or after the first July 1 after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Veterans Employment and Respect Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring certain: (1) veterans of military service in Afghanistan or Iraq; and (2) dependents of deceased members of the Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Amends Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System provisions to increase: (1) the mandatory retirement age for members of the Capitol Police from 57 to 60; and (2) the age to which an exemption may be extended from 60 to 65.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005 - Reinstates for ten years repealed criminal provisions regarding assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (the assault weapons ban). Revises the definition of "semiautomatic assault weapon" to include conversion kits (for converting a firearm to such a weapon) and any semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and that has specified characteristics, including a telescoping stock. Prohibits the transfer of such a weapon except through a licensed dealer or a State or local law enforcement agency, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any such weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has been used in relation to a crime, and of the nature and circumstances of the crime involved; and (2) annually submit the record to Congress and make it available to the public. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of any assault weapon with a large capacity ammunition feeding device; and (2) a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer who transfers such a device that was manufactured on or before this Act's enactment from failing to certify to the Attorney General, within 60 days of the transfer date, that the device was manufactured on or before that date. Sets penalties for violations. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of such a weapon or device to a juvenile; and (2) the importation of such a device.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Civic Participation and Rehabilitation Act of 2005 - States that the right of an individual who is a citizen of the United States to vote in any election for Federal office shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institute or facility at the time of the election. Authorizes the Attorney General, in a civil action, to obtain declaratory or injunctive relief to remedy a violation of this Act. Provides for a private right of action. Prohibits any State, unit of local government, or other person from receiving or using any Federal grant amount, to construct or otherwise improve a prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, unless that person has in effect a program under which each U.S. citizen incarcerated in that person's jurisdiction is notified, upon release, of that citizen's rights.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Kidney Care Quality and Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) grant full coverage of dialysis access procedures in the ambulatory surgical center setting for individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Hospital Insurance); and (2) structure the relative value units applicable to physicians' services for vascular access procedures to encourage clinically appropriate placement of natural vascular access for dialysis patients. Directs the Secretary to establish demonstration projects for an outcomes-based ESRD financial incentives reimbursement system to evaluate methods that improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the: (1) establishment of annual update framework for the Medicare end stage renal disease composite rate; and (2) extension of Medicare as secondary payer. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of the temporary codes (G-codes) for nephrologists' services applicable under the Medicare fee schedule for physician's services. Requires the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about chronic kidney disease; (2) enhance surveillance systems and expand chronic kidney disease research; and (3) enable individuals with ESRD to develop self-management skills. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; (2) provide for appropriate incentives to improve the Medicare home dialysis benefit; (3) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services under Medicare; and (4) establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Fairness and Accountability in International Taxation Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny reduced withholding tax treaty benefits to a foreign entity on any deductible foreign payment (deductible payment made by a domestic entity to a related foreign entity) unless such entity is predominantly owned by individuals who are residents of such foreign country. Exempts from such provision: (1) corporations with substantial business activities in a treaty country with specified tax rates; (2) payments received by controlled foreign corporations from U.S. shareholders; and (3) certain conduit payments made by foreign corporations. Provides a special income and deduction allocation rule for related-party inbound (transfer price reduced by deflected tax haven income) and outbound (transfer price increased by deflected tax haven income) transactions. Defines "related-party inbound transaction," "related-party outbound transaction," and "deflected tax haven."
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