United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 332 South Main Street in Flora, Illinois, as the "Robert T. Ferguson Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal collectively to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed. Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Children's Hospitals Education Equity and Research (CHEER) Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments through FY 2010 (currently, through FY 2005) to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs. Excludes reductions for unused resident positions when calculating the number of full-time residents in a children's hospital's approved training program for purposes of reimbursing direct expenses. Requires the Secretary to adjust the proportion of such a hospital's costs attributable to wages for differences in hospital wage levels by geographic area. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2010 for direct and indirect expenses associated with operating such programs. Requires that funds appropriated for such programs for a fiscal year remain available for obligation through the end of the succeeding fiscal year. Limits the ability to recoup funds unless a demand for recoupment is made by the end of the fiscal year. Sets forth an appeals procedure and limitations on retroactivity for decisions affecting the amount of payments to a hospital for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Rockies Prosperity Act - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; and (6) Blackfeet Wilderness. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Establishes the Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve as a National Park System unit. Repeals Federal law provisions that establish the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) implement a program of ecosystem restoration in the Preserve; and (2) study the feasibility of creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve in the area generally known as the Glacier View Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System and the National Wildland Recovery Corps. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to assure nonexclusive access to the specified areas and corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Prohibit Predatory Lending Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act in connection with consumer credit cost disclosure to redefine: (1) high-cost mortgage; (2) the formula used to adjust certain percentage points in connection with a consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling; and (3) related points and fees. Sets forth a formula to calculate: (1) points and fees for open-end loans; and (2) bona fide discount points and prepayment penalties. Revises requirements for: (1) prepayment penalties; (2) balloon payments; and (3) extension of credit without regard to consumer's payment ability. Prohibits in connection with high-cost mortgages: (1) a lender from recommending a default on an existing debt prior to and in connection with the closing of a high-cost mortgage that refinances all or any portion of such existing loan or debt; (2) specified late fees; (3) certain accelerations of debt; (4) certain evasions, structuring of transactions, and reciprocal arrangements; (5) certain modification and deferral fees; and (6) mandatory arbitration or other nonjudicial procedures. Mandates pre-loan counseling as a prerequisite for a high-loan mortgage. Revises guidelines governing lender liability for correction of errors. Prohibits a lender from knowingly or intentionally engaging in the unfair act or practice of flipping (the making of a loan or extension of credit to a consumer which refinances an existing mortgage when the new loan or credit extension does not have reasonable, tangible net benefit to the consumer, considering all of the circumstances, including the terms of both the new and the refinanced loans or credit, the cost of the new loan or credit, and the consumer's circumstances). Prohibits single premium credit insurance. Doubles civil money penalties for certain violations. Extends to three years the statute of limitations for violation of certain statutory disclosure requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
College Student Credit Card Protection Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to limit by a specified formula the total credit extended under a credit card account to a full time, traditional-aged college student (unless the student's parent or guardian assumes joint liability). Prohibits increasing the credit limit on an account for which a parent or guardian has assumed joint liability without the parent's or guardian's approval. Prohibits a creditor from opening a credit card account for any such college student who: (1) has no annual gross income; and (2) already has a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
American Health Security Act of 2005 - Establishes the State-Based American Health Security Program to provide every U.S. resident who is a U.S. citizen, national, or lawful resident alien with health care services. Requires each participating State to establish a State health security program. Eliminates benefits under: (1) titles XVIII (Medicare), XIX (Medicaid), and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act; (2) the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; and (3) the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS). Requires each State health security program to prohibit the sale of health insurance in that State that duplicates benefits provided under the program. Establishes the American Health Security Standards Board to: (1) develop policies, procedures, guidelines and requirements to carry out this Act; (2) establish uniform reporting requirements; (3) provide for an American Health Security Advisory Council and an Advisory Committee on Health Professional Education; and (4) establish a national health security budget specifying the total Federal and State expenditures to be made for covered health care services. Establishes the American Health Security Quality Council to: (1) review and evaluate practice guidelines, standards of quality, performance measures, and medical review criteria; and (2) develop minimum competence criteria. Establishes the Office of Primary Care and Prevention Research within the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create the American Health Security Trust Fund and appropriates to the Fund specified tax liabilities and current health program receipts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area Act - Establishes the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area in Illinois. Designates the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition as the management entity for the Area. Allows the Coalition, using funds made available under this Act, to prepare a management plan for the Area and reports, studies, interpretive exhibits and programs, historic preservation projects, and other activities recommended in the plan. Prohibits the Coalition from using Federal funds received under this Act to acquire real property. Directs the Coalition to submit to the Secretary of the Interior a management plan reviewed by participating units of government within the Area's boundaries which shall, among other things: (1) contain a comprehensive program for conservation, interpretation, funding, management, and development and historical, cultural, and natural resources and recreational and educational opportunities of the Area; and (2) include a business plan detailing the functions of the local coordinating entity and of activities included in recommendations contained in the plan. Requires the Secretary to approve or disapprove the proposed plan not later than 90 days after receiving it. Authorizes the Secretary to provide technical and financial assistance to the Coalition for the development and implementation of the management plan. Requires the Coalition to provide assistance and encouragement to State and local governments, private organizations, and persons to protect and promote the Area's resources and values.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Remembers the victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide and pledges to work to ensure that such an atrocity does not take place again. Acknowledges: (1) that the international community, including the United States, failed the people of Rwanda while hundreds of thousands of civilians were being killed; and (2) the heroic work of many individuals and human rights organizations for their campaign to help stop the genocide. Supports assistance to the survivors of the Rwandan genocide. Urges political and financial support for the Gacaca courts. Expresses deep appreciation to General Romeo Dallaire for his efforts to stop the genocide and for helping many Rwandese civilians. Urges the creation of a bi-partisan Commission of Inquiry for Rwanda to investigate the role of the United States prior to and during the Rwandan genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to provide that no application by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a U.S. court for an order requiring the production of tangible things for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information from a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism may be made for the sole purpose of searching for, or seizing from, a bookseller or library documentary materials that contain personally identifiable information concerning a patron. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude a physical search for documentary materials (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) under other provisions of law. Defines "personally identifiable information" as information that identifies a person as having used, requested, or obtained specific reading materials or services from a bookseller or library. Revises congressional reporting requirements under FISA to require the Attorney General, in informing Congress with respect to applications for orders approving requests for the production of tangible things, to: (1) describe the specific purpose of each order application; (2) analyze the effectiveness of each application that was granted or modified in protecting U.S. citizens against terrorism; and (3) make public such information provided in a manner consistent with the national security of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Medical Laboratory Personnel Shortage Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a scholarship and loan repayment program to alleviate the shortage of medical laboratory personnel. Requires the Secretary: (1) when awarding grants and contracts under programs designed to increase the number of allied health professionals, to give preference to assisting entities in expanding or establishing programs to increase the number of individuals trained as medical laboratory personne; and (2) to issue public service announcements that promote medical laboratory personnel careers. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) and in collaboration with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants for training to increase the number of cytotechnologists available for cervical cancer screening. Provides for giving emphasis in the training of allied heath professionals, for which Federal payments may be provided under a cooperative agreement or grant from the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, to the training of medical laboratory personnel in disciplines in which more personnel are needed.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Incapacitated Persons Legal Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to extend habeas corpus protections to persons who are subject to a court order authorizing or directing the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain the person's life. Deems persons having custody in such cases to encompass parties so authorized or directed. States that there shall be no requirement to produce the body of the incapacitated person at the hearing. Exempts from this Act those cases in which the incapacitated person indisputably executed a written advance directive while having capacity that clearly authorized the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or necessary medical treatment. Defines "incapacitated person" to mean an individual presently incapable of making relevant decisions concerning the provision, withholding, or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment under applicable State law.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Rotary International Day (February 23, 2005) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rotary International. Recognizes Rotary International's service to improving the human condition in communities throughout the world.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Justice and Understanding By International Loan Elimination and Equity Act of 2005 or JUBILEE Act of 2005 - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to commence immediate efforts, within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), and other international financial institutions (multilateral development institutions (MDI's)) to accomplish: (1) the cancellation of all debts owed to each institution by specified eligible poor countries, and the financing of such debt cancellation from the institution's ongoing operations, procedures, and accounts; (2) the limitation of any waiting period before receipt of debt cancellation to one month from the date of an eligible poor country's application for it; and (3) encouragement of the government of each eligible poor country to allocate at least 20 percent of its national budget, including the savings from such debt cancellation, for the provision of basic health care services, education services, and clean water services to individuals in the country. Sets forth requirements for: (1) establishment of a framework to ensure transparency regarding each international financial institution's activities; and (2) availability on the Treasury Department's website of U.S. Executive Directors' remarks at meetings of international financial institutions' Boards of Directors. Requires the Secretary to commence immediate efforts, within the Paris Club, the IMF, and other appropriate MDI's, to ensure that the provision of debt cancellation to such countries is not conditioned on any agreement by such a country to implement or comply with specified policies that deepen poverty or degrade the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Liver Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center on Liver Disease Research in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to ensure the development of increased understanding of, and better treatments and cures for, liver diseases. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Liver Disease Research Advisory Board to: (1) advise and assist the Director of the Center concerning matters relating to liver disease research; and (2) develop the Liver Disease Research Action Plan to identify scientific opportunities and priorities of liver disease research. Requires the Director of each institute or center within NIH to allocate for liver disease research amounts necessary to: (1) fund existing scientific research opportunities; and (2) carry out the recommendations of the Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Declares that the steel import licensing and monitoring program established by the Secretaries of the Treasury and of Commerce shall remain in effect and be established by the Secretary of Commerce as a permanent program. Requires the Secretaries to expand the program to include all iron and steel, and all articles of iron and steel, specified in this Act. Requires release of the import and licensing data made available to the public as part of this program, based upon classifications at the tenth digit level of the Harmonized Schedule of the United States. Grants the Secretaries authority to maintain the program and to expand it as necessary and appropriate in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Save Our Waters From Sewage Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice of the bypass in accordance with this Act; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance. Requires POTWs to provide the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or the State if the State has an approved permit program) with: (1) prior notice of an anticipated bypass; and (2) notice of an unanticipated bypass within 24 hours of becoming aware of such bypass as well as follow-up notice. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property. .
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005 - Repeals current Department of Defense (DOD) policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces. Prohibits the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation against any member of the Armed Forces or any person seeking to become a member. Authorizes the re-accession into the Armed Forces of otherwise qualified individuals previously separated for homosexuality, bisexuality, or homosexual conduct. Requires such Secretaries to ensure that regulations governing the personal conduct of members of the Armed Forces are written and enforced without regard to sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Proposes that: (1) equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex; and (2) reproductive rights for women under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that every person has the right to: (1) work; (2) free choice of employment; (3) just and favorable conditions of work; (4) protection against unemployment; and (5) equal pay for equal work, without any discrimination. Provides that all persons who work have the right to: (1) just and favorable remuneration ensuring for themselves and their family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection; and (2) form and join trade unions for the protection of their interests.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Provides that all U.S. citizens who are eighteen years of age or older shall have the right to vote in any public election held in the jurisdiction in which the citizen resides. Requires each State to: (1) administer public elections in the State in accordance with election performance standards established by the Congress; and (2) provide any eligible voter the opportunity to register and vote on the day of any public election.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to Federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Treatment of Children's Deformities Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan, and a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage, that cover surgical benefits to also cover outpatient and inpatient diagnosis and treatment of a child's congenital or developmental deformity, disease, or injury. Requires that such coverage: (1) be subject to pre-authorization or pre-certification requirements of the plan or issuer; and (2) include any surgical treatment deemed by the treating physician to be medically necessary to approximate a normal appearance. Defines "treatment" to include reconstructive surgical procedures that are performed on abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects, abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease, including: (1) procedures that do not materially affect the function of the body part being treated; and (2) procedures for secondary conditions and follow-up treatment. Excludes cosmetic surgery performed to reshape normal structures of the body to improve appearance or self-esteem.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2005 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to revise its regulations to provide that digital audio radio satellite service (DARSS): (1) licensees shall not provide services that are locally differentiated or that result in programming being delivered to consumers in one geographic market that is different from programming delivered in any other geographic market; and (2) repeaters shall be restricted to simultaneously retransmitting the programming transmitted by satellite directly to DARSS subscribers' receivers. Requires the FCC to complete a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether DARSS licensees should be permitted to provide locally oriented services on nationally distributed channels, taking into account, among other things, the ability of such licensees to afford listeners the same emergency and other information as is afforded listeners of local broadcast stations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Student Loan Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for consolidation loans. Repeals a prohibition against refinancing consolidation loans. Allows borrowers to select lenders of consolidation loans. Requires lenders and institutions to provide certain information on consolidation loans to applicants. Revises interest rates on consolidated and reconsolidated loans.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to revise the procedures of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Repeals the requirement that a complaint be dismissed if an investigative subcommittee has not been established within 45 days after the complaint is filed (Automatic Dismissal Rule). Requires the committee to establish an investigative subcommittee if a complaint is not disposed of within the 45 days (or a 45-day extension). Subjects to such (automatic) subcommittee establishment rule the current related requirement that an investigative committee be established only by an affirmative of the majority of the committee members, if at any time during the applicable time period either the committee chairman or ranking member places on the agenda the issue of whether to establish such an investigative subcommittee. Requires the Committee to establish an "investigative" instead of "adjudicatory" subcommittee when requested by a Member, officer, or employee of the House, contesting the contents of a written complaint. (Thus repeals the right of a Member, officer, or employee to demand an immediate trial by an adjudicatory committee within the initial 45-day period, before a case has been adequately prepared.) Revises the right to counsel of a respondent or witness. Strikes provisions allowing a respondent or witness appearing before the investigative subcommittee or investigative hearing to obtain counsel of his or her choice, even if such counsel represents another respondent or witness. (Thus allows the committee to adopt a rule that prohibits a counsel from representing more than one respondent or witness.)
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Recognizes the accomplishments and example of Cesar E. Chavez, founder of the National Farm Workers of America. Calls for: (1) establishment of a legal public holiday in his honor; and (2) public schools to provide classroom instruction on his life and work.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Amends Federal provisions relating to the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to change from October 1, 2008, to October 1, 2005, the effective date on or after which no reduction may be made in the retired pay of an SBP participant for any month after the later of: (1) the 360th month for which such pay was so reduced; and (2) the month during which the participant attains 70 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national education campaign to promote stroke prevention and increase the number of stroke patients who seek immediate treatment. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to maintain the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry and Clearinghouse by collecting specific data points and benchmarks for stroke care analysis and by compiling and disseminating information on State, local, and private care system achievements and problems. Defines "stroke" as an attack in which blood flow to the brain is interrupted or in which a blood vessel or aneurysm in the brain breaks or ruptures. Includes stroke and traumatic injury prevention, diagnosis, and treatment within the grant program for emergency medicine residency training. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to make grants to qualified entities for education programs for health care professionals in the use of diagnostic approaches, technologies, and therapies for stroke and traumatic injury prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Gives preference to qualified entities that will train professionals that serve areas with a significant incidence of stroke or traumatic injuries. Authorizes the Secretary, through the Director of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth, to make up to seven grants to States and to consortia of public and private entities in any non-grantee State to conduct a five-year pilot project to improve stroke patient outcomes by coordinating health care through telehealth networks.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Requires the Architect of the Capitol to enter into a contract to revise the statue commemorating women's suffrage located in the rotunda of the United States Capitol (known as the Portrait Monument) to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Count Every Vote Act of 2005 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 with respect to: (1) requirements for voter verification and manual audit capacity; (2) accessibiliity of the voting system for language minority individuals in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access, participation, inspection, and verification as for other voters; (3) prohibition of the use of undisclosed software and of wireless communication devices in voting systems; (4) certification of software and hardware used in electronic voting systems; (5) security standards for manufacturers of voting systems used in Federal elections; (6) mandatory recounts; (7) study, testing, and development of best practices to enhance accessibility and voter verification mechanisms for disabled voters; (8) voter verification and audit capacity funding; (9) security consultation services; (10) casting and counting of provisional ballots; (11) minimum required voting systems, poll workers, and election resources; (12) remedial plans for States with excessive voter wait times; (13) absentee voting; (14) public reports on Federal elections; (15) training of election officials; (16) impartial administration of elections; (17) standards for purging voters; (18) election day registration and early voting; (19) voter registration and identification; (20) prohibition of certain campaign activities; (21) voting rights of individuals convicted of criminal offenses; (22) election day as a public holiday; and (23) the Election Assistance Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of State to submit to the appropriate congressional committees an annual list of countries where there are substantial grounds for believing that torture, cruel, or degrading treatment is commonly used in the detention or interrogation of individuals. Prohibits the direct or indirect transfer or return of persons by the United States for the purpose of detention, interrogation, trial, or otherwise to a listed country. Sets forth conditions under which: (1) the Secretary may waive such transfer prohibition; and (2) a treaty-based transfer may occur. Amends the Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998 to direct the appropriate Government agencies to prescribe regulations to implement U.S. obligations under the United Nations (UN) Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
New Partnership for Haiti Act of 2005 - Directs the President to work with the Government of Haiti and international organizations to establish a comprehensive and integrated strategy to combat infectious diseases in Haiti, including HIV/AIDS, and to establish a comprehensive health infrastructure in Haiti. Authorizes the President: (1) acting through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP), to provide assistance to Haiti to develop its health sector, including by supporting infrastructure and education and prevention activities; and (2) acting through the Secretary of State and the Corps of Engineers, to provide assistance to develop Haiti's basic sanitation and transportation infrastructure. Directs the President to establish a program to recruit U.S. health care professionals and engineers to rebuild the health care and physical infrastructures of Haiti. Authorizes the President to provide financial incentives to encourage program participation. Conditions assistance upon a presidential submission to the appropriate congressional committees that Haiti has a democratically elected government.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Establishes in the legislative branch the Independent Commission on the 2004 Coup d'Etat in the Republic of Haiti. Directs the Commission to examine, as specified, the United States' role in the February 2004 coup d'etat in the Republic of Haiti. Terminates the Commission 60 days after submission of its final report to Congress and the President.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid Act of 2005 - Establishes the Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid to review: (1) each of Medicaid's major functional responsibilities; (2) issues that either threaten or improve the long-term financial condition of Medicaid; (3) Federal and State policies for Medicaid and Medicare enrollment (including enrollment sites), income eligibility, outreach, and documentation; (4) the operation and effectiveness of Medicaid premium assistance programs; and (5) Medicaid payment policies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State Medicaid plan coverage of community-based attendant services and supports for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals. Outlines requirements for: (1) an enhanced Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for ongoing activities of early coverage States that enhance and promote the use of community-based attendant services and supports; and (2) increased Federal financial participation for certain expenditures incurred by the State for the provision of such services and supports. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives; and (2) conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating service coordination and cost-sharing approaches with respect to the provision of community-based services and supports to non-elderly dually eligible individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Annie Fox Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to expand, intensify, and coordinate Institute activities regarding breast cancer in younger women, including the conduct and support of: (1) basic and clinical research on the causes, prevention, detection, treatment, and long-term effects of breast cancer in young women; and (2) information and education programs for health professionals and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to each State to carry out a program for making available throughout that State the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on health and human services, including volunteer services. Requires a participating State to ensure that at least 50 percent of the resources of the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources. Requires a State seeking a grant to carry out its activities through a lead entity to be known as a 2-1-1 Collaborative. Requires grant amounts to be used solely to make available to a State 2-1-1 telephone service for community information and referral on human services to all citizens of that State with phone access, including telephone connections between families and individuals seeking services and the service providers. Requires grant recipients to: (1) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers; and (2) collaborate with human service organizations to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to provide information or referral to individuals utilizing the 2-1-1 service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Calls on: (1) all authorities with jurisdiction, including the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the State of Mississippi, to expeditiously bring those responsible for the 1955 murder of Emmett Till to justice and provide all the resources necessary to ensure a timely and thorough investigation; and (2) DOJ to fully report the findings of the investigation to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) W.E.B. DuBois should be recognized for his contribution to civil rights and social science and for his theory of access to higher education for African-Americans; and (2) in honoring his legacy, Federal, State, and local governments should aggressively develop strategies to close gaps in minority education and foster scholarly development of all youth in this Nation.