United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
Expresses support for the designation of National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month. Encourages awareness about the prevalence of asthma and allergies and the disparities in asthma cases based on race, ethnicity, and economic status. Reaffirms the nation's commitment to continued education surrounding asthma and allergy treatment and symptoms and to advancing care for both conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
Celebrates the life of President Gerald Rudolph Ford. Recognizes: (1) the significance of his presidency and his legacy of substantial contribution to the United States and to the peoples of the world; and (2) the significance and support of Betty Ford as his confidant and First Lady.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Women's Health Week. Recognizes the importance of: (1) preventing diseases that commonly affect women; and (2) federally funded programs that provide research and collect data on common diseases in women. Calls on women to observe National Women's Check-Up Day by receiving preventive screenings.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Surviving Spouses' Benefit Improvement Act of 2009 - Increases the monthly rates of veterans' dependency and indemnity compensation payable to surviving spouses through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Prohibits benefits under any other law (other than duplication of benefits) from being reduced or offset because the surviving spouse is eligible for dependency and indemnity compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present gold medals, on behalf of Congress, to: (1) the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission to the surface of the moon, Neil A. Armstrong (the first human to walk on the moon), Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. (pilot of the lunar module Eagle and second person to walk on the moon), and Michael Collins (pilot of their command module Columbia) in recognition of the first lunar landing, on July 20, 1969; and (2) John Herschel Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, on February 20, 1962.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Agent Orange Equity Act of 2009 - Includes as part of the Republic of Vietnam, for purposes of the presumption of service connection for diseases associated with exposure by veterans to certain herbicide agents while in Vietnam, such Republic's inland waterways, ports, and harbors, waters offshore, and airspace above. Includes as veterans eligible for such presumption those who: (1) served on Johnston Island during the period beginning on April 1, 1972, and ending on September 30, 1977; or (2) received the Vietnam Service Medal or the Vietnam Campaign Medal.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) reduce a hospital's otherwise applicable resident limit by the number of positions unused for the five most recent cost reporting periods; and (2) require the distribution of additional resulting residency positions to certain other hospitals. Requires that all the time spent by a resident in outpatient settings be counted towards the determination of full-time equivalency for the purposes of payments for direct graduate (GME) and indirect (IME) medical education costs, without regard to the setting in which the activities are performed, if the hospital continues to incur the costs of the resident's stipends and fringe benefits during the time the resident spends in that setting. Sets forth rules for counting resident time for didactic and scholarly activities and other activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a process for the redistribution of residency slots after a hospital closes.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to require: (1) states to use grants for safe and drug-free schools to collect and report information on the incidence of bullying and harassment; and (2) local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to use subgrants to prevent and respond to incidents of bullying and harassment. Requires such LEAs or schools to: (1) notify parents and students annually of conduct prohibited in their school discipline policies, that now must include bullying and harassment; and (2) establish grievance procedures for students and parents to register complaints regarding such conduct. Includes bullying and harassment within the Act's definition of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Community Building Code Administration Grant Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to the extent amounts are made available for grants under this Act, to award grants, on a competitive basis and with federal matching funds, to qualified local building code enforcement departments to increase staffing, provide staff training, increase staff competence and professional qualifications, support individual certification or departmental accreditation, or for capital expenditures specifically dedicated to department administration. Sets forth criteria for rating and ranking of grant proposals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 140 Merriman Road in Garden City, Michigan, as the "John J. Shivnen Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act of 2009 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) diplomatic efforts to address Iran's illicit nuclear efforts, unconventional and ballistic missile development programs, and support for international terrorism are more likely to be effective if the President is empowered with explicit authority to impose additional sanctions on the government of Iran; (2) U.S. concerns regarding Iran are strictly the result of that government’s actions; and (3) the people of the United States have feelings of friendship for the people of Iran and regret that developments in recent decades have created impediments to that friendship. States that it should be U.S. policy to: (1) support international diplomatic efforts to end Iran's uranium enrichment program and its nuclear weapons program; (2) encourage foreign governments to direct state-owned and private entities to cease all investment in, and support of, Iran's energy sector and all exports of refined petroleum products to Iran; (3) impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran and any other Iranian financial institution engaged in proliferation activities or support of terrorist groups; and (4) work with allies to protect the international financial system from deceptive and illicit practices by Iranian financial institutions involved in proliferation activities or support of terrorist groups. Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to direct the President to impose two or more current sanctions under such Act if a person has, with actual knowledge, made an investment of $20 million or more (or any combination of investments of at least $5 million which in the aggregate equals or exceeds $20 million in any 12-month period) that directly and significantly contributed to Iran's ability to develop its petroleum resources. (Under current law the sanction thresholds are $40 million, $10 million, and $40 million, respectively.) Directs the President to impose: (1) sanctions established under this Act (in addition to any current sanctions imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996) if a person has, with actual knowledge, sold, leased, or provided to Iran any goods, services, technology, information, or support that would allow Iran to maintain or expand its domestic production of refined petroleum resources, including any assistance in refinery construction, modernization, or repair; and (2) sanctions established under this Act if a person has, with actual knowledge, provided Iran with refined petroleum resources or engaged in any activity that could contribute to Iran's ability to import refined petroleum resources, including providing shipping, insurance, or financing services for such activity. Establishes additional sanctions prohibiting specified foreign exchange, banking, and property transactions. Includes references to refined petroleum resources in a presidential report to Congress requesting waiver of sanctions for purposes of national interest. Requires that the President immediately investigate a person upon receipt of credible information that such person is engaged in prohibited investment or other activity. Defines "credible information" as public or classified information or reporting supported by other substantiating evidence. Includes among the exceptions to the imposition of sanctions a situation in which the President determines in writing that the person to which the sanctions would otherwise be applied is: (1) a citizen or resident of a country that is a participant in the Proliferation Security Initiative; or (2) a foreign person organized under the laws of such country and is a subsidiary of a U.S. person. Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees every six months regarding any person who has: (1) provided Iran with refined petroleum resources; (2) sold, leased, or provided to Iran any goods, services, or technology that would allow Iran to maintain or expand its domestic production of refined petroleum resources; or (3) engaged in any activity that could contribute to the enhancement of Iran's ability to import refined petroleum resources. States that the term "petroleum resources" includes petroleum, petroleum by-products, oil or liquefied natural gas, oil or liquefied natural gas tankers, and products used to construct or maintain pipelines used to transport oil or compressed or liquefied natural gas. (Under current law the definition of the term "petroleum resources" is limited to petroleum and natural gas resources.) Defines "petroleum by-products" as gasoline, kerosene, distillates, propane or butane gas, diesel fuel, residual fuel oil, and other goods classified in headings 2709 and 2710 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act - Requires the Secretary of Education to make grants to states for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date. Allocates grant funds among states on the basis of the relative portion of school improvement funds provided to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Reserves 1% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools. Requires states to reallocate such grant funds to LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of school improvement funds received by LEAs in the state for the previous fiscal year. Directs the Secretary to make grants to LEAs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for the construction, modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, including early learning facilities and charter schools, to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date. Allocates grant funds among such LEAs on the basis of each LEA's share of infrastructure damage inflicted on public school facilities in such states by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita in 2005. Requires the iron and steel used in projects funded under this Act to have been produced in this country, subject to specified exceptions.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Essential Oral Health Care Act of 2009 - Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to purchase portable or mobile dental equipment and to pay for appropriate operational costs, including direct health care or service delivery costs, for the provision of free dental services to underserved populations that are delivered in a manner consistent with state licensing laws. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to increase the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for states implementing equal access requirements that ensure that individuals enrolled in the state Medicaid plan have access to oral health care services to the same extent as such services are available to the population of the state.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Recognizes the special legal and political relationship the Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land we share. Commends and honors the Native Peoples for the thousands of years that they have stewarded and protected this land. Recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the U.S. government regarding Indian tribes. Apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on them by U.S. citizens. Expresses the regret of the United States for the ramifications of former wrongs and its commitment to build on the positive relationships of the past and present to move toward reconciliation. Urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in U.S. history. Commends the state governments that have begun reconciliation efforts with recognized Indian tribes located in their boundaries, and encourages all state governments to do the same. Prohibits anything in this Joint Resolution from authorizing or supporting any claim against the United States or serving as a settlement of any claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Celebrates the life of Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity. Honors Millard Fuller for three decades of leadership and service through Habitat for Humanity. Urges the people of the United States to recognize and pay tribute to Millard Fuller's life and legacy of service by carrying on his vision for a kinder, gentler world.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Honorable Stephanie Tubbs Jones College Fire Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive demonstration grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs), fraternities, and sororities for up to half the cost of installing fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention technologies, in student housing and dormitories owned or controlled by such entities. Gives grant priority to applicants that demonstrate the greatest financial need. Reserves the following portions of grant funds made available for each fiscal year: (1) at least 10% for historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, tribally controlled colleges and universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and IHEs that are eligible for Institutional Aid under the Higher Education Act of 1965; and (2) at least 10% for social fraternities and sororities. Provides that any application for assistance under this Act, any negative determination on the part of the Secretary with respect to such application, or any statement of reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity (except a proceeding to enforce an agreement entered into between the Secretary and a grantee under this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a national clinical trials network for spinal muscular atrophy by upgrading and unifying spinal muscular atrophy clinical trial sites and recruiting new investigators and sites. Requires the Director to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of therapies and clinical approaches to the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) rapidly and efficiently disseminates scientific findings to the field. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a data coordinating center with respect to spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research related to spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and support a spinal muscular atrophy patient registry to provide for expanded epidemiological research towards improving awareness, management, treatment, and prevention of spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages. Directs the Secretary to establish the Interagency Spinal Muscular Atrophy Research Coordinating Committee. Sets forth the duties of the Committee, including to develop a comprehensive strategy related to spinal muscular atrophy research and other related neurological diseases and disorders. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide information and education on spinal muscular atrophy to health professionals and the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Initiating Foreign Assistance Reform Act of 2009 - Directs the President to develop and implement: (1) a National Strategy for Global Development to further the U.S. foreign policy objective of reducing poverty and contributing to economic growth in developing countries, including responding to humanitarian crises; and (2) a system to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance. Expresses the sense of Congress that American taxpayers and foreign assistance recipients should have, to the maximum extent practicable, full access to U.S. foreign assistance information.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to increase the amount of loans the Secretary of Energy may provide for facility funding under the advanced technology vehicles manufacturing incentive program from $25 billion to $50 billion.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2009
International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, and faith-based organizations, to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of girls and women. Sets forth priority assistance criteria. Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the empowerment of girls at risk of child marriage. Sets forth strategy elements. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that Department of State country reports on human rights practices include a description of the status of child marriage for countries with specified rates of child marriage. Defines "child marriage" as the marriage of a girl or boy not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2009
Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the HHS Secretary) to implement the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Program to achieve a reduction of at least 25% in the mortality rate of lung cancer by 2015. Includes within such program: (1) a strategic review and prioritization of research grants; (2) an expansion of research programs, such as on predispositions to lung cancer; and (3) the expedited development of computer assisted diagnostic, surgical, treatment, and drug testing innovations. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to apply provisions related to drugs for rare diseases or conditions to: (1) chemoprevention drugs for precancerous conditions of the lungs; (2) drugs for targeted therapeutic treatment of lung cancer; and (3) drugs to curtail or prevent nicotine addiction. Requires the HHS Secretary to establish an early disease research and management program targeted at the high incidence and mortality rates of lung cancer among minority and low income populations. Requires the Secretary of Defense (DOD) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to coordinate with the HHS Secretary in: (1) the development of the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Program; (2) the implementation of an early detection and disease management research program for military personnel and veterans whose smoking history and exposure to carcinogens during active duty service has increased their risk for lung cancer; and (3) the implementation of coordinated care programs for military personnel and veterans diagnosed with lung cancer. Requires the HHS Secretary to convene a Lung Cancer Advisory Board to monitor the programs established under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2009
Remembers the lives of the women and men who have lost their fight with breast cancer and expresses support and admiration for those who have survived. Congratulates participants in the Global Race for the Cure to raise money for research and education. Urges Americans to walk this year and support their family and friends who participate. Honors the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Protecting America's Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Heath Act of 1977. Sets forth increased protections for whistle blowers under OSHA. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) the posting of employee rights; (2) a prohibition against the adoption or implementation of policies or practices by employers that discourage the reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses or that discriminate or provide for adverse action against any employee for reporting such injury or illness; (3) a prohibition against the loss of wages or employee benefits as a result of an employee participating in or aiding workplace inspections; (4) investigations of incidents in a place of employment resulting in a death or the hospitalization of two or more employees; (5) a prohibition against designating a citation for an occupational health and safety standard violation as an unclassified citation; (6) the rights of an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness that is the subject of an investigation; (7) an employer's right to contest citations and penalties; (8) the Secretary's assertion of an employer's failure to correct a serious hazard during an employer's contest to a citation; and (9) employee objections to modifications of citations. Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA violators. Requires a state that has an approved plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards to amend its plan to conform to the requirements of this Act within 12 months after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Prevention, Awareness, and Research of Autoimmune Diseases Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to award grants for research on environmental triggers that can cause the initiation of autoimmune diseases in genetically predisposed individuals. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants to eligible entities to conduct public and professional awareness activities regarding autoimmune diseases. Allows grantees to use grant funds to: (1) promote increased awareness of early intervention and treatment to significantly improve the quality of life for people with autoimmune diseases; (2) target minority communities that may be underserved or disproportionately affected by such diseases; and (3) target women to help reduce the amount of time taken for correct diagnosis of such diseases. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to: (1) award grants to eligible entities for the education of health care providers on potential links between autoimmune diseases and cognitive and mood disorders, such as depression; and (2) establish an educational loan repayment program for physicians agreeing to conduct research on autoimmune diseases. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases to: (1) conduct or support research on biomarkers of autoimmune diseases to prevent such diseases and to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of such diseases; and (2) establish a database on such biomarkers.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2009
Pregnant Women Support Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to increase public awareness of resources available to pregnant women to carry their pregnancy to term and new parents. Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary to make grants for the purchase of ultrasound equipment for examinations of pregnant women. Prohibits a health insurance issuer offering individual coverage from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion or a waiting period or otherwise discriminating against a woman on the basis that she is pregnant. Provides for continuation coverage for newborns. Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to allow states to extend health care coverage to an unborn child. Requires health facilities that perform abortions to obtain informed consent from a pregnant woman seeking an abortion. Directs the Secretary to provide for: (1) higher education pregnant and parenting student services offices; and (2) programs to work with pregnant or parenting teens to complete high school. Authorizes grants for services to pregnant women who are victims of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. Requires states to require a pregnancy determination for homicide victims. Requires the Secretary to provide for supportive services for pregnant women, mothers, and children. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase and make refundable the tax credit for adoption expenses. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC program). Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to increase the eligibility threshold for food stamps. Authorizes appropriations to carry out the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990. Authorizes grants to provide to eligible mothers education on the health needs of their infants through visits to their homes by registered nurses. Authorizes grants for collecting and reporting abortion surveillance data.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2009
Pacific Salmon Stronghold Conservation Act of 2009 - Establishes the Salmon Stronghold Partnership as a cooperative, incentive-based, public-private partnership working across political boundaries and land ownerships to identify and conserve salmon strongholds. Requires that its board include representatives of Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington state, as well as representatives from specified entities. Requires the Assistant Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to carry out specific information and assessment functions associated with salmon strongholds. Establishes a salmon stronghold watershed grants and technical assistance program. Authorizes the sharing of status and trends data, innovative conservation strategies, conservation planning methodologies, and other information with North Pacific countries, including Canada, Japan, Russia, and South Korea, and appropriate international entities to promote salmon conservation and habitat. Prohibits acquiring private property without the owner's consent.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2009
No Child Left Inside Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states, as a prerequisite to receiving implementation grants, to develop environmental literacy plans, approved by the Secretary of Education, for pre-kindergarten through grade 12 that include environmental education standards and teacher training. Directs the Secretary to award Environmental Education Professional Development Grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to partnerships that include an LEA and, permissibly, institutions of higher education (IHE), other educational entities, or federal, state, regional, or local natural resource or environmental agencies, for activities involving, among other things, teacher training and the development of more rigorous environmental education curricula that advance the teaching of interdisciplinary courses. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to partnerships that include an LEA and, permissibly, IHEs, other educational entities, federal, state, regional, or local natural resource or environmental agencies, or park and recreation departments, for activities to improve and support environmental education that include: (1) advancing content and achievement standards; (2) developing or disseminating innovations or model programs; and (3) research.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2009
Commercial Motor Vehicle Advanced Safety Technology Tax Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a general business tax credit for 50% of the cost of placing in service any qualified commercial vehicle advanced safety system. Defines "qualified commercial vehicle advanced safety system" as a manufacturer-certified brake stroke monitoring system, lane departure warning system, collision warning system, or vehicle stability system identified by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as significantly enhancing the safety or security of commercial drivers, vehicles, or passengers. Terminates such credit after 2014.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4282 Beach Street in Akron, Michigan, as the "Akron Veterans Memorial Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to prohibit an administrator of an individual account plan from contracting for services (including the offering of any investment option) to the plan unless the administrator has received in advance a written statement that: (1) specifies the services to be provided; (2) provides the expected total annual service charges allocated among specified components; and (3) discloses the impact of different mutual fund investment share classes as well as financial relationships with, or free or discounted services provided by, service providers. Limits applicability of such requirements to contracts or arrangements for services with a total cost reasonably expected to equal or exceed $5,000 per plan year. Continues to shield an individual account plan fiduciary from liability (as under current law) for any loss resulting from a plan participant's or beneficiary's exercise of control over the plan's assets, but only if the plan includes at least one investment option which: (1) is an unmanaged or passively managed mutual fund with a portfolio of securities designed to substantially match the performance of the entire U.S. equity market or the entire U.S. bond market, or a combination of them; (2) offers a combination of historical returns, risk, and charges likely to meet retirement income needs at adequate levels of contribution; and (3) is offered without any endorsement of the government or the plan sponsor. Requires the Secretary to notify the applicable regulatory authority about any service provider engaged in a pattern or practice that precludes requirement compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Grants a federal charter to the Military Officers Association of America (a nonprofit corporation and incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia).
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single gold medal in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) collectively, in honor of their pioneering military service and exemplary record, which forged revolutionary reform in the U.S. Armed Forces. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations associated with the WASP.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Battlefields Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue five-dollar gold coins, one-dollar silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins emblematic of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Elder Justice Act - Amends the Social Security Act to establish an Elder Justice program under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) an Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC). Establishes the Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to establish stationary and mobile forensic centers, to develop forensic expertise regarding, and provide services relating to, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Directs the Secretary to provide incentives for individuals to train for, seek, and maintain employment providing direct care in a long-term care (LTC) facility. Directs the Secretary to make grants to LTC facilities to: (1) offer continuing training and varying levels of certification to employees who provide direct care to LTC facility residents; and (2) provide bonuses or other benefits to employees who achieve certification. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to assist LTC facilities in offsetting the costs for standardized clinical health care informatics systems designed to improve patient safety and reduce adverse events and health care complications resulting from medication errors. Directs the Secretary to ensure that HHS: (1) provides funding to state and local adult protective services services offices that investigate reports of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (2) collects and disseminates related data in coordination with the Department of Justice. Establishes a program of annual adult protective services grants to states. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) improve the capacity of state LTC ombudsman programs to respond to and resolve abuse and neglect complaints; and (2) conduct pilot programs with state or local LTC ombudsman offices. Directs the Secretary to establish programs to provide and improve ombudsman training for national organizations and state LTC ombudsman programs. Amends part A of SSA title XI to require each individual owner, operator, employee, manager, agent, or contractor of an LTC facility receiving certain federal support to report to the Secretary and local law enforcement entities any reasonable suspicion of crimes occurring in such facility. Requires the owner or operator of such an LTC facility to notify the Secretary and the appropriate state regulatory agency of a facility's impending closure, as well as a plan for the transfer and adequate relocation of facility residents. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the EJCC and appropriate congressional committees on establishing a national nurse aide registry. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) study, analyze, and report to Congress, the Secretary, and the states on state laws and practices relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (2) develop objectives, priorities, policies, and a long-term plan for elder justice programs and activities. Requires the Comptroller General to review and report to Congress on existing federal programs and initiatives in the federal criminal justice system relevant to elder justice. Authorizes the Attorney General to award victim advocacy grants to eligible entities to study the special needs of victims of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Directs the Attorney General to award grants to provide: (1) training, technical assistance, policy development, multidisciplinary coordination, and other types of support to local and state prosecutors and courts, as well as employees of state Attorneys General and Medicaid Fraud Control Units handling elder justice-related matters; and (3) similar types of support to police, sheriffs, detectives, public safety officers, corrections personnel, and other front line law enforcement responders who handle elder justice matters to fund specially designated elder justice positions or units designed to support front line law enforcement in elder justice matters. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to reauthorize the missing Alzheimer's Disease patient alert program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a long-term care facility worker employment tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Medicare Patient IVIG Access Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect data on the differences, if any, between: (1) payments to physicians for immune globulins using average sales price payment methodology; and (2) costs incurred by physicians for furnishing these products. Requires the Secretary also to review data on the access of eligible individuals to immune globulins. Requires the Secretary, after completion of the review, to provide, if appropriate, an additional payment to such physicians for all items related to the furnishing of immune globulins as part of hospital outpatient services. Provides for Medicare coverage of and payment for intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) administered in the home. Directs the Secretary to contract for the collection of data on the practice of IVIG infusion if the Secretary determines that collection of additional data is necessary. Directs the Secretary to review data collected under such a contract as well as data submitted by members of the medical community related to the current infusion payment codes under part B (SupplementaryMedical Insurance) of SSA title XVIII. Requires the Secretary, upon completion of any data collection and review, to: (1) notify the appropriate Medicare administrative contractors regarding which existing infusion codes shall be used for purposes of part B IVIG reimbursement; or (2) report to Congress and the RBRVS Update Committee (RUC) on why an additional infusion payment code is necessary. Extends the meaning of durable medical equipment to include a disposable pump prescribed, instead of a non-disposable external infusion pump, for administration of a drug used as part of a chemotherapy regimen for treatment of colorectal cancer, if a non-disposable external infusion pump would have been covered to administer the same drug for the same indication as of July 1, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
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 of appropriate design to Dr. Muhammad Yunus in recognition of his many enduring contributions to the fight against global poverty.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Expresses the heartfelt condolences of the House of Representatives to the families and friends of the victims of the April 3, 2009, shooting in Binghamton, New York. Conveys the gratitude of the House to the city, county, state, and federal officials and agencies whose quick and comprehensive response helped save lives and start the long healing process. Honors the American Civic Association for the services it provides to assist people from across the world who seek the American dream.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2009 - 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-Escalante; (4) Moab-La Sal 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 · 2 April 2009
Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009 - Amends the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act to make a variety of changes to increase Native American tribes' law enforcement powers and increase federal powers and responsibilities regarding crimes on Indian land, including: (1) allowing federal officials, with the consent of the tribe, to investigate offenses against tribal criminal laws; (2) providing technical assistance and training to tribal law enforcement officials regarding use of the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database; (3) requiring federal and local officials, when they decline to investigate crimes on Indian land, to report to Native officials and requiring such officials, when they decline to prosecute, to turn over evidence to Native officials; (4) establishing in the criminal division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Office of Indian Country Crime to develop, enforce, and administer federal criminal laws in Indian country; (5) authorizing, at the request of a tribe, concurrent federal-tribal jurisdiction; (6) authorizing grants to state, tribal, and local governments that enter into cooperative agreements, including agreements relating to mutual aid, hot pursuit of suspects, and cross-deputization; (7) requiring the Attorney General to allow tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement agencies to directly access and enter information into federal criminal information databases (under current law, such access is limited); and (8) increasing the criminal sentences tribal courts may impose.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
The White House Conference on Food and Nutrition - Directs: (1) the President to call the White House Conference on Food and Nutrition to be convened in order to make fundamental policy recommendations on ways to end hunger and to improve nutrition in the United States; and (2) the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Treasury to plan and conduct the Conference. Sets forth Conference provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to establish programs related to mental health services for children and adolescents, to include: (1) entering into contracts with qualified individuals to pay educational loans in exchange for providing mental health services to children and adolescents; (2) awarding scholarships to students who agree to work as child and adolescent mental health service professionals after graduation or completion of residency or fellowship; (3) awarding competitive grants to higher education institutions to establish or expand internship or other field placement programs for students receiving specialized training or clinical experience in child and adolescent mental health; (4) awarding grants to state-licensed mental heath organizations to pay for programs for preservice or in-service training of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health workers; and (5) awarding grants to higher education institutions to establish or expand graduate child and adolescent mental health programs. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to adjust the graduate medical education program to: (1) exclude a reasonable number of residents or fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry when calculating the maximum number of residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine for which the hospital may be paid; and (2) extend the period of board eligibility for residents and fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the distribution of, and need for, child mental health service professionals and on a comparison of such distribution and need on a state-by-state basis.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Fair Elections Now Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) with respect to: (1) eligibility and qualifying contribution requirements and benefits of fair elections financing of House of Representatives election campaigns; (2) establishment of a Fair Elections Fund; (3) eligibility for Fund allocations; (4) contribution and expenditure requirements; (5) a public debate requirement; (6) certification of whether or not a federal election candidate is a participating candidate; (7) benefits for participating candidates; (8) matching payments for qualified small dollar contributions; (9) political advertising vouchers; (10) establishment of a Fair Elections Oversight Board; (11) civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements; (12) prohibition of joint fundraising committees with any political committee other than a candidate's authorized committee; and (13) a specified limitation on coordinated expenditures by political party committees with participating candidates. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the deposit into the Fair Elections Fund of 10% of the proceeds from competitive auctions for recovered analog spectrum. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow for designation of a certain amount of income tax liability to the Fair Elections Fund. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to: (1) prohibit the preemption of the use of a broadcasting station by a legally qualified House candidate who has purchased and paid for such use; (2) revise Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority to revoke licenses for broadcasting stations who fail to provide access to House candidates; and (3) revise the formula for determining reduced broadcast rates for participating candidates in certain circumstances. Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a standardized form to be used by broadcasting stations to record and report the purchase of advertising time by or on behalf of a candidate for nomination for election, or for election, to federal elective office. Amends FECA to: (1) empower the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action; (2) require all designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed directly with the FEC, and in computer-accessible electronic form; and (3) reduce from 48 to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Freight Rail Infrastructure Capacity Expansion Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a tax credit for 25% of the cost of new qualified freight rail infrastructure property and qualified locomotive property; and (2) a taxpayer election to expense the cost of qualified freight rail infrastructure property (i.e., deduct all costs in the current taxable year). Terminates such credit and expensing election after 2015. Requires compliance with federal wage rate requirements under the Davis-Bacon Act as a condition of eligibility for the tax credit and expensing allowance provided by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2009
Responsible Use of Taxpayer Help Act - Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to prohibit a financial institution from using any assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to: (1) purchase or invest in any foreign asset or business; (2) transfer money to, or invest in, a foreign subsidiary of the financial institution; (3) pay any type of compensation to an employee of the financial institution unless such employee is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident; or (4) make any other purchase, payment, transfer, or investment, the primary effect of which is to benefit a foreign entity.
![Official portrait of Rep. Kildee, Dale E. [D-MI-5]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000172_200.jpg)