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![Official portrait of Rep. Klein, Ron [D-FL-22]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000366_200.jpg)
United States · Official source
741 records where Rep. Klein, Ron [D-FL-22] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Congratulates and salutes Hillerich and Bradsby Co. on the 125th anniversary of the Louisville Slugger.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2009
Supports the goals of the 2009 Prague Conference on Holocaust Era Assets. Applauds the government of the Czech Republic for its decision to host the Conference. Urges the countries in Central and Eastern Europe which have not already done so to return looted and confiscated properties to their rightful owners or, where restitution is not possible, provide equitable compensation. Calls on the President to send a high-level official, such as the Secretary of State, to represent the United States at the Conference.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2009
Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009 or EARLY Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct a national evidence-based education campaign: (1) to increase public awareness regarding the threats posed by breast cancer to young women, including the particular risks faced by certain ethnic and cultural groups; and (2) focusing on awareness of risk factors and achieving early detection through community-centered informational forums, public service advertisements, and media campaigns. Directs the Secretary to award grants to entities to establish national multimedia campaigns that: (1) will encourage young women to be aware of their personal risk factors, strategies for increasing early detection and self awareness, evidence based preventative lifestyle changes, and other appropriate breast cancer early detection and risk reduction strategies; (2) will encourage young women of specific higher-risk populations to talk to their medical practitioners about those risks and methods for appropriate screening and surveillance; and (3) may include advertising through specified media. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) establish an advisory committee to assist in creating and conducting the public education campaign; (2) conduct an education campaign to increase awareness among health care professionals; and (3) conduct prevention research. Directs the Secretary to award grants to organizations and institutions to provide to young women diagnosed with breast cancer substantive assistance and health information from credible sources on: (1) education and counseling regarding fertility preservation; (2) social, emotional, psychosocial, financial, lifestyle, and caregiver support; (3) familial risk factors; and (4) risk reduction strategies to reduce recurrence or metastasis.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2009
National Women's History Museum Act of 2009 - Directs the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to convey to the National Women's History Museum, Inc. (the Museum) the northern part of specified property in the District of Columbia, which the Administrator and the Museum deem appropriate for a museum facility. Grants the Administrator the authority to convey the southern part of such property to the Museum. Requires the Administrator to enter into an agreement with the Museum for the conveyance. Permits separate conveyance of the northern and southern parts. Requires the northern part to be dedicated for use as a site for a national women's history museum for a 99-year period and allows the southern part to be used for any purposes permitted by applicable laws and regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2009
Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2009 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for benefits under SSA title XVIII (Medicare); and (2) eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions to become eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study the range of disability conditions that can be delayed or prevented if individuals receive access to health care services and coverage before a condition reaches disability levels.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2009
Reduces from 60 to 55 the minimum age for the receipt of military retired pay for non-regular service.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2009
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection, insofar as the attending physician, in consultation with the patient, determines such stay to be medically necessary; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that coverage is provided for secondary consultations. Prohibits a group health plan from taking specified actions to avoid the requirements of this Act. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market. Allows a health insurance issuer that provides individual health insurance coverage to nonrenew or discontinue an individual's coverage based on the intentional concealment of material facts regarding a health condition related to the condition for which coverage is being claimed.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2009
Mourns Rabbi Charles H. Rosenzveig's passing and remembers the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust and the more than 11 million people murdered in World War II. Honors Rabbi Rosenzveig's life and accomplishments as a scholar, teacher, rabbi, and Founder and Director of the Holocaust Memorial Center.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2009
Expresses support for the designation of, and the goals and ideals of, National Nutrition Month. Encourages: (1) local communities to raise awareness surrounding nutritional health; and (2) awareness about diseases and death caused by lack of nutrition. Recognizes health care professionals, such as registered dietitians, who spread the knowledge and importance of nutrition each day.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Putting Our Resources Towards Security (PORTS) Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, between FY2010-FY2014, to increase the number of full-time Customs and Border Protection officers, agriculture specialists, and border security support personnel for U.S. ports of entry by not fewer than 5,000, 1,200, and 350, respectively, above the number of such personnel for which funds were made available during FY2009. Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) for each of FY2010-FY2014 to make improvements to existing U.S. ports of entry to improve border security. Directs the Administrator to give priority to ports determined to be in most need of repair in accordance with required infrastructure assessment studies.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Equity and Access for Podiatric Physicians Under Medicaid Act- Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2009 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give states the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals. Provides states taking advantage of this option with an enhanced federal Medicaid match.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act - Prohibits a state from prescribing or enforcing any regulation that allows a restricted property-carrying unit (any trailer, semitrailer, container, or other property-carrying unit longer than 53 feet, except for a fire-fighting unit) to operate on the National Highway System (NHS) (including the Interstate System), unless the operation of such unit is authorized by the state on June 1, 2008, and in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal operations) on or before that date. Prohibits a state from allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle combination on the NHS (except a vehicle or load that cannot be dismantled or divided easily, and that has been issued a special permit under state law) with more than one property-carrying unit (excluding the truck tractor) whose property-carrying units are more than: (1) the maximum combination trailer, semitrailer, or other type of length limitation allowed by state law on June 1, 2008; or (2) the length of the property-carrying units of those commercial motor vehicle combinations, by specific configuration, in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including continual seasonal operation) in such state on or before June 1, 2008. Prohibits a state from allowing the operation of a vehicle or combination (other than a longer combination vehicle) exceeding Interstate weight limits on the Interstate System unless its operation was lawful: (1) on July 1, 1956; (2) in the case of the overall gross weight of any group of two or more consecutive axles, on the date of enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974; or (3) under a special permit pursuant to state (grandfather) law. Declares that Interstate weight limitations on vehicles and combinations (other than longer combination vehicles) that operate on the Interstate System shall also apply to such vehicles and combinations that operate on non-Interstate segments of the NHS, unless: (1) such segments are subject to lower state weight limits; or (2) a state allows the operation of any vehicle or combination on an existing non-Interstate segment of the NHS that could be so operated lawfully on June 1, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable income tax credit of up to $500 for the purchase of a qualified hearing aid for an individual who is either: (1) age 55 or older; or (2) is claimed as a dependent of the taxpayer. Denies such tax credit to any taxpayer whose modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Imposes an additional income tax on bonuses paid to employees or former employees of covered Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) recipients. Defines "covered TARP recipient" to include: (1) entities and their affiliates that received capital infusions under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 exceeding $5 billion; and (2) the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Exempts entities that repay TARP amounts exceeding a $5 billion threshold. Sets the rate of such tax at 90% of the lesser of: (1) the bonus amounts paid; or (2) the amount of such taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeding $250,000 ($125,000 in the case of a married individual filing a separate return). Exempts any employee who irrevocably waives or returns a bonus payment before the close of the taxable year in which such payment is due.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Fulfilling America's Promise to Our Veterans Act - Prohibits, in any case in which a veteran is furnished care or services through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a service-connected disability, the United States from recovering or collecting for such care or services from any third party.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Support for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews Act of 2009 - Requires assistance provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the Department of State to be made available to assist in the development of the permanent collection of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, Poland. Authorizes the Secretary of State to provide a specified amount to the Museum to carry out such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Expresses support for efforts to: (1) lower the rate of infant mortality in the United States; and (2) correct the racial disparities in prenatal care to lower that rate.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2009
Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to deny an application for a new animal drug that is a critical antimicrobial animal drug unless the applicant demonstrates that there is a reasonably certainty of no harm to human health due to the development of antimicrobial resistance attributable to the nontherapeutic use of the drug. Defines "critical antimicrobial animal drug" as a drug intended for use in food-producing animals that contains specified antibiotics or other drugs used in humans to treat or prevent disease or infection caused by microorganisms. Requires the Secretary to withdraw approval of a nontherapeutic use of such drugs in food-producing animals two years after the date of enactment of this Act unless certain safety requirements are met. Directs specified congressional committees to hold hearings on the implementation of such a withdrawal of approval.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2009
Preexisting Condition Patient Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from: (1) imposing any preexisting condition exclusion; or (2) providing for an affiliation period for coverage offered by a health maintenance organization (HMO). Defines an "affiliation period" as a period of time before health insurance coverage becomes effective. Requires each health insurance issuer offering coverage in the group market in a state to accept every employer in the state that applies for such coverage. Prohibits preexisting condition exclusions for individual health insurance coverage. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to report to Congress on the impact of this Act on health benefits coverage. Authorizes the Secretary to request claims data, enrollee data, and other appropriate information from group health plans and health insurance issuers. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the impact of this Act and other relevant federal laws on the reduction in the number of uninsured and underinsured individuals and on the affordability of coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2009
Stephanie Tubbs Jones Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2009
Cell Tax Fairness Act of 2009 - Prohibits states or local governments from imposing any new discriminatory tax on mobile services, mobile service providers, or mobile service property for five years after the enactment of this Act. Defines "new discriminatory tax" as a tax imposed on mobile services, providers, or property that is not generally imposed on other types of services or property, or that is generally imposed at a lower rate.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 37926 Church Street in Dade City, Florida, as the "Sergeant Marcus Mathes Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2009
Bailout Bonus Tax Bracket Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an additional income tax on bonuses paid to employees of entities that received financial assistance under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of a decade of action for global road safety with a global target to reduce by 50% the predicted increase in global road deaths between 2010 and 2020. Urges the Obama Administration to take a leadership role at the First Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Moscow and for the United States to work with other nations to achieve the goals and ideals of a decade of action for road safety.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2009
Geriatrics Loan Forgiveness Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem each year an individual is enrolled in a geriatric training program as a year of obligated service under the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. Requires an individual affected by this Act to provide geriatric health service for the remainder of the individual's period of obligated service. Applies this Act to no more than 500 individuals in any year.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2009
Equity for Our Nation's Self-Employed Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow self-employed individuals to deduct health insurance costs in computing the tax on self-employment income.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2009
Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief. Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2009
Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act or the GIVE Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 (NCSA) and the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 (DVSA) to revise the programs under such Acts and reauthorize appropriations for such programs through FY2014. Revises under NCSA: (1) the School-Based and Community-Based Service-Learning programs and Higher Education Innovative Programs for Community Service (Learn and Serve programs); (2) National Service Trust programs (AmeriCorps); (3) the National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC); and (4) the Investment for Quality and Innovation program. Eliminates the current Community-Based Learn and Serve programs. Establishes two new Learn and Serve programs: (1) Campuses of Service, which provides funds to institutions of higher education to develop or disseminate exemplary service-learning programs that assist their students' pursuit of public service careers; and (2) Innovative Service-Learning Programs and Research, which funds community service-learning opportunities for elementary and secondary, college, and graduate students as well as research into service-learning. Includes among eligible AmeriCorps programs: (1) an Education Corps to address unmet educational needs; (2) a Healthy Futures Corps to address unmet health needs; (3) a Clean Energy Corps to address unmet environmental needs; and (4) a Veterans Corps to address the unmet needs of veterans and their families. Creates AmeriCorps Opportunity Corps programs that include certain existing programs and new programs to: (1) increase community access to technology; (2) engage citizens in public safety, health, and emergency preparedness services; (3) mentor youth; (4) reduce recidivism by re-engaging court-involved youth; and (5) support the needs of veterans or active duty service members and their families. Establishes an Education Awards Only program authorizing the Corporation for National and Community Service (Corporation) to provide fixed-amount grants to programs that have approved national service positions, but no AmeriCorps funding. Sets the National Service educational awards for full-time AmeriCorps, NCCC, and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) participants at a level equal to the maximum available Pell Grant available to students under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Includes among needs to be met under the NCCC program, disaster relief, infrastructure improvement, environmental and energy conservation, and urban and rural development. Requires states to develop comprehensive plans for volunteer and paid service by Baby Boomers and older adults. Directs the Corporation to plan pilot programs to: (1) better target and serve displaced workers; and (2) establish a centralized electronic citizenship verification system which would allow the Corporation to share employment eligibility information with the Department of Education. Authorizes the Corporation to treat September 11th annually as a National Day of Service and Remembrance. Establishes within the Investment for Quality and Innovation program: (1) a ServeAmerica Fellowships program providing fellowships to individuals chosen by states to participate in service projects addressing certain areas of national need; (2) a Silver Scholarship Grant Program providing scholarships to individuals age 55 or older who complete at least 500 hours of service in a year in an area of national need; and (3) an Encore Fellowships program providing one-year fellowships to individuals age 55 or older who serve in areas of national need and receive training to transition to public service employment. Makes ServeAmerica fellows eligible for national service educational awards. Authorizes the Corporation to provide grants to innovative and model service programs, including those for disadvantaged youth, youth under age 17, and potential recidivists. Eliminates federal funding for the Points of Light Foundation. Revises under DVSA: (1) the VISTA program; and (2) the Senior Corps, including the Retired and Senior Volunteer program (RSVP), the Foster Grandparent program, and the Senior Companion program. Gives priority in VISTA participant selection to disadvantaged youth and retired adults of any profession. Authorizes new VISTA grant programs of national significance that provide poor and rural communities with: (1) services reintegrating formerly incarcerated individuals into society; (2) financial literacy and planning; (3) before-school and after-school services; (4) community economic development initiatives; (5) assistance to veterans and their families; and (6) health and wellness services. Eliminates the VISTA Literacy Corps, University Year for VISTA, and Literacy Challenge Grant programs. Raises the minimum and maximum stipend provided to VISTA participants. Prioritizes RSVP projects in specified areas. Makes anyone 55 years of age or older eligible as Senior Corps volunteers. Provides, under the Senior Corps demonstration program, incentive matching grants to Senior Corps programs that exceed specified performance measures, enroll most of their volunteers in outcome-based service programs, and increase their enrollment of Baby Boomer volunteers. Expresses the sense of the Congress that the number of AmeriCorps, VISTA, and NCCC participants should reach 250,000 by 2014. Congressional Commission on Civic Service Act - Establishes a Congressional Commission on Civic Service to provide recommendations to Congress on improving opportunities for individuals to volunteer or perform national service.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2009
Catalyst to Better Diabetes Care Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to: (1) review uptake and utilization of diabetes screening benefits to identify and address problems with utilization and data collection mechanisms; (2) establish an outreach program to identify existing efforts to increase awareness among seniors and providers of such benefits; and (3) maximize cost-effectiveness in increasing utilization of such benefits. Requires the Secretary to establish an advisory group to examine and recommend best practices of employee wellness and disease management programs. Directs the Secretary to prepare a diabetes report card biennially for the nation and for each state. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) promote the education and training of physicians on how to properly complete birth and death certificates and the importance of such data; (2) encourage state adoption of the latest standard revisions of birth and death certificates; and (3) work with states to reengineer their vital statistics systems to provide cost-effective, timely, and vital systems data. Allows the Secretary to promote improvements to the collection of diabetes mortality data. Requires the Secretary to conduct a study of the impact of diabetes on the practice of medicine in the United Sates and the level of diabetes medical education that should be required prior to licensure, board certification, and board recertification.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2009
Honors the life and accomplishments of radio personality Paul Harvey.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2009
Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009 - States that it is the policy of the United States to support the decision of state and local governments and educational institutions to divest from, and to prohibit the investment of assets they control in, persons that have investments of more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector. Authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit the investment of assets they control in, such persons, including financial institutions which extend them credit to so invest. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to shield any registered investment company from civil, criminal, or administrative action based upon its divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by such persons. Expresses the sense of Congress that a fiduciary of an employee benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) may divest plan assets from, or avoid investing plan assets in, a person that has investments of more than $20 million in Iran's energy sector without breaching his or her fiduciary duties under ERISA, if such determination is based on credible information and in accordance with federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2009
National MS and Parkinson's Disease Registries Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, to: (1) develop a system to collect data on multiple sclerosis (MS) and a system to collect data on Parkinson's disease; (2) establish a national surveillance system for the collection and storage of data for each such disease, including population-based registries of U.S. cases of MS and Parkinson's disease; (3) provide analysis regarding expansion of national disease surveillance systems for other neurological diseases and disorders; and (4) establish the Advisory Committee on Neurological Disease Registries. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on MS and Parkinson's disease. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for research access to Parkinson's disease and MS data. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information collected are made available to agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
United States · United States Congress · 5 March 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Women's History Month. Recognizes and honors the women and organizations in the United States that have fought for and continue to promote the teaching of women's history.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2351 West Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach, Florida, as the "Elijah Pat Larkins Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2009
Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 - 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 · 3 March 2009
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish the Center for Tobacco Products to implement this Act. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Authorizes the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if appropriate for the protection of the public health. Sets forth limits on such regulations, including prohibiting establishment of a minimum age greater than 18 for product purchases. Prohibits: (1) cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee; or (2) a tobacco product manufacturer from using tobacco that contains a greater level of pesticide chemical residue than is specified by any tolerance applicable to domestically grown tobacco. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) banning all cigarettes, all smokeless tobacco products, all little cigars, all other cigars, all pipe tobacco, or all roll-your-own tobacco products; or (2) requiring the reduction of the nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Revises tobacco product warning labels and advertising requirements. Thrift Savings Plan Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends provisions related to the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), including to provide for: (1) automatic enrollment of new employees; and (2) a Roth contribution program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2009
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Arnold Palmer (golf professional) in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Achieving a Better Life Experience Act of 2009 or the ABLE Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish tax-exempt ABLE accounts for individuals with a disability to pay certain expenses of such individuals, including expenses for education, housing, transportation, employment support, medical care, and certain life necessities. Defines "individual with a disability" as an individual who is eligible to receive certain supplemental security income benefits under the Social Security Act. Allows individual taxpayers a tax deduction, up to $2,000 per year, for contributions to an ABLE account. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to study and report to Congress on the use of ABLE accounts and the effect of the tax deduction for contributions to such accounts. Requires ABLE accounts to be disregarded in determining eligibility for Medicaid benefits and for purposes of determining eligibility for other means-tested federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Payday Loan Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require a creditor to make specified disclosures when making a payday loan to a consumer. Prohibits a creditor from making a payday loan to any consumer unless: (1) specified notices are posted conspicuously in English and Spanish in the creditor's public lending area, or, if the loan is made using the Internet, fax or other means, posted conspicuously on the creditor's public internet site relating to any such payday loan; and (2) the creditor offers the consumer an extended repayment plan that meets specified requirements. Sets forth prohibited lender practices, including: (1) requiring a consumer to pay interest and fees that, combined, total more than 15 cents for every dollar loaned in connection with a payday loan; (2) threatening or seeking to have the consumer prosecuted in criminal court to collect the loan; and (3) taking or attempting to take an interest in any of the consumer's personal property to secure the loan. Authorizes a consumer to cancel future payment obligations on a payday loan, without cost or finance charges, by: (1) informing the creditor in writing within two days after executing the loan agreement that the consumer wants to rescind the loan; and (2) returning to the creditor the cash amount of the loan principal. Empowers state attorneys general to enforce this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Program that may include: (1) research, investigations, demonstrations, training, and studies relating to the control, prevention, and surveillance of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases; (2) additional grant support to encourage the expansion of research related to the prevention and management of arthritis at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); (3) national education and outreach activities for arthritis and other rheumatic diseases; (4) emphasis on prevention, early diagnosis, and appropriate management of arthritis and opportunities for effective patient self-management; and (5) grants to states or Indian tribes for comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities related to arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Authorizes the Secretary to expand and intensify programs of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with respect to research and related activities concerning various forms of juvenile arthritis and related conditions. Authorizes the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to: (1) provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on juvenile arthritis; and (2) support the development of a national juvenile arthritis population-based database. Requires the Secretary to support activities that provide for: (1) an increase in institutional training grants to support pediatric rheumatology training; and (2) an expansion of public-private partnerships to promote education training and fellowship opportunities for pediatric rheumatologists. Directs the Secretary to establish and carry out a pediatric rheumatology loan repayment program, as needed.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2009
Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, in honor of the distinguished service of the American military men and women who have been Medal of Honor recipients. Limits the period for coin issuance to calendar year 2011. Imposes a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin and $10 per coin for the $1 coin, to be distributed to the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to help finance educational, scholarship, and outreach programs of the Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Community Pharmacy Fairness Act of 2009 - Entitles independent pharmacies negotiating contract terms with a health plan for the provision of health care items or services to the same treatment under the antitrust laws as the treatment to which bargaining units recognized under the National Labor Relations Act are entitled. Treats such a pharmacy as an employee engaged in concerted activities in connection with such negotiations. Exempts actions taken in good faith reliance on this Act from being subject to criminal sanctions or civil penalties beyond actual damages incurred. Provides that this Act does not exempt from application of antitrust laws any agreement or unlawful conspiracy that: (1) would have the effect of boycotting any independent pharmacy; (2) would exclude, limit the participation or reimbursement of, or otherwise limit the scope of services to be provided by any independent pharmacy or group of independent pharmacies with respect to the performance of services that are within their scope of practice as defined or permitted by relevant law or regulation; (3) allocates a market among competitors; (4) unlawfully ties the sale or purchase of one product or service to the sale or purchase of another product or service; or (5) monopolizes or attempts to monopolize a market. Requires the Comptroller General to study the impact of this Act after five years. Provides that this Act does not preclude the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Department of Justice (DOJ) from overseeing the conduct of independent pharmacies covered under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
5-Star Generals Commemorative Coin Act - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, and half-dollar clad coins in recognition of five United States Army Five-Star Generals: George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry "Hap" Arnold, and Omar Bradley, alumni of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Requires the design of the coins to include portraits of the generals. Restricts the issuance of such coins to calendar 2013. Requires specified surcharges in the sale of such coins, which shall be paid promptly to the Command and General Staff College Foundation to help finance its support of the College.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Federal and Military Retiree Health Care Equity Act - 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 · 25 February 2009
Federal Response to Eliminate Eating Disorders Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to take certain actions regarding eating disorder research, including to: (1) implement a scientifically justified budget for research on eating disorders; (2) coordinate and evaluate NIH research activities and programs; (3) expand NIH research on eating disorders; (4) establish a task force on eating disorder research; and (5) provide for centers of excellence for research on eating disorders. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of epidemiological data on eating disorders; (2) establish a Center of Eating Disorders Epidemiology to collect and analyze information on eating disorders; and (3) establish a CDC clearinghouse for the collection and storage of data generated under this Act. Sets forth provisions providing for education and training on eating disorders, including requirements for: (1) developing and implementing a training program for health professionals on eating disorders; (2) establishing the Task Force on Eating Disorders Prevention in Educational Institutions to develop and provide training on eating disorders identification and prevention for students, faculty, coaches, and staff in schools; and (3) conducting public service announcements. Amends the PHSA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides medical and surgical benefits to also provide coverage for eating disorders. Applies such requirement to coverage offered in the individual market and coverage offered under the Federal Employees Health Benefit Program.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2009 - Establishes the United States Bipartisan Commission on Access to Emergency Medical Services to: (1) identify and examine factors in the health care delivery, financing, and legal systems that affect the effective delivery of screening and stabilization services furnished in hospitals that have emergency departments pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and (2) make specific recommendations to Congress with respect to federal programs, policies, and financing needed to assure the availability of such screening and stabilization services and the coordination of state, local, and federal programs for responding to disasters and emergencies. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for additional payments for certain physicians' emergency services furnished pursuant to EMTALA. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to convene a working group that includes experts in emergency care, inpatient critical care, hospital operations management, nursing, and other relevant disciplines to develop boarding and diversion standards for hospitals and guidelines, measures, and incentives for implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of such standards. Requires the CMS working group to: (1) identify barriers contributing to delays in timely processing of patients requiring admission as inpatients who initially sought care through the hospital's emergency department; (2) identify best practices to improve patient flow within hospitals; and (3) report to Congress and the Secretary a detailed description of the standards, guidelines, measures, and incentives developed, as well as identified barriers and best practices. Directs the Secretary to establish a mechanism to make public information regarding any hospital that fails to report information requested by the CMS working group.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Military Spouses Residency Relief Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to prohibit, for purposes of voting for a federal, state, or local office, deeming a person to have lost a residence or domicile in a state, acquired a residence or domicile in any other state, or become a resident in or of any other state solely because the person is absent from a state because the person is accompanying the person's spouse who is absent from the state in compliance with military or naval orders. Prohibits a servicemember's spouse from either losing or acquiring a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation because of being absent or present in any U.S. tax jurisdiction solely to be with the servicemember in compliance with the servicemember's military orders if the residence or domicile is the same for the servicemember and the spouse. Prohibits a spouse's income from being considered income earned in a tax jurisdiction if the spouse is not a resident or domiciliary of such jurisdiction when the spouse is in that jurisdiction solely to be with a servicemember serving under military orders. Suspends land rights residency requirements for spouses accompanying servicemembers serving under military orders.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2009
Recognizes the contributions of nurses to the U.S. health care system. Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Nurses Week.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2009
Veterans Reassignment Protection Act - Prohibits a preference eligible federal employee (including a preference eligible serving in or under the U.S. Postal Service) from being involuntarily separated for failing to accept a directed reassignment to a position outside his or her commuting area or to accompany a position outside of such area pursuant to a transfer of function unless such preference eligible: (1) receives written notice of the reassignment at least 30 days before the effective date of the reassignment; and (2) is allowed to elect to have the selection of employees for release conducted in the same manner as would be required in the case of a reduction in force. Entitles a preference eligible involuntarily separated in the circumstances described above to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board any failure to comply with the requirements of this Act.