United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Safe Communities and Safe Schools Mercury Reduction Act of 2005 - Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a grant program for projects to: (1) reduce free-flowing elemental mercury and mercury-added products from the environment; (2) safely dispose of or recycle mercury; (3) educate communities and citizens about mercury's harmful effects; (4) develop and carry out a plan for eliminating free-flowing mercury and instruments containing mercury from K-12 public and private schools; (5) carry out a mercury thermometer exchange program; or (6) facilitate the recovery, and safe disposal and management, of mercury-added components from automobiles. Directs the Administrator to encourage States to develop programs that facilitate the recovery and safe disposal and management of mercury-added component parts from automobiles when components are being replaced or removed from scrapped vehicles. Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to: (1) prohibit the sale or supplying of mercury fever thermometers to consumers except by prescription; and (2) require manufacturers of such prescribed thermometers to provide instructions on careful handling to avoid breakage and proper cleanup in the event of breakage. Requires contractors who replace building thermostats in residential or commercial buildings to dispose of replaced thermometers through recycling programs established or participated in by building thermostat manufacturers as required by this Act. Requires the Administrator to publish guidance to assist State and local governments in removing elemental free-flowing mercury and mercury-added instruments from public and private schools. Directs the Administrator to issue regulations requiring dentists to capture 90 percent or more of mercury-laden amalgam when administering amalgam to or recovering amalgam from patients. Sets forth considerations that such guidelines shall take into account.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Special Interest Lobbying and Ethics Accountability Act of 2005 - Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to require: (1) quarterly instead of semiannual filing of lobbying disclosures reports; (2) electronic filing; (3) maintenance of certain lobbying disclosure information in an electronic data base, available to the public free of charge over the Internet; (4) identification of each executive official and Member of Congress with whom lobbying contacts are made; (5) disclosure by registered lobbyists of all past executive and congressional employment; and (6) disclosure of grassroots lobbying communications by paid lobbyists. Extends from one to two years the ban on lobbying contacts by former senior and very senior executive personnel, former Members of Congress, and officers and employees of the legislative branch with any officer or employee of the entity in which such person served before his or her tenure terminated. Requires public disclosure by Members of Congress of employment negotiations. Subjects to fines and penalties a Member of Congress or an employee of the House who wrongfully influences, on a partisan basis, an entity's employment decisions or practices. Amends the Code of Official Conduct in the House to prohibit favoritism. Requires certification that congressional travel meets certain conditions, and establishes civil fines for false certifications. Requires the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to develop and revise guidelines on reasonable expenses or expenditures for official government travel. Calls for reviews and semiannual reports by the Comptroller General on activities carried out by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate under the Act, subject to congressional committee hearings. Increases the penalty for failure to comply with lobbying disclosure requirements. Requires appointment of a bipartisan ethics task force to make recommendations on: (1) strengthening ethics oversight and enforcement in the House; and (2) providing the resources necessary to accomplish this goal.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
Visitors Interested in Strengthening America (VISA) Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize a Department of Homeland Security official to waive certain entry documentary requirements for a nonimmigrant child (unmarried and under the age of 16) who is a citizen or national of Mexico and accompanying parent or adult chaperone in instances of: (1) medical visits; (2) student groups; or (3) special community events. Sets forth additional requirements for such entries.
United States · United States Congress · 16 May 2005
Honor Our Fallen Prisoners of War Act - Requires the Secretary concerned to award the Purple Heart to members of the Armed Forces who die in captivity under circumstances not otherwise establishing eligibility for the Purple Heart. Makes this Act effective as to members of the Armed Forces who die on or after December 7, 1941, including those who die prior to enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Loan Forgiveness for Head Start Teachers Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend to certain Head Start teachers eligibility for cancellation of repayment obligations for specified types of student loans.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Aeronautics Research and Development Revitalization Act of 2005 - Directs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Administrator to establish, and provide Congress a plan for the implementation of, certain initiatives to develop technologies that would: (1) significantly reduce aircraft noise, fuel consumption, and harmful emissions; (2) enable overland flight of supersonic civil transport aircraft with certain performance characteristics; and (3) create significantly safer, quieter, and more environmentally compatible operation of rotorcraft and other runway independent air vehicles from a wider range of airports and under a wider range of weather conditions. Directs the Administrator to arrange with the National Research Council to assess federal wake turbulence research and development programs. Directs the Administrator to award grants to institutions of higher education to establish one or more Centers for Research on Aviation Training.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Restore Open Government Act of 2005 - Revokes the "Memorandum for Heads of all Federal Departments and Agencies on The Freedom of Information Act" and "Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Department and Agencies on Action to Safeguard Information Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction and Other Sensitive Documents Related to Homeland Security." Directs the Archivist of the United States to: (1) report on the use of psuedo-classification designations; and (2) promulgate regulations banning unnecessary psuedo-classification designations. Provides for standards for information control designations related to the classification of national security information, if needed. Revokes specified executive orders limiting access to presidential records. Requires publishing the names of Presidential interagency advisory committee members. Requires public disclosure of non-governmental committee contacts. Permits the Archivist to charge an agency a specified fee to cover costs required for activities of the Public Interest Declassification Board, if funds appropriated for the Board are insufficient. Restricts the availability of a record under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) pertaining to the vulnerability of and threats to critical infrastructure that is furnished voluntarily to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Amends the FOIA concerning additional matters to be included in agency reports to the Attorney General. Prohibits aggregating public information requests with information on individuals in reports. Amends the FOIA to permit assessing the United States reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred in any case seeking information under any other Federal law in which the complainant has substantially prevailed.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to reduce the minimum net worth ratio requirements of well-capitalized, adequately capitalized, under capitalized, and significantly undercapitalized credit unions. Sets the minimum risk-based net ratio at 8%. Revises the requirement that the National Credit Union Administration Board design the risk-based net worth standard to take account of any material risks to insured credit unions. Requires the standard to be designed in relation to risk assets, and to be based on comparable standards for taking into account material risks to insured depository institutions under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act that are applicable to credit unions. Revises definitions relating to net worth of credit unions. Cites circumstances in which the Board may waive the requirement that an undercapitalized credit union submit an acceptable net worth restoration plan. Revamps guidelines governing limits and restrictions on member business loans. Authorizes credit unions to lease to any business enterprise separate and clearly distinct space in buildings in credit union offices in underserved areas. Permits a credit union to invest securities for its own account. Increases from 12 to 15 years the term of credit union loans. Increases from 1% to 3% the investment limit in credit union service organizations. Permits credit unions to offer check cashing and money transfer services to persons within the field of membership (instead of, as currently, to members only). Extends to voluntary mergers on or after August 7, 1998, involving multiple common-bond credit unions the exemption from the numerical limit (only a group with fewer than 3,000 members) for eligibility for inclusion in the field of membership category of such a credit union. Requires the Board to prescribe criteria for continued membership of certain member groups in the case of conversions of certain credit unions to a community charter. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to treat credit unions as banks which shall not be considered brokers or dealers because the credit unions engage in certain broker- or dealer-related activities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Imposes a six-month moratorium on terminations of certain pension plans, instituted under specified provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), in cases in which reorganization of contributing sponsors is sought in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Indentured Servitude Abolition Act of 2005 - Requires foreign labor contractors (recruiters) and employers to inform foreign workers accurately of specified terms and conditions of their employment at the time they are recruited. Requires such information to be provided in written form in English or, as necessary and reasonable, in the language of the worker being recruited. Prohibits charging fees to workers for recruitment. Requires employers to pay such a worker's transportation costs, including subsistence costs during the period of travel: (1) from the place of recruitment to the place of employment; and (2) from the place of employment to the worker's place of permanent residence. Prohibits discrimination in employment by an employer or a recruiter against an individual because of race, color, creed, sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability. Requires employers to notify the Secretary of Labor of the identity of: (1) any recruiter involved in any foreign labor contractor activity for or on behalf of the employer; and (2) any such recruiter whose activities do not comply with this Act. Subjects employers to the civil remedies of this Act for violations committed by such recruiters to the same extent as if the employers had committed the violations. Prescribes civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Patients' Bill of Rights Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to set forth requirements for health plans or issuers of health insurance coverage, including requirements for: (1) utilization review activities; (2) procedures for claims benefits processing, prior authorization determinations, appeals, and internal reviews; and (3) access for an independent, external review. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Health Care Consumer Assistance Fund to award grants to States for consumer assistance activities designed to provide information, assistance, and referrals to consumers of health insurance products. Sets forth requirements for managed care programs and their access to care, including requiring such programs to: (1) offer coverage that allows for non-network coverage through another plan or issuer; (2) provide access to out-of-network emergency care without prior authorization; and (3) provide timely access to specialists. Requires certain annual disclosures from health plans or issuers, including disclosures of covered benefits, cost-sharing requirements, and participating providers. Prohibits a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting a health care professional's ability to advise a patient on the health of an individual or on medical care or treatment for the individual's condition or disease; and (2) operating any physician incentive plan. Establishes a cause of action against a plan or issuer that fails to exercise ordinary care in making a decision that results in a personal injury or death to a participant or beneficiary. Provides a tax credit to small businesses for expenses paid by the business for health insurance coverage of employees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) establish ongoing collaborations with community organizations; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions; (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation; and (5) use innovative approaches to study unexplored areas of the environment and breast cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to make recommendations for and to review grants awarded under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Children's Vision Improvement and Learning Readiness Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states for providing: (1) comprehensive eye examinations for children, with priority given to children under nine years old; (2) subsequent vision treatment or services to correct vision problems; and (3) educational materials to parents, teachers, and health care practitioners on recognizing signs of visual impairment in children. Directs the Secretary to: (1) develop criteria to collect data related to vision assessment and the utilization of follow-up services; and (2) coordinate the grant program with appropriate federal and state child services programs. Requires states to annually submit to the Secretary a program evaluation.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Urban and Rural Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make matching grants and loans to state and local government agencies and community development public authorities for the development of indoor centers for disease prevention and health promotion that are: (1) used principally as indoor recreational facilities; (2) owned or controlled by the entity receiving the grant; (3) available for use by residents of the jurisdiction free of charge or at a fee necessary to provide for the operation and maintenance of the facility; and (4) subject to legally binding and enforceable commitments as to the availability of the facility for 25 years.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community Act of 2005 - Establishes the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community to develop a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of the American Latino Community in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so through: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final federal or state court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. Requires withholding of specified portions of its federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in federal district courts. Directs the Commissioner of Education Statistics to study the effects of educational disparities on economic growth and on national defense.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Food and Drug Administration Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to require that all fees collected for the review of applications for human drugs, devices, and animal drugs be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury. Makes available amounts necessary for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review such applications. Prohibits the Secretary from entering into agreements with persons from whom such fees are collected and terminates any existing agreements. Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish the Center for Postmarket Drug Safety and Effectiveness within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate approved drugs; and (2) transfer to the Center all responsibilities for such regulation from the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Allows the Secretary to require manufacturers of approved drugs to conduct studies of an identified significant safety issue with the drug. Deems a drug to be misbranded if it does not meet the Secretary's requirements, including requirements for labeling and conducting postmarket studies. Requires the Secretary to follow the interpretation that the FDA used in 1999 that the FFDCA and Public Health Service Act establish minimal standards but do not preclude additional state requirements. Requires the Secretary to cease intervening in product liability civil actions to argue another interpretation. Sets forth procedures for advisory committee meetings to ensure that the committee is fairly balanced. Prohibits any exemptions from being granted to advisory committee members from rules prohibiting members from having a personal financial interest in the outcome. Requires doctors to inform patients and obtain consent to prescribe an approved drug for a purpose that has not been approved by the FDA.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Gas Price Spike Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a windfall profit tax on crude oil, natural gas, or products of crude oil or natural gas. Defines "windfall profit" as so much of the profit on a sale of crude oil, natural gas, or related products as exceeds a reasonable profit. Establishes the Reasonable Profits Board to determine levels of reasonable profit from the sale of such products. Allows a tax credit for the purchase of certain fuel-efficient, American-made passenger vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to operators of mass transit systems, including bus and commuter rail systems, to reduce passenger fares on such systems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
FamilyCare Act of 2005 - Renames the State Children's Health Insurance program (SCHIP) under title XXI of the Social Security Act (SSA) as the FamilyCare program. Provides for: (1) FamilyCare coverage of parents and pregnant women under Medicaid (SSA title XIX) as well as under new SSA title XXI; (2) optional FamilyCare coverage of parents of targeted low-income children; (3) automatic eligibility for FamilyCare coverage of children born to a parent on FamilyCare assistance; (4) optional coverage of legal immigrants and of children through age 20 under Medicaid and FamilyCare; (5) authorization of a State to use simplified procedures under Medicaid for families under Family care; (6) revision of the transitional medical assistance program; (7) limitations on specified conflicts of interests under Medicaid and FamilyCare; (8) a limitation on cost-sharing to 2.5 percent for families with income below 150 percent of the poverty level; and (9) increased Federal reimbursement for language services under Medicaid and FamilyCare. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on funding under SSA title XXI. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award demonstration grants to up to seven States (or other qualified entities) to conduct innovative programs designed to improve outreach to enroll homeless individuals and families and provide them services under specified programs for the homeless (including Medicaid and FamilyCare).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Medicare Early Access Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to add a new part E (Purchase of Medicare Benefits by Certain Individuals 55 to 65 Years of Age). Provides access to Medicare benefits for individuals 55 to 64 years of age who do not have coverage under a Federal health insurance program or under a group plan. Requires enrollees to pay a premium to receive Medicare coverage. Requires the Secretary to base the premium on the Secretary's estimate of the average, national annual per capita amount of the cost of providing services to the population. Allows early retirees with access to retiree coverage to enroll under this part while keeping their Federal or State COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) continuation coverage. Allows an employer that offers employment-based retiree health coverage to an individual who enrolls under this part to modify such coverage to provide for: (1) employer payment of items and services for which payment may not be made under Medicare; and (2) employer payment of 25 percent of the monthly premium applicable to the individual after enrollment. Creates in the Treasury the Medicare Early Access Trust Fund to hold the premiums collected under this Act and to support the new program. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow program enrollees to receive a 75 percent advance, refundable credit to offset Medicare early access premium costs (thus requiring program enrollees in the Medicare early access program to be responsible for 25 percent of the monthly premiums).
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act - Transfers marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act. Provides that the Controlled Substances Act and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act shall not, in a state in which marijuana may legally be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use, prohibit or otherwise restrict: (1) a physician from prescribing or recommending marijuana for medical use; (2) an individual from obtaining and using marijuana from a prescription or recommendation by a physician for medical use; (3) a pharmacy from obtaining and holding marijuana for such a prescription or recommendation; and (4) an entity established by a state from producing and distributing marijuana for such a prescription or recommendation.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Declares that the existence of racially restrictive covenants in housing documents is inconsistent with the principles and values embodied in Supreme Court precedent and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and causes harm to not only property owners but to all members of American society. Commends California and the Missouri State Senate for taking roles in such covenants' removal. Urges States to enact laws that: (1) will more readily permit property owners to remove racially restrictive covenants from their property titles, deeds, or other documents; and (2) require homeowner associations to strike racially restrictive covenants from all declarations or other governing documents.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Amends the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to declare that, if the following conditions exist, the presumption of abuse guidelines do not apply and the bankruptcy court is prohibited from dismissing or converting a Chapter 7 petition based on any form of means testing: (1) while the debtor is on, and during the 180-day period after release from active duty in the U.S. military service; or (2) while the debtor is performing, and during the 180-day period after the debtor is no longer performing, a homeland defense activity performed for at least 60 days; and (3) if after September 11, 2001, the debtor was called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity, while a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Advance Directives Improvement and Education Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to provide for Medicare coverage of end-of-life planning consultations. Requires a service provider, Medicare Advantage organization, or prepaid or eligible organization to give effect to an advance directive executed outside the State in which it is presented, even one that does not appear to meet the formalities of execution, form, or language required by the State in which it is presented, to the same extent as such provider or organization would give effect to an advanced directive that meets such requirements. Permits a provider or organization to decline to honor such a directive if it can be reasonably demonstrated that it is not an authentic expression of the individual's wishes. Makes such advance directive requirements applicable under Medicaid, title XIX of the Social Security Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary to conduct a national public education campaign to raise public awareness of the importance of planning for care near the end of life, and specified related issues. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a national, toll-free, information clearinghouse as well as clearinghouses that the public may access to find out about State-specific information regarding advance directive and end-of-life decisions. Requires General Accounting Office studies and reports on end-of-life planning issues.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American veterans. Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, the coins should be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, Limits the period for coin issuance to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010. Imposes a $10 surcharge per coin, to be distributed to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Focus On Committed and Underpaid Staff for Children's Sake Act - FOCUS Act - Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allot funds to eligible states (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) for distribution directly, or at state option through local governments, to pay the federal share of the cost of making grants to eligible child care providers under both such programs. Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary to allot funds to eligible states (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at state option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Directs the Secretary to conduct an evaluation of several such funded state programs representing various approaches to increasing the rate of coverage for child care providers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Predatory Mortgage Lending Practices Reduction Act - Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to prohibit any person, in connection with a subprime federally related mortgage loan, from providing mortgage lending services or mortgage brokerage services unless such person is certified by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as having been adequately trained with regard to subprime lending. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require lenders to establish a best practices plan, meeting certain criteria, to ensure compliance with such Act for high cost mortgages. Proscribes unfair or deceptive acts or practices in providing mortgage lending services for either a subprime federally related mortgage loan or for mortgage brokerage services for such a loan. Sets forth civil penalties for violations. Consumer Fairness Act - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to declare unenforceable a written provision in any consumer contract or transaction which requires binding arbitration to resolve any controversy arising out of such transaction or contract, or the refusal to perform all or any part of the transaction. (Permits post-controversy arbitration agreements.) Amends the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to authorize the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to make grants to nonprofit community development corporations to educate and train borrowers and community groups regarding illegal and inappropriate predatory lending practices.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations for FY2006-FY2007 to: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants to programs in the United States to cover the costs of services provided by domestic treatment centers in the rehabilitation of victims of torture (including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture), social and legal services, and research and training of health care providers outside of treatment centers or programs to enable them to provide such services; (2) the President for grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries that carry out projects and activities specifically designed to treat victims of torture for the physical and psychological effects of torture; and (3) the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions regarding employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) elimination of the lifetime limit on inpatient mental health services; (2) parity in treatment for outpatient mental health services; (3) coverage of intensive residential services under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and of intensive outpatient services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (4) exclusion of clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system; and (5) coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on whether the criteria for coverage of any therapy service or any oupatient mental health care service under Medicare unduly restricts the access to such a service of any Medicare beneficiary with Alzheimer's disease or a related mental illness because the coverage criteria requires the Medicare beneficiary to display continuing clinicial improvement to continue to receive the service.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2005 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting, directly or indirectly, travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to V nonimmigrants (spouses or minor children of lawful permanent residents who are awaiting family-based immigrant visas) to: (1) extend the required filing deadline for family-based petitions from the date of enactment of the Legal Immigration Family Equity Act to January 1, 2011; and (2) reduce the required waiting period for family-based immigrant visas from three years to six months.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Madison, Wisconsin, as the "Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2005 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Retirement Security for America's Domestic Workers Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act and the Internal Revenue Code to provide that compensation paid for domestic services in an employer's private home will not be exempt from employment taxes unless such compensation is less than the greater of $1,400 or the amount of wages and self-employment income required for a quarter of coverage under the Social Security Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act, or the COAST Anti-Drilling Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in either the Mid-Atlantic or the North Atlantic planning areas.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Observes the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Republic of Vietnam to the Communist forces of North Vietnam. Supports all individuals taking part in events in Washington, D.C. and across the United States to observe this tragic event.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
HRIFA Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) include document fraud among the grounds of inadmissibility which shall not preclude an otherwise qualifying Haitian alien from permanent resident status adjustment; and (2) provide that determinations with respect to children shall be made using the age of an individual as of the date of enactment of this Act. Permits new status adjustment applications to be filed for a limited time period. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish procedures for reopening status adjustment applications based upon the amendments made by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) a postage stamp should be issued by the United States Postal Service (USPS) in commemoration of Diwali, a festival celebrated by people of Indian origin; and (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the USPS should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Second Chance Act of 2005: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions regarding adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects, including by authorizing funds to: (1) provide structured post-release housing and transitional housing; (2) facilitate specified collaboration to promote the employment of people released from prison and jail; (3) carry out programs that support children of incarcerated parents; and (4) establish or expand the use of reentry courts. Sets forth grant priorities and requirements, including that each state, territory, tribe, or local government recipient establish a Reentry Task Force or other authority. Authorizes the Attorney General to make a grant to provide for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center. Directs the Attorney General to establish an interagency task force on federal programs regarding offender reentry. Authorizes the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics to conduct research on offender reentry. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the role of state child protective services at the time of arrest and establish services for the preservation of families impacted by the incarceration of a family member; and (2) the Secretary of Labor to implement a program to educate employers about one-stop centers, existing incentives for the hiring of former prisoners, and tax credits, and to make grants to nonprofit organizations to provide transitional services. Amends the federal criminal code to direct a court to revoke a term of supervised release or a sentence of probation for a defendant who commits a crime of violence against, or an offense of unlawful sexual contact with, a person who has not attained the age of 16 years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act - Declares it is U.S. policy to protect and preserve living and other resources of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (Farallones NMS) and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Cordell Bank NMS) marine environments. Makes certain adjustments to expand the boundaries of the Farallones NMS and the Cordell NMS. Prohibits within the Farallones NMS and the Cordell Bank NMS: (1) the leasing, exploration, development, production, or transporting by pipeline of minerals or hydrocarbons; (2) the conduct of aquaculture (with exceptions); and (3) the discharge of materials and substances or a change in the salinity. Prohibits the conduct of aquaculture within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to complete an interim supplemental management plan for each sanctuary that focuses on protective resource management in the areas added by this Act. Requires the Secretary to review the operations of the Farallones NMS to determine whether area added to it by this Act shall be designated as a new and separate NMS.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly transferring, transporting, or possessing a confined exotic animal for purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or the collection of a trophy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Family Planning State Empowerment Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow States to provide family planning services and supplies to certain individuals not otherwise eligible for Medicaid. Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Amends PHSA to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. Preventing Teen Pregnancy Act - Amends PHSA to authorize the Secretary to award grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Truth in Contraception Act - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Great Cats and Rare Canids Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance for projects for the conservation of rare felids and rare canids. Authorizes the Secretary to convene an advisory group of individuals representing public and private organizations actively involved in the conservation of felids and canids. Restricts the use of grants for captive breeding or display purposes. Establishes in the Multinatonal Species Conservation Fund as a separate account the Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Fund. Defines "rare canid" to: (1) mean any canid species, subspecies, or population that is not native to the United States and Canada, and is included in the threatened or endangered lists of the World Conservation Union, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and (2) include such a subspecies or population of dhole, gray wolf, ethiopian wolf, african wild dog, or maned wolf. Defines "rare felid" to: (1) mean any felid species, subspecies, or population that is not native to the United States and Canada, and is included in the threatened or endangered lists of the World Conservation Union, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and (2) include such a subspecies or population of lion, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, clouded leopard, cheetah, or iberian lynx. Does not include any tiger.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should play a leading role in the drafting and adoption of a thematic United Nations (UN) convention that affirms the human rights and dignity of persons with disabilities that is consistent with the spirit of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, the U.S. Constitution, and other rights enjoyed by U.S. citizens with disabilities, promotes inclusion of persons with disabilities as foundational requirements for any free society, and provides protections that are at least as strong as the rights recognized under international human rights law for other vulnerable populations; and (2) the U.S. delegation to the UN Ad Hoc Committee meetings should include individuals with disabilities who are recognized leaders in the U.S. disability rights movement.
![Official portrait of Rep. Kucinich, Dennis J. [D-OH-10]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/k000336_200.jpg)