United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Mammogram Availability Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group coverage, that provides coverage for diagnostic mammographies for any woman 40 years old or older to provide no less favorable coverage for annual screening mammographies for such a woman. Prohibits related enrollment and renewal discrimination, monetary incentives to women, and penalties or incentives to providers. Applies such requirements and prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Prohibits the Secretary of Transportation from issuing any final rule that would change the Department of Transportation's (DOT) interpretation of what constitutes "actual control" of an airline with respect to requirements prohibiting foreign interests from exercising actual control over all airline operations. Directs the Secretary to report to Congress on the impact of DOT's proposed change of allowing foreign interests to control economic and competitive decisions while requiring U.S. citizens to control decisions concerning commitments to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, transportation security, safety, and organizational documents. (Under current law, only an airline that qualifies as "a citizen of the United States" may provide service between U.S. cities or on international routes obtained by the United States through international agreements. Defines "a citizen of the United States" as an individual who is a citizen of the United States, a partnership each of whose partners is an individual who is a citizen of the United States, or a corporation or association in which at least 75% of the voting interest is owned or controlled by persons that are citizens of the United States).
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Calls upon the U.S. government to advocate for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from the occupied territories of the Republic of Cyprus. Supports of the European Commission's 2005 Progress Report on Turkey, which states that Turkey: (1) continues to wrongfully impose its veto on Cyprus' membership in certain international organizations; (2) insists in excluding Cyprus and Malta from the strategic cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in crisis management; and (3) restricts Cyprus-flagged vessels from entering Turkish ports and Cypriot civilian aircraft from using Turkish national airspace. Calls upon Turkey to normalize relations with the Republic of Cyprus and stop hampering strategic cooperation between the EU and NATO.
United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2005
Urges the President to issue annually a proclamation calling on state and local governments and the people of the United States to observe an American Jewish History Month.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2005
Directs the Joint Committee on the Library to accept the donation of a bust depicting Sojourner Truth and display it in a suitable permanent location in the rotunda of the Capitol. Expresses the sense of Congress that the most suitable location for the placement of the bust is one adjacent to the statue known as the Portrait Monument.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2005
Energy Consumer Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal oil and gas tax subsidies including: (1) the election to expense certain refineries; (2) treatment of natural gas distribution lines as 15-year property; (3) treatment of natural gas gathering lines as 7-year property; (4) the new rule for determining small refiner exception to oil depletion deduction; and (5) amortization of geological and geophysical expenditures. Repeals certain oil and gas production incentives, including those with respect to: (1) royalty relief for deep water production; (2) the Alaska offshore royalty suspension; (3) oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska; (4) management of federal oil and gas leasing programs; (5) oil and gas research programs); and (6) ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas and other petroleum resources. Instructs the President to suspend royalty relief for production of crude oil or natural gas from federal lands during periods in which the average price has risen over specified amounts. Requires that specified increased revenues received in the Treasury as the result of the enactment of this Act be made directly available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for obligation and expenditure under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a refundable tax credit for energy cost assistance for farmers and ranchers. Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to establish an Energy Emergency Grant Program to make grants to small business concerns that have suffered substantial economic injury as a result of a significant increase in the price of heating oil, natural gas, gasoline, transportation fuel, propane, or kerosene.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2005
Honors the life, achievements, and contributions of Alan Reich, who was an inspirational figure in the disability community and devoted his life to civic involvement and efforts to improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities. Recognizes that Reich's distinguished career demonstrates the potential of all people with disabilities and inspired and supported many Americans in their own efforts to overcome personal obstacles.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2005
Honors the life, achievements, and contributions of Alan Reich, who was an inspirational figure in the disability community and devoted his life to civic involvement and efforts to improve the quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2005
Crackdown on Deadbeat Dealers Act of 2005 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to increase the number of allowed inspections for compliance with record-keeping requirements by firearms dealers to not more than three times (currently, once) during any 12-month period. Increases penalties for: (1) knowingly making false statements or furnishing false or misrepresented identification regarding any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale or other disposition of such firearm or ammunition; or (2) making false entries in, or failing to properly maintain, required firearms records. Authorizes the Attorney General to suspend a firearms dealer's license and to assess a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for firearms violations, including failure to have secure gun storage or safety devices (current penalties are limited to license revocation). Permits any licensed firearms dealer who is indicted for a felony to continue to operate until the date of conviction (currently, until the conviction becomes final). Authorizes appropriations for the hiring and training of 500 additional inspectors for the Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2005
Reaffirms the House of Representatives' commitment to the security of Israel. Asserts that: (1) terrorist organizations, such as Hamas, should not be permitted to participate in Palestinian elections until such organizations recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, cease incitement, condemn terrorism, and disarm and dismantle their terrorist infrastructure; and (2) Hamas' or any other terrorist group's inclusion into the Palestinian governing structure will inevitably raise serious U.S. policy considerations, potentially undermining the ability of the United States to provide financial assistance and conduct normal relations with the PA. Calls on the Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas before the election to declare openly his intention to dismantle the terrorist organizations. States that progress in the peace process requires sustained Palestinian effort to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2005
Windfall Profits and Consumer Assistance Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose upon producers of crude oil an excise tax of 50 percent of their net windfall profit from the production of taxable crude oil in a taxable year. Defines "windfall profit" as the excess of the removal price (sales price) of a barrel of taxable crude oil over the adjusted base price of such barrel (i.e., $40 per barrel, adjusted for inflation). Terminates such tax three years after the enactment of this Act. Establishes in the Treasury the Consumer Energy Assistance Trust Fund. Transfers to such Fund windfall profit tax revenues and makes amounts in such Fund available to carry out the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981. Grants to taxpayers an income tax rebate in an amount to be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury based upon the number of taxpayers and available windfall profit tax revenues (reduced by amounts appropriated to such Fund).
United States · United States Congress · 8 November 2005
American Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish under a new title XXII (American Health Benefits Program) a program to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage to all Americans who are: (1) not covered under certain federal health insurance programs; and (2) not eligible for employer-provided insurance coverage. Requires provision of such coverage in a manner similar to that in which coverage has been provided to Members of Congress, federal government employees, retirees, and their dependents under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. Establishes in the Treasury an American Health Benefits Program Trust Fund. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) impose on every employer an excise tax equal to the applicable percentage of the wages paid employees; and (2) allow a tax credit to certain individuals equal to the sum of the aggregate amount of premiums paid (other than government contributions) with respect to the individual's coverage, and the applicable premium subsidy for any eligible individual. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to provide for an increase in the federal Medicaid assistance percentage (FMAP) for American Health Benefits Program-covered services. Terminates the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) under SSA title XXI upon the initiation of the American Health Benefits Program.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Medicaid Preservation Act of 2005 - Prohibits reductions in authorized federal funding under the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social Security Act until full consideration has been given to the recommendations of the Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid. Establishes the Bipartisan Commission to review and make recommendations about: (1) each of Medicaid's major functional responsibilities; (2) issues that either threaten or could improve the long-term financial condition of Medicaid; (3) the way Medicare payment policies impact Medicaid, and ways to address specific payment problems that such policies may create in service delivery to populations typically not covered by Medicare, such as children and pregnant women; and (5) payments to safety net providers. Requires each recommendation to include an analysis of its effect under Medicaid and, if applicable, Medicare and other federal health programs, on: (1) federal and state expenditures; (2) provider payment rates; (3) beneficiary out-of-pocket expenditures; (4) beneficiary access to covered items and services; and (5) coverage of items and services.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Supports the goals and ideals of Cambodian-American Freedom Day. Honors the 30th anniversary of the arrival of the first Cambodian immigrants to the United States, and recognizes the contributions Cambodian-Americans have made to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Expresses support for the goal and mission of America Recycles Day. Encourages all federal employees to participate in promoting the social, environmental, and economic benefits of recycling and buying recycled-content products.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2005
Internet Anti-Corruption and Free Speech Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to exclude from coverage by the Act as a public communication any communication over the Internet, except one placed on another person's website for a fee, or made by: (1) any national bank, corporation (other than a web log operator), or labor organization; (2) a state, district, or local committee of a political party; or (3) any political committee.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2005
Recognizes the need for every child to be vaccinated against polio. Urges all appropriate federal departments and agencies to immediately educate: (1) Americans about the need for polio vaccination; and (2) U.S. polio survivors and medical professionals about the cause and treatment of post-polio sequelae. Expresses support for the goals and ideals of observing the Year of Polio Awareness (the year beginning November 1, 2005).
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Urges: (1) the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to observe its 1995 Interim Accord obligations and take steps to halt the proliferation of negative propaganda toward Greece and review textbooks, maps, and teaching aids to ensure their accuracy; and (2) FYROM to work within the U.N. process to reach a mutually acceptable permanent name.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Directs the Architect of the Capitol to enter into an agreement to obtain a statue of Rosa Parks and to place the statue in the Capitol in a suitable permanent location in National Statuary Hall.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Requests the President to provide to the House of Representatives certain federal agency documents in his possession on the effects of climate change on the coastal regions of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Requests the President and directs the Secretary of State to provide to the House of Representatives: (1) all documents from 2003 pertaining to the taskforce organized by Andrew Card, consisting of Karl Rove, Karen Hughes, Mary Matalin, Nicholas E. Calio, James R. Wilkinson, Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Hadley and I. Lewis Libby, known as the White House Iraq Group; (2) all drafts of all white papers concerning Iraq's nuclear threat assembled in 2003 by the Group; and (3) all documents, including notes from meetings, memos, telephone and electronic mail records, logs and calendars, and records of internal discussions in the possession of the President or the Secretary relating to the Group.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2005
Pandemic Preparedness and Response Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the President to appoint a National Director of Pandemic Preparedness and Response to strengthen, expand, and coordinate domestic pandemic influenza preparedness activities. Establishes the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Policy Coordinating Committee to develop an Interagency Preparedness Plan. Requires states to have an approved state preparedness plan as a condition of receiving certain funds related to bioterrorism. Provides for the integration and coordination of public and private influenza surveillance activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) procure antivirals, developed vaccines, and essential medications for the Strategic National Stockpile; (2) develop a national system for tracking and distributing antiviral medications and vaccines; and (3) assist other counties in preparation for, and response to, pandemic influenza. Provides for the expansion and intensification of influenza research. Directs the Secretary to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study topics related to the pandemic influenza. Establishes the National Pandemic Influenza Economics Advisory Committee. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to expand and intensify efforts to prevent pandemic influenza. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) enter into contracts with manufacturers to produce additional necessary doses of the influenza vaccine; and (2) develop a national plan for responding to potential influenza vaccine shortages. Sets forth prohibitions against charging excessive prices during a public health emergency for, reporting false pricing information to the Secretary about, or employing a manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance in connection with the purchase or sale of, drugs, devices, or biologics for the prevention or treatment of influenza at wholesale.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2005
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and make available to local educational agencies a voluntary policy to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools. Directs that such policy address: (1) a parental obligation to provide the school with information regarding a student's food allergy and anaphylaxis; (2) communication strategies between schools and emergency medical services; (3) strategies to reduce the risk of exposure in classrooms and common areas; (4) food allergy management training of school personnel; (5) authorization of school personnel to administer epinephrine when the school nurse is not immediately available; and (6) creation of an individual health care plan tailored to each child's risk for anaphylaxis.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
ALS Registry Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); and (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of ALS data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to study and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning: (1) the development and maintenance of the registry; (2) the type of information to be included; (3) the manner in which data is to be collected; (4) the use and availability of such data; and (5) the collection of information about diseases and disorders that primarily affect motor neurons that are considered essential to furthering the study and cure of ALS. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on ALS. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for public access to an electronic national database that accepts data from state registries, health care professionals, and others as recommended by the Advisory Committee in a manner that protects personal privacy. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information is made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Interrogation Procedures Act of 2005 - Prohibits any individual in the custody or control of the U.S. government, regardless of nationality or physical location, from being subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Prohibits any person in the custody or control of the Department of Defense (DOD), or under detention in a DOD facility, from being subject to any treatment or technique of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the U.S. Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension, through December 31, 2008, of the duty on 4-amino-2,5-dimethoxy-N-phenylbenzene sulfonamide.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Department of Homeland Security Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Under Secretary for Policy (established by this Act), to conduct Quadrennial Homeland Security Reviews of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Establishes in DHS an Office of Intelligence and Analysis headed by a presidentially appointed Chief Intelligence Officer. Transfers to the Chief Intelligence Officer the functions, personnel, assets, and liabilities of the Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, hereby abolished. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) the Intelligence Through Employees Generating Resources for Analytical Leadership (INTEGRAL) Program; and (2) an intra-agency task force to study unclassified but security-relevant information. Redesignates the Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response as the Directorate of Preparedness and Response (DPR). Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a presidentially appointed Assistant Secretary for Preparedness, who shall perform the functions of the current Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, with primary responsibility for the preparedness of the United States for acts of terrorism. Gives the Under Secretary of Preparedness and Response primary responsibility for oversight and coordination with state, local, and regional authorities in the National Capital Region. Establishes in the DPR a presidentially appointed Military Liaison to coordinate DPR activities with the efforts of the Secretary of Defense. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to eliminate the Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, the Office for Domestic Preparedness, and the Office of National Capital Region Coordination (transferring its functions to the DPR). Establishes the Director (who shall be an Assistant Secretary in the DPR) and Deputy Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Establishes in the DPR a Chief Medical Officer, who shall also be an Assistant Secretary. Declares the sense of Congress urging merger in DHS of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CPB) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Grants the DHS privacy officer authority to conduct investigations. Eliminates the Under Secretary for Management and tranfers its functions to the Secretary. Requires the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Information Officer, and the Chief Human Capital Officer to exercise joint authority, with the component agency heads, over their respective counterparts in the DHS component agencies and entities. Establishes a Business Transformation Officer, who shall develop an overarching management integration strategy for DHS. Outlines whistleblower protections for DHS employees and other covered individuals. Tribal Homeland Security Act - Establishes within DHS the Office of Tribal Security. Establishes in the DPR a National Cybersecurity Office, headed by an Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity and Telecommunications, as well as an Assistant Secretary for Physical Infrastructure Security, both appointed by the President. Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary to regulate the handling and purchase of ammonium nitrate to prevent its misappropriation or use in an act of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Downed Animal Protection Act - States that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory livestock in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such livestock become nonambulatory. Amends the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations providing for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Requires an entity to: (1) humanely euthanize nonambulatory livestock (while not limiting the Secretary's ability to test nonambulatory livestock for disease, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy); and (2) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious, and ensure that such livestock remains unconscious until death. Prohibits an inspector at an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock, carcass, or carcass parts through inspection. Requires an inspector or other employee at such establishment to label such material as "inspected and condemned." Defines "covered entity," "nonambulatory livestock," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Federal Response to Energy Emergencies Act of 2005 - Declares unlawful: (1) unconscionable pricing of gasoline, oil, natural gas, and petroleum distillates during emergencies; (2) intentional reporting of false price information concerning wholesale prices of such products; and (3) market manipulation regarding the purchase or sale at wholesale of such products. Authorizes the President to declare a federal energy emergency upon finding that the national health, safety, welfare, or economic well-being is at risk because of an actual or imminent shortage of such products due to a disruption of the national distribution system, or significant pricing anomalies in national or regional energy markets for the products. Empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and State Attorneys General to enforce this Act. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Requires fines and penalties collected under this Act to be deposited in a separate fund in the treasury to be known as the Consumer Relief Trust Fund to provide assistance under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Directs the FTC to facilitate price transparency in wholesale markets for the sale of crude oil and essential petroleum products. Instructs the FTC to transmit a confidential report to Congress on the potential impact on domestic prices of crude oil, residual fuel oil, and refined petroleum products that would result from the disruption for periods of one week, one year, and five years, respectively. Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Energy Information Administration to review and report to Congress on expenditures and activities undertaken by certain size companies to protect the energy supply system from terrorist attacks, international supply disruptions, and natural disasters, and ensure a stable and reasonably priced supply of such products to consumers in the United States. Requires such report to assess the companies' preparations for the forecasted period of more frequent and more intense hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico and other vulnerable coastal areas.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to furnish the House of Representatives all documents and records in his possession relating to the review of the screener allocation model of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the subsequent reapportionment of airport screeners employed by TSA which was announced on or around July 26, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Medicare Informed Choice Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for an extended period of open enrollment during all of 2006 without late enrollment penalty; (2) give Medicare beneficiaries the opportunity to make a one-time change in prescription drug plan enrollment at any point in 2006; and (3) provide protection from loss of employment-based retiree health coverage upon enrollment for Medicare prescription drug benefit, including a Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug benefit, during 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem hospitals, emergency rooms, physicians, and physicians groups that provide emergency care to uninsured individuals to be employees of the Public Health Service for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to items and services furnished. Requires the Attorney General to make separate estimates as to the cost of claims expected to arise under this Act and to establish separate funds for such claims. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to limit the total amount of payments under this Act to the amounts appropriated in advance for such purposes. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide additional payments from the Federal Supplementary Insurance Trust Fund for physicians' services in the emergency department of a hospital or critical access hospital to a Medicare recipient. Provides for incentive payments to hospitals that certify to the Secretary that they meet established standards for prompt admission by a hospital of individuals presenting to the emergency department that need inpatient hospital services. Requires the Comptroller General to submit to the relevant congressional committees a report that evaluates whether such standards will achieve the stated objectives and recommends any changes. Sets forth civil monetary penalties for filing a false certification and engaging in a pattern or practice of failing to meet established standards.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Remembers and commemorates the lives and work of Sisters Maura Clarke, Ita Ford, and Dorothy Kazel and lay missionary Jean Donovan, and extends sympathy and support for the families, friends, and religious communities of the four U.S. churchwomen. Calls upon the people of the United States and religious congregations to participate in local, national, and international events commemorating the 25th anniversary of their martyrdom. Calls upon the President, the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the heads of other U.S. agencies to support the government of El Salvador and private sector, nongovernmental, and religious organizations in their efforts to reduce poverty and to promote educational opportunity, health care, and social equity for the people of El Salvador.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Establishes in the legislative branch a bipartisan Katrina Commission to: (1) examine and report upon the federal, state, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other affected areas; (2) evaluate and report on the information developed by all relevant governmental agencies related to Hurricane Katrina before it struck the United States and in the days and weeks following; (3) make a complete accounting of the circumstances surrounding the approach of Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf states, and the extent of the Government's preparedness for and response to it; (4) examine planning necessary for future cataclysmic events that will require a significant marshaling of federal resources, mitigation, response, and recovery to avoid significant loss of life; (5) analyze whether any decisions differed with respect to response and recovery for different communities and what problems occurred as a result of a lack of a common plan, communication structure, and centralized command structure; and (6) investigate and report to the President and Congress on immediate corrective measures that can be taken to prevent problems with federal response to future cataclysmic events.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act - Reinstates the application of the wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act to all federal contracts in counties affected by Hurricane Katrina, notwithstanding the President's proclamation dated September 8, 2005, or any other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation by regulation to prescribe (corporate) average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles manufactured after 2008 that ensure that the CAFE achieved by automobiles manufactured after 2015 is at least 33 miles per gallon, and meets other specified criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to establish separate standards for different classes of automobiles according to size. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a CAFE credit trading program to allow a manufacturer that exceeds fuel economy standards to sell credits to another manufacturer.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Requires the John. H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission to update the Cultural Heritage and Land Management Plan for the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. Terminates the Commission ten years after this Act's enactment. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of sites and associated landscape features within the boundaries of the Corridor that contribute to the understanding of the Corridor as the birthplace of the industrial revolution in the United States, and evaluate the possibility of: (1) designating one or more site or landscape feature as a unit of the National Park System; and (2) coordinating and complementing actions by the Commission, local governments, and state and federal agencies in the preservation and interpretation of significant resources within the Corridor.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Urges U.N. member states to: (1) stop supporting resolutions that unfairly castigate Israel; and (2) promote within the United Nations General Assembly more balanced and constructive approaches to resolving Middle East conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Anti-Price Gouging Act of 2005 - Amends the Clayton Act to make it unlawful, during any time of national disaster, for a person to sell, lease, or license, or offer to sell, lease, or license, any necessary good or service in the United States at an unconscionable price.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Rapid Pathogen Identification to Delivery of Cures Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to submit a report setting forth a strategy to reduce the time frame from pathogen identification to the development and emergency approval for human use of a reasonably safe and effective priority countermeasure against a novel or unknown pathogen or toxin. Requires the report to include: (1) technical impediments to reducing this time frame; (2) research, development, and technology needs to address these impediments; and (3) potential liability concerns stemming from distribution of rapidly-developed priority countermeasures. Allows the Secretary to contract with any firm or institution to conduct necessary research and analysis for this report. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a system to rapidly: (1) establish clinical research programs to examine the safety and efficacy of treatments for novel, unknown, or bioengineered pathogens or toxins; and (2) disseminate results and recommendations to clinicians. Authorizes establishment of a fund to support such clinical research. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish an interagency working group to carry out this Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of HHS to conduct research to rapidly identify, develop, produce, and approve for human use priority countermeasures. Requires the Secretaries of Defense and HHS to carry out research, development, and procurement to provide the federal government with the capability to rapidly identify, develop, produce, and approve for human use under emergency conditions priority countermeasures against a novel, unknown, or engineered pathogen or toxin for which no existing countermeasure has been determined to be safe or efficacious.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Ready, Willing, and Able Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting jointly, to establish a working group to assist their respective departments to: (1) promote the development of disaster plans that will protect the maximum number of citizens; (2) help state and local officials provide the necessary means and infrastructure for the American public to volunteer to assume a direct and influential role in community-based disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation planning efforts; and (3) develop standards to measure the success of a community's level of direct, participatory disaster planning efforts. Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the requirements for a state application for a grant to improve state, local, and hospital preparedness for and response to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Requires the application to include an assurance that the state will take specific steps to comply with any recommendations of the working group.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified maps as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character. Authorizes the Forest Service to modify such maps for the sole purpose of improving their accuracy or inclusiveness. Requires any substantial modification of those maps to be made through the national forest management planning process and documented in an environmental impact statement.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Medicare Durable Medical Equipment Access Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Services from awarding any contracts under the competitive durable medical equipment items and services acquisition program unless: (1) the quality standards have been implemented; and (2) the Secretary has received advice from the program oversight committee. Requires the Secretary (who currently is authorized), in carrying out competitive acquisition programs, to exempt: (1) rural areas and areas with low population density within urban areas that are not competitive, unless there is a significant national market through mail order for a particular item or service; and (2) items and services for which the application of competitive acquisition is not likely to result in significant savings. Adds to such exemptions smaller metropolitan statistical areas. Modifies requirements for the protection of small suppliers in bidding and contracting. Requires the Secretary to permit suppliers classified as small businesses to continue to participate as suppliers at the selected award price so long as they submit bids at less than the fee schedule amount otherwise applicable to the items and they otherwise comply with applicable program requirements. Provides for appeal rights (currently denied). Requires the Secretary to exempt from competitive acquisition requirements items and services for which the application of competitive acquisition is not likely to result in significant savings of at least 10%. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing a program with respect to an item or service unless the Secretary demonstrates a probability of achieving significant savings of at least 10%, compared to the fee schedule in effect on January 1, 2006, by including the item or service in the program. Prohibits the Secretary from implementing certain requirements for the payment basis for covered items furnished after January 1, 2009, with respect to the application of rates in an area that is not a competitive acquisition area, unless the Secretary has completed and published in the Federal Register a comparability analysis to ensure the application is appropriate. Requires application of the comparability analysis requirement to certain other part B items and services.
![Official portrait of Rep. Langevin, James R. [D-RI-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_ri_2_langevin_james_200.jpg)