United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a comprehensive strategy for the protection of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian emergency; and (2) designate an individual within the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the coordinator for such efforts. Authorizes USAID to establish a fellowship program to increase USAID expertise in carrying out protective activities of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, affected by a humanitarian emergency. Prohibits certain Department or USAID funds for refugees or internally displaced persons to be provided to a primary grantee or contractor unless the grantee or contractor has adopted a code of conduct that is consistent with the six core principles recommended by the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Directs the coordinator to seek to provide health services to vulnerable populations, including: (1) prevention of of sexual violence; (2) reduction of HIV transmission; (3) provision of obstetric care; and (4) integrating women's health services into the primary health care services provided during a humanitarian emergency. Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to seek to extend microcredit program availability to internally displaced persons. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to: (1) include the protection of vulnerable populations within military education and training; and (2) authorize the President to provide assistance for programs to protect vulnerable populations during humanitarian emergencies. Directs the United States Executive Director of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) to ensure that World Bank disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs provide benefits to former combatants that are comparable to benefits provided to other individuals. Expresses the sense of Congress that the UN should strengthen the ability of its Department of Peacekeeping Operations to protect civilians, especially women and children, from sexual exploitation by peacekeeping personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) recognizes the importance of establishing a national memorial at the World Trade Center site, as the highest honor the Nation can confer to commemorate and mourn the events of February 26,1993, and September 11, 2001; and (2) supports the efforts of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation to build a permanent memorial at the site.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Requests the President to transmit to the House of Representatives information in his possession providing specific evidence for the following statement he made on February 16, 2005, at a meeting in Portsmith, New Hampshire: "And by the way, there is not a Social Security trust."
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Supports: (1) the goal of increasing U.S. homeownership; (2) first-time homeownership programs, including the With Ownership Wealth Initiative of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Recognizes homeownership's importance in establishing financial independence. Urges Federal, State, and local governments to: (1) take appropriate actions to encourage homeownership and fair housing practices; and (2) confront all forms of predatory lending with swift legislative action. Recommits Congress to making fair housing and homeownership a 109th Congress priority.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the community development block grant program should remain under the administration of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Veterans Employment and Respect Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring certain: (1) veterans of military service in Afghanistan or Iraq; and (2) dependents of deceased members of the Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Captive Primate Safety Act - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to add non-human primates to the definition of "prohibited wildlife species" to which such Act's requirements (e.g., prohibition against sale or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce) apply.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Calls on Turkey to: (1) demonstrate that it is willing to abide by European Union (EU) laws; (2) eliminate all forms of discrimination, particularly those based on race or religion, and grant the Ecumenical Patriarch appropriate international recognition and ecclesiastic succession; and (3) safeguard religious and human rights. Encourages Turkey to continue the advancement of processes and programs to modernize and democratize its own society.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Emergency Retiree Health Benefits Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide emergency protections for retiree health benefits. Prohibits group health plans from making post-retirement reductions of retiree health benefits. Requires group health plans to adopt provisions barring post-retirement reductions in retiree health benefits. Requires group health plans to restore benefits reduced after retirement. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to waive or vary such requirements, if a plan sponsor applies for such exemption, upon finding that compliance would: (1) be adverse to the interests of plan participants in the aggregate; (2) not be administratively feasible; and (3) cause substantial business hardship to the sponsor. Establishes the Emergency Retiree Health Loan Guarantee Program and its Board. Authorizes the Program, through its Board, to guarantee loans provided by private banking and investment institutions to eligible plan sponsors to assist them in meeting obligations under this Act to restore benefits reduced after retirement. Authorizes the Secretary to assess civil penalties for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005 - Reinstates for ten years repealed criminal provisions regarding assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (the assault weapons ban). Revises the definition of "semiautomatic assault weapon" to include conversion kits (for converting a firearm to such a weapon) and any semiautomatic rifle or pistol that has an ability to accept a detachable magazine and that has specified characteristics, including a telescoping stock. Prohibits the transfer of such a weapon except through a licensed dealer or a State or local law enforcement agency, subject to specified requirements. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) establish and maintain a record of the make, model, and date of manufacture of any such weapon which the Attorney General is made aware has been used in relation to a crime, and of the nature and circumstances of the crime involved; and (2) annually submit the record to Congress and make it available to the public. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of any assault weapon with a large capacity ammunition feeding device; and (2) a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer who transfers such a device that was manufactured on or before this Act's enactment from failing to certify to the Attorney General, within 60 days of the transfer date, that the device was manufactured on or before that date. Sets penalties for violations. Prohibits: (1) the transfer of such a weapon or device to a juvenile; and (2) the importation of such a device.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Protection of Civil Liberties Act - Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to make the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (Board) an independent agency within the Executive branch. (Currently, such Board is established within the Executive Office of the President.) Requires the Board to be composed of a full-time chairman and four additional members, all to be confirmed by the Senate. Prohibits Board members, while so serving, from being an elected official, officer, or employee of the Federal Government. Provides six-year terms. Gives the Board subpoena power. Requires the Board to: (1) receive and review reports from privacy and civil liberties officers; and (2) report at least semiannually to specified congressional committees on Board activities and other appropriate matters. Directs the heads of specified Federal agencies to designate at least one senior officer for appropriate assistance with respect to privacy and civil liberties concerns as they relate to terrorism prevention. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security complies with the protections for human research subjects in research conducted or supported by such Department.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat as a tax-exempt political organization for purposes of the disclosure and other requirements applicable to such organizations (with certain modifications) any coalition or association that is identified as a client on any registration filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 and that is not a political organization. Requires any such coalition or association to notify the Secretary of the Treasury of: (1) its existence within 72 hours after one of its lobbyists makes an initial contact; and (2) any change in membership within 72 hours. Requires such notice to include a general description of the business or activities of each member of the coalition or association and the amount reasonably expected to be contributed by each member toward coalition or association activities of influencing legislation. Imposes a penalty tax for failure to give required notices. Exempts from the disclosure requirements imposed by this Act: (1) public charities and other tax-exempt organizations which have substantial exempt activities other than lobbying; and (2) members of a coalition or association who contribute less than $2,000 per year for lobbying activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
One Strike and You're Out! Act of 2005 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exempt a tenant in public housing or housing assisted under the section 8 rental assistance program from the eviction for criminal or drug-related criminal activity provisions if such activity was engaged in by a member of the tenant's household or any guest or other person under the tenant's control and the tenant: (1) is an elderly or disabled person; and (2) did not know and should not have known of the activity, or the tenant or member of household was the victim of the criminal activity. Requires public housing agencies to report annually on the number of such evictions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Stealth Lobbyist Disclosure Act of 2005 - Amends the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to redefine the term "client" with respect to coalitions and associations on whose behalf a lobbyist must file a registration. Provides that, in the case of a coalition or association that employs or retains other persons to conduct lobbying activities, each of the individual members of the coalition or association, and not the coalition or association itself as under current law, is the client for whom a registration must be filed. Makes an exception for certain tax-exempt associations and for certain members of a coalition or association if the amount reasonably expected to be contributed by such member toward specific legislation-influencing activities of the coalition or association is less than $1,000 per any semiannual period.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Expresses support for: (1) the designation of a National Autism Awareness Month (April); and (2) increasing Federal funding for autism research. Commends the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the implementation of the Children's Health Act of 2000. Stresses the need to begin early intervention services soon after an individual has been diagnosed with autism. Expresses support for the Federal Government funding 40 percent of the costs needed to educate children with disabilities. Recognizes the shortage of appropriately trained teachers and the importance of worker training programs that meet the needs of developmentally disabled individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Requires the House of Representatives, when the legislatures of an additional three States ratify the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution, to take any legislative action necessary to verify the ratification of such Amendment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Acknowledges and recognizes the significant achievements and contributions of African American women scientists, mathematicians, and inventors and supports the establishment of a special day on which these great minds may be honored and esteemed.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in cooperation with State and local governments, Federal agencies, public safety agencies, and the private sector, to develop a national strategy to achieve communications interoperability and to report to Congress annually on progress toward achieving such interoperability. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to create an interoperable communications technology grant program for eligible States (those States lacking adequate interoperability that have submitted a communications interoperability plan to the Secretary) and local governments and public safety agencies within such States. Sets forth considerations for awarding grants, including the nature of the threat to the eligible State or local jurisdiction and the location, risk, or vulnerability of critical infrastructure and key national assets. Limits the Federal share of costs associated with grant-funded activities to 75 percent of the total. Prohibits the award of grants to reimburse recipients for past expenditures, except that public safety agencies may be reimbursed for funds expended after September 11, 2001, and before the date of enactment of this Act if such expenditures support an approved agency plan.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Business Checking Freedom Act of 2005 - Amends Federal law to authorize interest-bearing or dividend-bearing transaction accounts for all businesses, permitting up to 24 transfers per month to another account of the owner in the same institution. Amends the Federal Reserve Act, the Home Owners' Loan Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to repeal the prohibition against the payment of interest on demand deposits. Authorizes the payment of interest on reserves by a Federal reserve bank at least quarterly on balances maintained there on behalf of a depository institution. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to require the Board to survey annually and report to Congress on bank fees and certain services. Amends the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, and the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, to repeal certain reporting requirements. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to revise the ratio of reserves a depository institution must maintain against its transaction accounts, permitting a ratio of zero. Directs the Federal reserve banks to deposit additional surplus funds into the general fund of the Treasury for FY 2005 through 2009 equal to the estimated annual net revenue loss. Prohibits such banks, during FY 2005 through 2009, from replenishing their respective surplus funds by the amount of any such transfer made to cover interest payments.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Best Help for Rape Victims Act - Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 to require the Attorney General to include within the national protocol on sexual assault forensic examinations a recommendation that a victim of sexual assault who is at risk of pregnancy from rape should be: (1) offered information about emergency contraception; and (2) provided with such contraception on site at the victim's request. Requires the Attorney General to revise any existing protocol in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide funds to States to enable them to increase the wages paid to targeted direct support professionals in providing services to individuals with disabilities under the Medicaid program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, to audit a sample from among the States in order to assess the effectiveness of progress made in reducing or eliminating the wage gap between targeted and reference direct support professionals through funds under this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the wage equalization and recruitment and retention of direct support professionals who are providing services and supports to individuals with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act - Amends Federal transportation law to prohibit a State from prescribing or enforcing any regulation that allows a restricted property-carrying unit (any trailer, semi-trailer, container, or other property-carrying unit longer than 53 feet, except for a fire-fighting unit) to operate on the National Highway System (NHS) (including the Interstate System), unless the operation of such unit is authorized by the State on June 1, 2005, and in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal operations) on or before that date. Prohibits a State from allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle combination on the NHS (except a vehicle or load that cannot be dismantled or divided easily, and that has been issued a special permit under State law) with more than one property-carrying unit (excluding the truck tractor) whose property-carrying units are more than: (1) the maximum combination trailer, semi-trailer, or other type of length limitation allowed by State law on June 1, 2005; or (2) the length of the property-carrying units of those commercial motor vehicle combinations, by specific configuration, in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including continual seasonal operation) in such State on or before June 1, 2005. Amends Federal highway law to prohibit a State from allowing the operation of a vehicle or combination (other than a longer combination vehicle) exceeding Interstate weight limits on the Interstate System unless its operation was lawful: (1) on July 1, 1956; (2) in the case of the overall gross weight of any group of two or more consecutive axles, on the date of enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974; or (3) under a special permit pursuant to State (grandfather) law. Declares that Interstate weight limitations on vehicles and combinations (other than longer combination vehicles) that operate on the Interstate System shall also apply to such vehicles and combinations that operate on non-Interstate segments of the NHS, unless: (1) such segments are subject to lower State weight limits; or (2) a State allows the operation of any vehicle or combination on an existing non-Interstate segment of the NHS that could be so operated lawfully on June 1, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Corporate Accountability Tax Gap Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for public disclosure of certain information of publicly traded corporations, including: (1) net corporate income tax and taxable income as shown on the corporation's current year tax return; (2) adjusted book income; and (3) differences between taxable income and adjusted book income due to certain transactions, depreciation differences, stock options, and other factors. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to conduct a study of corporate tax shelter activity.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005 or Johanna's Law - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecologic cancers, which shall include: (1) maintaining a supply of written materials to provide information to the public on gynecologic cancers; and (2) developing and placing public service announcements to encourage women to discuss their risks of gynecologic cancers with their physicians. Requires the Secretary to award grants to nonprofit private entities to test different outreach and education strategies for increasing such awareness among women and health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal collectively to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed. Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Children's Hospitals Education Equity and Research (CHEER) Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments through FY 2010 (currently, through FY 2005) to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs. Excludes reductions for unused resident positions when calculating the number of full-time residents in a children's hospital's approved training program for purposes of reimbursing direct expenses. Requires the Secretary to adjust the proportion of such a hospital's costs attributable to wages for differences in hospital wage levels by geographic area. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2010 for direct and indirect expenses associated with operating such programs. Requires that funds appropriated for such programs for a fiscal year remain available for obligation through the end of the succeeding fiscal year. Limits the ability to recoup funds unless a demand for recoupment is made by the end of the fiscal year. Sets forth an appeals procedure and limitations on retroactivity for decisions affecting the amount of payments to a hospital for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
United States Financial Policy Committee For Fair Capital Standards Act - Establishes the United States Financial Policy Committee as an inter-agency committee composed of: (1) the Secretary of the Treasury, who shall serve as the Chairperson of the Committee; (2) the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; (3) the Comptroller of the Currency; (4) the Chairperson of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; and (5) the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision. Directs the Committee to develop uniform U.S. positions on proposals made to, and issues before, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision that, if implemented, may directly or indirectly affect United States financial institutions. Requires the Committee to meet before any meeting of the Basel Committee that is related to, or is expected to involve, a discussion of capital standards. Prohibits a member Federal banking agency from agreeing to any proposed recommendation of the Basel Committee before the agency reports on it to Congress. Requires the Federal member banking agencies to employ prescribed criteria in their evaluation of the impact of any revised Basel capital accord. Amends the International Lending Supervision Act of 1983 to add the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision as one of the four Federal bank regulatory and supervisory agencies on the Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices of the Group of Ten Countries and Switzerland.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Rockies Prosperity Act - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; and (6) Blackfeet Wilderness. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Establishes the Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve as a National Park System unit. Repeals Federal law provisions that establish the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) implement a program of ecosystem restoration in the Preserve; and (2) study the feasibility of creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve in the area generally known as the Glacier View Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System and the National Wildland Recovery Corps. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to assure nonexclusive access to the specified areas and corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Hate Crime Statistics Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Hate Crime Statistics Act to require the Attorney General to acquire data about crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on gender.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Prohibit Predatory Lending Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act in connection with consumer credit cost disclosure to redefine: (1) high-cost mortgage; (2) the formula used to adjust certain percentage points in connection with a consumer credit transaction secured by the consumer's principal dwelling; and (3) related points and fees. Sets forth a formula to calculate: (1) points and fees for open-end loans; and (2) bona fide discount points and prepayment penalties. Revises requirements for: (1) prepayment penalties; (2) balloon payments; and (3) extension of credit without regard to consumer's payment ability. Prohibits in connection with high-cost mortgages: (1) a lender from recommending a default on an existing debt prior to and in connection with the closing of a high-cost mortgage that refinances all or any portion of such existing loan or debt; (2) specified late fees; (3) certain accelerations of debt; (4) certain evasions, structuring of transactions, and reciprocal arrangements; (5) certain modification and deferral fees; and (6) mandatory arbitration or other nonjudicial procedures. Mandates pre-loan counseling as a prerequisite for a high-loan mortgage. Revises guidelines governing lender liability for correction of errors. Prohibits a lender from knowingly or intentionally engaging in the unfair act or practice of flipping (the making of a loan or extension of credit to a consumer which refinances an existing mortgage when the new loan or credit extension does not have reasonable, tangible net benefit to the consumer, considering all of the circumstances, including the terms of both the new and the refinanced loans or credit, the cost of the new loan or credit, and the consumer's circumstances). Prohibits single premium credit insurance. Doubles civil money penalties for certain violations. Extends to three years the statute of limitations for violation of certain statutory disclosure requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 - Requires the merger of the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into the Deposit Insurance Fund. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) and the Federal Credit Union Act to: (1) increase the amount of deposit insurance coverage; (2) couple such increase with an inflation adjustment; (3) double the amount of deposit insurance for certain retirement accounts; and (4) increase the maxzimum amount of deposit insurance coverage for in-State municipal deposits. Amends the FDIA to replace assessment guidelines for achieving and maintaining a designated reserve ratio and for independent treatment of deposit insurance funds with a requirement that the Board of Directors of the FDIC set assessments as it determines appropriate, including a maximum base rate for assessments at one basis point for insured depository institutions in the lowest-risk category. Reduces from five years to three years the mandatory assessment recordkeeping period. Replaces the current 1.25 percent statutory reserve ratio used to recapitalize undercapitalized insurance funds with a reserve ratio range of 1.15 to 1.4 percent of estimated insured deposits, subject to specified factors and annual redetermination. Instructs the FDIC to establish a Deposit Insurance Fund Restoration Plan to ensure adequate reserves whenever the actual ratio in the DIF falls below the designated reserve ratio. Directs the FDIC to conduct a bi-annual survey on efforts by insured depository institutions to bring into the conventional finance system those "unbanked" individuals and families who have rarely, if ever, held a checking account, a savings account, or other type of transaction or check cashing account at an insured depository institution.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Condemns the ongoing abductions and murders of young women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City, Mexico, and expresses condolences to the victims' families. Urges the President and Secretary of State to: (1) incorporate the investigative efforts of the Mexican Government in the bilateral Mexico-U.S. agenda; and (2) continue to support the efforts of the victims' families to seek justice. Encourages the Secretary to: (1) include in the annual Country Report on Human Rights all instances of improper investigatory methods, threats against human rights activists, and the use of torture with respect to such cases; (2) urge the Government of Mexico and the State of Chihuahua to review the cases of murdered women in which the accused or convicted have credibly alleged they were tortured or forced by a state agent to confess; and (3) urge the Government of Mexico to ensure fair judicial proceedings. Supports the work of the special commissioner to prevent violence against women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City. Expresses the solidarity of the people of the United States with the people of Mexico in the face of these tragic acts.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) to provide that no application by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to a U.S. court for an order requiring the production of tangible things for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information from a U.S. person or to protect against international terrorism may be made for the sole purpose of searching for, or seizing from, a bookseller or library documentary materials that contain personally identifiable information concerning a patron. Provides that nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude a physical search for documentary materials (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) under other provisions of law. Defines "personally identifiable information" as information that identifies a person as having used, requested, or obtained specific reading materials or services from a bookseller or library. Revises congressional reporting requirements under FISA to require the Attorney General, in informing Congress with respect to applications for orders approving requests for the production of tangible things, to: (1) describe the specific purpose of each order application; (2) analyze the effectiveness of each application that was granted or modified in protecting U.S. citizens against terrorism; and (3) make public such information provided in a manner consistent with the national security of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Public Safety Officer Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act to provide that: (1) if a public safety officer develops cancer and either dies or becomes permanently and totally disabled as a result of the cancer, such officer's death or disability shall be presumed to be the direct and proximate result of a personal injury sustained in the line of duty; and (2) such an officer or such officer's family shall be eligible for disability or death benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Terrorism Insurance Backstop Extension Act of 2005 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 to define: (1) the term "Program Year 4" as the period from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2006; and (2) the term "Program Year 5" as the period from January 1, 2007, from December 31, 2007 (thereby extending the terrorism risk insurance program from 2005 through 2007). Sets a deadline for the Secretary of the Treasury to make a final determination regarding: (1) the availability of group life insurance to both insurers and consumers; and (2) whether certain provisions of the Act shall be applied to providers of group life insurance. Sunsets the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program after December 31, 2007. Details the treatment of insured losses and the insurer deductible for the Final Program Year (January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2008).
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Alaska Rainforest Conservation Act of 2005 - Designates: (1) specified public lands in the Chugach National Forest, Alaska, as National Wilderness Preservation System components; and (2) specified public lands in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska, as wilderness areas or System components. Provides with respect to specified public lands in the Tongass National Forest, Alaska, for: (1) a wilderness designation study; (2) designation as Land Use Designation II lands; (3) designation as restoration lands; and (4) designation as special management areas. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate, or study for designation, as wild, scenic, and recreational rivers specified waters in the Chugach and Tongass National Forests, Alaska.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2005
Protect Law Enforcement Armor Act or PLEA Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to expand the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" to include a projectile that: (1) may be used in a handgun; and (2) the Attorney General determines to be capable of penetrating body armor. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against Body Armor Exemplar (i.e., body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers), taking into account variations in performance related to the type of handgun used, the length of the barrel, the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile, and the projectile's design. Prohibits the manufacture, sale, possession, or transfer of the Fabrique Nationale Herstall Five-SeveN Pistol, 5.7 x 28mm SS190 and SS192 cartridges, or any other handgun that uses armor piercing ammunition, except: (1) where manufactured and sold exclusively to U.S. military, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies; and (2) by a licensed manufacturer or contractor for the purpose of examining and testing to determine whether such prohibition applies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Justice and Understanding By International Loan Elimination and Equity Act of 2005 or JUBILEE Act of 2005 - Amends the International Financial Institutions Act to require the Secretary of the Treasury to commence immediate efforts, within the Paris Club of Official Creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank), and other international financial institutions (multilateral development institutions (MDI's)) to accomplish: (1) the cancellation of all debts owed to each institution by specified eligible poor countries, and the financing of such debt cancellation from the institution's ongoing operations, procedures, and accounts; (2) the limitation of any waiting period before receipt of debt cancellation to one month from the date of an eligible poor country's application for it; and (3) encouragement of the government of each eligible poor country to allocate at least 20 percent of its national budget, including the savings from such debt cancellation, for the provision of basic health care services, education services, and clean water services to individuals in the country. Sets forth requirements for: (1) establishment of a framework to ensure transparency regarding each international financial institution's activities; and (2) availability on the Treasury Department's website of U.S. Executive Directors' remarks at meetings of international financial institutions' Boards of Directors. Requires the Secretary to commence immediate efforts, within the Paris Club, the IMF, and other appropriate MDI's, to ensure that the provision of debt cancellation to such countries is not conditioned on any agreement by such a country to implement or comply with specified policies that deepen poverty or degrade the environment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Patriot Penalty Elimination Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay income preservation pay to a member of the reserves: (1) who is called or ordered to active duty (other than voluntarily); (2) who serves on such duty outside the United States during at least six out of 12 consecutive months; and (3) whose preservice income exceeds the amount earned from the military service. Provides a formula for determining the appropriate income preservation amount, with a limit of $50,000. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a Ready Reserve-National Guard employee credit equal to 50 percent of the lesser of the actual compensation amount with respect to the employee for the taxable year, or $30,000. Provides such credit, with respect to such employee, for: (1) active duty outside the United States under a call or order for a period in excess of 179 days or for an indefinite period, in connection with which the employee is entitled to reemployment rights and other benefits or to a leave of absence from employment; and (2) hospitalization incident to such duty.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Osteoporosis Education and Prevention Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national campaign to increase awareness and knowledge with respect to osteoporosis. Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Aging to make demonstration program grants to public and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions to provide information and outreach for the prevention of osteoporosis.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Liver Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the National Center on Liver Disease Research in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to ensure the development of increased understanding of, and better treatments and cures for, liver diseases. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Liver Disease Research Advisory Board to: (1) advise and assist the Director of the Center concerning matters relating to liver disease research; and (2) develop the Liver Disease Research Action Plan to identify scientific opportunities and priorities of liver disease research. Requires the Director of each institute or center within NIH to allocate for liver disease research amounts necessary to: (1) fund existing scientific research opportunities; and (2) carry out the recommendations of the Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Save Our Waters From Sewage Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice of the bypass in accordance with this Act; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance. Requires POTWs to provide the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or the State if the State has an approved permit program) with: (1) prior notice of an anticipated bypass; and (2) notice of an unanticipated bypass within 24 hours of becoming aware of such bypass as well as follow-up notice. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property. .
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who create literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions or similar property a fair market value (determined at the time of contribution) tax deduction for contributions of such properties, the copyrights thereon, or both, to certain tax-exempt organizations, if such properties are properly appraised and are donated no sooner than 18 months after their creation. Limits the amount of such deduction based upon the donor's artistic adjusted gross income, as defined by this Act.
![Official portrait of Rep. Maloney, Carolyn B. [D-NY-12]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_ny_12_maloney_carolyn_200.jpg)