United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2005
Designates the Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility in Iron Mountain, Michigan, as the Oscar G. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2005
Amends the Wetland Loan Act to extend funding for conservation of migratory waterfowl and habitat. Amends the Duck Stamp Act (the Act) to increase the price of federal migratory-bird hunting and conservation stamps, and to revise procedures for disposing of unsold stamps. Provides that nothing in the Act shall be construed to require a person to affix a stamp sold under such Act to any other license as a condition of engaging in hunting under the authority of the stamp. Expresses the sense of Congress that the funds provided pursuant to this Act should be used for preserving and increasing waterfowl populations in accordance with the goals and objectives of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan, and to that end, should be used to supplement and not replace current conservation funding, including funding for other federal and state habitat conservation programs. States the sense of Congress that this Act should be implemented in a manner that helps private landowners achieve their long-term land use objectives in ways that enhance the conservation of wetlands and wildlife habitat.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2005
TRUE Enforcement and Border Security Act of 2005 - Sets forth border security-related provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) construction of fencing and security improvements in the the Pacific Ocean-Gulf of Mexico border area; (2) increased availability of Department of Defense (DOD) equipment on the southern border; and (3) construction of additional ports of entry. Provides for increases in funding, personnel, and technology at the federal, state, and local level for immigration and border enforcement and visa security, worksite enforcement, document integrity, immigration fraud, and detention and removal of illegal aliens. Establishes in the Department of Justice a position of Assistant Attorney General for Immigration Enforcement. Revises provisions respecting: (1) the integrated entry and exit data system; (2) registration of aliens in the United States; (3) state and local enforcement of immigration laws; and (4) National Crime Information Center listing of immigration violators. Provides for: (1) construction or acquisition of additional alien detention facilities; (2) federal custody of, and state or local compensation for, state or locally apprehended illegal aliens; (3) immigration-related training for state and local personnel; (4) personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties; and (5) civil rights money damage immunity for state or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement. Authorizes grants to border-adjacent Indian tribes adversely affected by illegal immigration for law enforcement, health care, environmental restoration, and cultural preservation. Revises visa and alien status provisions, including: (1) visa waiver program suspension; (2) diversity immigrant program elimination; (3) family sponsored immigrant allocations; and (4) visa compliance bonds. Continues, and expands to all states, the institutional removal program (IRP). Restricts citizenship-by-birth provisions. Denies immigration benefits to alien terrorists or criminals. Revises temporary protected status provisions. Employment Security Act of 2005 - Revises the work eligibility verification program. Directs the Commissioner for Social Security to establish an alien work eligibility database. Revises social security card anti-fraud and related provisions. Sets forth Internal Revenue Service (IRS) work eligibility verification provisions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make an illegal alien ineligible for nonresident alien tax status; and (2) prohibit a deduction for compensation paid to an unauthorized worker. Increases alien smuggling penalties. Establishes criminal penalties and forfeiture for aliens unlawfully present in the United States. Increases criminal penalties for marriage fraud and immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud. Revises criminal and civil penalties for improper entry and related actions by an alien. Increases criminal penalties for illegal entry and failure to depart violations. Increases criminal and civil penalties for document fraud, benefit fraud, and false citizenship claims. Makes aliens participating in criminal street gangs inadmissible and deportable. Revises specified voluntary departure, detention, and removal provisions. Provides for: (1) expedited removal of criminal aliens; and (2) detention alternative pilot programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to allow U.S. manufacturers that use products subject to countervailing or antidumping duty proceedings or use domestic like products (industrial users) to participate in such proceedings. Requires the U.S. International Trade Commission, when deciding whether an antidumping or countervailing duty should be imposed or continued, to weigh harm to industrial users from such imposition or continuation, as well as (under current law) the potential benefits to the industry in the United States materially injured or threatened with material injury by a foreign countervailing subsidy.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to develop research protocols for collecting and analyzing scientific information about the effectiveness and ecological impacts of catastrophic event recovery projects and emergency stabilization treatments undertaken as part of a burned area emergency response to increase the long-term benefits of management activities and to decrease short-term impacts. Requires such Secretaries to enter into cooperative agreements with land-grant colleges and universities to form forest health partnerships to utilize their education, research, and outreach capacity to address the recovery of forested land after a catastrophic event. Requires such Secretaries to conduct catastrophic event recovery evaluations of damaged federal lands. Directs such Secretaries to prepare a list of pre-approved management practices that may be immediately implemented as part of catastrophic event recovery projects or catastrophic event research projects. Requires determinations of whether or not to: (1) use any pre-approved management practices that can be immediately implemented; and (2) develop and carry out a recovery or research project or part of such a project using the alternative arrangements authorized by this Act. Directs such Secretaries to clarify agency-wide guidance regarding reforestation in response to catastrophic events. Provides for assistance to restore landscapes and communities affected by catastrophic events. Provides for the availability and use of pre-approved management practices and alternative arrangements on National Forest experimental forests.
United States · United States Congress · 1 November 2005
Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to create in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) the position of Chief Trade Prosecutor (CTP) to ensure that U.S. trading partners comply with trade agreements to which the United States is a party. Requires the CTP to assist the USTR in: (1) investigating and prosecuting disputes before the World Trade Organization (WTO) and pursuant to other trade agreements to which the United States is a party; and (2) carrying out USTR functions under the Act. Require the CTP to: (1) make recommendations with respect to administration of U.S. trade laws relating to foreign government barriers to U.S. goods, services, intellectual property, and other trade matters; and (4) perform such other functions as the USTR may direct.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2005
Condemns in the strongest terms Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's despicable threats, and demands that he repudiate them. Calls on the U.N. Security Council and all civilized nations to: (1) condemn these statements and to censure Iran for its statements and policies aimed at destroying Israel; and (2) consider measures to deny Iran the means to carry out its threats and to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Reaffirms the unwavering alliance between the United States and Israel and reasserts the U.S. commitment to defend Israel's right to exist as a free and democratic state.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Health Information Technology Promotion Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to add a new title II part D (Health Information Technology). Establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services an Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Directs the National Coordinator to: (1) maintain, direct, and oversee the continuous improvement of a strategic plan to guide the nationwide implementation of interoperable health information in both the public and private health care sectors; and (2) serve as the coordinator of federal government activities relating to health information technology. Prescribes conditions under which any nonmonetary remuneration (in the form of health information technology and related training services) made by a hospital or a critical access hospital to a physician shall not be considered a prohibited payment (subject to civil and criminal penalties) made as an inducement to reduce or limit services to certain individuals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on whether pertinent state laws and current federal standards should be conformed to create a single set of national standards to preserve and protect the security and confidentality of patient health information. Amends SSA title XI to provide for establishment of uniform confidentality and security standards with respect to individually identifiiable patient health information. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate a final rule for upgrading specified Accredited Standards Committee X12 (ASC X12) and National Council For Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) Telecommunications standards and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes; and (2) develop a strategic plan related to the need for coordination in the area of health information technology.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
National Uniformity for Food Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to prohibit any state or political subdivision from establishing or continuing in effect for any food in interstate commerce: (1) any requirement that is not identical to specified FFDCA provisions (that would result in materially different requirements), including those related to adulterated foods, unsafe food additives, and new animal drugs; or (2) any notification requirement that provides for a warning concerning the food's safety that is not identical to FFDCA provisions. Allows a state to petition for an exemption or to establish a national standard regarding any requirement under FFDCA or the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act relating to food regulation. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Service to provide such an exemption if the requirement: (1) protects an important public interest that would otherwise be unprotected; (2) would not cause any food to be in violation of any federal law; and (3) would not unduly burden interstate commerce. Allows a state to establish a requirement that would otherwise violate FFDCA provisions relating to national uniform nutrition labeling or this Act if the requirement is needed to address an imminent hazard to health that is likely to result in serious adverse health consequences and if other requirements are met. Declares that this Act does not preempt certain state and local laws relating to labeling or a consumer advisory relating to food sanitation imposed on a food establishment or recommended by the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 25 October 2005
Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005 - Prohibits any state or political subdivision from exercising its power of eminent domain for economic development if that state or political subdivision receives federal economic development funds during the fiscal year. Makes a state or political subdivision that violates such prohibition ineligible for any such funds for two fiscal years. Prohibits the federal government from exercising its power of eminent domain for economic development. Establishes a private cause of action for any private property owner who suffers injury as a result of a violation of this Act. Sets the statute of limitation for such an action at seven years. Allows the prevailing plaintiff's attorney to obtain reasonable attorney's fees and expert fees. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) compile a list of the federal laws under which federal economic development funds are distributed; (2) provide to each state and publish on a Department of Justice website the text of this Act, a description of the rights of property owners under this Act, and the compiled list of relevant federal laws; and (3) publish such text and description in the Federal Register. Requires the Attorney General to submit an annual report to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the appropriate congressional committees identifying states or political subdivisions that have used eminent domain in violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Enforcement First Immigration Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and other immigration-related provisions with respect to: (1) enforcement and detention of, and criminal penalties for, illegal aliens; (2) the institutional removal (IRP) and criminal alien assistance (SCAAP) programs; (3) alien smuggling, document fraud, gang violence, and drug trafficking; (4) border security, personnel increases, and border-related assignment of armed forces members; (5) provision of social security numbers; (6) work authorization and enforcement; (7) secure identification standards, including birth certificates; (8) reform of legal immigration, including elimination of the diversity lottery visa category and certain limitations on entrants from Mexico; (9) citizenship reform, including limitations on citizenship by birth; and (10) wages paid to unauthorized aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Special Inspector General for Hurricane Katrina Recovery Act - Establishes the Office of the Special Inspector General for Hurricane Katrina Recovery. Places at the head of such Office a Special Inspector General for Hurricane Katrina Recovery, who shall be appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Provides for the Special Inspector General to report directly to the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense. Requires the Special Inspector General, among other specified duties, to conduct, supervise, and coordinate audits and investigations of the treatment, handling, and expenditure of amounts made available for Hurricane Katrina recovery by the federal government, and of the programs, operations, and contracts carried out utilizing such funds. Instructs the Special Inspector General, within ten days of being appointed, to: (1) open a 24-hour fraud, waste, and abuse hotline; (2) deploy auditors and investigators to the affected Gulf of Mexico region of the United States; (3) announce a strategic plan for oversight; (4) go to the media of that region with antifraud messages; (5) liaise with Hurricane Katrina recovery federal agencies to identify vulnerabilities; and (6) coordinate interagency oversight elements through the creation of a task force. Requires the Special Inspector General to: (1) submit specified quarterly and interim reports summarizing the activities of the Special Inspector General and the Hurricane Katrina recovery activities of the federal government; and (2) publish such reports on the websites of the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase from 50 to 100 percent the cost percentage of qualified refinery property eligible for expensing; and (2) extend until January 1, 2015, the placed-in-service requirement for such property.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Gas Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to suspend the excise tax on highway motor fuels, other than aviation fuels, for a period of 30 days after the enactment of this Act. Provides for adjustments to such excise tax for floor stocks of highway motor fuels held by dealers prior to, or after, the suspension period provided by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Michigan Lighthouse and Maritime Heritage Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office, to study and report on Michigan maritime heritage resource preservation and interpretation, including: (1) potential economic and tourism benefits of preservation of these resources; (2) suitable and feasible options for long-term protection of these resources; (3) the manner in which the public can best learn about and experience these resources; and (4) ways of linking national, State, and regional and local areas and sites into a Michigan Maritime Heritage Destination Network.
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.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax free rollovers of military death gratuities to Roth individual retirement accounts, health savings and Archer medical savings accounts, and Coverdell education savings accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2005
Condemns the terrorist attacks on Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and other terrorist attacks directed against Egypt, and expresses condolences and sympathy for those who were killed and injured in the attacks. Joins with President George W. Bush in expressing the solidarity of the people and government of the United States with the people and government of Egypt. Expresses readiness to support the Egyptian authorities in their efforts to bring to justice those individuals responsible for the attacks and to pursue and dismantle the networks which plan and carry out such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6483 Lincoln Street in Gagetown, Michigan, as the "Gagetown Veterans Memorial Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2005
South Caucasus Integration and Open Railroads Act of 2005 - Prohibits U.S. assistance to develop or promote rail connections or railway-related connections that do not traverse or connect with Armenia, and do traverse or connect Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Kars, Turkey.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2005
Fire Protection Improvement and Correction Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to update an Occupational Safety and Health Administration fire protection safety standard to incorporate the current consensus standard of the National Fire Protection Association for fire protection for styrene cross-linked composites manufacturing.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005 - Prohibits a state or political subdivision from using economic development as a reason for exercising its power of eminent domain if federal funds would contribute in any way to: (1) the project for which eminent domain is exercised; or (2) the exercise and enforcement of eminent domain over the project. Renders a state or political subdivision that violations this prohibition ineligible for any such federal funds and directs the federal agency involved to withhold those funds. Prohibits the federal government from using economic development as a reason for exercising eminent domain. Defines "economic development" to mean any activity other than making private property available in substantial part for use by the general public or by an entity that makes the property available for use by the general public, or as a public facility, or to remove harmful effects.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Children's Safety Act of 2005 - Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act - Requires: (1) each state, territory, and federally recognized Indian tribe to maintain a sex offender registry; and (2) each sex offender to register in the jurisdictions where the offender resides, is an employee, and is a student. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) maintain a National Sex Offender Registry at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (2) establish a Sex Offender Management Assistance program; and (3) authorize sex offender apprehension grants. DNA Fingerprinting Act of 2005 - Amends: (1) the DNA Identification Act of 1994 to expand the scope of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples to be included in the Combined DNA Index System; and (2) the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to authorize the Attorney General to collect DNA samples from individuals who are arrested or detained under U.S. authority. Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act of 2005 - Increases penalties for violent crimes against persons under age 18, including death or life imprisonment if the crime results in the death of a person under that age. Protection Against Sexual Exploitation of Children Act of 2005 - Increases penalties for sexual offenses against children. Foster Child Protection and Child Sexual Predator Sentencing Act of 2005 - Requires background checks and checks of national crime information databases and state child abuse registries before approval of foster or adoptive placements. Establishes: (1) procedures for the civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons; and (2) mandatory minimum penalties for child sex trafficking.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Joint Administrative Procedures Committee Act of 2005 or JACP Act - Establishes a Joint Administrative Procedures Committee in the Congress to: (1) selectively review existing major rules of any federal agency; and (2) recommend to the congressional committees of jurisdiction that they take appropriate legislative action to amend or repeal laws within their jurisdictions sufficient to effectuate its recommendations and to such federal agency that it amend or repeal all or any part of such major rules. Requires the Joint Administrative Committee to periodically review the regulatory plan of each federal agency of its most important significant regulatory actions that the agency reasonably expects to issue in proposed or final form to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Medicare Medically Necessary Dental Care Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of medically necessary dental procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2005
Expresses disagreement with the majority opinion in Kelo et al. v. City of New London et al. ( Kelo) and its holdings that effectively negate the public use requirement of the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that state and local governments: (1) should only execute the power of eminent domain for the public good; (2) must always justly compensate affected individuals in accordance with the Fifth Amendment; (3) should never use eminent domain to advantage one private party over another; and (4) should not construe Kelo as justification to abuse the power of eminent domain. Reserves to Congress the right to address through legislation any abuses of eminent domain by state and local government in light of Kelo .
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on pulmonary hypertension and to coordinate the Director's activities with related activities of other national research institutes and National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies. Requires the Director to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct research and programs on pulmonary hypertension, including: (1) basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease; (2) training programs for scientists and health professionals; (3) programs to provide information and continuing education to health professionals; and (4) programs for the dissemination of information to the public. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a data system for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data derived from patient populations with pulmonary hypertension; and (2) an information clearinghouse to facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of pulmonary hypertension by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Federal Prison Industries Competition in Contracting Act of 2005 - Amends the federal criminal code to replace provisions regarding the purchase of prison-made products by federal departments with provisions establishing a government-wide procurement policy relating to purchases from Federal Prison Industries (FPI), which shall generally require the use of competitive procedures. Authorizes a contract award to be made to FPI using other than competitive procedures: (1) if a product or service is only available from FPI; and (2) by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (the Bureau). Requires that an analysis of the probable impact of a proposed expansion of sales within the federal market by FPI on private sector firms and their non-inmate workers be made whenever FPI proposes to authorize the sale of a new specific product or service or to expand production of a current product or service. Prohibits the total dollar value of FPI sales to the government in FY 2007 through 2011 from exceeding specified percentages of FPI sales for the base period. Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 to require an executive agency: (1) before purchasing a product listed in the latest edition of the FPI catalog, to determine whether the FPI product is comparable to products available from the private sector; and (2) if such product is not comparable, to use competitive procedures or make an individual purchase under a multiple award. Authorizes FPI to enter into a contract with a federal contractor to produce products as a subcontractor or supplier in the performance of a federal procurement contract. Includes services within the scope of a prohibition against transporting (in interstate commerce or from a foreign country) goods produced by prisoners. Establishes within the Bureau of Prisons: (1) the Enhanced In-Prison Educational and Vocational Assessment and Training Program; and (2) the Cognitive Abilities Assessment Demonstration Program. Directs: (1) the Chief Operating Officer of FPI to develop proposals to have FPI donate products and services to eligible entities that provide goods or services to low-income individuals who would likely otherwise have difficulty purchasing such products or services; (2) the Director of the Bureau to afford to inmates opportunities to participate in programs and activities designed to help prepare such inmates to obtain employment upon release; and (3) the Comptroller General to undertake to have an independent study conducted on the effects of eliminating FPI's mandatory source authority.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2005
Prohibits the issuance of any federal or state permit or lease for new oil and gas slant, directional, or offshore drilling in or under one or more of the Great Lakes.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Violence Against Women Act of 2005 - Amends the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994, VAWA of 2000 (VAWA-2000), the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (OCCSSA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), the Social Security Act (SSA), the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, the Safe Homes for Women Act of 1994, the United States Housing Act of 1937, the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000, and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to reauthorize, revise, and establish various programs for prevention and treatment of violence against women, including domestic violence, child abuse, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (violence). Provides for specified VAWA judicial and law enforcement programs, including STOP grants, a stalker database, cyberstalking prevention, and dating violence prohibitions. Establishes VAWA grant programs: (1) by the Department of Justice (Justice) for assisting children and youth exposed to violence, and for engaging men, women, and youth in preventing violence; and (2) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for services, education, protection, and justice for young victims of violence, and for research on effective interventions in the healthcare setting. Revises OCCSSA requirements for Justice grants for violence against women programs, and establishes programs for sexual assault services and for assistance for victims of abuse. Requires grants for public information campaigns relating to violence prevention. Requires a National Domestic Violence Hotline study. Revises and reauthorizes: (1) grants under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to reduce violence against women on campus; (2) safe havens for children under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Reauthorizes PHSA rape prevention and education programs, including the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Establishes PHSA grants by HHS for: (1) training and education of health professionals in domestic and sexual violence; (2) fostering public health responses to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking; and (3) identification and treatment services at community health centers. Revises SSA requirements for Federal health programs' response to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Establishes VAWA grant programs to address the housing needs of victims of violence. Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to require: (1) public and Indian housing authority plans to report on programs offered to victims of violence; and (2) certification and confidentiality with respect to victims of violence in the low-income housing assistance voucher and public housing programs. Requires emergency leave, under VAWA, for employees experiencing domestic or sexual violence. Sets forth provisions relating to the safety of Indian women. Supporting Teens through Education and Protection Act of 2005 - STEP Act - Authorizes the Attorney General through the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women (Justice) to make grants to combat domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in middle and high schools. Immigrant Victims of Violence Protection Act of 2005 - Revises the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the Battered Immigrant Women Protection Act of 2000 (under VAWA-2000) with respect to victims of violence, including victims of crimes of human trafficking, VAWA petitioners, and children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Requires Representatives to be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, which shall be determined by counting the number of persons in each State who are U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2005
Office of National Drug Control Reauthorization Act - Amends the Official of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 to repeal provisions providing for termination of the Office. Clean Sports Act of 2005 - Prohibits a major professional league from arranging, promoting, organizing, or producing a professional game without meeting the requirements established by this Act for testing for the use of prohibited substances by professional athletes and for public disclosure of the names of athletes who test positive. Requires a suspension of an athlete for a minimum of two years for the first violation and a lifetime ban for the second violation. Allows a league to impose a lesser penalty if the athlete: (1) establishes that he did not know or suspect, and could not reasonably have known or suspected even with the exercise of utmost caution, that he had used the prohibited substance; or (2) provides substantial assistance to the league in identifying violations of the league's drug testing policy by other athletes or by any personnel working with or treating athletes. Authorizes the Director of National Control Policy to modify standards for a league under exceptional circumstances or for good cause with limitations. Require the Director to include additional professional sporting leagues or colleges if such additions would prevent the use of such substances by high school, college, or professional athletes. Treats violations of this Act as unfair or deceptive acts or practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study the use of performance-enhancing substances by college athletes. Requires the Director to establish a commission on high school and college athletics.
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2005
Rural Access to Emergency Services Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to: (1) cost-based critical access hospital ambulance services; (2) appropriate coverage of rural ground ambulance services; and (3) payments to retain emergency and other capacity for ambulances in rural areas. Amends SSA title XI to provide for expanding the work of Medicare quality improvement organizations to include ambulance providers. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 with respect to including ambulance providers in the definition of health care provider for purposes of the Universal Service Fund. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States to encourage them to make improvements to their emergency medical services systems.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2005
International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act of 2005 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize states to enact laws restricting the receipt and disposal of foreign municipal solid waste within their borders until the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues regulations implementing and enforcing the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United States and Canada (Agreement). Defines the authority of the Administrator with respect to the importation and exportation of municipal solid waste under the Agreement. Requires the Administrator to give substantial weight to the views of affected states and local governments before consenting to the importation of foreign municipal solid waste into the United States under the Agreement, and to consider the impact of such importation on: (1) the continued public support for state and local recycling programs; (2) landfill capacities; (3) air emissions and road deterioration from increased vehicular traffic; and (4) homeland security, public health, and the environment. Authorizes the Administrator to assess civil penalties for any past or current violations of this Act or to commence a civil action in the U.S. district court.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Combating Autism Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) a program to provide information and education on autism and its risk factors to health professionals and the general public; and (2) the Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate autism related activities within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide autism screening, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants or cooperative agreements to provide technical assistance to state agencies to conduct applied autism research.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Pledge Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any Federal court, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance or its validity under the Constitution. Makes this limitation inapplicable to: (1) any court established by Congress under its power to make needful rules and regulations respecting the territory of the United States; or (2) the Superior Court of the District of Columbia or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
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 · 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 · 5 May 2005
Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety Retirees Act of 2005 or the HELPS Retirees Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow retired public safety officers to elect an annual exclusion from gross income up to $5,000 for distributions from governmental retirement plans for the payment of accident or health insurance or long-term care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2005 - Provides a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record any firearm acquired before October 31, 1968, by a veteran while a member of the armed forces stationed outside the continental United States. Grants such an individual limited immunity under the Federal criminal code and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the acquisition, possession, transportation, or alteration of such firearm before or concurrent with such registration. Extends such immunity to a veteran who attempts to register a qualifying firearm outside of the amnesty period if the veteran surrenders the firearm within 30 days after being notified of potential criminal liability for continued possession. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) transfer each firearm qualifying as a curio or relic which has been forfeited to the United States to the first qualified museum that requests it; and (2) publish information identifying each such firearm which is available to be transferred to a museum. Prohibits the Attorney General from destroying any such firearm which has been forfeited until five years after the forfeiture. Requires that any firearm transferred to a qualified museum be registered to the transferee. Makes a prohibition against transfer or possession of a machine-gun inapplicable to a transfer to or by, or possession by, a museum which is open to the public and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under applicable State law.