United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2006
Amends rule XXV (Limitations on Outside Earned Income and Acceptance of Gifts) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to prohibit a Member, Delegate, Resident Commissioner, officer, or employee of the House from accepting a gift from a registered lobbyist.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2006
Tax Code Termination Act - Terminates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 after December 31, 2009, except for self-employment taxes, Federal Insurance Contributions Act taxes, and Railroad Retirement taxes. Declares that any new federal tax system should be a simple and fair system that: (1) applies a low rate to all Americans; (2) provides tax relief for working Americans; (3) protects the rights of taxpayers and reduces tax collection abuses; (4) eliminates the bias against savings and investment; (5) promotes economic growth and job creation; and (6) does not penalize marriage or families. Requires that the new federal tax system be approved by Congress in its final form by July 4, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2006
Amends the federal criminal code to allow any person who was the victim of a sexual crime while a minor to sue in federal court for damages for resulting injury, regardless of whether the injury occurred while such person was a minor. (Current law allows a minor who is the victim of a sexual crime to sue.) Increases from $50,000 to $150,000 the minimum amount of damages such a victim shall be deemed to have sustained.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2006
Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to promote the emergence of a democratic Palestinian governing authority that denounces and combats terrorism, upholds human rights for all people, and has agreed to recognize Israel as an independent Jewish state. Amends the the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to provide assistance under such Act or any other provision of law to the Palestinian Authority (PA) only during a period for which a presidential certification has determined: (1) that no PA ministry, agency, or instrumentality is controlled by a foreign terrorist organization and no member of a foreign terrorist organization serves in a PA ministry, agency, or instrumentality; (2) that the PA has publicly acknowledged Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and is adhering to all previous agreements and understandings with the government of the United States, the government of Israel, and the international community; and (3) that the PA has made demonstrable progress toward purging from its security services individuals with ties to terrorism, dismantling all terrorist infrastructure and cooperating with Israel's security services, halting anti-Israel incitement, and ensuring democracy and financial transparency. Directs the President to make and transmit such certifications to Congress every six months. Prohibits during a period in which a certification is is not in effect with respect to the PA.: (1) assistance to nongovernmental organizations for the West Bank and Gaza (exempts assistance for basic human health needs from such limitation.); (2) U.S. contributions to the United Nations intended for U.N. agencies providing assistance directly to the PA; (3) visa issuance to any PA official or affiliated person (with a case-by-case exemption for U.S. security needs); (4) travel outside of a 25-mile radius of the U.N. headquarters building for officials and representatives of the PA and of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) who are stationed at the United Nations in New York City; and (5) establishment of an office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities within U.S. jurisdiction at the direction of, or with funds provided by, the PA or the PLO. Requires the President to direct the executive director at each international financial institution to use U.S. influence to prohibit assistance to the PA during any such period. Directs the Secretary of State to audit and report respecting duplicative entities and functions of: (1) the United Nations Division for Palestinian Rights; (2) the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People; (3) the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority; (4) the NGO Network on the Question of Palestine; (5) the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories; and (6) any other entity the Secretary determines results in duplicative efforts or funding or fails to ensure balance in the approach to Israeli-Palestinian issues. Withholds specified U.S. contributions to the United Nations for such entities until the report's recommendations are implemented. Expresses the sense of Congress that during any such period the territory controlled by the PA should be deemed to be in use as a terrorist sanctuary for purposes of the Export Administration Act of 1979, and of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989. Prohibits funds to be used by any U.S. officer or employee to negotiate, attend official meetings, or have official contacts with members or official representatives of Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, or any other Palestinian terrorist organization, until such organization: (1) recognizes Israel's right to exist; (2) renounces terrorism; (3) dismantles the terrorist infrastructure; and (4) recognizes all previous agreements and understandings between Israel and the PA.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2005
No Parole for Sex Offenders Act - Requires a state, in order not to reduce the funds available for Local Law Enforcement Block Grants by 10%, to have in effect a law that disallows parole for a sexually violent predator or an individual convicted of a criminal offense against a minor. Provides for the redistribution of withheld funds to participating states that are in compliance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 8624 Ferguson Road in Dallas, Texas, as the "Francisco `Pancho' Medrano Post Office Building."
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
Amends the federal criminal code to establish a national standard for the carrying of certain concealed firearms by non-residents. Authorizes a person who has a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state and who is not prohibited from carrying a firearm under federal law to carry a concealed firearm in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state or as specified under this Act.
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 · 8 December 2005
Children's Safety and Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2005 - Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act - Requires each state, territory, and federally recognized Indian tribe to maintain a sex offender registry. Prescribes registration, notification, and verification requirements and penalties for violations. Establishes the Jessica Lunsford Address Verification Program and the Megan Nicole Kanka and Alexandra Nicole Zapp Community Program (notification). Requires the Attorney General to: (1) maintain a National Sex Offender Registry at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (2) maintain the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website; (3) establish a Sex Offender Management Assistance program; (4) carry out a demonstration project on the use of electronic monitoring devices to manage sex offenders; (5) assist jurisdictions in apprehending sex offenders who violate registration requirements; and (6) make registration enforcement grants. Prescribes enhanced penalties for: (1) using a controlled substance to facilitate a sex offense; (2) violent crimes against persons under age 18; (3) sexual offenses against children; (4) conduct relating to child prostitution; (5) aggravated sexual assault; and (6) sexual abuse of a ward. Establishes within the Department of Justice an Office on Sexual Violence and Crimes against Children to administer sex offender-related registration, notification, and assistance programs. 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, detained, or convicted under U.S. authority. Calls for state implementation of the Attorney General's model code on investigating missing persons and deaths. Requires background checks and fingerprint-based checks of national crime information databases and state child abuse registries before approval of foster or adoptive placements. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the civil commitment of sexually dangerous persons; and (2) grants for state civil commitment programs for such persons. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) establish recordkeeping requirements for the production of matter containing simulated sexually explicit conduct; and (2) prohibit the production, with the intent to transport in interstate commerce, of obscene matter. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) judicial branch security; (2) specified crimes against federal officials, judges, law enforcement officers, public safety officers, jurors, and witnesses; and (3) grants to states for witness protection programs, threat assessment databases, juvenile and young adult witness assistance programs, and reentry courts. Authorizes federal judges and prosecutors to carry firearms. Modifies and expands code prohibitions against, and penalties for, criminal street gang activity. Increases penalties for various offenses, including interstate travel or transportation or violent crimes in aid of racketeering. Establishes additional penalties for violent crimes relating to drug trafficking, for using interstate commerce to commit multiple murders, and for certain crimes committed by illegal aliens. Authorizes grants to hire additional prosecutors, and fund technology, equipment, and training, to increase accurate identification of gang members and violent offenders. Directs the Attorney General to award grants for state and local reentry courts. Authorizes the Attorney General to provide a grant to a private, nonprofit organization to undertake specified activities to promote crime prevention.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2005
Bringing Overstay Numbers Down Act of 2005 or the BOND Act of 2005 - Sets forth terms and conditions for immigration delivery bonds (a written suretyship for the surrender of an individual against whom the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued an order to show cause or a notice to appear, the performance of which is guaranteed by an acceptable surety on federal bonds). Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with respect to the release of an alien detained pending a removal decision to: (1) permit corporate surety employees to visit the alien; (2) permit release of the alien on a delivery bond of at least $10,000; (3) permit release of such alien on his or her own recognizance only if an immigration judge expressly states in a signed release order that the alien is not a flight risk and is not a threat to the United States; and (4) eliminate parole release authority. Increases the amounts of recovered breached cash and surety bonds to be deposited into the Breached Bond/Detention Fund from amounts in excess of $8 million to amounts in excess of $80 million. States that: (1) DHS shall take into custody any alien subject to a final order of removal, and cancel any bond previously posted for the alien, if the alien is produced within the prescribed time limit by the bond obligor whether or not DHS accepts custody of the alien; and (2) the bond obligor shall be deemed to have performed all bond conditions and shall be released from liability if the alien is produced within such time limit. .
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2005
Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) take all appropriate actions, including development of a national border strategy, to maintain operational control over the U.S. international land and maritime borders; (2) report on cross-border security agreements with Mexico and Canada; (3) provide for biometric data enhancements; (4) report on the One Face at the Border Initiative; (5) increase port of entry inspection personnel and canine detection teams; (6) report on the airspace security mission's impact on the National Capital Region; (7) reimburse private owners along the border for certain property damage; (8) establish at least one Border Patrol unit for the Virgin Islands; (9) report on Central American gang travel across the U.S.-Mexico border; and (10) deploy radiation portal monitors at U.S. ports of entry to screen inbound cargo for nuclear and radiological material. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) with respect to alien smuggling and illegal entry and presence to: (1) revise the definition of aggravated felony; (2) provide mandatory minimum sentences on smuggling convictions, and expand seizure and forfeiture authority; (3) make illegal U.S. presence a crime; (4) increase penalties for improper U.S. entry and for marriage and immigration-related entrepreneurship fraud; (5) provide mandatory minimum sentences for aliens convicted of reentry after removal; (6) impose on smugglers the same sentences that the aliens they have smuggled would receive; (7) include among smuggling crimes the carrying or use of a firearm during such activity; and (8) revise voluntary departure provisions. Directs the Secretary: (1) and the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan to increase the availability of Department of Defense (DOD) surveillance equipment along the U.S. international land and maritime borders; (2) to assess border security vulnerabilities on Department of Interior land directly adjacent to the U.S. border; (3) conduct a training exercise on border security information sharing; (4) establish a Border Security Advisory Committee; and (5) establish a university-based Center of Excellence for Border Security. Authorizes the Secretary to permit the use of DHS grants for border security activities. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to border security cooperation with sovereign Indian Nations. Requires the mandatory detention of illegal aliens apprehended at a U.S. port of entry or along the U.S. land or maritime borders. Permits release with notice to appear only if the alien: (1) is not a security risk; and (2) provides a specified bond. Denies admission to the nationals of a country that refuses or delays acceptance of its nationals ordered removed from the United States. Requires that the Secretary place an alien (other than from Mexico or Canada) who has not been admitted or paroled into expedited removal if apprehended within 100 miles of the border and within 14 days of unauthorized entry. Directs the Secretary to take specified actions to ensure coordination of DHS border security efforts. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in DHS an Office of Air and Marine Operations whose primary mission shall be to prevent the entry of terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband into the United States. Directs the Secretary to transfer to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement all functions of the Customs Patrol Officers unit operating on the Tohono O'odham Indian reservation (the "Shadow Wolves" unit). Authorizes the Secretary to establish within United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement additional Customs Patrol units to operate on Indian lands. Bars an alien: (1) deportable on terrorist grounds from receiving withholding of removal; (2) convicted of an aggravated felony, unlawful procurement of citizenship, or domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse from admissibility; (3) convicted of an aggravated felony from refugee or asylee status adjustment; (4) removable on terrorist grounds from becoming naturalized; and (5) from being naturalized while in removal proceedings. Revises and enhances detention provisions for certain dangerous aliens subject to removal, including establishment of a detention review process for cooperating aliens. Increases penalties and sets mandatory minimum sentences for aliens who fail to comply with removal provisions. Makes an alien deportable for: (1) three or more drunk driving convictions; and (2) social security number and identification fraud. Authorizes (and reimburses) local sheriffs or sheriff coalitions in specified counties along the southern border to enforce the immigration laws and to transfer illegal aliens to federal custody. Establishes in the Treasury the Designated County Law Enforcement Account. Makes an alien inadmissible for U.S. entry if: (1) such alien has been deported for criminal street gang participation; or (2) the consular officer or the Secretary knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that such alien is a member of a criminal street gang seeking U.S. entry in furtherance of gang-related crimes or activities, or is a member of a designated criminal street gang. Makes an alien deportable who: (1) is a street gang member convicted of committing or attempting to commit a gang crime; or (2) is determined by the Secretary to be a member of a designated criminal street gang. Authorizes the Attorney General to designate a group or association as a criminal street gang. Requires mandatory detention of alien gang members subject to removal. Makes such aliens ineligible for asylum and protection from removal to certain countries. Authorizes expedited removal for aliens inadmissible for security or criminal grounds. Makes sexual abuse of a minor an aggravated felony for immigration purposes. Directs the Secretary to establish, and sets forth the provisions for, an employment eligibility verification system. Expands the employment eligibility verification system to include: (1) previously hired individuals; and (2) recruitment and referral. Sets forth civil and criminal penalty provisions for noncompliance. Provides for: (1) voluntary employer verification utilizing such system two years after enactment of this Act for previously hired individuals; (2) mandatory employer verification three years after enactment of this Act by federal, state, and local governments, and the military for employees not verified under such system working at federal, state or local government buildings, military bases, nuclear energy sites, weapons sites, airports, or critical infrastructure sites; and (3) mandatory employer verification six years after enactment of this Act for all employees not previously verified under such system. Makes employer participation in the basic pilot program mandatory two years after enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Board of Immigration Appeals to reverse an immigration judge's removal decision without remand. Eliminates judicial review of visa revocation. Authorizes reinstatement of a prior removal order against an alien illegally reentering the United States. Requires an alien applying for withholding of removal to establish that his or her life or freedom would be threatened in the country of return, and that race, religion, nationality, or political or social group would be a central factor in such threat. Subjects removal appeals to an initial certification of reviewability process by a single court of appeals judge. Requires all nonimmigrant applicants to waive any right to: (1) review or appeal a determination of inadmissibility at port of entry; or (2) contest, other than through asylum, any action for removal.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2005
Gulf Coast Recovery Act of 2005 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act) to reimburse an eligible state or local government 75% of the eligible expenses incurred between January 1 and June 30, 2006, for base pay and overtime expenses of employees who provide essential government services for response and recovery operations with respect Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on or after August 29, 2005. Amends the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 to limit a disaster loan to 50% of a local government's operating budget for the fiscal year in which the disaster occurs. Sets at 100% the federal share of assistance for debris removal under the Stafford Act with respect to such hurricanes. Requires the President to contribute at least 75% of the cost of hazard mitigation measures approved under the Stafford Act in the one-year period following enactment of this Act with respect to such hurricanes. Amends the Stafford Act to double from 7.5% to 15% of the estimated aggregate amount of federal disaster relief grants to be made with respect to a major disaster the limit on the total amount of contributions the President may make for cost-effective hazard mitigation measures in the disaster area. Extends unemployment assistance in the case of an eligible individual affected by the hurricane disasters. Amends the Stafford Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to state and local governments to: (1) purchase or improve commercially available interoperable communications equipment; (2) purchase mobile equipment to generate emergency power; and (3) train first responders and emergency personnel on how to best use such equipment effectively.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2005
Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to establish a database of small business concerns which must be consulted by federal agencies before awarding a federal contract for a disaster-related activity.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2005
Amends the federal judicial code to require the U.S. Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless the justices decide, by majority vote, that such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of one or more of the parties before the Court.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2005
Border Law Enforcement Act of 2005 - Establishes a Designated County Law Enforcement Assistance program jointly within the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide financial assistance and authorization for the law enforcement operations of sheriffs in counties adjacent to the southern U.S. border. Authorizes the sheriffs in these counties to: (1) coordinate law enforcement operations in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement; (2) conduct law enforcement operations in their counties in order to enforce criminal laws and protect lives, property, and security; (3) transfer aliens detained or taken into custody who are not lawfully present in the United States to appropriate federal law enforcement officials; (4) enforce state and federal laws relating to controlled substance trafficking and other criminal laws other than immigration laws (except as provided in an agreement with DHS); and (5) be paid for the costs of performing such duties or functions by the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security. Creates the Designated County Law Enforcement Account in the Treasury. Requires the Attorney General and the Secretary to jointly issue regulations that govern the distribution of funds under this Act and provide uniform standards that all other federal law enforcement officials shall follow to cooperate with such sheriffs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2005
Amends the Privacy Act of 1974 to authorize the disclosure to government agencies of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) records on assistance provided to individuals in connection with a major disaster or emergency for purposes of complying with a federal or state sex offender registry or notification law. Conditions receipt of federal funds by non-governmental organizations under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act on the organization providing assurances satisfactory to the President that it will disclose its records for the purpose of permitting a requesting jurisdiction to comply with a federal or state sex offender registry or notification law.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2005
Commends U.S., international, Indian, and Pakistani efforts to assist the victims of the October 2005 earthquake in South Asia. Encourages further cooperation between Pakistan and India on relief operations and efforts to expand peace in the region. Urges: (1) the United States and the world community to reaffirm their commitment to additional support for relief and long-term reconstruction efforts in areas affected by the earthquake; and (2) continued attention by international donors and relief agencies to the needs of vulnerable populations in the stricken countries, particularly children who have been left parentless and homeless by the disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2005
Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 to exclude manure from the definition of "hazardous substance" or "pollutant or contaminant" under that Act. Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to exempt releases associated with manure from the emergency notification requirements under that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2005
Provides for: (1) an automatic one-year extension of the authorization of appropriations for a crop year and direct spending programs and authorities (other than such crop programs) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002; and (2) an additional one-year extension of them if the President does not submit implementing legislation to Congress with respect to the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations by January 15, 2008. Provides, with the exception of peanut storage costs, the same automatic one-year extension and additional one-year extension for: (1) authorizations of appropriations in the Act scheduled to expire on September 30, 2007; and (2) termination of a program or authority in calendar year 2007.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Foreign Operations Grant Sunshine Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of State to make publicly available information related to certain funding provided to nongovernmental organizations by the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children is firmly grounded in the Nation's Constitution and traditions; (2) the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Fields v. Palmdale School District undermines the fundamental right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children; and (3) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit should agree to rehear the case en banc in order to reverse this constitutionally infirm ruling.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks that occurred on November 9, 2005, in Amman, Jordan. Expresses the condolences of the House of Representatives to the families and friends of those individuals who were killed in the attacks, and its sympathies to the injured. Expresses the solidarity and support of the people and government of the United States with the people and government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Expresses the readiness of the House to support and assist the Jordanian 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 · 7 November 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 8135 Forest Lane in Dallas, Texas, as the "Dr. Robert E. Price Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2005
Border Security Enforcement and Detention Act of 2005 - Requires the mandatory detention of illegal aliens apprehended at a U.S. port of entry or along the U.S. land or maritime borders. Permits release with notice to appear only if the alien: (1) is not a security risk; and (2) provides a bond of at least $5,000. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) utilize all available DHS detention facilities; (2) conduct a analysis of all options to increase detention capacities, including the use of state and local correctional facilities, temporary detention facilities, private space, and detention alternatives; (3) expand the use of temporary detention facilities; and (4) report annually on repatriation costs. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to deny admission to the nationals of a country that refuses or delays acceptance of its nationals ordered removed from the United States. Authorizes FY2007-FY2010 appropriations for border patrol increases.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Victims of Violence Confidentality Act of 2005 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require states to keep confidential the addresses of victims of domestic violence otherwise included in the state's computerized statewide voter registration list.
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
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 · 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
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 · 27 October 2005
Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a Gulf Opportunity Zone (GO Zone) as part of the Hurricane Katrina disaster area to provide tax benefits to businesses and individuals affected by Hurricane Katrina, including: (1) tax-exempt bond financing and additional advance refunding of existing bond obligations in the states of Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi; (2) increased depreciation and expensing allowances for GO Zone property; (3) expensing of GO Zone demolition and cleanup costs and environmental remediation costs; (4) increased expensing for GO Zone reforestation expenditures; and (5) carrybacks of net operating losses for certain GO Zone businesses and public utilities. Provides for federal guarantees of bonds issued in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi for revenue and infrastructure purposes related to Hurricane Katrina. Establishes a Rita GO Zone as part of the Hurricane Rita disaster area and extends to businesses and individuals in such Zone tax benefits currently available in Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including: (1) tax-free distributions and loans from retirement plans for disaster relief; (2) suspension of limitations on personal casualty losses; and (3) adjustments to earned income of Hurricane Rita victims in 2005 to preserve eligibility for certain tax benefits. Allows certain small employers a business tax credit for up to 40 percent of the wages paid to employees in a GO Zone between August 29 and December 31, 2005. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of the Treasury should designate Gulf Coast Recovery Bonds in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that it should raise awareness about the importance of workplace safety for, and prevention of job-related violence against, social workers and case workers Encourages states and local agencies to adopt measures that would improve the safety of social service workers.
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 · 20 October 2005
Passport for All Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate passport waiver authority for immigrant and nonimmigrant aliens and U.S. citizens (thus requiring a passport for all travel into or from the United States). Authorizes passport waiver for a U.S. citizen in individual cases of unforeseen emergency or humanitarian or national interest. Amends the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to require (by January 1, 2008) that all U.S. citizens and aliens carry and produce a passport when traveling into the United States (except as provided by this Act). Directs the Secretary of State to endeavor to persuade all countries to issue machine-readable passports which comply with document identifying standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Disabled Veterans Commissary and Exchange Store Benefits Act - Permits a veteran with any compensable service-connected disability (and their dependents) to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as a member of the Armed Forces entitled to retired or retainer pay.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Family Education Reimbursement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Education to establish a Family Education Reimbursement Account Program for families of students displaced by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. Provides for reimbursing parents for costs of such students or preschool-age children attending schools or preschool programs, chosen by the parents, during the 2005–2006 school year. Requires the Secretary to make a contract with a nongovernmental entity to administer and operate the program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2005
Homeland Security Volunteerism Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish: (1) a Citizens Corps, as a component of the USA Freedom Corps, to coordinate homeland security volunteer activities; and (2) a Border Corps as a volunteer organization to assist the U.S. Border Patrol in carrying out its mission.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2005
Secure Our Nation's Interior Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise expedited removal provisions to: (1) apply such provisions to an alien who has not been physically present in the United States continuously for the one-year (currently, two-year) period immediately prior to the date of determination of inadmissibility; and (2) exempt from such authority an alien who has been charged with a crime, is in criminal proceedings, or is serving a criminal sentence. States that state or local law enforcement personnel have the inherent authority of a sovereign entity to apprehend, arrest, detain, or transfer to federal custody aliens in the United States (including the transportation of such aliens across state lines to detention centers) in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws. Directs, upon state or appropriate local request, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to: (1) take an illegal alien into federal custody, or request that the relevant state or local law enforcement agency temporarily incarcerate or transport the alien for transfer to federal custody; and (2) designate at least one federal, state, or local prison, or a private contracted prison or detention facility within each state as the central facility for that state to transfer custody of aliens to DHS. Provides for DHS reimbursement of state and local costs incurred in the incarceration and transportation of illegal aliens. Provides that: (1) aliens (including alien crewmen) seeking admission or readmission to or transit through the United States must be inspected by immigration officers; (2) no alien may be admitted to the United States without having been processed through the automated entry-exit control system; and (3) such system shall verify the identity of every arriving and departing alien by comparing in real time the biometric identifier on such alien's travel or entry document or passport with the arriving or departing alien.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2005
Border Security Improvement Act - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to: (1) make the Secretary of Homeland Security rather than the Attorney General responsible for border barrier improvements; and (2) direct the Secretary to provide for construction of a fence along the entire U.S. southern border.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2005
Government Credit Card Sunshine Act - Requires specified information regarding the use of all federal credit cards to be made publicly available within 15 days after receipt (by the government or the federal employee, as the case may be) of any bill for purchases made with the card. Requires the information to be posted on the official website of the Inspector General of the federal department or agency concerned. Allows the Secretary of a department or agency to omit from the website otherwise required information in the interest of national security. Subjects a federal employee to disciplinary action for fraudulent use of a government credit card that involves a purchase in an amount greater than $500.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2005
Pakistani Temporary Protected Status Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the extraordinary and temporary conditions caused by the earthquake in Pakistan qualifies Pakistan for designation under the Immigration and Nationality Act pursuant to which its nationals would be eligible for temporary protected status (TPS) in the United States (for an initial 12-month period). Sets forth related TPS eligibility requirements, including continuous U.S. presence since October 8, 2005. Requires the Secretary to give prior consent to such aliens for temporary trips abroad in emergency and extenuating circumstances.
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 · 21 September 2005
Directs: (1) the Secretary of Agriculture to select 15% of the lands included in the National Forest System and to convey the lands selected by public sale; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior to identify 15% of the lands managed by agencies of the Department of the Interior (excluding lands in units of the National Park System and lands held for an Indian tribe) and convey the lands identified by public sale. Instructs such Secretaries to: (1) place an emphasis on identifying lands in those states where the United States owns more than 15% of the total land area; and (2) complete the identification of federal lands under this Act and commence the sale of such lands by October 1, 2006. Requires all proceeds from the sale of federal lands under this Act (other than amounts retained to cover the administrative costs incurred solely to conduct the sales) to be deposited in the Disaster Response and Relief Fund established by this Act. Makes amounts in the Disaster Response and Relief Fund available only for appropriation to cover or defray the costs of responding to a natural disaster or terrorist attack in an area covered by a disaster declaration made by the President. Provides that, until such Secretaries comply with the duties imposed on them under this Act, an interest in land may not be acquired by the Forest Service or an agency of the Department of the Interior unless the acquisition of that land is specifically authorized by an Act of Congress enacted after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2005
Small Employer Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to small business, including to: (1) allow the deduction from self-employment income of self-employed health insurance costs; (2) reduce in 2006 the federal unemployment tax rate; (3) increase permanently the expensing allowance for small business assets; (4) repeal the alternative minimum tax on individuals after 2009; (5) allow certain small business employers a tax credit for the training of highly-skilled employees; (6) make permanent the work opportunity and the welfare-to-work tax credits; (7) increase depreciation and expensing allowances for certain business assets; (8) allow a standard tax deduction for home office expenses; (9) revise certain S corporation requirements; and (10) waive certain tax penalties for noncompliant tax deposits.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2005
States that all federal law prohibitions against spending appropriated funds for oil and natural gas leasing and preleasing activities for any area of the Outer Continental Shelf shall have no force or effect. Revokes all existing withdrawals by the President under the authority of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Declares that such withdrawals are no longer in effect. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a sale of oil and gas leases on all submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico that are depicted in a specified document entitled "Eastern Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale."
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend. Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide that, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under state law. Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in nonpublic education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with state law, without written parental consent. Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under state law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under state law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.) Amends specified federal law with respect to policies on recruitment and enlistment of home schooled students in the Armed Forces.
![Official portrait of Rep. Poe, Ted [R-TX-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000592_200.jpg)