United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2005
Military Death Benefit Improvement Act of 2005 - Increases from $12,000 to $100,000 the death gratuity payable to the survivors of members of the Armed Forces who die: (1) while on active duty or inactive duty training; or (2) within 120 days after discharge or release from such duty or training, if the death resulted from an injury or disease incurred or aggravated during such duty or training.
United States · United States Congress · 6 January 2005
Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to: (1) include bullying and harassment under the definition of violence; and (2) provide for programs to address and prevent bullying and harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish a program of student loan forgiveness for borrowers who agree to remain employed, for at least three years, as public attorneys who are: (1) State or local criminal prosecutors; or (2) State, local, or Federal public defenders in criminal cases. Directs the Secretary of Education to provide such student loan repayment benefits for such public attorneys on a first-come, first-served basis, and subject to the availability of appropriations. Requires priority to be given to borrowers who received repayment benefits for the preceding fiscal year and have completed less than three years of the first required service period. Allows the borrower and the Secretary to enter into an additional agreement, after the required three-year period, for a successive period of service which may be less than three years. Limits the amount paid under such program on behalf of any borrower to $6,000 per calendar year and $40,000 total. Includes public defenders among those eligible under a current HEA program of cancellation of student loans for certain public service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to mint and issue: (1) ten dollar gold coins; (2) five dollar gold coins; (3) one dollar silver coins; and (4) half-dollar silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Directs each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has in its possession any craft or any part of a craft that flew in space to: (1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal that may be used in the production of any coins under this Act from such craft or part; and (2) deposit such metals with the Director of the United States Mint. Requires that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a surcharge of : (1) $75 per coin for the ten dollar coin; (2) $35 per coin for the five dollar coin; (3) $10 per coin for the one dollar coin; and (4) $3 for the half-dollar coin, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the purposes of providing financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Revised Statutes of the United States, to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
SouthEast Crescent Authority Act of 2005 - Establishes a SouthEast Crescent Authority for all parts of the following southeastern states not eligible for assistance from the Appalachian Regional Commission or the Delta Regional Authority: Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. Directs the Authority to perform various functions, including: (1) formulating plans and programs to spur economic development, and approving grants to States and public and nonprofit entities toward that end; (2) establishing priorities in a development plan for the region; (3) supporting local development districts, and creating them where they do not exist; and (4) encouraging private investment in the region. Permits the Authority to request and receive Federal, State and local government personnel as employees. Stipulates that Authority grants for infrastructure development may be made only to State or local governments. Permits other Authority grants for job training, employment-related education, business development, assisting severely distressed and poor areas, or for other purposes in accordance with the Act. Allows the Authority to designate annually: (1) distressed counties; and (2) isolated areas of distress in nondistressed counties. Directs the Authority to garner public participation in the development, revision, and implementation of its plans and programs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
College Fire Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive demonstration grants to private or public colleges or universities, fraternities, or sororities for up to half the cost of installing fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention technologies, in student housing and dormitories owned or controlled by such entities. Requires grant priority to be given eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest financial need. Reserves the following portions of grant funds made available for each fiscal year: (1) at least ten percent for eligible entities that are historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and tribally controlled colleges and universities; and (2) at least ten percent for eligible entities that are social fraternities and sororities. Provides that any application for assistance under this Act, any negative determination on the part of the Secretary with respect to such application, or any statement of reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity (except a proceeding to enforce an agreement entered into between the Secretary and an eligible entity under this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Higher Education Science and Technology Competitiveness Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award grants for articulation agreements between institutions of higher education that specifies the acceptability of courses in transfer toward meeting specific degree requirements, especially in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Allows the use of grant funds to establish articulation agreements: (1) statewide, among public two-year and four-year institutions of higher education, to provide a seamless transition for the transfer of students through a common core curricula that reflects the workforce needs of private industry; and (2) within community colleges, between occupational competency or certification programs and associate degree programs, to increase the proportion of students who enroll to complete their associate degree. Allows such grants also to be used to: (1) collect data on transfers from two-year to four-year institutions, for monitoring purposes; (2) develop a statewide articulation guide in consultation with public colleges and universities to provide students with descriptions of articulation requirements; and (3) develop a plan for professional development of two-year college faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
National Security Language Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish programs to encourage early foreign language instruction, including grants to: (1) partnerships of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) for activities relating to foreign language instruction at elementary or secondary schools, with priorities for high-need LEAs and less-commonly taught foreign languages; and (2) IHEs that develop innovative programs for the teaching of foreign languages, with priorities for combining foreign languages with science and technology and for less-commonly taught foreign languages. Provides undergraduate student loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for students who major in a critical foreign language and are employed as teachers of such language in elementary or secondary schools or as using such language regularly in a Federal agency. Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) establish a foreign language education marketing campaign to encourage students at secondary schools and IHEs to study foreign languages, particularly ones less commonly taught and critical to national security; and (2) conduct a study to identify foreign language heritage communities and recruit speakers of such critical languages. Amends the David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 to establish an International Flagship Language Initiative with grants to IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Allied Health Professions Reinvestment Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue public service announcements that advertise and promote the allied health professions, highlight the advantages and rewards of those professions, and encourage individuals to enter those professions. Allows the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support similar State and local advertising campaigns; (2) improve the education, practice, and retention of allied health professionals through specified activities; and (3) develop and implement programs and initiatives to train and educate allied health professionals in providing geriatric care. Permits the Secretary to provide scholarships for the cost of tuition in exchange for students agreeing to serve as allied health professionals at health care facilities with critical shortages of such persons for not less than one year for each year of scholarship received. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to enter into an agreement with any higher education institution for the establishment and operation of a student loan fund to increase the number of qualified allied health professions faculty. Directs the Secretary to establish the Council on Health Profession Education in HRSA to monitor the status of the allied health professions workforce and make annual reports to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Social Security Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) pension offset provisions applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination provisions with respect to computation of the primary insurance amount of an individual.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Servicemembers Anti-Predatory Lending Protection Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to set forth terms for consumer credit extended to a servicemember or servicemember's dependent, including terms of interest with respect to the extension of such credit. Prohibits a creditor from imposing an annual percentage rate greater than 36 percent with respect to the consumer credit extended. Sets forth mandatory loan disclosures, including: (1) a statement of the annual percentage rate applicable to the extension of credit; and (2) a clear description of the payment obligations. Prohibits a creditor from automatically renewing, repaying, refinancing, or consolidating any consumer credit with the proceeds of other credit extended to a servicemember or a servicemember's dependent by the same creditor without: (1) executing new loan documentation signed by the servicemember; and (2) providing the mandatory loan disclosures. Preempts any State or Federal law, rule, or regulation, including any State usury law, to the extent that it is inconsistent with this Act. States that this Act does not preempt any such law, rule, or regulation that provides additional protection. Prescribes criminal penalties for violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2005
Eating Disorders Awareness, Prevention, and Education Act of 2005 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the use of innovative assistance funds for programs to: (1) improve identification of students with eating disorders; (2) increase awareness of such disorders among parents and students; and (3) train educators with respect to effective eating disorder prevention and assistance methods. Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program to broadcast public service announcements to improve public awareness, and to promote the identification and prevention, of eating disorders. Requires the National Center for Education Statistics and the National Center for Health Statistics to: (1) study the impact eating disorders have on educational advancement and achievement; (2) report on current State and local programs to educate youth on the dangers of eating disorders; and (3) recommend Federal, State, and local measures that could be undertaken.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2004
States that Congress: (1) urges The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece to honor the 1995 agreement under which both countries agreed to determine a mutually acceptable official name for the FYROM; (2) requests the Secretary of State to return to the long-standing U.S. policy to recognize and refer to the FYROM as such; and (3) supports United Nations (UN) efforts to determine a mutually acceptable official name for the FYROM.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2004 or PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers for community policing; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for certain educational costs. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of appropriated funds for technical assistance and training to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other entities. Repeals provisions of the Act regarding termination of grants for hiring officers. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community policing efforts; and (3) in paying overtime to existing career law enforcement officers. Reserves specified funds for local governmental units with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted for police officer retention.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Up-Skilling Tax Credit Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a general business tax credit for up to 20 percent of the cost of technical training for employees performing services in a trade or business of the taxpayer. Limits the amount of the credit to $1,000 for each employee, reduced by credit amounts for all prior taxable years. Terminates the credit after 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation to establish a program to award competitive grants, in coordination with the Secretary of Education, to institutions of higher education (IHEs) for increased education and job training of U.S. nationals who are undergraduate or graduate students in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology. Requires such grants to be provided to IHE applicants that demonstrate they will institute creative and innovative methods of encouraging students to study and enter into careers focused on those disciplines. Requires IHE applications to include: (1) financial incentives to students; (2) commitment to expose students to different industries; and (3) commitment to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented students in those disciplines. Allows IHE recipients to use grant funds: (1) for major research equipment, facilities construction, repair and upgrades, textbooks, and other purposes necessary to create a quality academic program in one or more of those disciplines; and (2) to create interdisciplinary programs in those disciplines to better meet rapidly changing needs in emerging fields.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2004
Disabled Federal Employees Protection Act - Prohibits the termination of employment of a disabled Federal employee due to a conversion to contractor performance of any activity or function of an executive agency under Office of Management and Budget Circular A-76 or any other Federal policy, directive, or regulation. Exempts certain nonprofit agencies for the blind or severely handicapped from this prohibition if the terminated Federal employee is offered an equivalent position in the Federal Government or with the nonprofit agency.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2004
Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency financial assistance to agricultural producers who have incurred qualifying 2003 or 2004 crop losses due to weather or related conditions. Permits producers with qualifying losses in both years to elect to receive payments in either, but not both, of such years. Makes producers ineligible for crop disaster assistance if they did not: (1) get Federal crop insurance for insurable commodities; and (2) file required paperwork and pay related fees for noninsurable commodities. Sets forth waiver provisions. Reduces payments for amounts received under a specified crop loss program announced in 2004. Directs the Secretary to provide payments to livestock producers who have incurred 2003 or 2004 losses in an emergency-designated county, with discretionary set-asides for the American Indian livestock program. Permits producers with qualifying losses in both years to elect to receive payments in either, but not both, of such years. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance under the tree assistance program to tree farmers who have suffered losses during the 2003-2004 winter.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2004
Count Every Vote Act of 2004 - Amends Federal law to extend the date provided for the meeting of electors of the President and Vice President in the States, and the date provided for the joint session of Congress held for the counting of electoral votes, in the event of an unresolved controversy or contest relating to the counting of votes in any State. Changes the date for the meeting of electors, in such an event, from the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December following their appointment to the first day after January 1 following their appointment. Changes the date for the counting of electoral votes in a joint session of Congress from the sixth day of January succeeding the meeting of the electors in the States to the second day following the extended deadline for the receipt of certificates and votes by the President of the Senate or the Archivist of the United States. Reduces from six to three days the "safe harbor" period for resolution of any controversy or contest regarding appointment of State electors.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2004
Supports the designation, during spring 2005, of National Horticultural Therapy Week in order to improve the quality of life for all and increase opportunities for each individual to positively connect with the natural world. Urges Federal and State governmental entities and the people of the United States to observe such Week with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2004
Victim Compensation Fund Extension Act - Amends the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act to extend the deadline (currently, December 22, 2003) for filing claims under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 (Fund) for: (1) three years following enactment of this Act if the Special Master determines that the claimant was unaware that he or she had suffered physical harm as the result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist-related aircraft crashes until after the deadline and before enactment or was unaware of his or her eligibility to file a claim; and (2) three years after the claimant first knew that he or she had suffered physical harm as the result of such crashes if the Special Master determines that the claimant was unaware that he or she had suffered physical harm until on or after enactment of this Act. Defines "immediate aftermath" for purposes of provisions concerning the determination of eligibility for compensation under the Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2004
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at United States Route 1 in Ridgeway, North Carolina, as the "Eva Holtzman Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2004
9/11 Commission Report Implementation Act of 2004 - National Intelligence Authority Act of 2004 - Establishes as an independent executive entity the National Intelligence Authority (Authority), headed by a National Intelligence Director (Director), to, among other things: (1) unify and strengthen efforts of the intelligence community (IC); (2) operate the National Counterterrorism Center and national intelligence centers; and (3) establish clear responsibility and accountability for counterterrorism and other intelligence matters relating to U.S. national security. Requires the Director to: (1) serve as the head of the IC; (2) advise the President on intelligence related to national security; and (3) direct, manage, and oversee the execution of the National Intelligence Program (formerly the National Foreign Intelligence Program). Establishes a National Intelligence Council (Council) to produce national intelligence estimates for the U.S. Government and evaluate the collection and production of intelligence by the IC. Establishes a National Counterterrorism Center (Center) to: (1) unify strategy for U.S. civilian and military counterterrorism efforts; and (2) integrate counterterrorism intelligence and operations across agency boundaries, both inside and outside the United States. Requires the President to publicly disclose certain intelligence funding information for fiscal years after 2005. Merges the Homeland Security Council into the Council. Maintains within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) the direction and execution of clandestine and covert operations. Makes the Secretary of Defense responsible for directing and executing paramilitary operations, whether clandestine or covert. Requires the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to develop and maintain within the FBI a national security workforce of agents, analysts, linguists, and surveillance specialists. Directs the President to: (1) establish an information sharing network to promote the sharing of terrorism information among all relevant Federal departments and agencies, State, tribal, and local authorities, and private sector entities in a manner consistent with national security and the protection of privacy and civil liberties; and (2) submit to Congress a network system design and implementation plan. Establishes an Advisory Council on Information Sharing. Prohibits the 108th Congress from adjourning until jurisdiction over proposed legislation and other matters relating to: (1) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is consolidated into a single committee in each House with a nonpartisan staff; and (2) intelligence resides in a joint committee or a committee with combined authorization and appropriations authority, with a subcommittee devoted solely to oversight. Requires the President-elect to be provided detailed, classified summaries by relevant outgoing executive officials of specific operational threats to national security, major military or covert operations, and pending decisions on possible use of military force. Outlines procedures for the President-elect to designate, the FBI to investigate, and the Senate to expeditiously consider nominees for high-level national security positions. Requires specified reports from the President to Congress concerning, among other things: (1) terrorist sanctuaries; (2) efforts to support Pakistan; (3) aid to Afghanistan; (4) the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship; (5) a strategy to help win the struggle of ideas within the Islamic world; (6) proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and (7) efforts to curtail the international financing of terrorism. Provides, through specified activities of the Secretary of State, for the expansion of international educational and cultural exchange programs between the United States and countries with sizable Muslim populations. Directs the President to establish an International Youth Opportunity Fund to provide financial assistance for the improvement of public education in the Middle East. Authorizes the President to establish an international counterterrorism policy contact group with leaders of governments of other countries to develop a comprehensive coalition strategy to fight Islamist terrorism. States U.S. policy concerning the humane treatment of prisoners. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to submit to Congress a: (1) strategy for combining terrorist travel intelligence, operations, and law enforcement into a cohesive effort to intercept terrorists, find terrorist travel facilitators, and constrain terrorist mobility domestically and internationally; and (2) plan describing how DHS and the State Department can acquire and deploy, to all consulates, ports of entry, and immigration benefits offices, technologies that facilitate document authentication and the detection of potential terrorist indicators on travel documents. Directs the Secretary to develop plans: (1) for a comprehensive integrated screening system; (2) to accelerate the full implementation of an automated biometric entry and exit data system for preventing the entry of terrorists; (3) to expedite the processing of registered travelers who enter and exit the United States through a single registered traveler program; and (4) to require biometric passports and other secure identification for all travel into the United States by U.S. citizens and individuals for whom immigration and nationality documentation requirements have previously been waived. Directs the Secretary to develop, implement, and revise as necessary a National Strategy for Transportation Security for the protection from terrorist or other hostile acts of all transportation infrastructure assets. Directs the Secretary to allocate homeland security assistance grants to communities based on threat levels, presence of critical infrastructure, population density, and other criteria. Calls for adoption by all appropriate entities of the Incident Command System (a national, coordinated emergency response system developed by the National Incident Management System). Authorizes specified officials of the National Capital Region to enter into, provide, or request from other Region entities mutual aid assistance for emergency services related to a terrorist or other hostile act. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage and support the establishment of consistent and effective communications capabilities in high risk urban areas; (2) establish a program to promote private sector preparedness; (3) undertake certain critical infrastructure readiness assessments; and (4) regularly assess the adequacy of the United States Northern Command to respond to all military and paramilitary threats within the United States. Establishes within the Executive Office of the President a Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2004
Increases the death gratuity payable with respect to members of the Armed Forces from $12,000 to $50,000. Makes this increase applicable to deaths occurring on or after September 11, 2001. Requires the Secretary of Defense to derive funds for payments under this Act in FY 2005 from travel funds for personnel of the Office of the Secretary.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2004
9/11 Commission Recommendations Implementation Act of 2004 - Establishes a National Intelligence Director to manage the National Intelligence Program. Empowers the Secretary of Defense with lead responsibility for directing and executing paramilitary operations, whether clandestine or covert. Establishes a National Counterterrorism Center for strategic analysis concerning transnational terrorist organizations with global reach. Requires the President to direct the head of each appropriate Federal department or agency to identify and prioritize actual or potential terrorist sanctuaries throughout the world. Requires a national strategy to destabilize identified sanctuaries. Authorizes the President to support the Government of: (1) Pakistan in its efforts against extremists; and (2) Afghanistan to extend its authority over such country. Directs the Secretary of State to establish programs to promote greater familiarity with American society and values among the general public and select audiences in Muslim countries. Directs the President to: (1) strengthen counterproliferation efforts against weapons of mass destruction; and (2) track the financing of terrorist organizations and prevent money laundering for their benefit. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) integrate U.S. border screening systems with Federal security sites within the U.S. transportation system and sites containing vital national facilities; (2) complete a biometric entry and exit screening system for persons entering and departing the United States; (3) develop a plan for the allocation of limited transportation security resources; and (4) improve aviation screening. Requires: (1) the sharing of information for purposes of protecting the national security; (2) the establishment of a board to oversee Federal adherence to civil liberties; (3) that all U.S. emergency response agencies adopt the Incident Command System and unified command procedures; (4) the promotion of private sector emergency preparedness; (5) both Houses of Congress to pass separate intelligence appropriations bills; (6) a specialized and integrated national security workforce at the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and (7) regular adequacy assessments of the strategies and planning of the United States Northern Command to defend the United States against military threats.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2004
ESRD Modernization Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to provide for an annual update mechanism under the Medicare end stage renal disease (ESRD) program to adjust the payment rates for changes in input prices and inflation. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about the factors that lead to chronic kidney disease, and how to prevent and treat it; and (2) enhance chronic kidney disease surveillance systems and research. Requires the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to enable individuals with ESRD to develop self-management skills. Provides for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish demonstration projects to evaluate how blood flow monitoring affects care for Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD; (2) provide appropriate incentives to improve the home dialysis benefit; (3) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services under Medicare; (4) cover surgical procedures the full range of dialysis access procedures for Medicare-entitled individuals with ESRD; and (5) establish demonstration projects evaluating methods that improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries with ESRD. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of the temporary codes for nephrologists' services applicable under the fee schedule for physicians' services.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2004
Medicaid Act of 2004 - Amends the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 to extend the temporary freeze of the Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) for certain States (continuing the FY 2003 FMAP through each calendar quarter of FY 2004, and the FY 2004 FMAP for each calendar quarter of FY 2005 if the FY 2005 FMAP would otherwise be less than the FY 2004 FMAP). Amends the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 to increase the FMAP: (1) by 2.95 percentage points for the last two calendar quarters of FY 2003 and the first three calendar quarters of FY 2004; and (2) by 1.60 percentage points for the last calendar quarter of FY 2004 and each calendar quarter of FY 2005. Increases by 5.9 percent the ceiling on Medicaid payments to specified territories for the last two calendar quarters of FY 2003 and the first three calendar quarters of FY 2004. Increases such ceiling by 2.52 percent for the last calendar quarter of FY 2004 and each calendar quarter of FY 2005. .
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2004
Stand By Your Internet Ad Act of 2004 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) apply to campaign communications transmitted through the Internet the same presentation requirements currently applicable to their counterpart authorized printed campaign communications, including communications expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate; (2) require communications paid for and authorized by a candidate, and communications paid for by other persons but authorized by a candidate, to include a clearly readable statement identifying the candidate and stating that he or she has approved the communication; (3) require such communications transmitted through the Internet to meet applicable requirements with respect to any audio and video portions; (4) subject to disclosure requirements campaign communications made through prerecorded telephone calls; and (5) provide for the treatment as audio communications of prerecorded telephone calls, thereby subjecting them to applicable requirements pertaining to communications transmitted through radio.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2004
Children's Health Protection and Improvement Act of 2004 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the extended availability through FY 2004 of SCHIP allotments for FY 1998 through 2001. Specifies formulae for amounts to be used in computing redistributions for FY 2003, 2003, and 2004. Provides for reallocation of 70 percent of the expiring FY 1998, 1999, and 2000 funds to States that have fully expended their annual allotments. Extends the availability of the remaining 30 percent of such expiring funds with the States that currently have them. Permits 50 percent of the total amount of a State's unexpended FY 2002 SCHIP allotments to remain available through FY 2006. Permits 50 percent of the total amount of a State's unexpended FY 2003 and 2004 SCHIP allotments to remain available through the end of FY 2007. Requires redistribution of the other 50 percent of such funds to States that have fully spent their allotments during the three-year period they were available. Requires a second redistribution according to the same 70-30 formula of any retained or redistributed funds still unexpended at the end of the two-year extention or redistribution. Provides for continued authority for qualifying States to use certain funds for Medicaid expenditures.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2004
NASA and JPL 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to mint and issue: (1) ten dollar gold coins; (2) five dollar gold coins; (3) one dollar silver coins; and (4) half-dollar silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA and JPL. Directs each Federal agency and U.S. instrumentality that has in its possession any craft or any part of a craft that flew in space to: (1) retrieve any gold, silver, copper, and other precious metal that may be used in the production of any coins under this Act from such craft or part; and (2) deposit such metals with the Director of the United States Mint. Requires that all sales of coins minted under this Act include a surcharge of : (1) $75 per coin for the ten dollar coin; (2) $35 per coin for the five dollar coin; (3) $10 per coin for the one dollar coin; and (4) $3 for the half-dollar coin, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for the purposes of providing financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2004
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services to: (1) administer the grant program established by this Act; (2) provide technical assistance to entities that provide permanent supportive housing to the chronically homeless; and (3) implement an approach to disseminate information about such housing that is targeted to individuals who have been homeless for long periods and have disabilities. Defines "chronically homeless" as an individual or family that is currently homeless, has been homeless continuously for at least one year or on at least four separate occasions in the last three years, and has an adult head of household with a disabling condition. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to: (1) design national strategies to provide services in supportive housing to end chronic homelessness; (2) collaborate with specified Federal departments and programs to implement programs that address chronic homelessness; (3) develop improved methods for serving individuals with mental or physical illnesses, disabilities, substance abuse problems, or co-occurring disorders; and (4) promote collaboration between Federal, State and local agencies that are responsible for systems of care to ensure that services for the chronically homeless are delivered in a coordinated manner that promotes housing stability. Requires the Secretary to award matching grants for the provision of services to chronically homeless individuals in permanent supportive housing.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2004
Amends the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to: (1) include bullying and harassment under the definition of violence; and (2) provide for programs to address and prevent bullying and harassment.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2004
Medicare Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner Services Coverage Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of authorized clinical pharmacist practitioner (CPP) services involving toxicology, therapeutics, clinical pharmacokinetics, pharmacoeconomics, and other life sciences for the direct care of patients, which would otherwise be covered if furnished by a physician, or as an incident to a physician's professional service. Requires such services to be performed under State law or regulation in a collaborative practice agreement. Requires Medicare beneficiaries to pay 20 percent coinsurance. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop, and report to Congress on, CPP fee schedules meeting specified requirements for services furnished by January 1, 2007. Requires CPP's to be reimbursed at 85 percent of applicable physicians' rates as of January 1, 2005, until such fee schedules are implemented.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2004
Transparency and Accountability in Security Contracting Act - Directs that each "covered contract" (i.e., a contract entered into by the Government with a private security contractor, or a task order issued under the contract) require contractors to provide the appropriate Government contracting officer with information at the time the contract is awarded and to update the information during contract performance regarding: (1) the number of persons being used by the contractor and subcontractors; (2) how such persons are trained; (3) their salaries and benefits; and (4) a description of each category of activity required by the covered contract. Directs that the contractor provide, before: (1) award of the contract, cost estimates of salary, insurance, materials, logistics, travel, administrative costs, and other costs of carrying out the contract; and (2) closeout of the contract, a report on the actual costs. Sets forth provisions regarding casualty reporting, oversight, waiver authority (in an emergency or exceptional situation), and revision of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) prescribe minimum standards for the persons that private security contractors may hire for the performance of any covered contract; (2) perform a cost and effectiveness analysis, before a Federal agency enters into such a contract, for every category of potential activity that may be carried out by the private security contractor under the contract; and (3) ensure that the overall military mission would not be significantly affected if the contractor personnel refused to perform work as required under the contract.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2004
Positive Aging Act of 2004 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to direct the Assistant Secretary for Aging to establish an Office of Older Adult Mental Health Services within the Administration on Aging of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Directs the Assistant Secretary to make grants to: (1) States for systems to deliver mental health screening and treatment services to older individuals lacking access to such services, and for programs to increase public awareness of the benefits of preventing and treating mental disorders; and (2) public and nonprofit private entities for demonstration projects providing mental health screening and treatment services to older individuals residing in rural areas or in naturally occurring retirement communities in urban areas. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of HHS, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, to make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for: (1) demonstration projects integrating mental health services for older patients into primary care settings; and (2) multidisciplinary geriatric mental health outreach teams in community settings where older adults reside or receive social services. Requires the Director to designate a Deputy Director for Older Adult Mental Health Services. Requires membership of the advisory council for the Center for Mental Health Services to include representatives of older Americans, their families, and geriatric mental health specialists. Includes among projects of national significance the targeting of substance abuse by older individuals. Includes services for older individuals under community mental health services block grant State plan criteria.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2004
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells if: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos will never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2004
States that Congress: (1) declares that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide; (2) reminds the international community, including the U.S. Government, of their international legal obligations, as affirmed in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; (3) calls on the Bush Administration to lead an international effort to prevent genocide in Darfur; (4) urges the Bush Administration to consider multilateral or even unilateral intervention to prevent genocide should the United Nations Security Council fail to act; (5) demands that the Bush Administration impose targeted sanctions, including visa bans and the freezing of assets of the National Congress and affiliated business and individuals directly responsible for the atrocities in Darfur; and (6) calls on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish a Darfur Resettlement, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2004
Establishes: (1) a Center for Scientific and Technical Assessment to provide timely advice to Congress on scientific and technical aspects of public policy issues, administered by a Director; and (2) a Technical Assessment Board to provide guidance to the Director to ensure that the Center provides timely and useful responses to congressional requests. Authorizes the Director to appoint, with the approval of the Comptroller General, a Deputy Director. Prohibits the Director and Deputy Director from engaging in any other business, vocation, or employment, or (except with the Comptroller General's approval) holding any office in, or acting in any capacity for, any organization, agency, or institution with which the Center makes any contract or other arrangement under this Act. Permits: (1) any Member of Congress to make requests to the Board that the Center conduct an investigation and report to the requester, within a specified time period, on any matter relating to scientific and technical assessment (and sets priorities for requests); and (2) the Director to establish an advisory panel as necessary to support each technical assessment report. Requires each report to be subject to peer review before delivery to the committee or Member requesting it. Provides for public release of unclassified reports, subject to a delay of up to two weeks at the request of the Board or a Member.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2004
Creates the Select Committee to Investigate Detainee Abuses to conduct a full and complete investigation of the abuses of detainees held in U.S. custody in connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any operation within the Global War on Terrorism, in particular those documented abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, and to make appropriate findings and recommendations to the House of Representatives. Requires the Select Committee to assess, analyze, and evaluate relevant persons, policies, procedures, reports, and events during the course of its investigation, including but not limited to those specified in this Resolution. Sets forth procedures and authorities of the Select Committee. Requires the Select Committee to submit its final report to the House within six months of adoption of this Resolution and to cease to exist one month thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2004
Parental Responsibility Obligations Met through Immigration System Enforcement Act - PROMISE Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) make an alien excludable from U.S. admission for nonpayment of child support (permits admission upon satisfaction of payments or in compliance with a payment schedule); (2) authorize an immigration officer to serve an alien with legal process in child support cases; and (3) include nonpayment of child support among the considerations for failure of an alien to establish good moral character. Amends the Social Security Act to authorize the disclosure of an alien's child support-related information to the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, or the Secretary of State.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2004
Patient Bill of Rights Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to apply patient protection and quality care standards to group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage. Applies such standards also to Federal health insurance programs. Requires such plans and issuers to have approved utilization review programs, claims procedures, and appeal procedures concerning claims denials. Requires patient access to health plan information and to care, including: (1) a consumer choice option and choice of health care professional; (2) emergency care; (3) timely access to specialists; (4) obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics; (5) care continuity; (6) prescription drugs; (7) participation in clinical trials; and (8) breast cancer treatment hospital stays and consultations. Restricts interference by a plan or insurer with the doctor-patient relationship. Prohibits discrimination against a licensed health care professional with respect to participation or indemnification. Sets forth requirements relating to payment of claims and protection of patient advocacy. Provides a tax credit for the health insurance expenses of small businesses. Treats qualified health benefit purchasing distributions by private foundations as distributions for a charitable purpose. Establishes demonstration grants programs to: (1) increase access to health insurance through alternative means; and (2) provide health insurance information to small employers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2004
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1115 South Clinton Avenue in Dunn, North Carolina, as the "General William Carey Lee Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2004
Orderly and Timely Interstate Placement of Foster Children Act of 2004 - Amends the Social Security Act to require each State to: (1) have in effect procedures for orderly and timely placement of children, in foster care or for adoption, across State lines; and (2) complete home studies for such purpose within 60 days of another State's request. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make incentive grants to States that complete timely interstate home studies. Revises requirements for checking of child abuse registries to eliminate an opt-out provision. Allows access to the Federal parent locator service to courts in foster care or adoptive placement cases. Provides for consideration of out-of-state placements in permanency hearings, case plans, and case reviews. Revises provisions relating to caseworker visits, health and education records, notice of proceedings, and use of interjurisdictional resources. Directs the Comptroller General to study State performance of background checks for child placements. Expresses the sense of Congress that States should: (1) revise the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children; and (2) use private agencies to conduct home studies and give full faith and credit to other States' home study reports.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2004
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to repeal the reduction in Medicare payment for certain items of durable medical equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2004
MEJA Clarification Act - Amends the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act of 2000 (MEJA) to require the Secretary of Defense to ensure that persons covered by the MEJA are arrested and delivered to proper authorities for prosecution if there is probable cause to believe that they have engaged in conduct that violates the MEJA while outside the United States. Expands the jurisdiction of the MEJA to cover the civilian employees, contractors, and employees of contractors of any Federal agency or provisional authority, and their dependents, to the extent that the employment relates to the mission of the Department of Defense overseas or to operations within territory that the United States occupies solely or jointly. Clarifies that the MEJA covers offenses that would constitute war crimes. Requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees within 90 days of enactment of this Act containing regulations implementing the MEJA.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2004
House Commission For Assisting Democratic Parliaments Resolution - Establishes in the House of Representatives the House Commission For Assisting Democratic Parliaments, which shall study and provide parliaments of developing countries with assistance to: (1) establish or improve existing libraries, including providing equipment, Internet access, books, reference materials, government documents, periodical subscriptions and databases; and (2) improve legislative efficiency and transparency. Provides for visits of Commission and parliament members and staff. Terminates the Commission on September 30, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2004
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act - Amends Federal postal service law to direct the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) (established by this Act) to establish a modern system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products (all first-class mail, periodicals, non-parcel post standard mail, media mail, library mail, and bound printed matter). Directs the Board of Governors of the U.S. Postal Service to establish rates and classes for products in the competitive category of mail (priority mail, expedited mail, mailgrams, international mail, and parcel post). Directs the PRC to establish rules to ensure that workshare discounts (presorting, barcoding, etc.) do not exceed the cost that the Postal Service avoids as the result of private sector workshare activity. Establishes in the Treasury a revolving Postal Service Competitive Products Fund which shall be available to the Postal Service without fiscal year limitation for the payment of: (1) costs attributable to competitive products; and (2) all other costs incurred by the Postal Service, to the extent allocable to competitive products. Requires the Postal Service to: (1) compute its assumed Federal income tax (which would be the taxable income of a corporation) on competitive products income for such year; and (2) transfer from the Competitive Products Fund to the Postal Service Fund the amount of that assumed tax. Prohibits the Postal Service from: (1) establishing anti-competitive rules or regulations; (2) compelling the disclosure, transfer, or licensing of intellectual property to any third party; or (3) obtaining information from a person that provides any product, and then offering any product or service that uses or is based in whole or in part on such information, without the person's consent. Makes the Secretary of State responsible for foreign policy related to international postal services and other international delivery services. Requires the Postal Service to forward mail received and forwarded by a commercial mail receiving agency following proper filing of a change-of-address form. Replaces the Postal Rate Commission with the Postal Regulatory Commission. Directs the Postal Service to report to the President, Congress, and: (1) PRC on universal postal service in the United States; and (2) Postal Service Board of Governors on the postal processing and distribution network. Repeals the authority of the Postal Service to impose fines on air carriers transporting mail beyond U.S. borders for unreasonable or unnecessary delays and other delinquencies. Directs the Postal Service to prescribe regulations for the safe transportation of hazardous materials in the mail. Provides civil penalties, plus cleanup costs, for violations. Revises postal pension funding requirements under the Civil Service Retirement System. Establishes the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefits Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2004
Healthy Troops Act - Requires predeployment and postdeployment medical examinations of certain members of the armed forces to include self-administered surveys followed by clinical examinations. Specifies that predeployment surveys and examinations shall include: (1) the collection of clinical data; (2) the collection of information on current and past physical or mental health conditions that might affect performance; (3) an assessment of mental health; (4) screening for diseases prevalent among the armed forces; and (5) referrals for any conditions needing further treatment. Specifies that postdeployment surveys and examinations shall include self-reported information about relevant exposures during the period of deployment including combat experience and screening for post-traumatic stress disorder. Directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study of the effectiveness of self-administered surveys.
![Official portrait of Rep. Price, David E. [D-NC-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/p000523_200.jpg)