United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Fuel Economy Reform Act - Amends federal transportation law to: (1) revise the definition of automobile to require including all automobiles up to 10,000 pounds (currently, not all automobiles up to 10,000 pounds are required to be included in the definition); and (2) continue applying the current minimum corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for non-passenger and passenger automobiles to automobiles manufactured through model year 2011, but, for passenger automobiles, adds an increase of 4% per year in such standard for model years 2009 through 2011. Requires an average fuel economy standard of 27.5 miles per gallon for automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for model year 2012, and an average fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon for automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for model year 2018, with a minimum increase of 4% in the average fuel economy from the level for the prior model year for model year 2013 and beyond, with specified exceptions from the 4% increase permitted. Prohibits this Act from being construed to limit, supercede, or expand the Secretary of Transportation's authority under federal transportation law to prescribe motor vehicle safety standards to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries due to such accidents.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Senior Safety and Dignity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to include in the nursing home patient's bill of rights the right to receive care from a creditable caregiver. Requires a skilled nursing facility (SNF), before hiring a worker, to conduct a background check on the applicant. Prohibits the hiring of abusive workers or workers convicted of a relevant crime. Establishes civil penalties for violations of this Act, including knowing retention of SNF workers who fail background checks. Applies such requirements and prohibitions to a long-term care facility or provider. Directs the Secretary to establish a national criminal background check program, after evaluation of the pilot program under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, in order to prevent abuse of nursing facility and SNF residents and individuals receiving home health care services and other long-term care services under the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Requires the Federal Bureau of Investigation to conduct such criminal background checks. Requires the national criminal background check program to be made available to a long-term care facility or provider. Adds to the nursing home patient's bill of rights the right to a safe environment during an emergency or natural disaster. Requires a SNF under Medicare and Medicaid to: (1) have a clear and preestablished disaster plan; and (2) inform residents and next-of-kin about it and the location of possible evacuation in case of an emergency disaster. Applies the same requirement to other long-term care facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Children's Health Equity Technical Amendments Act of 2007 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to permit qualifying states to use up to 20% of their SCHIP allotment for any fiscal year (currently, only for FY1998-FY2007) for certain Medicaid expenditures for individuals under age 19 whose family income exceeds 150% of the poverty line. Revises the eligibility requirements for such allowable expenditures to reduce the family income threshold from a minimum of 150% of the poverty line to a minimum of 125% of the poverty line.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to revise the classification criterion used to determine whether a hospital or hospital unit is an inpatient rehabilitation facility under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Eliminates the current schedule of applicable percentages. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, instead, to require in the classification criterion a compliance rate no greater than the 60% compliance rate that became effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2006. Requires the Secretary, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2008, to include patients with comorbidity in the inpatient population that counts towards such 60% compliance rate. Requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Medicare fiscal intermediaries, Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, and other government agents to use and apply the criteria established in HCFA Ruling 85-2, as issued on July 31, 1985, as the sole standard for determining the medical necessity of servivces provided by inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units to Medicare beneficiaries. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees: (1) an examination of the impact of the 75% rule on the Medicare program, and specifically on Medicare beneficiaries; and (2) alternatives to the 75% rule policy for determining exclusion criteria for inpatient rehabilitation hospital and unit designation under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends specified law prohibiting the killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia to declare that nothing in it or any other provision of law shall authorize or be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Redefines "machine gun" to include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on possession of handgun restricted pistol bullets; and (3) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked. Repeals the definition of restricted pistol bullet as any bullet designed for use in a pistol which, when fired from a pistol with a barrel of five inches or less in length, is capable of penetrating commercially available body armor with a penetration resistance equal to or greater than that of 18 layers of kevlar. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person. Amends the District of Columbia Code to extend to firearms generally (currently, only to pistols) the prohibition against carrying such a weapon either openly or concealed within the District without a license issued pursuant to D.C. law. Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 - States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of force or the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iran. Subjects, with respect to prohibited transactions with Iran, a parent company to penalties for violations committed by certain subsidiaries outside the United States that would be subject to prohibitions if committed inside the United States or by a U.S. person. Establishes specified additional import and export sanctions against Iran. Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to require the imposition of procurement sanctions as part of the sanctions against a person contributing to Iran's petroleum resources. Directs the President to report every six months to the appropriate congressional committees (committees) respecting investment activity that could contribute to Iran's development of petroleum resources, and U.S. steps in response to such activity. Expands the definitions of "petroleum resources" and "person." Eliminates the national security waivers for imposition of sanctions. Directs the President to determine and report to the committees whether the the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be: (1) designated as a foreign terrorist organization; (2) placed on the list of designated global terrorists; and (3) placed on the list of weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Authorizes the President to carry out exchange programs with the people of Iran. Directs the President to reduce annual U.S. contributions to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) based upon Bank amounts provided to entities and projects in Iran. Restricts nuclear cooperation with countries assisting Iran's nuclear program or transferring advanced conventional weapons or missiles to Iran. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate specified geological and geophysical expense amortization benefits if petroleum-related sanctions are imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 on any member of an expanded affiliated group whose common parent is a foreign corporation. Revises the definition of "affiliated group." States that specified restrictions respecting Iran shall not have effect if the President determines and certifies to the committees that Iran: (1) has ended efforts to develop or acquire nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, or ballistic missiles; (2) has been removed from the list of countries supporting international terrorism; and (3) poses no significant threat to U.S. national security, interests, or allies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Parents' Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide for a minimum tax credit for household and dependent care services for dependents under the age of seven and to phase out such credit based on the amount by which the taxpayer's adjusted gross income exceeds a threshold amount; (2) increase to $5,000 the amount of the personal tax exemption; (3) eliminate the marriage penalty in all income tax brackets and in the tax deduction for student loan interest; (4) establish a standard tax deduction for expenses related to business usage of a home; (5) make permanent increases in the child tax credit and adjust the amount of such credit for inflation on an annual basis after 2007; (6) allow employers a tax credit for employees who telecommute; and (7) allow an exclusion from employee gross income for employer-provided computer equipment used to work at home. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to award social security credits to parents who stay at home, instead of working outside the home, to care for children who are either under age seven. Authorizes transfers from the general fund to specified Social Security trust funds to cover the cost of such credits.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Personalized Health Information Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to provide financial incentives for the use of interactive qualifying personal health records by Medicare and other patients and their health care providers in order to: (1) provide patients (or their authorized representatives) access to and control over their personal health data and information and educational information; (2) make available to authorized health care providers a more accurate minimum data set of patient information at all points of care; and (3) accomplish other specified objectives. Requires that under the program each qualified physician receive an incentive payment for each qualifying patient. Directs the Secretary to: (1) publish online a list of qualifying physicians who participate in Medicare and have received such payments; and (2) take steps to educate Medicare beneficiaries and providers and other patients about the benefits of qualifying personal health records. Sets forth requirements for a qualified web-based personal health record, including that such record: (1) is controlled solely by the patient; (2) meets minimum security standards; (3) is capable of exchanging standards-based clinical and patient data with other health data sources and users; (4) is capable of sending patient-specific patient education, reminders, and clinical messages to the patient; and (5) is capable of providing de-identified data for public health analysis and research purposes. Requires the Secretary to: (1) set minimum security, privacy, and data use standards for such health records; (2) establish a consumer protection board to recommend standards and procedures to the Secretary; and (3) establish a PHR Incentive Fund to make incentive payments. Authorizes such Fund to accept contributions from: (1) the Secretary for Medicare beneficiaries; (2) drug manufacturers for messages regarding medical adherence programs; and (3) other Fund partners.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Child Support Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to repeal a provision that prohibited federal matching funds to a state for expenditures from federal amounts paid to the state for child support and establishment of paternity to carry out an agreement for services of the Federal Parent Locator Service.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Individual AMT Repeal Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the alternative minimum tax on individual taxpayers for taxable years beginning after 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of a National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims. Recognizes the significant benefits of the organizations that provide services to the loved ones of murder victims.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for health centers to meet the health care needs of medically underserved populations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Civil Air Patrol Homeland Security Support Act of 2007 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security (the Secretary) to enter into agreements with the Secretary of Defense to use Civil Air Patrol personnel and resources to support homeland security missions. Authorizes the Secretary to consider the use of such personnel and resources to provide: (1) aerial reconnaissance or communications capabilities to the Border Patrol to protect against illegal entry and trafficking; and (2) capabilities to respond to an act of terrorism, natural disaster, or other man-made event by assisting in damage assessment and situational awareness, search and rescue operations, evacuations, and transporting time-sensitive materials. Directs the Secretary to consider the Civil Air Patrol as an available resource for purposes of national preparedness and response planning activities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Tax Treatment Act - Allows taxpayers who are plaintiffs in the civil action In re Exxon Valdez , No. 89-095-CV (HRH) (Consolidated) (D. Alaska), or their heirs or dependents, to: (1) elect to average, for income tax purposes, income received in settlement of such civil action for the period beginning on January 1, 1994, and ending on December 31 of the year in which any settlement income is received; and (2) make contributions of any amount of such settlement income to certain tax-exempt retirement plans in the year such income is received.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support state comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Veterans Identity Protection Act or VIP Act - Establishes as an independent office in the executive branch the Office of Veterans Identity Protection Claims, headed by a Director, to receive, process, and pay claims for injuries suffered as a result of the unauthorized use, disclosure, or dissemination of identifying information stolen from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or otherwise compromised as a result of a security breach. Authorizes judicial review of claim determinations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Snoqualmie Pass Land Conveyance Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a specified parcel of National Forest System land to the King and Kittitas Counties Fire District #51 of King and Kittitas counties, Washington, to permit the District to use such parcel as a site for a new Snoqualmie Pass fire and rescue station.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Global Poverty Act of 2007 - Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to further the U.S. foreign policy objective of promoting the reduction of global poverty, the elimination of extreme global poverty, and the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of reducing by one-half the proportion of people worldwide who live on less than $1 per day.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to list permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained: (1) from a licensed dealer; (2) from a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that meets specified requirements; (3) by donation from a person who bred and raised the dog or cat and owned it for not less than one year; or (4) from a research facility licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Sets forth additional monetary penalties for related violations. Prohibits federal facilities from purchasing or otherwise acquiring dogs or cats for exhibition purposes except from: (1) the operator of an auction that comports with legal requirements; or (2) a person holding a valid dealer or exhibitor license. Prohibits dealers from selling or otherwise providing a research facility with random source dogs or cats unless specified certification requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Capital Gains Inflation Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an inflation adjustment based upon the gross domestic product deflator to the adjusted basis of certain assets (including C corporation common stock and tangible property used in a trade or business) held by a taxpayer for more than three years for purposes of determining gain or loss on the sale or other disposition of such assets. Sets forth rules for applying such inflation adjustment to short sales, regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts, partnerships and other pass-thru entities, and dispositions of assets between related persons.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Honors Operation Smile on its 25th Anniversary year as its volunteer medical professionals travel around the world to treat children suffering from facial deformities.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007 - 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, how to prevent it, how to treat it, and how to avoid kidney failure, as well as enhance surveillance systems and expand research to better assess the prevalence and incidence of kidney disease; and (2) enable individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to develop self-management skills. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; and (2) 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 or other treatment modalities under Medicare. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee. Establishes the annual update framework for the Medicare ESRD composite rate. Directs the Secretary to establish a three-year continuous quality improvement initiative under which quality payments are provided to renal dialysis facilities, providers of services, and physicians that: (1) provide items and services to individuals with ESRD enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); and (2) meet quality benchmarks and demonstrate quality improvements. Requires the Secretary to make quality incentive payments to facilities and providers whose services to individuals with ESRD have substantially improved or exceeded a certain threshold. Extends Medicare as secondary payer with respect to individuals with ESRD.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Deleting Online Predators Act of 2007 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require schools and libraries that receive universal service support to enforce a policy that: (1) prohibits access to a commercial social networking website or chat room unless used for an educational purpose with adult supervision; and (2) protects against access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography, or harmful to minors. Allows an administrator, supervisor, or other authorized person to disable such a technology protection measure during use by an adult, or by minors with adult supervision, to enable access for educational purposes. Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to: (1) issue a consumer alert regarding use of the Internet by child predators and the potential dangers to children because of such use, including the potential dangers of commercial social networking websites and chat rooms; and (2) establish a website resource of information for parents, teachers, school administrators, and others regarding potential dangers posed by the use of the Internet by children.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Open Space and Farmland Preservation Act - Amends the Farm Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to reserve at least 15% of farmland protection program funds for grants to support cooperative efforts by an eligible state agency, county, or other eligible entity to purchase conservation easements and other interests in eligible land, whose title shall be held by an eligible entity rather than the United States. Provides with respect to cost sharing that: (1) the federal share of the purchase price of a conservation easement or other interest in eligible land shall not exceed 25%; and (2) the state agency, county, and other eligible entities involved in the purchase shall each contribute 25% of the purchase price.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Freedom to Fly Act of 2007 - Allows a pilot who has attained 60 years of age to serve as a passenger airline pilot until the age of 65 years old only if the pilot serves: (1) as a required pilot in multi-crew aircraft operations; and (2) with another required pilot who has not yet attained 60 years of age. Terminates the age-60 rule (mandatory retirement age) 30 days after enactment of this Act. Declares that such requirements shall not provide the basis for a claim of seniority made under any labor bargaining agreement in effect between the pilots and an air carrier by any pilot who has attained age 60 before the effective date of this Act and who is seeking a position as a pilot with such carrier following that pilot's termination or cessation of employment or promotion or transfer to another position with such air carrier.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act - Amends the definition of the term "law enforcement officer" under provisions of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to include: (1) federal employees not otherwise covered by such term whose duties include the investigation or apprehension of suspected or convicted individuals and who are authorized to carry a firearm; and (2) such employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whose duties are primarily the collection of delinquent taxes and the securing of delinquent returns. Requires such service that is performed by an incumbent law enforcement officer: (1) after enactment of this Act to be treated as service performed as a law enforcement officer for federal retirement purposes; and (2) before, on, or after enactment as service performed as such an officer for federal retirement purposes only if an appropriate written election is submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) within five years after enactment or before separation from government service, whichever is earlier. Provides that nothing under current law respecting mandatory separation from government service under CSRS or FERS shall cause the involuntary separation of an officer before the end of the three-year period following enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Security and Victory in Iraq Act of 2007 - Directs the President every 30 days to certify to the appropriate congressional committees the extent to which the government of Iraq: (1) is cooperating with U.S. stability efforts in Iraq; and (2) has made demonstrable progress toward achieving stability and security for its people, denying terrorists a sanctuary in Iraq, and ensuring equal access to resources. Directs the President every 30 days to report to the appropriate congressional committees respecting: (1) implementation of the Iraq "A New Way Forward" strategy; (2) the government of Iraq's progress in meeting specified benchmarks; (3) Iraqi Army progress and operations; (4) expenditure of funds for the Iraqi Army; (5) effectiveness of the police force in Baghdad; and (6) contributions by U.S. allies to support the government and people of Iraq. Directs the President to: (1) require all relevant U.S. departments and agencies to conduct an interagency assessment of the impact that U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq would have on U.S. national security and homeland security interests and on U.S. allies in the region; and (2) report to the appropriate congressional committees. Establishes in the House of Representatives the Select Bipartisan Committee to Monitor United States Policy and Strategy for Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Repeals provisions of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 requiring federal, state, and local governmental entities to withhold 3% of payments due to vendors providing goods and services to such entities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Local Emergency Radio Service Preservation Act of 2007 - Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), consistent with the representations made by digital audio radio satellite service licensees that digital audio radio satellite service would be a national service, to revise its regulations to provide that digital audio radio satellite service (DARSS): (1) licensees shall not provide services that are locally differentiated or that result in programming being delivered to consumers in one geographic market that is different from programming delivered in any other geographic market; and (2) repeaters shall be restricted to simultaneously retransmitting the programming transmitted by satellite directly to DARSS subscribers' receivers. Requires the FCC to complete a rulemaking proceeding to determine whether DARSS licensees should be permitted to provide locally oriented services on nationally distributed channels, taking into account, among other things, the ability of such licensees to afford listeners the same emergency and other information as is afforded listeners of local broadcast stations.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether state law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the Authority to issue regulations establishing rights and responsibilities for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the Authority, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such Authority regulations and authority through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Edward William Brooke III Congressional Gold Medal Act - Awards a congressional gold medal to Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, in recognition of his unprecedented and enduring service to our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income and to exempt from social security, unemployment taxes, and withholding of tax requirements rebates of real or personal property taxes or any other benefit provided by a State or local government to a member of a volunteer emergency response organization providing firefighting or emergency medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Wild Sky Wilderness Act of 2007 - Designates certain lands in the Skykomish River valley, Washington, as the Wild Sky Wilderness, to be managed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Directs the Secretary to establish a trail plan. Authorizes the use of helicopter access to construct and maintain a joint Forest Service-Snohomish County telecommunications repeater site to provide improved communication for safety, health, and emergency purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to acquire lands in the Wild Sky Wilderness by purchase, donation, or exchange, with priority to be given to specified Priority Acquisition Lands. Requires the boundaries of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Wild Sky Wilderness to be adjusted to encompass any lands so acquired. Requires the Secretary to accept specified lands within the Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, from the Chelan County Public Utility District if the District offers such lands to the Secretary (in title acceptable to the Secretary, and provided there is no hazardous material on the site) in exchange for a permanent easement, including helicopter access, to maintain an existing telemetry site to monitor snow pack on land within the Wenatchee National Forest, Washington. Provides for extinguishment of the easement and reversion of all conveyed rights to the United States if the District no longer needs to maintain a telemetry site.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Promoting Antiterrorism Cooperation through Technology and Science Act, or PACTS Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Under Secretary for Science and Technology of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to establish the Science and Technology Homeland Security International Cooperative Programs Office. Requires the Director of the Office to: (1) develop understandings or agreements that allow and support international cooperative activity in support of homeland security research, development, and comparative testing; (2) develop strategic priorities for such activity; and (3) facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of international cooperative activity to address such priorities. Requires the Director to: (1) facilitate the matching of U.S. entities with non-U.S. entities that may partner in homeland security research activities; and (2) ensure that activities are coordinated with those of other relevant research agencies. Authorizes the Director to hold international homeland security technology workshops and conferences. Authorizes the Under Secretary to carry out international cooperative activities to support specified responsibilities, including through the award of grants and the entering of cooperative agreements or contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to modify and expand prohibitions against criminal street gang activity, including forfeiture provisions. Revises penalties for: (1) interstate or foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises; (2) carjacking; (3) using interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire and other felony crimes of violence; (4) violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity; (5) murder and other violent crimes committed during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; (6) using interstate commerce facilities to commit multiple murder; and (7) the use of firearms in crimes of violence and drug trafficking. Amends: (1) the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) to expand the definition of "racketeering activity" to cover interstate murder; and (2) the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize the use of community-based justice grants to hire additional prosecutors to reduce backlogs and to fund technology, equipment, and training for specified purposes, including to increase the accurate identification and successful prosecution of young violent offenders Expands: (1) the rebuttable presumption against release of persons charged with firearms offenses; (2) venue in capital cases; and (3) the authority to prosecute juveniles as adults. Sets a 15-year statute of limitations for non-capital felony crimes of violence. Authorizes the Attorney General to designate specific areas that are located within one or more states as high intensity interstate gang activity areas.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act - Amends provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 that prohibit the importation of dog or cat fur to modify the definitions of "cat fur" and "dog fur" to include the pelt or skin of the domestic cat or dog, respectively. Amends the Fur Products Labeling Act to expand the definition of "fur product" to include all fur as defined by such Act regardless of the quantity used.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Healthcare Disclosure Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require employers to include in employee wage statements (i.e., W-2 forms) the total amount paid for coverage under an accident or health plan which is excludable from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Everyone Deserves Unconditional Access to Education (EDUCATE) Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to reauthorize part B programs of education of all children with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations in specified amounts for part B for FY2008-FY2016 and thereafter, according to a certain formula. (Provides phased-in increases of such authorized funding designed to reach a promised 40% federal share by FY2015.) Makes appropriations in specified amounts (which are less than the amounts this Act authorizes to be appropriated) for part B for FY2008-FY2016 and thereafter. Requires such amounts to be expended consistent with pay-as-you-go requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the outpatient therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Preventing Harassment through Outbound Number Enforcement (PHONE) Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit using or providing false caller ID information with intent to defraud or with intent to deceive the recipient of a call about the identity of the caller, or "spoofing" (also prohibits attempts or conspiracies). Exempts from such prohibition authorized activities of a U.S. law enforcement or intelligence agency. Provides for criminal forfeiture of any gains from such offense, or equipment, software or other technology used to commit such offense.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Japan should: (1) formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery (comfort women) during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II; (2) have this official and public apology presented by the Prime Minister of Japan; (3) refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the comfort women never occurred; and (4) educate current and future generations about this crime while following the international community's recommendations with respect to the comfort women.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Timber Tax Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction (available to taxpayers whether or not they itemize deductions) for up to 60% of gains from certain sales or exchanges of timber.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Calls for estblishment of a National Orthodontic Health Month. Commends orthodontists' commitment to improving public health by promoting high-quality orthodontic care. Encourages children and adults throughout the United States to learn more about the benefits of such care.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Amends federal transportation law to direct the Secretary of Transportation by regulation to prescribe (corporate) average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for automobiles manufactured after 2009 that ensure that the CAFE achieved by automobiles manufactured after 2016 is at least 33 miles per gallon, and meets other specified criteria. Authorizes the Secretary to establish separate standards for different classes of automobiles according to size. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a CAFE credit trading program to allow a manufacturer that exceeds fuel economy standards to sell credits to another manufacturer.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Legislative Line Item Veto Act of 2007 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to propose the cancellation (line item veto) of any dollar amount of discretionary budget authority, item of direct spending, limited tariff benefit, or targeted tax benefit. Sets forth requirements for the President's transmittal to Congress of a special message regarding a proposed cancellation. Dedicates any cancellation only to deficit reduction or increase of a surplus. Provides for adjustment of: (1) committee allocations resulting from such rescission; and (2) applicable limits, as appropriate, under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act). Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of a proposed rescission. Expresses the sense of Congress that no President or any executive branch official should condition the inclusion or exclusion, or threaten to condition the inclusion or exclusion, of any proposed cancellation in any special message under this Act upon any vote cast or to be cast by any Member of either chamber.
![Official portrait of Rep. Reichert, David G. [R-WA-8]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000578_200.jpg)