United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
War Memorial Preservation Act of 2005 - Permits religious symbols recognizing the religious background of members of the U.S. Armed Forces to be included as part of: (1) a military memorial that is established or acquired by the U.S. Government; or (2) a military memorial that is not established by the Government, but for which the American Battle Monuments Commission cooperated in establishing.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community Act of 2005 - Establishes the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino Community to develop a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of the American Latino Community in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Generate Retirement Ownership Through Long-Term Holding Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that no gain shall be recognized on the receipt of a capital gain dividend distributed by a regulated investment company if such dividend is automatically reinvested in additional shares of the company pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety Retirees Act of 2005 or the HELPS Retirees Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow retired public safety officers to elect an annual exclusion from gross income up to $5,000 for distributions from governmental retirement plans for the payment of accident or health insurance or long-term care insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2005 - Provides a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members can register in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record any firearm acquired before October 31, 1968, by a veteran while a member of the armed forces stationed outside the continental United States. Grants such an individual limited immunity under the Federal criminal code and the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the acquisition, possession, transportation, or alteration of such firearm before or concurrent with such registration. Extends such immunity to a veteran who attempts to register a qualifying firearm outside of the amnesty period if the veteran surrenders the firearm within 30 days after being notified of potential criminal liability for continued possession. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) transfer each firearm qualifying as a curio or relic which has been forfeited to the United States to the first qualified museum that requests it; and (2) publish information identifying each such firearm which is available to be transferred to a museum. Prohibits the Attorney General from destroying any such firearm which has been forfeited until five years after the forfeiture. Requires that any firearm transferred to a qualified museum be registered to the transferee. Makes a prohibition against transfer or possession of a machine-gun inapplicable to a transfer to or by, or possession by, a museum which is open to the public and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under applicable State law.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Thanks John R. Bolton, President George W. Bush's nominee to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations, for his long-standing history of confronting corruption at the United Nations (UN). Urges him to continue his hard work and dedication to the implementation of measures that will restore the UN's credibility.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act of 2005 - Requires a manufacturer of a motor vehicle sold or introduced into commerce in the United States to disclose to the vehicle owner or to a repair facility of the motor vehicle owner's choosing the information necessary to diagnose, service, or repair the vehicle. Sets forth protections for trade secrets. Instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe a uniform methodology for manufacturer disclosure in writing and on the Internet. Prohibits the FTC from prescribing rules that interfere with the authority of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regarding motor vehicle emissions control diagnostics systems. States that manufacturer noncompliance with this Act constitutes an unfair method of competition and an unfair or deceptive act or practice affecting commerce within the purview of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Community Banks Serving Their Communities First Act, or the Communities First Act - Sets forth regulatory relief measures for community banks, including amendments to: (1) the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to increase from $10 million to $250 million the asset levels of depository institution and home mortgage lenders that are exempt from disclosure requirements; (2) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to permit certain insured depository institutions to submit a short form report of condition; and (3) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to exempt certain small-sized depository institutions from management assessment of internal controls requirements. Directs the Federal Reserve Board to publish proposed revisions to the Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement on Assessment of Financial and Managerial Factors that provide that: (1) the policy shall apply to a bank holding company with pro forma consolidated assets of less than $1 billion that meets specified criteria; and (2) the debt-to-equity ratio allowable for a small bank holding company to remain eligible to pay a corporate dividend and for expedited processing procedures would increase from 1:1 to 3:1. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to increase from $250 million to $1 billion the asset size of institutions eligible for Federal banking examinations conducted at intervals subject to discretion of the appropriate Federal banking agency. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to increase from $1 million to $1 billion of total assets the size of small banks exempt from the limitation placed on extensions of credit to executive officers, director and principal shareholders. Amends the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 to increase from $250 million to $1 billion the size of financial institutions eligible for a less frequent examination schedule. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to direct the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to prescribe regulations authorizing a consumer to waive the statutory three-day right of rescission in connection with a consumer credit transaction when the creditor is an insured depository institution. Amends the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act to exempt from its recordkeeping and public disclosure requirements a depository institution that makes fewer than 100 reportable loans annually. Amends the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to exempt specified financial institutions from the requisite annual disclosure of privacy policy. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to direct the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to review reports of condition periodically and reduce filings of related information or schedules pursuant to specified determinations. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to prohibit the aggregate amount of credit extensions that a member bank may make to an executive officer of the bank from exceeding $250,000. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide reduced tax rates and deferral of income recognition on long-term certificates of deposit; (2) exclude from gross income interest received by a qualified lender on any qualified real estate loan; (3) increase from $10 million to $30 million the cap on qualified small issue bonds; (4) provide limited liability company tax treatment for FDIC-insured limited liability companies; (5) provide a tax reduction on a C corporation which is a community bank; and (6) exempt community banks from the alternative minimum tax..
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
District of Columbia Fairness in Representation Act - Considers the District of Columbia as a congressional district for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives. Provides, until the taking effect of the first reapportionment occurring after the regular decennial census conducted for 2010, that: (1) the membership of the House shall be increased by two Members; and (2) each such Representative shall be in addition to such current membership; and (3) the State identified by the Clerk of the House in a specified report by the President to Congress shall be entitled to one additional Representative. Prohibits the temporary increase from: (1) increasing or decreasing the permanent membership of the House; (2) affecting the basis of reappointment established by Federal law; or (3) being taken into account in determining the number of electors with respect to the 2008 Presidential election. Amends the District of Columbia Delegate Act to eliminate the office of District of Columbia Delegate. Amends the District of Columbia Statehood Constitutional Convention Initiative of 1979 to eliminate the office of Statehood Representative.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Railroad Competition Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends federal transportation law to specify the primary objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy. Requires a rail carrier, upon shipper request, to establish a rate for transportation and provide requested service between any two points on the carrier's system where traffic originates, terminates, or may reasonably be interchanged. Prohibits the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from issuing a certificate authorizing construction and operation of railroad lines, or exempting a person, class of persons, or a transaction or service from the certificate requirement, if such an activity involves a transfer of interest in a line of railroad from a Class I rail carrier to a Class II or III rail carrier, and the activity directly or indirectly would restrict: (1) the ability of the Class II or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with other carriers; or (2) competition of rail carriers in the region affected by the activity in a manner that would violate federal antitrust laws. Prescribes a procedure for shipper petition and STB review of any activity alleged to have resulted in a restriction of competition for at least ten years. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the STB's authority to require: (1) a rail carrier's terminal facilities to be used by another rail carrier subject to certain conditions; and (2) rail carriers to enter into reciprocal switching agreements. Prohibits the STB, in either instance, from requiring evidence of anticompetitive conduct by a rail carrier from which such access is sought. Requires the STB to designate any state or substantial part of a state as an area of inadequate rail competition after finding that: (1) it encompasses rail shipping origins and destinations served exclusively by one Class I railroad; and (2) persons that ship by rail or receive rail shipments in it pay rates exceeding a certain mark, or have experienced competitive disadvantage in the marketplace or other economic adversity because of high cost or poor rail service quality. Specifies actions the STB may take to resolve such anti-competitive conditions. Requires submission to arbitration of rail rate disputes. Requires the STB to adopt new methods for determining the reasonableness of rail rates. Establishes within the Department of Transportation (DOT) the Office of Rail Customer Advocacy. Requires the STB, in a proceeding involving the merger or control of at least two Class I railroads, to consider among other things the safety and environmental effect of the proposed transaction on local communities and rail passenger transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Medicare Ambulance Payment Reform and Rural Equity Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) revise ambulance payment rates; and (2) provide additional payments for providers furnishing ambulance services in rural areas. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the system for adjusting payments for rural ambulance services to determine their adequacy and appropriateness. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to a Secretary-specified uniform coding system identifying furnished ambulance services for purposes of a fee schedule. Directs the Secretary to establish a system or systems for the coding of claims for ambulance services for which payment is made, including a code set specifying the medical condition of the individual who is transported and the level of service that is appropriate for the transportation of an individual with that medical condition. Requires the code set to take into account the list of medical conditions developed in the course of the negotiated rulemaking process. (Current law authorizes the Secretary to require the claim for any ambulance services to include a code (or codes) under a uniform coding system specified by the Secretary, but does not require the establishment of such a coding system.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
State and Local Housing Flexibility Act of 2005 - Flexible Voucher Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to make grants to public housing agencies to provide tenant-based and project-based rental assistance, and tenant-based first-time homeownership assistance to low-income individuals. (This program replaces the housing choice voucher program.) Sets forth program provisions. Continues the following section 8 (United States Housing Act of 1937) programs for current beneficiaries: (1) tenant-based rental or homeownership assistance; (2) project-based voucher assistance; and (3) elderly and disabled family assistance. Public Housing Rent Flexibility and Simplification Act of 2005 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to revise public housing rental payment provisions to provide that public housing dwelling units shall be rented only to and occupied by low-income families that do not own a significant interest in real property and do not have assets exceeding an amount established by the Secretary at the time of their initial occupancy. Requires income reviews at least once every two years, except for elderly or disabled families who shall be reviewed at least once every three years. Sets forth rent structure guidelines. Authorizes a public housing agency: (1) to allow a police officer who is not otherwise eligible for public housing residence to reside in a public housing dwelling unit in order to increase security for residents; (2) that owns or operates fewer than 250 public housing dwelling units to lease on a month-to-month basis to over-income families if no eligible families apply for housing assistance for that month; and (3) to establish tenant escrow savings accounts. Moving to Work Program Act of 2005 - Amends the Housing Act of 1937 to direct the Secretary to establish the Moving to Work Program, under which eligible public housing agencies may combine operating assistance, modernization assistance, and assistance provided under this Act to provide housing assistance for low-income families and services to facilitate the transition to work. Sets forth program provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Health Coverage for the Uninsured Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a tax deduction for high deductible health plan premiums; (2) small employers (100 or fewer employees) a refundable tax credit for contributions to a health savings account of an employee who is covered by a high deductible health plan; and (3) a refundable tax credit for certain health insurance costs of uninsured taxpayers and their spouses and dependents. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program for making advance payments of tax credit amounts for uninsured individuals to health insurance providers.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on communication services (i.e., local telephone service, toll telephone service, and teletypewriter exchange service).
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Education for Public Service Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise certain student loan income contingent repayment plan requirements with respect to public service employees and married borrowers. Provides public service employees with a shortened maximum student loan repayment period before receiving debt forgiveness under an income contingent repayment plan. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from prescribing such a repayment period exceeding 15 years (instead of the usual 25 years) in the case of those borrowers who, after electing such a plan, have been full-time public service employees for at least eight years, whether or not continuously. Revises income contingent student loan repayment schedules for married borrowers to attribute to the borrower one-half (rather than all) of the combined adjusted gross income of the borrower and the borrower's spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) to prohibit the Secretary (the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce) from designating as critical habitat any habitat located within the high water mark of a water storage reservoir, water diversion structure, canal, or other artificial water delivery facility if such habitat is periodically created and destroyed as the result of water level fluctuations caused by operation of such facility. Requires the Secretary, in determining whether a Federal agency action is likely to result in the destruction or adverse modification of critical habitat, to consider the offsetting effects of habitat conservation measures proposed to be implemented as part of the action including the protection and management of certain alternative habitat. States that the requirement to minimize and mitigate the impact of an incidental taking shall be deemed satisfied if the Secretary finds that proposed minimization and mitigation measures are rationally related to the level of take under the conservation plan. Exempts operators of water storage reservoirs, water diversion structures, canals, or other artificial water delivery facilities from liability under ESA for any take of specified aquatic species that results from predation, competition, or other adverse effects attributable to non-native aquatic species introduced by another person into the river basin where the facility is located.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Recognizes the valuable and significant contributions of Indian Americans to American society. Honors the economic innovation attributable to graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Urges all Americans to recognize the contributions of Indian Americans and have a greater appreciation of the role they have played in helping to advance and enrich American society.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
Diabetic Foot Complication and Lower Extremity Amputation Reduction Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to eligible multidisciplinary health care programs for: (1) providing a high-risk, underserved population with screening, education, and evidence-based medical treatment regarding diabetic foot complications that may lead to lower extremity amputations; and (2) evaluating the quality, cost effectiveness, parity, and patient satisfaction of medical interventions in the prevention of diabetic foot complications and lower extremity amputations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of a National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims. Recognizes the significant benefits Parents of Murdered Children, Inc., provides to the loved ones of murder victims.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Workforce Health Improvement Program Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of employees: (1) the value of any on-premises employer-provided athletic facility; and (2) fees or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility by an employer for its employees. Allows employers a tax deduction for fees or dues paid to an athletic or fitness facility.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Protecting Every Health Center Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem all federally-qualified health centers and their officers, employees, and contractors to be employees of the Public Health Service for whom any remedy for any civil action that may arise for services provided shall be exclusively against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Navajo Nation Higher Education Act of 2004 (sic) - Authorizes the Navajo Nation's Dine College to receive all Federal funding and resources under this Act and other laws for its operation, improvement, and growth. Authorizes the College to expend certain funds to undertake all renovations and repairs to its infrastructure, as identified by a strategic plan approved by it and submitted to the Secretary of the Interior. Allows funds to be treated as non-Federal, private funds of the College. Authorizes appropriations to the College for: (1) operation and maintenance, to be funded by the Secretary separately from funding institutions under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978; and (2) facilities and capital projects, to be funded through any of specified Federal agencies. Supersedes and repeals the Navajo Community College Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Veterans' Employment Transition Support Act of 2005 or the VETS Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a general business tax credit for hiring veterans who served in a combat zone or a hazardous duty area and were honorably discharged from active duty. Sets the amount of such credit at 40 percent of the first-year wages of such veterans and increases the percentage of such credit for disabled veterans based upon their disability ratings.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act - Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the people of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II. Establishes in the Treasury the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Fund (which shall terminate on the later of three years after the date of enactment of this Act or one year after disbursement of all Fund payments). Directs: (1) the Secretary of the Interior to make specified payments to eligible family members as successor claimants to persons who were killed, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; (2) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States (FCSC) to establish the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Commission to adjudicate such claims; and (3) the Secretary to establish the non-profit Guam World War II Remembrance Trust Fund, which shall undertake educational, medical, and other endeavors to benefit the people of Guam.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Wounded Warrior Servicemembers Group Disability Insurance Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to purchase from one or more insurance companies a policy (or policies) of group disability insurance to automatically insure, in the amount of $50,000 each, any servicemember who: (1) assumes an obligation to perform (for less than 31 days) active duty, active duty for training, or inactive duty training; and (2) is rendered uninsurable from a disability, or aggravation of a preexisting disability, incurred while proceeding directly to or returning directly from such duty or training. Outlines qualifying disabilities for purposes of such coverage, including: (1) complete and permanent loss of movement of an extremity; (2) burns of third degree or higher covering more than one square foot; (3) the loss of sight of one or both eyes; (4) the permanent loss of one hand or foot; and (5) the irretrievable loss of speech or hearing. Provides for the payment of premiums and other payments with respect to such insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Protecting Children from Drugs Act of 2005 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act to increase the penalty for creating a substantial risk to human life while illegally manufacturing a controlled substance, or transporting materials to do so, where the individual is under age 18. Makes the presence of an individual under age 18 at the place of manufacture or transport prima facie evidence that such individual's life was endangered.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Urges the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to transfer Charles Ghankay Taylor, former President of the Republic of Liberia, to the jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to undergo trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Chinese Currency Act of 2005 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 regarding countervailing duty investigations to revise the definition of countervailable subsidy to include exchange-rate manipulation. Defines "exchange-rate manipulation" as protracted large-scale intervention by an authority to undervalue its currency in the exchange market that prevents effective balance-of-payments adjustment or that gains an unfair competitive advantage over any other country. Specifies factors for determining whether exchange-rate manipulation is occurring and a benefit thereby conferred. Applies the definition of "exchange-rate manipulation" to the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) or any other public entity within its territory. Specifies: (1) factors for determining whether exchange-rate manipulation is occurring in the PRC; (2) actions to be taken, if a petition for an investigation alleges and reasonably documents that it is occurring; and (3) the standard for presidential action to prevent or remedy the market disruption at issue (including import relief and its modification and extension). Directs the Secretary of Defense, upon proper request or resolution, to report to the U.S. International Trade Commission any determination as to whether or not the articles of the PRC that are the subject of the investigation are like or directly competitive with domestically produced articles critical to the U.S. defense industrial base. Prohibits the Secretary from procuring, directly or indirectly, such products if the Commission or the President or the U.S. Trade Representative makes an affirmative determination that the Secretary's determination is accurate. Provides for presidential waiver of the prohibition in the national security interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Jessica Lunsford Act - Amends the Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act to direct that State procedures include a process under which the State mails a nonforwardable verification form at least twice a year to the last known address of the person required to register as a sexually violent offender, to be returned within ten days after receipt, with failure to return the form within the period allowed punishable in the same manner as a failure to register. Requires a State prison officer, the court, or another responsible officer or official, if a person required to register is released from prison or placed on parole, supervised release, or probation, to: (1) notify the agency responsible for supervising the person that such person is required to register; and (2) provide that agency with the registration information relating to that person. Provides that a person required to register who has two or more convictions for failing to register or failing to keep such registration current shall, upon release from imprisonment, be required to wear a location-transmitting device (such as an anklet) at all times for not less than five years (ten years if the person is a sexually violent predator). Requires the State to frequently monitor the information transmitted. Sets forth provisions regarding compliance dates and loss of Federal funding for failure to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to design national strategies for providing services in supportive housing that will assist in ending chronic homelessness and to implement programs that address chronic homelessness. Requires the Secretary to make matching grants to eligible entities to provide services that promote recovery and self-sufficiency and that address barriers to housing stability to chronically homeless individuals in, or who are scheduled to become residents of, permanent supportive housing and to other individuals and families who have voluntarily chosen to seek other housing opportunities after a period of tenancy in supportive housing. Directs the Secretary to require grantees to report data regarding the performance outcomes of projects carried out under this Act, which shall include measuring and reporting specific performance outcomes related to the long-term goals of: (1) increasing stability within the community for people who have been chronically homeless; and (2) decreasing recurrence of periods of homelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Federal Aviation Safety Security Act of 2005 - Declares that functions performed by air traffic control specialists at Federal Aviation Administration flight service stations are inherently governmental functions, and must be performed by Federal employees. Voids any action taken pursuant to the Federal Activities Inventory Reform Act of 1998 to include such functions on certain annual lists of government activities performed by Federal Government sources for an agency that are not inherently governmental functions which must be submitted by each Federal agency to the Office of Management and Budget.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Allows the use or disposal of the Winslow Hospitality Park located in the city of Winslow, Navajo County, Arizona, for purposes other than public recreation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any person or entity, in or affecting interstate commerce, from knowingly: (1) performing or attempting to perform human cloning; (2) participating in such an attempt; (3) shipping or receiving an embryo produced by human cloning or any product derived from such embryo; or (4) importing such an embryo or derived product. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties. Provides that nothing in this Act restricts areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited above, including research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques to produce molecules, DNA, cells other than human embryos, tissues, organs, plants, or animals other than humans.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Kidney Care Quality and Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) grant full coverage of dialysis access procedures in the ambulatory surgical center setting for individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) who are entitled to benefits under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and enrolled under Medicare part B (Hospital Insurance); and (2) structure the relative value units applicable to physicians' services for vascular access procedures to encourage clinically appropriate placement of natural vascular access for dialysis patients. Directs the Secretary to establish demonstration projects for an outcomes-based ESRD financial incentives reimbursement system to evaluate methods that improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the: (1) establishment of annual update framework for the Medicare end stage renal disease composite rate; and (2) extension of Medicare as secondary payer. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of the temporary codes (G-codes) for nephrologists' services applicable under the Medicare fee schedule for physician's services. Requires the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about chronic kidney disease; (2) enhance surveillance systems and expand chronic kidney disease research; and (3) enable individuals with ESRD to develop self-management skills. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; (2) provide for appropriate incentives to improve the Medicare 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; and (4) establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Small Community Options for Regulatory Equity Act of 2005 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require States exercising primary enforcement responsibility for public water systems to exempt any nonprofit small public water system (serving 10,000 or fewer persons) that so requests in accordance with this Act from the requirements of any national primary drinking water regulation for naturally occurring contaminants, including arsenic, radon, radium, uranium, and specified disinfection byproducts. Requires exemption requests to include a finding that the system's compliance with applicable national primary drinking water regulations is not economically feasible. Precludes judicial or administrative review of such findings.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Responsible Lending Act - Mortgage Lending Improvements and Uniform National Standards Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to define higher-cost mortgage. Sets forth related provisions with respect to: (1) requirements for higher-cost mortgages; (2) dispute and error resolution; (3) damages, rescission and liability; (4) State law coordination; (5) State enforcement authority; (6) prepayment penalties and late charges; and (7) consumer counseling. Expanding Housing Opportunities Through Education and Counseling Act - Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish, in the Office of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Office of Housing Counseling. Directs the Office to carry out HUD homeownership and rental counseling functions, including related research, grant administration, public outreach, and development of policy and performance measures. Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to direct the Secretary to: (1) establish homeownership and rental counseling procedures, and a related a toll-free telephone number and World Wide Web site; (2) certify computer software programs for consumer evaluation of residential mortgage loans; (3) establish a housing counseling multimedia outreach program for vulnerable populations; (4) assist States, local government, and non-profit organizations with consumer education programs about mortgage, refinancing, home equity, or home repair loans; and (5) make grants for State, local government, and nonprofit organization housing counseling assistance. Requires organizations to use HUD-certified counselors in order to qualify for specified HUD assistance. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to: (1) revise the mortgage information booklet; (2) set forth prohibitions on a servicer of a federally related mortgage; and (3) prohibit a creditor from providing a higher-cost mortgage to any consumer without first obtaining a written appraisal of the property. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require a creditor in certain transactions secured by a residence to establish an escrow or impound account for taxes and hazard insurance payments. Directs: (1) the Secretary to conduct studies of mortgage servicing fraud, and home loan default and foreclosures; and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an appraisal process study. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) a national mortgage broker database; and (2) Federal mortgage broker requirements. Sets forth uniform State mortgage broker law guidelines, and states that Federal requirements shall apply to those States that have not enacted uniform laws. Sets forth liability provisions for intentional unlawful disclosures, with a good faith exception.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize the Jacob Hamblin Legacy Organization to install a bronze equestrian statue depicting frontiersman, explorer, and missionary Jacob Hamblin on the grounds of the Forest Service Kaibab Plateau Visitor Center in Jacob Lake, Arizona. Prohibits the use of Federal funds to design, acquire, prepare the site for, or install the statue.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
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 · 10 March 2005
Arizona Trail Feasibility Study Act - Amends the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a joint study of the feasibility of designating the Arizona Trail as a national scenic trail or a national historic trail.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2005 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by States or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) 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 FLRA to issue regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in States that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, 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 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 FLRA 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 · 9 March 2005
Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 - Requires the merger of the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund into the Deposit Insurance Fund. Amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) and the Federal Credit Union Act to: (1) increase the amount of deposit insurance coverage; (2) couple such increase with an inflation adjustment; (3) double the amount of deposit insurance for certain retirement accounts; and (4) increase the maxzimum amount of deposit insurance coverage for in-State municipal deposits. Amends the FDIA to replace assessment guidelines for achieving and maintaining a designated reserve ratio and for independent treatment of deposit insurance funds with a requirement that the Board of Directors of the FDIC set assessments as it determines appropriate, including a maximum base rate for assessments at one basis point for insured depository institutions in the lowest-risk category. Reduces from five years to three years the mandatory assessment recordkeeping period. Replaces the current 1.25 percent statutory reserve ratio used to recapitalize undercapitalized insurance funds with a reserve ratio range of 1.15 to 1.4 percent of estimated insured deposits, subject to specified factors and annual redetermination. Instructs the FDIC to establish a Deposit Insurance Fund Restoration Plan to ensure adequate reserves whenever the actual ratio in the DIF falls below the designated reserve ratio. Directs the FDIC to conduct a bi-annual survey on efforts by insured depository institutions to bring into the conventional finance system those "unbanked" individuals and families who have rarely, if ever, held a checking account, a savings account, or other type of transaction or check cashing account at an insured depository institution.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Walnut Canyon Study Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study of specified Federal land in Coconino National Forest, State and private lands, and Walnut Canyon National Monument in Arizona (the study area) to evaluate: (1) the significance of the public values and the resources of the study area as they pertain to the management objectives of the Forest Service and the National Park Service (NPS); (2) the opportunities for maintaining existing public uses; and (3) a range of options for managing and conserving resources by the NPS or the Forest Service, or by both agencies, including the feasibility of a boundary adjustment to the Monument, designation of the study area as a national park or preserve, maintaining the study area as managed by the Forest Service, and any other designation or management option that will accomplish the protection of resources and the maintenance public use and access for such area. Requires the Secretaries to: (1) contract with a third-party consultant with experience in park and land use planning to prepare a draft study; and (2) collaborate with the Forest Supervisor of the Coconino National Forest, the Superintendent of the Flagstaff Area National Monuments, the Flagstaff City Council, and Coconino County Board of Supervisors in developing a scope of work for the draft study under the guidance of the third-party consultant.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Incapacitated Persons Legal Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to extend habeas corpus protections to persons who are subject to a court order authorizing or directing the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment necessary to sustain the person's life. Deems persons having custody in such cases to encompass parties so authorized or directed. States that there shall be no requirement to produce the body of the incapacitated person at the hearing. Exempts from this Act those cases in which the incapacitated person indisputably executed a written advance directive while having capacity that clearly authorized the withholding or withdrawal of food, fluids, or necessary medical treatment. Defines "incapacitated person" to mean an individual presently incapable of making relevant decisions concerning the provision, withholding, or withdrawal of food, fluids, or medical treatment under applicable State law.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income disaster mitigation payments paid pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or the National Flood Insurance Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2005 - Amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to establish a program to provide grant assistance to States for use in rehabilitating publicly-owned dams that fail to meet minimum safety standards and pose an unacceptable risk to the public (deficient dams). Sets forth provisions regarding procedures for grant awards and fund allocation. Requires the Director to develop a risk-based priority system for identifying deficient dams for which such grants may be made. Limits the Federal share of rehabilitation costs to 65 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
National Park Centennial Act - Establishes the National Park Centennial Fund in the Treasury. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual taxpayers to designate overpayments and contributions for the benefit of the National Park System. Allocates such amounts to the Fund (along with necessary amounts from the General Fund to the extent that such amounts are inadequate in any fiscal year) for expenditure by the Secretary of the Interior. Authorizes appropriations for a public awareness campaign about the Fund and the ability of taxpayers to make tax-related contributions. Requires a specified percentage of Fund deposits to be used: (1) for the elimination of the backlog of unmet needs in the national parks as identified in the Facility Condition Index of the National Park Service (NPS); (2) to protect natural resources within the parks; and (3) to protect cultural resources within the parks. Requires a majority of such percentages to be distributed to those national parks that have completed comprehensive business plans under the Business Plan Initiative of the NPS. Directs the Government Accountability Office annually to submit a report on the National Park System to specified congressional committees. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to provide grants to elementary and secondary schools for cooperative agreements with the NPS providing distance learning and onsite education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2005 - Deems the approved application for the drug mifepristone (marketed as Mifeprex, commonly known as RU-486, and used for the chemically induced termination of intrauterine pregnancy) to have been withdrawn. Deems the drug misoprostol to be misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) if it bears labeling providing that the drug may be used for the medical termination of intrauterine pregnancy. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report on the process by which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone. Provides for the reinstatement of the approved application for such drug if the report determines the approval to have been in accordance with FFDCA.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Net Worth Amendment For Credit Unions Act - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act relating to the requirement of prompt corrective action to resolve the problems of an insured credit union at the least possible long-term loss to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. Redefines net worth as the retained earnings balance of a credit union (as determined under generally accepted accounting principles, as under current law), together with any amounts that were previously retained earnings of any other credit union with which the credit union has combined.
![Official portrait of Rep. Renzi, Rick [R-AZ-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000574_200.jpg)