United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2009
Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay travel expenses for veterans receiving treatment at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities at the rate of 41.5 cents per mile. (Under current law the rate is that provided to federal employees in connection with the performance of official duties.) Requires an annual report concerning such expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2009
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish and operate at least one, and up to five, centers of excellence for rural health research, education, and clinical activities. Requires the submission of annual reports on those centers.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2009
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a program to provide peer support, readjustment, and mental health services to veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (and related services to their family members). Requires an initial, and follow-up, report.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2009
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to establish a grant program to provide innovative transportation options to veterans in highly rural areas. Requires an annual report concerning such grants.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Aerospace Day. Recognizes the contributions of the aerospace industry to the history, economy, security, and educational system of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2009
Amends the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act to authorize the President agree to amendments to the Border Environment Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Mexico to expand the purposes and functions of the Border Environment Cooperation Commission to certify, and the North American Development Bank to finance, any infrastructure in the border region between the two countries.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2009
Veterans' Insurance and Health Care Improvements Act of 2009 - Makes permanent a current temporary extension of Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) coverage for totally disabled veterans. Allows veterans under age 60 to increase coverage under Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) in increments of up to $25,000 during each five-year period, to a maximum amount of $400,000. Eliminates a reduction by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) in the amount of an accelerated death benefit for terminally ill persons insured under SGLI and VGLI. Establishes, with respect to the provision of VA health care, a priority level for veterans awarded the Medal of Honor equal to the level of Purple Heart recipients. Provides permanent VA authority to provide hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care to Vietnam-era herbicide-exposed veterans and Persian Gulf War veterans who have insufficient medical evidence to establish a service-connected disability. Prohibits the Secretary from collecting copayments from catastrophically disabled veterans for the receipt of VA hospital care or medical services. Establishes within the Veterans Health Administration: (1) a Director of Physician Assistant Services; and (2) a Committee on Care of Veterans with Traumatic Brain Injury. Amends the Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 to revise participant eligibility requirements under a pilot program of contract care for veterans residing in highly rural areas. Establishes in the Treasury the Qualified World War II Veterans Equity Compensation Fund to provide monthly payments of $1,000 to former active-duty World War II veterans who have not received benefits under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2009
Expresses the gratitude of the House of Representatives to the members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of the State of Washington and their families for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States. Commends the members of the 81st Brigade Combat Team (Heavy) of the Washington Army National Guard on the completion of their most-recent deployment to Iraq. Recognizes that Team's achievements and all other formerly and presently deployed Washington Army and Air National Guard units and members for their exemplary service.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2009
Condemns the June 2009 coup d'etat in Honduras, refuses to recognize the Micheletti government installed by such coup d'etat, and calls for the reinstatement of President Zelaya as President of Honduras. Welcomes the mediation of Costa Rican President Oscar Arias.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2009
Caregiver Assistance and Resource Enhancement Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), with respect to individuals providing noninstitutional extended care to disabled veterans, to make support services available to such caregivers, both family and non-family, including: (1) educational sessions teaching caring techniques, strategies, and skills; (2) respite care; (3) nursing care; (4) counseling and mental health services; (5) medical care; and (6) lodging and subsistence. Requires the Secretary to survey and report to specified congressional committees on such caregivers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 50% of the non-clinical research expenses for certain infectious diseases or conditions for which there is no significant market in developed nations and which disproportionately affect poor and marginalized populations. Requires any taxpayer who claims this tax credit to donate to a charitable organization or foreign government for public purposes the rights to any license for treatment of such diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2009
Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 to extend the grant program for investment in renewable energy property, including renewable resources used to produce electricity and fuel cell, solar, wind, geothermal, and microturbine property, in lieu of tax credits, by extending the placed-in-service deadline for such property through 2012. Extends through September 30, 2013, the deadline for submitting grant applications for such program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) individual taxpayers investing in wind facilities used to produce electricity an exemption from limitations on passive activity losses and credits; and (2) tax credit amounts for producing electricity from wind facilities to offset alternative minimum tax liability.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2009
Declares that, during the 18 months following enactment of this Act, the Home Valuation Code of Conduct announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on December 23, 2008, shall have no force or effect.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities. Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, identify and address perceptions regarding U.S. entry policy, and promote U.S. travel. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require (under current law, authorize) the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and collect a fee for the use of an electronic data sharing system concerning the admissibility of certain aliens into the United States that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering such system. Terminates such fee following FY2014. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to: (1) revise the membership of the Tourism Policy Council; and (2) require the Council to provide the Corporation with certain information concerning U.S. admission procedures and travel promotion strategies. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess barriers to entry into the United States by foreign travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Kyle Barthel Veterans and Service Members Mental Health Screening Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to ensure that each member of the Armed Forces on active duty is required to participate in confidential, in-person screenings for mental health conditions by a licensed mental health professional to reduce the prevalence of suicide among service members, future veterans, and veterans. Prohibits the Secretary from using the results of such a screening to prohibit a member from returning to the United States, prohibit a member from being discharged from the Armed Forces, or involuntarily discharge a member. Directs the Secretary to require that each member on active duty is screened for a traumatic brain injury by a licensed professional who is qualified to conduct such screening. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a joint protocol to share existing and future reports concerning screenings conducted under this Act to help aid members and veterans who are transitioning from receiving health care and treatment through the Department of Defense to receiving such care and services through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009 - Requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), as soon as practicable after Congress completes action on any Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) legislation, to provide an estimate of its budgetary effects to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Requires OMB to maintain and make publicly available a document containing a PAYGO ledger and, within seven days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) after the enactment of any PAYGO legislation, record on such ledger its estimate of the legislation's budgetary effects in each fiscal year, applying the look-back and averaging requirements of this Act. Exempts from the requirements of this Act any PAYGO legislation designated as an emergency requirement by the President and enacted by Congress. (Requires OMB to display the budgetary effects of such legislation as an addendum in the document containing the PAYGO ledger but not record the budgetary effects in it.) Requires OMB: (1) to make publicly available an annual PAYGO report and publish a notice of it in the Federal Register, including information on how it can be obtained; and (2) if such report shows a debit on the PAYGO ledger for the budget year, to prepare and the President to issue a sequestration order for submission to Congress. Prescribes requirements for calculating a sequestration for certain nonexempt and Medicare mandatory programs. Sets forth a special temporary rule to address the scoring of legislation affecting current policy for: (1) payments made under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for physician services; (2) the Estate and Gift Tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) under the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 or the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2003 that amended the Code extending middle-class tax cuts for individuals (or provisions in later statutes further amending such amendments). Makes such rule effective through December 31, 2010, or, in specified circumstances, until December 31, 2011. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to modify the assumptions used to calculate the baseline. Requires: (1) temporary mandatory funding and tax provisions related to major natural or man-made disasters to be assumed to expire on schedule, and discretionary funding for them to not be projected; and (2) the baseline to include a disaster allowance that is not designated as mandatory or discretionary and is not allocated to any congressional committee. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to specify additional Social Security, veterans, Tier I Railroad Retirement benefits and other programs and activities exempt from a sequestration order as well as certain economic recovery programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2009
Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2009 - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a preservation program to provide financial incentives and other assistance to owners of Section 515 rural multifamily housing projects through long-term use agreements entered into between the project owners and the Secretary. (A Section 515 project is one involving housing and related facilities for elderly persons and families or other persons and families of low income.) Authorizes the Secretary to give priority to applications for eligible projects located on tribal trust lands or other Indian areas, in colonias, or in other small, poor, low-income communities. Requires the Secretary to prepare and approve a long-term viability plan for each eligible project for which the owner requests to participate. Allows the Secretary, subject to certain conditions, to offer a project owner a financial restructuring plan, based on the long-term viability plan, and specified project preservation incentives. Specifies compliance requirements for rents for any eligible households residing in a dwelling unit in any preserved Section 515 project, including: (1) a disregard for certain earned income for residents; and (2) phase-in of rent increases. Establishes conditions that makes certain project owners ineligible to participate in the preservation program. Requires the Secretary to make rural preservation and rural tenant protection vouchers available to certain eligible households. Requires the Secretary to give priority, in entering into contracts involving financing for new construction of a Section 515 project, for projects located in eligible rural areas needing affordable low-income rental housing because of prepayment of Section 515 loans.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Supports the designation of Home Safety Month. Recognizes the contributions of: (1) home safety related nonprofit organizations; and (2) the Home Safety Council for introducing www.MySafeHome.org to help adults identify the dangers present in and around the home, and for promoting the Hands on Home Safety Campaign. Encourages adults, parents, and caregivers to take greater actions to reduce unintentional injuries and educate themselves on the importance of home safety. Encourages: (1) manufacturers to develop innovative safety products and features to help lessen the number of home injuries and accidents; and (2) local and national government leaders to support funding for critical home safety education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Family Work Flexibility Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business tax credit for the cost of teleworking equipment used by employees to telework and for expenses to maintain such equipment. Limits the dollar amount of such credit to the lesser of $500 for each teleworking employee or $50,000.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative Improvement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of State to adjudicate U.S. passport applications in an individualized, evidence-based manner. Requires the passport application adjudicatory process to be based on an assessment of individual circumstances and evidence. Prohibits an applicant's race, ethnicity, or ancestry from being taken into account in the passport application adjudicatory process. Requires: (1) an applicant to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the applicant is a U.S. citizen or national; (2) the preponderance of the evidence standard to be applied in a uniform and consistent manner to all passport applications; and (3) any determination that an applicant has not met the burden of proving U.S. citizenship or nationality by a preponderance of the evidence to be made in writing, state the reasons for the determination, and be provided to the applicant in a timely manner. States that a birth certificate signed by a person authorized under state law to sign such a document, or a previously-issued U.S. passport, shall constitute prima facie evidence of U.S. citizenship or nationality and, absent individualized evidence that a birth did not take place in the United States, shall satisfy the preponderance of the evidence standard.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Health Equity and Accountability through Research Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to rename the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities as the National Institute for Minority Health and Health Disparities. Revises and expands the duties of the Director of such Institute relating to coordination of research activities conducted by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and review of a strategic plan and budget for minority health disparity research.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Expresses the House of Representatives' support for the National Day on Writing. Encourages participation in the National Gallery of Writing, which is maintained by the National Council of Teachers of English and contains examples of writing by individuals throughout our country. Encourages educational institutions to submit the compositions of their students and employees to such Gallery and support the efforts of community members to submit compositions to the Gallery.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Veterans Home Loan Refinance Opportunity Act of 2009 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-exempt veterans' mortgage bonds to permit: (1) proceeds from such bonds to refinance residences of veterans (currently, bond financing limited to new mortgages); (2) an annual inflation adjustment after 2010 to the amounts of veterans' mortgage bonds that states may issue; and (3) an increase from 1.125 % to 1.50% in the amount by which interest on veterans' mortgages may exceed the yield on a bond issue.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Allows homeless veterans' comprehensive services grant funds to be used to provide funding for service center staff. Revises provisions concerning payments for providing services for homeless veterans to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to annually increase the rate of such payment to reflect anticipated changes in the cost of furnishing services, and to take into account the cost of providing services in a particular geographic area.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2014 the standard tax deduction for real property taxes; and (2) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the allowable amount of such deduction.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Armed Forces Behavioral Health Awareness Act - Makes any member of the Armed Forces who is deployed in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom eligible for readjustment counseling and related mental health services through Vet Centers (centers for such counseling and services for veterans), regardless of the member's duty status. Directs the Secretary of Defense to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide emotional support services for family members of members of the Armed Forces, including members of the reserves. Requires the Secretary of the Army to carry out a pilot program to enhance awareness of post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD) among members of the Army.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Veterans and Survivors Behavioral Health Awareness Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide scholarships to individuals pursuing education or training in behavioral health care specialties that are critical to the operations of Vet Centers (centers for readjustment counseling and related mental health services for veterans) in order to recruit and retain individuals with such specialties for service in Vet Centers. Conditions the scholarship on the recipient's agreeing to serve in such a capacity for whatever period the Secretary specifies in the agreement. Directs the Secretary, on receipt of a request for counseling from an individual who has been discharged or released from active service, to: (1) provide referrals to assist the individual in obtaining mental health care and services outside the VA; and (2) if pertinent, advise such individual of the individual's rights to apply for review of the discharge or release. Directs the Secretary to award grants to nonprofit organizations that provide emotional support services for survivors of deceased members of the Armed Forces and deceased veterans through the survivors' peers.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to reimburse family caregivers of disabled veterans for travel expenses, including lodging and subsistence, in connection with authorized VA treatment for such veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Supports the goals and purpose of Gold Star Mothers Day (a day observed in remembrance of the supreme sacrifice made by mothers who lose a son or daughter serving in the Armed Forces).
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Supports the goals of National Dairy Month (June). Recognizes the dairy industry's important role in the economic and nutritional well being of Americans. Commends dairy farmers for their hard work and commitment to the U.S. economy and to the preservation of open space.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Recognizes that: (1) the current payment mechanisms for Federally-Qualified Health Centers in Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP), and Medicare are essential to assuring access to quality, affordable, primary, and preventive care servies; and (2) any expansion of private insurance must include mechanisms to ensure the full participation of, and appropriate reimbursement to, such Centers to ensure adequate access to care for the medically underserved and disenfranchised. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) everyone should have the choice of a community health center as their health care home and every center should be appropriately reimbursed for the care it provides; and (2) health care reform should include measures to expand community health centers.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
People Resolved to Obtain an Understanding of Democracy Act; or the P.R.O.U.D. Act - Amends the Immigration and Naturalization Act to provide for the naturalization of certain graduates of U.S. high schools who are under 25 years of age on the date of application for naturalization.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Congratulates the 207 graduates of the first United States Air Force Academy class on the 50th anniversary of their graduation. Acknowledges the continued excellence of the Academy and its critical role in the defense of the United States. Recognizes the outstanding service that Academy graduates have provided.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2009
Expresses support for the Border Patrol's goals and objectives. Congratulates the Border Patrol and its exemplary workforce on 85 years of service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Military Children’s School Investment Act - Amends the Impact Aid program (which compensates local educational agencies [LEAs] for the financial burden of federal activities affecting their areas) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to LEAs that: (1) were eligible for Impact Aid in the prior fiscal year due to federally-connected children; and (2) are experiencing an enrollment increase of at least 250 or 10% consisting of certain federally-connected children whose arrival is due to military base closures and realignments or global rebasing, force structure changes or reductions, or actions initiated by the Secretary of Defense. Requires such grants to be used: (1) to construct new schools or expand existing schools to accommodate the influx of students; (2) repair or upgrade academic facilities; or (3) lease, with the Secretary's approval, buildings or portions of buildings from a private entity for additional school space.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Help Our Homeless Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to carry out a national media campaign targeted at veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, with special emphasis on such veterans who are women.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act - Prohibits, in any case arising out of the administration of laws and benefits by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, considering any person who is mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent, or experiencing an extended loss of consciousness from being considered adjudicated as a mental defective for purposes of the right to receive or transport firearms without the order or finding of a judge, magistrate, or other judicial authority of competent jurisdiction that such person is a danger to himself or herself or others.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act of 2009 or the SERVE Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a $1,000 refundable tax credit for individuals who are bona fide volunteer members of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization who provide firefighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, and ambulance services.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Authorizes the award of a single Congressional Gold Medal to collectively honor the American soldiers who were prisoners of war at Bataan/Corregidor/Luzon during World War II, in recognition of their personal sacrifice and service to their country. Provides for the Medal's display at the Smithsonian Institution. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Medal should be made available for display elsewhere, particularly at locations associated with those who fought in defense of Bataan/Corregidor/Luzon and the prisoners of war.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Veterans Missing in America Act of 2009 - Recognizes the tireless work and dedication of the Missing in America Project, in conjunction with numerous veterans service organizations, in identifying unclaimed remains of veterans. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to cooperate with such organizations to assist entities in possession of unclaimed or abandoned human remains in determining if any such remains are the remains of veterans or other individuals eligible for burial in a national cemetery. Requires the Secretary, upon a positive determination with respect to any such remains, to provide for and cover the cost of the burial and funeral expenses if the Secretary determines that: (1) there is no next of kin or other person claiming the remains; and (2) there are no other sufficient resources to cover such expenses. Directs the Secretary to establish a publicly accessible database of the names of any veteran or other individual so identified.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Mental Health in Schools Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise a community children and violence program to assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services, including by: (1) revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; and (2) providing for comprehensive school mental health programs that are culturally and linguistically appropriate and age appropriate. Makes only a partnership between a local educational agency and at least one community program or agency that is involved in mental health eligible for such funding. Sets forth assurances required for eligibility, including that: (1) the local education agency will enter into a memorandum of understanding with relevant community-based entities that clearly states the responsibilities of each partner; (2) the program will include training of all school personnel, family members of children with mental health disorders, and concerned members of the community; and (3) the program will demonstrate the measures to be taken to sustain the program after funding terminates. Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop a process for evaluating grant program activities, including: (1) the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) the development of measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, to include student and family measures and local educational measures.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009 - Authorizes the government of Puerto Rico: (1) to conduct a plebiscite giving voters the option to vote to continue Puerto Rico's present political status or to have a different political status; (2) if a majority of ballots favor continuing the present status, to conduct additional such plebiscites every eight years; and (3) if a majority of ballots favor having a different status, to conduct a plebiscite on the options of becoming fully independent from the United States, forming with the United States a political association between sovereign nations that will not be subject to the Territorial Clause of the Constitution, or being admitted as a state of the Union. Prescribes the eligibility requirements for voting in the plebiscite. Requires the Puerto Rico State Elections Commission to certify plebiscite results to the President and Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Transportation Job Corps Act of 2009 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to establish: (1) a National Joint Workforce Development Council; and (2) regional workforce development councils and governing boards in each of its 10 regions. Replaces the current discretionary grant and contract programs addressing human resource needs as they apply to public transportation activities. Directs the Secretary of Transportation, acting through the Administrator, to establish programs for the award of grants to: (1) nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to introduce disconnected youth (ages 16 through 24 who are out of school and unemployed) to careers in the transit industry by providing them with basic skills education and pre-apprenticeship skills; (2) partnerships of transit agencies and unions representing non-managerial employees (partnerships), as well as providers of management and technical programs for managerial employees, to develop education programs to improve job skills of transit employees and to provide education and training to assist individuals to enter the transit profession; and (3) the same or similar partnerships to develop special projects to increase education opportunities for disadvantaged transit industry individuals, including racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in transit management, by providing student scholarships, pre-entry preparation, and retention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Veterans Education Tuition Support Act of 2009 or the VETS Act of 2009 - Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of higher education to refund to students the tuition and fees paid for education they will not receive due to their withdrawal from school to serve in the Armed Forces. Waives the application of any requirement that students return title IV funds upon withdrawing from school to students whose withdrawal is necessitated by service in the Armed Forces. Provides loan forgiveness under the Federal Family Education Loan, Direct Loan, and Perkins Loan programs to students whose withdrawal from school is necessitated by service in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit. Allows employees to use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members; or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Grants the same authority, for employees under their jurisdiction, to the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this Act. Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to a suit brought by an employee of a federally-assisted state program or activity for relief authorized under this Act. Requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics annually to compile information annually on paid sick time, and the Comptroller General to study related matters. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2009
Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a five-year carryback of net operating losses, including the operating losses of life insurance companies, incurred in 2008 and 2009. Denies such extended loss carryover period to: (1) taxpayers in whom the federal government acquires an equity interest under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; (2) the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (3) members of certain affiliated groups.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Requires contracting officers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to use purchases of goods or services through the federal supply schedules for the purpose of meeting the government-wide goal for participation by small businesses owned and controlled by veterans and service-disabled veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 702 East University Avenue in Georgetown, Texas, as the "Kyle G. West Post Office Building."
![Official portrait of Rep. Rodriguez, Ciro D. [D-TX-28]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/r000568_200.jpg)