United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2005
Teacher Education for Autistic Children Act of 2005, or TEACH Act of 2005 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to require assisted local educational agencies to report on autism early intervention activities and personnel training. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Education, in making certain IDEA grants or contracts, shall give special consideration to: (1) the increased incidence of autism spectrum disorders among children; and (2) the increased demands placed on educational systems due to the complexity and symptoms of autism. Directs the Secretary to: (1) carry out an expanded student loan forgiveness program for teachers of autistic children; and (2) establish a Task Force on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Requires the Secretary, in cooperation with a specified Department of Health and Human Services official, to: (1) award grants or contracts to develop an outreach plan for populations and individuals underserved by early screening and diagnosis for neurodevelopmental delays; and (2) report on services provided to individuals with ASD in accordance with IDEA and the Head Start Act.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
ALS Registry Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); and (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of ALS data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to study and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning: (1) the development and maintenance of the registry; (2) the type of information to be included; (3) the manner in which data is to be collected; (4) the use and availability of such data; and (5) the collection of information about diseases and disorders that primarily affect motor neurons that are considered essential to furthering the study and cure of ALS. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on ALS. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for public access to an electronic national database that accepts data from state registries, health care professionals, and others as recommended by the Advisory Committee in a manner that protects personal privacy. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information is made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
Disabled Veterans Fairness Act - Eliminates a $3 per round trip deductible charged by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in connection with the veterans beneficiary travel program (a program authorizing a travel allowance or reimbursement for beneficiaries providing transportation for veterans to obtain medical care). Directs the Secretary, in determining the amount of such allowance or reimbursement, to use the mileage reimbursement rates for the use of privately owned vehicles by government employees traveling on official business.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
National Police Athletic League (PAL) Youth Enrichment Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the National Police Athletic League Youth Enrichment Act of 2000 to: (1) rename the Police Athletic League the Police Athletic/Activities League (PAL); (2) reauthorize grants under the Act through 2010; (3) decrease the number of programs that PAL chapters receiving grant funds are required to create or expand from four to two; and (4) allow PAL chapters to use grants funds for programs to provide character development and leadership training.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Urges the House of Representatives to raise awareness of teen dating violence by supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week (the week of February 6, 2006).
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Social Security COLA Protection Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to limit increases in the monthly Medicare premium, including the Medicare Advantage prescription drug program premium, to 25% of any Social Security cost of living increase.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Ensure Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2005 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to lengthen through June 30, 2007, the initial enrollment period for the Medicare prescription drug program. Extends through December 31, 2007, the period during which a discount card eligible individual may enroll in an endorsed discount card program..
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Downed Animal Protection Act - States that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory livestock in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such livestock become nonambulatory. Amends the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations providing for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Requires an entity to: (1) humanely euthanize nonambulatory livestock (while not limiting the Secretary's ability to test nonambulatory livestock for disease, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy); and (2) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious, and ensure that such livestock remains unconscious until death. Prohibits an inspector at an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock, carcass, or carcass parts through inspection. Requires an inspector or other employee at such establishment to label such material as "inspected and condemned." Defines "covered entity," "nonambulatory livestock," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Federal Response to Energy Emergencies Act of 2005 - Declares unlawful: (1) unconscionable pricing of gasoline, oil, natural gas, and petroleum distillates during emergencies; (2) intentional reporting of false price information concerning wholesale prices of such products; and (3) market manipulation regarding the purchase or sale at wholesale of such products. Authorizes the President to declare a federal energy emergency upon finding that the national health, safety, welfare, or economic well-being is at risk because of an actual or imminent shortage of such products due to a disruption of the national distribution system, or significant pricing anomalies in national or regional energy markets for the products. Empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and State Attorneys General to enforce this Act. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Requires fines and penalties collected under this Act to be deposited in a separate fund in the treasury to be known as the Consumer Relief Trust Fund to provide assistance under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program. Directs the FTC to facilitate price transparency in wholesale markets for the sale of crude oil and essential petroleum products. Instructs the FTC to transmit a confidential report to Congress on the potential impact on domestic prices of crude oil, residual fuel oil, and refined petroleum products that would result from the disruption for periods of one week, one year, and five years, respectively. Directs the Secretary of Energy and the Energy Information Administration to review and report to Congress on expenditures and activities undertaken by certain size companies to protect the energy supply system from terrorist attacks, international supply disruptions, and natural disasters, and ensure a stable and reasonably priced supply of such products to consumers in the United States. Requires such report to assess the companies' preparations for the forecasted period of more frequent and more intense hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico and other vulnerable coastal areas.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Charitable Giving Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to charitable giving and charitable organizations to: (1) allow individuals who do not itemize a deduction from gross income for a portion of their charitable contributions; (2) allow tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes; (3) increase the cap on corporate charitable contributions; (4) allow non-corporate taxpayers a tax deduction for charitable contributions of food inventory; (5) revise certain excise taxes related to private foundations; (6) modify the excise tax on unrelated business taxable income of charitable remainder trusts; (7) extend and expand the charitable contribution for scientific property used for research and for computer technology and equipment used for educational purposes; (8) adjust the basis of S corporation stock for certain charitable contributions; (9) revise church tax inquiry provisions; and (10) exclude from gross income certain landowner initiatives programs to conserve endangered habitats or species. Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to: (1) authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to any private entity that operates a promising social services program (as defined by this Act): and (2) restore the 10 percent limit on transfers to the Social Services Block Grant Program. Amends the Assets for Independence Act to reauthorize the assets for independence demonstration program through FY2008. Expresses the sense of Congress encouraging corporate contributions to faith-based organizations. Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to include maternity group homes within the program for transitional living youth projects for homeless youth.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Justice for Peace Officers Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prescribe penalties to be imposed on anyone who: (1) murders a federal, state, or local peace officer engaged in, or on account of the performance of, official duties and moves or travels in foreign commerce with intent to avoid prosecution or confinement after conviction of that crime; or (2) is an accessory after the fact to such a crime. Authorizes the prosecution of such violations only after formal approval in writing, upon consultation with the appropriate state or local prosecutor, by the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General, or Assistant Attorney General. Directs the Secretary of State to notify the Mexican government of the desire of the United States to enter into formal discussions regarding the Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, signed in Mexico City on May 4, 1978, and available actions that the Mexican government may take to persuade the Mexican Supreme Court to reconsider its October 2001 ruling, so that the possibility of a sentence of life imprisonment will not have an effect on the timely extradition of a criminal suspect from Mexico to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States Postal Service (USPS) should: (1) issue a semipostal stamp to promote public awareness of Alzheimer's disease and to provide a convenient way for the public to help fund medical research on Alzheimer's; and (2) transfer amounts available from the sale of such stamps to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund such research.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2005 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to ensure that state and local emergency preparedness operational plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
HOPE VI Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to extend and authorize appropriations for the HOPE VI revitalization program through FY2011.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2005
Oversight of Vital Emergency Recovery Spending Enhancement and Enforcement Act of 2005 - Establishes within the Executive Office of the President the Office of Hurricane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Makes the CFO responsible for the efficient and effective use of federal funds in all activities relating to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Requires the CFO to strive to ensure that priority in the distribution of federal: (1) relief funds is given to individuals and organizations most in need of financial assistance; and (2) reconstruction funds is given to business entities based in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or business entities that hire workers who resided in those States before August 29, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2005 - Provides for increased regular unemployment compensation payments or emergency extended unemployment compensation for certain individuals who held employment or resided in an area declared a disaster as a result of Hurricane Katrina in the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Establishes in the legislative branch a bipartisan Katrina Commission to: (1) examine and report upon the federal, state, and local response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and other affected areas; (2) evaluate and report on the information developed by all relevant governmental agencies related to Hurricane Katrina before it struck the United States and in the days and weeks following; (3) make a complete accounting of the circumstances surrounding the approach of Hurricane Katrina to the Gulf states, and the extent of the Government's preparedness for and response to it; (4) examine planning necessary for future cataclysmic events that will require a significant marshaling of federal resources, mitigation, response, and recovery to avoid significant loss of life; (5) analyze whether any decisions differed with respect to response and recovery for different communities and what problems occurred as a result of a lack of a common plan, communication structure, and centralized command structure; and (6) investigate and report to the President and Congress on immediate corrective measures that can be taken to prevent problems with federal response to future cataclysmic events.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Fair Wages for Hurricane Victims Act - Reinstates the application of the wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act to all federal contracts in counties affected by Hurricane Katrina, notwithstanding the President's proclamation dated September 8, 2005, or any other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Gasoline Price-Gouging Act of 2005 - States that it is unlawful for a commercial vendor to sell either gasoline or diesel fuel at a price that is a 10% or greater increase from the average price prevailing in an area prior to its having been declared or designated as a major disaster area. Excepts from such prohibition a fuel price that is: (1) attributable to a reasonable additional cost incurred attendant to a major disaster; or (2) consistent with national or international market trends. Makes such prohibition applicable for 90 days after a declaration or designation is made. Grants the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforcement powers to treat violation of this prohibition as an unfair or deceptive act or practice. Requires the FTC, within five days following a declaration of a major disaster, to post on its Internet website the average price of gasoline and diesel fuel in such area for the 30-day period preceding the declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
National Women's Rights History Project Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to designate a vehicular tour route, to be known as the Votes for Women History Trail Route, to link properties in New York State that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women's suffrage in the United States. Requires the National Park Service to administer the Trail through the Women's Rights National Historical Park (established under prior law). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make annual grants to state historic preservation offices for up to five years for assistance in surveying, evaluating, and nominating women's rights history properties to the National Register of Historic Places; and (2) make matching grants and technical assistance for development of a network of governmental and nongovernmental entities providing interpretive and educational program development of national women's rights history, including historic preservation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Urges U.N. member states to: (1) stop supporting resolutions that unfairly castigate Israel; and (2) promote within the United Nations General Assembly more balanced and constructive approaches to resolving Middle East conflict.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Commends the entire National Aeronautics and Space Administration team and community, who provided invaluable technical support and leadership for the historic mission of Space Shuttle Discovery STS flight 114. Commends in particular Commander Eileen Collins, pilot Col. Jim Kelly, and mission specialists Charlie Camarda, Wendy Lawrence, Soichi Noguchi of Japan, Steve Robinson, and Andy Thomas.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2005
Hurricane Katrina Mental Health Relief Act of 2005 - Requires 10% of all disaster relief funds provided in any Act enacted on or after September 8, 2005, in response to Hurricane Katrina be available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for reimbursements of mental health professionals for the outpatient treatment of victims and first responders for stress, trauma, and other mental health conditions arising out of, or complicated by, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Makes such reimbursements available: (1) for services furnished during the two-year period beginning on August 29, 2005; and (2) to States to cover costs of such treatment provided to Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2005
Good Samaritan Protection for Construction Volunteers Act - Grants construction companies and their employees immunity from liability for negligence, except for gross negligence or willful misconduct, when providing emergency construction assistance on a voluntary basis in response to a declared emergency or disaster, in good faith, and without expectation of compensation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2005
National Emergency Management Restoration and Improvement Act - Establishes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as an independent establishment in the executive branch. Requires the FEMA Director to be appointed, by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, from among persons who have significant expertise in the area of emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation as related to natural disasters and other national cataclysmic events.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's research activities on inflammatory bowel disease, with an emphasis on: (1) genetic research on susceptibility for inflammatory bowel disease; (2) research targeted to increase knowledge about the causes and complications of inflammatory bowel disease in children; (3) animal model research; (4) clinical research; (5) expansion of the Institute's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centers program with a focus on pediatric research; and (6) other research initiatives identified in specified documents. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prepare a National Inflammatory Bowel Disease Action Plan to: (1) address the burden of inflammatory bowel disease in both adult and pediatric populations; (2) address strategies for determining the prevalence of the disease in the United States and the unique demographic characteristics of the patient community; (3) focus on strategies for increasing awareness about the disease within the general public and the health care community; and (4) address mechanisms designed to prevent the progression of the disease and the development of complications.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Education Begins at Home Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Secretary of Education, to: (1) allot grants to states, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations for programs of early childhood home visitation; and (2) make competitive grants to local educational agencies and other eligible applicants for early home visitation for families with English language learners. Directs the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretary of Education, to make competitive grants to eligible applicants for early home visitation for military families. Amends the Head Start Act to direct the Secretary of HHS to establish standards for home visitor staff in Early Head Start programs with respect to their training, qualifications, and conduct of home visits. Revises Early Head Start programs to provide for: (1) training in parenting skills and child development; (2) certain home-based and family support services; (3) procedures for transition into Head Start or other local early childhood education programs; (4) staff communication and program coordination; and (5) professional development and personnel enhancement.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
National Health Museum Act of 2005 - Directs the Administrator of General Services to convey specified property in the District of Columbia as a site for a national health museum, under an agreement with the National Health Museum, Inc., including certain terms and conditions. Sets forth related requirements regarding environmental matters, incidental costs, and land use approvals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act - FamilyCare Act of 2005 - Renames title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act as the FamilyCare Program and extends coverage to certain low-income adults. Establishes the National Commission for Expanded Access to Health Care. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide limited English proficient individuals with improved access to health care, including by establishing the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Healthcare. Provides for activities regarding: (1) health workforce diversity; (2) disparities in health and health care experienced by racial and ethnic minorities; and (3) data collection, analysis, and reporting by race, ethnicity, and primary language. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) the Office of Health Disparities within the Office of Civil Rights to prevent discrimination in federal programs; and (2) the Office of Minority Affairs within the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Restablishes the Indian Health Service as an agency of the Public Health Service to be administered by an Assistant Secretary of Indian Health. Minority Health and Genomics Act of 2005 - Establishes the Minority Health and Genomics Commission to study issues relating to genomics research as applied to minority groups. Establishes the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice and the Federal Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Sets forth programs designed to improve the quality of and access to health care for minorities, including by establishing the Health Safety Net Infrastructure Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) the Annie Dodge Wauneka and Susan Laflesche-Picotte Native American Health and Wellness Foundation; and (2) a Joint Working Group on Telehealth. Authorizes integrative eldercare, American Indian and Alaska Native, and oral health telehealth demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2005 - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals aged 62 years of age or older. Authorizes appropriations. Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVIII (Medicare) to provide for the use of such new CPI in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Diabetes Self Management Training Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the recognition of certified diabetes educators as Medicare providers for purposes of diabetes outpatient self-management training services. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the barriers that exist for individuals with diabetes in accessing diabetes self-management training.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Education Savings Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income employer contributions to a qualified tuition plan or a Coverdell education savings account held by an employee or the employee's spouse.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Revised Statutes of the United States to: (1) revise capital stock ownership requirements for directors of national banks and national bank dividends; and (2) repeal the capital requirements for new intrastate branches, including capital stock and surplus requirements. Amends the Home Owners' Loan Act to prescribe guidelines for investments by a federal savings association to promote the public welfare of low- and moderate-income communities or families through housing, services, and jobs. Permits mergers of federal savings association with nondepository institution affiliates. Increases the limits placed on commercial real estate loans. Repeals the one limit on loans to one borrower. Cites circumstances that would permit interstate acquisitions by a savings and loan holding company. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to permit certain privately insured credit unions to become Federal Home Loan Bank members. Amends the Federal Credit Union Act (FCUA) to: (1) authorize a credit union to make investment securities for its own account; (2) increase the 12-year loan limitation to 15 years; (3) increase the investment limit in credit union service organizations; (4) exempt loans to nonprofit religious organizations from the restrictions relating to credit union net worth or capitalization standards; and (5) exempt multiple common-bond credit union mergers and conversions from numerical limitations. Authorizes State regulatory authorities to examine and enforce compliance relating to nonfederally insured credit unions. Amends the FDIA to permit interstate bank mergers between insured banks with different home states. Prohibits interstate branching by subsidiaries of commercial firms. Amends the National Bank Consolidation and Merger Act to permit the merger of a national bank which is a trust company with any trust company with a different home state under the same terms and conditions as though they were located in the same state. Amends the National Bank Receivership Act and the FDIA to permit a bank placed in receivership to bring an action for a federal court order requiring removal of the receiver. Amends the FRA and the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 to repeal specified insider lending reporting requirements. Amends the Depository Institution Management Interlocks Act to quintuple the size of the assets of a small depository institution exempt from the prohibition against depository institution management interlocks in the same metropolitan statistical area. Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to exempt from the proscription against cross marketing of commercial activities those depository institutions that are controlled by a twenty-five percent (or less) holding-company-shareholder. Sets forth banking agency provisions which authorize: (1) waiver of examination schedules; (2) interagency data sharing; (3) destruction of old records of a depository institution by the FDIC after its appointment as receiver; and (4) short form reports of condition for certain community banks. Modifies guidelines governing the currency transaction reporting system.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act - Establishes an Unsolved Crimes Section in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Requires the Chief of the Section to be responsible for investigating and prosecuting violations of criminal civil rights statutes in which the complaint alleges that such a violation occurred not later than December 31, 1969, and resulted in a death. Requires the Chief to consult with state or local officials regarding the appropriate venue for a case where there has been a violation of a criminal civil rights statute that is also a violation of a state or local law. Directs the Chief to refer cases to the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division if the Chief determines that the subject of the complaint has violated a criminal civil rights statute but the violation does not meet the requirements for the Unsolved Crimes Section. Requires the Chief, annually, to determine the cases under his or her jurisdiction for which there is sufficient evidence to prosecute violations of criminal civil rights statutes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award a grant to each eligible school of nursing to increase the number of nursing faculty and students. Requires such schools to formulate and implement a plan to accomplish at least two of specified goals, which include: (1) establishing or significantly expanding an accelerated baccalaureate degree nursing program designed to graduate new nurses in 12 to 18 months; (2) establishing cooperative interdisciplinary training between schools of nursing and other specified health related fields; (3) increasing admissions, enrollment, and retention of qualified individuals who are financially disadvantaged; (4) increasing enrollment of minority and diverse student populations; (5) increasing enrollment of new graduate baccalaureate nursing students in graduate programs that educate nurse faculty members; (6) developing post-baccalaureate residency programs to prepare nurses for practice in specialty areas where nursing shortages are more severe; and (7) increasing integration of geriatric content into the core curriculum. Requires the Comptroller General to study ways to increase participation in the nurse faculty profession and to submit a report to Congress that includes: (1) a discussion of the master's degree and doctoral degree programs that are successful in placing graduates as faculty in schools of nursing; and (2) an examination of compensation disparities throughout the nursing profession and between higher education instructional faculty generally and higher education instructional nursing faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Safety Net Inpatient Drug Affordability Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the discount drug program to include any inpatient or outpatient drug purchased by qualified hospitals without a group purchasing arrangement. (Currently, such hospitals are only allowed to purchase discounted outpatient drugs.) Requires such hospitals to provide the state with a rebate on the estimated annual costs of single source, innovator multiple source, and noninnovator multiple source drugs provided to Medicaid recipients for inpatient use. Sets forth a method for calculating the amount of such rebate. Allows critical access hospitals that do not obtain covered outpatient drugs through a group purchasing organization or other group purchasing arrangement to participate in the discount drug program.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Leave No Abused or Neglected Child Behind Act - Amends the Social Security Act to revise requirements for foster care and adoption assistance and for child welfare services. Provides for: (1) a state-optional child and family services component in the state plan for foster care and adoption assistance, and related federal payments; (2) expanded eligibility for foster care and adoption assistance by eliminating certain income eligibility requirements, revising maintenance payments match rates, and authorizing Indian tribes to receive federal funds for such assistance; (3) state-optional kinship guardianship assistance payments for children, and related federal payments; (4) a state-optional separate standard for relative foster family homes; (5) application of certain care standards to all children in state custody; (6) child welfare service quality improvement grants to states; and (7) an increased payment rate to states for short-term training of certain child welfare agency staff and court personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax free rollovers of military death gratuities to Roth individual retirement accounts, health savings and Archer medical savings accounts, and Coverdell education savings accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Internet Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005 - Requires: (1) an operator of a regulated pornographic website to verify (using Federal Trade Commission (FTC)-certified software) that any user attempting to access its site is age 18 or older; (2) a bank, credit card company, third-party merchant, Internet payment service provider, or business that performs financial transactions for such a website to only process age-verified Internet pornography credit card transactions; (3) the FTC to require use of appropriate age-screening software and maintain a list of websites that do not comply; and (4) violations of the age verification requirement to be treated as a Federal Trade Commission Act violation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose upon the operator of a regulated pornographic website for any Internet pornography display or distribution a tax equal to 25 percent of the amounts charged. Establishes in the Treasury the Internet Safety and Child Protection Trust Fund into which such taxes shall be deposited. Requires Fund amounts to be allocated (in order of priority) for: (1) federal agencies to enforce this Act; (2) the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to ensure that the cyber tip line is fully operational and staffed 24 hours a day; (3) states to support Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces; (4) companies to support research and development into new filtering technologies; (5) state agencies to support educational training; and (6) specified federal agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and nonprofits to support child Internet safety activities, including combating sex trafficking and sex crimes against children.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2005
Teacher Training Expansion Act of 2005 - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to authorize the Secretary of Education to give preference to certain entities in selecting recipients for specified IDEA grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for technical assistance, model demonstration projects, information dissemination, and implementing activities supported by scientifically based research. Allows such preference to be given to institutions of higher education (IHEs) that are: (1) educating regular education personnel to meet the needs of children with disabilities in integrated settings; (2) educating special education personnel to work in collaboration with regular educators in integrated settings; or (3) successfully recruiting and preparing individuals with disabilities and individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the profession for which the IHE is preparing individuals. Allows such preference also to be given to local educational agencies, other public agencies, and private nonprofit organizations that provide training to regular education personnel to: (1) meet the needs of children with disabilities in integrated settings; or (2) work in collaboration with special education personnel in integrated settings.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2005
Congratulates Lance Armstrong and the Discover Channel Pro Cycling Team on an historic victory in the 2005 Tour de France. Commends Lance Armstrong for surviving his battle with cancer and for his unwavering commitment to cancer awareness.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2005
Comprehensive Medical Malpractice Reform Act of 2005 - Limits the non-economic damages that an individual may recover from a health care provider for an injury or death as the result of health care malpractice to $250,000 as adjusted for inflation from 1975. Requires a medical malpractice action to be dismissed unless the signer of complaint certifies its validity. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop voluntary performance standards applicable to state medical boards; and (2) establish an interstate patient reporting and physician tracking database. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to states and health care entities to carry out mediation programs to resolve health care malpractice allegations without litigation. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for the voluntary disclosure of patient safety information to patient safety organizations. Makes such information privileged. Directs the Secretary to establish a database to receive relevant non-identifiable patient safety information. Limits the liability of a health care provider that provides information to a state medical board regarding the competence or professional conduct of a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2005
Teach for America Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to Teach For America, Inc. to implement and expand its program of recruiting, selecting, training, and supporting new teachers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2005
Free Flow of Information Act of 2005 - Prohibits a federal entity from compelling a "covered person" (i.e., a newspaper, television broadcast station, wire service, or other media outlet, and specified employees and contractors) to testify or produce any document unless a court determines that: (1) the party seeking to compel has unsuccessfully attempted to obtain such testimony or document from all other non-covered persons; (2) in a criminal matter, there are reasonable grounds to believe a crime has occurred and the testimony or document sought is essential to the investigation, prosecution, or defense of the crime; (3) in a non-criminal matter, the testimony or document is essential to a dispositive issue of substantial importance; and (4) in any matter in which testimony or a document could reveal the source's identity, disclosure is necessary to prevent imminent and actual harm to national security and such harm outweighs the public interest in protecting the free flow of information. Requires the content of compelled testimony or documents to be limited and narrowly tailored. Exempts certain commercial or financial information. Makes this Act applicable to testimony or documents that a third party or federal entity seeks from a communications service provider relating to business transactions with a covered person. Sets forth notice requirements. Permits a court to delay notice to a covered person upon determining that such notice would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2005
Prekindergarten-Oriented Professional Support Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to states and local educational agencies to: (1) pay all or a portion of the salaries, benefits, and training costs of new prekindergarten teachers at prekindergarten providers; and (2) increase retention of prekindergarten teachers by establishing a career ladder for them. Makes high-quality state, local, or private nonprofit or for-profit prekindergarten providers eligible for the new teacher program if they: (1) meet standards issued by the Secretary; (2) serve a significant percentage of low-income children; and (3) if private and tuition-based, agree to ensure that at least one-half of the children served by new teachers will be low-income.
![Official portrait of Rep. Ruppersberger, C. A. Dutch [D-MD-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/116_rp_md_2_ruppersberger_c_200.jpg)