United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Kids First Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to give States the option to receive 100 percent Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for medical assistance to children in poverty in exchange for expanded coverage of children in working poor families under Medicaid or SCHIP (SSA title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance)). Eliminates the cap on SCHIP funding for States that expand eligibility for children. Gives States the option to: (1) provide wrap-around SCHIP coverage to children who have other health coverage; (2) enroll low-income children of State employees in SCHIP; (3) provide optional coverage of legal immigrant children under Medicaid and SCHIP; and (4) provide for passive renewal of eligibility for children under Medicaid and SCHIP. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for: (1) a refundable income tax credit for health insurance coverage of children; and (2) forfeiture of the personal tax exemption for any child not covered by health insurance. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to require group market health insurers to offer a dependent coverage option for workers and other individuals with children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Benjamin Franklin National Memorial Commemoration Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide a grant to the Franklin Institute to: (1) rehabilitate the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial (including the Franklin statue) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and (2) develop an interpretive exhibit relating to Benjamin Franklin, to be displayed at a museum adjacent to the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Declares that the Secretary shall require the Franklin Institute to match any amounts provided to the Franklin Institute under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Community Pharmacy Fairness Act of 2005 - Provides that antitrust laws shall apply to negotiations between groups of independent pharmacies and health plans and health insurance issuers in the same manner as such laws apply to collective bargaining by labor organizations under the National Labor Relations Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Military Health Services Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to prescribe a requirement that members of the Armed Forces: (1) deploying to a combat theater receive a pre-deployment mental health evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional; and (2) returning from service of more than 30 days in a combat theater, or injured in a combat theater, receive a post-deployment combat stress evaluation conducted by a qualified mental health professional. Directs the Secretary to implement a program designed to: (1) raise awareness about mental health issues that members may encounter during and after deployment; and (2) reduce the stigma associated with mental health care. Directs the Secretary to develop a program to improve awareness of the availability of mental health services for, and warning signs about mental health problems in, dependents of members who served or will serve in a combat theater during the previous or next 60 days. Requires such program to include a toll-free number and informational website. Directs the Secretary: (1) and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter into a memorandum of understanding to improve the transition of mental health-related cases from the Department of Defense (DOD) to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); (2) to create an information clearinghouse to improve the availability of information about mental health professionals who treat combat stress; and (3) to provide for the availability (for a two-year period) of mental health services under the TRICARE program (a DOD managed health care program) for reserve personnel who performed certain active duty (and their family members).
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 · 12 April 2005
Real Estate Investment Thrift Savings Act - Amends Federal law relating to the Federal Employees' Retirement System to provide for the establishment of a Real Estate Stock Investment Fund under the Thrift Savings Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Recognizes the University of Pittsburgh on the fiftieth anniversary of the milestone discovery of the Salk polio vaccine, and the pioneering achievement of Dr. Jonas Salk and his University research team in the vaccine's development. States the appreciation of the House of Representatives to: (1) the University of Pittsburgh for the elimination of a disease that caused countless deaths and disabling consequences; (2) the members of Dr. Salk's research team; (3) the individuals, a majority of whom were Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, residents, who generously agreed to participate in the vaccine clinical trials; and (4) the family members of Dr. Salk for their participation in medical history.
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 · 6 April 2005
Recognizes the importance of the men and women who have served or who currently serve in the Armed Forces of the United States. Supports the designation of an appropriate week as Hire a Veteran Week. Encourages the President to issue a proclamation calling upon employers, labor organizations, veterans service organizations, and federal, state, and local governmental agencies to lend their support to increase employment of the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces.
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 · 17 March 2005
Darfur Genocide Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide. Directs the President to: (1) block the property and assets of civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan and their family members implicated in the Darfur atrocities, and property and assets controlled by the National Congress Party; and (2) prohibit an entity engaged in any commercial activity in Sudan from raising capital in the United States, or from trading its securities in any capital market in the United States. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) prohibit visas for civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan, and militia members and others implicated in the Darfur atrocities; (2) reduce the Sudanese diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., and restrict or control the remaining staff's movement within the United States; and (3) instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) to oppose any UN or other international conference from being held in Sudan. Authorizes the President to: (1) use force to stop the Darfur genocide, including establishment of a no-fly zone and use of unmanned armed planes; and (2) deny U.S. port entry to ships doing business in the Sudan oil sector and /or with the Sudan armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan or group health coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the mental health benefits unless comparable limitations or requirements are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Excludes such requirements for plans and coverage for small employers. Allows a plan or coverage that provides in-network mental health benefits to provide out-of-network mental health benefits using treatment limitations or financial requirements that are not comparable to those applied to medical-surgical benefits if the in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and with reasonable access. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) study the effects of this Act on health insurance costs and access and quality of health care; and (2) provide a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Delaware River Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Ports and Waterways Safety Act to require any person who knows of a release from a vessel or facility of any object that creates an obstruction in the navigable waters of the United States to notify the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating and the Secretary of the Army. Urges the Secretary of the Army to place a high priority on enhancing the Army Corps of Engineers' capabilities to detect submerged obstructions in U.S. waterways through the use of advanced technologies. Grants the Secretary of the Army authority to remove obstructions from the Delaware River. Amends the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 gradually to increase liability limits associated with oil spills for single-hull and double-hull tank vessels and other type tank vessels. Establishes the submerged oil program to monitor and evaluate the environmental effects of submerged oil. Directs the Commandant of the Coast Guard to conduct a demonstration project in the Delaware River to develop and demonstrate technologies and management practices to remove submerged oil. Establishes the Delaware River and Bay Oil Spill Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Cesar E. Chavez Congressional Gold Medal Act - Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal to the next of kin or other personal representative of Cesar E. Chavez in recognition of his service to the Nation. (Chavez organized farm workers to campaign for safe and fair working conditions, founded the National Farm Workers Association-- predecessor of the United Farm Workers of America-- and was a recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Civil Air Patrol Homeland Security Benefits Act - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include as a "public safety officer" for purposes of provisions governing death benefits a volunteer civilian member of the Civil Air Patrol engaged in: (1) active service rendered in performance or support of operational missions of the Patrol under the direction of the Department of the Air Force and performed consistent with written authorization that specifies a finite assignment; or (2) travel to or from such service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Quality Nursing Care Act of 2005 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require that each participating hospital adopt and implement a staffing system that ensures a number of registered nurses on each shift and in each unit of the hospital to ensure appropriate staffing levels for patient care. Outlines whistle-blower protections.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the community development block grant program should remain under the administration of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Veterans Employment and Respect Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a work opportunity tax credit for hiring certain: (1) veterans of military service in Afghanistan or Iraq; and (2) dependents of deceased members of the Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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
Public Safety Interoperability Implementation Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to establish in the Treasury the Public Safety Communications Trust Fund, to be funded through authorizations of appropriations and proceeds from the sale of certain bands of Government-owned broadcast spectrum. Requires the Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to administer the Fund. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to implement interoperability and modernization for the communications needs of public safety, fire, emergency, law enforcement, and crisis management by State and local government agencies and instrumentalities and nonprofit organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Community Health Center Volunteer Physician Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to deem volunteer practitioners at health centers as employees of the Public Health Service for purposes of any civil action that may arise due to providing services to patients at such health centers. Defines "volunteer practitioner" as a licensed physician who: (1) at the request of the entity, provides services to patients of a public or nonprofit entity receiving Federal funds for serving medically underserved areas; (2) provides such service at a site at which the entity operates or at a site designated by the entity; and (3) does not receive any compensation for the provision of services.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Connecting the Operations of National Networks of Emergency Communications Technologies for First Responders Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in cooperation with State and local governments, Federal agencies, public safety agencies, and the private sector, to develop a national strategy to achieve communications interoperability and to report to Congress annually on progress toward achieving such interoperability. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to create an interoperable communications technology grant program for eligible States (those States lacking adequate interoperability that have submitted a communications interoperability plan to the Secretary) and local governments and public safety agencies within such States. Sets forth considerations for awarding grants, including the nature of the threat to the eligible State or local jurisdiction and the location, risk, or vulnerability of critical infrastructure and key national assets. Limits the Federal share of costs associated with grant-funded activities to 75 percent of the total. Prohibits the award of grants to reimburse recipients for past expenditures, except that public safety agencies may be reimbursed for funds expended after September 11, 2001, and before the date of enactment of this Act if such expenditures support an approved agency plan.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal collectively to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
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 · 10 March 2005
Nurse Staffing Standards for Patient Safety and Quality Care Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require hospitals to implement staffing plans that meet specified ratios for direct care registered nurse-to-patient staffing levels for each unit and other requirements, including for receiving input from nurses. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to further limit such ratios as needed to ensure public safety and to establish ratios for units not specified. Provides an exception to such staffing requirements for a declared state of emergency. Requires hospitals to provide the Secretary with their staffing plan and annual updates. Requires the Secretary to conduct audits to ensure the implementation of adequate staffing plans. Requires the Secretary: (1) acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to complete a study of licensed practical nurse staffing and its effects on patient care in hospitals; and (2) to establish requirements for hospitals based on the outcome of the study. Requires the Secretary to adjust payments to cover additional Medicare costs that are attributable to this Act. Requires the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission to submit to Congress and the Secretary a report estimating total costs and savings attributable to compliance with nurse staffing requirements. Provides nurses with the right to refuse to accept assignments that would violate staffing requirements or for which they are not prepared. Prohibits retaliation by hospitals for such refusals or for reporting violations of staffing requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Children's Hospitals Education Equity and Research (CHEER) Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make payments through FY 2010 (currently, through FY 2005) to children's hospitals for expenses associated with operating approved graduate medical residency training programs. Excludes reductions for unused resident positions when calculating the number of full-time residents in a children's hospital's approved training program for purposes of reimbursing direct expenses. Requires the Secretary to adjust the proportion of such a hospital's costs attributable to wages for differences in hospital wage levels by geographic area. Authorizes appropriations through FY 2010 for direct and indirect expenses associated with operating such programs. Requires that funds appropriated for such programs for a fiscal year remain available for obligation through the end of the succeeding fiscal year. Limits the ability to recoup funds unless a demand for recoupment is made by the end of the fiscal year. Sets forth an appeals procedure and limitations on retroactivity for decisions affecting the amount of payments to a hospital for such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Rockies Prosperity Act - Designates the following lands in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (System): (1) Greater Glacier/Northern Continental Divide ecosystem; (2) Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; (3) Greater Salmon/Selway ecosystem; (4) Greater Cabinet/Yaak/Selkirk ecosystem; (5) Islands in the Sky Wilderness; and (6) Blackfeet Wilderness. Designates: (1) specified wild land areas as Biological Connecting Corridors to protect the life flow of the Northern Rockies Bioregion; (2) the inventoried roadless areas identified as part of the Corridors as components of the System; and (3) certain biological connecting corridors as special corridor management areas. Establishes the Hells Canyon/Chief Joseph National Park and Preserve as a National Park System unit. Repeals Federal law provisions that establish the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to: (1) implement a program of ecosystem restoration in the Preserve; and (2) study the feasibility of creating a Flathead National Park and Preserve in the area generally known as the Glacier View Ranger District of the Flathead National Forest. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of specified rivers and creeks in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Establishes the National Wildland Restoration and Recovery System and the National Wildland Recovery Corps. Requires the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to assure nonexclusive access to the specified areas and corridors designated by this Act by Native Americans for traditional cultural and religious purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Rotary International Day (February 23, 2005) to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rotary International. Recognizes Rotary International's service to improving the human condition in communities throughout the world.
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
Save Our Waters From Sewage Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit publicly owned treatment works (POTWs) from intentionally diverting waste streams to bypass any portion of the treatment facility unless: (1) the bypass is unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage; (2) there is no feasible alternative; and (3) the treatment works provides notice of the bypass in accordance with this Act; or (4) the bypass does not cause effluent limitations to be exceeded and is for essential maintenance. Requires POTWs to provide the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (or the State if the State has an approved permit program) with: (1) prior notice of an anticipated bypass; and (2) notice of an unanticipated bypass within 24 hours of becoming aware of such bypass as well as follow-up notice. Directs the Administrator to establish procedures to ensure that permits issued to POTWs under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System include requirements to implement this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property. .
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Artists' Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who create literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions or similar property a fair market value (determined at the time of contribution) tax deduction for contributions of such properties, the copyrights thereon, or both, to certain tax-exempt organizations, if such properties are properly appraised and are donated no sooner than 18 months after their creation. Limits the amount of such deduction based upon the donor's artistic adjusted gross income, as defined by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2005 - Repeals current Department of Defense (DOD) policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces. Prohibits the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation against any member of the Armed Forces or any person seeking to become a member. Authorizes the re-accession into the Armed Forces of otherwise qualified individuals previously separated for homosexuality, bisexuality, or homosexual conduct. Requires such Secretaries to ensure that regulations governing the personal conduct of members of the Armed Forces are written and enforced without regard to sexual orientation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to Federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Congratulates the Jewish students and teachers of the Daf Yomi program on their completion of the 11th cycle of the Daf Hayomi. Wishes them well on their beginning the 12th cycle of such daily study of the Talmud.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to revise the procedures of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Repeals the requirement that a complaint be dismissed if an investigative subcommittee has not been established within 45 days after the complaint is filed (Automatic Dismissal Rule). Requires the committee to establish an investigative subcommittee if a complaint is not disposed of within the 45 days (or a 45-day extension). Subjects to such (automatic) subcommittee establishment rule the current related requirement that an investigative committee be established only by an affirmative of the majority of the committee members, if at any time during the applicable time period either the committee chairman or ranking member places on the agenda the issue of whether to establish such an investigative subcommittee. Requires the Committee to establish an "investigative" instead of "adjudicatory" subcommittee when requested by a Member, officer, or employee of the House, contesting the contents of a written complaint. (Thus repeals the right of a Member, officer, or employee to demand an immediate trial by an adjudicatory committee within the initial 45-day period, before a case has been adequately prepared.) Revises the right to counsel of a respondent or witness. Strikes provisions allowing a respondent or witness appearing before the investigative subcommittee or investigative hearing to obtain counsel of his or her choice, even if such counsel represents another respondent or witness. (Thus allows the committee to adopt a rule that prohibits a counsel from representing more than one respondent or witness.)
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Amends Federal provisions relating to the military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to change from October 1, 2008, to October 1, 2005, the effective date on or after which no reduction may be made in the retired pay of an SBP participant for any month after the later of: (1) the 360th month for which such pay was so reduced; and (2) the month during which the participant attains 70 years of age.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid Act of 2005 - Establishes the Bipartisan Commission on Medicaid to review: (1) each of Medicaid's major functional responsibilities; (2) issues that either threaten or improve the long-term financial condition of Medicaid; (3) Federal and State policies for Medicaid and Medicare enrollment (including enrollment sites), income eligibility, outreach, and documentation; (4) the operation and effectiveness of Medicaid premium assistance programs; and (5) Medicaid payment policies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to require State Medicaid plan coverage of community-based attendant services and supports for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals. Outlines requirements for: (1) an enhanced Federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for ongoing activities of early coverage States that enhance and promote the use of community-based attendant services and supports; and (2) increased Federal financial participation for certain expenditures incurred by the State for the provision of such services and supports. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives; and (2) conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating service coordination and cost-sharing approaches with respect to the provision of community-based services and supports to non-elderly dually eligible individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the outpatient therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act or STOP Underage Drinking Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish an interagency coordinating committee to guide policy and program development across the Federal Government on underage drinking; (2) issue an annual report card to rate the performance of each State in enacting, enforcing, and creating laws, regulations, and programs to prevent or reduce underage drinking; (3) develop a set of outcome measures to prepare report cards, including the strictness of the minimum drinking age laws and the number of compliance checks conducted; (4) fund and oversee the Ad Council's national adult-oriented media public service campaign; (5) award grants to reduce the rate of underage alcohol use and binge drinking among students at institutions of higher education; and (6) collect data on, and conduct or support research on, underage drinking, including the impact alcohol use and abuse has upon adolescent brain development, the scope of the underage drinking problem, and progress in preventing and treating underage drinking. Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to award grants to design, test, evaluate, and disseminate strategies to maximize the effectiveness of community-wide approaches to preventing and reducing underage drinking. Requires the Secretary to carry out activities toward the objectives of: (1) testing every unnatural death of persons ages 12 to 20 for alcohol involvement; (2) obtaining new epidemiological data that identifies alcohol use and attitudes about alcohol use during pre- and early adolescence; and (3) developing or identifying successful clinical treatment for youth with alcohol problems.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) to require that a foreign state designated as a state sponsor of terrorism under specified laws, or an official, employee, or agent of such a foreign state, shall be liable to a U.S. national for the national's personal injury or death caused by acts of that state or official, employee, or agent acting within the scope of his or her duties. Provides that the removal of a foreign state from designation as a state sponsor of terrorism shall not terminate such a cause of action arising during the period of designation. Authorizes U.S. courts to exercise jurisdiction over such actions for money damages under an FSIA provision concerning acts of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, and material support for such acts. Mandates that property interests of foreign states, or agencies or instrumentalities of foreign states, against which judgment is entered pursuant to such provision are subject to attachment execution. Requires foreign states to be held vicariously liable for the actions of their officials, employees, or agents. Amends the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (VCA) to modify the definition of "victim" for purposes of compensation under that Act. Requires the transfer of VCA funds to carry out an order appointing Special Masters in the matter of Peterson, et al. v. The Islamic Republic of Iran. Revives previously dismissed causes of action that would be cognizable under this Act by retroactively tolling the applicable statute of limitations from the date of initial filing to 60 days after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Improving Access to Nurse-Midwifery Care Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the coverage of and payment for certified midwife services. (Currently only certified nurse-midwife services are covered.) Declares that nothing precludes certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives from teaching or supervising an intern or resident-in-training.
![Official portrait of Rep. Schwartz, Allyson Y. [D-PA-13]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001162_200.jpg)