United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide funds to States to enable them to increase the wages paid to targeted direct support professionals in providing services to individuals with disabilities under the Medicaid program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, to audit a sample from among the States in order to assess the effectiveness of progress made in reducing or eliminating the wage gap between targeted and reference direct support professionals through funds under this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the wage equalization and recruitment and retention of direct support professionals who are providing services and supports to individuals with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Airline Passenger Bill of Rights Act of 2007 - Requires a covered airline to: (1) establish procedures for handling passenger complaints; (2) provide customers at the airport and aboard an aircraft with information regarding delay, cancellation, or diversion; (3) establish procedures to allow passengers to exit the aircraft in the case of a departure or arrival delay which would require passengers to remain on a grounded aircraft for more than three hours, with specified exceptions; (4) provide passengers on a departure- or arrival-delayed grounded aircraft with essential ventilation, food, water, sanitary, and medical services; (5) publish a monthly list of its chronically delayed flights and provide such information upon ticket purchase; (6) publish and update lowest fare and schedule information; and (7) make every reasonable effort to return lost baggage within 24 hours. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) review airline and airport emergency contingency plans for bad weather; (2) work with air carriers to ensure that a pilot operating a (long) departure delayed-flight is permitted to return the aircraft to the terminal to allow passengers to exit the aircraft without losing the flight's departure sequence position; and (3) conduct a study of the ability of air carriers to provide for passengers' essential needs in cases of diverted flights.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to list permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained: (1) from a licensed dealer; (2) from a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that meets specified requirements; (3) by donation from a person who bred and raised the dog or cat and owned it for not less than one year; or (4) from a research facility licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Sets forth additional monetary penalties for related violations. Prohibits federal facilities from purchasing or otherwise acquiring dogs or cats for exhibition purposes except from: (1) the operator of an auction that comports with legal requirements; or (2) a person holding a valid dealer or exhibitor license. Prohibits dealers from selling or otherwise providing a research facility with random source dogs or cats unless specified certification requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Makes permanent provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise national quality assurance standards to assure consistent performance by laboratories of valid and reliable cytology services, to include requirements that each clinical laboratory: (1) ensure that all individuals involved in screening and interpreting cytological preparations participate annually in an approved continuing medical education program in gynecologic cytology that provides each participant with gynecologic cytologic preparations designed to improve locator, recognition, and interpretive skills; and (2) maintain a record of program results. Requires the Secretary to terminate individual proficiency testing that was in effect before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Keeping Faith With the Greatest Generation Military Retirees Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to waive the monthly part B premium (Supplementary Medical Insurance Benefits for the Aged and Disabled) with respect to: (1) an individual who is entitled to military retired or retainer pay based upon service that began before December 7, 1956; and (2) the spouse, widow, or widower of such individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any person to sell crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, or petroleum distillates at a price that: (1) is unconscionably excessive; or (2) indicates the seller is taking unfair advantage unusual market conditions or the circumstances of an emergency to increase prices unreasonably. Declares unlawful: (1) intentional reporting of false price information concerning wholesale prices of such products; and (2) market manipulation regarding the purchase or sale at wholesale of such 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 (LIHEAP) administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Declares that nothing in this Act preempts state law. Directs the FTC to facilitate price transparency in wholesale markets for the sale of crude oil and essential petroleum products.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Keep Our Promise to America's Military Retirees Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enter into an agreement with the Office of Personnel Management to provide Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) coverage to the following eligible beneficiaries: (1) a member or former member of the Armed Forces entitled to military retired or retainer pay; (2) an unremarried former spouse who was married to a member for at least 20 years, during which such member performed at least 20 years of retirement-creditable military service; (3) a dependent of a deceased qualifying member or former member; (4) a dependent of a living member or former member; and (5) a family member. Directs the Secretary to reimburse such eligible persons for pharmacy benefits received from a pharmacy that is not a TRICARE (Department of Defense managed health care plan) network pharmacy in the same manner as the Secretary would reimburse such person for such benefits received from a TRICARE network pharmacy. Requires such persons, in order to receive such reimbursement, to submit a certification from their physician stating that the person does not have access to a TRICARE network pharmacy due to physical or medical constraints.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Drug Endangered Children Act of 2007- Amends the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 to extend the grant program for drug-endangered children.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow. Apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the U.S. people for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors. Commits to rectifying the lingering consequences of slavery and Jim Crow and to stopping future human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that the global use of child soldiers is unacceptable and that the international community should find remedies to end this practice.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Habeas Corpus Preservation Act - Provides that nothing in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 shall affect the right of any U.S. resident to habeas corpus.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Enhancement 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. 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 pediatric inflammatory bowel disease; (2) establish the National Pediatric IBD Registry; and (3) establish the Advisory Committee on Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease to study and make recommendations relating to the Registry. 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 unique demographic, geographic, and environmental-exposure characteristics of the inflammatory bowel disease population; (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 · 16 February 2007
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) include community organizations in the geographic area served by the center; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions and community groups; and (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years, with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation. Requires the Secretary to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to: (1) develop a comprehensive research strategy for centers; (2) make recommendations with respect to the mechanisms, peer review criteria, and allocations under this Act; (3) assist in the overall program evaluations; and (4) make recommendations for the dissemination of information on program process. Requires the Director of NIH to provide for coordination of information among, and an equitable geographical distribution of, centers.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
REAL ID Repeal and Identification Security Enhancement Act of 2007 - Repeals title II of the Real ID Act of 2005. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) establish by regulation minimum standards for acceptance of state-issued driver's licenses and personal identification cards by federal agencies; (2) establish a negotiated rulemaking process before publishing such standards; and (3) award grants to states to assist them in conforming to such standards. Prohibits federal agencies from accepting state-issued driver's licenses and personal identification cards after specified deadlines unless such identification conforms to the minimum standards promulgated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to: (1) include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services"; and (2) make physical therapists eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program (to assure an adequate supply of physical therapists among other health professionals).
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Freedom to Fly Act of 2007 - Allows a pilot who has attained 60 years of age to serve as a passenger airline pilot until the age of 65 years old only if the pilot serves: (1) as a required pilot in multi-crew aircraft operations; and (2) with another required pilot who has not yet attained 60 years of age. Terminates the age-60 rule (mandatory retirement age) 30 days after enactment of this Act. Declares that such requirements shall not provide the basis for a claim of seniority made under any labor bargaining agreement in effect between the pilots and an air carrier by any pilot who has attained age 60 before the effective date of this Act and who is seeking a position as a pilot with such carrier following that pilot's termination or cessation of employment or promotion or transfer to another position with such air carrier.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
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 · 16 February 2007
Commends the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for working with leading scientists and researchers to organize the first-ever NIH conference on hydrocephalus (a neurological condition characterized by the abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluids in the ventricles of the brain). Urges the Director to continue the current collaboration with respect to hydrocephalus among national research institutes. Calls for: (1) further research into the epidemiology, pathophysiology, disease burden, and improved treatment of hydrocephalus; and (2) increased public awareness and professional education regarding hydrocephalus through partnerships between the federal government and patient advocacy organizations, such as the Hydrocephalus Association.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 - Amends the National Dam Safety Program Act to require 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 FEMA 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%.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Authorization Act - Extends through December 31, 2009, provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Protecting American Commerce and Travel Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to conduct a pilot program to determine if a state driver's license may be enhanced to satisfy requirements of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) for land and sea travel only. Amends IRTPA to direct the Secretary to establish a process to permit a U.S. citizen who does not possess a passport to reenter the United States at a U.S. land border. Provides that a U.S. citizen under 17 years shall not be required to present a passport when returning or traveling to the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean at specified ports of entry. Authorizes the Secretary to consider expanding the special rule for certain minors aged 17 or 18 traveling between the United States and Canada as part of an authorized, supervised school trip. Directs the Secretary to issue to U.S. citizen applicants a passport card. Requires the card to be designed to provide a platform on which expedited traveler programs (such as NEXUS, NEXUS AIR, SENTRI, FAST, and Registered Traveler) can be added. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary to develop a public communications plan. Directs the Secretary to: (1) merge the FAST and NEXUS programs; and (2) conduct a cost-benefit analysis regarding the use of identification cards.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act or the HEART for Women Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to require an application for approval or for investigation of a drug, device, or biological product to include information stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity, including any differences in safety and effectiveness. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) withhold approval of such an application or place a clinical hold on an investigation if such information is not included; and (2) report to the scientific community and make information available to the public on such stratified data upon approval of an application. Requires the Comptroller General to study the drug approval process to ensure compliance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to require that all nonidentifiable patient safety work product reported to a patient safety database be stratified by sex. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to report to Congress concerning the quality of and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Provides for an educational campaign relating to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases in women. Authorizes appropriations to enable the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program projects in all states and territories.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether state law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the Authority to issue regulations establishing rights and responsibilities for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the Authority, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such Authority regulations and authority through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Edward William Brooke III Congressional Gold Medal Act - Awards a congressional gold medal to Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, in recognition of his unprecedented and enduring service to our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2007
Genomic Research and Accessibility Act - Prohibits patents from being obtained for a nucleotide sequence, or its functions or correlations, or the naturally occurring products it specifies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to prescribe requirements for a Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard for calendar years 2010 through 2039. Specifies a schedule of graduated annual percentages of a supplier's base amount that shall be generated from renewable energy resources, from 1% in 2010 up to 20 % in 2020 and thereafter. Authorizes a retail electric supplier to satisfy such requirements through submission of renewable energy credits to the Secretary of Energy. Provides for energy credit trading or borrowing among suppliers. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage federally-owned utilities, municipally-owned utilities, and rural electric cooperatives that sell electric energy to electric consumers for purposes other than resale to participate in the renewable portfolio standard program; and (2) establish by December 31, 2009, a state renewable energy account program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income and to exempt from social security, unemployment taxes, and withholding of tax requirements rebates of real or personal property taxes or any other benefit provided by a State or local government to a member of a volunteer emergency response organization providing firefighting or emergency medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2007 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and their full participation in the reestablishment of democracy are essential to Afghanistan's reconstruction, and to achieve such reconstruction the U.S. government must commit resources to advance the rights of women throughout Afghanistan. Amends the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 to revise the provisions respecting assistance to women and girls in Afghanistan. Extends funding authority. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should: (1) condition the provision of such assistance on the recipient adhering to international standards for women's rights and human rights; and (2) ensure that Afghan women-led nongovernmental organizations with demonstrated experience in delivering services to Afghan women and children receive grants without ethnic, religious, or any other discrimination.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Community Pharmacy Fairness Act of 2007 - Entitles independent pharmacies negotiating contract terms with a health plan for the provision of health care items or services to the same treatment under the antitrust laws as the treatment to which bargaining units recognized under the National Labor Relations Act are entitled. Treats such a pharmacy as an employee engaged in concerted activities in connection with such negotiations. Exempts actions taken in good faith reliance on this Act from being subject to criminal sanctions or civil penalties beyond actual damages incurred. Prohibits: (1) exempting from the antitrust laws any agreement or otherwise unlawful conspiracy that excludes, limits the participation or reimbursement of, or otherwise limits the scope of services to be provided by any independent pharmacy or group of independent pharmacies with respect to the performance of services that are within their scope of practice as defined or permitted by relevant law or regulation; and (2) applying this Act to negotiations between independent pharmacies and health plans pertaining to federal health benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Enhancing America's Security Through Redeployment from Iraq Act - Requires that, no later than December 31, 2007, all U.S. Armed Forces serving in Iraq be redeployed outside of Iraq, either to locations within the Middle East or Southwest Asia regions or other regions or nations, or to the United States. Provides redeployment exceptions with respect to: (1) special operations forces performing counter-terrorism operations or support operations for Iraqi security forces; (2) military liaison teams; (3) air support operations for Iraqi security forces; (4) counter-terrorism operations in Iraq; and (5) security for U.S. diplomatic missions in Iraq. Allows funds appropriated to the Department of Defense (DOD) for Operation Iraqi Freedom to be obligated or expended after such deadline only for personnel performing such excepted operations. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should: (1) take a leadership role in diplomatic efforts and negotiations for the long-term stability of Iraq; and (2) convene an international conference to provide economic aid for rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq and other efforts essential to ensure its long-term stability.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Honors York, the first African American to explore the lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, for his contributions to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Urges students of American history to study his role in the expedition.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Requests the Secretary of Defense to: (1) remove members of the U.S. Armed Forces from street patrol duty in Iraq no later than six months after the adoption of this resolution, with the exception of members training Iraqi troops for such duty; and (2) ensure that U.S. personnel taken off such duty are used to fortify sensitive areas in Iraq, protect Iraqi government officials, entities, and functions, and respond to destabilizing emergencies throughout Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the reporting requirements of investment brokers the adjusted basis of any security owned by customers of such brokers.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Amends the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 to repeal provisions authorizing the President to: (1) employ the Armed Forces to restore public order and enforce the law in major public emergencies; and (2) provide supplies, services, and equipment to persons affected by the situation. Restores previous authority of the President to use the Armed Forces to suppress situations which interfere with state or federal law.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Student Loan Sunshine Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each lender entering into an educational loan arrangement with a postsecondary school to: (1) report annually to the Secretary of Education specified information concerning such arrangement; (2) inform borrowers of their loan options under title IV (Student Assistance) before extending private educational loans for attendance at such school; and (3) be barred by such school from marketing such loans in a manner implying the school's endorsement. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on the adequacy of educational loan information provided to borrowers, including a model format for lender use in providing annual loan information to the Secretary and covered schools. Requires any school that provides prospective borrowers with private educational loan information to: (1) include information on their title IV assistance eligibility; and (2) compare and distinguish private loans from title IV loans. Bars lenders or guarantors of educational loans from offering gifts to school employees or agents. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect loan arrangements and lender inducements to schools have on loan terms. Imposes conditions on school maintenance of preferred lender lists, requiring that lenders be listed on the basis of the benefits they provide borrowers. Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require lenders of private educational loans to provide specified information to prospective borrowers and, if the loan equals or exceeds $1,000, notify the relevant school of the proposed loan. Requires such schools to notify the prospective borrower whether and to what extent such loan exceeds the student's attendance costs, after considering other assistance the student has or is eligible to receive.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Iraq and Afghanistan Contractor Sunshine Act - Requires the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to provide Congress with: (1) copies and descriptions of contracts and task orders in excess of $5 million for work to be performed or that was performed beginning on October 1, 2001, in Iraq and Afghanistan; and (2) a report describing the number of persons working in Iraq and Afghanistan under contracts, the cost of such contracts, the number of persons wounded or killed working under such contracts, and information on laws that may have been broken and disciplinary actions taken by the contractor, the U.S. government, the government of Iraq, or the government of Afghanistan.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act - Amends provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 that prohibit the importation of dog or cat fur to modify the definitions of "cat fur" and "dog fur" to include the pelt or skin of the domestic cat or dog, respectively. Amends the Fur Products Labeling Act to expand the definition of "fur product" to include all fur as defined by such Act regardless of the quantity used.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007 - Establishes the United States Bipartisan Commission on Access to Emergency Medical Services to: (1) identify and examine factors in the health care delivery, financing, and legal systems that affect the effective delivery of screening and stabilization services furnished in hospitals that have emergency departments pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and (2) make specific recommendations to Congress with respect to federal programs, policies, and financing needed to assure the availability of such screening and stabilization services and the coordination of state, local, and federal programs for responding to disasters and emergencies. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for additional payments for certain physicians' emergency services furnished pursuant to EMTALA. Requires critical access hospitals with an emergency department to report annually to the Secretary of Health and Human Services information on the hospital's average admission period for the year. Requires the Secretary to post the reported information promptly on the official public Internet site of the Department of Health and Human Services. Directs the Secretary, based on the information reported for 2008, to develop an emergency department quality measure, if it is determined that one should be included in the performance measures hospitals are required to report.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Responsible Campaign Communications Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) require audio and video communications transmitted through the Internet or any form of electronic mail to meet applicable requirements with respect to any audio and video portions; and (2) subject to disclosure requirements for communications transmitted through radio any campaign communications made through prerecorded telephone calls.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
City Youth Violence Recovery Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to partnerships between a state mental health authority and one or more local public or private entities to prevent or alleviate the effects of youth violence in urban communities with a high or increasing incidence of such violence by providing violence-prevention education, mentoring, counseling, and mental health services to children and adolescents. Gives priority to grant applicants that agree to use the grant in communities that lack the resources to address youth violence. Requires grant applicants to agree to use no more than 15% of a grant for violence-prevention education.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan or coverage provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Applies such prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act of 2007 - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. At-Risk Communities Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Requires the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention research. Truth in Contraception Act of 2007 - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates. Unintended Pregnancy Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicaid's coverage of family planning services. Responsible Education About Life Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary to make grants to states for family life education, including education on abstinence and contraception, to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Authorizes federal agencies and legislative branch offices to purchase qualified tradeable: (1) greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets; and (2) renewable energy credits. Requires the Secretary of Energy to promulgate rules regarding approved open market transactions involving such offsets and credits. Requires such rules to accommodate forward purchasing and crediting of offsets and credits on an estimated basis from small scale offset and renewable energy generators and other open market transactions that help enable short-term purchases of offsets and credits to contribute to the implementation of such generators. Defines "greenhouse gas offsets" to mean a reduction in GHG emissions that results from actions that would not have occurred in the absence of the opportunity to sell an offset for the resulting reduction.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Great Lakes Invasive Species Control Act - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to apply requirements directing vessels equipped with ballast water tanks to carry out exchange of ballast water or alternative ballast water management methods prior to entry into any port within the Great Lakes to vessels that are not carrying ballast water. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to conduct a study of the effectiveness of alternative ballast water management methods in reducing the threat of invasive species to the Great Lakes.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief. Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Medicare Access to Rehabilitation Services Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to repeal the outpatient therapy cap.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007 - Deems certain service performed before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts as active military service for purposes of eligibility for veterans' benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Repeals certain provisions discounting such service as qualifying service.
![Official portrait of Rep. Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001170_200.jpg)