United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2007
National Guardsmen and Reservists Parity for Patriots Act - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the armed forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 19 December 2007
Positive Alternatives Act - Amends part A (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) of title IV of the Social Security Act to allow the use of TANF funds for alternative-to-abortion services, including: (1) information or counseling that promotes childbirth instead of abortion; and (2) other services designed to assist a woman to carry her unborn child to term.
United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2007
Objects to any U.N. proposal to fund the Durban Review Conference and preparatory activities through the U.N. regular budget which is itself funded by assessed contributions of member states. Urges the United States to oppose any proposal for funding Durban Review Conference activities through the U.N. regular budget.
United States · United States Congress · 13 December 2007
Congratulates the Army Reserve on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the enactment of its original authorizing law on April 23, 1908. Recognizes and commends the Army Reserve for the service of its past and present citizen-soldiers whose personal courage, contributions, and sacrifices have helped preserve the freedom and advance the national security and homeland defense of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2007
Pediatric, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivorship Research and Quality of Life Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to expand and intensify CDC's cancer control programs. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide guidance to states, in collaboration with the Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), on interventions that may be incorporated into state cancer control programs to improve the long-term health status of childhood cancer survivors; (2) encourage states to incorporate strategies for improving their care into their comprehensive cancer plans; (3) collaborate with the NCI Director to improve or develop systems for tracking cancer survivors; and (4) enhance control programs to include a focus on childhood cancer survivorship. Directs the NCI Director to: (1) coordinate National Institutes of Health (NIH) activities regarding cancer survivorship; (2) make grants for research regarding pediatric cancer survivors and health disparities in cancer survivorship within minority populations; (3) conduct or support research to evaluate followup care for childhood cancer survivors; and (4) make grants to establish pilot programs to develop, study, or evaluate model systems for monitoring and caring for cancer survivors. Directs the Secretary to make grants to: (1) establish or improve training programs for health care professionals to improve followup care for young cancer survivors and to ensure that such care is linguistically and culturally competent; (2) pay costs incurred during the first four years of operating a clinic for comprehensive long-term followup services for childhood cancer survivors; and (3) improve physical and psychosocial care for such survivors.
United States · United States Congress · 5 December 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2007
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) expresses its appreciation for the profound dedication and public service of former Congressman Henry J. Hyde of Illinois; (2) notes that he was preceded in death by his former wife Jeanne Simpson and his son, Henry "Hank" Hyde; and (3) tenders its deep sympathy to his wife, Judy Wolverton, to his children, Robert, Laura, and Anthony, and to his entire family and former congressional staff.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Pakistan should: (1) restore the rule of law by reinstating the constitution and members of the Supreme Court of Pakistan; (2) end the charges against human rights defenders and release those in detention or under house arrest, in particular Ms. Asma Jahangir; (3) restore media independence and ensure freedom of speech; and (4) ensure respect for human rights.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2007
Mail Network Protection Act of 2007 - Requires the U.S. Postal Service to bargain with unions representing career Postal Service employees before entering into a contract for mail processing, mail handling, or surface transportation of mail if the contract, in a 12 month period, would involve work that would otherwise be performed by those employees and either: (1) involve more than a specified amount of work time; or (2) cost over $5 million.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2007
National Public Notification of Environmental Hazards Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 to require the President to revise the national contingency plan to provide for improved public notification and community relations in the case of a response action. Requires the head of the lead agency for a response action to: (1) designate a spokesperson, who shall provide notice of the action, respond to inquiries, and provide information to the public; (2) issue a press release within a specified time frame; (3) ensure coordination of press releases and other statements; (4) establish a public information office at or near the response site; (5) establish at least one local information repository; (6) make the administrative record file available for public inspection; (7) provide a public comment period; (8) conduct public meetings; (9) establish a toll-free telephone number and a public Internet website; (10) ensure that each residence and business within a half-mile radius of the response site is visited by a lead agency representative; and (11) mail printed materials containing information about the removal action to such residences and businesses. Directs the head: (1) to take specified actions if the President determines, based on a site evaluation, that an action is appropriate and the head determines that a planning period of at least 180 days exists prior to initiation of on-site activities, including making the engineering evaluation and cost analysis available to the public; and (2) for actions lasting more than 120 days, to interview local officials, community residents, and specified others about their concerns, information needs, and how they would like to be involved and prepare a formal community relations plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2007
Establishes a Congressional-Executive Commission on the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, which shall: (1) monitor the Socialist Republic of Vietnam's human rights compliance, with particular emphasis on the Montagnard peoples and the Central and Northwest Highlands; (2) maintain lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, detained, tortured, or otherwise persecuted by the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam due to their pursuit of the rights described in this Act; (3) monitor the development of the rule of law in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with particular emphasis on the Montagnard peoples and the Central and Northwest Highlands; and (4) monitor and encourage the development of programs and activities of the U.S. government and private organizations with a view toward increasing the U.S.-Vietnam interchange.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2007
Establishes a Joint Select Committee on Earmark Reform to study and report to the House and the Senate on the practices of the legislative and executive branch regarding earmarks in authorizing, appropriation, tax, and tariff measures. Makes it out of order to consider a bill, joint resolution, or conference report containing a congressional earmark, limited tax benefit, or limited tariff benefit until the filing of such report.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2007
Commemorates the wisdom of President Theodore Roosevelt in developing and launching the Great White Fleet. Supports a one-time designation of a day to celebrate the 100th centennial of the Great White Fleet and the special role it played in building enduring friendships with important allies and partner nations. Commends efforts by the Department of the Navy to: (1) maintain and strengthen our cooperative partnerships with foreign nations; (2) safeguard our Nation's interests in the maritime domain; and (3) lead the development of a Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower. Honors the sacrifices made and services rendered by the servicemembers of the Navy, Marine Corps, and the Coast Guard, and the civilians who constitute our maritime services.
United States · United States Congress · 14 November 2007
Prevention of Unsafe Licensing Act - Amends the REAL ID Act of 2005 to prohibit a state from issuing a driver's license or identification document to a person unless the state has satisfied certain citizenship or lawful immigration status verification requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2007
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery an American Braille tactile flag honoring blind members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and other Americans. Grants the Secretary exclusive authority to approve an appropriate design and site within Arlington National Cemetery for the memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2007
Sanctity of Human Life Act - Declares that: (1) the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution is vested in each human and is the person's paramount and most fundamental right; (2) each human life begins with fertilization, cloning, or its functional equivalent, at which time every human has all legal and constitutional attributes and privileges of personhood; and (3) Congress, each state, the District of Columbia, and all U.S. territories have the authority to protect all human lives.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2007
Designates the national cemetery to be constructed at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina, as the "Floyd Spence National Cemetery at Fort Jackson."
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2007
Condemns Communist China's discrimination, harassment, imprisonment, torture, and execution of its prisoners of conscience. Calls upon Communist China to release its prisoners of conscience. Urges the Administration to raise the issue of Communist China's prisoners of conscience in high-level diplomatic meetings with Communist Chinese officials.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2007
Honors Theodor Criveanu for his efforts to save Romanian Jews during the Holocaust and for being named by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, as Righteous Among the Nations. Promotes education to preserve the legacy of the righteous gentiles who risked their lives to save innocent Jews.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2007
Expresses strong support for the work of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad and for the European countries that continue to work to preserve sacred historical sites. Expresses strong sentiments to the government of Lithuania that the people of the United States believe the Jewish cemetery located in the Snipiskes area of Vilnius, Lithuania, must not be further desecrated. Declares that if the Government of Lithuania fails to immediately stop construction and protect the cemetery it will jeopardize its important relationship with the United States and its standing in the international community.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2007
Registered Nurse Safe Staffing Act of 2007 - Amends part D (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) require each participating hospital to 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; (2) provide for the public reporting of certain staffing information, including a daily posting for each shift in the hospital of the current number of licensed and unlicensed nursing staff directly responsible for patient care; (3) prescribe recordkeeping, data collection, and evaluation requirements for participating hospitals; (4) specify civil monetary penalties for violations of such requirements; and (5) provide whistleblower protections.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2007
Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a $300 plot allowance to a state for spouses and children of certain veterans who are buried in state cemeteries.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2007
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to prohibit the Secretary of Health and Human Service from providing any federal family planning assistance to an entity unless the entity certifies that, during the period of such assistance, the entity will not perform, and will not provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an abortion. Excludes an abortion where: (1) the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or an act of incest against a minor; or (2) a physician certifies that the woman suffered from a physical disorder, injury, or illness that would place the woman in danger of death unless an abortion is performed, including a condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy. Excludes hospitals from such requirement so long as the hospital does not provide funds to any non-hospital entity that performs an abortion. Requires the Secretary to annually provide Congress: (1) information on grantees who performed abortions under the exceptions; and (2) a list of entities to which grant funds are made available.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2007
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 - Appropriates funds for FY2008 for the Department of Defense (DOD) for: (1) military construction for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force (military departments), DOD, the Army and Air National Guard, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force reserves; (2) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Security Investment Program; (3) family housing construction and related operation and maintenance for the military departments and DOD; (4) the Department of Defense Family Housing Improvement Fund; (5) DOD chemical demilitarization construction; and (6) the Department of Defense Base Closure Accounts of 1990 and 2005. Appropriates funds for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration; (2) readjustment benefits; (3) veterans insurance and indemnities; (4) the Veterans Housing Benefit Program Fund; (5) the Vocational Rehabilitation Loans Program; (6) the Native American Veteran Housing Loan Program; (7) guaranteed transitional housing loans for homeless veterans; (8) the Veterans Health Administration; (9) the National Cemetery Administration; (10) the Office of Inspector General; (11) construction for major and minor projects; and (12) grants for the construction of extended care facilities and veterans cemeteries. Appropriates funds for: (1) the American Battle Monuments Commission; (2) the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims; (3) cemeterial expenses, Army; and (4) the Armed Forces Retirement Home. Specifies restrictions and authorities regarding the use of funds appropriated in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2007
Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007 or SAVE Act of 2007 - Sets forth border security and enforcement provisions, including provisions respecting: (1) increases in Border Patrol and investigative personnel; (2) recruitment of former military personnel; (3) use of Department of Defense (DOD) equipment; (4) infrastructure improvements; (5) aerial and other surveillance; (5) a national strategy to secure the borders; (6) emergency deployment of Border Patrol agents; and (7) expansion of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism along the northern and southern borders. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act and specified maritime law sections to revise alien smuggling provisions. Sets forth provisions respecting border security on certain federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior. Border Law Enforcement Act - Authorizes a border relief grant program for a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency in a county within 25 miles of the southern border of the United States. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to make the basic employment eligibility confirmation pilot program permanent. Sets forth conditions for the mandatory use of the E-verify system. Requires: (1) employer/employee notification of social security number mismatches and multiple uses, and related information sharing with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); and (2) establishment of electronic birth and death registration systems. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) penalize specified employers for failure to correct information returns; and (2) prohibit employers from deducting from gross income wages paid to unauthorized aliens, with an exception for an employer participating in the basic employment eligibility confirmation program. Increases criminal alien program (CAP) personnel. Establishes within DHS a rewards program to assist in the elimination of commercial operations to produce or sell fraudulent immigration-related documents and to assist in the investigation, prosecution, or disruption of commercial alien smuggling operations. Provides for: (1) increased alien detention facilities; (2) additional district court judgeships; and (3) a media campaign to inform the public of changes made by this Act including a multilingual media campaign explaining noncompliance penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2007
Disabled Veterans Right to Commissaries and Space Available Travel Act - Requires veterans with disabilities rated at 30% or more to be permitted to use commissary and exchange stores on the same basis as members of the Armed Forces eligible for retired or retainer pay. Extends such benefit to dependents on the same basis. Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide transportation on Department of Defense aircraft on a space-available basis for any veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 50% or more on the same basis as members entitled to retired or retainer pay. Extends such benefit to dependents on the same basis.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2007
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2007
Amerasian Paternity Recognition Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to confer automatic citizenship on aliens residing in the United States in lawful permanent resident status: (1) pursuant to a classification petition approved under a provision that gives preferential treatment to persons born in Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, or Thailand after 1950 and before October 22, 1982, and fathered by a U.S. citizen; or (2) who were born in Vietnam after January 1, 1962, and before January 1, 1976, and fathered by a U.S. citizen.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2007
Nursing Education Opportunities Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include accelerated degree nursing students who pursue a second baccalaureate degree or a master's degree as an entry level nursing degree as eligible for financial assistance through nursing programs in the Act, including the Nursing Student Loan Program. Raises the yearly loan amounts available to all nursing students through that Program. Modifies the definition of "collegiate school of nursing" to include accelerated nursing degree programs. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in the case of a nurse faculty shortage, to obligate more than 10% of traineeships for individuals in doctoral degree programs. Directs the Secretary to award grants to: (1) eligible entities to establish doctoral nursing degree programs, giving priority to such entities located in states in which there are no such programs; and (2) partnerships of eligible entities to establish doctoral nursing consortia to enhance and expand the availability of doctoral nurse faculty and education by enabling the partners to share doctoral faculty and programmatic resources. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary to award grants to partnerships composed of an accredited nursing school at an institution of higher education and a hospital or health facility to establish up to five pilot projects to enable such hospital or facility to retain its staff of experienced nurses while providing a mechanism to have these individuals become, through an accelerated nursing education program, faculty members of an accredited nursing school.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007 - Amends the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to: (1) waive the requirement that Congress annually enact renewal resolutions for the continuation of import restrictions against Burmese products; and (2) continue such sanctions until they are terminated by a joint resolution of Congress or by the President (under current law, until terminated by the President). Prohibits the importation of gemstones or rough unfinished geological material mined or extracted from Burma. Expands the ban on the issuance of visas and admission to the United States to former and present leadership of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) or the Union Solidarity Development Association (Burmese regime) to include Burmese military members (including their families) involved in the repression of protests in Burma in August, September, and October 2007, and Burmese officials who have engaged in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights. Waives such ban only if the President certifies to Congress that it is in the national interests of the United States. Expands current law provisions providing for the freezing of assets in the United States of Burmese regime members to provide for the blocking of all property and assets in the United States: (1) that are owned by members of the Burmese regime and Burmese military and Burmese officials who have engaged in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights; and (2) of persons and financial institutions associated with such individuals. Sets forth, with specified exceptions, certain prohibited activities related to the blocking of such property. Subjects persons who violate such prohibitions to certain penalties. Denies tax deductions or tax credits with respect to amounts paid or incurred by the Burmese regime, or a joint production agreement involving the Yadana gas field or pipeline.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to direct the Secretary of State (Secretary) to establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking. (Current law authorizes such Office's establishment.) Directs the President to: (1) carry out programs to prevent and deter trafficking in persons; and (2) implement an anti-trafficking program monitoring system. Authorizes the President to establish the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Sets forth consular officer responsibilities respecting anti-trafficking and related information to be given at nonimmigrant alien visa interviews. Sets forth protections for: (1) aliens who may be trafficking victims or who may testify against traffickers (including parole entry for certain family members); and (2) work-based nonimmigrants or alien workers recruited abroad. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) assistance for trafficking victims, including child victims and U.S. citizens; (2) penalties for trafficking, unlawful compelled service, sex tourism, and aliens in prostitution. Directs: (1) the Attorney General to establish within the Office of the Deputy Attorney General a Coordinator to Combat Human Trafficking; and (2) the Secretary of Labor to establish within the Department of Labor a Coordinator to Combat Human Trafficking. Directs the Secretary to develop: (1) policies and procedures to ensure that unaccompanied alien children in the United States are safely repatriated to their country of nationality or of last habitual residence; and (2) a safe repatriation pilot program for alien children. States, with specified exceptions, that the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children in the United States shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Sets forth related provisions and authorizations of appropriations. Child Soldier Prevention Act of 2007 - Prohibits, with a national interest waiver, funds for specified military and related areas from being made available to the government of a country identified by the Department of State as having governmental armed forces or government supported armed groups that recruit or use child soldiers. Authorizes the President to reinstate assistance upon certifying to Congress that a government is implementing: (1) compliance measures; and (2) mechanisms to prohibit future use of child soldiers. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to a country for international military education and training otherwise prohibited under this Act upon certifying to Congress that such assistance is for implementation of measures to demobilize child soldiers and for programs to support professionalization of the military. Requires a report on child soldiers in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
Calls on the Secretary of State to determine if the charges brought against United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Sigma Huda, constitute a retaliation by the military-backed government of Bangladesh for her family's alleged political activities. Asks the President to direct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations to submit a resolution to the United Nations condemning the caretaker government for its human rights violations. Proposes that the President recognize the return of democracy to Bangladesh as a high priority of U.S. foreign policy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Home Health Care Access Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the prospective payment system (PPS) for home health services and adjustments to it for case mix changes. Prohibits any adjustment in the PPS for payment in 2008. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, for any adjustment in a subsequent year, to evaluate changes in case mix using standards developed consistent with specified processes, taking certain criteria into account. Directs the Secretary to convene a Technical Advisory Group to advise on the development of such standards. Prohibits the Secretary from taking any action to implement or otherwise carry out provisions in the final rule published on August 29, 2007, that propose to make a case mix adjustment to the standardized payment amounts under the PPS to account for changes in coding that were not related to an underlying change in patient health status. Directs the Secretary to republish any rates specified in such rule to take into account the application of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Shortens the length of the obligated period of active duty service required of certain members of the Armed Forces to receive certain veterans' education benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2007
Eradication of Slavery in Sudan Act of 2007 - Establishes the United States Commission to Monitor Slavery and its Eradication in Sudan, which shall have as its primary responsibility: (1) reporting on progress made by the government of Sudan and nongovernmental organizations in identifying the location of slaves in Sudan and ensuring their freedom; (2) working with the government of Sudan to ensure safe passage of freed slaves and family reunification; (3) documenting existing cases of slavery and working to prevent new cases from occurring; (4) ensuring that former slaves have access to basic education and skill training, as well as medical, social, and psychological support needed for their rehabilitation and reintegration into society; (5) ensuring that those individuals responsible for slavery are brought to justice; and (6) recommending U.S. government actions in response to the Sudanese government's inaction to eradicate slavery. Terminates the Commission six years after the initial appointment of all of the members.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2007
Condemns the September 2007 attacks on African Union (AU) peacekeepers that occurred in Haskanita, Darfur, Sudan. Expresses condolences and sympathies to the people and governments of Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, and Botswana and to the families and friends of those individuals who were killed, injured, or missing in the attacks. Expresses readiness to support efforts to bring to justice those individuals responsible for the attacks and to dismantle the networks that carry out such attacks. Expresses support for the people of Darfur, and encourages all parties involved in the conflict to commit to negotiate a final peace agreement at the peace talks scheduled for October 27, 2007, in Tripoli, Libya.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2007
Encourages the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to: (1) halt the forced repatriation of North Koreans who face a well-founded fear of persecution if they are returned to North Korea; and (2) grant the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees access to determine such refugees' status and the degree of assistance to which they are entitled. Recognizes the efforts of the Korean-American community for bringing attention to the plight of North Korean refugees.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2007
Supports the observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in order to provide a special opportunity to offer education on the importance of monthly breast self-examinations and annual mammograms. Salutes the more than 2.4 million breast cancer survivors in the United States and the efforts of victims, volunteers, and professionals who combat breast cancer each day. Recognizes and applauds the national and community organizations for their work in promoting awareness about breast cancer, providing information, and offering treatment to its sufferers. Urges organizations and health practitioners to use this opportunity to promote awareness about breast cancer, to support monthly self-examinations, and to encourage annual mammograms.
United States · United States Congress · 9 October 2007
Andrew Larochelle God, Family, and Country Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Architect of the Capitol to permit the acknowledgment of God on flag certificates issued at the request of a Member of the United States House of Representatives or of the United States Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Vision Preservation Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to expand and intensify programs to increase awareness of vision problems. Directs the Secretary to expand and intensify: (1) activities to establish a solid scientific base of knowledge on the prevention, control, and rehabilitation of vision problems and related disabilities; (2) research within CDC on the prevention and management of vision loss; and (3) programs targeted to prevent vision loss, treat eye and vision conditions, and rehabilitate people of all ages who are blind or partially sighted in underserved and minority communities. Amends title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) of the Social Security Act to authorize appropriations to enable the Secretary to introduce core performance measures on eye health by incorporating vision screening and examination standards into state programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations for vision rehabilitation professional development.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Congratulates the people of Ukraine for holding free parliamentary elections on September 30, 2007. Welcomes the strong relationship formed between the United States and Ukraine since the restoration of Ukraine's independence in 1991. Expresses support for the Ukrainian people's efforts to build upon the democratic gains of the Orange Revolution by strengthening respect for human rights and the rule of law, including an independent judiciary. Calls for the timely formation of a government that reflects the will of Ukrainian voters and advances political stability and democratic development, with a special focus on the constitutional framework. Pledges continued assistance to the further development of a free and democratic system in Ukraine based on the rule of law, a free market economy, and consolidation of Ukraine's security and sovereignty.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of Red Ribbon Week. Encourages: (1) children and teens to live drug-free lives; and (2) people in the United States to promote drug-free communities and to participate in drug prevention activities.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2007
Declares that: (1) women in China possess a fundamental, inalienable right to carry their pregnancies to term free from coercive tactics designed to force a woman to abort her child; (2) coercion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to coerce abortion and sterilization is immoral, reprehensible, and a violation of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights; (3) the House of Representatives expresses its regrets and condolences to the innocent victims of the CCP's one-child policy; and (4) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should publicly condemn the CCP's one child policy, coerced abortions, and coerced sterilizations at appropriate international forums.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Recognizes Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh for his contributions to the civil rights movement, his tireless work to prevent nuclear conflict, and his efforts to secure the peaceful resolution of international conflicts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Declares that Congress strongly condemns the continued violations of human rights by the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), including regarding birth limitations and related forced abortions and sterilization. Urges the PRC government to cease these policies and urges the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to cease all its activities in the PRC and withdraw from that country. Affirms certain internationally recognized human rights, including the right of women to bear children unconstrained by government policies limiting the number of children they bear and the right of children not to be discriminated against by a government because they were born contrary to a government plan. Asks that the President and the Secretary of State raise these concerns with the PRC government, call upon the PRC government to cease immediately these policies, and continue to withhold funds from UNFPA due to UNFPA's continued involvement in supporting coercive abortion and sterilization, which violates the "Kemp-Kasten" provision of U.S. law.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2007
Amends the Foreign Service Act of 1980 to permit rest and recuperation travel for Foreign Service members and family members to U.S. territories, including American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Specifies that required leave based upon continuous service abroad may be taken in the United States or its territories, including American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. (Current law refers to the United States, its territories and possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.)
![Official portrait of Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000522_200.jpg)