United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act of 2005 - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals aged 62 years of age or older. Authorizes appropriations. Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVIII (Medicare) to provide for the use of such new CPI in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Act Amendments of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise provisions regarding a research planning conference required to be convened by the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to require such conference to: (1) investigate Parkinson's research funded by NIH; and (2) identify shortcomings and opportunities for more effective treatments and a cure for Parkinson's disease. Requires the result of each conference to be included in a research investment plan that also: (1) provides for measurable results with the goals of better treatments and a cure for Parkinson's disease determining the allocation of research dollars; (2) includes an outline of how to fully utilize the Udall Center program; and (3) includes a budget and implementation strategy. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to ensure adequate funding to carry out activities described in the investment plan. Requires the Director to ensure funding for an additional Morris K. Udall research center to coordinate activities conducted by, and manage the interdisciplinary efforts of, the other centers. Requires each research center to ensure that there is a significant clinical component and ongoing basic research. Requires the Director to establish an application review process for grants to fund such research centers. Directs (currently, allows) the Director to award grants to support qualified investigators with potential for significant future Parkinson's disease breakthroughs. Requires the Director to investigate and report to Congress on the incidence of Parkinson's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Michigan Lighthouse and Maritime Heritage Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the National Park Service Midwest Regional Office, to study and report on Michigan maritime heritage resource preservation and interpretation, including: (1) potential economic and tourism benefits of preservation of these resources; (2) suitable and feasible options for long-term protection of these resources; (3) the manner in which the public can best learn about and experience these resources; and (4) ways of linking national, State, and regional and local areas and sites into a Michigan Maritime Heritage Destination Network.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Zimbabwe: (1) has, through Operation Murambatsvina, created a humanitarian disaster that has compounded the country's humanitarian food and economic crises; (2) has a duty to protect its citizens' economic, social, and political rights; and (3) is subject to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with respect to forced evictions. Condemns Operation Murambatsvina as a major humanitarian catastrophe caused by the government of Zimbabwe's callousness toward its own people, disregard for the rule of law, and lack of planning to move families and businesses to more desirable locations. Calls on the United Nations, the African Commission for Peoples' and Human Rights, and the African Union to investigate the impact of the demolitions of housing structures and premises from which informal businesses operated and to provide the international community with a strategy to address the problems. Calls on the government of Zimbabwe with respect to Operation Murambatsvina to: (1) allow access to international humanitarian organizations; (2) hold accountable those responsible; and (3) implement politics to promote the private sector and create jobs and build housing. Calls on the President to use U.S. influence to support the International Monetary Fund (IMF) review of Zimbabwe's membership, and to give serious consideration to further IMF action should the government of Zimbabwe continue to pursue destructive economic policies, fail to make payments on its arrears, or block emergency humanitarian assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2005
Strengthening the Ownership of Private Property Act of 2005 or STOPP Act of 2005 - Prohibits the provision of federal financial assistance under federal economic development programs to any state or unit of local government that: (1) uses the power of eminent domain to take property from one private individual or entity for economic development purposes and transfer ownership to another private individual or entity; or (2) fails to pay relocation costs to any person displaced by the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes. Allows the head of a federal agency to rely upon a certification by the chief executive officer of a state or unit of local government that such state or unit has not engaged in such acts. Specifies the federal economic development programs from which assistance will be prohibited.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) over the past four decades Medicaid has been a core component of the American health system; (2) Medicaid has ensured that the vast majority of Medicaid beneficiaries did not join the ranks of the current 45 million Americans with no health insurance; and (3) Congress must continue and strengthen the state-federal partnership that provides this vital health insurance program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2005
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) for the past 40 years, Medicare has made significant medical, social, and economic contributions to our Nation; (2) the access to care provided by Medicare has changed the course of health outcomes for the elderly and those with disabilities, preventing physical deterioration and preventing more individuals from slipping into poverty; (3) the program standards set under Medicare have brought social benefits such as quality certification and oversight of medical facilities to the benefit of all Americans; and (4) Congress must continue to support and strengthen this vital federal health insurance program that guarantees all Medicare beneficiaries affordable quality health care that meets their needs..
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2005
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6483 Lincoln Street in Gagetown, Michigan, as the "Gagetown Veterans Memorial Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2005
Honor Our Commitment to Veterans Act - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to administer the health care enrollment system of the Department of Veterans Affairs so as to enroll any eligible veteran who applies. (This directive in effect terminates an administrative freeze on the enrollment of veterans in the lowest priority enrollment category.)
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2005
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to certain land in the Ottawa National Forest, Gogebic County, Michigan, for cultural preservation, without consideration, to the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. Prohibits the recipient from selling any part of the land other than that land east of Indian Village Road or from using any part of the land for gaming or any other economic purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2005
Fire Protection Improvement and Correction Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to update an Occupational Safety and Health Administration fire protection safety standard to incorporate the current consensus standard of the National Fire Protection Association for fire protection for styrene cross-linked composites manufacturing.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Immigrant Victims of Violence Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (VAWA), with respect to T-visa (victims of severe form of trafficking in persons) and U-visa (victims of certain crimes) nonimmigrant aliens. Provides a range of immigration protections for abused aliens. Amends: (1) the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 to provide access to legal services for such aliens; and (2) the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 to make such aliens eligible for certain public benefits. Amends INA, as amended by VAWA, to apply that Act's deportation protections for transitional relief to all VAWA petitioners. Amends the the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to designate the VAWA unit (as defined by this Act) as the administrative unit within the Department of Homeland Security with sole jurisdiction over VAWA case adjudication. Amends INA to waive certain grounds of inadmissibility for VAWA petitioners. Authorizes the Attorney General to award trafficking-related law enforcement training grants to state and local governments.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Fair Access to Clinical Trials Act - 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 establish and operate a data bank of registry information on clinical trials for drugs, biological products, and devices. Requires the Secretary to collect, catalog, store, and disseminate such information. Specifies information required for registration of clinical trials, including the purpose and results of the trial. Requires the responsible person to submit clinical trial information to the Secretary. Sets forth provisions regarding periodic updates of data bank information, compliance with requirements, and violations of this Act. Allows the Secretary to identify any false or misleading information in the data bank and include an accurate version of the information. Requires the Secretary to: (1) disseminate data bank information through an Internet site and through other appropriate means; (2) establish procedures to allow voluntary submission of clinical trial information not required by this Act; and (3) enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the extent to which data submitted to the data bank has impacted the public health.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Currency Manipulation Prevention Act - Amends the Trade Act of 2002 to state that the principal negotiating objective of the United States with respect to currency exchange rates is to ensure that governmental intervention in currency markets is of limited duration and is carried out in consultation with countries with major trading partners. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to submit biannual reports: (1) describing actions by foreign governments to manipulate their currencies to increase their exports and to limit imports from the United States; (2) analyzing the impact of such currency manipulation on the U.S. manufacturing sector and on U.S. monetary policy; and (3) setting forth remedies against such currency manipulation. Directs the President to: (1) negotiate with any country identified by the Secretary of Commerce as engaging in currency manipulation to end such practice; and (2) seek compensation from such country (if in the national interest) for the damages incurred by U.S. manufacturers.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Expresses appreciation to the people and government of Canada for their long history of friendship and cooperation with the people and government of the United States. Congratulates Canada as it celebrates its annual Canada Day.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2005
Kidney Patient More Frequent Dialysis Quality Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to publish final regulations for equivalent per treatment prospective payment rates for more frequent hemodialysis treatments furnished to qualified individuals at home and in a facility (commonly known as composite Method I and Method II Cap rates), and prospective payment rates for in-facility training for more frequent hemodialysis.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2005
Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act - Amends the Lacey Act to add specified species of black, bighead, and silver carp to the list of injurious species that are prohibited from being shipped or imported into the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Establishes in the legislative branch the Independent Commission on the Investigation of Detainee Abuses to conduct a full, complete, independent, and impartial investigation of the abuses of detainees in connection with Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, or any operation within the Global War on Terrorism, including, but not limited to: (1) the extent of the abuses; (2) why the abuses occurred; and (3) who is responsible. Directs the Commission, in connection with the investigation, to assess, analyze, and evaluate relevant persons, policies, procedures, reports, and events. Authorizes the Commission to report interim findings, conclusions, and recommendations to Congress and the President. Requires a final report containing recommendations for corrective measures. Terminates the Commission 60 days after its final report.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on pulmonary hypertension and to coordinate the Director's activities with related activities of other national research institutes and National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies. Requires the Director to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct research and programs on pulmonary hypertension, including: (1) basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease; (2) training programs for scientists and health professionals; (3) programs to provide information and continuing education to health professionals; and (4) programs for the dissemination of information to the public. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a data system for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data derived from patient populations with pulmonary hypertension; and (2) an information clearinghouse to facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of pulmonary hypertension by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2005
Expresses support for the goals and ideals of National Night Out. Requests that the President: (1) focus appropriate attention on neighborhood crime prevention, community policing, and reduction of school crime by delivering speeches, convening meetings, and directing the Administration to make crime reduction an important priority; and (2) coordinate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the USA Freedom Corps, the Citizen Corps, the National Senior Service Corps, and AmeriCorps to participate by supporting local efforts, neighborhood watches, and local officials, including law enforcement personnel, to provide homeland security and combat terrorism in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Sole Community Hospital Preservation Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the prospective payment system (PPS) for hospital outpatient department (OPD) services, particularly the transitional adjustment for sole community hospitals to limit any decline in payment. Holds sole community hospitals permanently harmless from any decline in payment. Increases the payment for covered OPD services in a sole community hospital by the amount of any difference between the pre-Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (pre-BBA) amount and a lesser PPS amount. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to substitute a specified minimum base payment-to-cost ratio for determining the pre-BBA amount for sole community hospitals. Specifies the rebasing of the payment -to-cost ratio for sole community hospitals for cost reporting periods beginning on or after October 1, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
College Opportunity for All Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize requirements relating to: (1) Pell Grants and other student aid amounts and access to higher education for all students; (2) elimination of borrower origination fees; (3) allowance of refinancing of consolidation loans; (4) student loan forgiveness for certain public service employment; (5) termination of government payment of special allowances at excessive interest rates to lenders and holders of student loans; (6) simplification of the student aid process; (7) an initiative to enhance college graduation rates and accelerate time to degree; (8) reduction of guaranty agency payments; (9) teacher preparation and recruiting programs of TEACH grants and for teachers of mathematics, science, and languages; (10) TRIO, GEAR UP, LEAP outreach programs to disadvantaged students pursuing a postsecondary education; (11) postbaccalaureate opportunities at Hispanic-serving institutions; and (12) support and educational opportunities for students at historically Black colleges and universities and at other minority-serving institutions, including centers of excellence for teacher education.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2005
Atomic Veterans Relief Act - Includes within the definition of a "radiation-risk activity" for purposes of eligibility criteria for veterans' disability compensation the exposure to ionizing radiation due to residual contamination resulting from participation in a nuclear detonation. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to include in regulations pertaining to the service-connection of veterans' disabilities additional provisions to ensure, in the case of a claim by a radiation-exposed veteran for service-connection of a nonpresumptive disability, that the procedures for establishment of whether the disability is service-connected do not require imputation to the veteran, through a process known as dose reconstruction, of any particular level of exposure to ionizing radiation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2005
Accutane Safety and Risk Management Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to withdraw approval within 30 days for the sale of drugs that contain isotretinoin as an active ingredient, including Accutane. Allows the Secretary to approve subsequent supplemental applications for such drugs subject to certain restrictions, including safety reporting. Requires that distribution of such subsequently approved drugs be limited, including by: (1) allowing distribution only directly from manufacturers to pharmacists; (2) requiring pharmacists to register, receive education on side effects, dispense only those prescriptions from physicians at certified treatment centers, and file a statement of compliance; (3) developing educational materials for patients, including monthly questionnaires for patients to monitor the development of adverse side effects; (4) requiring patients to register, receive counseling on the drug, sign a statement providing informed consent for treatment, and undergo appropriate tests; and (5) limiting prescriptions to a 30-day supply with no refills. Specifies conditions for a clinic to be certified as a treatment center for a drug containing isotretinoin, including requiring each practitioner to meet certain conditions, such as requirements for registration, an agreement to prescribe in accordance with this Act, and reporting of adverse events. Requires the Secretary to monitor the distribution of such drugs to determine whether the drug is being distributed in accordance with this Act. Specifies conditions under which the Secretary may approve a drug that contains isotretinoin as an active ingredient for a new use. Requires manufacturers and distributors of isotretinoin to report any information on adverse events associated with the drug to the Secretary. Requires the Secretary to conduct and support studies to explore the effects of isotretinoin on the central nervous system and behavior, including depression, suicide, and violent behavior.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2005
Prohibits the issuance of any federal or state permit or lease for new oil and gas slant, directional, or offshore drilling in or under one or more of the Great Lakes.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2005
Calls for Congress to support: (1) efforts to promote awareness of cancer in children; (2) increased investment in childhood cancer research; (3) incentives to encourage medical trainees and investigators to enter the field of pediatric oncology; (4) incentives to encourage the development of drugs and biologics designed to treat pediatric cancers; (5) policies that encourage participation in clinical trials; (6) medical education curricula designed to improve pain management for cancer patients; and (7) enhanced education, services, and other resources related to late effects from treatment.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2005
Supply Our Soldiers Act of 2005 - Directs the United States Postal Service (USPS) and the Secretary of Defense to provide a program under which postal benefits are made available for personal correspondence and other mail matter sent from within the United States by designated representatives (next-of-kin) to members of the Armed Forces who are: (1) serving on active duty abroad in support of military operations or against an enemy of the United States or other hostile force; or (2) hospitalized in a U.S. military facility as a result of disease or injury incurred during service overseas. Limits postal benefits to $150 per calendar quarter, and limits the size and weight of allowable parcels. Allows charitable organizations to apply for such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2005
Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for Medicare benefits under SSA title XVIII (Medicare); and (2) eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions to become eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study the range of disability conditions that can be delayed or prevented if individuals receive access to health care services and coverage before a condition reaches disability levels.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2005
Teacher Excellence for All Children Act of 2005 - Revises and establishes programs relating to recruitment, preparation, distribution, and retention of public elementary and secondary school teachers and principals. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish: (1) teacher education assistance for college and higher education (TEACH ) grants for undergraduate and graduate students who agree to serve as teachers in high-need schools or fields; and (2) grants to recruit teachers with mathematics, science, or language majors. Extends the authorization of appropriations for HEA teacher quality enhancement grants for states and partnerships. Revises HEA student loan forgiveness requirements to: (1) extend permanently additional amounts for teachers in mathematics, science, or special education provided by the Taxpayer-Teacher Protection Act of 2004; (2) increase other amounts, making reading specialists eligible for such forgiveness; and (3) apply forgiveness in annual increments rather than in a lump sum at end of service. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to establish grant programs to improve teaching at high-need schools. Requires states to provide assurances of their reasonable progress toward equitable access to teacher quality as a condition of assistance under ESEA. Amends the Education Sciences Reform Act to direct the Statistics Commissioner to publish results of certain schools and staffing surveys. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from gross income up to $15,000 for compensation of teachers and principals in certain high-need schools or teaching certain high-need subjects; and (2) increase to a maximum of $500 and make permanent the above-the-line deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary schoolteachers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2005
Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act or PREEMIE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and coordinate NIH research on preterm labor and delivery, infant mortality, and low birthweight infants. Establishes the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network and the Neonatal Research Units Network within NIH. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) expand and coordinate CDC activities on preterm labor and delivery and infant mortality; (2) conduct a study on the relationship between prematurity, birth defects, and developmental disabilities; and (3) review the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey. Requires the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's national longitudinal study of environmental influences on children's health and development to consider the impact of assisted reproduction technologies. Requires the Director of NIH to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the health and economic consequences of preterm birth. Directs the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to assess certain core performance and outcome measures utilized under the Social Security Act for purposes of expanding such measures to include known risk factors of low birthweight and prematurity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct a demonstration project to improve the provision of information on prematurity to health professionals and the public; (2) conduct projects to support the informational and emotional needs of families during the stay of an infant in a neonatal intensive care unit, during the transition of the infant to the home, and in the event of a newborn death; and (3) establish an Interagency Coordinating Council on Prematurity and Low Birthweight.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln in commemoration of the bicentennial of his birth. Permits issuance of such coins only during 2009. Subjects the coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
Clean Energy Bonds Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow holders of clean energy bonds a nonrefundable tax credit of 25 percent of an annual credit amount as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. Defines "clean energy bond" as any bond issued by a clean energy bond lender, a cooperative electric company, a governmental body, or the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that is used for capital expenditures for specified projects for producing electricity from certain renewable resources, such as wind, biomass, solar energy, small irrigation power, and municipal solid waste. Sets forth rules for maturity limitations, arbitrage, and expenditures, including a requirement that 95 percent of proceeds from the sale of a bond issue be spent on a renewable resource project within five years from the date of a bond issuance. Terminates the authority to issue clean energy bonds after 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health coverage from denying benefits or coverage otherwise provided under the plan for the treatment of an injury solely because it was sustained while a person was engaged in any particular mode of transportation specified in the plan, consisting of the use of a motorcycle, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, or other similar recreational vehicle or horseback riding, unless such mode of transportation or its use was illegal.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2005
Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide that benefits under the Medicare part D program have no impact on benefits under other Federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Keeping Our Promises to America's Children Act of 2005 - Provides a moratorium on compliance with certain requirements for adequate yearly progress under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (ESEA), for any fiscal year in which amounts appropriated are less than those authorized for the applicable program, project, or activity under ESEA title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) part A (Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies) (I-A). Authorizes state or local educational agencies receiving I-A funds to observe such moratorium. Directs the Secretary of Education to ensure that otherwise applicable negative consequences shall not apply to such recipients because of such action.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Railroad Retirement Fairness Act - Amends the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 to provide that an individual who, at the time the individual makes an inquiry to the Railroad Retirement Board, has a current connection with the railroad industry shall not be deemed to have lost that current connection thereafter: (1) if the Board misleads or fails to properly inform that individual about that requirement; and (2) if that conduct by the Board, according to the principles of equity, should stop the Board from deeming the individual to have lost that current connection. (Current law deems an individual to have "a current connection with the railroad industry" at the time an annuity begins to accrue to that individual and at death, provided certain conditions exist.)
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD), or the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), to establish a grant program for joint ventures, composed of both Israeli and U.S. private business entities or of U.S. and Israeli academic persons, to implement projects to encourage cooperation between the United States and Israel on research, development, or commercialization of alternative energy, improved energy efficiency, or renewable energy sources. Establishes in the Department of Energy an International Energy Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the grant program and grant recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress is committed to achieving domestic hunger goals and ending hunger by 2015; (2) federal food and nutrition programs should receive adequate funding; and (3) the entitlement nature of the child and adult care food program, the food stamp program, the school breakfast and lunch programs, and the summer food service program should be preserved. Directs: (1) the American Communities Survey to collect and submit food security information to the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) the Secretary to conduct an annual study of hunger in the United States and develop recommendations on reducing domestic hunger. Directs the Secretary to make: (1) hunger-free communities collaborative grants to eligible public food program service providers or nonprofit organizations; (2) hunger-free communities infrastructure grants to eligible emergency feeding organizations; and (3) hunger-free communities training and technical assistance grants to eligible national or regional nonprofit organizations. (States that such grants' federal share shall not exceed 80 %.) Sets forth grant priorities.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax deduction from gross income for long-term care insurance premiums; (2) include long-term care insurance in employee benefit cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements; (3) allow a tax credit for certain long-term care costs; (4) set forth certain consumer protections for long-term care insurance contracts; and (5) allow tax free exchanges of long-term care insurance contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should communicate directly to the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that the United States: (1) believes that restricting supply in the growing market for crude oil does serious damage to the efforts that OPEC members have made to demonstrate that they represent a reliable source of crude oil supply; (2) believes that stable crude oil prices and supplies are essential for strong economic growth throughout the world; and (3) seeks an immediate increase in OPEC crude oil production quotas. Directs the President to suspend temporarily further acquisitions of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Suspends immediately further purchases of oil to the SPR. Declares that the existing statutory cap of 700 million barrels of crude oil in the SPR should not be increased while crude oil prices remain at current high levels. Instructs the President to direct the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Attorney General to exercise vigorous oversight over the oil markets to protect the American people from price gouging and unfair practices at the gas pump. Directs the FTC to issue regulations requiring full disclosure by refiners and distributors of their wholesale motor fuel pricing policies, with a separate listing of each component contributing to prices, including the cost of crude oil, refining, marketing, transportation, equipment, overhead, and profit, along with portions of any rebates, incentives, and market enhancement allowances.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Amends titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to prohibit coverage under the Medicare and Medicaid programs of sex-enhancing drugs for individuals convicted of a sex offense.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2005
Cold War Victory Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned, upon application, to issue Cold War Victory service medals to military personnel who served honorably during the Cold War era (September 2, 1945, through December 26, 1991).
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2005
Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with qualified cord blood stem cell banks to assist in the collection and maintenance of human cord blood to be made available for transplantation through the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program. Requires the Secretary to require that recipients of such contracts: (1) acquire and store donated units of human cord blood acquired with the informed consent of the donor in a manner that complies with applicable Federal and State regulations; and (2) make collected cord blood units available for stem cell transplantation or, if not appropriate for clinical use, available for peer-reviewed research. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to establish and maintain the Program to increase the number of transplants for recipients suitably matched to biologically unrelated donors of bone marrow and cord blood. Requires the Secretary to establish an Advisory Council to advise the Secretary on matters related to Program activities. Requires the Program to: (1) operate a system for identifying, matching, and facilitating the distribution of donated cord blood units; (2) allow transplant physicians, health care professionals, and patients to search by electronic means for available cord blood units; (3) support studies and demonstration and outreach projects for the purpose of increasing cord blood donation to ensure a genetically diverse collection of cord blood units; and (4) carry out information and educational activities for the purpose of increasing cord blood donation and promoting the availability of cord blood units as a transplant option. Requires the Secretary to establish and maintain a scientific database of outcome information relating to patients who have been recipients of stem cell therapeutics product from a biologically unrelated donor (replacing provisions establishing a bone marrow scientific registry).
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2005
Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to make federal provisions which prohibit the obligation or expenditure of funds either in excess of appropriated amounts or in violation of sequestration orders under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1986 inapplicable to: (1) any amount collected or received as federal universal service contributions; or (2) the expenditure or obligation of amounts attributable to such contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2005
International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act of 2005 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to authorize states to enact laws restricting the receipt and disposal of foreign municipal solid waste within their borders until the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues regulations implementing and enforcing the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste between the United States and Canada (Agreement). Defines the authority of the Administrator with respect to the importation and exportation of municipal solid waste under the Agreement. Requires the Administrator to give substantial weight to the views of affected states and local governments before consenting to the importation of foreign municipal solid waste into the United States under the Agreement, and to consider the impact of such importation on: (1) the continued public support for state and local recycling programs; (2) landfill capacities; (3) air emissions and road deterioration from increased vehicular traffic; and (4) homeland security, public health, and the environment. Authorizes the Administrator to assess civil penalties for any past or current violations of this Act or to commence a civil action in the U.S. district court.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Combating Autism Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) a program to provide information and education on autism and its risk factors to health professionals and the general public; and (2) the Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate autism related activities within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide autism screening, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants or cooperative agreements to provide technical assistance to state agencies to conduct applied autism research.
![Official portrait of Rep. Stupak, Bart [D-MI-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s001045_200.jpg)