United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Farming Flexibility Act of 2005 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, with respect to direct and counter-cyclical payments, to: (1) permit a producer to reduce a covered commodity base acreage by electing to plant such acres with fruits or vegetables for processing; (2) require such election to be made annually; and (3) provide that if a farm's base acreage is recalculated, such fruit or vegetable production shall be considered the same as the planning, prevented planting, or production of the covered commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Medicare Ambulance Payment Reform and Rural Equity Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) revise ambulance payment rates; and (2) provide additional payments for providers furnishing ambulance services in rural areas. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the system for adjusting payments for rural ambulance services to determine their adequacy and appropriateness. Amends SSA title XVIII with respect to a Secretary-specified uniform coding system identifying furnished ambulance services for purposes of a fee schedule. Directs the Secretary to establish a system or systems for the coding of claims for ambulance services for which payment is made, including a code set specifying the medical condition of the individual who is transported and the level of service that is appropriate for the transportation of an individual with that medical condition. Requires the code set to take into account the list of medical conditions developed in the course of the negotiated rulemaking process. (Current law authorizes the Secretary to require the claim for any ambulance services to include a code (or codes) under a uniform coding system specified by the Secretary, but does not require the establishment of such a coding system.)
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Hunger Relief Trucking Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the cost of transporting food to assist hunger relief efforts of certain charitable organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2005 - Expands the federal prohibition against state taxation of interstate commerce to: (1) include taxation of out-of-state transactions involving all forms of property, including intangible personal property and services (currently, only sales of tangible personal property are protected); and (2) prohibit state taxation of an out-of-state entity unless such entity has a physical presence in the taxing state. Sets forth criteria for determining that a person has a physical presence in a state.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Water for the Poor Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to U.S. water and sanitation assistance programs. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish assistance for programs in developing countries to provide affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation. Directs the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop a strategy to further the U.S. foreign assistance objective of providing affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation in developing countries.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to states and political subdivisions to: (1) establish model law enforcement programs that promote the effective prosecution of persons who solicit an unlawful commercial sex act, persons who purvey others to engage in such an act, and sex traffickers; and (2) assist victims of such an act. Amends the federal criminal code to modify prohibitions against transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes (generally) and for coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution or criminal sexual activity to explicitly cover purchasers of commercial sexual activities and acts. Directs federal agencies involved in combating sex trafficking and providing services to victims of commercial sex acts inside the United States to coordinate their activities with the Senior Policy Operating Group established by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) report annually to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees regarding grants and evaluating success in enhancing the prosecution and conviction of purchasers, sex traffickers, and exploiters and in reducing demand for commercial sexual activity; (2) disseminate best methods and practices for training state and local law enforcement personnel involved in enforcing laws prohibiting commercial sexual acts at each annual conference conducted by the Department of Justice; and (3) carry out a biennial comprehensive statistical review and analysis of commercial sexual acts in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on communication services (i.e., local telephone service, toll telephone service, and teletypewriter exchange service).
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Supports: (1) initiatives for recreational boating safety education and accident prevention to minimize the number of annual recreational boating fatalities; and (2) the goals of National Safe Boating Week. Recognizes the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and the National Safe Boating Council for their efforts each year during May to highlight the importance of safe recreational boating.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Recognizes and affirms the efforts of the Governors of the Great Lakes States of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and the Premiers of the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec in developing a common standard for decisions relating to the withdrawal of water from the Great Lakes. Urges that the management authority over such waters should remain vested with such Governors and Premiers.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Drug Free Sports Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to issue regulations requiring professional sports associations to adopt and enforce policies and procedures for testing athletes for the use of performance-enhancing substances, including regulations requiring: (1) random testing of each athlete annually without advance notification; (2) the Secretary to issue a list of substances for which each athlete is to be tested that includes prohibited substances as determined by the World Anti-Doping Agency and performance-enhancing substances for which testing is reasonable and practicable; (3) that such tests be administered by an independent party not affiliated with the professional sports associations; (4) suspension for a minimum of two years for a first positive test and permanent suspension for a second positive test; (5) disclosure to the public of the name of any athlete that tests positive; and (6) an opportunity for a prompt hearing and an appeal. Allows the Secretary to: (1) exempt any professional sports association that has previously adopted and implemented policies and procedures that meet or exceed the requirements of such regulations; and (2) fine any such association for failure to adopt and enforce testing policies and procedures consistent with the regulations. Requires the Comptroller General to study the use of performance-enhancing substances by college and secondary school athletes.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2005 - 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 · 20 April 2005
Investment in America Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) increase the rates of the alternative incremental tax credit for research expenses; and (3) permit a taxpayer election of an alternative simplified tax credit for research expenses.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Second Chance Act of 2005: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions regarding adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects, including by authorizing funds to: (1) provide structured post-release housing and transitional housing; (2) facilitate specified collaboration to promote the employment of people released from prison and jail; (3) carry out programs that support children of incarcerated parents; and (4) establish or expand the use of reentry courts. Sets forth grant priorities and requirements, including that each state, territory, tribe, or local government recipient establish a Reentry Task Force or other authority. Authorizes the Attorney General to make a grant to provide for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center. Directs the Attorney General to establish an interagency task force on federal programs regarding offender reentry. Authorizes the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics to conduct research on offender reentry. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the role of state child protective services at the time of arrest and establish services for the preservation of families impacted by the incarceration of a family member; and (2) the Secretary of Labor to implement a program to educate employers about one-stop centers, existing incentives for the hiring of former prisoners, and tax credits, and to make grants to nonprofit organizations to provide transitional services. Amends the federal criminal code to direct a court to revoke a term of supervised release or a sentence of probation for a defendant who commits a crime of violence against, or an offense of unlawful sexual contact with, a person who has not attained the age of 16 years.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on State taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Clean Water Investment and Infrastructure Security Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt from State volume caps private facility bonds for sewage and water supply facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Internet Consumer Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on State taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce. Repeals provisions permitting States with Internet tax laws enacted prior to the ban on Internet taxes to continue enforcing such laws.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005 - Sets forth an energy research and development program, including: (1) energy efficiency; (2) renewable energy; (3) oil and gas; (4) coal; (5) Indian energy; (6) nuclear matters and security; (7) vehicles and motor fuels, including ethanol; (8) hydrogen; (9) electricity; and (10) energy tax incentives. Amends the National Energy Conservation Policy Act to: (1) institute grant programs for low-income community energy efficiency and energy efficient public buildings; and (2) revise energy conservation standards for additional consumer products. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to prescribe incentive payments for renewable energy production facilities. Amends the Federal Power Act to prescribe guidelines for hydroelectric licensing proposals for alternative conditions and requirements governing project works within a federal reservation. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to make incentive payments to promote hydroelectric production. Amends the Natural Gas Act with respect to: (1) construction, expansion, or operation of liquefaction or gasification natural gas terminals; and (2) natural gas market transparency. Prescribes procedural guidelines for the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding oil and gas leasing on federal lands. United States Refinery Revitalization Act of 2005 - Prescribes procedural guidelines for: (1) designation of refinery revitalization zones; and (2) coordination and expeditious review of permitting process for such zones. Sets forth a Clean Coal Power Initiative campaign that includes grants to universities to establish Centers of Excellence for Energy Systems of the Future. Authorizes federal loan guarantees for designated coal gasification projects. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to prescribe implementation guidelines for a clean air coal program. Indian Tribal Energy Development and Self-Determination Act of 2005 - Amends the Department of Energy Organization Act and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to establish the Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs to promote Indian tribal energy resource development through grants and loans. Prescribes guidelines for energy efficiency in federally assisted housing on Indian lands. Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 2005 - Amends the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to modify and extend indemnification authority and liability limits for Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensees and Department of Energy (DOE) contractors. Prohibits assumption by the U.S. Government of liability for certain foreign incidents. Directs the NRC to establish a training and fellowship program for individuals with critical nuclear safety regulatory skills. Revises requirements for: (1) uranium sales; (2) special demonstration projects for the uranium mining industry; (3) whistleblower protection requirements; (4) medical isotope production; (5) uranium enrichment facilities; and (6) the national uranium stockpile. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish an Advanced Reactor Hydrogen Co-Generation Project. Provides for disposal of: (1) Fernald uranium processing facility byproduct material; and (2) greater-than-class C radioactive waste. Establishes programs to promote: (1) hybrid vehicles; (2) hybrid retrofit and electric conversion technologies for combustion engine vehicles; and (3) alternative fuels for dual-fueled vehicles. Sets forth implementation guidelines for pilot programs that target: (1) alternative fueled vehicles; (2) fuel cell buses and alternative fuel and altra-low sulfur diesel fuel (clean) school buses; (3) advanced vehicles; and (4) hybrid vehicles. Instructs the Secretary of Energy to conduct programs that address: (1) production of hydrogen from diverse energy sources; and (2) solar and wind technologies. Directs the Secretary to conduct: (1) a secondary electric vehicle battery use program; and (2) a Next Generation Lighting Initiative. Directs the Secretary of Energy to implement initiatives regarding: (1) energy efficiency; (2) distributed energy and electric energy systems; (3) renewable energy; (4) nuclear energy; (5) fossil energy; (6) ultra-deepwater and unconventional natural gas, and other petroleum resources; (7) energy sciences; (8) energy and environment; (9) United States-Israel cooperation; and (10) Department of Energy management. Electric Reliability Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Power Act to grant Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulatory jurisdiction over an Electric Reliability Organization. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to: (1) require electric utilities to make net metering and smart metering available upon consumer request; and (2) terminate mandatory purchase and sale requirements pertaining to cogeneration and small power production utilities. Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 - Repeals the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Amends the Federal Power Act to: (1) direct FERC to promulgate market transparency rules governing wholesale electric energy and transmission services; and (2) prohibit round trip trading. Authorizes the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue rules that prohibit in the absence of consumer consent: (1) the change of selection of an electric utility ("slamming"); and (2) the sale of goods and services to an electric consumer ("cramming"). Revises Federal Power Act requirements for electric utility mergers. Directs FERC to convene a joint board to study the issue of security constrained economic dispatch for a market region. Retains the effect of Department of Energy Order No. 202-03-2 (August 28, 2003) regarding transmission security. Extends the attainment date for certain downwind ozone nonattainment areas. Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (Administrator) to promulgate regulations ensuring that domestic motor vehicle fuel consumption includes renewable fuel containing ethanol. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to make grants to provide assistance to merchant producers of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in making the transition from producing MTBE to producing iso-octane, iso-octene, alkylates, or renewable fuels. Prohibits the use of MTBE in motor vehicle fuel by December 31, 2014, in any state that does not specifically authorize it. Authorizes the President to determine by June 30, 2014, that this prohibition against the use of MTBE in motor vehicle fuel shall not take place and that the legal authority to prohibit its use in motor vehicle fuel shall become null and void. Eliminates the oxygen content requirement for reformulated gasoline. Conditions the Administrator's approval of state fuel restrictions upon a finding that they will neither cause fuel supply or distribution interruptions nor have a significant adverse impact on fuel producibility. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to: (1) make loan guarantees for private sector construction of facilities for the processing and conversion of municipal solid waste and cellulosic biomass into fuel ethanol and other commercial byproducts; and (2) provide grants for construction of ethanol production facilities. Underground Storage Tank Compliance Act of 2005 - Amends the Solid Waste Disposal Act to require the Administrator to distribute specified fund percentages from the Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund to states to pay costs for regulation of underground storage tanks (USTs). Amends the Clean Air Act to cite conditions under which the Administrator may waive the prohibition against the use of extreme and unusual fuel or fuel additive supplies ("boutique fuels").
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Veterans' Employment Transition Support Act of 2005 or the VETS Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a general business tax credit for hiring veterans who served in a combat zone or a hazardous duty area and were honorably discharged from active duty. Sets the amount of such credit at 40 percent of the first-year wages of such veterans and increases the percentage of such credit for disabled veterans based upon their disability ratings.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Recognizes Arthur Miller's extraordinary contributions to American literature and theater. Honors him as a great American and pioneer in the annals of American history. Commends the University of Michigan for its commitment to build the Arthur Miller Theatre, a fitting monument to one of its most distinguished alumni.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2005 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish aquatic invasive species prevention requirements for all vessels operating in U.S. waters. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to promulgate regulations for ballast water management standards and certification procedures. Directs the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force to establish a priority pathway management program that identifies those pathways that pose the highest risk for the introduction of aquatic invasive species unless further managed. Prohibits the importation of live aquatic organisms of a species not in trade without specified screening and approval. Requires the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to implement a national system of ecological surveys for rapid early detection and monitoring of invasive species. Requires the Task Force to review and approve State rapid response contingency strategies. Requires the Invasive Species Council to establish a Federal rapid response team for each of the ten Federal regions. Requires the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) to complete construction of and operate the Chicago River Ship and Sanitary Canal dispersal barrier project to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. Requires the Invasive Species Council to coordinate with the Task Force to combat aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force to recommend to appropriate Federal agencies additions to the list of aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force, the Council, and the Secretary of State to coordinate activities to ensure that international efforts to prevent and manage aquatic invasive species are coordinated with U.S. policies.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Aquatic Invasive Species Research Act - Requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Smithsonian Institution, and the U.S. Geological Survey (administering agencies) to: (1) enter into a memorandum of understanding regarding the implementation and coordination of this Act; and (2) develop a marine and fresh-water research program to support efforts to assess introduction rates and patterns of invasive nonnative species into the aquatic ecosystem, and efforts to detect, prevent, and eradicate them. Requires the administering agencies to: (1) develop standardized protocols for conducting ecological and pathway surveys of such species; (2) conduct research to identify the relationship between the introduction and establishment of such species; and (3) analyze the data collected and develop a profile that determines whether a species planned for importation is likely to invade an aquatic ecosystem. . Requires the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a central, national pathway and ecological surveys database of information. Makes the Invasive Species Council responsible for disseminating such information and develop a national strategy for how it will be shared with Federal, State, and local entities. Requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a grant program to fund research, development, demonstration and verification of environmentally sound, cost-effective technologies and methods to control and eradicate such species. Reauthorizes the ship pathway technology demonstration program. Requires the Coast Guard and the EPA to develop a research program to support implementation of ship pathway standards to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by ships. Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program for researchers at institutions of higher education and museums to carry our research programs in systematics and taxonomy.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize expansion of Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services to diseases, conditions, or disorders other than diabetes or a renal disease.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Real Estate Investment Thrift Savings Act - Amends Federal law relating to the Federal Employees' Retirement System to provide for the establishment of a Real Estate Stock Investment Fund under the Thrift Savings Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Imposes an additional duty rate of 27.5 percent ad valorem on any article imported into the United States that is the growth, product, or manufacture of the People's Republic of China (PRC) unless the President certifies to Congress that: (1) the PRC is no longer manipulating the exchange rate between its currency and the U.S. dollar in order to prevent an effective balance of payments and gain an unfair international trade advantage; and (2) the PRC's currency is valued in accordance with accepted market-based trading policies. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to begin negotiations with the PRC for adoption of a market-based currency valuation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) so long as all of the active members of such clubs are full-time students at the college or university with which such clubs are associated. Defines "collegiate housing and infrastructure grants" to include grants to provide, improve, operate, or maintain collegiate housing.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Renewing the Dream Tax Credit Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow homebuilders and investors a general business tax credit for building or substantially rehabilitating residences for low and moderate-income individuals in certain areas, including a rural area, an Indian reservation, or an area of chronic economic distress. Sets forth rules for the calculation of such credit and its administration and allocation by the States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the government of the Russian Federation should issue an unambiguous admission and condemnation of the illegal occupation and annexation by the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991 of the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that national and community organizations and health care providers should be applauded for promoting awareness about viral hepatitis. Calls on the Federal Government to: (1) raise awareness about the importance of viral hepatitis prevention education, prevention measures, counseling, and treatment; (2) increase funding for prevention education, prevention measures, and research; (3) increase efforts to find more effective treatments and cures; and (4) consider ways to improve access to high-quality health care services for early detection and treatment. Calls on the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand basic, clinical, and genetic research regarding viral hepatitis. Urges the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to give priority consideration to establishing a national viral hepatitis roundtable to provide leadership, support, and organization.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Chinese Currency Act of 2005 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 regarding countervailing duty investigations to revise the definition of countervailable subsidy to include exchange-rate manipulation. Defines "exchange-rate manipulation" as protracted large-scale intervention by an authority to undervalue its currency in the exchange market that prevents effective balance-of-payments adjustment or that gains an unfair competitive advantage over any other country. Specifies factors for determining whether exchange-rate manipulation is occurring and a benefit thereby conferred. Applies the definition of "exchange-rate manipulation" to the Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) or any other public entity within its territory. Specifies: (1) factors for determining whether exchange-rate manipulation is occurring in the PRC; (2) actions to be taken, if a petition for an investigation alleges and reasonably documents that it is occurring; and (3) the standard for presidential action to prevent or remedy the market disruption at issue (including import relief and its modification and extension). Directs the Secretary of Defense, upon proper request or resolution, to report to the U.S. International Trade Commission any determination as to whether or not the articles of the PRC that are the subject of the investigation are like or directly competitive with domestically produced articles critical to the U.S. defense industrial base. Prohibits the Secretary from procuring, directly or indirectly, such products if the Commission or the President or the U.S. Trade Representative makes an affirmative determination that the Secretary's determination is accurate. Provides for presidential waiver of the prohibition in the national security interests of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Nanomanufacturing Investment Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to establish: (1) the Nanomanufacturing Investment Partnership, in partnership with private sector investors, if $250 million is made available for such purposes from the private sector within two years after this Act's enactment; and (2) an advisory board. Directs that: (1) the Partnership provide funding for precommercial nanomanufacturing research and development (but not for basic research) projects, through specified funding mechanisms in a manner that advances the commercialization of nanomanufacturing technologies to address critical scientific and engineering needs of national importance, especially regarding projects that would not be adequately funded or pursued by the private sector or pursuant to other law, and to increase the commercial application of federally supported research results; and (2) to the extent that a sufficient number of viable applications have been submitted, at least 85 percent of the funding provided by the Partnership be provided to startup companies. Authorizes the Partnership to provide funding through direct investment in nanomanufacturing firms, contracts, loans or loan guarantees, unsecured subordinated debt, or any other mechanism designed to advance nanomanufacuring technologies. Requires that each transaction through which the Partnership provides such funding provide for the return of fair and reasonable amounts resulting from the commercialization of technologies developed with the funding provided by the Partnership, and be distributed as specified. Directs that: (1) each applicant for funding assistance be required to provide a portion of the cost; and (2) each application be peer reviewed.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Services for Ending Long-Term Homelessness Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to design national strategies for providing services in supportive housing that will assist in ending chronic homelessness and to implement programs that address chronic homelessness. Requires the Secretary to make matching grants to eligible entities to provide services that promote recovery and self-sufficiency and that address barriers to housing stability to chronically homeless individuals in, or who are scheduled to become residents of, permanent supportive housing and to other individuals and families who have voluntarily chosen to seek other housing opportunities after a period of tenancy in supportive housing. Directs the Secretary to require grantees to report data regarding the performance outcomes of projects carried out under this Act, which shall include measuring and reporting specific performance outcomes related to the long-term goals of: (1) increasing stability within the community for people who have been chronically homeless; and (2) decreasing recurrence of periods of homelessness.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Paul Wellstone Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to prohibit a group health plan or group health coverage that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits from imposing treatment limitations or financial requirements on the mental health benefits unless comparable limitations or requirements are imposed on medical and surgical benefits. Excludes such requirements for plans and coverage for small employers. Allows a plan or coverage that provides in-network mental health benefits to provide out-of-network mental health benefits using treatment limitations or financial requirements that are not comparable to those applied to medical-surgical benefits if the in-network mental health benefits are provided at parity with medical-surgical benefits and with reasonable access. Requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to: (1) study the effects of this Act on health insurance costs and access and quality of health care; and (2) provide a cost estimation of extending such requirements to the treatment of substance abuse and chemical dependency.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Directs the Commandant of the Coast Guard, upon the decommissioning of the Coast Guard Cutter MACKINAW, to convey all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to such vessel to the City and County of Cheboygan, Michigan (recipient), if the recipient meets specified conditions, including that it: (1) use the vessel for purposes of a museum; and (2) hold the Government harmless for claims arising from exposure to asbestos and other hazardous materials after the conveyance.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Resource Efficient Appliance Incentives Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a business tax credit for the production of certain household appliances (clothes washers, dishwashers, and refrigerators) with a specified energy efficiency rating. Imposes an aggregate limitation of $75 million on such credit for all taxable years ($35 million for certain other appliances), and an annual limitation based on taxpayer gross receipts (two percent of taxpayer average annual gross receipts for the three previous taxable years).
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that an appropriate site in Arlington National Cemetery should be provided for a memorial marker to honor the memory of the 40 members of the U.S. Armed Forces who lost their lives in the air crash at Bakers Creek, Australia, on June 14, 1943.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Support our Scouts Act of 2005 - Prohibits any Federal law from being construed to limit any Federal agency from providing any form of support for a youth organization (including the Boy Scouts of America or any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America) that would result in that Federal agency providing less support to that youth organization (or any similar organization chartered under Federal law relating to the Boy Scouts of America) than was provided during each of the preceding four fiscal years. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to prohibit any State or unit of general local government that has a designated open forum, limited public forum, or nonpublic forum and that is a recipient of assistance under the Act from denying equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, or discriminate against, any youth organization, including the Boy Scouts of America or any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, that wishes to conduct a meeting or otherwise participate in that designated open forum, limited public forum, or nonpublic forum.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to issue a Combat Medevac Badge to each person who served in combat on or after June 25, 1950, as a pilot or crew member of a helicopter medical evacuation ambulance.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends specified law prohibiting the killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia to declare that nothing in it or any other provision of law shall authorize or be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Redefines "machine gun" to include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on possession of handgun restricted pistol bullets; and (3) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked. Repeals the definition of restricted pistol bullet as any bullet designed for use in a pistol which, when fired from a pistol with a barrel of five inches or less in length, is capable of penetrating commercially available body armor with a penetration resistance equal to or greater than that of 18 layers of kevlar. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends Federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person. Amends the District of Columbia Code to extend to firearms generally (currently, only to pistols) the prohibition against carrying such a weapon either openly or concealed within the District without a license issued pursuant to D.C. law. Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Cool and Efficient Buildings Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a 20-year depreciation recovery period, calculated on a straight line basis, for heating, ventilation, air conditioning, or commercial refrigeration systems installed in nonresidential buildings.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act of 2005 or Johanna's Law - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a national campaign to increase the awareness and knowledge of women with respect to gynecologic cancers, which shall include: (1) maintaining a supply of written materials to provide information to the public on gynecologic cancers; and (2) developing and placing public service announcements to encourage women to discuss their risks of gynecologic cancers with their physicians. Requires the Secretary to award grants to nonprofit private entities to test different outreach and education strategies for increasing such awareness among women and health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Security and Fairness Enhancement for America Act of 2005 or the SAFE for America Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the diversity immigrant program.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Amends the Clean Air Act to establish critical use exemptions for methyl bromide for 2006 and 2007, incorporating critical use exemptions approved by the Parties to the Montreal Protocol and submitted by the U.S. State Department at the first Extraordinary Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Lebanon and Syria Liberation Act - States that U.S. sanctions, controls, and regulations relating to Syria shall remain in effect until the President certifies that: (1) Syria has ceased support for terrorism, has dismantled biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons programs and has committed to combat their proliferation, has withdrawn from Lebanon and respects the boundaries and sovereignty of all neighboring countries, and upholds human rights and civil liberties; and (2) sovereignty has been restored to Lebanon. Imposes specified trade, assistance, and military sanctions, as appropriate, on persons or countries that transfer goods or technology so as to contribute to Syria's biological, chemical, nuclear, or advanced conventional weapons programs. Sets forth diplomatic measures intended to achieve such nonproliferation. Directs the President to provide assistance to support a democratic transition in Syria and the restoration of sovereign, democratic rule in Lebanon. Authorizes appropriations.
![Official portrait of Rep. Upton, Fred [R-MI-6]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/u000031_200.jpg)