United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
New GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century Act - Revises, expands, or provides new rights and benefits for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their dependents and survivors, including, among others: (1) an FY 2006 increase in funding for veterans' medical care; (2) a prohibition until the end of FY2006 on medication copayments and on the imposition of a health care system enrollment fee; (3) an extension until 2010 of Vietnam veterans' eligibility for readjustment counseling services; (4) the collection of data from pre- and post-deployment health assessments, and preventive maintenance post-deployment intervention; (5) the prevention, early detection, and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for returning troops; (6) a Department of Defense/Department of Veterans Affairs Council on Post-Deployment Mental Health; (7) survivors' and dependents' eligibility for family and bereavement counseling; (8) certain educational initiatives; (9) a National Steering Committee on PTSD Education and a PTSD public awareness program; (10) certain benefits and outreach services for disabled veterans; (11) an increase in survivors' dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC); (12) certain pay increases and bonuses for active-duty members; (13) an expansion of benefits under under both the active-duty and reserve Montgomery GI Bill programs; (14) employment assistance for homeless veterans; (15) expanded reserve member eligibility under the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program); (16) certain recruitment and retention incentives for Selected Reserve members; and (17) certain pay matters with respect to Federal employees performing active-duty reserve service. Repeals the: (1) DIC offset from Survivor Benefit Plan surviving spouse annuities; (2) pay reduction and high school graduation requirement for participation in the Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance program; (3) delimiting date for entitlement to basic educational assistance under such program; (4) time limitation on the exclusion of combat zone compensation by reason of hospitalization; (5) tax cut (implemented in 2001) for high-income taxpayers; (6) scheduled termination of the phaseout of personal exemptions; and (6) scheduled phaseout of the overall limitation on itemized deductions.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Student Bill of Rights - Directs the Secretary of Education to make annual determinations as to whether each state's public school system provides all its students with educational resources to succeed academically and in life. Requires such education to enable students to: (1) acquire knowledge and skills necessary for responsible citizenship; (2) meet challenging academic achievement standards; and (3) compete and succeed in a global economy. Requires each system to do so through: (1) providing specified fundamentals of educational opportunity to students at each public elementary and secondary school; (2) providing educational services in school districts that receive funds for disadvantaged students that are, taken as a whole, at least comparable to educational services provided in school districts not receiving such funds; and (3) complying with any final federal or state court order in any matter concerning the adequacy or equitableness of the system. Requires withholding of specified portions of its federal funding for administrative expenses if a system: (1) fails to meet a yearly interim goal; (2) does not remedy, after two school years, a failure to provide comparable educational services to schools that receive funds for disadvantaged children; or (3) does not comply with a court order. Allows students or parents aggrieved by violations of this Act to bring civil actions for enforcement in federal district courts. Directs the Commissioner of Education Statistics to study the effects of educational disparities on economic growth and on national defense.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2005
Honors the victims of the 1975 through 1979 genocide in Cambodia. Welcomes the establishment of an international criminal tribunal to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Cambodian genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Gas Price Spike Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a windfall profit tax on crude oil, natural gas, or products of crude oil or natural gas. Defines "windfall profit" as so much of the profit on a sale of crude oil, natural gas, or related products as exceeds a reasonable profit. Establishes the Reasonable Profits Board to determine levels of reasonable profit from the sale of such products. Allows a tax credit for the purchase of certain fuel-efficient, American-made passenger vehicles. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to operators of mass transit systems, including bus and commuter rail systems, to reduce passenger fares on such systems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Save America Comprehensive Immigration Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide increased protections and eligibility for family-sponsored immigrants. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to adjust the status of aliens who would otherwise be inadmissible (due to unlawful presence, document fraud, or other specified grounds of inadmissibility) if such aliens have been in the United States for at least five years and meet other requirements. Establishes the Task Force on Fraudulent Immigration Documents. Authorizes S (witness or informant) nonimmigrant status for aliens in possession of critical reliable information concerning commercial alien smuggling or trafficking in immigration documents. Requires petitioners for nonimmigrant labor to describe their efforts to recruit lawful permanent residents (LPRs) or U.S. citizens. Makes permanent an INA provision allowing adjustment of status of certain aliens for whom family-sponsored or employment-based applications or petitions were filed by a specified date. Lessens immigration consequences for minor criminal offenses. Eliminates retroactive changes in grounds of inadmissibility and removal. Increases the worldwide level of diversity immigrants. Authorizes adjustment of status for certain nationals or citizens of Haiti and Liberia. Eliminates mandatory detention in expedited removal proceedings. Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) waive document fraud as a ground of inadmissibility; and (2) address determinations with respect to children. Eliminates the one-year filing requirement for asylum applicants. Includes gender persecution within the particular social group category of persecution. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to eliminate a provision prohibiting restrictions on the communication of immigration status information by a government entity. Amends the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Welfare Reform Act) to eliminate a provision requiring an alien's verification of eligibility for public benefits. Eliminates state authority under INA to carry out immigration functions. Amends the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to clarify eligibility for relief. Amends the Violence Against Women Act of 2000 (VAWA) to apply that Act's deportation protections for transitional relief to all VAWA petitioners. Provides a range of immigration protections for abused aliens. Amends the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998, to provide access to legal services for such aliens. Amends the Welfare Reform Act to make such aliens eligible for certain public benefits. Authorizes the Attorney General to award trafficking-related law enforcement training grants to eligible entities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 May 2005
Declares that the existence of racially restrictive covenants in housing documents is inconsistent with the principles and values embodied in Supreme Court precedent and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and causes harm to not only property owners but to all members of American society. Commends California and the Missouri State Senate for taking roles in such covenants' removal. Urges States to enact laws that: (1) will more readily permit property owners to remove racially restrictive covenants from their property titles, deeds, or other documents; and (2) require homeowner associations to strike racially restrictive covenants from all declarations or other governing documents.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Amends the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 to declare that, if the following conditions exist, the presumption of abuse guidelines do not apply and the bankruptcy court is prohibited from dismissing or converting a Chapter 7 petition based on any form of means testing: (1) while the debtor is on, and during the 180-day period after release from active duty in the U.S. military service; or (2) while the debtor is performing, and during the 180-day period after the debtor is no longer performing, a homeland defense activity performed for at least 60 days; and (3) if after September 11, 2001, the debtor was called to active duty or performed homeland defense activity, while a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces or a member of the National Guard.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to: (1) the Russian Federation's compliance with the minimum standards of democratic governance and rule of law characteristic of Group of 8 (G8) member countries; (2) conditioning participation by the Russian Federation in the G8 on acceptance of, and adherence to, the democratic standards and principles adhered to by the other G8 nations; and (3) steps to suspend Russian Federation participation until the President determines and reports to Congress that the Russian Government is committed to respecting and upholding these democratic principles.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American veterans. Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, the coins should be struck at the United States Mint at West Point, New York, Limits the period for coin issuance to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010. Imposes a $10 surcharge per coin, to be distributed to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for Medicare coverage of substitute adult day care services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for purposes of rehabilitating the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
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 · 21 April 2005
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2005 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Private Prison Information Act of 2005 - Provides that each nongovernmental entity contracting with the Federal Government to provide a prison or other correctional facility shall have the same duty to release information about its operation as a Government owned and run facility has under the Freedom of Information Act. Authorizes any party aggrieved by a violation of that duty to obtain relief in a civil action.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Generating Opportunity by Forgiving Educational Debt for Service Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of Federal employees student loan repayments by the Federal Government on behalf of such employees. Exempts such repayments from social security taxes. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to include in the annual report to Congress on student loan repayment benefits information identifying Federal agencies that have not provided such benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Celebrates the life and accomplishments of Jimmy "Wink" Winkfield, one of only four jockeys to win back-to-back Kentucky Derbies, who continuously overcame racism and other significant obstacles during his lifetime. Recognizes the significant contributions and excellence of African American jockeys and trainers in horse racing and in the history of the Kentucky Derby.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Observes the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Republic of Vietnam to the Communist forces of North Vietnam. Supports all individuals taking part in events in Washington, D.C. and across the United States to observe this tragic event.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Recognizes the valuable and significant contributions of Indian Americans to American society. Honors the economic innovation attributable to graduates of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Urges all Americans to recognize the contributions of Indian Americans and have a greater appreciation of the role they have played in helping to advance and enrich American society.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Supports the people of the Togolese Republic in their desire for free elections and a democratic government. Calls on Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to encourage the Government of Togo and the Togolese people to seek a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government. Recognizes the positive steps taken by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and encourages ECOWAS to continue monitoring and promoting democracy in Togo and in its other member countries. Encourages the African Union, the international community, and recognized international organizations to monitor the presidential elections and post-election activities in Togo. Requests the Department of State to determine the legitimacy of the April 2005 elections.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the maritime boundaries established in the 1923 Lausanne Treaty of Peace, the 1932 Convention and Protocol Between Italy and Turkey, and the 1947 Paris Treaty of Peace, under which the Dodecanese islands and adjacent islets were ceded by Italy to Greece, are the borders between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean Sea; and (2) any party, including Turkey, objecting to such boundaries should seek redress in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
Korean Immigration Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the immigration of Koreans into the United States and the significant contributions of Korean Americans to this Nation. Restricts such issuance to the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2011.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act - Declares it is U.S. policy to protect and preserve living and other resources of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (Farallones NMS) and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Cordell Bank NMS) marine environments. Makes certain adjustments to expand the boundaries of the Farallones NMS and the Cordell NMS. Prohibits within the Farallones NMS and the Cordell Bank NMS: (1) the leasing, exploration, development, production, or transporting by pipeline of minerals or hydrocarbons; (2) the conduct of aquaculture (with exceptions); and (3) the discharge of materials and substances or a change in the salinity. Prohibits the conduct of aquaculture within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Directs the Secretary of Commerce to complete an interim supplemental management plan for each sanctuary that focuses on protective resource management in the areas added by this Act. Requires the Secretary to review the operations of the Farallones NMS to determine whether area added to it by this Act shall be designated as a new and separate NMS.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Family Planning State Empowerment Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow States to provide family planning services and supplies to certain individuals not otherwise eligible for Medicaid. Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage, from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Amends PHSA to apply those prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. Preventing Teen Pregnancy Act - Amends PHSA to authorize the Secretary to award grants to public and private entities to establish or expand teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Truth in Contraception Act - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to prohibit U.S. courts from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any assertion of rights by an individual (currently, by a designated Cuban national) of a mark, trade name, or commercial name that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated by the Cuban government unless the original owner of such mark or name, or such owner's bona fide successor, has expressly consented. Applies such prohibition only if the individual asserting the rights knew or had reason to know at the time of acquiring the rights asserted that the mark or name was the same or substantially similar to the mark or name used in connection with the business or assets that were confiscated.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Great Cats and Rare Canids Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance for projects for the conservation of rare felids and rare canids. Authorizes the Secretary to convene an advisory group of individuals representing public and private organizations actively involved in the conservation of felids and canids. Restricts the use of grants for captive breeding or display purposes. Establishes in the Multinatonal Species Conservation Fund as a separate account the Great Cats and Rare Canids Conservation Fund. Defines "rare canid" to: (1) mean any canid species, subspecies, or population that is not native to the United States and Canada, and is included in the threatened or endangered lists of the World Conservation Union, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and (2) include such a subspecies or population of dhole, gray wolf, ethiopian wolf, african wild dog, or maned wolf. Defines "rare felid" to: (1) mean any felid species, subspecies, or population that is not native to the United States and Canada, and is included in the threatened or endangered lists of the World Conservation Union, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and (2) include such a subspecies or population of lion, leopard, jaguar, snow leopard, clouded leopard, cheetah, or iberian lynx. Does not include any tiger.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require any pharmacy receiving prescription drugs or prescription devices in interstate commerce to: (1) ensure that any in stock prescription that one pharmacist refuses to fill on the basis of a personal belief is filled by another pharmacist employed by the pharmacy without delay; (2) ensure that any individual who presents a prescription for an item that is not in stock which one pharmacist refuses to order on the basis of a personal belief is immediately informed that the product can be ordered by the pharmacy and to order such product without delay; and (3) not employ any pharmacist who engages in any conduct with the intent to prevent or deter an individual from filling a valid prescription, including refusing to return a prescription form, refusing to transfer a prescription, or subjecting the individual to humiliation or harassment. Provides that this Act does not require the pharmacy to keep any particular product in stock nor does it apply with respect to a product for a health condition if the pharmacy does not keep in stock any product for such condition. Sets forth civil penalties. Allows a private cause of action for a violation of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Localism in Broadcasting Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to reduce from eight to three years the term for radio or television broadcasting licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Requires full FCC review of at least five percent of the applications filed each year. Requires every broadcaster to file electronically with the FCC a copy of its public interest issues and programs list and its children's programming reports within ten days after the end of each quarter. Allows a waiver of such requirement for good cause shown. Requires such list and reports to be made available on publicly accessible websites of such stations. Requires the standards for a station's license renewal to include review of the licensee's other stations (if any). Requires the FCC, within nine months after the enactment of this Act, to complete action on two specified proceedings concerning disclosure requirements and public interest obligations of television broadcast licensees.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Nonproliferation Treaty Enhancement Resolution of 2005 - Reaffirms congressional support for the objectives of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and expresses support for appropriate measures to strengthen the NPT. Calls on all parties participating in the Seventh Review Conference on the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons to make good faith efforts to: (1) establish more effective controls on critical technologies that can be used to produce nuclear weapons material; (2) ensure universal adoption of the Additional Protocol to the NPT and support the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) authority to monitor nonproliferation compliance; (3) use diplomacy and economic leverage to halt uranium enrichment and other nuclear fuel cycle activities in Iran, and verifiably dismantle North Korea's nuclear weapons capacity; (4) accelerate programs to eliminate nuclear weapons and to safeguard nuclear weapons-grade fissile materials; (5) establish procedures to ensure that a state cannot retain access to controlled nuclear materials, equipment, technology, and components acquired for peaceful purposes or avoid United Nations (UN) sanctions for violations of the NPT by withdrawing from the NPT; and (6) implement the NPT-related disarmament obligations. Affirms congressional support for the Proliferation Security Initiative, and urges additional nations to join the Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act - Recognizes the suffering and the loyalty of the people of Guam during the Japanese occupation of Guam in World War II. Establishes in the Treasury the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Fund (which shall terminate on the later of three years after the date of enactment of this Act or one year after disbursement of all Fund payments). Directs: (1) the Secretary of the Interior to make specified payments to eligible family members as successor claimants to persons who were killed, injured, interned, or subjected to forced labor or marches resulting from, or incident to, such occupation and subsequent liberation; (2) the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States (FCSC) to establish the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Commission to adjudicate such claims; and (3) the Secretary to establish the non-profit Guam World War II Remembrance Trust Fund, which shall undertake educational, medical, and other endeavors to benefit the people of Guam.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Family and Workplace Balancing Act of 2005 - Balancing Act of 2005 - Provides assistance for working families through: (1) family and medical care leave; (2) expanded child care for young children and incentives for child care providers; (3) preschool, in-school, and afterschool nutrition and education; (4) temporary and part-time workers pension and health plan benefits; and (5) encouragement of business use of employee telecommuting. Family Income to Respond to Significant Transitions Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to make five-year grants to a State or local government to pay for the Federal share of the cost of carrying out projects that assist families by providing wage replacement for eligible individuals responding to caregiving needs resulting from the birth or adoption of a son or daughter or other family caregiving needs. Family and Medical Leave Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) to allow employees covered by FMLA to take up to four hours during any 30-day period, and up to 24 hours during any 12-month period, of parental involvement leave to participate in or attend their children's or grandchildren's educational and extracurricular activities. Amends Federal civil service law to apply the same parental involvement leave allowance to Federal employees. Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to authorize additional funds for expanding child care activities for young children less than three years of age. Establishes: (1) the Child Care Provider Development and Retention Grant Program; and (2) the Child Care Provider Scholarship Program. Healthy Early Education Workforce Grant Program Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to allot funds to eligible States (and Indian tribes and tribal organizations) to pay for the Federal share of the cost of providing access to affordable health benefits coverage for: (1) eligible child care providers; and (2) at State option, the spouses, domestic partners, and dependents of such providers. Child Care Construction and Renovation Incentive Grants Act - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to provide for use of community development block grants to establish child care facilities. Amends the National Housing Act to provide for insurance for mortgages: (1) on new and rehabilitated child care facilities; and (2) for acquisition of or the refinancing of debt on existing child care facilities. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make technical and financial assistance grants to acquire or improve child care facilities or equipment. Directs the Secretary of HHS to establish a business child care incentive grant program. Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of HHS to make grants to State agencies to develop full-day, full-year universal prekindergarten programs for all children three, four, and five years old. Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a universal free school breakfast program without regard to family incomes. Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program of healthy school nutrition environment incentive grants. Afterschool Education Enhancement Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require State educational agencies to give priority to 21st century community learning centers program applications submitted jointly by eligible entities. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for treatment of employees working at less than full-time under participation, vesting, and accrual rules governing pension plans and under group health plans. United States Business Telework Act - Directs the Secretary of Labor to conduct, in not more than five States, a pilot program to raise awareness about telework among employers, and encourage them to offer telework options to employees.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and to establish penalties for knowingly making available a computer-assisted remote hunt (i.e., using a computer or other device, equipment, or software to allow a person remotely to control the aiming and discharge of a weapon to kill or injure an animal while not in the targeted animal's physical presence).
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Stand By Your Internet Ad Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to: (1) apply to campaign communications transmitted through the Internet the same presentation requirements currently applicable to their counterpart authorized printed campaign communications, including communications expressly advocating the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate; (2) require communications paid for and authorized by a candidate, and communications paid for by other persons but authorized by a candidate, to include a clearly readable statement identifying the candidate and stating that he or she has approved the communication; (3) require such communications transmitted through the Internet to meet applicable requirements with respect to any audio and video portions; (4) subject to disclosure requirements campaign communications made through prerecorded telephone calls; and (5) provide for the treatment of prerecorded telephone calls as audio communications, thereby subjecting them to applicable requirements pertaining to communications transmitted through radio.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Pakistan Proliferation Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the U.S. Government has an interest in knowing the full extent of the illegal international nuclear proliferation network established and operated by the Pakistani nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan; and (2) Dr. Khan should give the U.S. Government a full accounting of such network. Prohibits U.S. military assistance to Pakistan until the President certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that: (1) the Government of Pakistan has provided the United States with unrestricted opportunities to interview Dr. Khan, and has complied with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) requests regarding such network; and (2) the U.S. Government has determined such network's full scope of activities and participants, determined the nature of its connection to al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, and, in conjunction with the IAEA, has confirmed its dismantling.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Urges the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to transfer Charles Ghankay Taylor, former President of the Republic of Liberia, to the jurisdiction of the Special Court for Sierra Leone to undergo trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Ending Tax Breaks for Discrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny all tax deductions for business expenses (including advertising expenses) associated with the use of a private club that discriminates on the basis of sex, race, or color.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to make grants and create a program within the National Park Service to support and work in partnership with citizens, governmental and tribal organizations, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations for the purpose of identifying, protecting, and acquiring historic confinement sites where Japanese Americans were detained during World War II in order to gain inspiration from these sites and to demonstrate the Nation's commitment to equal justice. Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Japanese American National Heritage Coalition, to make grants to citizens, States, local, and tribal governments, other public entities, educational institutions, and private nonprofit organizations to assist in carrying out the actions described above. Provides for the Secretary to require a 25 percent non-Federal match for funds provided under this Act. Terminates the force and effect of this Act two years after the disbursement to grantees of the total amount of funds authorized to be appropriated under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Recognizes the 140th anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution (prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude) on December 6, 1865. Encourages the American people to educate and instill pride and purpose into their communities about the history of liberation and the civil rights movement in the United States and to observe such anniversary each year.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) the thousands of innocent people executed at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 1995, along with all individuals who were victimized during the conflict and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1992 to 1995, should be remembered and honored; (2) the Serbian policies of aggression and ethnic cleansing meet the terms defining genocide; (3) foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, who have risked, and in some cases lost, their lives in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be remembered and honored; (4) the United Nations (U.N.) and its member states should accept their share of responsibility for allowing the Srebrenica massacre and genocide to occur; (5) it is in the U.S. national interest that the responsible individuals should be held accountable for their actions; (6) persons indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should be apprehended and transferred to The Hague without further delay, and countries should meet their obligations to cooperate with the ICTY; and (7) the United States should support the independence and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and peace and stability in southeastern Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Recognizes the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of Western Bohemia during World War II which culminated in an Allied victory that assured the defeat of Nazi Germany and ended the war in Europe two weeks later. Honors those individuals who gave their lives during the Liberation of Western Bohemia. Reaffirms the bonds of friendship between the United States and the citizens of the Czech Republic.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Commemorates the 60th anniversary of the passing of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States. Honors his vital legacy and his profound contributions to the Nation. Calls upon all Americans to honor President Roosevelt for his steadfast leadership and extensive and lasting contributions to the security and prosperity of all Americans.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Declares that the House of Representatives: (1) honors Johnnie Cochran, Jr., for his service to the Nation, his pioneering work as a lawyer, author, TV commentator, and philanthropist, and his personal integrity and professional excellence; and (2) expresses its deepest condolences to his family, friends, colleagues, and admirers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Inclusive Home Design Act of 2005 - Requires, with exceptions, newly constructed, federally assisted single family houses and town houses to include at least one level that complies with the following accessibility features for persons with disabilities: (1) accessible entrance; (2) accessible interior doors; (3) accessible environmental controls; and (4) accessible habitable space and an accessible bathroom. Requires: (1) each applicant for Federal financial assistance to submit compliance assurances to the relevant Federal agency; and (2) each person who arranges for design or construction of a covered dwelling to submit architectural and construction plans for State or local approval. Prohibits Federal financial assistance to a State or local government unit unless the recipient is taking certain enforcement actions with regard to covered dwellings. Permits: (1) private civil actions in a U.S. District Court or State court for violations under this Act; and (2) the Attorney General to commence civil actions or intervene in civil actions under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Darfur Genocide Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide. Directs the President to: (1) block the property and assets of civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan and their family members implicated in the Darfur atrocities, and property and assets controlled by the National Congress Party; and (2) prohibit an entity engaged in any commercial activity in Sudan from raising capital in the United States, or from trading its securities in any capital market in the United States. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) prohibit visas for civil and military officials of the Government of Sudan, and militia members and others implicated in the Darfur atrocities; (2) reduce the Sudanese diplomatic mission in Washington, D.C., and restrict or control the remaining staff's movement within the United States; and (3) instruct the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) to oppose any UN or other international conference from being held in Sudan. Authorizes the President to: (1) use force to stop the Darfur genocide, including establishment of a no-fly zone and use of unmanned armed planes; and (2) deny U.S. port entry to ships doing business in the Sudan oil sector and /or with the Sudan armed forces.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
NICS Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act to require: (1) the head of each Federal agency that has records relating to persons for whom receipt of a firearm would violate Federal or State law to provide that information to the Attorney General for inclusion in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS); (2) the agency, upon being made aware that the basis under which a record was made available no longer applies, to correct the record and notify the Attorney General; and (3) the Secretary of Homeland Security to make available to the Attorney General records relevant to a determination that a person is disqualified from possessing or receiving a firearm and information about a change in such person's status for removal from NICS, where appropriate. Directs the Attorney General to make grants to: (1) States and Indian tribal governments to establish or upgrade information and identification technologies for firearms eligibility determinations; and (2) States for use by the State court system to improve the automation and transmittal to Federal and State record repositories of criminal history dispositions, records relevant to determining whether a person has been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, court orders, and mental health adjudications or commitments. Requires: (1) the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics to study and evaluate NICS operations and to report annually to Congress and to specified States regarding best practices; and (2) the Comptroller General to conduct an audit of the expenditure of all funds appropriated for criminal records improvement to determine how the funds were expended.
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.
![Official portrait of Rep. Watson, Diane E. [D-CA-33]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000794_200.jpg)