United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2009
Promoting Lending to America's Small Businesses Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to increase the total permissible amount of member business loans by an insured credit union (excluding those made to nonprofit religious organizations) to a limit of 25% of the credit union's total assets. Increases from $50,000 to $250,000 the maximum total extensions of credit a borrower or associated member of an insured credit union may have before any extension of credit shall be considered a member business loan. Revises the prohibition against an increase in the total amount of member business loans by an undercapitalized insured credit union until it becomes adequately capitalized. Repeals the condition of becoming adequately capitalized, and requires only that the National Credit Union Administration Board approve the increase. Excludes from the definition of "member business loan" any extension of credit, meeting other specified criteria, that is made to a member for commercial, corporate, business, farm, or agricultural purposes in an underserved area.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2009
US and the World Education Act - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to require the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education to: (1) assist the Secretary of Education in administering this Act's grant program; and (2) develop an international education research repository and make it available to states and local educational agencies (LEAs). Directs the Secretary, acting through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, to award competitive grants to LEAs, or partnerships between LEAs and private organizations or institutions of higher education that provide their LEA partners with funding, to promote international education in elementary and secondary schools. Requires each grantee to use: (1) one-half of its grant on enhancing international education within core curricula, such as by increasing teacher competency; and (2) the other half on providing supplemental international education services outside of normal instruction hours. Directs the Secretary to conduct a biennial independent evaluation of such international education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2009
Troops' Soft Landing, Employment, and Rural Transportation Act - Requires that a member of a reserve component of the Armed Forces who was deployed for more than 179 days for a contingency operation or a homeland defense mission be: (1) retained on active duty in the Armed Forces for 90 days after the end of the member's demobilization from a deployment; (2) allowed to use accrued leave; and (3) paid specified pay and allowances. Allows a member to be released from such retention if the member requests release after the first 15 days of the retention. Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide each member so retained (and, as practicable, appropriate family members) reintegration counseling and services. Amends Internal Revenue Code work opportunity tax credit provisions, with regard to unemployed veterans living in counties where the unemployment is over a specified national threshold, to increase the credit from 40% to 50% and the maximum first-year wages which may be taken into account from $6,000 to $10,000. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a competitive grant program to assist veterans in rural areas to travel to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2009
Heavy Duty Hybrid Truck Incentives Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend through 2014 the tax credit for the purchase of a new qualified hybrid motor vehicle; (2) increase the incremental cost levels for computing credit amounts for such vehicles; (3) allow a 10% credit for comparable vehicles that achieve an increased city fuel economy; and (4) allow a credit for electric vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of not less than 8,500 pounds.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2009
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) high school students should spend at least one week in September of their senior year learning about the U.S. Constitution, as knowledge of this country's founding document is critical to being an effective citizen; and (2) upon reaching voting age, high school seniors should demonstrate their understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizenship by petitioning the government on an issue of importance to them.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2009
FLTFA Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act to reauthorize the program for the completion of appraisals and satisfaction of other legal requirements for the sale or exchange of public land identified for disposal under approved land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. Makes the Act non-applicable to land eligible for sale under specified public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2009
Post-9/11 Veterans' Job Training Act of 2009 - Amends requirements for the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Program to entitle an eligible veteran of the Armed Forces (including eligible dependents) pursuing a full-time educational program of apprenticeship or other on-job training to a monthly benefit payment equal to: (1) 75% of the monthly benefit payment otherwise payable to such individual for each of the first six months of the program; (2) 55% of such payment for each of the second six months of the program; and (3) 35% of such payment for each of the months following the first 12 months of the program. Reduces the payment an individual receives in any month in which the individual fails to complete 120 hours of training under the program of education. Entitles an eligible veteran of the Armed Forces receiving such monthly benefit to receive also a monthly housing stipend equal to the basic allowance for housing payable for an Armed Forces member with dependents in pay grade E-5 residing in the military housing area that encompasses the ZIP code area in which the individual resides. Requires an individual's entitlement for each monthly benefit payment to be charged at the rate of: (1) 75% of a month for each of the first six months of the program; (2) 55% of a month for each of the second six months of the program; and (3) 35% of a month for each of the months following the first 12 months of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2009
Afterschool Flexibility to Expand Reimbursement for School Meals Act of 2009 or the AFTERSchool Meals Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make institutions in any state eligible for reimbursement for meals provided to at-risk school children under programs organized primarily to provide care to at-risk school children during after-school hours, weekends, or holidays during the regular school year. (Currently, reimbursement is limited to institutions in 10 states.) Assists states in providing meals and meal supplements to children participating in after-school programs in elementary and secondary schools. (Currently, assistance is provided for meal supplements.) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to award grants to states to encourage institutions and schools to participate in these expanded programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2009
Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the maximum Pell Grant amount and tie future increases to increases in the Consumer Price Index, plus 1%. Increases funding for the College Access Challenge Grant program. Creates two new competitive grant programs that: (1) assist states, educational entities, and nonprofit organizations in implementing innovative programs that promote students' persistence in, and completion of, postsecondary education; and (2) assist states in developing information systems to track student progress in graduating and finding employment. Extends funding for grants to historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. Authorizes additional funding for Cooperative Education programs that provide students with alternating or parallel periods of study and employment. Alters title IV student aid need analyses, including by establishing an asset cap for need-based aid and excluding employee pension benefit plans from assets. Preserves the student aid eligibility of students convicted of possessing, rather than selling, controlled substances. Prohibits any new loans from being made or insured under the part B Federal Family Education Loan program after June 2010. Directs the Secretary of Education to award loan servicing contracts under the part D Direct Loan program to not-for-profit servicers that meet federal standards and agree to service such loans at competitive market rates. Makes graduate and professional students ineligible for subsidized Direct Stafford loans after June 2015. Establishes variable interest rates on Direct Loans made to undergraduate students after June 2012. Replaces the Perkins Loans program under part E, after June 2010, with a Direct Perkins Loans program under part D that provides loans that continue to carry a 5% interest rate, but have terms and conditions similar to those on Direct Unsubsidized Stafford loans. Requires the Secretary of Education to make: (1) grants to states and, through them, local educational agencies (LEAs) for the modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools; (2) grants to LEAs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama for the construction, modernization, renovation, or repair of public schools, on the basis of each LEA's share of school damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina or Rita; and (3) grants to states for the construction, modernization, renovation, or repair of community college facilities. Directs grantees to use specified portions of such funding for construction, modernization, renovation, or repair that meets certain environmental or energy standards. Directs the Secretary to establish an Advisory Council on Green, High-Performing Schools to provide the Secretary with advice on the academic, health, energy, and environmental impact of such schools and assistance in facilitating their creation. Requires the Secretary to award competitive: (1) Quality Pathways grants to states to implement quality initiatives that increase the number of disadvantaged children in high-quality early learning programs and improve program oversight; and (2) Development grants to states to develop the components of a standards-based early learning system that will allow them to compete for Quality Pathways grants. Establishes two new competitive grant programs for states and junior and community colleges to improve graduation rates and employment-related outcomes for junior and community college students through activities that: (1) facilitate the transfer of credits between schools; (2) enhance student support services; and (3) blend academics and job training in a manner that equips students for high-wage occupations in high-demand industries. Authorizes the Secretary to fund the creation of: (1) free high-quality online training, high school, and postsecondary courses; (2) a Learning and Earning Research Center to research and evaluate junior and community colleges; and (3) cooperative agreements among states to develop, implement, and expand junior and community college longitudinal data systems.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2009
Expresses the gratitude of the House of Representatives to the members of the Army National Guard and Air National Guard of the State of Washington and their families for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the United States. Commends the members of the 81st Brigade Combat Team (Heavy) of the Washington Army National Guard on the completion of their most-recent deployment to Iraq. Recognizes that Team's achievements and all other formerly and presently deployed Washington Army and Air National Guard units and members for their exemplary service.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2009
Tax Relief for Educators Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase from $250 to $500 the allowable amount of the tax deduction for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers; (2) make such deduction permanent; (3) revise the definition of "eligible educator" for purposes of such deduction to reduce from 900 to 450 the number of hours which such educators must spend in their positions and include as eligible educators teachers, instructors, counselors, or aides in an early childhood education program; and (4) allow an inflation adjustment to the amount of such deduction after 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2009
Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to require the Director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), upon a request by the chairman or ranking minority member of either congressional budget committee, to determine if a proposed measure would result in reductions in budget outlays in budgetary outyears through the use of preventive health and preventive health services. Requires CBO, if the measure would result in such substantial reductions, to include in any CBO projection a description and estimate of such reductions and a description of the basis for such conclusions. Authorizes CBO to prepare a budget projection that includes some or all of the budgetary outyears.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2009
Berry Amendment Extension Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to prohibit the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from procuring specified covered items directly related to national security interests (including clothing, tents, or natural fiber products) that are not grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States, except to the extent satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity of any such product cannot be procured as and when needed. Makes additional exceptions for: (1) procurements by vessels in foreign waters; (2) emergency procurements; and (3) purchases for amounts not greater than the simplified acquisition threshold ($100,000). Requires the Secretary to post a notification that an exception has been applied not later than seven days after the award of the contract. Directs the Secretary to ensure that: (1) each member of DHS's acquisition workforce who regularly participates in textile acquisition receives training on this Act's requirements; and (2) any such training includes comprehensive information on such requirements. Makes this Act inapplicable to the extent that it is inconsistent with U.S. obligations under an international agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2009
Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Honors the crew of the Apollo 11 mission: Neil Armstrong, "Buzz" Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Commends all those individuals and organizations who contributed to this historic achievement.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2009
Global Food Security Act of 2009 - Directs the President to designate an individual to serve as the Special Coordinator for Food Security to: (1) advise the President on international food security issues; (2) ensure coordination of global food security efforts and U.S. programs; and (3) oversee implementation of a comprehensive food security strategy to be headed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Sets forth strategy elements. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise and extend bilateral agriculture, rural development, and nutrition assistance programs. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to implement program components through U.S. land-grant universities, other eligible universities, and public and private partners of U.S. and foreign universities for: (1) research on problems affecting food availability; (2) agricultural development and trade research and extension services, particularly for women and other vulnerable populations; (3) application of agricultural and nutritional sciences to solving food, health, nutrition, rural income, and environmental problems, especially among populations experiencing chronic food insecurity; and (4) rural population access to national and global markets. Establishes the higher education collaboration for technology, agriculture, research, and extension to provide assistance for policies and programs in eligible countries that advance agricultural productivity and hunger alleviation through partnerships with institutions of higher education. Authorizes the President to provide assistance under this Act or the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 for unexpected urgent food assistance needs. Establishes a United States Emergency Rapid Response to Food Crisis Fund to carry out such purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2009
Expresses: (1) grave concerns about the sweeping censorship, privacy, and cybersecurity implications of China's Green Dam filtering software; and (2) support for the Chinese people in their quest for Internet freedom and free expression. Calls on: (1) the Chinese government to rescind its requirement for Green Dam to be preinstalled on all new computers; and (2) U.S. high-tech companies to promote the Internet as a tool for transparency, freedom of expression, and citizen empowerment around the world.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2009
Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act of 2009 - 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 · 24 June 2009
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by covered entities (employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-management committees). Prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. Allows only disparate treatment claims. Prohibits related retaliation. Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations; and (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the Armed Forces. Declares that this Act does not repeal or modify any federal, state, territorial, or local law creating a special right or preference concerning employment for a veteran. Provides for the construction of this Act regarding: (1) enforcement by employers of rules and policies; (2) sexual harassment; (3) certain shared facilities such as showers or dressing facilities; (4) construction of new or additional facilities; (5) dress and grooming standards; and (6) provision of employee benefits to married vs. unmarried couples. Declares that, in this Act, "married" refers to a legal union between one man and one woman. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from collecting statistics from covered entities on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or compelling the collection by covered entities of such statistics. Provides for enforcement, including giving the EEOC, the Librarian of Congress, the Attorney General, and U.S. courts the same enforcement powers as they have under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and other specified laws. Allows actions and proceedings, subject to exception, against the United States and the states.
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2009
Medicare Hearing Health Care Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for direct access to qualified audiologists for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to any requirement that the beneficiary be under the care of (or referred by) a physician or other health care practitioner, or that such services are provided under the supervision of a physician or other health care practitioner. Covers audiology services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2009
Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009 or the TRADE Act of 2009 - Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) review biennially certain free trade agreements (including Uruguay Round Agreements) between the United States and foreign countries to evaluate their economic, environmental, national security, health, safety, and other effects; and (2) report on them to the Congressional Trade Agreement Review Committee (established by this Act), including analyses of specified aspects of each agreement and certain information about agreement parties, such as whether the country has a democratic form of government, respects certain core labor rights and fundamental human rights, protects intellectual property rights, and enforces environmental laws. Declares that implementing bills of new trade agreements shall not be subject to expedited consideration or special procedures limiting amendment, unless such agreements include certain standards with respect to: (1) labor; (2) human rights; (3) environment and public safety; (4) food and product health and safety; (5) provision of services; (6) investment; (7) procurement; (8) intellectual property; (9) agriculture; (10) trade remedies and safeguards; (11) dispute resolution and enforcement; (12) technical assistance; (13) national security; and (14) taxation. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the renegotiation of existing trade agreements to bring them into compliance with such standards. Establishes a Congressional Trade Agreement Review Committee. Expresses the sense of Congress that certain processes for U.S. trade negotiations should be followed when Congress considers legislation providing special procedures for implementing bills of trade agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2009
Ending LGBT Health Disparities Act - Sets forth provisions concerning the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exclusion for employer-provided health care benefits to eligible beneficiaries of the employee and the qualifying children of such beneficiaries. Limits preexisting condition exclusions. Requires parity in the rights and obligations of a federal employee (defined to exclude members of the uniformed services) with a domestic partner and a married employee and the spouse. Expands the definition of "spouse" and "married" for purposes of Medicare. Phases out the 24-month waiting period for eligibility for hospital insurance benefits under Medicare. Prohibits discrimination: (1) on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity under Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP), Medicare, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, and the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program; and (2) on the basis of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation by the Secretary of Defense against a former member of uniformed services entitled to medical care, and by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to support demonstration projects to improve the health and health care of sexual or gender minorities. Establishes within the Office of Minority Health an Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health to be headed by a Deputy Assistant Secretary for LGBT Health. Requires the HHS Secretary, acting through the Deputy Assistant Secretary, to establish the Center for Cultural Competence in Health Care. Provides for expanded research concerning sexual and gender minority individuals and the collection of sexual or gender minority data in health programs and surveys. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide benefits to surviving same-sex parents.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2009
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a grants program to reduce class size through the use of fully-qualified teachers. Allots funds to states and local educational agencies to recruit, hire, and train additional teachers in order to: (1) reduce class sizes nationally, in grades one through three, to an average of 18 students per classroom; and (2) improve teaching in those grades so that all students can learn to read independently and well by the end of the third grade.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Enhancing Small Business Research and Innovation Act of 2009 - Amends the Small Business Act with respect to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs to extend funding and revise provisions, including those concerning qualifications for program participation, research and development topics, nanotechnology, project goals for funded projects, project commercialization, second and third stage funding of projects, outreach to increase program participation, prioritization of applications, and federal administration and oversight.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 630 Northeast Killingsworth Avenue in Portland, Oregon, as the "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Post Office."
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Cure and Understanding through Research for Alzheimer's Act of 2009 or La Cura Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to ensure sufficient resources for activities relating to Alzheimer's disease and Hispanic communities, including by: (1) increasing efforts in epidemiological work in Hispanic subgroups; (2) allocating resources to the National Institute on Aging Alzheimer's disease research centers and other academic centers involved in such research to increase participation of Hispanics and other underrepresented ethnic groups in research and clinical trials in sufficient numbers to draw valid conclusions; and (3) conducting social, behavioral, and health services research to understand the underlying reasons why Hispanic individuals delay diagnosis and underutilize services, to identify culturally and linguistically appropriate approaches to address such delays and underutilization, and to identify approaches for providing, and improving the quality of, culturally competent care. Requires the Director to expand and intensify NIH efforts to educate communities about the importance of research relating to Alzheimer's disease and to respond effectively to cultural concerns about participation in such research. Authorizes appropriations for a program of grants to states to carry out demonstration programs related to Alzheimer's disease. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct an aggressive, evidence-based education and outreach program to promote public awareness and risk reduction with respect to Alzheimer's disease, particularly to Hispanic populations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Fair Allocation of Internal Revenue Credit for Renewable Electricity Distribution by Indian Tribes Act of 2009 or the FAIR CREDIT Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an Indian tribe, in the case of a facility that uses a renewable energy resource to produce electricity in which such tribe has an ownership interest in the gross sales from such facility, to assign to any other person who has such an ownership interest in such facility any portion of the production from the facility that would, but for this Act, be allocated to such tribe for purposes of the renewable electricity production tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2012 the current authorization of appropriations for the national public awareness campaign for gynecologic cancers (Johanna's law). Authorizes appropriations in subsequent fiscal years at levels necessary to carry out such campaign. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) collaborate with nonprofit gynecologic cancer organizations to determine the best practices for providing gynecologic cancer information and outreach services to varied populations; and (2) make grants to nonprofit private entities to carry out demonstration projects to test outreach and education strategies to increase the awareness and knowledge of women and health care providers regarding gynecologic cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities. Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, identify and address perceptions regarding U.S. entry policy, and promote U.S. travel. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require (under current law, authorize) the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and collect a fee for the use of an electronic data sharing system concerning the admissibility of certain aliens into the United States that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering such system. Terminates such fee following FY2014. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to: (1) revise the membership of the Tourism Policy Council; and (2) require the Council to provide the Corporation with certain information concerning U.S. admission procedures and travel promotion strategies. Directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a study to assess barriers to entry into the United States by foreign travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2009 - Requires the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), as soon as practicable after Congress completes action on any Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) legislation, to provide an estimate of its budgetary effects to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Requires OMB to maintain and make publicly available a document containing a PAYGO ledger and, within seven days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) after the enactment of any PAYGO legislation, record on such ledger its estimate of the legislation's budgetary effects in each fiscal year, applying the look-back and averaging requirements of this Act. Exempts from the requirements of this Act any PAYGO legislation designated as an emergency requirement by the President and enacted by Congress. (Requires OMB to display the budgetary effects of such legislation as an addendum in the document containing the PAYGO ledger but not record the budgetary effects in it.) Requires OMB: (1) to make publicly available an annual PAYGO report and publish a notice of it in the Federal Register, including information on how it can be obtained; and (2) if such report shows a debit on the PAYGO ledger for the budget year, to prepare and the President to issue a sequestration order for submission to Congress. Prescribes requirements for calculating a sequestration for certain nonexempt and Medicare mandatory programs. Sets forth a special temporary rule to address the scoring of legislation affecting current policy for: (1) payments made under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act for physician services; (2) the Estate and Gift Tax and the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) under the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 or the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief and Reconciliation Act of 2003 that amended the Code extending middle-class tax cuts for individuals (or provisions in later statutes further amending such amendments). Makes such rule effective through December 31, 2010, or, in specified circumstances, until December 31, 2011. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to modify the assumptions used to calculate the baseline. Requires: (1) temporary mandatory funding and tax provisions related to major natural or man-made disasters to be assumed to expire on schedule, and discretionary funding for them to not be projected; and (2) the baseline to include a disaster allowance that is not designated as mandatory or discretionary and is not allocated to any congressional committee. Amends the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act to specify additional Social Security, veterans, Tier I Railroad Retirement benefits and other programs and activities exempt from a sequestration order as well as certain economic recovery programs.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Oregon Caves National Monument Boundary Adjustment Act of 2009 - Adjusts the boundary of Oregon Caves National Monument (Monument). Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) transfer certain land identified as proposed addition lands to the Secretary of the Interior; and (2) adjust the boundary of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest to exclude such lands transferred by the Secretary. Designates the transferred land as a National Preserve (the Preserve). Redesignates the Monument as the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate certain additional segments of the Monument as components of the national wild and scenic rivers system. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to carry out forest restoration activities within the boundaries of the Monument and the Preserve. Permits the grazing of domestic livestock on land within the Preserve at a level not greater than that at which the grazing exists as of enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture or the Interior to accept any grazing lease or permit that is donated by a livestock operator that holds a valid existing grazing lease or permit for a grazing allotment. Allows the Secretary of the Interior to permit hunting, fishing, and trapping on land and water within the Preserve.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Devil's Staircase Wilderness Act of 2009 - Designates certain federal land in Oregon as the Devil's Staircase Wilderness and as a wilderness area for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate Franklin and Wasson Creeks in Oregon as wild rivers and as components of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2009 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) to revise requirements for the audit capacity of voting systems, particularly those for a permanent paper record. Requires the voting system to require the use of an individual, durable, voter-verified paper ballot of the voter's vote that shall be marked and made available for inspection by the voter before the voter's vote is cast and counted, and which shall be counted by hand or read by an optical scanner or other counting device. Requires the voting system to provide the voter with an opportunity to correct any system-made error in the voter-verified paper ballot before it is permanently preserved. Requires each paper ballot used to be: (1) suitable for a manual audit; and (2) counted by hand in any recount or audit conducted with respect to any federal election. Sets forth a special rule for treatment of disputes when paper ballots have been shown to be compromised. Requires the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to make grants to eligible entities to study, test, and develop accessible ballot voting, verification, and casting mechanisms and devices and best practices to enhance the accessibility of paper ballot voting and verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, for voters whose primary language is not English, and for voters with difficulties in literacy. Specifies additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Requires the NSF Director to make grants to eligible entities to conduct research on the development of election-dedicated voting system software. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Requires each state to administer audits of federal election results, without advance notice to the precincts selected, consisting of random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots. Makes an exception from this requirement for elections in which the winning candidate had no opponent or received 80% or more of the vote total. Prescribes requirements for determination of the number of ballots counted under the audit. Prescribes the process for administering audits. Requires the Election Auditor of a state, as soon as practicable after the completion of an audit, to submit the results to the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) for publication. Prohibits certification of the results of any election until completion of audits. Provides for payments to states for the costs of conducting audits. Exempts from this Act any election for which a recount under state law will commence before certification of the election results. Repeals the EAC's exemption from certain federal government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Lower Rogue Wild and Scenic River Expansion Act - Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to add specified segments of creeks to the designation of the Rogue River in Oregon as a component of the national wild and scenic rivers system.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2009
Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to disregard for SSI income eligibility purposes any compensation in the amount of the first $2,000 per year received by an individual for participation in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Drug Overdose Reduction Act - Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) award grants or enter into cooperative agreements to enable eligible entities to reduce deaths occurring from drug overdoses; and (2) give priority to public health agencies or community-based organizations that have expertise in preventing deaths occurring from overdoses in high risk populations. Conditions receipt of a grant or agreement on an entity agreeing to use the grant or agreement for: (1) purchasing and distributing drug overdose reversal agents; (2) training first responders, law enforcement and corrections officials, and other individuals in a position to respond to an overdose on the effective response; (3) implementing programs to provide overdose prevention, recognition, treatment, or response to individuals in need; and (4) evaluating, expanding, or replicating such programs. Requires the Director to: (1) compile and publish data, annually, on fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses for the preceding year; (2) award grants to state, local, or tribal governments to improve drug overdose surveillance capabilities; and (3) develop and submit to Congress a plan to reduce the number of deaths occurring from overdoses. Requires the Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to: (1) prioritize and conduct or support research on drug overdose and overdose prevention; and (2) support research on dosage forms of naloxone for the prehospital treatment of unintentional drug overdose.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2009
Commends the Bureau of Labor Statistics on the occasion of its 125th anniversary for the exemplary service its administrators and employees provide in collecting and disseminating vital information for the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Healthy Schools Act of 2009 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to require the state to certify that it has implemented procedures to pay for covered items and services furnished by school-based health clinics under Medicaid and CHIP.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial Act - Designates a memorial that is under construction at March Field Air Museum in Riverside, California, as the Distinguished Flying Cross National Memorial, in honor of current and former members of the armed forces who have been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate specified segments of the Molalla River in Oregon as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009 - Prohibits an automobile manufacturer (manufacturer) in which the federal government has an ownership interest, or which receives loans from the federal government, from depriving an automobile dealer (dealer) of its economic rights. Requires the manufacturer to honor those rights as they existed for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corporation dealers prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy cases of each corporation, including dealer rights to recourse under state law. Requires the appropriate manufacturer to restore the franchise agreement between the dealers and Chrysler LLC or General Motors that was in effect prior to the commencement of their respective bankruptcy cases, and to take assignment of such agreements. States that nothing in this Act is intended to make null and void the transfer of substantially all the assets of such corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Expands the urbanized area formula grants program to include public transit projects: (1) in urbanized areas with a population of at least 200,000, and urbanized areas with a population of between 200,000 and 400,000, if the state or regional authority that provides public transportation for the area operates less than 100 buses in fixed-route service in the area during peak service hours; and (2) in urbanized areas with graduated populations of between 400,000 and capping out at 1 million or more. Establishes certain grant limits for such projects. Revises grant eligibility requirements for FY2010-FY2015 for such projects in urbanized areas with a population of at least 200,000.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Veterans Home Loan Refinance Opportunity Act of 2009 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-exempt veterans' mortgage bonds to permit: (1) proceeds from such bonds to refinance residences of veterans (currently, bond financing limited to new mortgages); (2) an annual inflation adjustment after 2010 to the amounts of veterans' mortgage bonds that states may issue; and (3) an increase from 1.125 % to 1.50% in the amount by which interest on veterans' mortgages may exceed the yield on a bond issue.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Child Protection Compact Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of State, through the Ambassador-at-Large of the Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, to provide assistance (grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts) for an eligible country with a significant prevalence of trafficking in children that enters into a Child Protection Compact with the United States to support policies and programs to eradicate the trafficking of children.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Reuniting Families Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007. Establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to: (1) mean a child, spouse, or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (and for each family member of a citizen or resident, such individual's accompanying spouse or child), except that in the case of parents such citizens shall be at least 21 years old; (2) permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen or resident to seek permanent resident status if married at least two years at the time of the citizen's or resident's death or, if married less than two years, by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and (3) include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of the citizen's or resident's death if the alien files a petition within two years after such date or prior to reaching 21 years old. Increases immigration visas for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and (2) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Provides a 60,000 visa allocation for the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens. Increases annual per country (10% of annual total) and dependent area (5% of annual total) limits for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas. Expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status; (2) parole eligibility; (3) permanent resident status adjustment; and (4) processing of immigrant visas. Filipino Veterans Family Reunification Act - Exempts children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations. Makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status provided that the child's age is determined using such child's age at the date that the petition to classify such child's parent as a K-visa alien is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security. Authorizes the Secretary or the Attorney General to adjust the status of a finacee/fiance or alien spouse and any minor children (K-visa) to conditional permanent resident status if such alien marries the petitioner within three months after U.S. admission. Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of the Act to include a stepchild under 21 years old. (Current law includes a stepchild who has not reached 18 years old at the time the marriage creating the status of stepchild occurred.) Uniting American Families Act of 2009 - Amends INA to include a "permanent partner" within the scope of such Act. Defines "permanent partner" as an individual 18 or older who: (1) is in a committed, intimate relationship with another individual 18 or older in which both individuals intend a lifelong commitment; (2) is financially interdependent with the other individual; (3) is not married to, or in a permanent partnership with, anyone other than the individual; (4) is unable to contract with the other individual a marriage cognizable under this Act; and (5) is not a first, second, or third degree blood relation of the other individual. Defines "permanent partnership" as the relationship existing between two permanent partners. Defines "alien permanent partner" as the individual in a permanent partnership who is being sponsored for a visa.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Act of 2009 - Requires the President to establish, in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, a Committee on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (STEM education) within the National Science and Technology Council. Establishes an Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education in the Department of Education, to be administered by an Assistant Secretary. Requires the Assistant Secretary to conduct at least every five years an evaluation of the STEM education programs administered by the department. Requires the Secretary of Education to award a grant to establish a voluntary State Consortium on STEM Education and a grant to the National Science Digital Library to establish the STEM Education Resource Alliance.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Supports the goals and purpose of Gold Star Mothers Day (a day observed in remembrance of the supreme sacrifice made by mothers who lose a son or daughter serving in the Armed Forces).
![Official portrait of Rep. Wu, David [D-OR-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/w000793_200.jpg)