United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2007
Declares that the House of Representatives expresses its: (1) gratitude and appreciation for the professional manner in which the U.S. Capitol Police carry out their diverse missions; and (2) appreciation for the dedication such officers have for protecting the Capitol Complex. Commends them for their continued courage and professionalism in protecting the Capitol Complex and its employees and visitors.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2007
Support for Injured Servicemembers Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to entitle an eligible employee who is the spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin of a covered servicemember to a total of 26 workweeks of leave during a single 12-month period to care for the servicemember. Defines covered servicemember as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or a Reserve, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in medical hold or medical holdover status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness incurred in the line of duty on active duty that may render the member medically unfit to perform his or her duties. Provides for the substitution of accrued paid vacation, personal, family leave, or medical or sick leave for any part of the 26-week period. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the availability of such leave during any other 12-month period. Amends federal civil service law to entitle civilian federal employees to the same leave allowance. Provides for the substitution of accrued paid annual or sick leave for any part of the 26-week period.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
Success in the Middle Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to states, based on their proportion of poor children aged 5 to 17, to: (1) implement state middle school improvement plans that describe what students must master to successfully complete the middle grades and matriculate to an academically rigorous high school; and (2) award competitive matching subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to develop and implement a comprehensive local middle school improvement plan for each eligible school. Favors LEAs with high proportions of poor children and eligible schools. Defines "eligible schools" as those where: (1) a majority of middle grade students matriculate to high schools with graduation rates below 60%; (2) more than 25% of the students who finish grade five exhibit key risk factors or warning signs for failure; and (3) a majority of middle grade students are not rated proficient on required state assessments in mathematics, reading, or language arts. Permits states to make subgrants to LEAs that did not receive a competitive subgrant to assist them in applying for competitive subgrants and developing comprehensive local middle school improvement plans. Provides the Secretary with funding to: (1) create a national clearinghouse in best middle level educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; (2) require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; (3) create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to middle grade schools; and (4) provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing middle grade schools.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
Reducing Barriers to Learning Act of 2007 - Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to create an Office of Specialized Instructional Support Services within the Department of Education to improve specialized instructional support services in schools. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Reduced Barriers to Learning program authorizing the Secretary of Education to award competitive matching grants to states to: (1) establish or expand specialized instructional support services and programs at the state level that are designed to provide technical assistance, coordination, and support to specialized instructional support services and programs that address barriers to learning within local educational agencies and individual schools; and (2) to hire and support specialized instructional support services coordinators to provide such assistance, coordination, and support. Replaces pupil services and pupil services personnel with specialized instructional support services and specialized instructional support personnel. Defines such services as those provided by school counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other qualified professionals that provide assessment, diagnosis, counseling, educational, therapeutic, and other necessary services as part of a comprehensive program to meet student needs.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
200th Anniversary Commemoration Commission of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Act of 2007 - Establishes the Transatlantic Slave Trade 200th Anniversary Commission. Sets forth Commission duties, including: (1) plan activities appropriate to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade; (2) encourage civic, historical, educational, religious, economic entities, as well as state and local governments to participate in anniversary activities; (3) facilitate the convening of a joint meeting or joint session of the Congress for related ceremonies and activities; (4) promote the sponsorship of related conferences and exhibitions; and (5) examine reports and raise public awareness of of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. Terminates the Commission on December 31, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
College Student Success Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to establish a pilot program awarding competitive, matching, Student Success grants to institutions of higher education in which, during the preceding three-year period, an average of at least 50% of entering first-year students were enrolled in developmental courses to bring their reading, writing, or mathematics skills up to college-level. Requires the grants to be used to help Pell grant eligible students persevere in postsecondary education, beginning from their first year of study. Requires such help to include the assignment of a Student Success Coach to every student participant to provide intensive career and academic advising, ongoing personal help in navigating college services, and assistance in connecting to community resources that can help students overcome family and personal challenges to success. Gives grant priority to schools proposing to replicate policies and practices that have proven effective in increasing persistence and completion by low-income students or students in need of developmental education. Provides that the size of each grant shall be based on the number of a grantee's student participants; but limits each school to no more than 200 participants each academic year. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grantees who, after three years, are not significantly improving their student participants' perseverance in their studies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
Mental Health in Schools Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to make changes to the program to apply a public health approach to mental health services, including by revising eligibility requirements for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement. Makes only a consortium that includes at least one educational agency eligible for such funding. Allows such a consortium to: (1) include a community program, an agency that is involved in mental health, or a school; and (2) consist of a consortium in which the members select an agent (such as a local educational agency or community health care entity) to act on the consortium's behalf. Sets forth assurances required for eligibility, including assurances that: (1) the local education agency will enter into a memorandum of understanding with relevant community-based entities that clearly states the responsibilities of each consortium member; (2) the program will include comprehensive staff development for school and community service personnel working in the school and training for children with mental health disorders, for family members of such children, and for concerned members of the community; and (3) the program will demonstrate the measures to be taken to sustain the program after funding terminates. Requires the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop a process for evaluating grant program activities, including: (1) the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by recipients; and (2) the development of measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients in evaluating programs, to include student and family measures and local educational measures.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
Calls on the U.S. government to initiate a new effort to help Turkey understand the benefits it will accrue by ending its military occupation of Cyprus. Urges the government of Turkey to begin withdrawing its military occupation forces from Cyprus.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give states the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals. Provides states taking advantage of this option with an enhanced federal Medicaid match.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Substitute Teaching Improvement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive demonstration grants to high-need local educational agencies (LEAs) or partnerships between such LEAs and institutions of higher education or nonprofit education organizations for the establishment of comprehensive training programs to increase the effectiveness of substitute teaching. Requires LEAs to use such grants to: (1) train substitute teachers; (2) train principals and permanent teachers in effectively integrating substitute teachers into school operations; (3) develop a resource kit for substitute teachers; and (4) collect data on substitute teachers and practices for managing substitute teachers in participating districts. Directs the Secretary to commission an independent evaluation of the prevalence of substitute teaching and current state and local efforts to improve its effectiveness.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Minority Health Improvement and Health Disparity Elimination Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) develop an Internet Clearinghouse within the Office of Minority Health; (2) provide for programs of excellence in health professions education for underrepresented minorities; and (3) support demonstration projects designed to improve the health and health care of racial and ethnic minority groups through improved access to health care, patient navigators, primary prevention activities, health promotion and disease prevention activities, and health literacy education and services. Provides for grants to: (1) promote positive health behaviors; (2) implement culturally and linguistically appropriate, evidence-based, and community-driven sustainable strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic health and health care disparities; (3) implement systems of primary care practices to eliminate disparities in the delivery of health care and improve the health care provided to all patients; and (4) address long-standing unmet health needs in the Mississippi Delta. Requires the Secretary to establish the Health Action Zone Initiative demonstration program to support comprehensive state, tribal, or local initiatives to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority groups. Provides for research to improve the health of racial and ethnic minority groups. Requires the Secretary to ensure the collection of data from federally conducted or supported health programs by race, ethnicity, geographic location, socioeconomic position, primary language, and, when practicable, health literacy. Sets forth duties for the Office of Minority Health. Requires the Secretary to establish the Advisory Committee on Minority Health.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to upgrade and unify existing spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) clinical trial sites to establish a national clinical trials network for SMA. Requires the Director of NIH to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of pharmacological approaches to the treatment of SMA; and (2) rapidly and effectively disseminates scientific findings to the field. Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) establish an SMA data coordinating center; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research and medicinal chemistry related to SMA. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and provide ongoing support to the existing SMA patient registry to provide for expanded research on the epidemiology of SMA. Directs the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages with SMA. Requires the Secretary to establish the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Coordinating Committee to: (1) coordinate activities across NIH and with other federal health programs and activities relating to SMA; and (2) conduct a study to identify barriers to the development of drugs for treating SMA and similar genetic disorders. Requires the Director of NIH to establish a trans-National Institutes of Health cooperative research initiative on SMA to ensure the success of the SMA projects led by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Requires the Secretary to submit recommendations to Congress to improve and expand on incentives provided under the Orphan Drug Act and related statutes to promote SMA drug development.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
21st Century Servicemembers Protection Act - Amends the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to allow individuals called to military service to terminate or suspend a service contract, after the date of entry into service or the date of the military orders, if: (1) the service contract (such as phone, cable, Internet, or utilities) is executed before the individual is called to service for a period of at least 90 days; or (2) the person enters into the contract while in military service and thereafter receives orders for a change of permanent station to a location outside the United States, or to deploy with a military unit for a period of at least 180 days. Provides penalties against anyone who: (1) holds property or funds of a person in military service who lawfully terminates a contract; or (2) violates the 6% limit on interest rates charged to servicemembers during a period of military service.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Providing Resources Early for Kids Act of 2007 or the PRE-K Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states to enhance or improve state-funded preschool programs. Sets forth a grant formula favoring states that: (1) have curricula aligned with state early learning standards; (2) follow nationally-established best practices for class size and teacher-to-student ratios; (3) require each teacher to hold at least an associate degree in early childhood education or a related field; and (4) have a plan for meeting the requirement, within five years of receiving such grant, that teachers hold at least a baccalaureate degree in early childhood education. Directs the Secretary to establish a competitive process for awarding grants to other states that demonstrate that they will meet such requirements within two fiscal years. Prohibits state grantees from reducing their preschool or child care expenditures. Includes among grant uses: (1) increasing the qualifications of, and benefits provided to, teachers, teacher aides, and program directors; (2) decreasing class size and improving teacher-to-student ratios; (3) providing certain comprehensive services that support healthy child development; (4) extending program hours per day and weeks per year; and (5) improving program monitoring and learning environments. Reserves funds for competitive grants to Indians for their preschool programs.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should set a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years using a strategy that promotes good jobs at livable wages.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Commends the Hispanic Heritage Foundation for recognizing the next generation of Latino role models for their academic achievements and community service.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2007
National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the courage, pride, sacrifice, sense of duty, and history of the U.S. Infantry, in commemoration of the legacy of the U.S. Army Infantry and the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center. Expresses the sense of Congress that the coins should be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York, to the greatest extent possible. Restricts coin issuance to calendar year 2012. Requires a $10 surcharge per coin, and payment of all surcharges received to the National Infantry Foundation to establish an endowment to support the maintenance of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2007
Repeals certain personnel management authorities, including a provision authorizing the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to employ and fix the compensation, terms, and conditions of employment for passenger and property screeners. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security to take any measures necessary to provide for the uniform treatment of all TSA screeners; and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report on the pay system that applies to such employees.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
National Security Letters Reform Act of 2007 - Prohibits a national security letter (letter) (a request for information sought by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in connection with a criminal investigation) from being issued unless the issuing official certifies specific facts providing reason to believe that the information or records sought pertain to a foreign power or agent thereof. Prohibits a letter from being issued in connection with an investigation of a U.S. person solely upon the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Prohibits: (1) a letter from containing unreasonable requirements or requiring privileged matter; or (2) disclosing to a person that the FBI has sought or obtained access to information under a letter for 30 days after receipt of the FBI's request for such information. Authorizes judicial review for the modification or revocation of a letter. Provides limited uses of information acquired through a letter. Allows persons against whom evidence obtained from a letter is to be used to file a motion to suppress. Provides a civil cause of action for the misuse of letters. Requires the authority to issue letters to revert, five years after the enactment of this Act, to that provided by law on October 25, 2001. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) undertake minimization and destruction procedures with respect to information acquired through letters; and (2) report semiannually on the number and use of letters. Requires the disposal of wrongly acquired information. Revises requirements relating to claims of emergency in connection with certain letters.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
ADA Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to remove from the definition of "disability" a reference to substantially limiting one or more major life activities. Prohibits, in determining whether an individual has an impairment, considering the impact of any mitigating measures the individual may be using or whether any impairment manifestations are episodic, in remission, or latent. Considers actions taken because of an individual's use of a mitigating measure to be actions taken on the basis of a disability. Defines "record of physical or mental impairment" as having a history of, or having been misclassified as having, a physical or mental impairment. Defines "regarded as having a physical or mental impairment" as being perceived or treated as having a physical or mental impairment whether or not the individual has an impairment. Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of disability (under current law, against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability). Allows, as a defense to a charge of discrimination, that the individual alleging discrimination is not a qualified individual with a disability. Requires that the Act's provisions be broadly construed. Empowers: (1) the Attorney General to promulgate regulations and guidance to provide for consistent and effective standards among enforcing agencies; and (2) the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Secretary of Transportation to then issue implementing regulations or policy guidance consistent with the Attorney General's requirements. Entitles duly issued federal regulations and guidance to deference by administrative bodies or officers and courts.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Commends the people, the government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and His Majesty King Abdullah II for their commitment to conducting parliamentary and municipal elections in 2007. Commends His Majesty King Abdullah II and the Jordanian people for striving to uphold women's rights and enhance women's participation in the political process. Reaffirms the special relationship that exists between the people of the United States and the people of Jordan.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Equal Justice for Our Military Act of 2007 - Amends the federal judicial code to allow for review by writ of certiorari of certain cases denied relief or review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Opt Out of Iraq War Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow taxpayers to designate that the percentage of their income, estate, or gift tax payments that would otherwise be used to fund the Iraq war be paid into a Future Fund from which funding will be provided, in equal amounts, to the Head Start program, to reduce the national debt, and for a Children of Iraq War Veterans College Fund. Requires amounts in the College Fund to be used to pay the college costs of students that had a parent in the Armed Forces who served in the Iraq war for at least 180 days, died as the result of service in such war, or was hospitalized and unable to return to duty due to such service.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Recognizes the dedication and devotion of former Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown to public service. Commends his actions and achievements and his inspiring example to the African-American community.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
National Women's Rights History Project Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to designate a vehicular tour route, to be known as the Votes for Women History Trail Route, to link properties in New York State that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women's suffrage in the United States. Requires the National Park Service to administer the Trail through the Women's Rights National Historical Park (established under prior law). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into cooperative agreements and memorandums of understanding with, and provide technical and financial assistance to, other federal agencies, the State of New York, localities, regional governmental bodies, and private entities; (2) make annual grants to state historic preservation offices for up to five years for assistance in surveying, evaluating, and nominating women's rights history properties to the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) make matching grants and give technical assistance for development of a network of governmental and nongovernmental entities providing interpretive and educational program development of national women's rights history, including historic preservation.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2007
Pigford Claims Remedy Act of 2007 - Declares that any Pigford claimant (relating to a racial discrimination action against the Department of Agriculture) who has not previously obtained a determination on the merits of a Pigford claim may, in a civil action, obtain that determination. Asserts that it is Congress's intent that this Act be liberally construed so as to effectuate its remedial purpose of giving a full determination on the merits for each denied Pigford claim. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide a claimant with a report on farm credit loans made within the claimant's county or adjacent county during a specified period which shall contain information on all accepted applicants (but without any personally identifiable information), including: (1) the applicant's race; (2) the application and loan decision dates; and (3) the location of the office making the loan decision. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) expedited claim resolution; and (2) foreclosure limitation. Defines: (1) "Pigford claimant" as an individual who previously submitted a late-filing request under the consent decree in the case of Pigford v. Glickman (1999); and (2) "Pigford claim" as a discrimination complaint as defined and documented by such consent decree.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2007
Medicare Long-Term Care Patient Safety and Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to define "long-term care hospital" and establish new patient criteria for long-term care hospital prospective payments. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve under Medicare distinct part inpatient rehabilitation hospital units in long-term care hospitals, if rehabilitation services are not included within a major diagnostic category. Directs the Secretary to: (1) report to the appropriate congressional committees recommendations on the promulgation of national long-term care hospital facility and patient criteria; and (2), after rulemaking, implement them. Amends SSA title XI to require a peer review organization to review on a hospital-specific basis the medical necessity of admissions to, and continued stay at, long-term care hospitals of Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) patients. Directs the Secretary, with certain exceptions, to impose a temporary moratorium on the Medicare certification of new long-term care hospitals (and satellite facilities). Directs the Secretary not to apply the 25% patient threshold payment adjustment to freestanding and grandfathered long-term hospitals. States that payments to an applicable long-term care hospital or satellite facility, located in a rural area or co-located with an urban single or MSA dominant hospital, shall not be subject to any payment adjustment if no more than 75% percent of its Medicare discharges are admitted from a co-located hospital. Provides that payment to an applicable long-term care hospital or satellite facility co-located with another hospital shall not be subject to such payment adjustments, if no more than 50% of its Medicare discharges are admitted from a co-located hospital. Prohibits the Secretary from applying certain proposed amendments to the short-stay outlier payment policy for certain long-term care hospitals. Prohibits the Secretary from making a certain one-time prospective adjustment to long-term care hospital prospective payment rates. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on appropriate quality measures for Medicare patients receiving care in long-term care hospitals.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2007
States that the House of Representatives: (1) congratulates the people of Ethiopia on Ethiopia's second millennium and recognizes Ethiopia's long and rich history; (2) commends Ethiopia's contribution to peace and stability on the African continent through its role in the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); (3) recognizes the longstanding Ethiopia-U.S. relationship; (4) commends the organizers of the second millennium celebration in Ethiopia and the United States; and (5) calls for a peaceful and jubilant celebration of Ethiopia's second millennium.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize states to use federal funds for the development of kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) plans for environmental education and teacher training to ensure that high school graduates are environmentally literate. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to partnerships that include a local educational agency (LEA), and may include institutions of higher education (IHE) and other educational or business entities, for activities that include the development of teacher training programs and more rigorous environmental education curricula. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to nonprofit organizations, states, LEAs, or IHEs for activities to improve and support environmental education that include: (1) advancing content and achievement standards; (2) developing or disseminating innovations or model programs; (3) research; and (4) creating new funding sources. Requires the Secretary to give priority in providing magnet school assistance to LEAs creating or enhancing environmental magnet school programs. Includes environmental education in the current program providing grants to states and LEAs for teacher training. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to create an Office of Environmental Literary to advance K-12 environmental education and administer the new grant programs. Amends the National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act to authorize the Commissioner for Education Statistics to include environmental education in any additional national assessment of student achievement.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Military Spouses Memorial Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Military Spouse Legacy Association, Inc., to establish a commemorative work on federal land in the District of Columbia and its environs to honor all those who have put their country first as military spouses throughout our Nation's history. Prohibits the use of federal funds to pay any expense of the establishment of the commemorative work. Makes the Military Spouse Legacy Association, Inc., solely responsible for acceptance of contributions for, and payment of the expenses of, the establishment of such work.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Robert T. Matsui Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Health Care. Provides for health care workforce diversity activities, including the establishment of: (1) a technical clearinghouse on health workforce diversity; and (2) Regional Minority Centers of Excellence Programs. Requires health-related programs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to collect data on race, ethnicity, and primary language. Directs each federal health agency to implement a strategic plan to eliminate disparities and improve the health and health care of minority populations. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) an Office of Health Disparities within the Office of Civil Rights; and (2) civil rights compliance offices in each HHS agency that administers health programs. Reestablishes the Indian Health Service as an agency within the Public Health Service of HHS to be administered by an Assistant Secretary of Indian Health. Requires the establishment of an Office of Minority Health within specified agencies. Directs the President to execute, administer, and enforce provisions to address environmental justice in minority and low-income populations. Provides for the establishment of health empowerment zone programs in communities that disproportionately experience disparities in health status and health care. Requires the Secretary to designate centers of excellence at public hospitals and other health systems that demonstrate excellence in providing care to minority populations and reducing health disparities. Makes immigrants from certain U.S. territories and possessions eligible for specified federal programs. Requires the Secretary to expand the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative. Provides for grants for strategies to eliminate racial and ethnic health and health care disparities. Requires the Secretary to establish the Rural Health Quality Advisory Commission.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Attorney-Client Privilege Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit any U.S. agent or attorney, in any federal investigation or criminal or civil enforcement matter, from demanding, requesting, or conditioning treatment ("giving cooperation credit") on the disclosure by an organization (or affiliated person) of any communication protected by the attorney-client privilege or any attorney work product. Prohibits a U.S. agent or attorney from conditioning a civil or criminal charging decision relating to an organization (or affiliated person) on one or more specified actions, or from using one or more such actions as a factor in determining whether an organization or affiliated person is cooperating with the government. Numbers among the actions a U.S. agent or attorney may not use as a charging decision condition or a cooperation-determining factor: (1) any valid assertion of the attorney-client privilege or privilege for attorney work product; (2) the provision of counsel to, or contribution to the legal defense fees or expenses of, an employee of the organization; (3) entry into a joint-defense, information-sharing, or common-interest agreement with an employee of the organization if the organization determines it has a common interest in defending against the investigation or enforcement matter; (4) the sharing of relevant information with an employee; or (5) a failure to terminate an employee's employment, or otherwise sanction an employee, because of the employee's decision to exercise his or her constitutional rights or other legal protections in response to a government request. Prohibits a U.S. agent or attorney from demanding or requesting that an organization or an affiliated person not take any such action.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Medicare Prescription Drug Savings for Our Seniors (Medicare Prescription Drug SOS) Act of 2007 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) offer one or more Medicare operated prescription drug plans (PDPs) with a service area consisting of the entire United States; and (2) negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers to reduce the purchase cost of covered part D drugs. Requires the monthly beneficiary premium for qualified prescription drug coverage and access to negotiated prices to be uniform nationally. Provides for auto-enrollment of subsidy eligible individuals in Medicare operated PDPs. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to provide for the use of 2005 as base in computing the state clawback provision. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to eliminate part D cost-sharing for certain non-institutionalized full-benefit dual eligible individuals. Provides for: (1) expedited low-income subsidies under the Medicare PDP; (2) indexing of deductible and cost-sharing for certain individuals; and (3) Commissioner of Social Security screening for Medicare savings program eligibility. Sets forth anti-fraud and abuse provisions. Provides for protection against a decrease in Social Security benefits owing to part D Medicare premium increases. Prohibits late enrollment penalties for months before January 2008. Allows a one-time change in plan during first year of enrollment. Prohibits a PDP sponsor from removing a covered part D drug from the plan formulary, downgrading its cost-sharing status, or otherwise introducing a barrier to access to covered part D drugs, without advance notice. Requires Medicare part D formularies to cover all drugs in six specified therapeutic categories. Makes benzodiazepines covered part D drugs, subject to review by the Secretary. Eliminates the MA Regional Stabilization Fund and certain Medicare Advantage overpayments. Requires prompt payment of clean claims by Medicare and Medicare Advantage PDPs. Prohibits co-branding. Extends part D coverage to medication therapy management services.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Authorizes the President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to comedian Jerry Lewis in recognition of his outstanding service to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
21st Century High-Performing Public School Facilities Act - Requires the Secretary of Education to make grants in each fiscal year to local educational agencies (LEAs) in each state for the construction, modernization, or repair of kindergarten, elementary, or secondary schools to make them safe, healthy, high-performing, and technologically up-to-date. Gives priority to LEAs serving a high number or percentage of disadvantaged children and those whose public schools are in relatively poor condition. Requires LEAs to contribute funds toward the costs of the program, but uses a sliding scale that factors in the relative poverty of an LEA's service area. Requires the Secretary to make low-interest loans to LEAs in each fiscal year for the same purposes and with the same priorities given in the distribution of the grants. Establishes the School Construction, Modernization, and Repair Revolving Fund consisting of amounts derived from the low-interest loans and appropriations made to the Fund by this Act. Amends part D of title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize and make appropriations for educational technology.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 - Declares that no predispute arbitration agreement shall be valid or enforceable if it requires arbitration of: (1) an employment, consumer, or franchise dispute, or (2) a dispute arising under any statute intended to protect civil rights or to regulate contracts or transactions between parties of unequal bargaining power. Declares, further, that the validity or enforceability of an agreement to arbitrate shall be determined by a court, under federal law, rather than an arbitrator, irrespective of whether the party resisting arbitration challenges the arbitration agreement specifically or in conjunction with other terms of the contract containing such agreement. Exempts arbitration provisions in collective bargaining agreements from this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2007
Glaucoma Screening Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to expand coverage of screening for glaucoma to include individuals who are both older than 49 years of age and Hispanic. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to award a grant to an eligible entity to provide glaucoma screenings to individuals determined to be at high risk. Requires such an entity to: (1) utilize mobile screening units to test for glaucoma and other eye diseases; (2) target screening activities to populations primarily consisting of high-risk individuals; (3) form partnerships with federally-qualified health centers to increase awareness of the need for glaucoma screenings and to provide screenings for high-risk individuals; and (4) provide grants to approved medical residency training programs to permit participating students to conduct such screenings.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2007
Every Student Counts Act - Requires states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and high schools annually to calculate and report, as part of the report cards required under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), the percentage of high school students: (1) graduating in four years and in five years with a regular high school diploma from each cohort graduating class; and (2) the percentage of students in each grade, except the graduating grade, prepared to advance to the next grade. Requires such data to be reported in the aggregate and disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, disability status, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged. Directs states that lack a statewide longitudinal data system with individual student identifiers to make certain interim graduation rate calculations, but requires all states to make the four and five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate calculations by 2012. Requires the use of such rates in determining the success of each high school and LEA in making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward state academic performance standards under the ESEA. Requires schools and LEAs whose four and five-year adjusted cohort graduation rates fall below 90% overall or for any low-income, minority, disabled, migrant, or limited English proficient student subgroup, to make specified yearly progress in improving such rates or be deemed as failing to make AYP.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Graduation Promise Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for differentiated high school improvement systems targeting support to schools with low student achievement and graduation rates after the school fails for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) pursuant to state academic performance standards. Requires LEAs also to use funds to: (1) improve feeder middle schools; and (2) identify and support struggling students before they reach high school. Requires state grantees to establish comprehensive school performance indicators and minimum annual improvement benchmarks for use, in addition to current AYP measures, in analyzing school performance and determining the improvement category into which a school is placed. Directs LEA subgrantees to convene a local school improvement team for each school placed in an improvement category that will use performance indicators to conduct a school needs assessment and develop a multiyear school improvement plan tailored to the school's need categorization. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to: (1) LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education to develop and implement, or replicate, effective school models for struggling students and dropouts; and (2) states to adjust their policies to allow for educational innovations that improve high school graduation rates while ensuring rigorous education content standards and assessments, if such states implement differentiated high school improvement systems and statewide longitudinal student data systems.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Declares that it is the policy of the United States not to: (1) establish any military installation or base for providing for the permanent stationing of U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq; and (2) exercise U.S. control over Iraqi oil resources. Prohibits any funds made available by any Act of Congress from being obligated or expended to: (1) establish any military installation or base for providing for the permanent stationing of U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq; or (2) exercise U.S. economic control of the oil resources of Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2007 - Requires states that receive certain criminal justice assistance grants to report to the Attorney General on a quarterly basis certain information regarding the death of any person who is under arrest, en route to incarceration, or incarcerated in state or local facilities. Imposes penalties on states that fail to comply with such reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Benefit Rating Acceleration for Veteran Entitlements Act of 2007 - Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) and XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act to treat as a disability for OASDI and SSI disability payment purposes any service-connected total disability, as rated and certified by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Applies the same treatment to related child's insurance and widow's and widower's insurance benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2007 - Amends the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act to establish in the Treasury a National Affordable Housing Trust Fund available to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide assistance to states, Indian tribes, insular areas, and participating local jurisdictions to increase the supply of decent quality affordable housing, especially for low-income, extremely low-income, and very poor families.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Family Building Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require a group health plan that provides coverage for obstetrical services to include coverage for non-experimental treatment of infertility that is deemed appropriate by a participant or beneficiary and the treating physician. Requires coverage for assisted reproductive technology only if certain conditions are met. Prohibits a group health plan from taking specified actions to avoid the requirements of this Act. Applies such requirements to health insurance coverage offered in the individual market and coverage offered through Federal Employees Health Benefit (FEHB) plans and Department of Defense health care plans.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Recognizes: (1) the importance of the federal government's continued support of Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA) research; and (2) that federal support of comprehensive centers for rare disease patients enhances the ability for experienced doctors to provide the most complete care for each patient. Commends: (1) Schneider Children's Hospital for providing the first DBA Comprehensive Clinical Care Center and developing the DBA Patient Registry; and (2) the Daniella Maria Arturi Foundation and the Diamon-Blackfan Anemia Foundation for their efforts to facilitate collaboration among the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to achieve a successful multidisciplinary approach aimed at shortening the life cycle of success realized between the laboratory and applied patient care. Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government has a responsibility to encourage further efforts to clarify the natural history of DBA, continue efforts to raise awareness and ease access to information about DBA, encourage research efforts that will advance treatment options and seek a cure, encourage NIH to develop a cross-institutional research initiative to study ribosomal protein deficiencies in rare inherited disease, and encourage continued federal support of the DBA Comprehensive Clinical Care Centers.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2007
Michelle's Law - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan from terminating coverage of a dependent child due to a medically necessary leave of absence from a postsecondary education institution or any other change in enrollment at that institution that commences while such child is suffering from a severe illness or injury and causes such child to lose full-time student status before that earlier of: (1) one year after the first day of the medically necessary leave of absence; or (2) the date on which such coverage would otherwise terminate under the terms of the plan. Requires certification by the child's attending physician. Applies such requirement to coverage offered in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Authorizes the Secretary of State to provide compensation to relatives of U.S. citizens who were killed in the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa on August 7, 1998.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Amends the federal judicial code to allow an alien detained by the United States as an enemy combatant to apply for a writ of habeas corpus, including an application challenging transfer, or bring an action solely for prospective injunctive relief against transfer, except for an alien in a zone of active combat involving U.S. Armed Forces. Limits the review of prosecutions, trials, or judgments of a military commission to that provided by the Code of Military Justice or by a habeas corpus proceeding.
![Official portrait of Rep. Scott, Robert C. "Bobby" [D-VA-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000185_200.jpg)