United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on State taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2005
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2005 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides. Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of his or her right to make such request. Authorizes the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge may refer in making decisions regarding the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2005
Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln in commemoration of the bicentennial of his birth. Permits issuance of such coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2009. Subjects the coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Workforce Health Improvement Program Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of employees: (1) the value of any on-premises employer-provided athletic facility; and (2) fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility by an employer for its employees, but not exceeding $900 per employee per year. Allows employers a tax deduction for fees, dues, or membership expenses paid to an athletic or fitness facility. Limits the amount of such deduction to $900 per employee per year.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Small Business Compliance Assistance Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 to require an agency to prepare a compliance guide to assist small entities in complying with a Federal rule or group of related rules for which an agency is required to prepare a final regulatory flexibility analysis whenever an agency determines that a Federal rule or group of rules will have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Math and Science Incentive Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Education to carry out a program of assuming the obligation to pay up to $10,000 of interest on certain student loans under the Higher Education Act of 1965, for certain borrowers who agree to serve for five years as: (1) teachers of science, technology, engineering or mathematics at an elementary or secondary school; or (2) mathematics, science or engineering professionals. Requires that selection of program participants from among eligible applicants be based on: (1) U.S. national security, homeland security, and economic security needs; and (2) the applicant's academic record or job performance. Allows other factors to be considered in such selection.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Highway Funding Equity Act of 2005 - Amends Federal highway law to revise Federal highway minimum guarantee requirements. Requires the Secretary of Transportation, for each of FY 2005 through 2009, to allocate among the States amounts sufficient to ensure that the percentage for each State of the total apportionments for the fiscal year for certain Federal-aid highway programs (including the basic minimum guarantee under this Act) equals or exceeds 95 percent of the ratio that the estimated gas tax payments attributable to highway users in the State paid into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) bears to such payments attributable to highway users in all States (with a specified exception for any State having a population density of less than 50 individuals per square mile). Provides for: (1) the programmatic distribution of funds above $2.8 billion for certain Federal-aid highway programs; (2) the apportionment of the remainder of funds to the States; and (3) required adjustments where the sum of State percentages exceeds 100 percent.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Designates April 15, 2005, as National Youth Service Day. Recognizes and commends the significant contributions of American youth. Encourages the cultivation of a common civic bond among young people dedicated to serving their neighbors, their communities, and the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2005
Federal Internet Tax Prohibition Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt Internet access service from the excise tax on communication services.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2005
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) establish ongoing collaborations with community organizations; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions; (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation; and (5) use innovative approaches to study unexplored areas of the environment and breast cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to make recommendations for and to review grants awarded under this Act
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2005
Congratulates the Virginia Union University Panthers for winning the 2005 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Men's Basketball Championship.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit a person from using any telephone facsimile (fax) machine, computer, or other device to send, to another fax machine, an unsolicited advertisement to a person who has requested that such sender not send such advertisements, or to any other person unless: (1) the sender has an established business relationship with the person; and (2) the advertisement contains a conspicuous notice on its first page that the recipient may request not to be sent any further unsolicited advertisements, and includes a domestic telephone and fax number (neither of which can be a pay-per-call number) for sending such a request. Requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to provide that a request not to send unsolicited advertisements complies with FCC requirements if: (1) the request identifies the recipient fax number to which the request relates; (2) the request is made to the telephone or fax number of the sender; and (3) the person making the request has not subsequently provided express invitation or permission to have such advertisements sent. Authorizes the FCC to allow professional tax-exempt trade associations to send unsolicited advertisements to their members in furtherance of association purposes. Requires the: (1) FCC to report annually to Congress on the enforcement of the above requirements; and (2) Comptroller General to study, and report to specified congressional committees on, complaints received by the FCC concerning unsolicited advertisements sent to fax machines.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable or educational purposes and which make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to continue to be treated as tax-exempt organizations so long as all of the active members of the recipient organization are full-time students at the college or university with which the recipient organization is associated.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Joins the world in mourning the death of Pope John Paul II, and pays tribute to him by pledging to be ever faithful to our national calling to be "one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,'' and to help our neighbors in immeasurable ways.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2005
Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to prohibit U.S. courts from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any assertion of rights by an individual (currently, by a designated Cuban national) of a mark, trade name, or commercial name that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated by the Cuban government unless the original owner of such mark or name, or such owner's bona fide successor, has expressly consented. Applies such prohibition only if the individual asserting the rights knew or had reason to know at the time of acquiring the rights asserted that the mark or name was the same or substantially similar to the mark or name used in connection with the business or assets that were confiscated.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2005
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the anti-secession law of the People's Republic of China (PRC) provides a legal justification for the use of force against Taiwan, altering the status quo in the region and is of grave concern to the United States; (2) the President should direct appropriate U.S. officials to convey such concern to their PRC counterparts; (3) the U.S. Government should reaffirm its policy that Taiwan's future should be resolved peacefully and with the consent of the people of Taiwan; and (4) the U.S. Government should continue to encourage Taiwan-PRC dialogue.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act - Directs the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) created by this Act to establish a modern system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products. Specifies regulatory requirements for workshare discounts. Directs United States Postal Service (USPS) Governors to establish rates and classes for products in the competitive category of mail. Authorizes the USPS to conduct market tests of experimental products. Establishes a Postal Service Competitive Products Fund. Prohibits the USPS from engaging in unfair competition. Abrogates the USPS's immunity from suit for violations of the Trademark Act of 1946 and those provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act concerning unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Sets forth qualifications and requirements for Governors. Requires the appointment of a mediator (in lieu of current factfinding panel) in the event of USPS labor disputes. Authorizes USPS bonuses or other awards to Postal Service officers and employees in senior executive or equivalent positions. Replaces the Postal Rate Commission with the Postal Regulatory Commission. Postal Civil Service Retirement and Health Benefits Funding Amendments of 2004 - Modifies the USPS's contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System. Establishes a USPS Retiree Health Benefits Fund. Repeals a provision of the Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 which addressed the disposition of savings under that Act. Addresses the temporary disability and disability retirement of postal employees. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding Postal Service purchasing reform.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Supports the U.S. embargo on the People's Republic of China (PRC). Urges the European Union (EU) to: (1) continue its ban on all arms exports to the PRC; (2) make its Code of Conduct on Arms Exports legally enforceable in all EU states; (3) more carefully regulate the end-use of military and dual-use technology; and (4) increase transparency in its arms and dual-use export control regimes. Encourages the U.S. Government to make clear that a lifting of such EU arms embargo would potentially adversely affect transatlantic defense cooperation, including future transfers of U.S. military technology, services, and equipment to EU countries. Deplores the ongoing human rights abuses in the PRC. Urges the United States and the EU to develop a common strategy to seek: (1) human rights improvement in the PRC; (2) an end to the PRC's military build-up aimed at Taiwan; (3) improvement in the PRC's export control practices; (4) an end to the proliferation by state-sponsored entities in the PRC of technology related to weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles; and (5) an end to the proliferation by state and non-state owned entities and individuals in the PRC of military equipment involving countries, such as Burma and Sudan, whose armies have played a role in human rights violations against members of ethnic and religious minorities.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the anti-secession law of the People's Republic of China (PRC) provides a legal justification for the use of force against Taiwan, altering the status quo in the region, and thus is of grave concern to the United States; (2) the President of the United States should direct all appropriate U.S. officials to reflect the grave concern with which the United States views the passage of China's anti-secession law in particular, and the growing Chinese military threats to Taiwan in general, to their counterpart officials in the Government of the PRC; and (3) the U.S. Government should reaffirm its policy that the future of Taiwan should be resolved by peaceful means and with the consent of the people of Taiwan, and continue to encourage dialogue between Taiwan and the PRC.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Support our Scouts Act of 2005 - Prohibits any Federal law from being construed to limit any Federal agency from providing any form of support for a youth organization (including the Boy Scouts of America or any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America) that would result in that Federal agency providing less support to that youth organization (or any similar organization chartered under Federal law relating to the Boy Scouts of America) than was provided during each of the preceding four fiscal years. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to prohibit any State or unit of general local government that has a designated open forum, limited public forum, or nonpublic forum and that is a recipient of assistance under the Act from denying equal access or a fair opportunity to meet to, or discriminate against, any youth organization, including the Boy Scouts of America or any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, that wishes to conduct a meeting or otherwise participate in that designated open forum, limited public forum, or nonpublic forum.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Investment in America Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) increase the rates of the alternative incremental credit for certain research expenses; and (3) permit a taxpayer election of an alternative simplified tax credit for research expenses in lieu of the standard tax credit for increasing research activities.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Urges the European Union (EU) to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Condemns Hezbollah's continuous terrorist attacks, and its support of Palestinian terrorist organizations on the EU terrorist list, such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
Social Security Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) Government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins emblematic of the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School and its contribution to civil rights in America, beginning January 1, 2007. Terminates such minting authority after December 31, 2007. States that all sales shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin, to be equally divided and paid to: (1) the Jefferson National Parks Association for the purpose of providing support for programs and other developmental activities at the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site and support for the ongoing mission of the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior for site improvements at the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, including the establishment of cooperative agreements to preserve and restore the historic character of the vicinity in the historic site's boundaries. States that Congress intends for such surcharges to supplement amounts provided to the Secretary in appropriation Acts for the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, and are not intended to be a substitute for such appropriated amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Expresses solidarity with the people of Spain as they commemorate the victims of the March 2004 Madrid terrorist attacks, and condemns such attacks and all other terrorist acts against innocent civilians. Welcomes: (1) the European Union (EU) decision to mark the anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on European soil with a Day of Civic and Democratic Dialogue; and (2) the Club of Madrid initiative to bring together leaders and experts to develop an agenda for fighting terrorism and strengthening democracy. Calls upon the United States and all nations to continue to work together to identify and prosecute the perpetrators of the Madrid attacks. Looks forward to receiving the recommendations of the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism, and Security for strengthening international cooperation against terrorism through democratic means.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Condemns: (1) all acts of terrorism against innocent people in Lebanon and around the world; and (2) the continued presence of Syrian troops in Lebanon and calls for their immediate removal. Urges the President to consider imposing additional sanctions on Syria under the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003. Supports the people of Lebanon in their quest for a democratic government.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Amends Federal highway law to authorize a State to permit a low-emission vehicle or hybrid vehicle with fewer than two occupants to operate in high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
RU-486 Suspension and Review Act of 2005 - Deems the approved application for the drug mifepristone (marketed as Mifeprex, commonly known as RU-486, and used for the chemically induced termination of intrauterine pregnancy) to have been withdrawn. Deems the drug misoprostol as misbranded under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) if it bears labeling providing that the drug may be used for the medical termination of intrauterine pregnancy. Directs the Comptroller General to review and report on the process by which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone. Provides for the reinstatement of the approved application for such drug if the report determines the approval to have been in accordance with FFDCA.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Amends Federal provisions concerning the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (a civilian youth opportunities program conducted by the Secretary of Defense) to provide a maximum Federal matching funds level of 65 percent of the costs of operating the State program during FY 2006, 70 percent during FY 2007, and 75 percent during FY 2008 and beyond.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Commemorates the 40th anniversary, on March 7, 2005, of Bloody Sunday (the day of the civil rights march and demonstration for African American voting rights in Selma, Alabama).
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to Federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2005 - Extends Federal recognition to: (1) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe; (2) the Chickahominy Indian Tribe - Eastern Division; (3) the Upper Mattaponi Tribe; (4) the Rappahannock Tribe, Inc.; (5) the Monacan Indian Nation; and (6) the Nansemond Indian Tribe. Sets forth the service areas of the various Tribes and requirements for the Tribes with respect to submission of a membership roll, adoption of a constitution, and election of officials. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, upon certain land transfers, to take specified lands into trust for the various Tribes' benefit.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2005
Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) to extend the terrorism risk insurance program from 2005 through 2007. Defines "Program Year 4" as calendar 2006 and "Program Year 5" as calendar 2007. Extends coverage for insured losses under a policy issued during Program Year 5 through December 31, 2008, at the latest. Increases the insurance marketplace aggregate retention amount for Program Years 4 and 5. Directs the Secretary to apply TRIA to providers of group life insurance. Instructs the Presidential Working Group on Financial Markets to report to Congress its recommendations for legislation to address the long-term availability and affordability of insurance for terrorism risk.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services: (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support State comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of Federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current Federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Presidential Sites Improvement Act - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to award grants to owners or operators of Presidential sites for major maintenance and improvement projects. Defines "Presidential site" as a site related to a President of the United States that has national significance, is open to the public, and is owned or operated by a State or private institution, organization, or person. Establishes the Presidential Site Grant Commission to review applications for grants and to make recommendations for the awarding of grants under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2005 - Establishes within the National Science Foundation (NSF) an Office of Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology to: (1) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements (assistance) to eligible institutions to provide educational instruction in digital and wireless network technologies; and (2) strengthen the national digital and wireless infrastructure by increasing national investment in telecommunications and technology infrastructure at eligible institutions. Requires the NSF Director to establish an advisory council on the best approaches for involving eligible institutions in supported activities and for reviewing and evaluating submitted proposals. Requires the council to include members from minority serving institutions. Makes the following institutions eligible for such assistance: (1) a historically Black college or university; (2) a Hispanic-, Alaska Native-, or Native Hawaiian-serving institution; (3) a tribally controlled college or university; or (4) an institution determined to have enrolled a substantial number of minority, low-income students who received assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965. Provides a matching funds requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Build America Bonds Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax credit to a taxpayer holding a Build America bond on one of its credit allowance dates. Defines a Build America bond as any bond issued by the Transportation Finance Corporation as part of an issue if the net spendable proceeds from the sale of such issue are to be used for expenditures incurred for any qualified project, or for deposit in the Build America Trust Account for repayment of Build America bonds at maturity. Defines: (1) qualified project as any qualified highway project and qualified public transportation project proposed by one or more States and approved by the Transportation Finance Corporation; and (2) qualified highway project as any project of regional or national significance, freight intermodal connector project, multistate corridor program, and border planning and capacity improvement program. Establishes the nonprofit Transportation Finance Corporation to: (1) issue Build America bonds for the financing of qualified projects; (2) establish and operate the Build America Trust Account; (3) leverage resources and stimulate public and private investment in transportation infrastructure; and (4) perform any other function the sole purpose of which is to carry out the financing of qualified projects through Build America bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the classification, for depreciation purposes, of any motorsports entertainment complex as seven year property.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2005 - Provides that the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (i.e., December 31, 2010) shall not apply to the repeal of the Federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax (thus making such repeal permanent).
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Reopen Reagan National to General Aviation Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to implement regulations permitting the resumption of non-scheduled, commercial air carrier (air charter) and general aviation operations at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Allows such regulations to provide reasonable requirements to ensure the security of airport operations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 February 2005
Condemns the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, and extends condolences to Prime Minister Hariri's family and the people of Lebanon. Supports United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1559 calling for the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon. Urges the President to: (1) seek a UN Security Council resolution creating an independent investigation into the assassination; and (2) consider imposing sanctions under the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003. Supports the call of the Lebanese people for an end to Syria's presence in Lebanon, and for free, internationally-monitored elections.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor across a state line to obtain an abortion (deems such transporting to be a de facto abridgment of the right of a parent under any law in the minor’s state of residence that requires parental involvement in the minor’s abortion decision). Makes an exception for an abortion necessary to save the life of the minor. Protects from prosecution or civil liability the minor or the minor’s parents for violations of this Act. Makes it an affirmative defense to a prosecution or civil action under this Act that a defendant reasonably believed that before the minor obtained the abortion, the required parental consent or notification or judicial authorization took place. Authorizes any parent who suffers harm from a violation of this Act to seek relief in a civil action. Defines "parent" to include a guardian, legal custodian, or person standing in loco parentis.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act - Prohibits a qualified civil liability action from being brought in any State or Federal court against a manufacturer or seller of a firearm, ammunition, or a component of a firearm that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce (or against a trade association of such manufacturers or sellers) for damages, punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory relief, abatement, restitution, fines, or penalties, or other relief, resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a firearm. Requires pending actions to be dismissed. Excludes actions: (1) brought against persons who transfer a firearm knowing that it will be used to commit a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime, by a party directly harmed by such crime; (2) brought against a seller for negligent entrustment or negligence per se; (3) in which a manufacturer or seller of a firearm knowingly violated a State or Federal statute applicable to the sale or marketing of the firearm, and the violation was a proximate cause of the harm for which relief is sought; (4) for breach of contract or warranty in connection with the purchase of the firearm; or (5) for death, physical injuries, or property damage resulting directly from a defect in design or manufacture of the firearm when used as intended or in a reasonably foreseeable manner, except that where the discharge was caused by a volitional act that constituted a criminal offense, such act shall be considered the sole proximate cause of any resulting death, personal injuries, or property damage.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2005
Authorizes the President, on behalf of Congress, to award a gold medal collectively to the Tuskegee Airmen in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.