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United States · Official source
5,946 records where Sen. Baucus, Max [D-MT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to make aerial firefighters eligible for public safety officer death benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit taxpayers to elect to expense (i.e., deduct all expenses in the current taxable year) qualified broadband expenditures, including installation and connection costs for subscribers in rural or underserved areas. Permits mutual or cooperative telephone companies to elect to reduce their unrelated business taxable income in any year by the amount of their qualified broadband expenditures. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) designate census tracts identifying rural and underserved areas under this Act; and (2) prescribe regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act. Prohibits federal or state agencies from adopting regulations and ratemaking procedures that would eliminate or reduce the broadband expense deduction provided by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to taxation of U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporations, to permanently extend the subpart F exemption (which excludes such income from the shareholder's foreign personal holding company income) for active financing (insurance, banking, financing, or similar businesses) income earned on business operations overseas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Requires the Secretary of Defense, within seven days after the enactment of this Act, to submit to Congress all Department of Defense (DOD) documentation related to the 2005 round of defense base closures and realignments. Terminates the 2005 round if such documentation is not provided. Extends certain recommendation submission and related report dates under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 relating to the 2005 round of closures and realignments by the number of days after May 16, 2005, that the above documentation is submitted.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Designates the week of November 6-November 12, 2005, as National Veterans Awareness Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Authorizes use of the rotunda of the Capitol on June 22, 2005, for a ceremony to award Congressional Award Gold Medals to national recipients.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2005
Engine Coolant and Antifreeze Bittering Agent Act of 2005 - Requires engine coolant or antifreeze that is manufactured six months after the enactment of this Act, and that contains more than 10 percent ethylene glycol, to include not less than 30 parts per million nor more than 50 parts per million of denatonium benzoate as a bittering agent so as to render the coolant or antifreeze unpalatable. Requires a coolant or antifreeze manufacturer to maintain records of compliance with this Act. Limits the liability of manufacturers, processors, distributors, recyclers, or sellers of engine coolant or antifreeze who are in compliance with the requirements of this Act for personal and property loss or damage to the environment that results from the inclusion of denatonium benzoate in any coolant or antifreeze. Declares this Act inapplicable to: (1) the sale of a motor vehicle that contains engine coolant or antifreeze; or (2) wholesale containers of 55 gallons or more of engine coolant or antifreeze.
United States · United States Congress · 24 May 2005
College 529 InvEST Act of 2005 - Makes permanent the provision relating to qualified tuition programs enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA).
United States · United States Congress · 23 May 2005
Individual Alternative Minimum Tax Repeal Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the alternative minimum tax on individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2005
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends specified law prohibiting the killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia to declare that nothing in it or any other provision of law shall authorize or be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Redefines "machine gun" to include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on possession of handgun restricted pistol bullets; and (3) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked. Repeals the definition of restricted pistol bullet as any bullet designed for use in a pistol which, when fired from a pistol with a barrel of five inches or less in length, is capable of penetrating commercially available body armor with a penetration resistance equal to or greater than that of 18 layers of kevlar. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends Federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person. Amends the District of Columbia Code to extend to firearms generally (currently, only to pistols) the prohibition against carrying such a weapon either openly or concealed within the District without a license issued pursuant to D.C. law. Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Higher Education Affordability, Access, and Opportunity Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to carry out a student loan program for workforce development for high-growth occupations or industries. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants for: (1) job skill training in high-growth occupations or industries, to partnerships of community colleges and workforce investment boards; and (2) training and job skills for small business owners or operators, to partnerships of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and entities that help small business development. Prohibits, under the student loan program, IHEs and accrediting agencies and associations from restricting transfer of credits in specified ways. Requires studies and dissemination of comparative data on college costs and related matters. Revises teacher quality enhancement grants with respect to high-need local educational agencies and eligible partnerships. Allows states to submit applications, under the leveraging educational assistance partnership program, with philanthropic organizations and public or private IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2005
Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to postpone the 2005 round of defense base closures and realignments, as currently required under such Act, until the last of the following occurs: (1) the complete analysis, consideration, and implementation by the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) of the recommendations of the Commission on Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States; (2) the return from deployment in Iraq of substantially all major U.S. combat units and assets; (3) the receipt by the congressional defense committees of the report on the quadrennial defense review to be submitted by the Secretary in 2006; (4) the complete development and implementation by the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security of the National Maritime Security Strategy; (5) the complete development and implementation by the Secretary of the Homeland Defense and Civil Support directive; and (6) the receipt by the defense committees of a report from the Secretary assessing military installation needs. States that, effective May 13, 2005, the list of recommendations for 2005 base closures and realignments submitted by the Secretary pursuant to such Act shall have no further force and effect.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005 - Amends Federal monetary law to set forth requirements for the redesign and issuance of circulating $1 coins emblematic of each President of the United States. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to issue bullion coins emblematic of the spouse of each such President during the same period in which the $1 coins are issued. Expresses the sense of Congress about the issuance of such coins. Instructs the Secretary to strike and issue for sale $20 gold bullion coins initially bearing the original designs by James Earle Fraser, which appear on the 5-cent coin commonly referred to as the "Buffalo nickel" or the "1913 Type 1." Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to issue 1-cent coins during the year 2009, whose obverse design continues to bear the Victor David Brenner likeness of President Abraham Lincoln, and whose reverse design bears four different designs each representing a different aspect of Lincoln's life.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2005
Code Talkers Recognition Act - Requires 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 commemorative medals of appropriate design to Sioux, Comanche, Choctaw, Sac and Fox, and any other Native American Code Talkers during World War I, World War II, and any other foreign conflict in which the United States was involved during the 20th Century in recognition of their contributions to the United States. Allows the posthumous award of a medal authorized by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Water Resources Research Act Amendments of 2005 - Amends the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 to reauthorize appropriations for water resources research and technology institutes and for research focused on water problems of a regional or interstate nature.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Supports the participants of the historic meeting of the Assembly to Promote the Civil Society in Cuba in May 2005 in Havana. Urges the international community to support the Assembly's mission to bring democracy and human rights to Cuba. Encourages the international community to oppose any attempts by the Cuban Government to repress Assembly organizers and participants. Shares the Assembly's pro-democracy ideals and believes that the Assembly and its mission will advance Cuba's freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2005
Designates July 23, 2005, as National Day of the American Cowboy.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2005
Hospital Fair Competition Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to hospital payments. Provides for the use of estimated costs rather than average charges in establishing weighting factors for diagnosis-related groups under the inpatient hospital prospective payment system. Revises requirements for exceptions to the prohibition against certain physician self-referrals to specialty hospitals in which a physician has invested. Exempts from the limitation on such referrals, and any liability for criminal penalties, specified arrangements between hospitals and physicians.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on certain tax-exempt organizations or other nonexempt persons which acquire a direct or indirect interest in any life insurance, annuity, or endowment contract for 100 percent of the acquisition costs of such interest. Allows an exception from such tax for individuals with insurable interests, named beneficiaries, and trust beneficiaries. Requires tax-exempt organizations and other nonexempt persons which acquire a taxable interest in such insurance contracts to file certain informational returns.
United States · United States Congress · 10 May 2005
Congratulates the National Asphalt Pavement Association on its 50th anniversary. Recognizes and celebrates the achievements of National Asphalt Pavement Association members for their contributions to the economic well-being of U.S. citizens.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2005
Congratulates the members of the National Association of Letter Carriers for their hard work on behalf of the millions of people who go hungry each day and encourages the people of the United States to follow the example of such members by donating food to local food banks and participating in the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive on May 14, 2005, by placing nonperishable food by their mailboxes.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Clean Energy Bonds Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow holders of clean energy bonds a nonrefundable tax credit of 25 percent of an annual credit amount as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury. Defines "clean energy bond" as any bond issued by a clean energy bond lender, a cooperative electric company, a governmental body, or the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) that is used for capital expenditures for specified projects for producing electricity from certain renewable resources, such as wind, biomass, solar energy, small irrigation power, and municipal solid waste. Sets forth rules for maturity limitations, arbitrage, and expenditures, including a requirement that 95 percent of proceeds from the sale of a bond issue be spent on a renewable resource project within five years from the date of a bond issuance. Terminates the authority to issue clean energy bonds after 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Providing Reliable Officers, Technology, Education, Community Prosecutors, and Training In Our Neighborhoods Act of 2005 or the PROTECTION Act - Modifies provisions of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 regarding public safety and community policing ("cops on the beat" program, COPS) to authorize the Attorney General to use COPS grants to: (1) increase prosecutor presence and to enhance law enforcement access to new technologies; (2) pay overtime to existing career law enforcement officers to the extent that such overtime is devoted to community-oriented policing; and (3) promote higher education among in-service State and local law enforcement officers by reimbursing them for certain educational costs. Includes among permitted additional grant projects: (1) specialized integrity and ethics training; and (2) innovative proactive crime control and prevention programs involving school officials and religiously-affiliated organizations. Authorizes the Attorney General to use up to five percent of funds available for technical assistance and training grants in any fiscal year to States, local governments, Indian tribal governments, and other entities. Allows grants to be used to assist: (1) police departments in employing specified professional, scientific, and technological advancements; and (2) State, local, or tribal prosecutors' offices in implementation of community-based prosecution programs that build on local community-oriented policing efforts. Reserves specified funds for local governmental units with a population of less than 50,000. Authorizes the Attorney General to use no more than 50 percent of grant renewal funds to award grants targeted for police officer retention.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Education for Retirement Security Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to provide financial education programs to mid-life and older individuals who reside in local communities in order to: (1) enhance their financial and retirement knowledge; and (2) reduce financial abuse and fraud, including telemarketing, mortgage, and pension fraud, among them. Authorizes the Secretary to award a grant to one or more eligible entities to: (1) create and make available instructional materials and information that promote financial education; and (2) provide training and other related assistance regarding the establishment of financial education programs.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Veterinary Workforce Expansion Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to eligible entities to improve public health preparedness through increasing the number of veterinarians in the workforce. Defines "eligible entities" as accredited public or nonprofit schools of veterinary medicine, departments of comparative medicine, departments of veterinary science, schools of public health, or schools of medicine that offer training for veterinarians in a public health practice area. Requires the Secretary to give preference to applicants that demonstrate a comprehensive approach by involving more than one eligible entity. Allows grantees to use funds to: (1) pay the costs associated with construction, the acquisition of equipment, and other capital costs relating to the expansion of existing schools or departments; and (2) pay the capital costs associated with the expansion of academic programs that offer postgraduate training for veterinarians or concurrent training for veterinary students in specific areas of specialization.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Youth Financial Education Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to allot grants to state educational agencies to provide funds to local educational agencies and public schools for personal financial literacy education programs for students in kindergarten through grade 12, and for professional development programs to prepare teachers and administrators for such financial education. Directs the Secretary to make a grant to or contract with an entity with substantial financial education experience for a national clearinghouse for instructional materials and information on model financial education programs and best practices.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Railroad Competition Act of 2005 - Amends Federal transportation law to specify the primary objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy. Requires a rail carrier, upon shipper request, to establish a rate for transportation and provide requested service between any two points on the carrier's system where traffic originates, terminates, or may reasonably be interchanged. Specifies matters the carrier must disregard when establishing such rate. Prohibits the Surface Transportation Board (STB) from issuing a certificate authorizing construction and operation of railroad lines, or exempt from such certificate requirement any related activity, that involves a transfer of interest in a line of railroad, from a Class I rail carrier to a Class II or III rail carrier, if the activity directly or indirectly would result in a restriction of: (1) the ability of the Class II or Class III rail carrier to interchange traffic with other carriers; or (2) competition between or among rail carriers in the region affected by the activity in a manner or to an extent that would violate Federal antitrust laws. Prescribes a procedure for shipper petition and STB review of any activity alleged to have resulted in a restriction of competition for at least ten years. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the STB to require rail carriers to enter into reciprocal switching agreements. Prohibits the STB from requiring evidence of anticompetitive conduct by a rail carrier from which access is sought. Requires the STB to designate any State or part of a State as an area of inadequate rail competition after making certain findings. Requires the STB to post rail service complaints on its website. Requires submission to arbitration of certain rail rate, service, and other disputes. Requires the STB, with respect to the filing of a complaint, to adopt an alternative method of determining the reasonableness of rail rates using the railroad's actual costs. Amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish within the Department of Agriculture an Office of Rail Customer Advocacy with respect to rail transportation of agricultural and forestry commodities or products. Amends the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976 to make mandatory the Secretary's authority to provide direct loans and loan guarantees to State and local governments, approved agreements or interstate compacts, sponsored authorities and corporations, railroads, and joint ventures that include at least one railroad for railroad rehabilitation and improvement projects.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Commonsense Consumption Act of 2005 - Prohibits new and dismisses pending civil actions by any person against a manufacturer, marketer, distributor, advertiser, or seller of food or a trade association for any injury related to a person's accumulated acts of consumption of food and weight gain, obesity, or any associated health condition, excluding actions alleging: (1) a breach of express contract or express warranty provided that the grounds of recovery are unrelated to a person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; (2) a knowing violation of a federal or state statute applicable to the marketing, advertisement, or labeling of food with intent for a person to rely on that violation, where such person relied on that violation, and where such reliance was the proximate cause of injury related to that person's weight gain, obesity, or related health condition; or (3) a violation brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) under the Federal Trade Commission Act or by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Requires in any excluded action: (1) a stay of discovery during the pendency of any motion to dismiss, unless necessary to preserve evidence or to prevent undue prejudice; and (2) evidence preservation during the stay. Requires the complaint in such an action to plead with particularity: (1) each element of the cause of action; (2) the Federal and State statutes that were allegedly violated; (3) the specific facts alleged to constitute the violation of law; and (4) the specific facts that are alleged to have caused the claimed injury.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Calls for the Administration to: (1) address the lack of intellectual property protection in China and Russia; (2) ensure that any country receiving benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, such as Russia, provides such protection; (3) ensure that action is taken against any country with which the United States shares mutual commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as China, when the country fails to live up to its WTO commitments; and (4) urge Russia to promote measures to enforce such protection to comply with commitments required by WTO. Urges the President to take appropriate additional action to protect the intellectual property rights of U.S. businesses.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2005
Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2005 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of the transactions ordinarily incident to such travel relating to: (1) accompanied personal baggage; (2) payment of living expenses and the acquisition of personal-use goods or services; (3) travel arrangements; (4) nonscheduled air, sea, or land voyage transactions (such provision does not permit the carriage of articles other than accompanied baggage into Cuba or the United States); and (5) normal banking transactions. States that such provision does not: (1) restrict presidential authority in time of war or armed hostilities between the United States and Cuba, or of imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers; and (2) authorize U.S. importation of personal consumption goods acquired in Cuba.
United States · United States Congress · 25 April 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a bona fide association (an association which has been actively in existence for at least five years and has been formed and maintained in good faith for purposes other than obtaining insurance) to maintain an additional reserve fund for medical benefits plans not to exceed 35 percent of the sum of certain direct costs and changes in claims incurred.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins: (1) emblematic of the life and legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt, bearing his image as a Rough Rider on one side and an eagle design on the other side; and (2) bearing his image on horseback on one side and depicting a flaming sword of righteousness on the other side. Expresses the sense of Congress that the coins should be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) issue such coins beginning on January 1, 2006; and (2) initiate coin sales before such date. (2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's award of the Nobel Peace Prize.) Requires payment of $10 surcharges from the coin sales to the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be used exclusively for educational programs at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, including a visitor's center.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005 or the FAIR Act of 2005 - Establishes within the Department of Labor the Office of Asbestos Disease Compensation, to be headed by an Administrator responsible for processing claims for compensation for asbestos-related injuries and managing the Asbestos Injury Claims Resolution Fund (Fund) (established within such Office). Requires the Administrator to: (1) establish an Advisory Committee on Asbestos Disease Compensation; (2) establish a Medical Advisory Committee; (3) establish a comprehensive asbestos claimant assistance program that includes legal assistance; and (4) appoint physicians to claim-specific Physicians Panels. Stays all asbestos claims pending on the date of enactment of this Act (except for specified civil actions already at trial). Sets forth special procedures for the settlement of exigent health claims. Allows non-exigent claims to proceed in Federal or State court if the Fund is not certified as operational within 24 months of enactment. Establishes: (1) procedures for handling claims of asbestos-related disease and injury; (2) occupational exposure presumptions; (3) medical evidence auditing and review procedures and applicable medical criteria; and (4) award amounts and payment methods. Imposes a general five-year statute of limitations for filing claims, with special provisions for pending claims and multiple injuries. Specifies the funding allocation for asbestos defendants required to pay into the Fund. Establishes the Asbestos Insurers Commission to determine Fund payment obligations. Authorizes the Administrator to impose a pro rata surcharge on Fund participants if certain bankruptcy trust assets are unavailable to the Fund and borrowing is insufficient to ensure liquidity. Directs the Administrator to establish a program for the education, consultation, medical screening, and medical monitoring of persons with asbestos exposure. Vests exclusive jurisdiction to review, under expedited consideration: (1) final determinations regarding fund obligations and actions for declaratory and injunctive relief under this Act in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia; and (2) award decisions in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the claimant resides. Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit and establish penalties for fraud and false information in connection with Fund claims. Amends the bankruptcy code to state that Fund contribution obligations are not subject to an automatic stay or dischargeable in bankruptcy. States that nothing in this Act shall be construed to preclude personal injury claims attributable to silica exposure where certain pleading and evidentiary requirements are met. Requires remedies provided by this Act to be the exclusive remedy for asbestos claims except with regard to specified civil actions already at trial. Addresses the effect of this Act on insurance and reinsurance contracts. Requires the sunset of specified provisions of this Act if the Administrator determines that the Fund has insufficient resources. Requires the Administrator to refer possible violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), the Clean Air Act, and the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to listed officials for possible civil or criminal penalties. Amends OSHA to enhance criminal penalties for willful violations of occupational standards for asbestos. Directs the Administrator to assess Fund contributions from individuals who have violated asbestos laws administered by the Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and their State counterparts. Requires the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review Federal sentencing guidelines to ensure that environmental crimes relating to asbestos are sufficiently punished. Prohibits discrimination in health insurance coverage against persons who participate in medical monitoring programs under this Act. Amends TSCA to require the Administrator of EPA to promulgate regulations prohibiting the manufacture, processing, or distribution in commerce of asbestos containing products, subject to specified exemptions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2005
Taxpayer Protection and Assistance Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make grants to establish tax return preparation clinics for low-income taxpayers; (2) regulate the conduct of enrolled agents before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (3) regulate and test paid income tax preparers; (4) contract for the development or administration of examinations for paid income tax preparers; (5) require the registration of refund anticipation loan facilitators; and (6) award demonstration project grants to assist low-income taxpayers without bank accounts to obtain such accounts with federally insured depository institutions. Establishes in the IRS the Office of Professional Responsibility to administer the regulation of paid income tax preparers. Requires refund anticipation loan facilitators to make specified disclosures to taxpayers about refund loan transactions. Requires a set aside of a portion of Tax Court practitioner fees for assistance to pro se taxpayers in the Tax Court.
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 · 15 April 2005
National Parks Anniversaries-Great American Spaces Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue silver coins emblematic of certain National Parks that are observing historic anniversaries of their founding. Directs the Secretary to take action to ensure that minting and issuing coins under this Act will not result in any net cost to the United States Government. Prohibits coin issuance unless the Secretary has received: (1) full payment for the coin; (2) security satisfactory to the Secretary to indemnify the United States for full payment; or (3) a guarantee of full payment satisfactory to the Secretary from a depository institution whose deposits are insured by either the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the National Credit Union Administration Board.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
National Drought Preparedness Act of 2005 - Establishes in the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture the National Drought Council which shall develop a comprehensive National Drought Policy Action Plan, evaluate and coordinate Federal drought-related programs, establish and improve the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), and undertake public awareness activities. Terminates the Council eight years after enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to establish the National Office of Drought Preparedness to assist the Council. Establishes in the Treasury the Drought Assistance Fund, which shall be used to pay the cost of technical and financial assistance to States, Indian tribes, local governments, watershed groups, and critical service providers for: (1) drought preparedness plans and drought mitigation; (2) expanding the technology transfer of drought and water conservation strategies and innovative water supply techniques; (3) developing post-drought evaluations and recommendations; and (4) supplementing the costs of implementing NIDIS-related actions undertaken pursuant to this Act. Directs the Secretary to issue related implementing guidelines, including special requirements applicable to interstate watersheds. Requires Federal agencies to develop and implement drought preparedness plans. Authorizes States, Indian tribes, local governments, watershed groups, and regional water providers to develop and implement such plans. Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to require the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse States for costs of prepositioning wildfire suppression resources.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Amends Federal veterans' benefits provisions to require that a member insured under the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program be automatically issued a traumatic injury protection rider that will provide a payment of up to $100,000 per event if the member, while so insured, sustains a traumatic injury that results in: (1) a loss of sight, limbs, movement, speech, or hearing; (2) certain burns; or (3) a coma or the inability to carry out certain daily living activities. Provides coverage exceptions, including attempted suicide or self-inflicted injury, committing or attempting to commit a felony, being legally intoxicated, or willful misconduct. Provides specific payment amounts with respect to each type of injury or loss. Requires the payment, while a member is serving on active or reserve duty, of premiums for such additional coverage. Terminates such coverage upon separation from the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Constitutional Amendment - Grants Congress power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.
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 · 7 April 2005
Declares that: (1) European governments should reject Airbus' pending application for launch aid for the A350 and any future applications for launch aid; (2) the European Union, acting for itself and on behalf of its Member States, should renew its commitment to the terms agreed to on January 11, 2005; (3) the U.S. Trade Representative should request the formation of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution panel at the earliest possible opportunity if there is no immediate agreement to eliminate launch aid for the A350 and all future models and no concrete progress toward a comprehensive bilateral agreement covering all government supports in the large aircraft sector; and (4) the President should take any additional action the President considers appropriate to protect the U.S. interests in fair competition in the large commercial aircraft market.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal specified occupational taxes relating to distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Revises recordkeeping requirements for wholesale and retail liquor dealers. Requires liquor dealers who are subject to recordkeeping requirements to register with the Secretary of the Treasury. Makes it unlawful for any liquor dealer to purchase distilled spirits for resale from any person other than a wholesale dealer in liquor subject to recordkeeping requirements.
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
New Shipper Review Amendment Act of 2005 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 with respect to reviews by the administering authority to establish an individual weighted average dumping margin or an individual countervailing duty rate (as the case may be) for a new exporter or producer that: (1) did not export the merchandise that was the subject of an antidumping duty or countervailing duty order to the United States during the period of investigation; and (2) was not affiliated with any exporter or producer who did. Suspends, until three years after enactment of this Act, the requirement that the administering authority direct the Customs Service to allow, at the option of the importer of such merchandise, the posting, until completion of the review, of a bond or security in lieu of a cash deposit for each entry of the subject merchandise (bonding privileges).
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
United States Tax Court Modernization Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise and add provisions relating to the U.S. Tax Court, including: (1) granting exclusive jurisdiction to the Tax Court over collection due process case appeals; (2) permitting the assignment of cases involving small employment tax disputes ($50,000 or less) to special trial judges; (3) confirming that the Tax Court may apply the doctrine of equitable recoupment to the same extent that it is available in civil tax cases before the U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims; (4) applying the filing fee for Tax Court petitions to all petitions filed in such Court; (5) permitting the Tax Court to establish its own personnel management system, including merit system and nondiscrimination requirements; and (6) requiring a portion of Tax Court practitioner fees to be used for services to pro se taxpayers. Revises and adds personnel provisions for Tax Court judges and employees, including: (1) allowance of indexed payments for survivors of assassinated judges with less than five years of service; (2) inclusion of active and retired Tax Court judges in the Federal employees group life insurance program (FEGLI); (3) authorizing the Tax Court to pay increases in the costs of FEGLI coverage for judges age 65 or over; (4) allowing Tax Court judges to participate in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP); and (5) expanding the role of, and benefits for, active and retired magistrate judges.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Indian and Alaska Native Foster Care and Adoption Services Amendments of 2005 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize an Indian tribe or intertribal consortium operating a foster care program to receive Federal foster care maintenance payments for children placed in its custody. Requires the State to make such payments if the tribe or consortium does not operate such a program but does have a cooperative agreement with the State for such purpose.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Designates April 2005 as Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may be associated with a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Designates July 23, 2005, and July 22, 2006, as National Day of the American Cowboy.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Congratulates the Montana Future Farmers of America (FFA) on its 75th anniversary.