United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2005
Elder Justice Act - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to add a new title XXII (Elder Justice) to establish: (1) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) an Office of Elder Justice (OEJ); (2) within the Office of the Secretary the Elder Justice Coordinating Council to make recommendations to the Secretary and the Attorney General for the coordination of activities of HHS, the Department of Justice, and other relevant federal, state, local, and private agencies and entities, relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation and other crimes against elders; and (3) the Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. Prescribes requirements for uniform collection, maintenance, and dissemination of national data relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, including an Elder Justice Resource Center in OEJ. Authorizes the HHS Secretary to award grants for: (1) prevention of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (2) five Centers of Excellence nationwide specializing in research, clinical practice, and training relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; (3) six diverse communities to examine various types of elder shelters and test various models for establishing safe havens; (4) nonprofit organizations and faith-based organizations to establish or continue volunteer programs focusing on the issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation, or providing related services; and (5) various multidisciplinary elder justice activities. Provides for: (1) reporting to law enforcement of crimes occurring in federally-funded long-term care facilities; (2) revising the quality of long-term care; and (3) increasing consumer information about long-term care, including an HHS long-term care consumer clearinghouse. Amends: (1) the Older Americans Act of 1965 with respect to the long-term care ombudsman program; (2) part A (General Provisions) of SSA title XI to establish an adult protective services grant program; (3) SSA titles XVIII (Medicare) and XIX (Medicaid) to assure safety of residents when nursing facilities close; and (4) part E (Miscellaneous) to apply skilled nursing facility preventive abuse requirements to long-term care facilities and providers. Establishes within the Department of Justice an Office of Elder Justice. Authorizes the Attorney General to award: (1) victim advocacy grants; and (2) grants for specified support to local and state prosecutors handling elder justice-related cases. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide for a long-term care facility worker employment tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should act to reduce risks posed by global climate change and to foster economic growth by: (1) participating in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and leading efforts in other international fora with the objective of securing U.S. participation in agreements that advance and protect U.S. interests, that establish mitigation commitments by all countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases, that establish flexible international mechanisms to minimize the cost of efforts by participating countries, and that achieve a significant long-term reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions; and (2) establishing a bipartisan Senate observer group to monitor international negotiations on climate change and to ensure that the advice and consent function of the Senate is exercised to facilitate timely consideration of any applicable treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Stolen Valor Act of 2005 - Amends the federal criminal code to expand the prohibition against wearing, manufacturing, or selling military decorations or medals without legal authorization to prohibit purchasing, soliciting, mailing, shipping, importing, exporting, producing blank certificates of receipt for, advertising, trading, bartering, or exchanging such decorations or medals without authorization. Prohibits falsely representing oneself as having been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the Armed Forces or any of the service medals or badges. Increases penalties for violations if the offense involves a distinguished service cross, an Air Force Cross, a Navy Cross, a silver star, or a Purple Heart.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
School Energy Crisis Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a grants program for eligible local educational agencies that have experienced the highest percentage increase (or expenditure increase) in transportation and heating fuel costs among all local educational agencies in a state for a specific time period during the 2005-2006 school year, in comparison to the same time period during the 2004-2005 school year.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Veterans Day 2005 shall be commemorated with appropriate tributes to all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the conferees for any budget reconciliation bill of the 109th Congress shall not report a reconciliation bill that would: (1) allow States to reduce coverage for medically necessary health care for poor or low-income children or impose premiums, deductibles, copayments, or coinsurance on them; (2) reduce coverage of, or payment for, medical case management services under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act for children in foster care, including targeted case management services; or (3) allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to undertake any Health Opportunity Account demonstrations involving such children.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the conferees for any budget reconciliation bill of the 109th Congress shall not report a reconciliation bill that would with respect to low-income children, pregnant women, disabled individuals, elderly individuals, individuals with chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS, cancer, and diabetes, individuals with mental illnesses, and other Medicaid beneficiaries: (1) impair access to Medicaid services; (2) undermine eligibility for such beneficiaries; (3) make Medicaid services unaffordable, hence unavailable, to them; or (4) cut health care services them. Expresses the sense of the Senate, also, that the conferees shall not report a reconciliation bill that would undermine the federal guarantee of health insurance coverage that the Medicaid program provides, which would threaten not only the health care safety net of the United States, but the entire health care system of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Henry Giugni, former Sergeant-at-Arms of the United States Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on November 3, 2005, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Henry Giugni.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Second Chance Act of 2005: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act of 2005 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions regarding adult and juvenile offender reentry demonstration projects, including by authorizing funds for grants to: (1) provide structured post-release housing and transitional housing; and (2) establish or expand the use of reentry courts. Sets forth grant priorities and requirements, including that each applicant establish or empower a Reentry Task Force or other authority. Authorizes the Attorney General to make a grant to provide for the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center. Directs the Attorney General to establish an interagency task force on federal offender reentry programs. Authorizes research on offender reentry. Directs: (1) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to review the role of state child protective services at the time of arrest; and (2) the Secretary of Labor to implement a program to educate employers and one-stop center workforce development providers about existing incentives and tax credits for hiring former prisoners. Amends the federal criminal code to direct a court to revoke a term of supervised release or a sentence of probation for a defendant who commits a crime of violence against, or an offense of unlawful sexual contact with, a person under age 16. Requires: (1) the Department of Justice to modify existing procedures and policies to enhance case planning and improve the transition of persons from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to the community, including placement of such individuals in community corrections facilities; and (2) the Bureau to establish reentry planning procedures.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Act - Requires the Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to expand, intensify, and coordinate the Institute's research activities on inflammatory bowel disease, with an emphasis on: (1) genetic research on susceptibility for inflammatory bowel disease; (2) research targeted to increase knowledge about the causes and complications of inflammatory bowel disease in children; (3) animal model research; (4) clinical research; (5) expansion of the Institute's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Centers program with a focus on pediatric research; and (6) other research initiatives identified in specified documents. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prepare a National Inflammatory Bowel Disease Action Plan to: (1) address the burden of inflammatory bowel disease in both adult and pediatric populations; (2) address strategies for determining the prevalence of the disease in the United States and the unique demographic characteristics of the patient community; (3) focus on strategies for increasing awareness about the disease within the general public and the health care community; and (4) address mechanisms designed to prevent the progression of the disease and the development of complications.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act - Amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to provide, beginning on October 1, 2004, and for each of the seven succeeding one-year periods, duty-free treatment for apparel items wholly assembled or knit-to-shape in Haiti (without regard to the country of origin of the fabrics, components, or yarns) if the President certifies to Congress that Haiti: (1) has established or is progressing toward specified political, economic, and social reforms; (2) does not engage in activities that undermine U.S. security or foreign policy; (3) does not engage in gross violations of human rights or activities in support of international terrorism; and (4) is meeting specified enforcement conditions aimed at preventing tariff or quota avoidance, customs evasion, unlawful transshipment, or false information or false document use in order to obtain such preferential treatment. Applies such provisions to goods entered or withdrawn from a warehouse for consumption on or after October 1, 2004, including a retroactive application to certain warehouse entries or withdrawals made between such date and the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2005
Declares that Congress honors the trail-blazing life and pioneering accomplishments of Congressman Edward Roybal from California and expresses its condolences on his passing.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society to rehabilitate the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2005
National Biodefense and Pandemic Preparedness Act of 2005 - Establishes the National BioVenture Trust as a federal government corporation to administer the BioShield Act and support the development of countermeasures. Requires the Trust to establish a Vulnerable Populations Working Group. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide for adequate countermeasure domestic manufacturing capacity and construction of additional facilities. Expands the definition of "security countermeasure" to include vaccines or microbicides used to treat or prevent certain diseases or viruses that may contribute to a pandemic. Provides incentives for development and production of countermeasures. Allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to support the cost of screening, research, development, testing, and initial manufacture of potential candidates for countermeasures. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Commission of Food and Drugs, to facilitate the prompt development, review, and approval of security countermeasures. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require postmarket studies for countermeasures after an exigency requiring the use of the drug arises. Establishes the Biodefense Injury Compensation Program to provide compensation for damages that are likely caused by the administration of a covered countermeasure. Extends liability protection for health professionals administering small pox countermeasures to include other countermeasures. Sets forth provisions regarding pandemic influenza preparedness plans, a buyback program for influenza vaccines, price gouging, an influenza vaccine electronic tracking system, and critical antimicrobial drugs. Establishes the National Institute of Pathology and a Board of Regents of the Institute. Transfers to the Institute certain functions of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Requires the Secretary to establish the National Advisory Committee on Vulnerable Populations and Terrorism. Requires the Secretary to establish a Select Agent Advisory Committee to advise on matters related to security checks for individuals handling biological agents or toxins.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2005
Border Law Enforcement Relief Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to award grants to a tribal, state, or local law enforcement agency located in a county within 100 miles of a U.S. border with Canada or Mexico, or in a county beyond 100 miles that has been certified by the Secretary as a high impact area, to provide assistance in addressing: (1) criminal activity that occurs by virtue of proximity to the border; and (2) the U.S. government's failure to adequately secure its borders. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the costs incurred by law enforcement agencies in connection with such criminal activity or failure.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
Energy-Water Efficiency Technology Research, Development, and Transfer Program Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a National Laboratories energy-water efficiency and supply technology research, development, and transfer program for the transfer and commercialization of economically viable and cost-effective energy-water efficiency and supply technologies. Designates the following as Program Lead Laboratories: (1) Sandia National Laboratory, New Mexico; (2) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee; and (3) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California. Prescribes guidelines for water supply technology assessment. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish the Energy-Water Efficiency and Supply Technology Advisory Panel; (2) provide competitive grants to entities with expertise in the conduct of energy-water efficiency and supply technology projects; and (3) enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct periodic peer reviews of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
Commends the late Constance Baker Motley, the first African-American woman appointed and confirmed for a federal judgeship and the former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, for her service on the court and her lifelong commitment to civil rights and social justice.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Compacts of Free Association Amendments Act of 2005 - Amends the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 with respect to: (1) the provision of emergency and disaster assistance through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands; (2) Palau; and (3) the continuation of legal services to the citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands residing in the United States (including territories and possessions).
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Conveys to the government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands submerged lands surrounding such Islands and extending three geographical miles outward from their coastlines. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to resolve certain claims of the Commonwealth arising pursuant to the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Medicare Informed Choice Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to: (1) provide for an extended period of open enrollment during all of 2006 without late enrollment penalty; (2) give Medicare beneficiaries the opportunity to make a one-time change in prescription drug plan enrollment at any point in 2006; and (3) provide protection from loss of employment-based retiree health coverage upon enrollment for Medicare prescription drug benefit, including a Medicare Advantage-Prescription Drug benefit, during 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Safety Net Inpatient Drug Affordability Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the discount drug program to include any inpatient or outpatient drug purchased by qualified hospitals without a group purchasing arrangement. (Currently, such hospitals are only allowed to purchase discounted outpatient drugs.) Requires such hospitals to provide the state with a rebate on the estimated annual costs of single source, innovator multiple source, and noninnovator multiple source drugs provided to Medicaid recipients for inpatient use. Sets forth a method for calculating the amount of such rebate. Allows critical access hospitals that do not obtain covered outpatient drugs through a group purchasing organization or other group purchasing arrangement to participate in the discount drug program.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2005
Medicare Beneficiary Assistance Improvement Act - Renames the benefit programs for lower income Medicare beneficiaries under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA), commonly referred to as the "qualified Medicare beneficiary (QMB) program" and the "special low-income Medicare beneficiary (SLMB) program," as the Medicare Savings Programs. Amends SSA title XIX with respect to Medicare Savings Programs to: (1) increase the SLMB eligibility income level from 120% to 135% of the poverty line; (2) deem to be qualified Medicare beneficiaries in certain states individuals already receiving benefits under SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI); (3) permit individual self-certification of income and use of a simplified QMB or SLMB application form; (4) provide for automatic reenrollment; (5) direct the Commissioner of Social Security to provide for QMB and SLMB outreach through local offices of the Social Security Administration; (6) eliminate the assets test; (7) prohibit estate recovery under QMB and SLMB; and (8) provide for three months retroactive eligibility with respect to Medicare cost-sharing for QMBs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of Social Security to arrange for a demonstration project to identify Medicare beneficiaries who are likely, based on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) data, to qualify for benefits under the QMB or SLMB programs, or to be entitled to a premium or cost-sharing subsidy for low-income individuals under the Medicare prescription drug program. Requires the Secretary to enter into a demonstration project to provide states with funds to use such information to do ex parte determinations or utilize other methods for identifying and enrolling potentially eligible individuals. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to send a notice and application for Medicaid benefits to individuals identified as likely to be eligible for QMB or SLMB benefits, or entitled to a premium and cost-sharing subsidy for low-income individuals under the Medicare prescription drug program, when notifying them of their eligibility for Medicare benefits.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Medicare Do Not Call Act - Prohibits a Prescription Drug Plan (PDP) sponsor offering a prescription drug plan from conducting outbound call telemarketing to solicit enrollment into such a plan. Amends title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for criminal penalties for fraudulent telemarketing acts or practices. Provides for increased funding for state health insurance counseling and assistance programs. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to inform individuals eligible for benefits under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act of the availability and confidentality of the hotline maintained by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services for the reporting of fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Amends federal aviation law to extend through FY2006 the current authority of the Secretary of Transportation to apportion to the sponsor of a primary airport an amount equal to the amount apportioned to that sponsor in FY2002 or FY2003, whichever amount is greater, if the Secretary finds that: (1) the passenger boardings at the airport were below 10,000 in calendar year 2002 or 2003; (2) the airport had at least 10,000 passenger boardings and scheduled passenger aircraft service in either calendar year 2000 or 2001; and (3) the reason that passenger boardings were below 10,000 was the decrease in passengers following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not be a signatory to any agreement or protocol with respect to the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, or any other bilateral or multilateral trade negotiations, that adopts any proposal to lessen the effectiveness of domestic and international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguard provisions, including certain proposals, and would lessen in any manner U.S. ability to enforce rigorously its trade laws, including the antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard laws. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) U.S. trade laws and international rules appropriately serve the public interest by offsetting injurious unfair trade, and that further "balancing modifications" or other similar provisions are unnecessary and would add to the complexity and difficulty of achieving relief against injurious unfair trade practices; and (2) the United States should ensure that any new agreement relating to international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguard provisions fully rectifies and corrects decisions by WTO dispute settlement panels or the Appellate Body that have unjustifiably and negatively impacted, or threaten to negatively impact, U.S. law or practice, including a law or practice with respect to foreign dumping or subsidization.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2005
Pueblo de San Ildefonso Claims Settlement Act of 2005 - Ratifies: (1) the Settlement Agreement between the United States and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to Resolve All of the Pueblo's Land Title and Trespass Claims, dated June 7, 2005 (Settlement Agreement); and (2) the Los Alamos Agreement among Los Alamos County, New Mexico, the Pueblo, the Department of Agriculture Forest Service, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, dated January, 22, 2004. Extinguishes all claims of the Pueblo against the United States in consideration of the Settlement Agreement benefits. Exempts from this Act certain land titles, water rights, and other rights relating to religious or cultural access to, and use of, federal land. Establishes in the Treasury the Pueblo de San Ildefonso Land Claims Settlement Fund. Allows the Secretary of Agriculture to sell, and the Pueblo to buy, the Settlement Area Land, Water System Land, and Los Alamos Townsite Land. Reserves to the United States free and unrestricted rights to specified Forest Development Roads. Requires the United States and the Pueblo to allow the COPAR Pumice Mine to continue to operate. Requires continuing jurisdiction of the United States over the contract for the sale of mineral materials. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights, including reservations in the United States, to sell the Northern Tier Land, with the Pueblo of Santa Clara granted an exclusive option to purchase it within 90 days after enactment of this Act. Authorizes the Pueblo of Santa Clara and the Pueblo de San Ildefonso to demarcate a boundary between their respective tribal land within a specified township.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2005
Price Gouging Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Trade Commission Act to direct the Federal Trade Commission to: (1) consult with certain senior law enforcement officials following the declaration of a major disaster by the President in order to determine whether any supplier is charging unconscionably excessive prices for gasoline or diesel fuel in the affected area; (2) establish a toll-free hotline to receive consumer reports of price gouging in the affected area; and (3) establish a program to develop and distribute public informational materials in English and Spanish to assist residents of the affected area in detecting and avoiding price gouging. Prohibits unconscionably excessive prices for any gasoline or diesel fuel in an affected area during the 180-day period after the date on which a major disaster is declared by the President. Subjects violations of this Act to specified civil and criminal penalties. Authorizes victims and state Attorneys General to bring a civil action against violators of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2005
Fair Wages for Hurricane Katrina Recovery Workers Act - Reinstates the application of the wage requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act to all federal contracts in counties affected by Hurricane Katrina, notwithstanding the President's proclamation dated September 8, 2005, or any other provision of law.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2005
Valle Vidal Preservation Act - Establishes the Valle Vidal National Preserve in New Mexico to preserve the wildlife, scenic, watershed, recreational, geological, educational, and scientific values of the area. Withdraws federal lands within the Preserve from all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land, mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing laws.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2005
Provides assistance for students, educational institutions, and individuals with disabilities affected by Hurricane Katrina (HK). Encourages the Secretary of Education (ED) to exercise waiver authority and other actions on behalf of HK-affected states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Authorizes ED to: (1) make grants to LEAs for supplemental educational services or additional programs and activities for HK-displaced or -affected students; (2) make payments to LEAs in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to restart operations at schools in HK-disaster areas; and (3) delay applicability of ESEA teacher qualification requirements to Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi and their LEAs due to exceptional or uncontrollable circumstances. Allows any LEA to provide reciprocity for HK-displaced teachers and paraprofessionals. Directs ED to: (1) use the 2004-2005 child count for 2006-2007 funding under ESEA and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) if the LEA serves a school in an HK-disaster area and has a net loss of students; (2) make payments to LEAs to improve instruction of HK-displaced students (if the LEA does not count such students for ESEA and IDEA funding); and (3) assist LEAs serving HK-displaced homeless children and youths. Provides for waiver authority by ED and suspends application of certain student aid requirements under the Higher Education Act of 1965, with respect to HK-affected students or educational institutions, including provisions for: grant assistance repayment, loan deferments, loan limits, work-study, grant uses, and distance education. Directs ED, with respect to HK-affected children with disabilities, to: (1) use 2004-2005 numbers for IDEA funding of sending states; and (2) provide funds to receiving LEAs to provide early intervention services. Directs ED, in reallocating funds under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to give preference to affected states that contain HK-disaster areas or that received a significant number of individuals from such areas. Allows affected states to apply for waivers of nonfederal share requirements and use reallocated funds for apprenticeship programs for individuals with disabilities to participate in reconstruction or other major disaster assistance activities in areas where they lived on August 22, 2005. Allows affected states to apply to use certain grant funds under the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 to enable HK-affected individuals with disabilities to replace damaged or lost assistive technology devices. Authorizes ED to make grants to enable affected states to carry out such replacement programs. Requires an audit of each ED program that includes HK-related response and recovery activities. Child Care Disaster Assistance Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) waive, for HK-disaster areas, specified provisions of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 in order to provide child care services to orphaned children or displaced families; and (2) provide technical assistance and guidance to providers of child care services to such children and families. Directs HHS to: (1) waive income eligibility and documentation requirements for HK-affected children in programs under the Head Start Act; and (2) provide technical assistance, guidance, and resources for Head Start agencies serving such children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Oversight of Vital Emergency Recovery Spending Enhancement and Enforcement Act of 2005 - Establishes within the Executive Office of the President the Office of Hurricane Katrina Recovery Chief Financial Officer (CFO), who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Makes the CFO responsible for the efficient and effective use of federal funds in all activities relating to the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Requires the CFO to strive to ensure that priority in the distribution of federal: (1) relief funds is given to individuals and organizations most in need of financial assistance; and (2) reconstruction funds is given to business entities based in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida, or business entities that hire workers who resided in those States on August 24, 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) include certain additional expenses, such as fees, books, supplies and equipment, as qualified tuition and related expenses for purposes the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit; (2) exclude Federal Pell Grant and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant payments as mandatory reductions to expenses eligible for the Hope Scholarship Tax Credit; and (3) exempt the additional expenses allowed by this Act from certain tax reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2005
Recognizes September 15-October 15, 2005, as Hispanic Heritage Month. Celebrates the vast contributions of Hispanic Americans to the strength and culture of our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2005
Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take appropriate actions to ensure that each state, in its Homeland Security Strategy or other homeland security plan, provides detailed and comprehensive information regarding its pre-disaster and post-disaster plans for the evacuation of individuals with special needs in emergencies that would warrant their evacuation.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2005
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive requirements for awarding breast and cervical cancer grants to states if certain conditions are met, including that the Secretary finds that granting such a waiver will not reduce the number of women in the state receiving examinations and screening for breast and cervical cancers nor the quality of such services. Provides that such waivers are for two-year periods. Requires the Secretary to review performance under the waiver and allows the Secretary to extend such waivers. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY2011.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2005
Hurricane Katrina Emergency Health Workforce Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the National Emergency Health Professionals Volunteer Corps to provide for an adequate supply of health professionals in the event of an emergency. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish a national database of health professionals to increase health preparedness for federal emergencies. Includes service by physicians and other health professionals who are providing treatment or services related to a declared major disaster as "service in the uniformed services" for purposes of employment and reemployment benefits. Amends the Public Health Service Act and title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require hospitals that receive federal payments for graduate medical education costs to provide disaster preparedness training as part of any approved graduate medical residency training program provided by the hospital. Deems volunteer health professionals providing a qualifying health service related to a declared major disaster to be employees of the Public Health Service for purposes of liability protection. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend state health professional licensing and certification requirements for health professionals that are operating in such state during a declared major disaster. Authorizes the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive any federal requirements applicable to health professions that would limit the ability of health professionals to provide volunteer medical services related to a declared major disaster.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
National Emergency Family Locator Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish within the Department of Homeland Security the National Family Locator System to enable: (1) individuals displaced by an emergency to provide to the Department their names and locations and any other relevant information using the telephone, the Internet, and other appropriate means; and (2) the Department to compile such information and provide it to the family members of such individuals and law enforcement officials.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Acknowledges Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's lifelong service to the United States. Commends his 33-year tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court and his many accomplishments as Chief Justice. Extends sympathy to his family and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Permits a Senator or employee of the Senate to: (1) solicit another Senator or employee of the Senate within Senate buildings for nonmonetary donations for the relief of victims of Hurricane Katrina; and (2) work with a nonprofit organization with respect to the delivery of such donations.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2005
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses the condolences of the Nation to the victims of Hurricane Katrina; (2) commends the resiliency and courage of the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and (3) commits to provide the necessary resources and to stand by the people of such states in the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basin Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to undertake capital projects for the Recovery Implementation Program for Endangered Fish Species in the Upper Colorado River Basin and the San Juan River Basin Recovery Implementation Program through FY2010. Limits to $126 million the total costs of such projects.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act - FamilyCare Act of 2005 - Renames title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act as the FamilyCare Program and extends coverage to certain low-income adults. Establishes the National Commission for Expanded Access to Health Care. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide limited English proficient individuals with improved access to health care, including by establishing the Center for Cultural and Linguistic Competence in Healthcare. Provides for activities regarding: (1) health workforce diversity; (2) disparities in health and health care experienced by indigenous, racial, and ethnic minorities; and (3) data collection, analysis, and reporting by race, ethnicity, and primary language. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish: (1) the Office of Health Disparities within the Office of Civil Rights to prevent discrimination in federal programs; and (2) the Office of Minority Affairs within the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. Restablishes the Indian Health Service as an agency of the Public Health Service to be administered by an Assistant Secretary of Indian Health. Minority Health and Genomics Act of 2005 - Establishes the Minority Health and Genomics Commission to study issues relating to genomics research as applied to minority groups. Establishes the Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice and the Federal Environmental Justice Advisory Committee. Sets forth programs designed to improve the quality of and access to health care for minorities, including by establishing the Health Safety Net Infrastructure Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) the Annie Dodge Wauneka and Susan Laflesche-Picotte Native American Health and Wellness Foundation; and (2) a Joint Working Group on Telehealth. Authorizes integrative eldercare, American Indian and Alaska Native, and oral health telehealth demonstration projects.
![Official portrait of Sen. Bingaman, Jeff [D-NM]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/b000468_200.jpg)