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United States · Official source
2,721 records where Sen. Chambliss, Saxby [R-GA] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2009
Designates the week beginning August 30, 2009, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2009
Designates Richard A. Baker as Historian Emeritus of the United States Senate, as a token of the appreciation of the Senate for his long and faithful service. Makes such designation effective September 1, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2009
Anthony DeJuan Boatwright Act - Amends the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to require a state to provide assurances that the state includes, as part of its regulatory process for issuance and renewal of licenses to providers of child care services, a recommendation to each provider that it carry current liability insurance. Requires state plans for the use of child care and development block grant funds to certify that there are in effect state or local health and safety requirements that each child care provider: (1) post publicly and conspicuously in the service area of its premises a notice specifying whether it carries current liability insurance; and (2) give written notice to parents about whether it carries such insurance, obtain the signature of at least one parent per child acknowledging receipt of such notice, and maintain records of such signed notice while a child receives services.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to treat trees or vines producing fruit, nuts, or other crops as placed in service in the year in which they are planted for purposes of the additional 50% bonus depreciation allowance.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of "National Life Insurance Awareness Month."
United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2009
Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to set penalties for: (1) creating or attempting to create a human-animal hybrid (a being with human and non-human tissue as specified in this Act); (2) transferring or attempting to transfer a human embryo into a non-human womb, or a non-human embryo into a human womb; or (3) transporting or receiving for any purpose a human-animal hybrid.
United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2009
Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to require states to establish procedures for: (1) absentee uniform services voters and overseas voters to request and, states to send, federal election voter registration applications and absentee ballot applications by mail, electronically, and by facsimile; (2) transmittal of blank absentee ballots by mail, online, and by facsimile to absentee uniformed services voters and overseas voters; and (3) ensuring absentee uniformed services voters and overseas voters have time to vote. Directs the presidential designee to establish procedures for: (1) collecting marked absentee ballots of absentee overseas uniformed services voters in regularly scheduled federal general elections; and (2) delivering them to the appropriate state election officials. Authorizes the use of federal write-in absentee ballots in general, special, and runoff elections for federal office, and promotion and expansion of use of such ballots as a back-up measure. Prohibits refusal to accept otherwise valid voter registration and absentee ballot applications, marked absentee ballots, and federal write-ins absentee ballots for failure to meet technical requirements. Directs the presidential designee to develop standards for training, supporting, and emphasizing Voting Assistance Officers under the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the Department of Defense (DOD): (1) for all members of the uniformed services; and (2) on all installations and facilities of the uniformed services in the United States and overseas. Requires each state and the Secretary of Defense jointly to develop and implement procedures for persons to apply to register to vote at DOD pay, personnel, and identification offices. Requires the presidential designee to develop standards for states to report data on the number of absentee ballots transmitted and received and for storage of the data. Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to require: (1) a state to use a requirements payment made using certain funds only to meet specified UOCAVA requirements; and (2) the state plan to describe how the state will use such requirements payment to meet UOCAVA requirements. Directs the presidential designee to establish one or more pilot programs to test the feasibility of new election technology for the benefit of absent uniformed services voters and overseas voters claiming UOCAVA rights.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2009
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Arnold Palmer (golf professional) in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence and good sportsmanship.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2009
Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act - 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 · 25 June 2009
Fixed Indexed Annuities and Insurance Products Classification Act of 2009 - Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to include within the class of securities exempt from its coverage any insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract or optional annuity contract: (1) whose value does not vary according to the performance of a separate account; and (2) which satisfies standard nonforfeiture laws or similar requirements of the applicable state, Territory, or District of Columbia at time of issue or, in the absence of applicable standard nonforfeiture laws or requirements, satisfies the Model Standard Nonforfeiture Law for Life Insurance or Model Standard Nonforfeiture Law for Individual Deferred Annuities, or any successor model law, as published by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Declares without force or effect Rule 151A promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 16, 2009, and entitled "Indexed Annuities and Certain Other Insurance Contracts."
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2009
Intelligence Critical Language Training Improvement Act - Authorizes, for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, an additional 50 full-time equivalent positions for such Office per fiscal year and limits the use of any such position to providing a temporary transfer of personnel to an element of the intelligence community to enable such element to increase its total authorized number of personnel: (1) during a period in which a permanent employee of the element is absent to participate in foreign language training; or (2) to accept a permanent employee of another element of the intelligence community to provide translation services.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2009
Hunting Heritage Protection Act - Requires that federal public land be open to access and use for hunting except as limited by: (1) the federal agency with jurisdiction over the land for national security or public safety reasons or for other reasons authorized by applicable federal law for limiting access; and (2) any law of the state in which the land is located that is applicable to hunting. Directs the head of each federal agency with authority to manage a natural resource or federal public land to exercise that authority in a manner so as to support, promote, and enhance access to hunting. Instructs the head of each federal agency to ensure that federal land management decisions and actions result in no net loss of land area accessible for hunting on federal public land. Requires the heads of federal agencies with authority to manage federal public land on which hunting occurs to report annually on areas administered in which access for hunting was limited and the reasons for the limitations and on areas that were opened to hunting to compensate for areas in which there were such limitations. Prohibits a withdrawal, change of classification, or change of management status that effectively closes or limits access to 5,000 or more acres of federal public land for hunting from occurring unless the head of the federal agency that has jurisdiction over the land has submitted written notice of the action to specified congressional committees. Grants states the right to file civil actions in district courts in cases where federal agencies fail to comply with state authority to manage or regulate fish and wildlife.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2009
Water Accountability Tax Efficiency Reinvestment Act of 2009 or the WATER Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for 30% of amounts paid for WaterSense labeled property certified by a licensed independent third party as meeting specifications of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense program. Limits the lifetime dollar amount of such credit to $1,500. Terminates such credit after 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2009
Designates September 12, 2009, as National Childhood Cancer Awareness Day. Pledges to make the prevention and cure of cancer a public health priority. Urges public and private sector efforts to promote awareness, invest in research, and improve treatments for childhood cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2009
Enumerated Powers Act - Requires each Act of Congress to contain a concise explanation of the specific constitutional authority relied upon for the enactment of each portion of that Act. Declares that failure to comply with this requirement shall give rise to a point of order in either chamber of Congress. Specifies procedures for disposition of such point of order in the Senate.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2009
Axe the Stimulus Plaques Act - Prohibits the use of funds made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for signage to indicate that a particular project is being carried out using such funds.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2009
Medicare Safe Needle Disposal Coverage Act of 2009 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to cover as a part D drug any devices approved for home use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the safe and effective containment, removal, decontamination, and disposal of home-generated needles, syringes, and other sharps through a sharps container, decontamination/destructive device, or sharps-by-mail program or similar program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009 - Prohibits an automobile manufacturer (manufacturer) in which the federal government has an ownership interest, or which receives loans from the federal government, from depriving an automobile dealer (dealer) of its economic rights. Requires the manufacturer to honor those rights as they existed for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corporation dealers prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy cases of each corporation, including dealer rights to recourse under state law. Requires the appropriate manufacturer to restore the franchise agreement between the dealers and Chrysler LLC or General Motors that was in effect prior to the commencement of their respective bankruptcy cases, and to take assignment of such agreements. States that nothing in this Act is intended to make null and void the transfer of substantially all the assets of such corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Establishes the Commission on Congressional Budgetary Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies. Directs the President to designate two Commission co-chairpersons. Requires the Commission to: (1) establish a systematic method for assessing the effectiveness and accountability of agency programs; (2) divide such programs into four equal budgetary parts; (3) evaluate executive agencies and their programs identified in each unit identified in the assessment; and (4) submit to Congress each of the next four years a plan recommending agencies and programs that should be realigned or eliminated and proposing implementing legislation. Provides for expedited consideration of such legislation.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
National MS and Parkinson's Disease Registries Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) , acting through the Director of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, to: (1) develop a system to collect data on multiple sclerosis (MS) and a system to collect data on Parkinson's disease; (2) establish a national surveillance system for the collection and storage of data for each such disease, including population-based registries of U.S. cases of MS and Parkinson's disease; (3) provide analysis regarding expansion of national disease surveillance systems for other neurological diseases and disorders; and (4) establish the Advisory Committee on Neurological Disease Registries. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to provide for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on MS and Parkinson's disease. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for research access to Parkinson's disease and MS data. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information collected are made available to agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Department of Defense (DOD).
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2009
Food Safety Rapid Response Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to strengthen and expand foodborne illness surveillance systems to: (1) inform and evaluate efforts to prevent foodborne illness; and (2) enhance the identification and investigation of, and response to, foodborne illness outbreaks. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on foodborne illnesses; and (2) improve capacity for foodborne illness surveillance in states. Requires the Secretary to establish five regional Food Safety Centers of Excellence to serve as regional resources for state and local public health professionals in investigating and responding to foodborne illnesses.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
340B Program Improvement and Integrity Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to expand the drug discount program to allow participation as a covered entity by certain: (1) children's hospitals; (2) critical access hospitals; and (3) rural referral centers. Expands the program to include drugs used in connection with an inpatient or outpatient service by enrolled hospitals (currently, only outpatient drugs are covered under the program). Prohibits enrolled hospitals from obtaining covered outpatient drugs through a group purchasing arrangement. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish reasonable exceptions to such prohibition, including for drugs unavailable through the program and to facilitate generic substitution when a generic covered drug is available at a lower price. Requires a hospital enrolled in the 340B drug discount program to issue a credit to a state Medicaid program for inpatient drugs provided to Medicaid recipients. Requires the Secretary to: (1) provide for improvements in compliance by manufacturers and covered entities with the requirements of the drug discount program; and (2) establish and implement an administrative process for resolving claims by covered entities and manufacturers of violations of such requirements. Requires manufacturers to offer each covered entity covered drugs for purchase at or below the applicable ceiling price if such a drug is made available to any other purchaser at any price.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Green Jobs Improvement Act - Amends the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to make nonunion training programs eligible for federal funding under the energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program (Green Jobs program). Applies certain worker protections and nondiscrimination requirements to such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Offers deepest condolences to the family and friends of Officer Stephen T. Johns. Commends the staff members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for their courage and bravery in responding to the attack on June 10, 2009. Condemns: (1) anti-Semitism and all forms of religious, ethnic, and racial bigotry; and (2) acts of physical violence against, and harassment of, people based on race, gender, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. Calls on the leaders of all nations to speak out against the manifestations of anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Celebrates the life and achievements of Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity. Acknowledges the millions of people he and his organization have served and the inspiration he has given to so many. Encourages all people of the United States to recognize and pay tribute to Millard Fuller's life by following the example of service that he set.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
Free Enterprise Act of 2009 - Requires congressional approval before any Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds are provided or obligated to any entity, on and after May 29, 2009, whose receipt of such funds would result in federal government acquisition of its common or preferred stock.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
Home Buyer Tax Credit Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to replace the current tax credit for first-time homebuyers with a one-time credit for 10% of the purchase price of a principal residence, up to $15,000. Requires repayment of credit amounts if the taxpayer sells or fails to occupy the residence within 24 months after the date of purchase.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Empowerment Zone, Renewal Community and Enterprise Community Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-preferred empowerment zones, rural enterprise communities, and renewal communities to: (1) extend the period of designation for such areas through 2015; (2) provide a safe harbor standard for employee residency requirements in empowerment zones; (3) eliminate certain residency requirements for the empowerment zone employment tax credit; (4) grant authority to expand the boundaries of empowerment zones and enterprise communities, including those located in rural areas; (5) allow carryovers of unused expensing allowances for enterprise zone businesses; (6) allow certain empowerment zone businesses to elect to receive payments in lieu of tax benefits; (7) allow federal guarantees and tax exemptions for enterprise zones and renewal communities; and (8) allow the issuance of tax-exempt rural enterprise community bonds and empowerment zone facility bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Amends the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to renew, for three years, the President's authority to ban the import of Burmese products. Approves the renewal of certain import restrictions contained in the Act. Deems this resolution a renewal resolution which shall take effect upon its enactment or July 26, 2009, whichever occurs first.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Child Custody Protection Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor child 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 safe the life of the minor. 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. Imposes a fine and/or prison term of up to one year on anyone who has committed an act of incest with a minor and knowingly transports such minor across a state line to obtain an abortion.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Critical Access Flexibility Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare rural hospital flexibility program a state may establish. Authorizes state designation of a Medicare critical access hospital (CAH), even if it does not comply with the requirement that it be located more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital, if it is certified by the state on or after enactment of this Act as being a necessary provider of health care services to residents in the area. (Thus restores state authority that existed before January 1, 2006, to waive the 35-mile rule.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Independence at Home Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize voluntary Independence at Home chronic care coordination pilot programs for high-cost Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions under the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a national clinical trials network for spinal muscular atrophy by upgrading and unifying spinal muscular atrophy clinical trial sites and recruiting new investigators and sites. Requires the Director to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of therapies and clinical approaches to the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) rapidly and efficiently disseminates scientific findings to the field. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a data coordinating center with respect to spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research related to spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and support a spinal muscular atrophy patient registry to provide for expanded epidemiological research towards improving awareness, management, treatment, and prevention of spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages. Directs the Secretary to establish the Interagency Spinal Muscular Atrophy Research Coordinating Committee. Sets forth the duties of the Committee, including to develop a comprehensive strategy related to spinal muscular atrophy research and other related neurological diseases and disorders. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide information and education on spinal muscular atrophy to health professionals and the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Expresses support for the designation of June 2009 as National Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiecstasia (HHT) month. Recognizes: (1) the need to pursue research to find better treatments and a cure for HHT; (2) the HHT Foundation International as the only U.S. advocacy organization working to find a cure for HHT while saving the lives and improving the well-being of individuals and families affected; (3) the importance of comprehensive care centers in providing complete care and treatment for HHT patients; (4) that stroke, lung, and brain hemorrhages can be prevented through early diagnosis, screening, and treatment of HHT; (5) that severe hemorrhages in the nose and gastrointestinal tract can be controlled through intervention and that heart failure can be managed through proper diagnosis and treatments of HHT; and (6) that a leading medical and academic institution estimated that $6.6 billion of one-time health care costs can be saved through aggressive management of HHT in the at-risk population. Acknowledges the need to identify the approximately 90% of the HHT population that has not yet been diagnosed and that is at risk for death or disability due to sudden rupture of the blood vessels in major organs in the body.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Expresses support for the designation of an appropriate date as National Childhood Stroke Awareness Day. Urges support for the efforts, programs, services, and advocacy of organizations that work to enhance public awareness of childhood stroke.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), subject to the approval of the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, to design, procure, and place in a prominent location in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center a marker which acknowledges the role that slave labor played in the construction of the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Voter Fraud Prevention Act - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to prescribe standards for paid distribution of voter registration application forms and registration requirements for organizations. Prohibits any individual from distributing, for compensation, a voter registration application form for federal elections in a state if the individual: (1) has been convicted of a felony under any state or federal law; (2) does not sign and print legibly the individual's name on the form; (3) does not provide identifying information to the proper election official; or (4) does not certify, under penalty of perjury, that he or she has not received financial compensation based on the number of voter registration application forms submitted by the individual to an election official upon completion by the applicant, and that the information provided by the individual is accurate to the best of the individual's knowledge. Excepts from this prohibition the distribution of a voter registration application form by an individual who is not compensated directly or indirectly for it. Imposes criminal penalties upon: (1) individuals not meeting such standards; and (2) anyone who employs such an individual knowingly, or who should reasonably be expected to know the individual is ineligible.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Patients' Choice Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to convene an interagency coordinating committee to develop a national strategic plan for prevention. Provides for health promotion and disease prevention activities consistent with such plan. Sets forth provisions governing the establishment and operation of state-based health care exchanges to facilitate the individual purchase of private health insurance and the creation of a market where private health plans compete for enrolles based on price and quality. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit for qualified health care insurance coverage. Replaces title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with a program to provide grants to states for: (1) acute medical care assistance to otherwise qualified blind or disabled individuals, foster care children, low-income women with breast or cervical cancer, certain tuberculosis-infected individuals, and certain individuals currently covered; and (2) long-term care services and supports for qualified disabled and elderly populations. Repeals title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) of the Social Security Act. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary to supplement the costs of private health insurance for eligible low-income families through the distribution of supplemental debit cards, which may be used for costs associated with health care and provide direct support in accessing health care. Requires the Secretary to establish and implement a competitive bidding mechanism to promote competition among Medicare Advantage plans and to increase the quality of care furnished under the plans. Requires benchmarks for such plans to be established solely through competitive bids. Sets forth programs to prevent Medicare fraud and abuse, including ending the use of social security numbers to identify Medicare beneficiaries. Allows the Secretary to award grants for the development, implementation, and evaluation of alternatives to current tort litigation for the resolution of disputes concerning injuries allegedly caused by health care providers or health care organizations. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to provide for the certification and auditing of the banking of electronic medical records. Establishes: (1) a Health Care Services Commission to enhance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of health care services and access to such services; and (2) the Office of the Forum for Quality and Effectiveness in Health Care. Terminates the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Independent Health Record Trust Act of 2009 - Directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prescribe standards for the establishment, certification, operation, and interoperability of independent health record trusts. Requires the Secretary to: (1) permit Indians to receive health care through providers outside of the Indian Health Service; and (2) make payments for such care. Terminates the Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Protecting America's Communities Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit the admission, asylum entry, or parole entry into the United States of an alien who, as of January 1, 2009, was being detained by the Department of Defense (DOD) at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Requires the additional six-month detainment of such an alien ordered removed if the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) certifies that: (1) the alien cannot be removed due to the refusal of all countries designated by the alien to receive the alien; and (2) the Secretary is making reasonable efforts to find alternative means for removing the alien. Authorizes the Secretary to renew such certification after providing the alien with an opportunity to request and provide evidentiary support for reconsideration of the detainment certification. Prohibits: (1) an immigration judge or official of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement from releasing a detained alien on bond or parole; and (2) the Secretary from delegating certification authority to an official below the level of the Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Directs the Attorney General to take into custody upon release an alien who, as of January 1, 2009, was being detained by DOD at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Reaffirms that: (1) the United States is in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces; and (2) the President is authorized to detain enemy combatants in connection with such conflict regardless of their place of capture.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009 - States that it is the policy of the United States to support the decision of state and local governments and educational institutions to divest from, and to prohibit the investment of assets they control in, persons that have investments of $20 million or more in Iran's energy sector. Authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit the investment of assets they control in, such persons, including financial institutions which extend them credit to so invest. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to shield any registered investment company from civil, criminal, or administrative action based upon its divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by such persons. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to shield from treatment as breaching a fiduciary duty any person divesting employee benefit plan assets from, or avoiding investing plan assets in, such persons.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase to 6% permanently the rate of increase in the fee schedule for ground ambulance services furnished on or after January 1, 2010, in rural and urban areas. Makes permanent the increase in the base rate of the fee schedule the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to make for a trip in the case of ground ambulance services furnished on or after July 1, 2004, (and beyond January 1, 2010) for which the transportation originates in a qualified low population density rural area.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the award of a congressional gold medal to the Army's 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce from $18 to $9 (the pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer; and (2) allow a further reduction in such tax for brewers who produce not more than 2 million barrels annually.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2009
Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to direct the Secretary of Defense (the presidential designee) to establish procedures for: (1) collecting marked absentee ballots of absent overseas uniformed services voters in regularly scheduled general elections for federal office; and (2) delivering such ballots to the appropriate state election officials. Requires the designee to: (1) ensure that such ballots are delivered prior to the time established for the closing of the polls on the date of the election; (2) carry out delivery requirements by utilizing the express mail delivery services of the U.S. Postal Service, which shall include a mechanism for ballot tracking; (3) inform individuals who are anticipated to be absent overseas uniformed services voters in such an election of the procedures for collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots established pursuant to this Act; and (4) take steps to ensure that such voters are able to cast their votes in a private and independent manner, and that vote contents remain private while in the designee's possession or control.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2009
Designates May 15, 2009, as National MPS Awareness Day (mucopolysaccharidosis) and expresses support for the goals and ideals of such Day.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2009
Recognizes May 15, 2009, as National Peace Officers Memorial Day in honor of federal, state, and local law enforcement officers who have been killed or injured in the line of duty.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS): (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 · 6 May 2009
English Language Unity Act of 2009 - Makes English the official language of the United States. Requires, subject to exceptions and rules of construction, that: (1) official functions of the United States be conducted in English; and (2) all naturalization ceremonies be conducted in English. Establishes a uniform English language rule for naturalization. Makes English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, presumptively consistent with the laws of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing of English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
National Language Act of 2009 - Requires: (1) English to be the national language of the federal government; and (2) the federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language. Provides that no person has a right, entitlement, or claim to have the federal government act, communicate, perform or provide services, or provide materials in any language other than English, unless specifically provided by statute. Makes the English language version of a government form issued in a language other than English the sole authority for legal purposes. Declares that this Act does not prohibit the use of a language other than English.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
Constitutional Amendment - Grants Congress the power to prohibit the physical desecration of the U.S. flag.