United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Encourages expanded efforts to alleviate hunger in developing countries, and pledges to support international hunger relief efforts. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States should use financial and diplomatic resources to work with other donors to ensure that food aid programs receive all necessary funding and supplies; and (2) food aid should be provided in conjunction with measures to alleviate hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Hunting Heritage Protection Act - Requires that federal public lands be open to access and use for recreational hunting except: (1) as limited by the federal agency with responsibility for such lands for national security or public safety reasons, or for reasons authorized in applicable federal statutes as reasons for closure; and (2) as such hunting is limited by the state in which such lands are located. Directs the head of each federal agency with authority to manage a natural resource or public lands on which such a resource depends to exercise that authority in a manner so as to support, promote, and enhance recreational hunting opportunities. Declares that federal land management decisions and actions should result in no net loss of land area available for hunting opportunities on federal public lands. Requires the heads of federal agencies with authority to manage federal public lands on which recreational hunting occurs to report annually to specified congressional committees on areas administered that have been closed during the previous year to recreational hunting and reasons for such closures and on areas that were open to such hunting to compensate for closed areas. Prohibits a withdrawal, change of classification, or change of management status that effectively closes 5,000 or more acres of federal public land for use for recreational hunting from occurring unless the head of the federal agency with authority to manage the land has submitted written notice of the action to both Houses of Congress. 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 · 28 July 2005
Small Business Expensing Permanency Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the increased expensing allowance ($100,000) for depreciable business assets and related provisions pertaining to phaseout amounts, inflation adjustments, and the period for revocation of an election.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Broadband Investment and Consumer Choice Act - Subjects any telecommunications conduct, activity, service, or service provider only to the requirements of this Act, and not to any other federal, state, or local common carrier law or regulation concerning telecommunications or information services. Prohibits any state or local government from regulating direct-to-home satellite services. Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to forbear from regulating mobile services unless determined necessary because of lack of competition or for the protection of public health and safety. Requires each telecommunications carrier deemed to be an incumbent local exchange carrier (LEC) and each eligible telecommunications carrier (a carrier eligible for federal universal service support) to offer basic telephone service (BTS) to business and residential customers throughout the LEC's service territory. Directs the FCC to establish federal quality standards for BTS service relating to reasonable uptime, installation and repair intervals, and voice quality. Provides penalties for standards violations. Prohibits (with exceptions): (1) a consumer from being denied access to any content provided over facilities used to provide broadband communications service (the transmission of communications at a capacity greater than 64 kilobits per second); and (2) a broadband service provider from blocking subscriber access to such content. Prohibits a broadband service provider from preventing a customer from using voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) applications offered by a competitor. Requires the FCC, with respect to service providers, to develop rules and regulations regarding telecommunications services, including billing and access for persons with disabilities. Requires: (1) facilities-based providers to establish commercial arrangements regarding their ability to interconnect with other facilities-based providers; and (2) the FCC to govern interconnectivity between such providers and narrowband communications service providers. Requires an incumbent LEC to provide unbundled access to copper local loops at commercially reasonable rates, terms, and conditions. Allows an incumbent local exchange provider serving less than two percent of the access lines of the country to elect to continue to be subject to current federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements. Prohibits a video service provider (VSP) from being required to: (1) obtain a state or local video franchise; (2) build out its video distribution system in any particular manner; or (3) provide access to its distribution facilities and equipment to any other VSP. Authorizes state and local government charges against VSPs for the cost of managing public rights-of-way used by VSPs. Requires the FCC to prescribe regulations to promote: (1) competition and diversity in the multichannel video programming market; and (2) the continuing development of communications technologies. Sets forth requirements for state- or locally-owned networks seeking to provide communications service and requires such governments to have an open bidding process allowing non-governmental entities to compete for the provision of such service.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
HOPE VI Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to extend and authorize appropriations for the HOPE VI revitalization program. Includes educational and relocation aims among HOPE VI purposes. Requires each HOPE VI grant recipient to establish, in partnership with local schools, a comprehensive educational reform and achievement strategy for transforming the neighborhood schools into high-performing schools. Revises grant selection criteria. Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct funding-related site visits for HOPE VI applicants. Requires: (1) public housing agencies to establish performance benchmarks for each of their HOPE VI projects; and (2) the Secretary to establish specified sanctions for failure to meet such benchmarks.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2005
Second Amendment Protection Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not provide financial support to international entities that abridge the constitutionally protected rights of law-abiding U.S. citizens to keep and bear arms. Prohibits U.S. funding to the United Nations for a fiscal year unless the President certifies to Congress that the United Nations has not taken action to restrict or otherwise adversely infringe upon the rights of U.S. individuals to possess a firearm or ammunition, including the imposition of a tax that will interfere with the right to own a firearm or ammunition.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should: (1) urge the government of the Russian Federation to ensure full protection of freedoms for all religious communities and end the harassment of unregistered religious groups; (2) continue to raise concerns with the government of the Russian Federation over violations of religious freedom; and (3) urge the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief to raise with Russian Federation officials issues relating to freedom of religion.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2005
Wired for Health Care Quality Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology to develop a nationwide interoperable health information technology infrastructure. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish the public-private American Health Information Collaborative to recommend uniform policies to support the widespread adoption of health information technology; and (2) adopt recommended modifications to standards for the electronic exchange of health information. Prohibits any federal agency from expending federal funds to purchase health information technology that is inconsistent with adopted standards and requires all federal agencies collecting health data to comply with such standards. Requires the Secretary to develop criteria to: (1) ensure uniform and consistent implementation of any standards voluntarily adopted by private entities; and (2) ensure and certify hardware, software, and support services compliance with adopted standards. Allows the Secretary to award grants to: (1) facilitate the purchase and enhance the utilization of qualified health information technology systems; (2) implement regional or local health information plans; and (3) develop academic programs integrating qualified health information technology systems in the clinical education of health professionals. Requires the heads of specified federal agencies to develop a system to measure the quality of care patients receive. Requires the Secretary to: (1) adopt and utilize such system; (2) disseminate recommendations and best practices derived from the analysis of quality measures; and (3) study methods to create efficient reimbursement incentives for improving health care quality. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), to develop a Center for Best Practices to provide technical assistance and develop best practices to support and accelerate efforts to adopt, implement, and effectively use interoperable health information technology. Reauthorizes appropriations for grants to reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to telemedicine.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2005
Government Reorganization and Program Performance Improvement Act of 2005 - Authorizes the President to propose establishment in the executive branch of one or more Results Commissions to improve the overall effectiveness, efficiency, or accountability of executive branch operations through reorganization. Requires an Act of Congress for such establishments. Authorizes the President to submit to Congress for its consideration a proposed schedule for reviewing the performance of, and need for, executive branch agencies and programs at least once every 10 years. Establishes a Sunset Commission to review them. Specifies procedures for expedited congressional consideration of any reorganization proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Gaylord A. Nelson, a former member of the United States Senate from Wisconsin. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on July 11, 2005, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Nelson.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses deepest sympathies and condolences to the people of the United Kingdom and the victims and their families for the heinous terrorist attacks that occurred in London on July 7, 2005; (2) condemns these barbaric and unwarranted attacks on the innocent people of London; (3) expresses strong and continued solidarity with the people of the United Kingdom and pledges to remain shoulder-to-shoulder with them to bring the terrorists responsible for these brutal attacks to justice; and (4) calls upon the international community to renew and strengthen efforts to defeat terrorists by dismantling terrorist networks and exposing the violent and nihilistic ideology of terrorism, increase international cooperation to advance personal and religious freedoms, ethnic and racial tolerance, political liberty and pluralism, and economic prosperity, and combat the social injustice, oppression, poverty, and extremism that breeds terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Domestic Partner Health Benefits Equity Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to certain employer-provided health care benefits, to provide for the treatment of domestic partners on an equal basis with spouses and dependents by designating as a dependent any individual who is an eligible beneficiary under an employer's health care benefits plan.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2005
Telephone Excise Tax Repeal Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on communication services (i.e., local telephone service, toll telephone service, and teletypewriter exchange service).
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2005
Protection of Homes, Small Businesses, and Private Property Act of 2005 - Declares that the power of eminent domain shall be available only for public use, which shall not be construed to include economic development. Applies such limitation to all exercises of eminent domain by the federal government or by state and local governments through the use of federal funds.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2005
Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Therapy and Research Act of 2005 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract with qualified cord blood stem cell banks to assist in the collection and maintenance of cord blood to be made available for transplantation through the Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Cell Transplantation Program. Requires the Secretary to require that recipients of such contracts: (1) acquire and store donated units of human cord blood; and (2) make collected cord blood units available for stem cell transplantation or, if not appropriate for clinical use, available for peer-reviewed research. Requires the Secretary to establish a demonstration project for the collection and storage of cord blood units for a family where a relative has been diagnosed with a condition that will benefit from transplantation. Amends the Public Health Service Act to rewrite provisions requiring the Secretary to establish and maintain a National Bone Marrow Donor Registry to require the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to establish and maintain the Bone Marrow and Cord Blood Cell Transplantation Program to increase the number of transplants for recipients suitably matched to biologically unrelated donors of bone marrow and cord blood. Requires the Secretary to establish a related Advisory Council. Prescribes new requirements for the Program, including: (1) operating a system for listing, searching, and facilitating the distribution of donated cord blood units; (2) maintaining and expanding medical contingency response capabilities to prepare for and respond effectively to biological, chemical, or radiological attacks and other ublic health emergencies that can damage marrow; and (3) carrying out recruitment programs and educational activities. Requires the Secretary to: (1) enforce quality standards and donor selection criteria; (2) establish an office of patient advocacy; and (3) establish a scientific database of outcome information.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2005
Parents' Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) provide for a minimum tax credit for household and dependent care services for dependents under the age of six; (2) increase to $5,000 the amount of the personal tax exemption; (3) eliminate the marriage penalty in all income tax brackets; (4) establish a standard tax deduction for expenses related to business usage of a home; (5) make permanent increases in the child tax credit and adjust the amount of such credit for inflation on an annual basis after 2005; (6) allow employers a tax credit for employees who telecommute; and (7) allow an exclusion from employee gross income for employer-provided computer equipment used to work at home. Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to award social security credits to parents who stay at home, instead of working outside the home, to care for children who are either under age six or under age 10 and disabled. Authorizes transfers from the general fund to specified Social Security trust funds to cover the cost of such credits.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2005
Pest Management and Fire Suppression Flexibility Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to state that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall not require a permit under the national pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES), or require a State to mandate such a permit, for: (1) the proper use of a pesticide that is registered or otherwise approved for use under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; and (2) the use by or in cooperation with the Federal or State government of a fire retardant, chemical, or water for fire suppression, control, or prevention in accordance with relevant Federal guidelines; (3) silvicultural activities except for specified point source activities; and (4) the use of biological control organisms for the prevention, control, or eradication of plant pests or noxious weeds pursuant to specified provisions of the Plant Protection Act. Redefines "point source" to exclude from the term those public health protection, pest management, and silvicultural activities excluded from NPDES permit requirements under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2005
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable J. James Exon, former United States Senator for Nebraska. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on June 13, 2005, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Exon.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2005
Realistic Roofing Tax Treatment Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) classify as 20-year property for depreciation purposes any roof system which meets the requirements of Standard 90.1-2004 of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers; and (2) require use of the straight line method for depreciation of such property.
United States · United States Congress · 6 June 2005
Saudi Arabia Accountability Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that the Government of Saudi Arabia must immediately and unconditionally: (1) cooperate fully with the United States in the investigation of terror groups and individuals; (2) close permanently all organizations in Saudi Arabia that fund, train, encourage, or in any way aid terrorism anywhere in the world; (3) end funding for terror organizations outside Saudi Arabia; and (4) block funding from private Saudi citizens and entities to Saudi-based or offshore terror organizations. Directs the President to prohibit certain exports to Saudi Arabia and restrict travel of certain Saudi diplomats if the President cannot certify to the appropriate congressional committees that the Government of Saudi Arabia: (1) is fully cooperating with the United States in investigating and preventing terrorist attacks; (2) has closed permanently all Saudi-based terror organizations; (3) has ended funding for any offshore terror organization; and (4) has made all efforts to block funding from private Saudi citizens and entities to offshore terror organizations. Allows the President to waive such sanctions for national security reasons.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2005 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to regulate the handling and purchase of ammonium nitrate to prevent its misappropriation or use in violation of law. Authorizes the Secretary to promulgate regulations that require: (1) handlers to register facilities, to sell or distribute ammonium nitrate only to handlers and purchasers registered under this Act, and to maintain records of sale or distribution that include the name, address, telephone number, and registration number of the immediate subsequent purchaser of ammonium nitrate; and (2) purchasers to be registered. Makes it unlawful for any person to: (1) fail to perform any duty required by this Act, including regulations promulgated under this Act; (2) violate the terms of registration under this Act; (3) fail to keep any record, make any report, or allow any inspection required by this Act; or (4) to violate any sale or distribution order issued under this Act. Provides penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies Act - Establishes the Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies to: (1) evaluate executive agencies and their programs; and (2) submit to Congress a plan recommending agencies and programs that should be realigned or eliminated and proposing implementing legislation. Directs the President to: (1) establish a systematic method for assessing the effectiveness and accountability of agency programs; and (2) submit to the Commission assessments of not less than 50 percent of the programs that use such method. Prohibits the implementation of such method until it has been reviewed and accepted by the Commission. Requires the Commission to consider submitted assessments in evaluating programs. Requires the President to identify common performance measures for programs having similar functions and provide the Commission with data on such measures.
United States · United States Congress · 26 May 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the President should designate the week beginning September 11, 2005, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Hunger-Free Communities Act of 2005 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) Congress is committed to achieving domestic hunger goals and ending hunger by 2015; (2) federal food and nutrition programs should receive adequate funding; and (3) the entitlement nature of the child and adult care food program, the food stamp program, the school breakfast and lunch programs, and the summer food service program should be preserved. Directs: (1) the American Communities Survey to collect and submit food security information to the Secretary of Agriculture; and (2) the Secretary to conduct an annual study of hunger in the United States and develop recommendations on reducing domestic hunger. Directs the Secretary to make: (1) hunger-free communities collaborative grants to eligible public food program service providers or nonprofit organizations; (2) hunger-free communities infrastructure grants to eligible emergency feeding organizations; and (3) hunger-free communities training and technical assistance grants to eligible national or regional nonprofit organizations. (States that such grants' federal share shall not exceed 80 %.) Sets forth grant priorities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 May 2005
Diversity Visa Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends the Immigration and and Nationality Act with respect to the diversity visa lottery program to permit an alien to remain eligible for a diversity visa or status adjustment beyond the fiscal year of acceptance if: (1) the visa or status adjustment was properly applied for during the fiscal year of selection; and (2) notice of application authorization was given through publication in the Visa Bulletin. Authorizes reopening of a prior fiscal year visa lottery application if: (1) the alien was eligible for, and properly applied for, status adjustment during FY1998-FY2004; (2) the application was denied because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) or the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) failed to adjudicate the application during the fiscal year of application; (3) the alien moves to reopen the application; and (4) the alien has continuously resided in the United States since submitting the application.
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 · 19 May 2005
Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005 - Amends the federal judicial code to revise the law and procedures for habeas corpus petitions. Denies or restricts the jurisdiction of federal courts to hear habeas corpus petitions that: (1) have been procedurally barred in a state court; (2) are based upon errors in sentences or sentencing ruled as harmless error by a state court; (3) pertain to capital cases; or (4) challenge the exercise of a states's executive clemency or pardon power. Revises deadlines for filing appeals to federal courts of state habeas corpus decisions. Revises procedures for mixed habeas corpus petitions (petitions bringing claims exhausted and unexhausted in state court) to require petitioners to describe how they have exhausted each claim in state court. Requires unexhausted claims to be dismissed with prejudice. Limits the ability of habeas corpus petitioners to amend petitions or modify or add additional claims. Requires any period in which a petitioner does not have a habeas corpus petition pending in a state court to be charged against the one year limitation period for filing a federal habeas corpus petition from a state court decision. Requires requests for financial support for petitioners in a habeas corpus proceeding to be decided by a judge other than the judge presiding over such proceeding. Requires any amount of financial support authorized by a judge to be publicly disclosed. Extends crime victims' rights to federal habeas corpus proceedings arising out of a state conviction.
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
Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a grant program to enable states to develop statewide stroke care systems; (2) foster the development of stroke care systems through information sharing among involved agencies and individuals; (3) develop a model curriculum for training emergency medical services personnel in the identification, assessment, stabilization, and prehospital treatment of stroke patients; (4) issue recommendations and guidelines on best practices for establishing and operating such systems; and (5) provide public information on recognition of stroke signs and symptoms and appropriate actions. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or enter into cooperative agreements for such purposes. Directs the Secretary to: (1) maintain the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry; and (2) award grants to states to develop stroke care systems that provide high-quality prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation. Authorizes the Secretary to make related state planning grants. Requires the Secretary to give special consideration in awarding grants to states in a geographic area with an elevated incidence of stroke or stoke-caused disabilities or demonstrating a significant need for assistance in establishing such a system.
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 · 17 May 2005
Pledge Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to deny jurisdiction to any Federal court, and appellate jurisdiction to the Supreme Court, to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Pledge of Allegiance or its validity under the Constitution. Makes this limitation inapplicable to: (1) any court established by Congress under its power to make needful rules and regulations respecting the territory of the United States; or (2) the Superior Court of the District of Columbia or the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
United States · United States Congress · 17 May 2005
Calls upon the President to issue a proclamation: (1) recognizing the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe; (2) reasserting the U.S. commitment to full implementation of the Helsinki Final Act; and (3) urging all participating countries to abide by their Helsinki obligations. Calls upon the President to convey to all Helsinki signatories that respect for human rights, democratic principles, and economic liberty continue to be vital elements in promoting a new era of democracy, peace, and unity in the region covered by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
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 · 10 May 2005
Jobs Protection and Estate Tax Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to accelerate the repeal of the tax on estates and generation-skipping transfers to January 1, 2005, and to make such repeal permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Jetseta Gage Prevention and Deterrence of Crimes Against Children Act of 2005 - Rewrites provisions of the federal criminal code regarding penalties for crimes against children to require a person convicted of a federal crime of violence against an individual under age 15 to be sentenced to: (1) death or life imprisonment if the crime results in the death of the victim; (2) life or at least 30 years imprisonment if the crime is a kidnaping, sexual assault, or maiming or results in serious bodily injury; (3) life or at least 14 years imprisonment if the crime results in bodily injury to a person under age 12; (4) life or at least ten years imprisonment if a dangerous weapon was used during and in relation to the crime; and (5) life or at least two years imprisonment in any other case. Increases penalties for sexual abuse of children, sexual exploitation and other abuse of children, and conduct relating to child prostitution. Christy Ann Fornoff Act - Denies a court, justice, or judge jurisdiction to consider claims relating to the judgment or sentence in an application for writ of habeas corpus on behalf of a person in custody pursuant to the judgment of a state court for a crime that involved the killing of a person under age 18. Sets timetables for proceedings. Extends certain rights associated with habeas corpus proceedings to victims of the state offense at issue. Makes this Act applicable to pending cases.
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 · 27 April 2005
Volunteer Pilot Organization Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997 to exempt from liability a nonprofit volunteer pilot organization that flies for public benefit, its staff members, and its volunteers for harm caused by a volunteer while flying, in furtherance of the purpose of the organization, an aircraft for which the volunteer was properly licensed and insured. Directs the Attorney General to study and report to Congress on the availability of insurance to nonprofit volunteer pilot organizations that fly for public benefit.
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 · 21 April 2005
Biennial Budgeting and Appropriations Act- Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require: (1) biennial (currently, annual) budget resolutions; (2) biennial appropriations Acts; and (3) biennial Government strategic and performance plans. Defines the budget biennium as the two consecutive fiscal years beginning on October 1 of any odd-numbered year. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to: (1) determine the impact and feasibility of changing the definition of a fiscal year and the budget process based on that definition to a two-year fiscal period with a biennial budget process based on such period; and (2) report the findings to the House and Senate Budget Committees.
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 · 20 April 2005
Honors the life and contributions of Frederick C. Branch, and extends the Senate's sympathies to his family for the loss of a courageous and pioneering man.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Combating Autism Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): (1) to develop a scientifically justified budget for research on autism spectrum disorders; (2) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to provide for centers of excellence regarding research on autism; and (3) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Disorders, to provide for Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish: (1) regional centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disabilities epidemiology; and (2) a clearinghouse for the collecting and storage of data generated. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) a program to provide information and education on autism and its risk factors to health professionals and the general public; and (2) the Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate autism related activities within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide autism screening, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the Director of NIH, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to provide for centers of excellence regarding environmental health and autism.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
Social Security Benefits Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the 85 percent maximum tax rate on Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits enacted by the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993. Appropriates, from the general fund, to the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund amounts equal to the reduction in revenues resulting from this repeal.
![Official portrait of Sen. Chambliss, Saxby [R-GA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c000286_200.jpg)