United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Heroes at Home Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to establish a protocol for the assessment and documentation of the cognitive (including memory) functioning of each member of the Armed Forces deployed in Operations Enduring Freedom or Iraqi Freedom before such deployment in order to facilitate their cognitive functioning upon their return. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a program on training and certification of family caregivers of veterans and members with traumatic brain injury. Authorizes such Secretaries to jointly: (1) establish a demonstration project to assess the feasibility and advisability of using telehealth technology to assess cognitive functioning of members who have sustained head trauma in order to improve their diagnosis and treatment; and (2) conduct an ongoing study of all matters relating to the telehealth and telemental health services of the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, respectively.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Elder Justice Act - Amends the Social Security Act to establish an Elder Justice program under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) an Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC). Establishes the Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to establish stationary and mobile forensic centers, to develop forensic expertise regarding, and provide services relating to, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Directs the Secretary to provide incentives for individuals to train for, seek, and maintain employment providing direct care in a long-term care (LTC) facility. Directs the Secretary to make grants to LTC facilities to: (1) offer continuing training and varying levels of certification to employees who provide direct care to LTC facility residents; and (2) provide bonuses or other benefits to employees who achieve certification. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to assist LTC facilities in offsetting the costs for standardized clinical health care informatics systems designed to improve patient safety and reduce adverse events and health care complications resulting from medication errors. Directs the Secretary to ensure that HHS: (1) provides funding to state and local adult protective services services offices that investigate reports of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (2) collects and disseminates related data in coordination with the Department of Justice. Establishes a program of annual adult protective services grants to states. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) improve the capacity of state LTC ombudsman programs to respond to and resolve abuse and neglect complaints; and (2) conduct pilot programs with state or local LTC ombudsman offices. Directs the Secretary to establish programs to provide and improve ombudsman training for national organizations and state LTC ombudsman programs. Amends part A of SSA title XI to require each individual owner, operator, employee, manager, agent, or contractor of an LTC facility receiving certain federal support to report to the Secretary and local law enforcement entities any reasonable suspicion of crimes occurring in such facility. Requires the owner or operator of such an LTC facility to notify the Secretary and the appropriate state regulatory agency of a facility's impending closure, as well as a plan for the transfer and adequate relocation of facility residents. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the EJCC and appropriate congressional committees on establishing a national nurse aide registry.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Recidivism Reduction and Second Chance Act of 2007 or the Second Chance Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions for adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects to provide expanded services to offenders and their families for reentry into society. Directs the Attorney General to award grants for: (1) state and local reentry courts; (2) Comprehensive and Continuous Offender Reentry Task Forces; (3) pharmacological drug treatment services to incarcerated offenders; (4) technology career training for offenders; and (5) mentoring services for reintegrating offenders into the community. Amends the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 to require the Secretary of Education to establish a program for education and employment counseling for youth offenders. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants for: (1) the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center; (2) drug treatment programs as an alternative to imprisonment; (3) evaluation of methods to improve academic and vocational education for incarcerated offenders; (4) demonstration programs to reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs in long-term substance abusers; (5) incentive grants to improve drug treatment to offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities; (6) pharmacological drug treatment services to incarcerated offenders; (7) prison-based family treatment programs for incarcerated parents of minor children; and (8) a study of parole or post-incarceration supervision violations and revocations. Requires the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to establish: (1) a prisoner reentry program; and (2) a pilot program for the release of elderly nonviolent offenders (age 60 or older).
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Access to Emergency Medical Services Act of 2007 - Establishes the United States Bipartisan Commission on Access to Emergency Medical Services to: (1) identify and examine factors in the health care delivery, financing, and legal systems that affect the effective delivery of screening and stabilization services furnished in hospitals that have emergency departments pursuant to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and (2) make specific recommendations to Congress with respect to federal programs, policies, and financing needed to assure the availability of such screening and stabilization services and the coordination of state, local, and federal programs for responding to disasters and emergencies. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for additional payments for certain physicians' emergency services furnished pursuant to EMTALA. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, to convene a working group that includes experts in emergency care, inpatient critical care, hospital operations management, nursing, and other relevant disciplines to develop boarding and diversion standards for hospitals and guidelines, measures, and incentives for implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of such standards. Requires the CMS working group to: (1) identify barriers contributing to delays in timely processing of patients requiring admission as inpatients who initially sought care through the hospital's emergency department; (2) identify best practices to improve patient flow within hospitals; and (3) report to Congress and the Secretary a detailed description of the standards, guidelines, measures, and incentives developed, as well as identified barriers and best practices. Directs the Secretary to establish a mechanism to make public information regarding any hospital that fails to report information requested by the CMS working group.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Retirement Security for Life Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income for 50 percent of the amount otherwise includible in gross income as guaranteed payments from certain annuity or life insurance contracts. Limits the amount of such exclusion to $20,000 in any taxable year. Provides for an inflation adjustment of the $20,000 limitation beginning in 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act of 2007 - 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 · 27 March 2007
Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2007 - Establishes in the executive branch the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation to carry out this Act under the authorities of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961. Requires the Foundation to award grants, increasingly for study in nontraditional study abroad destinations, to: (1) U.S. students; (2) nongovernmental institutions that provide and promote study abroad opportunities for U.S. students, in consortium with institutions of higher education (IHEs); and (3) IHEs, individually or in consortium.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Designates May 18, 2007, as Endangered Species Day. Encourages: (1) educational entities to spend at least 30 minutes on such Day teaching students about threats to, and the restoration of, endangered species; and (2) organizations, businesses, private landowners, and agencies with an interest in conserving endangered species to collaborate on educational information for use in schools.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2007 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to extend through October 1, 2012, the annual cap exemption for returning H-2B aliens (temporary nonagricultural worker).
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Positive Aging Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to : (1) require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to public and private nonprofit entities for projects to demonstrate ways of integrating mental health services for older adults into primary care settings and for multidisciplinary geriatric mental health outreach teams in community settings where older adults reside or receive social services; (2) require the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services to designate a Deputy Director for Older Adult Mental Health Services to address the mental health needs of older adults; (3) require the inclusion of representatives of older adults and their families and geriatric mental health professionals on the Advisory Council for the Center; (4) designate as a project of national significance the treatment of older adults with substance-related disorders; and (5) require state plans under the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant program to describe outreach to, and services for, older individuals and individuals who are homeless and living in rural areas.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Expresses support and gratitude for the men and women of the Armed Forces in defense of freedom and democracy during the Vietnam War. Extends sympathies to all people in the United States who suffered the loss of friends and family in Vietnam. Encourages the people of the United States to remember the sacrifices of our veterans. Commemorates the 25th anniversary of the construction and dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Restitution for Victims of Crime Act of 2007 - Collection of Restitution Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code relating to restitution for victims of crime to: (1) require courts to enter an order for immediate restitution at the sentencing of a convict; (2) allow prosecutors to obtain from the U.S. Probation Office, without a court order, financial information about a convict who owes restitution; (3) require identifying information about convicts to be included in restitution orders of more than $100; and (4) allow crime victims reimbursement of attorney fees incurred in seeking restitution. Preservation of Assets for Restitution Act of 2007 - Requires courts to issue protective orders for preservation of assets available to satisfy restitution claims. Provides for prejudgment remedies to protect assets available to satisfy restitution claims. Environmental Crimes Restitution Act of 2007 - Provides for orders of restitution for victims of certain environmental crimes at the sentencing of a convict.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Stopping Overseas Subsidies Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to apply countervailing duties to nonmarket economies. Authorizes the use of alternative methodologies in determining whether a subsidy is countervailable with respect to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Requires congressional approval for revocation of nonmarket economy country determinations made by the administering authority. Requires a United States International Trade Commission study of how the PRC uses government intervention to promote investment, employment, and exports.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946 (or to their survivors). Includes service in the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. Exempts from taxation benefits paid under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 - Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to expand the definitions of "petroleum resources" and "person." Expresses the sense of Congress concerning certain sanctions against Iran. Subjects Russia to specified nuclear energy cooperation prohibitions unless the President certifies to Congress that: (1) Russia has suspended all nuclear assistance and transfers of advanced conventional weapons and missiles to Iran; or (2) Iran has verifiably dismantled all nuclear enrichment-related and reprocessing-related programs. Subjects Iran to specified economic sanctions unless the President certifies to Congress that Iran has verifiably dismantled all nuclear enrichment-related and reprocessing-related programs. Subjects, with respect to prohibited transactions with Iran, a parent company to penalties for violations committed by certain subsidiaries outside the United States that would be subject to prohibitions if committed inside the United States or by a U.S. person. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate specified geological and geophysical expense amortization benefits if petroleum-related sanctions are imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 on any member of an expanded affiliated group whose common parent is a foreign corporation. Revises the definition of "affiliated group." Directs the President to reduce annual U.S. contributions to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) based upon Bank amounts provided to entities and projects in Iran. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress an updated National Intelligence Estimate on Iran. Authorizes the President to: (1) carry out exchange programs with the people of Iran; and (2) make voluntary grant-based contributions to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the establishment of an international nuclear fuel bank to maintain a reserve of low-enriched uranium in case of a disruption in the supply of reactor fuel by normal market mechanisms. Sets forth specified Iran investment-related reporting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Expresses support and gratitude for the men and women of the Armed Forces in defense of freedom and democracy during the Vietnam War. Extends sympathies to all people in the United States who suffered the loss of friends and family in Vietnam. Encourages the people of the United States to remember the sacrifices of our veterans. Commemorates the 25th anniversary of the construction and dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2007
Coastal and Ocean Observation System Act of 2007 - Directs the President, acting through the National Ocean Research Leadership Council, to establish and maintain an integrated system for the timely detection and prediction of changes occurring in the ocean and coastal environment that impact the nation's social, economic, and ecological systems. Makes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the lead federal agency for system implementation and administration, requiring it to establish an Integrated Ocean Observing Program Office. Requires the Council to establish in NOAA an interagency program office. Requires establishment of a process for the certification of regional associations to be responsible for the development and operation of regional coastal and ocean observing systems. Requires NOAA to formulate a process by which funding is made available for intramural and extramural research on new technologies for collecting data on U.S. coastal and ocean waters. Authorizes departments and agencies represented on the Council to participate in interagency financing and to share funds appropriated to any Council member.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Accessing College through Comprehensive Early Outreach and State Partnerships Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to replace the current special leveraging educational assistance partnership program with a program of allotments to enable states to: (1) expand and enhance partnerships with institutions of higher education, early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs, private corporations, philanthropic organizations, and other interested parties to carry out specified activities and provide coordination and cohesion among federal, state, and local governmental and private efforts providing financial assistance to help low-income students attend college; (2) provide need-based grants for college access and increased college persistence to eligible low-income students; (3) provide early notification to low-income students of their eligibility for financial aid; and (4) encourage increased participation in early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs. Requires partnerships for the award of grants between a state agency and: (1) at least one public and one private degree granting institution of higher education located in the state; (2) new or existing early information and intervention, mentoring, or outreach programs also located in the state; and (3) at least one philanthropic organization located in, or providing funding in, the state, or one private corporation located in, or doing business in, the state. Requires different federal shares of program costs and different amounts of grants awarded in partnerships with institutions of higher learning: (1) serving less than a majority of students in the state; and (2) serving the majority of students in the state. Requires annual early notification of low-income students of their potential eligibility for student financial assistance. Prescribes minimum eligibility requirements for such students.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Financial Aid Form Simplification and Access Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the process of applying for student assistance. Revises requirements for the simplified needs test to take into account dislocated workers and recipients of means-tested federal benefits. Directs the Secretary of Education to develop and use a simplified paper application form of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), to be called the EZ FAFSA, for students who meet the requirements of the automatic zero expected family contribution. Requires the Secretary to: (1) phase-out the paper form (the long form or full FAFSA) for students who do not meet the requirements for a EZ FAFZA; and (2) produce, distribute, and process common forms in electronic format, including a simplified electronic application form on the Internet. Directs the Secretary to make every effort to provide students with early information about potential financial aid eligibility, both through a widely disseminated printed form and the Internet or other electronic means. Directs the Secretary to make special efforts to notify: (1) students who qualify for specified means-tested federal benefits of their potential eligibility for a maximum federal Pell Grant; and (2) middle school and secondary school students of the availability of student financial assistance. Requires the Secretary to contract for or establish a toll-free telephone service to provide an application mechanism and timely and accurate information to the general public. Increases dependent and independent students' income protection allowances, excluded in determining their need for aid. Revises requirements for the determination of independence by students with special circumstances, and provides for electronic applications tailored to their situation. Excludes certain untaxed education benefits and savings distributions from student need determinations. Sets forth asset attribution rules for qualified education benefits. Revises the purposes of the independent Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance to reflect this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Expanding the Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene, on behalf of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Treatments, Interventions, and Services Evaluation Task Force to evaluate evidence-based biomedical and behavioral treatments and services for individuals with autism; (2) establish a multi-year demonstration grant program for states to provide evidence-based autism treatments, interventions, and services. (3) establish planning and demonstration grant programs for adults with autism; (4) award grants to states for access to autism services following diagnosis; (5) award grants to University Centers of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities to provide services and address the unmet needs of individuals with autism and their families; (6) make grants to protection and advocacy systems to address the needs of individuals with autism and other emerging populations of individuals with disabilities; and (7) award a grant to a national nonprofit organization for the establishment and maintenance of a national technical assistance center for autism services and information dissemination. Directs the Comptroller General to issue a report on the financing of autism services and treatments.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Repeals certain provisions which require the offset of amounts paid in dependency and indemnity compensation from Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuities for the surviving spouses of former military personnel who are entitled to military retired pay or would be entitled to such pay except for being under 60 years of age. Prohibits recoupment by the Secretary of Defense of certain amounts previously paid to SBP recipients in the form of a retired pay refund. Repeals the optional authority of (and instead requires) the Secretary of the military department concerned to pay an annuity to a member's dependent children when there is no eligible surviving spouse. Directs the Secretary concerned to restore annuity eligibility to a surviving spouse who earlier agreed to transfer such eligibility to a surviving child or children of a member. Changes to October 1, 2007 (previously October 1, 2008) the effective date for paid-up coverage provisions under the SBP and the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection Plan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Congratulates the Alliance to Save Energy on the 30th anniversary of its incorporation. Recognizes the important contributions the Alliance to Save Energy has made to further the cause of energy efficiency.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2007
Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acting through the National Cancer Institute, to establish special programs of research excellence in the area of pediatric cancers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a grant mechanism for the establishment of Research Fellowships in Pediatric Cancer to support adequate numbers of pediatric focused clinical and translational investigators. Requires the Director to award a grant for the operation of a population-based national childhood cancer database, the Childhood Cancer Research Network. Requires the Secretary to award grants to recognized childhood cancer professional and advocacy organizations to raise public awareness of currently available information, treatment, and research with intent to ensure access to best available therapies for pediatric cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for conducting and supporting research on Alzheimer's disease in FY2008-FY2012. Amends the Public Health Service Act to extend through FY2012 programs for research on the aging process regarding women, the clinical research and training awards, and demonstration projects relating to Alzheimer's disese. Requires the Director of the National Institute on Aging to: (1) give priority to projects for conducting and supporting Alzheimer's disease research; (2) increase the emphasis on the need to conduct Alzheimer's disease prevention trials within NIH; (3) ensure that Alzheimer's disease is maintained as a high priority for the existing neuroscience initiative; (4) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's disease; and (5) make grants for research related to the early detection, diagnosis, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, the relationship of vascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, and Alzheimer's disease services and caregiving. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene a summit of researchers and other industry representatives on Alzheimer's disease; (2) make grants for public education programs on risk factors associated with cognitive health, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias; and (3) make grants to community organizations to establish and operate Alzheimer's call centers to provide 24-hour information on Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Consortium on the Impact of Technology in Aging Health Services Act of 2007 - Establishes the Consortium on the Impact of Technology in Aging Health Services. Requires the Consortium to conduct a study of all matters relating to the potential use of new technology to assist older adults and their caregivers, including: (1) methods for identifying technology that may be adapted to meet their needs; (2) methods for fostering scientific innovation in aging services technology within the business and academic communities; (3) barriers to innovation in and the adoption of technology and strategies for removing such barriers; (4) developments in such technology in other countries; and (5) methods for ensuring that U.S. businesses have a leadership role in the global market of such technology. Requires the Consortium to develop recommendations concerning: (1) developments in current technologies that may result in increased efficiency and cost savings to the healthcare system; (2) opportunities for research and development to accelerate the development and adoption of aging services technology; (3) methods to ensure that technology infrastructure is in place to deliver services; and (4) establishment of a federal interagency task force to facilitate the development and distribution of such technology and a National Resource Center to stimulate research, oversee demonstration projects, and provide training and assistance to entities that provide such services. Requires the Consortium to report recommendations regarding development of a national policy to address issues concerning technology and assistive health services for seniors, changes to federal laws and programs that would support and encourage the private sector to develop and make widely available consumer-empowered technology solutions, and establishment of a National Resource Center on Aging Services Technologies.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for health centers to meet the health care needs of medically underserved populations.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Coming Together for National Guard and Reserve Families Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Defense to enhance and improve Department of Defense (DOD) programs to provide family support for families of members of the National Guard and Reserve undergoing deployment (members). Requires such support to include post-deployment assistance for spouses and parents of returning members. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a pilot program of family-to-family support for families of such members; and (2) contract for support services for children, infants, and toddlers of such members. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to jointly expand and enhance access to mental health services for families of members who are disabled during military service. Requires a report from the Comptroller General to Congress on barriers to access to mental health services through TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program), including the number of providers under TRICARE that are located more than 40 miles from a military installation.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Gestational Diabetes Act of 2007 or the GEDI Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to convene a Research Advisory Committee. Requires the Director of CDC to develop a multisite research project to expand and enhance surveillance data and public health research on gestational diabetes. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to award competitive grants to nonprofit organizations or state health agencies for demonstration projects that test specified hypotheses about interventions designed to reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes and obesity among young women and implement relevant activities. Requires the Director of CDC and the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, to conduct and support basic, clinical, and public health research regarding gestational diabetes and obesity during pregnancy. Requires the Director of CDC to encourage screening for gestational diabetes within state-based diabetes prevention and control programs to reduce the incidence of gestational diabetes and its related complications.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Alzheimer's Family Assistance Act of 20007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a phased-in tax credit ($1,000 in 2007 increasing by $500 each year until allowing $3,000 in 2011) for family caregivers of spouses and dependents who have long-term care needs; (2) allow a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums; and (3) apply certain consumer protection standards to long-term care insurance contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Short Line Railroad Investment Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the allowable amount of the railroad track maintenance tax credit; (2) extend such credit through 2010; and (3) allow such credit against alternative minimum tax liabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Savings for Working Families Act of 2007 - Allows certain low-income individuals between age 18 and 61 to establish tax-exempt individual development accounts (IDAs) to pay for certain qualified expenses, including education expenses, first-time homebuyer costs, and business capitalization or expansion costs. Sets forth rules for the establishment, maintenance, and termination of IDAs. Permits tax-free withdrawals from IDAs for qualified expenses, but requires IDA beneficiaries to complete one or more financial education courses prior to making an IDA withdrawal. Allows certain financial institutions, tax-exempt organizations, and Indian tribes to sponsor and administer IDAs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow such entities a business-related tax credit for the cost of administering IDAs and for making matching contributions to IDAs in parallel accounts. Provides that IDA amounts shall be disregarded for purposes of determining eligibility for assistance under certain means-tested federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Calls on the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide and to recall the U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Designates September 2007 as Campus Fire Safety Month. Encourages administrators of institutions of higher education and municipalities to provide fire safety education and implement certain fire prevention measures.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Bicycle Commuters Benefits Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include a bicycle commuting allowance as a qualified transportation fringe benefit, excludable from gross income.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Camp Ellis Beach Restoration Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out a project for the mitigation of shore damages attributable to the navigation project for Saco River, Maine.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Deauthorizes: (1) a portion of the project for navigation at Rockland Harbor, Maine; and (2) the portion of the Illinois Waterway project authorized by the River and Harbor Act of 1927 in the South Fork of the South Branch of the Chicago River. Redesignates a portion of the navigation project, Saco River, Maine, described as a maneuvering basin as an anchorage area. Directs the Secretary of the Army, by May 31, 2007, to publish a supplement to the major rehabilitation report for the Herbert Hoover Dike system, approved by the Chief of Engineers in November 2000, which shall: (1) evaluate existing conditions at the Herbert Hoover Dike system; (2) identify additional risks associated with flood events at the system that are equal to or greater than the standard projected flood risks; (3) evaluate the potential to integrate Corps of Engineers projects into an enhanced flood protection system for Lake Okeechobee, including the potential for additional water storage north of that lake and an analysis of other project features included in the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan; and (4) review the report prepared for the South Florida Water Management District dated April 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give states the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals. Provides states taking advantage of this option with an enhanced federal Medicaid match.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act - Instructs the Secretary of Energy to establish a grant program for a joint venture comprising both Israeli and U.S. private business entities, or both Israeli academic persons (who reside and work in Israel) and U.S. academic persons, to engage in research, development, or commercialization of alternative energy, improved energy efficiency, or renewable energy sources. Requires the Secretary, in operating the grant program, to consult with either the Israel-United States Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation (BIRD) or the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF). Establishes in the Treasury as a revolving fund the Energy Research and Development Activities Fund. Establishes in the Department of Energy an International Energy Advisory Board to advise the Secretary on the grant program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish a national-scale mercury monitoring program. Requires such program to monitor: (1) long-term changes in mercury levels in the air and watersheds; (2) mercury levels in water and soil chemistry; and (3) mercury levels in plants and animals. Establishes the Mercury Monitoring Advisory Committee to advise the Administrator on the establishment and operation of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 March 2007
Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2007 - Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children (children), defined as children under the age of 18 with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence. States that such children shall have the right to consult with a consular officer prior to repatriation and with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (the Office) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Gives the Office jurisdiction over the care and custody of all unaccompanied alien children except: (1) the Department of Justice (DOJ) shall have responsibility for those imprisoned for a federal crime or in DOJ custody pending prosecution; and (2) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shall have responsibility for those who threaten national security. Requires federal departments or agencies to transfer such children in their custody to the Office. Specifies the order of preference for placing released children, including custody rights of parents and legal guardians. Requires the Office to protect such children from smugglers and traffickers. Prohibits the placement of such children in adult detention facilities or in facilities housing delinquent children unless they exhibit violent or criminal behavior. Specifies the preference order for such children's placement. Requires the Office and and DHS to: (1) promulgate detention standards; and (2) develop procedures to prohibit the unreasonable use of restraints, solitary confinement, or pat or strip searches. Expresses the sense of Congress that the U.S. government should ensure that it does not repatriate children into settings that would threaten their life and safety. Requires the Office to develop procedures for determining the age of aliens in DHS or Office custody. Authorizes the Director of the Office to appoint qualified and duly trained child advocates for such children. Requires the Director to: (1) provide professional training for such child advocates; and (2) implement a pilot program for their appointment. States that the Director should ensure that such children in Office or DHS custody, except those being repatriated to a contiguous country, have immigration counsel. Requires the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to develop and implement model guidelines for the legal representation of alien children in immigration proceedings. Bars such children in Office custody from consenting to immigration actions, including voluntary departure, unless first afforded an opportunity to consult with counsel. Makes such child advocate and counsel provisions applicable to all such children in federal custody on, before, or after the effective date of this Act. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise special immigrant juvenile visa provisions. Requires an alien to be 18 years or younger and present in the United States on the date of visa application. (Provides a transition rule for aliens who applied for such visa before enactment of this Act and were between the ages of 19-21 at the time of application.) Authorizes waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility. Commends the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) for its issuance of the 1998 Guidelines for Children's Asylum Claims and encourages implementation of such guidelines by INS and its successor. Calls upon EOIR to adopt such guidelines in its handling of children's asylum claims. Requires such children apprehended by DHS, except those subject to contiguous country rules, to be placed in removal proceedings. Exempts such children from certain bars to asylum. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (HSA) to make the Director responsible for: (1) placement suitability assessments for such children; and (2) ensuring that minimum standards of care are met for residential alternatives to detention. States that the amendments to HSA made by this Act shall be effective as if enacted as part of HSA.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Water Quality Investment Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to require projects receiving sewer overflow control grant assistance to be carried out subject to the requirements applicable to projects receiving assistance from state water pollution control revolving funds, except to the extent that the governor of the state in which the project is located determines that a revolving fund requirement is inconsistent with the purposes of the sewer overflow control grant program. Reauthorizes appropriations for sewer overflow control grants through FY2012. Modifies grant funding allocation provisions to reflect new dates of authorization and reauthorized amounts. Establishes a December 31, 2010, deadline for the report to Congress of the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on recommended funding levels for sewer overflow control grants.
![Official portrait of Sen. Collins, Susan M. [R-ME]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001035_200.jpg)