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United States · Official source
3,869 records where Sen. Craig, Larry E. [R-ID] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that Veterans Day 2005 shall be commemorated with appropriate tributes to all veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States and other responsible governments send clear signals to the marketplace that the current structure of oversight and management of the Internet's domain name and addressing service works, and will continue to deliver tangible benefits to Internet users worldwide in the future; and (2) the authoritative root zone server should remain physically located in the United States and the Secretary of Commerce should maintain oversight of ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) so that ICANN can continue to manage the day-to-day operation of the Internet's domain and addressing system, remain responsive to Internet stakeholders worldwide, and otherwise fulfill its core technical mission.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Northern Border Prosecution Initiative Reimbursement Act - Directs the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the Office of Justice Programs, to carry out the Northern Border Prosecution Initiative to provide funds to reimburse eligible northern border states (or local governments thereof) for costs incurred for handling dispositions of criminal cases that are federally initiated but federally declined-referred (i.e., where a decision has been made in a criminal case by a U.S. Attorney or a federal law enforcement agency during a federal investigation to no longer pursue federal criminal charges against a defendant and to refer the investigation to a state or local jurisdiction for possible prosecution). Requires that such program be modeled after the Southwestern Border Prosecution Initiative and serve as a partner program to that initiative to reimburse local jurisdictions for processing federal cases.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of Henry Giugni, former Sergeant-at-Arms of the United States Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on November 3, 2005, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Henry Giugni.
United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2005
Recognizes November 2005 as National Adoption Month.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Insular Possessions Act of 2005 - Amends the General Notes of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to revise the requirement for duty-free treatment of products imported from U.S. insular possessions.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2005
Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act of 2005 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for the establishment and governance of small business health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by trade, industry, professional, chamber of commerce or similar business associations that meet ERISA certification requirements. Requires the Secretary of Labor to consult with the state regarding the Secretary's exercise of authority over such plans. Allows other plans to be treated as small business health plans under certain circumstances. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate National Interim Model Rating Rules that apply to the small group insurance market. Requires the Secretary to issue the State Benefit Compendium of harmonized descriptions of the benefit, service, and provider mandates that are required to be provided by health insurance issuers in at least 45 states. Requires the Compendium to provide that any laws relating to benefit, service, and provider mandates other than those described in the Compendium shall not be binding in any state adopting the Compendium. Prohibits all states that fail to adopt the Compendium from: (1) prohibiting an eligible insurer from offering health insurance coverage consistent with the Compendium; or (2) discriminating against eligible insurers offering or seeking to offer such coverage. Requires the Secretary to establish the Commission on Health Insurance Standards Harmonization to develop recommendations that harmonize inconsistent state health insurance laws in accordance with the laws adopted in a plurality of the states. Provides that any harmonized standards adopted by the Secretary will supersede state laws related to the areas covered by the harmonized standards.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2005
Directs: (1) the U.S. Trade Representative to certify to Congress by December 15, 2005, that Japan is no longer prohibiting the importation of U.S. beef; (2) the Secretary of the Treasury, if such certification is not made, to impose additional tariffs (which shall continue until the certification is submitted to Congress) on Japan by December 31, 2005; and (3) the Secretary of Agriculture to begin negotiations with Japan to end such beef import prohibitions.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2005
Fair Access Foster Care Act of 2005 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to provide for the making of foster care maintenance payments to private for-profit agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2005
San Francisco Old Mint Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins emblematic of the San Francisco Old Mint Building, its importance to California and U.S. history, and its role in rebuilding San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and fire. Requires that all surcharges received by the Secretary from such coin sales be promptly paid to the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society to rehabilitate the Historic Old Mint in San Francisco as a city museum and an American Coin and Gold Rush Museum.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
Energy-Water Efficiency Technology Research, Development, and Transfer Program Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a National Laboratories energy-water efficiency and supply technology research, development, and transfer program for the transfer and commercialization of economically viable and cost-effective energy-water efficiency and supply technologies. Designates the following as Program Lead Laboratories: (1) Sandia National Laboratory, New Mexico; (2) Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee; and (3) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California. Prescribes guidelines for water supply technology assessment. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish the Energy-Water Efficiency and Supply Technology Advisory Panel; (2) provide competitive grants to entities with expertise in the conduct of energy-water efficiency and supply technology projects; and (3) enter into an arrangement with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct periodic peer reviews of the program.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2005
Designates the week beginning October 16, 2005, as National Character Counts Week.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2005
Circuit Court of Appeals Restructuring and Modernization Act of 2005 - Amends the federal judicial code to divide the Ninth Judicial Circuit into the Ninth Circuit (to be composed of California, Guam, Hawaii, and the Northern Mariana Islands) and the Twelfth Circuit (to be composed of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington). Requires the President to appoint five additional circuit judges for the new Ninth Circuit and two temporary judges for the former Ninth Circuit, to be stationed in California. Specifies the locations where new circuits are to hold regular sessions. Locates the offices of the new Twelfth Circuit in Phoenix, Arizona. Assigns active circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit to the new circuits. Allows senior circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit to elect assignment. Sets forth provisions governing the disposition of cases pending in the former Ninth Circuit before the effective date of this Act. Authorizes the temporary assignment of circuit and district judges of the former Ninth Circuit among the new circuits. Provides that the former Ninth Circuit shall cease to exist for administrative purposes two years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2005
Cleanup and Reconstruction Enhancement Act - CARE Act - Suspends Davis-Bacon Act wage rate requirements for federal contracts in areas declared national disasters, for a one-year period after such declaration.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2005
Prohibits the interment or memorialization in a national cemetery of, or the performance of military funeral honors for, any person convicted of a federal or state capital crime for which a life sentence or the death penalty may be imposed. (Currently, such prohibition extends only to those so convicted who have been sentenced to death or life imprisonment without parole.) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to prescribe regulations to ensure that a person is not interred in a national cemetery or provided funeral honors unless a good faith effort has been made to determine whether such person is ineligible for such interment or honors.
United States · United States Congress · 3 October 2005
Commends the employees and volunteers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, who risked life and limb to assist veterans, staff, and their respective families who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not be a signatory to any agreement or protocol with respect to the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, or any other bilateral or multilateral trade negotiations, that adopts any proposal to lessen the effectiveness of domestic and international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguard provisions, including certain proposals, and would lessen in any manner U.S. ability to enforce rigorously its trade laws, including the antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard laws. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) U.S. trade laws and international rules appropriately serve the public interest by offsetting injurious unfair trade, and that further "balancing modifications" or other similar provisions are unnecessary and would add to the complexity and difficulty of achieving relief against injurious unfair trade practices; and (2) the United States should ensure that any new agreement relating to international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguard provisions fully rectifies and corrects decisions by WTO dispute settlement panels or the Appellate Body that have unjustifiably and negatively impacted, or threaten to negatively impact, U.S. law or practice, including a law or practice with respect to foreign dumping or subsidization.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
CARE Act of 2005 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to charitable giving, including to: (1) allow nonitemizing taxpayers to claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions; (2) permit tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes; (3) expand the tax deductions for charitable contributions of food and book inventories; (4) allow an increased tax deduction for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, and scholarly compositions; and (5) exclude from gross income reimbursements to volunteers for the charitable use of an automobile. Revises various disclosure and oversight requirements relating to tax-exempt organizations. Restores and increases funding for the Social Services Block Grant Program. Savings for Working Families Act of 2005 - Allows certain low income individuals to establish individual development accounts (IDAs) to accumulate assets for homeownership, education, business startup, and other purposes. Allows an investment tax credit for contributions to an IDA. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Attorney General, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, nongovernmental organizations to assist nonprofit community-based organizations in delivering social services. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract for an evaluation of maternity group homes under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Commends the employees and volunteers of the Department of Veterans Affairs, who risked life and limb to assist veterans, staff, and their respective families who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on pulmonary hypertension and to coordinate the Director's activities with related activities of other national research institutes and National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies. Requires the Director to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct research and programs on pulmonary hypertension, including: (1) basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease; (2) training programs for scientists and health professionals; (3) programs to provide information and continuing education to health professionals; and (4) programs for the dissemination of information to the public. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a data system for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data derived from patient populations with pulmonary hypertension; and (2) an information clearinghouse to facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of pulmonary hypertension by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2005
Gas Petroleum Refiner Improvement and Community Empowerment Act or the Gas PRICE Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Economic Development Administration to give priority to the construction of petroleum-based refineries in communities affected by military base closures or realignments. Revises the process for issuing permits for the construction and operation of a refinery. Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to (1) solicit applications for grants under the EPA Natural Gas STAR Program to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas industries; and (2) conduct workshops to provide information to state officials on methane emission reduction techniques. Amends the Clean Air Act to: (1) hold states harmless for emission levels resulting from emergency waivers granted by EPA; and (2) require the Administrator to revoke the approval of certain fuels no longer included in a state implementation plan. Requires the Administrator to: (1) conduct a research and demonstration program to evaluate the air quality benefits of ultra-clean Fischer-Tropsch transportation fuel, including diesel and jet fuel; (2) evaluate the use of such fuel for reducing engine exhaust emissions; and (3) submit recommendations and reports to Congress. Authorizes loan guarantees for domestic coal and petroleum coke-based Fischer-Tropsch commercial demonstration projects.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Directs the Secretary of the Army to remove the remains of Russell Wayne Wagner from Arlington National Cemetery.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2005
Long-Term Care Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income distributions from certain tax-exempt retirement plans used to pay long-term care insurance premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Hurricane Katrina Tax Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide tax relief to Hurricane Katrina victims, including by: (1) permitting penalty-free withdrawals from tax-exempt retirement accounts for disaster relief; (2) allowing certain tax credits for employers and employees affected by Hurricane Katrina; (3) increasing, between August 28 and December 31, 2005, the limitation on individual and corporate charitable cash contributions; (4) permitting tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes relating to Hurricane Katrina disaster relief; (5) allowing individuals (in addition to corporations) to claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions of food inventories; (6) allowing an additional personal tax exemption for the housing of individuals displaced by Hurricane Katrina; (7) increasing the standard mileage rate for the tax deduction for charitable usage of a passenger automobiles; (8) excluding from gross income cancellation of certain indebtedness owned by Hurricane Katrina victims; (9) suspending limitations on casualty losses incurred by Hurricane Katrina victims; and (10) authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to disclose to state officials information concerning the tax status of certain charitable organizations.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend. Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide that, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child. Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under state law. Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in nonpublic education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with state law, without written parental consent. Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under state law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under state law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.) Amends specified federal law with respect to policies on recruitment and enlistment of home schooled students in the Armed Forces.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Acknowledges Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's lifelong service to the United States. Commends his 33-year tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court and his many accomplishments as Chief Justice. Extends sympathy to his family and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2005
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses the condolences of the Nation to the victims of Hurricane Katrina; (2) commends the resiliency and courage of the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and (3) commits to provide the necessary resources and to stand by the people of such states in the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Judicial Powers Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to repeal the prohibition against U.S. courts recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any assertion of rights by a designated Cuban national of a mark, trade name, or commercial name that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated by the Cuban government. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations as necessary to repeal such provisions, including removing any applicable prohibition on transactions or payments. Authorizes U.S. courts to recognize, enforce, or otherwise validate an assertion of rights in any mark or trade name based on common law rights, registration under the Trademark Act of 1946, or any treaty to which the United States is a party.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Child Protection and Home Safety Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable tax credit for up to 25 percent of the cost of a qualified residential gun safe. Defines "qualified residential gun safe" as a container not intended for the display of firearms which is specifically designed to store or safeguard firearms from unauthorized access and which meets established performance standards. Limits the amount of such credit to $250.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the suspension, through December 31, 2010, of the duty on certain semi-manufactured forms of gold.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Child Protection and Home Safety Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a nonrefundable tax credit for up to 25 percent of the cost of a qualified residential gun safe. Defines "qualified residential gun safe" as a container not intended for the display of firearms which is specifically designed to store or safeguard firearms from unauthorized access and which meets established performance standards. Limits the amount of such credit to $250.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
State Long-Term Care Partnership Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide for establishment of long-term care insurance partnerships between states and insurers (Qualified State Long-Term Care Insurance Partnerships (QSLTCIPs)). Defines a QSLTCIP as a state plan amendment that provides for the disregard of any assets or resources in an amount equal to the insurance benefits payments made under a long-term care insurance policy (including a certificate issued under a group insurance contract), but only if the policy meets certain requirements, including coverage of an insured who, at the time coverage first becomes effective, is a resident of such state or of a state that maintains a QSLTCIP. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for educating consumers regarding QSLTCIPs and long-term care insurance policies issued in connection with them.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Repeals the termination date in the Jobs Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 for provisions reducing individual tax rates on capital gains and dividend income.
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 · 26 July 2005
Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a three-year pilot program under which up to 15 states may issue electronic migratory bird hunting and conservation stamps. Prohibits a state's participation in the program absent the Secretary's approval of an application providing details of the state's electronic stamp process. Requires the Secretary to publish eligibility requirements and selection criteria. Directs the Secretary to require participating states to: (1) provide an actual (paper) stamp to each individual to whom the state sells an electronic stamp by the date on which the electronic stamp expires; and (2) collect and transmit to the Secretary electronic stamp revenue and customer information. Authorizes participating states to charge a reasonable fee to cover program costs. Sets forth requirements for electronic stamps. Authorizes termination of a state's participation in the program by the Secretary for violations of application terms or by a state upon providing written notice.
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 · 21 July 2005
Recognizes the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Veterans' Administration. Acknowledges the achievements of the employees of the Veterans' Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and commends them for serving the veterans of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2005
Milk Import Tariff Equity Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to impose tariff-rate quotas (quantitative import limits) and provide various duty rates on certain casein, caseinates, milk protein concentrate, and other casein derivatives and glues imported into the United States (except imports from Mexico). Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into a trade agreement with a foreign country to grant new concessions as compensation in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions; and (2) proclaim any necessary modification or continuance of any existing duty, or continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or any quantitative limitation. Sets forth certain limits on the reduction of duties on such products.
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 · 1 July 2005
Recognizes and pays tribute to Sandra Day O'Connor, Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
Homeland Security Enhancement Act of 2005 - States that: (1) state and local law enforcement personnel are fully authorized in the normal course of their duties to investigate, apprehend, or transfer to federal custody aliens in the United States (including interstate transportation of such aliens to detention centers) in order to assist in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws; (2) a statute or practice that prohibits state or local law enforcement personnel in the normal course of their duties from enforcing or assisting in enforcing federal immigration laws is in violation of Department of Homeland Security communication provisions under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996; and (3) states and localities should provide the Department with specified information regarding apprehended aliens believed to be in violation of immigration laws. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to illegal aliens to: (1) establish criminal penalties and forfeiture for aliens unlawfully present in the United States; and (2) increase specified criminal penalties for illegal entry and failure to depart violations. Provides for the listing of immigration violators in the National Crime Information Center database. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) construct or acquire 20 additional detention facilities for aliens detained pending removal (or a decision on removal); and (2) request the transfer of military installations under base closure laws for such purposes. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to illegal aliens apprehended by state or local authorities to provide for: (1) federal custody upon state or local enforcement entity request; and (2) state or local compensation for related incarceration and transportation costs. Directs the Secretary to establish immigration-related training for state and local personnel. Provides: (1) personal liability immunity to the same extent as corresponding federal immunity for state or local personnel enforcing immigration laws within the scope of their duties; and (2) civil rights money damage immunity for state or local agencies enforcing immigration laws unless their personnel violated criminal law in such enforcement. States with respect to an alien subject to removal that the Secretary shall ensure such alien's detention in an adequate (as defined by this Act) state or local prison, detention center, or other comparable facility prior to his or her removal examination. States that the Department shall continue to operate the institutional removal program (IRP), which shall be expanded to all states. Authorizes permanent appropriations for IRP. Authorizes state or local detention of an illegal alien after completion of such alien's prison sentence for: (1) up to 14 days to facilitate federal transfer; or (2) until transfer to the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
United States · United States Congress · 30 June 2005
ALS Registry 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: (1) develop a system to collect data on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); and (2) establish a national registry for the collection and storage of ALS data. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to establish the Advisory Committee on the National ALS Registry to study and make recommendations to the Secretary concerning: (1) the development and maintenance of the registry; (2) the type of information to be included; (3) the manner in which data is to be collected; (4) the use and availability of such data; and (5) the collection of information about diseases and disorders that primarily affect motor neurons that are considered essential to furthering the study and cure of ALS. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director, to award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, public or private nonprofit entities for the collection, analysis, and reporting of data on ALS. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) identify, build upon, expand, and coordinate among existing data and surveillance systems, surveys, registries, and other federal public health and environmental infrastructure wherever possible; and (2) provide for public access to an electronic national database that accepts data from state registries, health care professionals, and others as recommended by the Advisory Committee in a manner that protects personal privacy. Requires the Secretary to ensure that epidemiological and other types of information is made available to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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 · 23 June 2005
Stop the Raid on Social Security Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish a Social Security Personal Retirement Accounts Program, to be administered by a Social Security Personal Savings Board established within the Social Security Administration. Authorizes any individual credited with wages paid after December 31, 2005, or self-employment income derived in any taxable year ending after such date, who is born on or after January 1, 1950, and who has not filed an election to renounce such individual's status as a participating individual, to participate in the Program. Directs the Board to establish a social security personal retirement account for each participating individual upon initial receipt of a transfer from amounts held in the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make necessary transfers from the general fund of the Treasury to maintain a 100 percent ratio of assets of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund to the annual amount required to pay the full amount of benefits payable for each year up to 2041. Requires designation of a certified account manager by or on behalf of each participating individual to hold the individual's account assets for investment, including in broad-based index funds similar to the index fund investment options available within the Thrift Savings Fund. Prescribes requirements for withdrawal from such accounts, annuitization, and related matters. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make all social security personal retirement accounts exempt from income taxation; but (2) subject distributions from closed accounts to taxation as social security benefits. Exempts assets of Social Security Personal Retirement Accounts from the estate tax.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2005
Ninth Circuit Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2005 - Amends the federal judicial code to divide the Ninth Judicial Circuit into the Ninth Circuit (to be composed of California, Guam, Hawaii, and the Northern Mariana Islands), the Twelfth Circuit (to be composed of Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, and Montana), and Thirteenth Circuit (to be composed of Alaska, Oregon, and Washington State). Requires the President to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, five additional circuit judges for the new Ninth Circuit and two temporary judges for the former Ninth Circuit. Specifies the locations where the new circuits are to hold regular sessions. Assigns active circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit to the new circuits based on their current duty station. Allows senior circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit to elect assignment to any of the three new circuits. Specifies the disposition of cases pending in the former Ninth Circuit before the effective date of this Act as follows: (1) proceedings in matters that have been submitted for decision shall continue without regard to this Act; (2) matters not yet submitted for decision must be transferred to the court to which they would have been submitted under this Act; and (3) proceedings on petitions for rehearing or rehearing en banc that have been submitted or decided shall continue without regard to this Act. Authorizes the temporary assignment of the circuit and district judges of the former Ninth Circuit among the new circuits. Authorizes administrative coordination between any two contiguous circuits among the new circuits. Directs that the former Ninth Circuit shall cease to exist for administrative purposes two years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2005
Ninth Circuit Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal judicial code to divide the Ninth Judicial Circuit into the Ninth Circuit (to be composed of California, Guam, Hawaii, and the Northern Mariana Islands), and the Twelfth Circuit (to be composed of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Requires the President to appoint five additional circuit judges for the new Ninth Circuit and two temporary judges for the former Ninth Circuit. Specifies the locations where new circuits are to hold regular sessions. Locates the offices of the new Twelfth Circuit in Phoenix, Arizona. Assigns active circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit to the new circuits. Allows senior circuit judges of the former Ninth Circuit to elect assignment. Specifies the disposition of cases pending in the former Ninth Circuit before the effective date of this Act as follows: (1) proceedings in matters that have been submitted for decision shall continue without regard to this Act; (2) matters not yet submitted for decision must be transferred to the court to which they would have been submitted under this Act; and (3) petitions for rehearing en banc that are pending shall be considered by the court to which they would have been submitted had this Act been in full force and effect at the time that the appeal or other proceeding was filed. Authorizes the temporary assignment of circuit and district judges of the former Ninth Circuit among the new circuits. Directs that the former Ninth Circuit shall cease to exist for administrative purposes two years after enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2005
Recognizes July 1, 2005, as the 100th anniversary of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and commends the Forest Service for 100 years of dedicated service managing the forests of the United States. Encourages the people of the United States to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
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.