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United States · Official source
6,541 records where Sen. Dodd, Christopher J. [D-CT] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the temporary suspension of duty on yarn of combed cashmere or yarn of camel hair.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the temporary suspension of duty on noils of camel hair.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the temporary suspension of duty on yarn of carded camel hair.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on certain ice cream makers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2009
Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2009 - Revises or adds provisions concerning veterans' caregiver support, including: (1) the waiver of charges for humanitarian care provided to family members accompanying severely injured veterans receiving medical care; (2) lodging and subsistence for attendants; and (3) a survey of informal caregivers. Revises or adds provisions concerning women veterans' health care, including: (1) reports, studies, and pilot programs; (2) care for women veterans suffering from sexual trauma; (3) counseling in retreat settings for women veterans newly separated from service; (4) child care subsidies; and (5) care for newborn children of women veterans receiving maternity care. Revises or adds provisions concerning rural veterans' health care, including: (1) a visual impairment and orientation and mobility professionals education assistance program; (2) the use of teleconsultation and telemedicine; (3) demonstration projects on alternatives for expanding veterans' rural health care; (4) pilot programs and reports; (5) an Office of Rural Health five-year strategic plan; (6) the enhancement of Vet Centers to meet the needs of veterans of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom; (7) centers of excellence for rural health research, education, and clinical activities; and (8) transportation grants for rural veterans service organizations. Revises or adds provisions concerning veterans' mental health care, including: (1) Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans' eligibility for counseling and services through the Readjustment Counseling Service; and (2) a study on suicides among veterans. Revises or adds provisions concerning other veterans' health care matters, including: (1) disclosures from medical records; (2) health care quality management; (3) pilot programs, studies, and reports; (4) the use of non-Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities for the rehabilitation of veterans with traumatic brain injury; (5) the inclusion of federally-recognized tribal organizations in certain programs for state veterans homes; and (6) a prohibition on the collection of copayments from catastrophically disabled veterans. Revises or adds provisions concerning VA personnel matters, including: (1) authorities for the retention of medical professionals; (2) limitations on overtime and weekend duty, and alternative work schedules, for nurses; and (3) standards for appointment and practice of physicians in VA medical facilities. Revises or adds provisions concerning homeless veterans, including pilot programs on financial support for entities that: (1) coordinate the provision of supportive services to formerly homeless veterans residing on military property and other permanent housing; and (2) provide outreach to inform certain veterans about pension benefits. Revises or adds provisions concerning general authorities, purposes, powers, and accountability and oversight of nonprofit research and education corporations. Designates certain VA medical facilities. Provides expanded authority of, and a uniform allowance for, VA police officers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2009
Global Child Survival Act of 2009 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to authorize the President to furnish assistance to reduce mortality and improve the health of newborns, children, and mothers in developing countries and to support efforts to strengthen systems of maternal, newborn, and child health services and link the formal health system with communities. Directs the President to develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce mortality and improve the health of newborns, children, and mothers, including reducing newborn, child, and maternal mortality in developing countries. Establishes the Interagency Task Force on Child Survival in Developing Countries.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2009
Credit Card Rate Freeze Act of 2009 - Prohibits a creditor, during a specified nine-month period, from: (1) increasing any annual percentage rate (APR), fee, or finance charge applicable to any outstanding balance of any credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan; or (2) changing the terms governing repayment of any outstanding balance, except as permitted by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to prescribe implementing regulations.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2009
Child Support Protection Act of 2009 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to repeal the exclusion from federal matching payments of any amounts expended by a state from child support incentive payments it has received from the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Thus reinstates federal matching of state spending of child support incentive payments.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Cliff Hansen, a former Senator of Wyoming. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on October 21, 2009, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Hansen.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009
Expresses the Senate's support for the goals and ideals of "Lights On Afterschool!," a national celebration of after-school programs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2009
Fairness and Accountability in Receiving Overdraft Coverage Act of 2009 or FAIR Overdraft Coverage Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a depository institution from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with overdraft coverage, or in acts designed to evade the provisions of this Act. Requires each depository institution that provides overdraft coverage for transaction accounts to clearly and conspicuously disclose overdraft coverage fees. Subjects to the consumer's written, electronic, or other consent overdraft coverage fees for withdrawals from either automated teller machines or from debit card transfers. Requires a depository institution to provide specified consumer disclosures regarding its overdraft protection program, including: (1) periodic statements for any transaction account that has an overdraft coverage program feature; and (2) prompt notification of the account's overdraft status. Prescribes overdraft coverage fee limits. Prohibits an overdraft coverage fee if the overdraft results solely from a debit hold amount that exceeds the actual dollar amount of the transaction. Requires a depository institution to provide consumers who have not consented to participate in an overdraft coverage program transaction accounts with the same terms as those provided to consumers who have consented to participate in such program. Prohibits a depository institution from charging a non-sufficient fund fee for any transaction at an automated teller machine or any debit card transaction. Prohibits a depository institution from reporting negative information regarding consumer use of overdraft coverage to any consumer reporting agency when the overdraft amounts and coverage fees are paid under the terms of an overdraft coverage program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2009
Designates the week beginning October 18, 2009, as National Character Counts Week.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2009
Fair Sentencing Act of 2009 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to: (1) increase the amount of a controlled substance or mixture containing a cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine) required for the imposition of mandatory minimum prison terms for crack cocaine trafficking to eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine; (2) increase monetary penalties for drug trafficking and for the importation and exportation of controlled substances. Eliminates the five-year mandatory minimum prison term for first-time possession of crack cocaine. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and amend, if appropriate, its sentencing guidelines for trafficking in a controlled substance to reflect the use of a dangerous weapon or violence in such crime and the culpability and the role of the defendant in such crime, taking into account certain aggravating and mitigating factors. Directs the Comptroller General to report on the effectiveness of drug court programs funded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2009
Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2009 - Amends the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to authorize appropriations for FY2010 and each fiscal year thereafter. Revises requirements for health care personnel, facilities, programs, and services for Indians, Indian Tribes, Tribal Organizations, and urban Indian organizations, including providing for expanded behavioral, mental, youth, hospice, long-term care, assisted living, community-based, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and other services. Authorizes the establishment of an Office of Indian Men's Health. Requires procedures to negotiate and promulgate regulations to establish a disbursement formula for contract health service funds. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to accept from any source, including federal and state agencies, funds, equipment, or supplies that are available for the construction or operation of Indian health care facilities. Authorizes demonstration programs for modular component health care facilities and mobile mental health stations in Indian communities. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into or expand arrangements for the sharing of medical facilities and services between the Service, Indian Tribes, and Tribal Organizations and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD), requiring the VA or DOD to pay reimbursement for services provided to VA- or DOD-eligible Indian beneficiaries. Requires a federal health care program to accept an Indian Health Service, an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization entity as a provider eligible to receive payment under the program for services furnished to an Indian on the same basis as any other qualified provider. Permits an Indian tribe or tribal organization carrying out programs under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act or an urban Indian organization carrying out programs under title V (Health Serivces for Urban Indians) of the Act to purchase insurance under the Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) for the employees of such Indian tribe, tribal organization, or urban Indian organization. Provides for the designation of specified areas as contract health service delivery areas.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 2009
Servicemember Student Loan Interest Relief Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to allow members of the Armed Forces serving on active duty in hostile areas to benefit from the provision barring the accrual of interest on their student loans under the Federal Direct Loan program regardless of the date their loan was first disbursed. (Currently, their loan must be disbursed on or after October 1, 2008, to qualify for such treatment.) Eliminates the restriction of such benefit on direct consolidation loans to that portion of the loan which is used to repay direct loans.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 2009
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) a highly capable and knowledgeable individual should be nominated with all expediency to serve as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and (2) USAID must be empowered to be the primary development agency of the United States and to serve as the principal advisor to the President and national security organs of the U.S. government on the capacity and strategy of U.S. development assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2009
Family Asthma Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to award grants for pilot projects to prevent and control asthma symptoms and to reduce asthma attacks and improve self-management for individuals and families. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of NIH, in awarding grants, to give: (1) priority to entities that serve populations disproportionately impacted by asthma; and (2) consideration to an adequate national understanding of asthma prevalence. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a National Asthma Action Plan and to fund a report to Congress by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program on federal asthma activities. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) collaborate with state and local health departments to conduct activities to inform and educate the public regarding asthma; (2) conduct asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma, the effectiveness of public heath asthma intervention, and the quality of asthma management; and (3) compile and annually publish data on childhood and adult asthma.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2009
Recognizes the benefits of service-learning, which include: (1) enriching and enhancing academic outcomes for youth; (2) engaging youth in positive experiences in the community; and (3) encouraging youth to make more constructive choices with regards to their lives. Encourages schools, school districts, college campuses, community-based organizations, nonprofits, and faith-based organizations to provide youth with more service-learning opportunities. Expresses support for the goals of the National Learn and Serve Challenge, an annual event which spotlights the value of service-learning to youth, schools, college campuses, and communities.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2009
Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to declare that a plaintiff establishes an unlawful employment practice if the plaintiff demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) an impermissible factor or authority was a motivating factor for the practice complained of, even if other factors also motivated that practice; or (2) the practice complained of would not have occurred in the absence of an impermissible factor. Specifies the types of: (1) evidence that a plaintiff may utilize; and (2) relief and damages available to a successful plaintiff.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2009
Designates the week of October 18-October 24, 2009, as National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2009
Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act of 2009 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require inclusion of specified freedom of the press information in the Department of State's annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Directs the Secretary to administer a grant program to promote freedom of the press worldwide, which shall be administered by the Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2009
Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2009 - Prohibits road construction and road reconstruction in inventoried roadless areas of the National Forest System. Specifies exceptions, including because: (1) there is threat of a catastrophic event; (2) a natural resource restoration action is necessary; or (3) a federal-aid highway project is in the public interest or is consistent with the purposes for which the land was reserved or acquired. Prohibits timber from being cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried roadless area. Permits various exceptions, including for specified environmental reasons, if the responsible official determines that the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is expected to be infrequent. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to make modifications to roadless area maps to improve their accuracy or inclusiveness. Instructs the Secretary, in order to evaluate the effect of a modification to a roadless area map, to prepare an environmental impact statement or similar analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Declares that this Act does not: (1) revoke, suspend, or modify legal instruments and decisions concerning the use of NFS land made before January 12, 2001; (2) compel the amendment or revision of any land and resource management plan; or (3) apply to specified activities in the Tongass National Forest. States that the prohibitions and restrictions of this Act cannot be reconsidered, modified, or terminated under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2009
Security and Financial Empowerment (SAFE) Act - Sets forth entitlement standards and implementation guidelines for employee use of emergency leave to address domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking (domestic or sexual violence). Permits victims of domestic or sexual violence to substitute existing leave in lieu of emergency leave. Authorizes state use of funds under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) (TANF) to provide nonrecurrent short-term emergency benefits for victims of domestic or sexual violence on emergency leave. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit denial of unemployment compensation to individuals separated from employment due to their experience of domestic or sexual violence. Amends the Social Security Act to require training of unemployment compensation and TANF personnel to provide necessary services to victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims' Employment Sustainability Act - Prohibits certain discriminatory employer practices against victims of domestic or sexual violence. Victims of Abuse Insurance Protection Act - Prohibits denial or restriction of insurance coverage (including termination of health insurance coverage) based on the status of the applicant or insured as a victim of domestic or sexual violence.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2009
Expresses support for: (1) the goals and ideals of Fire Prevention Week; and (2) the work of firefighters in educating and protecting this nation's communities.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2009
Designates October 13, 2009, as National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2009
Designates October 2009 as National Work and Family Month. Recognizes the importance of work schedules that allow employees to spend time with their families to job productivity and to healthy families. Urges public officials, employers, employees, and the general public to work together to achieve more balance between work and family.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2009
Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to repeal provisions relating to retroactive immunity protection for electronic communication service providers that participated in the Terrorist Surveillance Program.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. Recognizes that every child should have a permanent and loving family. Encourages the citizens of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and all throughout the year.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2009
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Henry Bellmon, a former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on September 29, 2009, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Bellmon.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2009
Graduation Promise Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make grants to states and, through them, subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for differentiated high school improvement systems targeting support to schools with low student achievement and graduation rates after such schools fail for two consecutive years to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) pursuant to state academic performance standards. Allots grant funds to states pursuant to a formula that favors states with low graduation rates and a high percentage of students attending low-income LEAs. Requires state grantees to establish comprehensive school performance indicators and minimum annual improvement benchmarks for use, in addition to current AYP measures, in analyzing school performance and determining the improvement category into which a school is placed. Directs LEA subgrantees to: (1) categorize each of their schools that fail to make AYP for two consecutive years as needing targeted intervention, whole school reforms, or replacement; (2) convene a local school improvement team for each of such schools that will use performance indicators, AYP measures, and other relevant data to conduct a school needs assessment and develop a multiyear school improvement plan tailored to the school's need categorization; and (3) support the successful implementation of such plans and district-wide high school improvement strategies. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to LEAs, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education to develop and implement, or replicate, effective secondary school models for struggling students and dropouts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2009
Recognizes and honors the Hudson River School painters for their contributions to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2009
Designates September 2009 as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Declares that steps should be taken to: (1) raise awareness about prostate cancer screening and treatment; (2) increase funding for prostate cancer research; and (3) improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for detecting and treating prostate cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2009
Emergency Senior Citizens Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to extend the $250 economic recovery payment payable to certain individuals through calendar year 2010. Applies the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance tax in 2010 to certain earnings in excess of $250,000.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2009
Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009 - Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 (the Act) to reauthorize through FY2014 specified provisions of the Act. Amends the Act to: (1) require standards and procedures by which contracts and orders priorities allocations are used to promote the national defense under both emergency and nonemergency conditions; (2) remove a limitation on the authority of the President to engage in the production of energy other than synthetic fuel; and (3) repeal the requirement that the President identify critical components and technology items for each item on the Critical Items List. Authorizes the President to: (1) allow a guaranteeing agency to guarantee private loans in support of production capabilities or supplies determined necessary to create, maintain, expedite, expand, protect, or restore production and deliveries or services essential to the national defense; (2) provide for loans to private businesses for activities which reduce current or projected shortfalls of industrial resources, critical technology items, or materials essential for the national defense; and (3) take certain actions to create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore domestic industrial base capabilities necessary for the national defense. Establishes in the Treasury the Defense Production Act Fund to carry out such authorities. Extends from two to five years the maximum period of voluntary agreements and plans of action entered into by business and industry leaders to help provide for the defense of the United States through the development of preparedness programs and the expansion of productive capacity and supply beyond the levels needed to meet essential civilian demand. Establishes the Defense Production Act Committee to advise the President on the effective use of authority under the Act by the departments, agencies, and independent establishments of the federal government to which the President has delegated authority. Requires an annual report from the President to the congressional finance committees on the impact of offsets on U.S. defense preparedness, industrial competitiveness, employment, and trade.
United States · United States Congress · 16 September 2009
Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to the first-time homebuyer tax credit to: (1) extend such tax credit through May 31, 2010; (2) extend through December 31, 2009, the date until which purchases of a principal residence may be treated as made on December 31, 2008, for tax purposes; and (3) extend through May 31, 2010, the waiver of recapture requirements for residences purchased after December 31, 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2009
Improving Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2009 - Amends title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) (SSI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to exclude from income for SSI eligibility purposes any compensation in the amount of the first $2,000 per year received by an individual for participation in clinical trials involving research and testing of treatments for rare diseases or conditions. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to make a similar exclusion from income of such compensation for the purposes of eligibility under the Medicaid program. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of this Act on enrollment of individuals who receive SSI benefits in clinical trials for rare diseases or conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 15 September 2009
Recognizes the contributions that former President of the AFL-CIO (1995-2009) John Sweeney has made to the U.S. labor movement. Congratulates and honors John Sweeney for his dedicated service and commitment to economic and social justice and tireless advocacy on behalf of U.S. working families.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2009
Designates room 325 of the Russell Senate Office Building, commonly referred to as the "Caucus Room," as the "Kennedy Caucus Room," in recognition of the service to the Senate and the people of the United States of Senators Edward Moore Kennedy, Robert Francis Kennedy, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
United States · United States Congress · 9 September 2009
Full-Service Community Schools Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award grants to: (1) consortia composed of a local educational agency and one or more community-based, nonprofit, or other public or private entities to assist public elementary or secondary schools to function as full-service community schools; and (2) state collaboratives to support the development of full-service community school programs. Requires such schools to: (1) participate in community-based efforts to coordinate educational, developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships; and (2) provide access to such services to students, families, and the community. Gives local grant priority to consortia that: (1) will serve at least two full-service community schools eligible for schoolwide programs under the Act, and more than one full-service community school as part of a community or districtwide strategy; (2) demonstrate a record of effectiveness in coordinating multiple qualified services; and (3) will be connected to a school and community partnership group that brings together key stakeholders across varied sectors to improve results for students and their families. Establishes a Full-Service Community Schools Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2009
IDEA Full Funding Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to reauthorize and make appropriations for the grant program to assist states and outlying areas in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. Decreases the amount authorized and makes appropriations for FY2010-FY2011, authorizes and makes specified appropriations for FY2012-FY2015, and authorizes and makes appropriations pursuant to a formula for FY2016 and thereafter.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2009
Declares that the Senate has received with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the passing of the Honorable Edward Moore Kennedy, the great Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on September 8, 2009, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased Senator.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Livable Communities Act of 2009 - Establishes in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) an Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities (OSHC). Establishes in the executive branch an independent Interagency Council on Sustainable Communities. Requires the OSHC Director to establish a program to make comprehensive planning grants and sustainability challenge grants to eligible entities (partnerships between a consortium of units of general local government and an eligible partner, which may be a metropolitan planning organization, a rural planning organization, a regional council, or a state). Requires the use of a comprehensive planning grant to carry out a project to: (1) coordinate land use, housing, transportation, and infrastructure planning processes across jurisdictions and agencies; (2) identify potential regional partnerships for developing and implementing a comprehensive regional plan; (3) conduct or update housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy, and environmental assessments to determine regional needs and promote sustainable development; (4) develop or update a comprehensive regional plan or goals and strategies to implement an existing comprehensive regional plan; and (5) implement local zoning and other code changes necessary to implement a comprehensive regional plan and promote sustainable development. Requires the use of a sustainability challenge grant to: (1) promote integrated transportation, housing, energy, and economic development activities carried out across policy and governmental jurisdictions; (2) promote sustainable and location-efficient development; and (3) implement projects identified in a comprehensive regional plan. Directs the OSHC Director to study and report to specified congressional committees on incentives for encouraging lenders to make, and homebuyers and homeowners to participate in, energy-efficient mortgages and location-efficient mortgages.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Measuring American Poverty Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Bureau of the Census (Census Bureau), in collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), to calculate modern poverty thresholds and modern poverty rates for each calendar year. Directs the Census Bureau and the BLS to choose: (1) the most appropriate distribution of consumption expenditures on food, clothing, and shelter, which may exclude families receiving subsidies for food, clothing, or shelter; and (2) the reference family for the modern poverty measure. Declares that the modern poverty threshold for a reference family shall be an amount equal to the average of 120% of the 33rd percentile of the distribution chosen, allowing for calculations to rely on a limited band converging on this percentile, during four or more of the most recent years for which data is available from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, a superior federal government source of data, or some combination of such sources. Prescribes requirements for determining modern poverty rates. Directs the Census Bureau, in collaboration with the BLS, to contract with the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to develop and publish methods of: (1) calculating a decent living standard threshold; and (2) measuring the extent to which the income of families in the United States is sufficient to meet it. Directs the Census Bureau, in collaboration with the BLS, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to contract with NAS to develop and publish a method of: (1) measuring the extent of medical care risk in the United States; and (2) calculating the number and percentage of individuals in the United States who lack adequate health insurance, leaving them at risk of being unable to afford needed treatment. Directs the Census Bureau to contract with NAS to develop a set of recommendations for methods to implement annual modern poverty measurement at the state and local level and a timeframe for the implementation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act - Prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from authorizing any new lease for exploration or production of oil or natural gas unless the lessee: (1) certifies for each existing lease that the lessee has diligently developed the lands in order to produce oil or natural gas, or is producing oil or natural gas from such lands; or (2) has relinquished all federal oil and gas leases that are not being diligently developed. Instructs the Secretary to promulgate diligent development regulations that: (1) include benchmarks for oil and gas development to ensure that leaseholders produce oil and gas from each lease within the five-year original term of the lease; and (2) require each leaseholder to submit a diligent development plan showing how the lessee will meet the benchmarks. Establishes a civil penalty for noncompliance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2009 - Declares that it is the purpose of this Act to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to determine whether a state substantially provides for specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management, supervisory, and confidential employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the FLRA to issue, in accordance with the public safety employee rights and responsibilities, regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such rights and responsibilities. Directs the FLRA, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrators' awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of FLRA regulations and orders through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts, sickouts, work slowdowns, or strikes. Waives federal preemption of state law governing strikes by public safety officers. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Social Investment and Economic Development for the Americas Act of 2010 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the President, acting through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and working with governments and civil society in the Americas (all the countries of North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean), to provide assistance to reduce poverty, expand the middle class, and foster increased economic opportunity by promoting education, improving health and disease prevention, increasing access to income generating activities, reducing crime, generating rural development, reducing poverty and inequality, eliminating the exclusion of marginalized populations, and strengthening the rule of law, governance, and democracy through the establishment of independent judiciaries, efficient processes to adjudicate claims, and effective law enforcement institutions. Authorizes appropriations for debt and equity financing for a Microfinance Growth Fund for the Americas. Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) establish an advisory group on the feasibility of establishing a new public-private Fund for Social and Economic Development in the Americas; (2) conduct a joint study to determine the best strategy for increasing the use of renewable energy sources in the Americas; and (3) work with interested governments in Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico (the Region) to study mechanisms to facilitate regional and hemispheric carbon trading. Authorizes appropriations to USAID: (1) for labor and environmental capacity building activities relating to the implementation of trade promotion agreements; (2) for programs in the Americas to reduce global warming; (3) to support activities in the Region involving adaptation to, and reduction in the negative impact of, environmental changes brought about by global warming and activities promoting sustainable forest management and reduction of deforestation. Expresses support for the establishment of an Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to require Members of Congress to include in mandatory annual financial disclosure reports information on the balance of any mortgage secured by a personal residence.
United States · United States Congress · 6 August 2009
Calls upon all people in the United States to: (1) observe, annually, a National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of those who lost their lives or were injured in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and in tribute to those who came to the aid of those in need; and (2) continue to live their lives throughout the year with the same spirit of unity, service, and compassion that was exhibited following the attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2009
Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 - Prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity by covered entities (employers, employment agencies, labor organizations, or joint labor-management committees). Prohibits preferential treatment or quotas. Allows only disparate treatment claims. Prohibits related retaliation. Makes this Act inapplicable to: (1) religious organizations; and (2) the relationship between the United States and members of the Armed Forces. Declares that this Act does not repeal or modify any federal, state, territorial, or local law creating a special right or preference concerning employment for a veteran. Provides for the construction of this Act regarding: (1) enforcement by employers of rules and policies; (2) sexual harassment; (3) certain shared facilities such as showers or dressing facilities; (4) construction of new or additional facilities; (5) dress and grooming standards; and (6) provision of employee benefits to married vs. unmarried couples. Declares that, in this Act, "married" refers to a legal union between one man and one woman. Prohibits the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from collecting statistics from covered entities on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or compelling the collection by covered entities of such statistics. Provides for enforcement, including giving the EEOC, the Librarian of Congress, the Attorney General, and U.S. courts the same enforcement powers as they have under specified provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991, and other specified laws. Allows actions and proceedings, subject to exception, against the United States and the states.
United States · United States Congress · 5 August 2009
Protecting America's Workers Act - Amends the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) to expand its coverage to federal, state, and local government employees. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor, under specified conditions, to cede OSHA jurisdiction to another federal agency with respect to certain occupational standards or regulations for such agency's employees. Declares OSHA inapplicable to working conditions covered by the Federal Mine Safety and Heath Act of 1977. Sets forth increased protections for whistle blowers under OSHA. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) the posting of employee rights; (2) a prohibition against the adoption or implementation of policies or practices by employers that discourage the reporting of work-related injuries or illnesses or that discriminate or provide for adverse action against any employee for reporting such injury or illness; (3) a prohibition against the loss of wages or employee benefits as a result of an employee participating in or aiding workplace inspections; (4) investigations of incidents in a place of employment resulting in a death or the hospitalization of two or more employees; (5) a prohibition against designating a citation for an occupational health and safety standard violation as an unclassified citation; (6) the rights of an employee who has sustained a work-related injury or illness that is the subject of an investigation; (7) an employer's right to contest citations and penalties; (8) the Secretary's assertion of an employer's failure to correct a serious hazard during an employer's contest to a citation; and (9) employee objections to modifications of citations. Increases civil and criminal penalties for certain OSHA violators. Requires a state that has an approved plan for the development and enforcement of occupational safety and health standards to amend its plan to conform to the requirements of this Act within 12 months after enactment of this Act.