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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 · 2 August 2007
Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on contingency planning for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. Requires the report to include: (1) specified elements; and (2) contingency planning for each of the specified scenarios.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends federal law to provide that, in the case of an employee in fire protection activities: (1) heart disease, lung disease, specified cancers and infectious diseases shall be presumed to be proximately caused by the employee's employment; (2) the disability or death of an employee in fire protection activities due to such a disease shall be presumed to result from personal injury sustained while in the performance of such employee's duty; and (3) such presumptions may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007 - Establishes an independent National Infrastructure Bank to: (1) designate qualified transit, public housing, water, highway, bridge, or road infrastructure projects for loans, loan guarantees, and other financial assistance; and (2) issue general purpose and project-based infrastructure bonds exempt from state and local taxation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Equal Remedies Act of 2007 - Removes the limits on the dollar amount of damages awardable, in cases of intentional employment discrimination, for pecuniary and nonpecuniary losses and punitive damages.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Housing Assistance Authorization Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide financial assistance to the Housing Assistance Council to develop the ability and capacity of community-based housing development organizations to undertake community development and affordable housing projects and programs in rural areas. Authorizes the Secretary also to make a grant to the Raza Development Fund to provide technical and financial assistance to local nonprofit organizations to undertake similar projects and programs serving low- and moderate-income households, particularly through organizations in neighborhoods with substantial populations of income-disadvantaged households of Hispanic origin. Authorizes the Secretary to make a grant to the Housing Partnership Network to create, sustain, and improve access to affordable housing and community facilities benefiting very low-, low- and moderate-income households and communities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Combat Illegal Logging Act of 2007 - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to redefine the term "plant" to include products of plants and to exclude any common food crop or cultivar that is a species not listed: (1) in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; or (2) as an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Redefines the term "take" to include harvesting, cutting, logging, or removing a plant. Makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, possess, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce plants: (1) taken, transported, possessed, or sold in violation of specified foreign or state law; (2) taken, transported, or exported without the payment of royalties, taxes, or stumpage fees required by foreign or state law; or (3) exported or transshipped in violation of any limitation under foreign or state law. Makes it unlawful to import plants unless the importer files, when clearance is requested, a declaration that contains: (1) the scientific name of any plant contained in the importation; and (2) a description of the value of the importation, the quantity of the plant, and the name of the country from which the plant was taken. Sets forth requirements concerning the contents of a declaration. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to promulgate regulations to limit the applicability of, or to modify, declaration requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Designates the week beginning September 9, 2007, as National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2007
Extends the designation of Liberia under the Immigration and Nationality Act as a country whose nationals are eligible for temporary protected status and work authorization in the United States. Sets forth eligibility requirements for Liberian nationals or for persons having no nationality whose last habitual residence was Liberia.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2007
Designates September 9, 2007, as National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2007
Prescribe A Book Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: (1) health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; (2) health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and (3) volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children. Requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Support for Injured Servicemembers Act of 2007 - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 to entitle an eligible employee to a combined total of 26 workweeks of leave, during any 12-month period, to care for a member of the U.S. Armed Forces with a combat-related injury (servicemember), if such employee is the servicemember's primary caregiver. Provides for the substitution of accrued paid vacation, personal, or family leave for any part of the 26-week period. Amends federal civil service law to entitle civilian federal employees to the same leave allowance. Provides for the substitution of accrued paid annual or sick leave for any part of the 26-week period.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Congratulates Cal Ripken, Jr. for his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Honors him for his outstanding career and his contributions to baseball and his community.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Labor to make unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments in FY2008-FY2012 by certain transfers from the federal unemployment account to the accounts of the states in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Prescribes a formula for determining the maximum allowable incentive payments. Specifies requirements state law must meet for the state to qualify for such a payment. Limits the use of transferred amounts to the payment of cash unemployment benefits to individuals. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to reserve specified funds out of the federal unemployment account for such incentive payments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2013 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) excise tax imposed on every employer.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution. Declares that nothing in such Act shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of the Army or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act related to discharges: (1) composed entirely of return flows from irrigated agriculture; (2) of stormwater runoff from certain oil, gas, and mining operations composed entirely of flows from precipitation runoff conveyances, which are not contaminated by or in contact with specified materials; or (3) of dredged or fill materials resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities or from activities with respect to which a state has an approved program, or for the purposes of maintenance of currently serviceable structures, construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds, irrigation ditches and maintenance of drainage ditches, or farm, forest, or temporary roads for moving mining equipment in accordance with best management practices, or construction of temporary sedimentation basins on construction sites for which discharges do not include placement of fill material into the waters of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2007
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the government of the Russian Federation's decision to suspend implementation of the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty) will unnecessarily heighten tensions in Europe, and urges such suspension's reconsideration. Recognizes the CFE Treaty as a cornerstone of European security. Calls on the Russian Federation to fulfill its Istanbul Commitments of 1999 and withdraw all remaining forces and military equipment from Georgia and Moldova. Calls on all States Parties to ensure that the resolution of the current disputes surrounding the CFE Treaty be considered a priority at the highest political levels. Encourages officials of the government of the Russian Federation to refrain from belligerent statements that polarize relations and jeopardize security in Europe.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants to eligible entities to provide education and training in newborn screening and congenital, genetic, and metabolic disorders to health care professionals and newborn screening laboratory personnel. Adds as a condition for eligibility for grants for screening, counseling, or health care services to newborns and children having, or at risk for, heritable disorders that an entity assure that it has or is implementing guidelines and recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children. Requires the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children to: (1) make recommendations that include the heritable disorders for which all newborns should be screened; and (2) develop a model decision-matrix for newborn screening program expansion. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to: (1) establish a central clearinghouse for information on newborn screening; and (2) award grants for newborn screening educational programs and for a system to assess and coordinate treatment relating to congenital, genetic, and metabolic disorders. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to provide for: (1) quality assurance for screening laboratories; (2) population-based pilot testing for evaluating new screening tools; and (3) a national contingency plan for newborn screening in the event of a public health emergency. Requires the Secretary, acting through an Interagency Group, to: (1) collect, analyze, and make available data on certain heritable disorders; (2) operate regional centers to conduct applied epidemiological research on interventions to prevent poor health outcomes from such disorders; and (3) research and promote the prevention of poor health outcomes. Requires the Secretary to establish the Hunter Kelly Newborn Screening Research Program.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Stop Senior Suicide Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an Interagency Geriatric Mental Health Planning Council to coordinate and collaborate on the planning for the delivery of mental health services, to include suicide prevention, to older adults. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to remove provisions that limit payment for the treatment of mental, psychoneurotic, and personality disorders of an individual who is not an inpatient of a hospital at the time such expenses are incurred. Requires the Secretary to award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to develop strategies for addressing suicide among the elderly. Revises provisions requiring centers to provide appropriate information, training, and technical assistance on youth suicide to require such information, training, and assistance on suicide among all ages, particularly for groups that are at a high risk for suicide. Authorizes additional appropriations to carry out such changes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2007
Fair Pay Restoration Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that an unlawful employment practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice, or when an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid. Accrues liability, and allows an aggrieved person to obtain relief including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practice that has occurred during the charge filing period is similar or related to a practice that occurred outside the charge filing period. Applies certain amendments made by this Act to claims of compensation discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to declare that an unlawful practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when a person becomes subject to the decision or other practice, or when a person is affected by the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2007
Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to place limitations on mandatory overtime for nurses, prohibit retaliation against them in any manner with respect to any aspect of employment, and establish civil money penalties for violations of this Act. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on standards to establish for the maximum number of hours that a nurse may work without compromising the safety of patients. Requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to study and report to Congress on the extent to which federally operated medical facilities have in effect practices and policies for overtime requirements for nurses that are inconsistent with the requirements added by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
Commission on Wartime Contracting Establishment Act - Establishes the Commission on Wartime Contracting to investigate and report to Congress on federal agency contracting for: (1) the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan; and (2) the logistical support of coalition forces and the performance of security and intelligence functions in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Includes contracts entered into and/or performed in both in the United States and abroad. Requires the Commission to assess: (1) the extent and impact of reliance on contractors; (2) the extent of waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement under such contracts and the extent to which those responsible have been held accountable; and (3) the appropriateness of the organizational structure, policies, and practices of the Department of Defense and the Department of State for handling contingency contract management and support. Requires the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction to conduct audits to identify potential waste, fraud, abuse, or mismanagement in the performance of: (1) Department of Defense contracts for the logistical support of coalition forces in such Operations; and (2) federal contracts for the performance of security, intelligence, and reconstruction functions in such Operations. Prohibits the termination of the Office of such Special Inspector General until 60 days after the Commission's final report. Reaffirms the Special Inspector General's duties and responsibilities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
Urges the President of the United States to: (1) work with members of the U.N. Security Council and the African Union (AU) to ensure deployment of the United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to protect civilians in Darfur, Sudan; (2) work bilaterally and with member states of the North Atlantic Trade Organization (NATO), the United Nations, the European Union (EU), the AU, and other partners to assist such force; and (3) work with Congress to ensure funding for such force. Urges: (1) the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Chairperson of the AU to expedite such force's deployment; and (2) President al-Bashir and the government of Sudan to facilitate such deployment without condition; and (3) the President's Special Envoy to Sudan to continue his legislative outreach to bring peace to Darfur through an inclusive political process. Urges President Bush, the Security Council, the AU, the EU, the League of Arab States, regional nations, and individual nations with economic or political influence over Sudan to: (1) hold President al-Bashir and the government of Sudan accountable for any failure to facilitate such force's deployment; and (2) be prepared to implement meaningful measures, including sanctions, an arms embargo, and a no fly zone for Sudanese military flights over Darfur if the government of Sudan obstructs the peacekeeping mission's deployment.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2007
FOREWARN Act of 2007 - Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the Act) to to revise the terms "employer," "plant closing," and "mass layoff" for purposes of the Act. Requires an employer to: (1) give 90-day written notice (under current law, 60-day) to employees and appropriate state and local governments before ordering a plant closing or mass layoff; and (2) notify the Secretary of Labor within 60 days of such closing or layoff (including the number of employees involved). Makes an employer who violates such notice requirements liable to the employee for double the back pay (under current law, for back pay) for each day of the violation for up to 90 days (under current law, 60 days). Authorizes the Secretary to bring a civil action on behalf of one or more employees for certain relief under the Act. Directs the Secretary to make educational materials concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities available to the general public and employers.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2007
Honors the former First Lady, Claudia Taylor (Lady Bird) Johnson and her service to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 July 2007
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that a commemorative postage stamp be issued in honor of former U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2007
Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act - Requires each swimming pool or spa drain cover manufactured, distributed, or entered into commerce in the United States to conform to specified entrapment protection standards accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and published by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). Considers the standards to be a consumer product safety rule issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Establishes a program of grants to states to: (1) hire and train enforcement personnel; and (2) educate pool construction, installation, and service companies, pool owners and operators, and other members of the public. Conditions grants on a state imposing certain requirements by statute, including: (1) enclosure of residential pools and spas to prevent small children from gaining unsupervised access; and (2) drain entrapment prevention devices and systems on all pools and spas. Requires the CPSC to establish and carry out a public education program on methods to prevent drowning and entrapment in pools and spas.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2007
Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act or the CLASS Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to create a national, voluntary disability insurance program (CLASS program) under which: (1) all employees are automatically enrolled, but are allowed to waive enrollment; (2) payroll deductions pay monthly premiums; and (3) two-tiered benefits are provided, based on the level of disability, to purchase nonmedical services and supports that the beneficiary needs to maintain independence. Establishes the Independence Fund within the Treasury. Requires the CLASS program to be treated for tax purposes in the same manner as a qualified long-term care insurance contract. Amends the Social Security Act to require each state to: (1) assess the extent to which personal care services providers are serving or able to serve as fiscal agents, employers, and providers of employment-related benefits for personal care attendant workers, who provide personal care services to individuals receiving benefits under this Act; (2) designate or create entities to serve such purposes; and (3) ensure that such entities will not negatively alter or impede existing programs, models, methods, or administration of service delivery that provide for consumer controlled or self-directed home and community services, impede the ability of individuals to direct and control their home and community services, or inhibit individuals from relying on family members for such services. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel to examine and advise the Secretary and Congress on workforce issues related to personal care attendant workers. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction for premiums paid for the CLASS program; (2) a credit CLASS program enrollees with low income; and (3) a credit for employers for the cost incurred to automatically enroll employees and withhold monthly premiums.
United States · United States Congress · 10 July 2007
Healthy Start Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to consider certain criteria in making grants under the Healthy Start Initiative, including: (1) factors that contribute to infant mortality, such as low birthweight; and (2) the extent to which applicants for grants facilitate a community-based approach to the delivery of services and a comprehensive approach to women's health care to improve perinatal outcomes. Provides that the Secretary is not prohibited from awarding grants for special projects that are intended to address significant disparities in perinatal health indicators in communities along the United States-Mexico border or in Alaska and Hawaii. Eliminates authority for the Secretary to make additional grants to: (1) assist communities with technical assistance, replication of successful projects, and state policy formation to reduce infant and maternal mortality and morbidity; and (2) conduct and support research and to provide additional health care services for pregnant women and infants. Reauthorizes appropriations for FY2008-FY2013 for the Healthy Start Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Claire Collier Social Security Disability Insurance Fairness Act - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to provide that the eligibility requirement for disability insurance benefits under which an individual must have 20 quarters of Social Security coverage in the 40 quarters preceding a disability shall not apply in the case of a disabled individual suffering from a covered terminal disease.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007 - Requires the Attorney General to appoint a Special Counsel for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction within the Office of Deputy Attorney General to coordinate Department of Justice policies and strategies for the prevention and investigation of child exploitation cases. Establishes within the Office of Justice Programs an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC Task Force), consisting of state and local task forces (one task force for each state) to address online enticement of children, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography cases. Requires the Attorney General to establish a National Internet Crimes Against Children Data Network Center to assist the ICAC Task Force program and federal, state, local, and tribal agencies investigating and prosecuting child exploitation. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to state and local ICAC task forces to combat Internet crimes against children. Requires the Attorney General to establish additional computer forensic capacity to address backlogs, including for child exploitation investigations. Amends the federal criminal code to authorize wiretapping in state child exploitation investigations. Authorizes funding for additional agents and personnel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Postal Service.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Requires the Postmaster General to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honor of Rosa Parks.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. Requires the Committee to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding how officials can: (1) ensure interagency coordination and communication and minimize overlap regarding efforts to address tick-borne diseases; (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies and private organizations addressing such diseases; (3) ensure interagency coordination and communication with constituency groups; (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints is represented in public heath policy decisions and that information disseminated to the public and physicians is balanced; and (5) advise relevant federal agencies on priorities related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Requires the Secretary, acting through the appropriate federal officials, to provide for the coordination of all federal programs and activities related to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, including: (1) developing sensitive and accurate diagnostic tools and tests, (2) improving the efficient utilization of diagnostic testing currently available; (3) accurately determining the prevalence of such diseases; (4) evaluating the feasibility of creating a national uniform reporting system; (5) providing and promoting access to a clearinghouse of information on such diseases; (6) increasing public education related to such diseases; (7) creating a physician education program; (8) establishing epidemiological research objectives to determine the long term course of illness for Lyme disease; and (9) determining the effectiveness of different treatment modalities by establishing treatment outcome objectives
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007 - Amends the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to 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. 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 Attorney General to make grants to improve drug treatment to offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to establish demonstration programs to reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs by substance abusers while incarcerated and until the completion of parole or court supervision. Increases monetary penalties for drug trafficking and for the importation and exportation of controlled substances. Authorizes appropriations to the Departments of Justice, the Treasury, and Homeland Security for FY2008-FY2009 for the prosecution of, and for supporting the prosecution of, high-level drug offenses.
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Recognizes the historical and educational significance of the Freedom Schooner Amistad's Atlantic Freedom Tour. Declares that it is the sense of the Senate that preserving the legacy of the Amistad should be regarded as a means of fostering multicultural dialogue, education, and cooperation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Honors the firefighters who responded to the fire in Charleston, South Carolina on June 18, 2007, including those who lost their lives: William "Billy" Hutchinson, Mike Benke, Louis Mulkey, Mark Kelsey, Bradford "Brad" Baity, Michael French, James "Earl" Drayton, Brandon Thompson, and Melven Champaign. Honors other public servants who contributed to battling the fire. Pledges to continue to support and to work on behalf of the firefighters.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2007
Currency Reform and Financial Markets Access Act of 2007 - Amends the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988 to revise U.S. policy provisions by urging: (1) the United States, and other major industrialized countries, to work together to ensure that the exchange rate of the currencies of major trading nations and the U.S. dollar reflect market forces and contribute to the growth and balance of the international economy; and (2) the United States to take appropriate action to ensure that U.S. trading partners are not engaged in hidden or unfair subsidies through management of their currency or international exchange rates. Revises a certain annual analysis the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) must make with respect to the exchange rate policies of foreign countries to include an analysis of whether any country, regardless of intent, manipulates the exchange rate between its currency and the U.S. dollar in a manner that results in an accumulation of substantial dollar currency reserves. Requires the Secretary, if the Secretary makes specified findings, to make an affirmative determination that a country is manipulating its currency and to take the following actions, including: (1) establishing a plan to remedy the currency manipulation; and (2) initiating bilateral negotiations with such country, and instructing the Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund to use the U.S. vote, in order to ensure that such country adjusts the exchange rate between its currency and the U.S. dollar to permit balance of payment adjustments and to eliminate the unfair competitive advantage. Provides procedures for a joint resolution of congressional disapproval when Congress disapproves of the Secretary's findings concerning currency manipulation. Promoting Market Access for Financial Services Act - Amends the Financial Reports Act of 1988 to require: (1) the Secretary to report annually (under current law, every four years) to Congress beginning July 1, 2008, on the treatment of U.S. financial institutions by foreign countries; and (2) such report to include a summary of the results of the most recent U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) and how such results pertain to promoting foreign market access for U.S. financial institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2007
Family Leave Insurance Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, mandatory for certain covered employers. Entitles eligible employees to Program benefits that include specified percentages of their daily earnings for eight workweeks of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or other authority during any 12-month period. Authorizes any employer, with the Secretary's approval, to establish a voluntary plan meeting specified criteria. Specifies prohibited acts by an employer, and penalties for violations. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to establish a Civil Service Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program with the same Program benefits for certain federal agency employees. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose a family and medical leave premium on every individual and every employer to finance a Family and Medical Leave Trust Fund in the Treasury for Program benefits. Exempts from such premium: (1) employers or self-employers with voluntary plans approved by the Secretary as equivalent or better than the Program; and (2) small employers who have elected not to participate in it.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to allow specified uses by Louisiana of certain funds under the Road Home Program. Requires state reports, made public on the Internet, on each state grant program for household assistance programs funded with community development block grant (CDBG) disaster assistance. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to require Louisiana to make certain funds available for specified community development pilot programs in Orleans and other parishes. Authorizes additional funds for the Road Home Program. Permits a state or locality to use, as a matching requirement, share, or contribution for any other federal program, certain CDBG funds previously made available for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and infrastructure restoration in major disaster areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. Authorizes appropriations to HUD, via FEMA, of certain Hurricane-related unobligated disaster relief funds to reimburse metropolitan cities and urban counties for amounts used to provide rental housing assistance to hurricane-evacuated families. Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent survey of public housing residents of New Orleans about returning to a repaired public housing or comparable dwelling unit. Sets a deadline for the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to make a certain number of dwelling units available for occupancy. Grants a right of return to previous public housing households. Prohibits the Authority from: (1) preventing such households from occupying a replacement dwelling unit, except as prohibited by federal law; or (2) demolishing or disposing of any public housing dwelling unit operated or administered by it (including any uninhabitable unit), except pursuant to a HUD-approved replacement plan. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on all public housing projects in the Katrina or Rita disaster areas for which plans exist to transfer ownership to other entities or agencies. Authorizes appropriations for repair and rehabilitation of the Authority's public housing. Extends through June 30, 2008, the HUD Disaster Voucher Program and the Secretary's authority to waive specified requirements related to section 8 rental assistance. Provides for: (1) tenant replacement vouchers for all lost units; (2) voucher assistance for households receiving FEMA assistance, including residents of FEMA trailers; (3) voucher assistance for supportive housing; (4) waiver of limitations on project-basing of vouchers; (5) preservation of project-based housing assistance payments contracts for dwelling units damaged or destroyed; and (6) reimbursement to landlords for damages resulting from abrogation by FEMA of commitments entered into under the city lease program. Prohibits the HUD Secretary from denying conveyance of property title to HUD and payment of hazard or flood insurance benefits in specified circumstances. Establishes within HUD an FHA-New Orleans Homeownership Opportunities Initiative. Authorizes appropriations for the fair housing initiatives program. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on methods of improving distribution of federal housing funds to assist states with hurricane recovery. Commends the actions and efforts by individuals and organizations who contributed to the hurricane relief effort.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Urges the United States to: (1) honor U.S. commitments made in the 2001 World Trade Organization Doha Declaration on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and Public Health, which allows World Trade Organization (WTO) members to fully use the flexibilities in the TRIPS Agreement to protect public health and promote access to medicines for all; (2) not place countries on the "Special 301" Priority Watch List for exercising such flexibilites, such as issuing compulsory licenses to obtain generic medicines; (3) not ask developing nations that are trading partners to adopt measures to protect public health intellectual property rights in excess of protections required in the TRIPS Agreement; and (4) support new global norms for promoting medical research and development.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Celebrates: (1) the accomplishments of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, also known as the Patsy Takemoto Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act, in increasing opportunities for women and girls in all facets of education; and (2) the magnificent accomplishments of women and girls in sports.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Supports the goals and ideals of a world day of remembrance for road crash victims.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2007
Travel Promotion Act of 2007 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, counter and correct misperceptions regarding U.S. travel policy, and promote U.S. travel. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Requires the transfer of Treasury funds to the Corporation, requiring nonfederal matching funds. Authorizes the U.S. government, if a fully automated electronic system is implemented to determine, in advance of travel, the eligibility of an alien to travel to the United States, to charge an applicant a system use fee. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry represented on the Board, provided industry members approve by majority vote in a referendum. Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Office of Travel Promotion, to be headed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Travel Promotion. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to require that the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries expand its research and development activities to promote international travel to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2007
Higher Education Amendments of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to revise and reauthorize various programs. Allows proprietary institutions of higher education (IHEs), for student aid eligibility purposes, to enroll students who are also enrolled in secondary schools. Establishes new college cost and assistance information resources for students, parents, and the public. Establishes a new Teacher Quality Partnership grant program under title II for high-need local educational agencies, high-need schools, and IHEs, replacing the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants for States and Partnerships program. Revises title III Institutional Aid programs providing grants to IHEs serving high percentages of minority and low-income students, establishing a new grant program for Native American-serving non-tribal institutions. Revises and reauthorizes title IV Student Assistance programs. Alters the Pell grant minimum and maximum, allows year-round grants, and eliminates tuition-sensitivity. Broadens the array of students eligible for Academic Competitiveness grants. Eliminates the 21st Century Scholar Certificates, Academic Achievement Incentive Scholarships, and Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships programs. Increases the information to be provided to federal student loan borrowers by IHEs, lenders, and guaranty agencies. Prohibits certain business arrangements and inducements between lenders, guaranty agencies, and IHEs. Increases the loan origination fee charged lenders under the Federal Family Education Loan program. Prohibits IHEs from serving as lenders or lenders from serving as school trustees under such program after a specified date. Expands the types of public service occupations for which Perkins loans may be canceled. Excludes certain military housing benefits from title IV need analyses. Requires the development of simplified and electronic student aid application forms and a system providing students and parents with early aid information and eligibility estimates. Revises the title V Developing Institutions grant program for Hispanic-serving institutions. Establishes a new grant program for graduate programs at such institutions. Revises and reauthorizes title VI International Education programs and title VII Graduate and Post-Secondary Improvement programs. Establishes new Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education programs. Eliminates the Urban Community Service grant program. Establishes programs relating to: (1) mathematics and science scholars; (2) assessment of postsecondary education costs; (3) job skill training in high-growth occupations or industries; (4) additional capacity for registered nursing students or graduate-level nursing students; (5) knowledge of American history, free institutions, and Western civilization; (6) Teach for America, the national teacher corps; (7) Patsy T. Mink graduate fellowships; (8) college enrollment rates of secondary schools; (9) Predominantly Black Institutions; (10) Early Childhood Education Professional Development and Career Task Forces; (11) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, especially for Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students; (12) the persistence in community college of low-income students with dependent children; and (13) student safety and campus emergency management. Revises and reauthorizes various programs under the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986, the United States Institute of Peace Act, the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, and the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978. Creates: (1) a cultural experiences grant program for deaf and hard-of-hearing children under the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986; and (2) a grant program for two tribally controlled postsecondary career and technical institutions under the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978. Repeals certain programs under the Higher Education Amendments of 1998. Navajo Nation Higher Education Act of 2006 - Reauthorizes appropriations for the Navajo Community College Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act - Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs (Secretaries) to jointly develop a comprehensive policy on the care and management of members of the Armed Forces (members) who are undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy for a serious injury or illness. Provides enhanced availability of medical care and related benefits for members and former members recovering from serious injuries or illnesses. Requires the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to submit plans for Department of Defense (DOD) programs and activities to prevent, diagnose, and treat traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder in members. Directs the Secretary to establish a Center of Excellence in Prevention, Diagnosis, Mitigation, Treatment, and Rehabilitation of:: (1) Traumatic Brain Injury; and (2) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Requires the Secretaries to develop and implement a joint electronic health record for use by DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the Secretary to establish a Physical Disability Board of Review to review findings of physical evaluation boards of members separated from the Armed Forces with disability ratings of 20% or less and found to be not eligible for retirement. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out pilot programs for a revised disability evaluation system for members. Requires reports on the implementation of corrective measures in response to deficiencies: (1) in the Army physical disability evaluation system; and (2) at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish standards for military medical treatment facilities, specialty care medical facilities, and military quarters housing patients; and (2) develop and maintain a handbook for members concerning compensation and benefits for serious injuries and illnesses.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Nursing Home Fire Safety Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish programs of direct loans and grants for retrofitting nursing facilities with automatic fire sprinkler systems. Gives priority to grant applications that demonstrate a need or hardship.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Makes technical corrections to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users or SAFETEA-LU and other laws related to public transportation. Excludes sightseeing from the term "public transportation." Names a certain program authorizing the Secretary of Transportation to carry out qualified projects to enhance the protection and enjoyment of national parks and public lands as the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks Program. Makes specified allocations for fixed guideway modernization through FY2009. Increases the total obligation ceiling for FY2008 for the Mass Transit Account. Makes specified changes to: (1) certain project authorizations for new fixed guideway capital projects; (2) certain projects for bus and bus-related facilities; and (3) the hydrogen fuel cell shuttle deployment demonstration program.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
International Emergency Economic Powers Enhancement Act - Amends the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to increase the civil and criminal penalties for violations of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 - Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to revise provisions concerning presidential authority to review certain, mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers (transactions) which could result in foreign control of any person engaged in interstate commerce (covered transaction) to direct the President, acting through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to review such transaction to determine its effects on national security. Authorizes the review of certain previously-reviewed or investigated transactions. Directs the President to conduct an investigation of the effects of certain covered transactions on national security and to take any necessary steps to protect national security. Includes within such investigations transactions which may impair national security, will result in control of any U.S. critical infrastructure by a foreign person, or are foreign government-controlled. Requires the Director of National Intelligence to conduct an analysis of any threat to national security posed by a covered transaction. Establishes: (1) CFIUS as a multi-agency statutory committee and revises its membership; and (2) an additional Assistant Secretary of the Treasury to perform CFIUS-related duties. Adds several factors to be considered by the President in evaluating a covered transaction, including whether the proposed transaction: (1) has national security-related effects on U.S. critical technologies; and (2) is a foreign government-controlled transaction. Authorizes CFIUS or a lead agency to enter into agreements with parties to a covered transaction to mitigate any threat to national security. Authorizes the President to suspend or prohibit any covered transaction that threatens to impair national security. Requires the President to consider specified factors (including those added in this Act) when determining whether to suspend or prohibit a covered transaction. Requires: (1) upon request, CFIUS to brief certain Members of Congress of covered transactions for which action has concluded; and (2) CFIUS annual reports to Congress after completed investigations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to annually study foreign direct investments in the United States, especially investments in critical infrastructure and industries affecting national security by foreign governments which comply with any boycott of Israel or do not ban terrorist organizations. Requires the certification of information submitted by a party to a covered transaction.
United States · United States Congress · 13 June 2007
Designates June 15, 2007, as National Huntington's Disease Awareness Day.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2007
Recognizes the historical significance to the nation, and supports the continued celebration, of Juneteenth Independence Day (June 19, 1865, the day Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved African Americans were free). Declares the sense of Congress that: (1) history should be regarded as a means for understanding the past and solving the challenges of the future; and (2) the celebration of the end of slavery is an important and enriching part of the history and heritage of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 7 June 2007
Early Childhood Investment Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a three-to-five-year grant to not more than one public-private partnership in each state to promote school readiness by improving the quality of, and access to, early childhood development opportunities for children throughout the state from birth to kindergarten. Requires each partnership to include the state and at least one tax-exempt organization and be led by a board of directors. Reduces the federal share of the cost of activities assisted under this Act from 50% in the first year of a grant to 30% in the third and any succeeding year of the grant.