United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2007
Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise the prohibition on importing convict-made goods into the United States to make it unlawful to: (1) import into, or export from, the United States any sweatshop good; or (2) introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell, or transport or distribute in U.S. commerce, any sweatshop good. Grants the President, for reasons of national interest, authority to recommend waiver of the applications set forth in this Act in connection with the goods of any country with respect to one or more of the principles and rights defined in this Act as a core labor standard. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such a waiver. Makes it unlawful for persons to introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell or transport or distribute in commerce any sweatshop good. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this prohibition as if it were an unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Allows specified persons with standing to bring a civil action in U.S. district courts against sellers of goods, wares, articles, or merchandise on grounds of a violation of such prohibition. Prohibits executive agencies and the Armed Forces from entering into procurement contracts for sweatshop goods. Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed to preempt a state from regulating labor standards required in the mining, production, or manufacture of merchandise purchased by the state.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2007
Legal Employee Verification Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require visas issued by the Secretary of State and immigration related documents issued by the Secretary of State or the Secretary of Homeland Security to comply with authentication and biometric standards recognized by domestic and international standards organizations. Requires the Commissioner of Social Security to: (1) establish an Employment Eligibility Confirmation System to respond to inquiries made by employers regarding the identities and employment authorizations of their employees; (2) design, implement, and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database, including annual reverification; and (3) develop a plan to phase all workers into the Database and phase out the employer verification system established in specified existing provisions. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (currently, the Attorney General) to implement an integrated entry and exit data system. Requires a process under which an H-2B alien (temporary nonagricultural worker) who files a nonfrivolous complaint regarding a violation of this Act and is otherwise eligible to remain and work in the United States may be allowed to seek other employment in the United States for a period not to exceed the maximum period of stay for that nonimmigrant.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Expanding the Promise for Individuals With Autism Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene, on behalf of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Treatments, Interventions, and Services Evaluation Task Force to evaluate evidence-based biomedical and behavioral treatments and services for individuals with autism; (2) establish a multi-year demonstration grant program for states to provide evidence-based autism treatments, interventions, and services. (3) establish planning and demonstration grant programs for adults with autism; (4) award grants to states for access to autism services following diagnosis; (5) award grants to University Centers of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities to provide services and address the unmet needs of individuals with autism and their families; (6) make grants to protection and advocacy systems to address the needs of individuals with autism and other emerging populations of individuals with disabilities; and (7) award a grant to a national nonprofit organization for the establishment and maintenance of a national technical assistance center for autism services and information dissemination. Directs the Comptroller General to issue a report on the financing of autism services and treatments.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Family Care Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the rate of the tax credit for expenses for household and dependent care services; and (2) allow an inflation adjustment after 2007 to the adjusted gross income limitation applicable to such credit. Makes such increased tax credit permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 17 April 2007
Honors the sacrifices and commitment of the 53,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and civilians that comprise the nation's special operations forces community. Honors the families of such forces. Recognizes that the U.S. military should seek to replicate the success that such forces has achieved throughout the War on Terror.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Elder Justice Act - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish an Elder Justice program under title XX (Block Grants to States for Social Services). Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) an Elder Justice Coordinating Council (EJCC). Establishes the Advisory Board on Elder Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to establish stationary and mobile forensic centers, to develop forensic expertise regarding, and provide services relating to, elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Directs the Secretary to provide incentives for individuals to train for, seek, and maintain employment providing direct care in a long-term care (LTC) facility. Directs the Secretary to make grants to LTC facilities to: (1) offer continuing training and varying levels of certification to employees who provide direct care to LTC facility residents; and (2) provide bonuses or other benefits to employees who achieve certification. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to assist LTC facilities in offsetting the costs for standardized clinical health care informatics systems designed to improve patient safety and reduce adverse events and health care complications resulting from medication errors. Directs the Secretary to ensure that HHS: (1) provides funding to state and local adult protective services services offices that investigate reports of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (2) collects and disseminates related data in coordination with the Department of Justice. Establishes a program of annual adult protective services grants to states. Directs the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities to: (1) improve the capacity of state LTC ombudsman programs to respond to and resolve abuse and neglect complaints; and (2) conduct pilot programs with state or local LTC ombudsman offices. Directs the Secretary to establish programs to provide and improve ombudsman training for national organizations and state LTC ombudsman programs. Amends part A of SSA title XI to require each individual owner, operator, employee, manager, agent, or contractor of an LTC facility receiving certain federal support to report to the Secretary and local law enforcement entities any reasonable suspicion of crimes occurring in such facility. Requires the owner or operator of such an LTC facility to notify the Secretary and the appropriate state regulatory agency of a facility's impending closure, as well as a plan for the transfer and adequate relocation of facility residents. Directs the Secretary to study and report to the EJCC and appropriate congressional committees on establishing a national nurse aide registry. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) study and report to the EJCC, the Advisory Board, and Congress on state laws and practices relating to elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; and (2) develop and implement a long-term plan for elder justice programs and related activities. Authorizes the Attorney General to award advocacy grants for study of elder abuse victim needs. Directs the Attorney General to award grants to provide training and other types of support to local and state prosecutors as well as police and other front line law enforcement responders handling elder justice-related cases. Requires increased Department of Justice support for federal cases involving elder justice. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to create a long-term care facility worker employment tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
House Ethics Commission Establishment Act of 2007 - Establishes an independent House Ethics Commission within the legislative branch. Amends Rule XI (Procedures of Committees and Unfinished Business) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to revise the duties of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to conform with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Acknowledges the observance of March 8, 2007, as International Women's Day. Applauds the enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act by the Kingdom of Lesotho. Lauds the Kingdom of Lesotho for demonstrating its commitment to improve gender equity. Commends the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for developing and implementing policies to advance gender equity in the Kingdom of Lesotho and other countries eligible for MCC financial assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Pollinator Protection Act - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Agricultural Research Service, for: (1) personnel, facilities improvement, and additional research at Department of Agriculture Apicultural Research Laboratories; (2) research on honey bee physiology, insect pathology, insect chemical ecology, and honey bee toxicology at other Department facilities in New York, Florida, California, and Texas; and (3) research to identify causes and solutions for Colony Collapse Disorder. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary, through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, for research grants to investigate: (1) honey bee immunology, genomics, biology, ecology, and bioinformatics; (2) pollination biology; and (3) the effects of genetically modified crops, insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides on honey bees and other beneficial insects and pollinators.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed. Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
COPS Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the authority of the Attorney General to make grants for public safety and community policing programs (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program). Authorizes grants to: (1) hire school resource officers and establish local partnerships to combat crime, gangs, drug activities, and other problems in elementary and secondary schools; (2) pay for officers hired to perform intelligence, anti-terror, or homeland security duties; (3) establish and implement programs to reduce and prevent illegal drug activities, including the manufacturing, distribution, and use of methamphetamine; and (4) meet emerging law enforcement needs, as warranted. Authorizes the use of COPS ON THE BEAT grants to hire former members of the Armed Forces to serve as career law enforcement officers. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) assigning prosecutors to handle cases from specific geographic areas and to address counter-terrorism problems and violent crime in local communities; and (2) developing new technologies to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in crime prevention and training. Grants the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services exclusive authority to perform functions and activities under COPS ON THE BEAT grant program. Authorizes the Attorney General to extend grant periods and to renew grants if the grant recipient can demonstrate significant progress in achieving the objectives of the initial grant application.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2007
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 561 Kingsland Avenue in University City, Missouri, as the "Harriett F. Woods Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in recognition of Constantino Brumidi's contributions to the Nation as a designer and decorator of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to arrange for the gold medal to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Constantino Brumidi.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a flexibility incentive grant pilot program to encourage states to establish new sources of revenue for public transportation projects and services and to reward states for creating more flexibility in the use of their existing transportation funds. Requires the Secretary to make a grant for FY2008-FY2011 to: (1) each state whose increase in expenditures for public transportation projects and services over the preceding fiscal year was 10% or more and aggregate expenditures for such projects and services was $1 billion or less; (2) each large state whose increase in expenditures for such projects and services over the preceding fiscal year was 1% or more and aggregate expenditures for such projects and services was more than $1 billion; (3) each state that established in the first preceding fiscal year a dedicated source of revenue (i.e., state motor fuels tax, sales tax, or other specified sources of revenue) for carrying out public transportation projects and services that was not in effect in the second preceding fiscal year and which will result in a 10% increase of state funds expended for such projects and services within two years after such implementation; and (4) each state that in the preceding fiscal year amended state law or the state constitution to allow restricted highway funds to also be used for public transportation projects and services. Sets forth certain grant eligibility requirements. Directs the Secretary to conduct, and report to Congress on, a study to evaluate the pilot program.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
American Dairy Farmer Protection Act - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to extend national dairy market loss payments through September 30, 2012. Increases the maximum payment quantity for all producers on a single dairy operation. Sets the FY2008 minimum price for Class 1 milk under a federal marketing order at $15.58 per hundredweight.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act or EAT Healthy America Act - Amends provisions with respect to: (1) specialty crops; (2) the tree assistance program; (3) the conservation reserve program; (4) the wetlands reserve program; (5) the farmland protection program; (6) the grassland reserve program; (7) the wildlife habitat incentive program; (8) the environmental qualities incentives program; (9) air quality improvement; (10) integrated pest management initiative; (11) the conservation loan guarantee program; (12) agricultural trade; (13) invasive pests and diseases; (14) nutrition; (15) agricultural research; (16) renewable energy, including crop biomass waste; and (17) farm labor housing.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Safe Climate Act of 2007 - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate: (1) targets for a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions each year from 2010-2050; and (2) regulations requiring reductions to meet such targets, including by setting caps on emissions of sources and sectors with the largest emissions or the best opportunities to reduce them, by issuing and authorizing trading of emission allowances, and by imposing penalties for excess emissions. Requires relevant federal agencies to finalize a rule to carry out the National Academies' recommendations for regulatory action needed to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations or explain their reasons for declining to act. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the distribution of emission allowances (including through auctions) and the use of proceeds (to be deposited in a Climate Reinvestment Fund) for specified goals, including mitigating the effects of energy cost increases and climate change. Requires the EPA to ensure that emissions and allowances are accurately tracked, reported, and verified. Authorizes the emission reduction regulations to include: (1) additional requirements for any source or sector; and (2) performance standards, best management practices, and technology-based requirements. Requires such regulations to set standards for the reduction of greenhouse emissions from motor vehicles at least as quickly as the standards adopted by the California Air Resources Board at its September 2004 hearing. Requires the EPA to revise such standards in 2014 and every five years thereafter to further reduce emissions. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) require, beginning in 2010, an annual increase in the percentage of electric energy generated from renewable sources that is sold at the retail level in the United States and to require such percentage to be at least 20% of the total electricity sold by 2020; and (2) set end-user savings targets for retail electric-energy and natural gas suppliers. Authorizes DOE to: (1) increase the required percentage of end-user savings for years after 2020; and (2) allow suppliers to achieve the targets through a market-based trading system.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2007
Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for conducting and supporting research on Alzheimer's disease in FY2008-FY2012. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute on Aging to: (1) give priority to projects for conducting and supporting Alzheimer's disease research; (2) increase the emphasis on the need to conduct Alzheimer's disease prevention trials within NIH; (3) ensure that Alzheimer's disease is maintained as a high priority for the existing neuroscience initiative; (4) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's disease; and (5) make grants for research related to the early detection, diagnosis, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, the relationship of vascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, and Alzheimer's disease services and caregiving. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene a summit of researchers and other industry representatives on Alzheimer's disease; (2) make grants for public education programs on risk factors associated with cognitive health, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias; and (3) make grants to community organizations to establish and operate Alzheimer's call centers to provide 24-hour information on Alzheimer's disease. Extends through FY2012 funding for demonstration projects relating to Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acting through the National Cancer Institute, to establish special programs of research excellence in the area of pediatric cancers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a grant mechanism for the establishment of Research Fellowships in Pediatric Cancer to support adequate numbers of pediatric focused clinical and translational investigators. Requires the Director to award a grant for the operation of a population-based national childhood cancer database, the Childhood Cancer Research Network. Requires the Secretary to award grants to recognized childhood cancer professional and advocacy organizations to raise public awareness of currently available information, treatment, and research with intent to ensure access to best available therapies for pediatric cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to set forth research and demonstration projections for the prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis that shall receive priority from the Secretary of Health and Human Services in awarding research grants for tuberculosis. Requires the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis to make recommendations on the development, revision, and implementation of a national plan to eliminate tuberculosis in the United States. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop new tools for the elimination of tuberculosis. Requires the Federal Tuberculosis Task Force to make recommendations on the development of a national plan for the development of such tools. Requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate tuberculosis research and development. Allows the Director of the Institute to provide awards for: (1) the development of curricula in schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine regarding the principles and practices of preventing, managing, and controlling tuberculosis; (2) supervised study and research for clinically trained professionals who are committed to research regarding pulmonary infections and tuberculosis. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct research activities to develop a tuberculosis vaccine. Requires the John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences to carry out an international training program regarding tuberculosis. Requires the Secretary to seek to ensure that a portion of amounts appropriated for loan repayment for qualified health professionals conducting research is reserved for contracts with individuals to conduct tuberculosis research.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commemoration Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to establish: (1) the Champlain Quadricentennial Commemoration Commission to plan and execute programs and activities to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Samuel de Champlain (the first European to discover and explore Lake Champlain); and (2) the Hudson-Fulton 400th Commemoration Commission to plan and execute programs and activities to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the voyage of Henry Hudson (the first European to sail up the Hudson River) and the 200th anniversary of the voyage of Robert Fulton (the first person to use steam navigation on a commercial basis).
United States · United States Congress · 13 March 2007
Fuel Economy Reform Act - Amends federal transportation law to: (1) revise the definition of automobile to require including all automobiles up to 10,000 pounds (currently, not all automobiles up to 10,000 pounds are required to be included in the definition); and (2) continue applying the current minimum corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for non-passenger and passenger automobiles to automobiles manufactured through model year 2011, but, for passenger automobiles, adds an increase of 4% per year in such standard for model years 2009 through 2011. Requires an average fuel economy standard of 27.5 miles per gallon for automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for model year 2012, and an average fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon for automobiles manufactured by a manufacturer for model year 2018, with a minimum increase of 4% in the average fuel economy from the level for the prior model year for model year 2013 and beyond, with specified exceptions from the 4% increase permitted. Prohibits this Act from being construed to limit, supercede, or expand the Secretary of Transportation's authority under federal transportation law to prescribe motor vehicle safety standards to reduce traffic accidents and deaths and injuries due to such accidents.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
National Guard and Reserve Retirement Modernization Act - Amends federal law concerning receipt of retired pay for non-regular service to provide that, in the case of a member of the Ready Reserve who serves on active duty after September 11, 2001, in support of a contingency operation or in response to a national emergency, retirement eligibility age shall be reduced below 60 by three months for each aggregate of 90 days during which the member so performs in any fiscal year after such date. Prohibits such retirement eligibility date from being reduced below age 50. Continues age 60 as the minimum eligibility age for DOD-authorized health care for such retirees.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2007
Change the Course in Iraq Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) members of the U.S. Armed Forces have shown great valor and courage in Iraq in the performance of their duties; and (2) the sacrifices of such members and their families are recognized and appreciated. Repeals the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. Requires the Secretary of Defense to submit to the congressional defense committees a plan for the phased redeployment of U.S. Armed Forces from Iraq. Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should increase its diplomatic efforts within the government of Iraq to help stabilize Iraq and the region. Directs the President to appoint a Coordinator for Iraq Stabilization. Conditions U.S. assistance for Iraqi security forces or Iraq relief and reconstruction, beginning on December 31, 2007, upon the President certifying to the defense committees that the Iraqi government has taken certain actions with respect to stabilizing the Iraqi government, guaranteeing rights of Iraqi citizens, and controlling its security forces.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends specified law prohibiting the killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of Columbia to declare that nothing in it or any other provision of law shall authorize or be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise not prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Redefines "machine gun" to include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person. Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on possession of handgun restricted pistol bullets; and (3) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked. Repeals the definition of restricted pistol bullet as any bullet designed for use in a pistol which, when fired from a pistol with a barrel of five inches or less in length, is capable of penetrating commercially available body armor with a penetration resistance equal to or greater than that of 18 layers of kevlar. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person. Amends the District of Columbia Code to extend to firearms generally (currently, only to pistols) the prohibition against carrying such a weapon either openly or concealed within the District without a license issued pursuant to D.C. law. Specifies exceptions to the prohibition against carrying concealed weapons in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007- Repeals provisions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that eliminated the jurisdiction of any court to hear or consider applications for a writ of habeas corpus filed by aliens who have been determined by the United States to have been properly detained as enemy combatants (or who are awaiting such determination) and actions against the United States relating to the detention of such aliens and to military commissions (thus restoring habeas corpus rights existing prior to the enactment of such Act). Allows courts to hear or consider legal challenges to military commissions only as provided by the Code of Military Justice or by a habeas corpus proceeding. Repeals the prohibition in the Military Commissions Act of 2006 against invoking the Geneva Convention as a source of rights in any habeas corpus or other civil actions in which the United States or a member of the Armed Forces is a party.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Agricultural Protection and Prosperity Act of 2007 - Amends the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) to: (1) include the definition of "manure"; and (2) exclude manure from the meaning of "hazardous substance" or "pollutant or contaminant" under that Act. Provides that such exclusion shall not: (1) impose liability under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act of 1986 with respect to manure; (2) affect any provision of the Air Quality Agreement entered into between the Administrator and operators of animal feeding operations; or (3) affect the applicability of any other environmental law as it relates to the definition of manure or the responsibilities or liabilities of any person regarding the treatment, storage, or disposal of manure. Amends the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 to exempt releases associated with manure (as defined under CERCLA) from the emergency notification requirements under that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the child tax credit for the first year a child is claimed as a qualifying child. Renders the general terminating date of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (i.e., December 31, 2010) inapplicable to amendments made to the child tax credit by that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of 2007 - States that nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of force or the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against Iran. Subjects, with respect to prohibited transactions with Iran, a parent company to penalties for violations committed by certain subsidiaries outside the United States that would be subject to prohibitions if committed inside the United States or by a U.S. person. Establishes specified additional import and export sanctions against Iran. Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to require the imposition of procurement sanctions as part of the sanctions against a person contributing to Iran's petroleum resources. Directs the President to report every six months to the appropriate congressional committees (committees) respecting investment activity that could contribute to Iran's development of petroleum resources, and U.S. steps in response to such activity. Expands the definitions of "petroleum resources" and "person." Eliminates the national security waivers for imposition of sanctions. Directs the President to determine and report to the committees whether the the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps should be: (1) designated as a foreign terrorist organization; (2) placed on the list of designated global terrorists; and (3) placed on the list of weapons of mass destruction proliferators and their supporters. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of the Treasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. Authorizes the President to carry out exchange programs with the people of Iran. Directs the President to reduce annual U.S. contributions to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) based upon Bank amounts provided to entities and projects in Iran. Restricts nuclear cooperation with countries assisting Iran's nuclear program or transferring advanced conventional weapons or missiles to Iran. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate specified geological and geophysical expense amortization benefits if petroleum-related sanctions are imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 on any member of an expanded affiliated group whose common parent is a foreign corporation. Revises the definition of "affiliated group." States that specified restrictions respecting Iran shall not have effect if the President determines and certifies to the committees that Iran: (1) has ended efforts to develop or acquire nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, or ballistic missiles; (2) has been removed from the list of countries supporting international terrorism; and (3) poses no significant threat to U.S. national security, interests, or allies.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2007
Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 - Amends federal provisions concerning the prosecution of unlawful enemy combatants by U.S. military commissions to, among other things: (1) repeal the authority for civilian trial (prosecution) counsel in a commission proceeding, but authorize civilian military defense counsel; (2) exclude statements made by coercion; (3) authorize the Secretary of Defense to make exceptions to commission procedures and rules of evidence as required by unique circumstances of military or intelligence operations during hostilities; (4) provide for self-representation by the accused, while requiring assistance by military defense counsel; (5) authorize the military judge to dismiss charges or take other action upon a determination that substitute information for classified exculpatory evidence is insufficient to protect the fair trial right of the defendant; (6) require commission decision review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces rather than by the Court of Military Commission Review; (7) provide the scope of review of detention-related decisions; (8) repeal a provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 prohibiting invoking the Geneva Conventions (Conventions) or similar protocols in any habeas corpus or other action to which the United States is a party; (9) require the President to notify other parties to the Conventions that the United States expects members of U.S. Armed Forces and other U.S. citizens detained in a conflict not of an international character to be treated in a manner consistent with the Conventions; (10) include as War Crime offenses the denial of trial rights and the imposition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; (11) restore habeas corpus for individuals detained by the United States; and (12) provide for expedited judicial review of civil actions that challenges any provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2007
Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit treatment limits or the imposition of financial requirements on mental health and substance-related disorder benefits in group health plans which are not similarly imposed on substantially all medical and surgical benefits in any category of items or services under such plans. Directs the Comptroller General to study the effect of the implementation of this Act on various aspects of the health care system, including the cost of and access to health insurance coverage, the quality of health care, Medicare, Medicaid, and state and local mental health and substance abuse treatment spending, and spending on public services.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey; (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity; and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to revise the definition of "food of minimal nutritional value," the sale of which in areas where school meals are sold or eaten is prohibited as a condition for federal funding of school lunch and breakfast programs. Applies such definition (and prohibition) to all food sold outside such programs anywhere on school campuses at any time of the day, with the possible limited exemption of food sold at school fundraisers. Requires the Secretary, when revising such definition, to consider the recommendations of authoritative scientific organizations and evidence concerning the relationship between diet and health.
United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2007
Health Centers Renewal Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2012 for health centers to meet the health care needs of medically underserved populations.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Access to Medicare Imaging Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to limitations on payments for physicians' imaging services. Renames the imaging services concerned advanced diagnostic imaging services. Eliminates X-ray and ultrasound (including echocardiography) services from payment limitations for such services. Confines existing payment limitations to diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) (all specified under current law), plus nuclear cardiology procedures. Imposes a two-year moratorium, however, on the application of existing payment limitations for such services. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress and the Secretary of Health and Human Services on patient access and service issues relating to the availability and quality of advanced diagnostic imaging services in physician offices and freestanding clinics that would have resulted (but for the moratorium declared by this Act) from payment changes made under the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Direct Support Professionals Fairness and Security Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to provide funds to States to enable them to increase the wages paid to targeted direct support professionals in providing services to individuals with disabilities under the Medicaid program. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, through the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services, to audit a sample from among the States in order to assess the effectiveness of progress made in reducing or eliminating the wage gap between targeted and reference direct support professionals through funds under this Act. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the wage equalization and recruitment and retention of direct support professionals who are providing services and supports to individuals with disabilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Requires the Supreme Court to permit television coverage of all open sessions of the Court unless it decides by majority vote that allowing such coverage in a particular case would violate the due process rights of any of the parties involved.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2007
Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to list permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained: (1) from a licensed dealer; (2) from a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that meets specified requirements; (3) by donation from a person who bred and raised the dog or cat and owned it for not less than one year; or (4) from a research facility licensed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Sets forth additional monetary penalties for related violations. Prohibits federal facilities from purchasing or otherwise acquiring dogs or cats for exhibition purposes except from: (1) the operator of an auction that comports with legal requirements; or (2) a person holding a valid dealer or exhibitor license. Prohibits dealers from selling or otherwise providing a research facility with random source dogs or cats unless specified certification requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Makes permanent provisions requiring the U.S. Postal Service to issue a special postage stamp for first-class mail that costs not less than 15% more than the regular first-class stamp to contribute funding for breast cancer research.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Cytology Proficiency Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to revise national quality assurance standards to assure consistent performance by laboratories of valid and reliable cytology services, to include requirements that each clinical laboratory: (1) ensure that all individuals involved in screening and interpreting cytological preparations participate annually in an approved continuing medical education program in gynecologic cytology that provides each participant with gynecologic cytologic preparations designed to improve locator, recognition, and interpretive skills; and (2) maintain a record of program results. Requires the Secretary to terminate individual proficiency testing that was in effect before enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2007
Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful for any person to sell crude oil, gasoline, natural gas, or petroleum distillates at a price that: (1) is unconscionably excessive; or (2) indicates the seller is taking unfair advantage unusual market conditions or the circumstances of an emergency to increase prices unreasonably. Declares unlawful: (1) intentional reporting of false price information concerning wholesale prices of such products; and (2) market manipulation regarding the purchase or sale at wholesale of such products. Empowers the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and State Attorneys General to enforce this Act. Sets forth civil and criminal penalties for violations of this Act. Requires fines and penalties collected under this Act to be deposited in a separate fund in the treasury to be known as the Consumer Relief Trust Fund to provide assistance under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Declares that nothing in this Act preempts state law. Directs the FTC to facilitate price transparency in wholesale markets for the sale of crude oil and essential petroleum products.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Kidney Care Quality and Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about the factors that lead to chronic kidney disease, how to prevent it, how to treat it, and how to avoid kidney failure, as well as enhance surveillance systems and expand research to better assess the prevalence and incidence of kidney disease; and (2) enable individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) to develop self-management skills. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; and (2) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services or other treatment modalities under Medicare. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee. Establishes the annual update framework for the Medicare ESRD composite rate. Directs the Secretary to establish a three-year continuous quality improvement initiative under which quality payments are provided to renal dialysis facilities, providers of services, and physicians that: (1) provide items and services to individuals with ESRD enrolled under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); and (2) meet quality benchmarks and demonstrate quality improvements. Requires the Secretary to make quality incentive payments to facilities and providers whose services to individuals with ESRD have substantially improved or exceeded a certain threshold. Extends Medicare as secondary payer with respect to individuals with ESRD.
United States · United States Congress · 27 February 2007
Acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow. Apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the U.S. people for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors. Commits to rectifying the lingering consequences of slavery and Jim Crow and to stopping future human rights violations.
United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) include community organizations in the geographic area served by the center; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions and community groups; and (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years, with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation. Requires the Secretary to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to: (1) develop a comprehensive research strategy for centers; (2) make recommendations with respect to the mechanisms, peer review criteria, and allocations under this Act; (3) assist in the overall program evaluations; and (4) make recommendations for the dissemination of information on program process. Requires the Director of NIH to provide for coordination of information among, and an equitable geographical distribution of, centers.
![Official portrait of Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000555_200.jpg)