United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
HIPAA Recreational Injury Technical Correction Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance issuer offering group health coverage from denying benefits or coverage otherwise provided under the plan for the treatment of an injury solely because it resulted from participation in a legal mode of transportation or recreational activity.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Law Enforcement Officers Equity Act - Amends the definition of the term "law enforcement officer" under provisions of the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) to include: (1) federal employees not otherwise covered by such term whose duties include the investigation or apprehension of suspected or convicted individuals and who are authorized to carry a firearm; and (2) such employees of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) whose duties are primarily the collection of delinquent taxes and the securing of delinquent returns. Requires such service that is performed by an incumbent law enforcement officer: (1) after enactment of this Act to be treated as service performed as a law enforcement officer for federal retirement purposes; and (2) before, on, or after enactment as service performed as such an officer for federal retirement purposes only if an appropriate written election is submitted to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) within five years after enactment or before separation from government service, whichever is earlier. Provides that nothing under current law respecting mandatory separation from government service under CSRS or FERS shall cause the involuntary separation of an officer before the end of the three-year period following enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Breast Cancer Research Stamp Authorization Act - Extends through December 31, 2009, 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 · 15 February 2007
Total Force Educational Assistance Enhancement and Integration Act of 2007 - Recodifies under federal veterans' benefits law (currently codified under federal armed forces law) provisions relating to educational assistance for members of the reserves. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Secretary) (currently, the Secretary of each military department) to carry out such assistance. Makes eligible for such assistance under this Act those who, after October 1, 2008: (1) enlist or extend an enlistment in the Selected Reserve for not less than six years; or (1) are appointed or agree to serve in the Selected Reserve for at least six years. Includes under this Act those eligible for such assistance as of October 1, 2008. Increases monthly amounts of authorized assistance. Removes restrictions on the use of such assistance for apprenticeships and on-job training, flight training, licensing and certification tests, and individualized tutorial assistance. Requires the Secretary (currently, the military department Secretaries) to provide educational assistance to reserve personnel ordered to active duty in response to a war or national emergency. Makes eligible for such assistance under this Act those who, on or after October 1, 2008: (1) serve on active duty in support of a contingency operation for 90 days or more; or (2) perform full-time National Guard duty for 90 days or more in response to a national emergency. Includes under this Act those eligible for such assistance as of October 1, 2008. Revises provisions concerning assistance amounts. Requires funding for benefits accruing under this Act: (1) on or after October 1, 2008, to be made from funds available to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for the payment of readjustment benefits; and (2) before such date from the Department of Defense Education Benefits Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2007
Amends Rule XXI (Restrictions on Certain Bills) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to require that any lists of congressional earmarks, limited tax, and tariff benefits (and the name of the requesting Member), required for legislation reported or not reported by a committee or included in a conference report, be made publicly available on the Internet in a searchable format at least 48 hours before a measure's consideration.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Protecting American Commerce and Travel Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to conduct a pilot program to determine if a state driver's license may be enhanced to satisfy requirements of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA) for land and sea travel only. Amends IRTPA to direct the Secretary to establish a process to permit a U.S. citizen who does not possess a passport to reenter the United States at a U.S. land border. Provides that a U.S. citizen under 17 years shall not be required to present a passport when returning or traveling to the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, or the Caribbean at specified ports of entry. Authorizes the Secretary to consider expanding the special rule for certain minors aged 17 or 18 traveling between the United States and Canada as part of an authorized, supervised school trip. Directs the Secretary to issue to U.S. citizen applicants a passport card. Requires the card to be designed to provide a platform on which expedited traveler programs (such as NEXUS, NEXUS AIR, SENTRI, FAST, and Registered Traveler) can be added. Directs the Secretary of State and the Secretary to develop a public communications plan. Directs the Secretary to: (1) merge the FAST and NEXUS programs; and (2) conduct a cost-benefit analysis regarding the use of identification cards.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Community Restoration and Revitalization Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an increased rehabilitation tax credit for certain low-income buildings; (2) allow a basis reduction adjustment for property eligible for the credit; (3) increase the credit for certain smaller buildings; (4) allow property eligible for the credit to be used for lodging purposes; (5) modify placed-in-service rules for credit property; (6) modify qualification rules for credit property that is tax-exempt use property; (7) increase the credit for buildings in high cost areas; and (8) exempt certain condominium transactions from rehabilitation tax credit recapture requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act or the HEART for Women Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to require an application for approval or for investigation of a drug, device, or biological product to include information stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity, including any differences in safety and effectiveness. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) withhold approval of such an application or place a clinical hold on an investigation if such information is not included; and (2) report to the scientific community and make information available to the public on such stratified data upon approval of an application. Requires the Comptroller General to study the drug approval process to ensure compliance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to require that all nonidentifiable patient safety work product reported to a patient safety database be stratified by sex. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to report to Congress concerning the quality of and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Provides for an educational campaign relating to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases in women. Authorizes appropriations to enable the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program projects in all states and territories.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperation Act of 2007 - Provides collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by states or local governments. Directs the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether state law provides specified rights and responsibilities for public safety officers, including: (1) granting public safety employees the right to form and join a labor organization which excludes management and supervisory employees, and which is, or seeks to be, recognized as the exclusive bargaining agent for such employees; and (2) requiring public safety employers to recognize and agree to bargain with the employees' labor organization. Requires the Authority to issue regulations establishing rights and responsibilities for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such public safety employee rights and responsibilities. Directs the Authority, in such cases, to: (1) determine the appropriateness of units for labor organization representation; (2) supervise or conduct elections to determine whether a labor organization has been selected as an exclusive representative by a voting majority of the employees in an appropriate unit; (3) resolve issues relating to the duty to bargain in good faith; (4) conduct hearings and resolve complaints of unfair labor practices; and (5) resolve exceptions to arbitrator's awards. Grants a public safety employer, employee, or labor organization the right to seek enforcement of such Authority regulations and authority through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Edward William Brooke III Congressional Gold Medal Act - Awards a congressional gold medal to Edward William Brooke III, the first African American elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate, in recognition of his unprecedented and enduring service to our Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 9 February 2007
Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to small business to: (1) extend through 2008 the work opportunity tax credit: (2) qualify certain individuals between age 18 and 40 living in an empowerment zone, enterprise community, or renewal community for the work opportunity tax credit and expand the eligibility for, and amount of, such credit for certain disabled veterans; (3) increase to $125,000 (adjusted for inflation) the expensing allowance for small business assets and extend such increased allowance through 2010; (4) allow employers to claim a business tax credit for social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips without regard to any increase in the federal minimum wage rate; (5) allow a full credit against alternative minimum tax liability for the work opportunity tax credit and the employer credit for social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips; (6) treat certain businesses jointly owned by married couples as sole proprietorships for tax purposes; (7) deny preferential tax rates on capital gains and dividend income to certain dependents of taxpayers; and (8) grant the Internal Revenue Service with an additional four months to notify taxpayers of tax deficiencies before the suspension period for interest and penalties on underpayments takes effect. Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase the estimated tax rate for corporations with assets of not less than $1 billion in the third quarter of 2012.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 365 West 125th Street in New York, New York, as the "Percy Sutton Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to prescribe requirements for a Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard for calendar years 2010 through 2039. Specifies a schedule of graduated annual percentages of a supplier's base amount that shall be generated from renewable energy resources, from 1% in 2010 up to 20 % in 2020 and thereafter. Authorizes a retail electric supplier to satisfy such requirements through submission of renewable energy credits to the Secretary of Energy. Provides for energy credit trading or borrowing among suppliers. Directs the Secretary to: (1) encourage federally-owned utilities, municipally-owned utilities, and rural electric cooperatives that sell electric energy to electric consumers for purposes other than resale to participate in the renewable portfolio standard program; and (2) establish by December 31, 2009, a state renewable energy account program.
United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2007
Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income and to exempt from social security, unemployment taxes, and withholding of tax requirements rebates of real or personal property taxes or any other benefit provided by a State or local government to a member of a volunteer emergency response organization providing firefighting or emergency medical services.
United States · United States Congress · 7 February 2007
Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act - Amends provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 that prohibit the importation of dog or cat fur to modify the definitions of "cat fur" and "dog fur" to include the pelt or skin of the domestic cat or dog, respectively. Amends the Fur Products Labeling Act to expand the definition of "fur product" to include all fur as defined by such Act regardless of the quantity used.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Prevention First Act - Title X Family Planning Services Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for family planning services grants and contracts under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA). Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and PHSA to prohibit a group health plan and a health insurance issuer providing group coverage from excluding or restricting benefits in any way for prescription contraceptive drugs, devices, and outpatient services if the plan or coverage provides benefits for other outpatient prescription drugs, devices, or outpatient services. Applies such prohibitions to coverage offered in the individual market. Emergency Contraception Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate information on emergency contraception to the public and to health care providers. Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act of 2007 - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving federal funds, to offer and to provide, upon request, emergency contraception to victims of sexual assault. At-Risk Communities Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention programs. Requires the Secretary to award grants for teenage pregnancy prevention research. Truth in Contraception Act of 2007 - Requires that any information concerning the use of a contraceptive provided through specified federally funded education programs be medically accurate and include health benefits and failure rates. Unintended Pregnancy Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to expand Medicaid's coverage of family planning services. Responsible Education About Life Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary to make grants to states for family life education, including education on abstinence and contraception, to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) with respect to: (1) ballot verification and mandatory paper record audit capacity; and (2) accessibility and ballot verification of results for individuals with disabilities. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology to study, test, and develop best practices to enhance the accessibility of ballot verification mechanisms for individuals with disabilities, voters whose primary language is not English, and voters with difficulties in literacy. Requires laboratories to meet standards prohibiting conflicts of interest as a condition of accreditation for the testing of voting system hardware and software. Outlines additional voting system requirements and prohibitions. Extends the authorization of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Provides for complaints to the Attorney General by persons aggrieved by violations of HAVA. Makes available additional funding to enable states to meet the costs of the requirements imposed by this Act. Directs the chief auditor of each state to appoint an Election Audit Board to administer, without advance notice to the precincts selected, random hand counts of the voter-verified paper ballots required to be produced and preserved for each such election held in the state. Repeals the exemption of the EAC from certain government contracting requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Amends the Federal Power Act, as amended by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to repeal provisions regarding the siting of interstate electric transmission facilities, including: (1) the designation of national interest electric transmission corridors; (2) issuance of permits for the construction or modification of such facilities; (3) acqusition by a permit holder of rights-of-way for such a facility through the exercise of eminent domain in a federal district court; and (4) the consent of Congress to interstate compacts for establishment of regional transmission siting agencies.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief. Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007 - Amends the Internet Tax Freedom Act to make permanent the ban on state and local taxation of Internet access and on multiple or discriminatory taxes on electronic commerce.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 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 · 31 January 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the government of Japan should: (1) formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility for its Imperial Armed Force's coercion of young women into sexual slavery (comfort women) during its colonial and wartime occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II; (2) have this official and public apology presented by the Prime Minister of Japan; (3) refute any claims that the sexual enslavement and trafficking of the comfort women never occurred; and (4) educate current and future generations about this crime while following the international community's recommendations with respect to the comfort women.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Veterans Reassignment Protection Act - Prohibits a preference eligible federal employee (including a preference eligible serving in or under the U.S. Postal Service) from being involuntarily separated for failing to accept a directed reassignment to a position outside his or her commuting area or to accompany a position outside of such area pursuant to a transfer of function unless such preference eligible: (1) receives written notice of the reassignment at least 30 days before the effective date of the reassignment; and (2) is allowed to elect to have the selection of employees for release conducted in the same manner as would be required in the case of a reduction in force. Entitles a preference eligible involuntarily separated in the circumstances described above to appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board any failure to comply with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution - Calls upon the President: (1) to ensure that U.S. foreign policy reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide, and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy Act or DRIVE Act - Directs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to publish in the Federal Register an oil savings target and action plan for specified calendar years. Directs the Secretary of Energy to conduct a national media campaign to decrease oil consumption in the United States over the next decade. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop: (1) a fuel efficiency program for passenger car and light truck tires; (2) a program to designate Transit-Oriented Development Corridors; and (3) pilot projects to save oil by reducing vehicle miles traveled. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) develop a testing and assessment program to determine the fuel economy of heavy duty vehicles; (2) establish a near-term electric transportation deployment program; and (3) implement a fuel and technology neutral program to reduce tailpipe emissions. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average heavy duty vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Energy to make loan guarantees for eligible projects to improve hybrid technologies or to encourage production of efficient hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles. Requires a specified graduated percentage of passenger cars manufactured by light-duty motor vehicles manufacturers to be fuel choice enabling motor vehicles or alternative fuel automobiles. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an advanced technology motor vehicles manufacturing tax credit; (2) allow a flexible fuel vehicle tax credit; (3) extend the alternative vehicle tax credit for new qualified hybrid motor vehicles; (4) allow a fuel-efficient tax credit for private fleets; (5) subject heavy vehicles to the depreciation limitation for certain luxury automobiles; (6) increase the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property tax credit; (7) provide a graduated tax credit for plug-in hybrid electric passenger and light truck vehicles; and (8) allow an idling reduction tax credit for heavy-duty diesel-powered on-highway vehicles. Establishes the Alternative Fueling Infrastructure Trust Fund. Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to obligate sums from the Fund for the Clean Cities grant program to increase the availability to consumers of ethanol, biodiesel, and other alternative fuels. Amends the Clean Air Act to prescribe minimum annual quantities of renewable fuel from cellulosic biomass. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) require at least a 20% reduction in the federal fleets' petroleum consumption (including that at least 30% of federal vehicles required to be alternative fuel vehicles be flexible fuel hybrid or flexible fuel plug-in hybrid vehicles); (2) submit to Congress an action plan calling for a specified graduated percentage of the nation's ground fuel demand to be supplied by fuels derived from sources other than oil; and (3) carry out a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle prize program.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Taxpayer Abuse and Harassment Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to enter into contracts with private collection agencies to collect unpaid taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Requires: (1) the Department of Defense Inspector General and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction to report quarterly to Congress respecting the expenditures of military and reconstruction funds in Iraq, including efforts to obtain assistance from other countries and an assessment of future funding needs; (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an audit if either Inspector General fails to submit such report; and (3) the imposition of sanctions against contractors who have engaged in profiteering or fraud. States that: (1) Congress should create a Truman Committee to conduct an ongoing study and investigation of Operation Iraqi Freedom contracts; (2) funding requests for Operation Iraqi Freedom beginning with FY2008 must come through the regular appropriations process and not through emergency supplementals; and (3) the Administration should condition further American financial, military, and political resources upon improvement in Iraqi assumption of principal responsibility for internally policing Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American veterans. Expresses the sense of Congress that, to the greatest extent possible, the coins should be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York. Limits the period for coin issuance to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010. Imposes a $10 surcharge per coin, to be distributed to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the purpose of establishing an endowment to support the construction of American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Global Democracy Promotion Act - Declares that foreign nongovernmental organizations: (1) shall not be ineligible for assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 solely on the basis of health or medical services (including counseling and referral services) provided by them with non-U.S. government funds if such services do not violate the laws of the country in which they are being provided, and would not violate U.S. federal law if provided in the United States; and (2) shall not be subject to requirements relating to the use of non-U.S. government funds for advocacy and lobbying activities other than those that apply to U.S. nongovernmental organizations receiving such assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Returning Servicemember VA Healthcare Insurance Act of 2007 - Extends from two years to five years following discharge or release the eligibility period for certain veterans who served in combat after the Persian Gulf War to receive hospital care, medical services, or nursing home care provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, notwithstanding a lack of evidence to conclude that their condition is attributable to such service.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Home Oxygen Patient Protection Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to restore Medicare treatment of ownership of oxygen equipment that existed prior to the enactment of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Repeals the limitation of Medicare payment to the supplier for such equipment (including portable oxygen equipment) to 36 months of continuous use.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Urges: (1) the United States not to engage in the construction of a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Superhighway System; (2) the United States not to allow the Security and Prosperity Partnership to implement regulations that would create a North American Union with Mexico and Canada; and (3) the President to oppose these acts or any other proposals that threaten U.S. sovereignty.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Military Retirees Health Care Protection Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) and the nation have a committed health benefits obligation to retired military personnel that exceeds the obligation of corporate employers to civilian employees; and (2) DOD has many additional options to constrain the growth of health care spending in ways that do not disadvantage beneficiaries, and should pursue such options rather than seeking large fee increases for beneficiaries. Prohibits an increase after: (1) April 1, 2006, in a premium, deductible, copayment, or other charge prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for medical and dental health care coverage for military personnel; and (2) September 30, 2007, in the dollar amount of a cost-sharing requirement under the DOD pharmacy benefits program. Prohibits: (1) charges for DOD inpatient care from exceeding $535 per day; and (2) beginning on April 1, 2006, an increase in premiums under TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) for certain members of the Selected Reserve.
United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2007
Recognizes: (1) the cooperative efforts of hunters, sportsmen's associations, meat processors, state meat inspectors, and hunger relief organizations to establish Hunters for the Hungry programs across the United States; and (2) the contributions of Hunters for the Hungry programs to efforts to decrease hunger and help feed those in need.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Children of Fallen Soldiers Pell Grant Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Educaton Act of 1965 to eliminate the expected family contribution used in determining Pell Grant eligibility in the case of a student applicant whose parent or guardian was killed while performing military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Securing America's Energy Independence Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016: (1) the energy tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property; and (2) the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures. Allows such credits to be applied against alternative minimum tax liability. Includes advanced energy storage systems as energy property for purposes of the tax credit. Provides for a special credit amount for solar photovoltaic energy property and residential energy efficient property based upon kilowatt capacity. Allows accelerated depreciation (three-year recovery period) for solar energy and fuel cell property.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction which is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Amends federal civil service law, with respect to both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System (FERS), to require the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) to prescribe regulations that deny eligibility under CSRS or FERS for a Member convicted of certain felony offenses in which: (1) every act or omission of such individual that is needed to satisfy the elements of the offense occurs while the individual is a Member; (2) such act or omission relates to the performance of the individual's official duties as a Member; and (3) the offense is committed after the enactment of this Act. Requires refund of annuity contributions and deposits, excluding interest earned, to a convicted individual. Defines Member as the Vice President, a member of the Senate or the House of Representatives, a Delegate to the House of Representatives, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007, or the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to the deduction from gross income of any attributable to domestic production activities. Excludes from domestic production gross receipts those derived from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of oil, natural gas, or any related primary product. (Thus denies a deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, natural gas, or their related primary products.) Increases from five to seven years the amortization schedule for geological and geophysical expenditures for certain major integrated oil companies. Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act of 2007 - Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to agree to any lessee request to amend any lease issued for any Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) tract during 1998 and 1999 to incorporate specified price thresholds applicable to royalty suspension provisions. Reaffirms the authority of the Secretary to vary, based on the price of production from a lease, the suspension of royalties under specified leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. Cites conditions for the issuance of new leases authorizing oil or natural gas production in the Gulf. Instructs the Secretary to establish conservation of resources fees for both producing and nonproducing federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf. Sets forth terms restricting the transfer of such leases. Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal: (1) specified incentives for natural gas production from deep wells in shallow waters of the Gulf; (2) royalty relief for deep water production in the Gulf; and (3) the prohibition on cost recovery fees for drilling-related permit application during the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project. Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to remove the Planning Areas offshore Alaska from the list of areas for which the Secretary is authorized to reduce or eliminate any royalty or net profit share set forth in the pertinent lease. Amends the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to repeal provisions governing oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska regarding: (1) renewal of competitive oil and gas leases, with or without discoveries; and (2) waiver, suspension, or reduction of rental fees or royalties on leaseholds as exploration incentives. Establishes the Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to hold federal receipts acquired as a result of the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2007 - Exempts provisions expanding the adoption tax credit and adoption assistance programs enacted by the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 from the general terminating (sunset) provisions of that Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
College Student Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to phase-in cuts in the interest rate charged undergraduate student borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2011. Limits FFEL lender insurance to 95% of the unpaid balance of such loans. (Currently, 97% of a FFEL issued after June 2006 is federally-insured.) Provides for graduated reductions in the percentage of defaulted FFEL loan collections a guaranty agency is allowed to retain until, beginning in October 2010, it is equal to the average rate paid to collection agencies that have contracts with the Secretary of Education. Eliminates exceptional performer status for lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies, which rewards such entities for high due diligence in FFEL collection. Reduces special allowance payments made to FFEL lenders to compensate them for the difference between FFEL interest rates and market rates. Exempts small lenders from such reduction. Increases the loan fee charged FFEL lenders from .5% to 1% of the principal amount of loans disbursed after June 2007. Prohibits its collection from borrowers. Increases, after June 2007, the rebate fee charged a holder of FFEL consolidated loans, provided that at least 90% of the total principal and accrued unpaid interest outstanding on loans held by such holder are such loans.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Supports the goals and ideals of National Engineers Week and its aims. Declares that the House of Representatives will work with the engineering community to make sure that the creativity and contribution of that community can be expressed through research, development, standardization, and innovation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2007
Alice Paul Congressional Gold Medal Act - Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the posthumous presentation of a congressional gold medal in commemoration of Alice Paul, to recognize her role in the women's suffrage movement and in advancing equal rights for women. Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to strike and sell duplicates in bronze of such medal. Requires proceeds from the sale of such medals to be deposited into the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
![Official portrait of Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/g000555_200.jpg)