United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the award of a congressional gold medal to the Army's 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce from $18 to $9 (the pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer; and (2) allow a further reduction in such tax for brewers who produce not more than 2 million barrels annually.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Securing America's Future Economy Commission Act or SAFE Commission Act - Establishes the Securing America's Future Economy (SAFE) Commission to develop legislation designed to address: (1) the unsustainable imbalance between long-term federal spending commitments and projected revenues; (2) increases in net national savings to provide for domestic investment and economic growth; (3) the implications of foreign ownership of federally issued debt instruments; and (4) revision of the budget process to place greater emphasis on long-term fiscal issues. Requires the Commission to: (1) hold at least one town-hall style public hearing within each federal reserve district; and (2) develop one or two methods for estimating the cost of legislation as a supplement to the estimates and assumptions provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Requires the Commission to submit a legislative proposal to Congress and the President that relies on such estimates and assumptions. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such legislation. Requires CBO to prepare a long-term cost estimate and have it published in the Congressional Record as expeditiously as possible whenever requested to do so by the Commission, the President, or the chairman or ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget of either chamber.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2009
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities. Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, counter and correct misperceptions regarding U.S. entry policy, and promote U.S. travel. Requires the Corporation to establish and maintain a publicly accessible website. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require (under current law, authorize) the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and collect a fee for the use of an electronic data sharing system concerning the admissibility of certain aliens into the United States that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering such system. Terminates such fee following FY2014. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry represented on the Board of Directors of the Corporation. Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Office of Travel Promotion, to be headed by a Director. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to require that the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries expand its research and development activities to promote international travel to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2009
Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to direct the Secretary of Defense (the presidential designee) to establish procedures for: (1) collecting marked absentee ballots of absent overseas uniformed services voters in regularly scheduled general elections for federal office; and (2) delivering such ballots to the appropriate state election officials. Requires the designee to: (1) ensure that such ballots are delivered prior to the time established for the closing of the polls on the date of the election; (2) carry out delivery requirements by utilizing the express mail delivery services of the U.S. Postal Service, which shall include a mechanism for ballot tracking; (3) inform individuals who are anticipated to be absent overseas uniformed services voters in such an election of the procedures for collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots established pursuant to this Act; and (4) take steps to ensure that such voters are able to cast their votes in a private and independent manner, and that vote contents remain private while in the designee's possession or control.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2009
Reduces the level of difficulty required in the use of prostheses by veterans suffering the loss of hands, arms, or legs as a result of military service before becoming eligible for a higher level of veterans' disability compensation for such injury. Authorizes additional veterans' disability compensation for service-disabled veterans determined by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to be in need of regular aid and attendance due to residual effects of traumatic brain injury.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2009
Mother's Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 400,000 $1 coins emblematic of the 100th anniversary of President Wilson's proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day. Authorizes the Secretary to issue such coins beginning on January 1, 2014, except that the Secretary may initiate sales of such coins, without issuance, before such date. Terminates such minting authority after December 31, 2014. Requires coin sales to include a $10 surcharge per coin, with distribution of such surcharges to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Osteoporosis Foundation for the purpose of furthering research.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, and faith-based organizations, to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of girls and women. Sets forth priority assistance criteria. Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the empowerment of girls at risk of child marriage. Sets forth strategy elements. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that Department of State country reports on human rights practices include a description of the status of child marriage for countries with specified rates of child marriage. Defines "child marriage" as the marriage of a girl or boy not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS): (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support state comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
English Language Unity Act of 2009 - Makes English the official language of the United States. Requires, subject to exceptions and rules of construction, that: (1) official functions of the United States be conducted in English; and (2) all naturalization ceremonies be conducted in English. Establishes a uniform English language rule for naturalization. Makes English language requirements and workplace policies, whether in the public or private sector, presumptively consistent with the laws of the United States. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue for public notice and comment a proposed rule for uniform testing of English language ability of candidates for naturalization based upon the principles that: (1) all citizens should be able to read and understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States; and (2) any exceptions to this standard should be limited to extraordinary circumstances, such as asylum.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
National Language Act of 2009 - Requires: (1) English to be the national language of the federal government; and (2) the federal government to preserve and enhance the role of English as the national language. Provides that no person has a right, entitlement, or claim to have the federal government act, communicate, perform or provide services, or provide materials in any language other than English, unless specifically provided by statute. Makes the English language version of a government form issued in a language other than English the sole authority for legal purposes. Declares that this Act does not prohibit the use of a language other than English.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2009
New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present gold medals, on behalf of Congress, to: (1) the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission to the surface of the moon, Neil A. Armstrong (the first human to walk on the moon), Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. (pilot of the lunar module Eagle and second person to walk on the moon), and Michael Collins (pilot of their command module Columbia) in recognition of the first lunar landing, on July 20, 1969; and (2) John Herschel Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, on February 20, 1962.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to extend from three years to five years the delay in application of: (1) the 25% patient threshold payment adjustment to freestanding and grandfathered long-term care hospitals (LTCHs); (2) any payment adjustment, in certain circumstances, to any applicable LTCH or satellite facility located in a rural area or co-located with an urban single or metropolitan statistical area (MSA) dominant hospital; (3) the very short-stay outlier policy; and (4) a specified one-time prospective adjustment to LTCH prospective payment rates. Extends from three years to five years the moratorium on: (1) the establishment and classification of a LTCH or satellite facility, other than an existing one; and (2) an increase of LTCH beds in existing LTCHs or satellite facilities. Establishes a formula for annual adjustment of the base prospective payment rate for LTCHs for rate years 2011 through 2015 in order to implement a budget neutrality offset of the costs of implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to revise the civil penalties for violations of firearms law and the procedures for assessing such penalties. Requires fines to be based upon the nature and severity of the violation, the size of the firearms business involved, and the prior record of the firearm's licensee. Prohibits consideration of the amount of fines or license revocations imposed by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in the retention, promotion, or transfer of such agents. Revises the definition of "willfully" for purposes of firearms violations and standards for criminal violations of firearms recordkeeping requirements. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) make preliminary determinations on firearms license applications and notify applicants in writing of a proposed denial; and (2) establish guidelines for ATF inspections, examinations, or investigations of possible firearms violations. Permits an owner of a firearms business whose license is expired, surrendered, or revoked 60 days to liquidate inventory. Allows purchasers of existing firearms businesses the right to cure firearms violations attributable to such businesses. Allows the transfer, possession, and importation of machineguns for industry testing, training, and film production. Eliminates the requirement of written permission for the use of a handgun for lawful purposes by a minor (under age 18) where a parent or legal guardian is present at all times during such use. Prohibits the Attorney General from electronically retrieving inactive firearms licensee information by name or personal identification code. Directs the Attorney General to authorize the importation of all frames or receivers of rifles, or barrels for firearms other than handguns, if the importation is for repair or replacement purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Recognizes the threats to press freedom and expression on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2009. Commends journalists for the essential role in promoting government accountability and strengthening civil society and pays tribute to the journalists who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Condemns all actions that suppress press freedom. Reaffirms the centrality of press freedom to U.S. efforts to support democracy, mitigate conflict, and promote good governance. Calls on the President and the Secretary of State to develop means by which the United States can more rapidly respond to threats against press freedom.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2009
Commends: (1) the University of Georgia women's gymnastics team for winning the 2009 NCAA National Championship; (2) the Gym Dogs for winning more national championships than any other gymnastics program in the nation; and (3) Suzanne Yoculan for a spectacular career as that university's gymnastics coach.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Budget Enforcement Legislative Tool Act of 2009 - Amends the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 to authorize the President to propose, at any time and in any manner provided in this Act, the rescission of any discretionary budget authority in an appropriation Act. Prohibits funds made available for obligation under this procedure from being proposed for rescission again. Sets forth requirements for: (1) the President's transmittal to Congress of a special message regarding a proposed rescission; and (2) expedited consideration of such proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the United States should continue to support diplomatic efforts in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the U.N. Security Council to end Iran's illicit nuclear activities; (2) diplomatic efforts with Iran are more likely to be effective if the President is empowered with the explicit authority to impose additional sanctions on the government of Iran; (3) it should be U.S. policy to encourage foreign governments to direct state-owned and private entities to cease all investment in, and support of, Iran's energy sector and all exports of refined petroleum products to Iran; (4) the President is urged to impose sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran and any other Iranian financial institution engaged in proliferation activities or support of terrorist groups; (5) the Department of the Treasury should continue to work with allies to protect the international financial system from deceptive and illicit practices by Iranian financial institutions involved in proliferation activities or support of terrorist groups; (6) U.S. concerns regarding Iran are strictly the result of that government’s actions; and (7) the people of the United States have feelings of friendship for the people of Iran and regret that developments in recent decades have created impediments to that friendship. Amends the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to direct the President to impose two or more current sanctions under such Act if a person has, with actual knowledge, made an investment of $20 million or more (or any combination of investments of at least $5 million which in the aggregate equals or exceeds $20 million in any 12-month period) that directly and significantly contributed to Iran's ability to develop its petroleum resources. (Under current law the sanction thresholds are $40 million, $10 million, and $40 million, respectively.) Directs the President to impose: (1) sanctions established under this Act (in addition to any current sanctions imposed under the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996) if a person has, with actual knowledge, sold, leased, or provided to Iran any goods, services, technology, information, or support that would allow Iran to maintain or expand its domestic production of refined petroleum resources, including any assistance in refinery construction, modernization, or repair; and (2) sanctions established under this Act if a person has, with actual knowledge, provided Iran with refined petroleum resources or engaged in any activity that could contribute to Iran's ability to import refined petroleum resources, including providing shipping, insurance, or financing services for such activity. Establishes additional sanctions prohibiting specified foreign exchange, banking, and property transactions. Includes references to refined petroleum resources in a presidential report to Congress requesting waiver of sanctions for purposes of national interest. Directs the President to report to the appropriate congressional committees every six months regarding any person who has: (1) provided Iran with refined petroleum resources; (2) sold, leased, or provided to Iran any goods, services, or technology that would allow Iran to maintain or expand its domestic production of refined petroleum resources; or (3) engaged in any activity that could contribute to the enhancement of Iran's ability to import refined petroleum resources.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, in honor of the distinguished service of the American military men and women who have been Medal of Honor recipients. Limits the period for coin issuance to calendar year 2011. Imposes a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin and $10 per coin for the $1 coin, to be distributed to the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to help finance educational, scholarship, and outreach programs of the Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2009
Rebating America's Deposits Act - Amends the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 to direct the President to publish in the Federal Register a notice certifying that the Yucca Mountain site (Nevada) is the selected site for the development of a repository for the disposal of high-level radioactive radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Declares that, if the President fails to publish the certification or revokes it, each entity: (1) that is required to make a payment to the Nuclear Waste Fund shall not be required to make any additional payment; and (2) that has made a payment shall receive a refund, 75% of which shall be used for rebates to the entity's ratepayers, and 25% shall be used to carry out upgrades to the entity's nuclear power facilities to enhance the storage and security of materials used to generate nuclear power. Requires the Secretary of Energy to initiate by January 1, 2017, the transportation to the Yucca Mountain site of defense waste from each state in which it is located. Imposes penalties on the Secretary for failure to initiate such transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 April 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify the tax credit for producing electricity from closed or open-loop biomass facilities equipped with a metering device to determine electricity consumption or sale to allow a tax credit after 2008 for electricity produced and consumed at such facilities and to extend the credit period for such production.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to provide for reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms in states that allow their residents to carry such firearms by persons who are not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm and who are: (1) carrying a valid state license or permit for carrying a concealed firearm; or (2) otherwise entitled to carry a concealed firearm in their state of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Eliminating Disparities in Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide for: (1) ongoing research and other activities with respect to pre-diabetes and diabetes in minority populations; and (2) programs to treat diabetes in minority populations. Requires the Director of NIH, through the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities and the National Diabetes Education Program, to provide for: (1) health care professionals' mentoring; and (2) minority health professionals' participation in diabetes-focused research programs. Requires the Director to make grants for a pipeline from high school to professional school that will increase minority representation in diabetes-focused health fields. Directs the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to assess federal activities and programs related to diabetes in minority populations. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) conduct research on diabetes in minority populations; (2) direct the Division of Diabetes Translation to educate the public on the causes and effects of diabetes in minority populations; and (3) carry out diabetes health promotion and prevention programs for minority populations. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to educate health professionals on the causes and effects of diabetes in minority populations. Sets forth additional requirements for the Secretary related to: (1) factors that may influence health promotion, diabetes management, and prevention; (2) data collection on diabetes treatment, care, prevention, and services to the American Indian population; (3) increased participation of minority populations in clinical trials; and (4) specialized care for children with diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2009
National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the Armed Forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2009
Grants a federal charter to the Military Officers Association of America (a nonprofit corporation and incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia).
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a five-year carryback of net operating losses, including the operating losses of life insurance companies, incurred in 2008 and 2009. Denies such extended loss carryover period to: (1) taxpayers in whom the federal government acquires an equity interest under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; (2) the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (3) members of certain affiliated groups.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow tax-exempt charitable or educational organizations to make collegiate housing and infrastructure improvement grants to certain tax-exempt social clubs (e.g., college fraternities and sororities) which apply such grants to their collegiate housing property.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act - Allows, except as provided under federal criminal law relating to the possession of firearms and other dangerous weapons in federal facilities, a person to possess, carry, and transport concealed, loaded, and operable firearms within a national park area or national wildlife refuge area in accordance with the laws of the state in which such area, or that portion thereof, is located.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act of 2009 - 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 · 31 March 2009
Designates April 2009 as Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of personal financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2009
Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act of 2009 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prescribe consumer protection guidelines for rental-purchase transactions, including: (1) the determination of rental-purchase cost; (2) disclosure requirements; (3) prohibitions against confessions of judgment, wage assignments, and waiver of consumer claims or defenses; (4) furnishing of statements of account; (5) point-of-rental disclosures; and (6) rental-purchase advertising disclosures. Declares that an action for civil liability may be brought against a merchant's assignee only if the violation is apparent on the face of a rental-purchase agreement to which it relates, including, but not limited to, a disclosure that can be determined to be incomplete or inaccurate from the face of the agreement. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to promulgate implementing regulations. Grants enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission and to state attorneys general. Subjects to criminal penalties any willful and knowing violation of the information disclosure requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2009
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site Expansion Act of 2009 - Redesignates the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Georgia as the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. Requires, in the administration of the Historical Park, the preservation and interpretation of a southern agricultural-based rural community during the early to middle years of the 20th century. Includes as real property of the Historical Park that which is needed to enhance visitor experience at the Site. Increases the acreage comprising the boyhood home of former President Jimmy Carter. Adds specified real properties and land to the Historical Park. Authorizes the acquisition of the Georgia Welcome Center on State Route 280/27 by donation only.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2009
Declares that Congress should not impose any new performance fee, tax, royalty, or other charge relating to the public performance of sound recordings on a local radio station for broadcasting sound recordings over-the-air, or on any business for such public performance of sound recordings.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2009
Makes a member of the Retired Reserve who is qualified for a non-regular (reserve) retirement at age 60, but is not yet 60, eligible for health benefits under TRICARE Standard (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program for members of the reserves). Terminates such eligibility when the member becomes eligible for TRICARE Standard at age 60. Includes immediate family members under such coverage. Requires members to pay a premium for such coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2009
National Trauma Center Stabilization Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to replace the trauma center grant program that provided for operating expenses for trauma centers incurring substantial uncompensated costs due to violence from illicit trafficking in drugs with a program to provide grants to public, nonprofit, Indian Health Service, Indian tribal, and urban Indian trauma centers to assist in defraying substantial uncompensated care costs, further the core mission of such trauma centers, and provide emergency relief to trauma centers at risk of closing or centers operating in an area where a closing has occurred within their primary service area. Sets forth qualifications for grantees and provisions governing the amount of the grant award. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide funding to states for grants to eligible entities to: (1) improve the availability of trauma services in underserved areas; (2) address trauma center overcrowding; (3) enhance trauma surge capacity; (4) address shortages of trauma surgeons and certain other trauma-related physician subspecialties; and (5) improve trauma service coordination and the appropriate transport of trauma patients to trauma centers. Requires the Secretary to distribute amounts based on a state's population.
United States · United States Congress · 25 March 2009
Preventive Medicine and Public Health Training Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to award grants to or enter into contracts with certain eligible entities to provide training to graduate medical residents in preventive medicine specialties. Requires grant funds to be used for: (1) residency programs for preventive medicine or public health; (2) financial assistance to resident physicians who plan to specialize in preventive medicine or public health; (3) preventive medicine or public health program costs, including curriculum development and practicum costs; and (4) the improvement of academic administrative units.
United States · United States Congress · 24 March 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce from 2 to 1.32% the excise tax rate on the net investment income of tax-exempt private foundations; and (2) repeal the 1% reduction in such tax rate for private foundations that meet certain distribution requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2009
Congratulates the Greek people as they celebrate the 188th anniversary of Greece's independence. Notes the important role that Greece has played in the wider European region and in the community of nations.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Amends the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (a training program to improve life skills and employment potential of civilian youth participants) to increase the Department of Defense (DOD) share of expenses to: (1) 100% of operating costs, in the first two years of a state program of the Program; and (2) 75% of operating costs, in the case of any other state program of the Program.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the Armed Forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Star-Spangled Banner Bicentennial Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins in commemoration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner . Requires a coin design emblematic of the War of 1812, and in particular of, the Battle for Baltimore that formed the basis for the Star-Spangled Banner. Limits the period for coin issuance to calendar year 2012. Imposes a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coins and $10 per coin for the $1 coins, which shall be distributed to the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission for the purpose of supporting bicentennial activities, educational outreach activities, and preservation and improvement activities pertaining to the sites and structures relating to the War of 1812.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2009
Condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to rationalize anti-Jewish hatred or attacks as a justifiable expression of disaffection over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere. Decries the comparison of Jews to Nazis perpetrating a Holocaust or genocide as a pernicious form of anti-Semitism. Calls on leaders to speak out against manifestations of anti-Semitism that have entered the Middle East debate. Reaffirms support for the mandate of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism. Urges the Secretary of State to maintain the fight against anti-Semitism as a U.S. foreign policy priority.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to identify efficient, effective, and economical procedures for long-term care facilities or providers to conduct background checks on prospective direct patient access employees on a nationwide basis under similar terms and conditions as the pilot program established under the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003. Sets forth requirements for states wishing to participate in the program, including requiring: (1) searches of neglect registries and databases; (2) searches of any proceedings that may contain disqualifying information; (3) searches of federal criminal history records, including a fingerprint check; and (4) methods that reduce duplicative fingerprinting. Sets forth program requirements. Requires the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to evaluate the program under this Act. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to require state claims processing and information retrieval systems to incorporate compatible methodologies of the National Correct Coding Initiative administered by the Secretary. Directs the Secretary to identify and notify states as to which methodologies should be incorporated.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Amends the Clean Air Act to redefine "renewable biomass" as: (1) materials, pre-commercial thinnings, or invasive species from certain National Forest System land and public lands that are byproducts of preventive treatments that are removed to reduce hazardous fuels, reduce or contain disease or insect infestation, or restore ecosystem health, that would not otherwise be used for higher-value products, and that are harvested in accordance with specified requirements for old-growth forests and large tree retention; or (2) any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis from nonfederal land or land belonging to an Indian or Indian tribe that is held in trust by the United States or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed by the United States, including specified renewable plant material and waste material.
United States · United States Congress · 18 March 2009
Firearms Fairness and Affordability Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require excise taxes on recreational equipment to be due and payable on the date for filing the return for such taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2009
Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2009 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to direct the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to establish the Office of Water within the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture, and Trade to: (1) give assistance to provide safe water and sanitation for people worldwide; and (2) be headed by a Director for Safe Water and Sanitation. Outlines the Director's duties. Requires the Secretary of State, in order to increase the capacity of the Department of State to address international issues regarding safe water, sanitation, integrated river basin management, and other international water programs, to establish a Special Coordinator for International Water. Outlines the Special Coordinator's duties. Amends the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act of 2005 to: (1) revise requirements concerning the safe water and sanitation strategy; (2) provide for the establishment of a program to build the capacity of host country institutions and officials responsible for water and sanitation in countries that receive assistance to provide safe water and sanitation under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961; (3) expand the list of activities that may be supported by assistance furnished by the President for programs in developing countries to provide affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation; and (4) require the report regarding water for peace and security to include an assessment of political tensions over water sources and a multidisciplinary assessment of the expected impacts of global climate change on water supplies in 10, 25, and 50 years.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2009
Directs the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives to make appropriate arrangements for the award of a single gold medal in honor of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) collectively, in honor of their pioneering military service and exemplary record, which forged revolutionary reform in the U.S. Armed Forces. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution shall make the medal available for display elsewhere, particularly at other locations associated with the WASP.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2009
Directs the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take specified actions to regulate short sales of securities, including: (1) reinstating regulations in effect on July 5, 2007, prohibiting short sales of securities unless the previous price movement on such securities had been upward (the uptick rule); (2) rescinding the prohibition against applying certain price tests to short sales; (3) requiring trades by short sellers to yield priority and preference to transactions effected by long sellers of securities; (4) prohibiting short sales of securities of financial institutions unless such trades are effected at a price (in minimum lots, as specified by the SEC) that is at least 5 cents higher than the immediately preceding transaction in such securities; and (5) issuing regulations that prohibit short sales unless the seller can demonstrate a legally enforceable right to deliver the securities at the required delivery date and that require all short sales to settle on the same time frame employed for long sales of the same securities.
![Official portrait of Sen. Isakson, Johnny [R-GA]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/i000055_200.jpg)