United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009
Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the Surface Transportation Board. Increases Board membership from three to five members. Removes the Board from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to establish it as an independent U.S. agency. Grants the DOT Inspector General authority to review only Board financial management, property management, and business operations to determine compliance with applicable federal laws and detect fraud and abuse. Revises member composition of the Railroad-Shipper Transportation Advisory Council. Revises the objectives of U.S. rail transportation policy, including protection of rail shippers. Requires the Board to: (1) maintain an Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance; and (2) appoint a rail customer advocate to resolve rail customer complaints. Authorizes the Board to investigate rail carrier and pipeline carrier violations on its own initiative as well as on complaint (as under existing law). Requires proceedings to determine the reasonableness of a rate charged by a carrier be initiated only upon complaint. Requires the Board to: (1) establish a database of rail service complaints it has received; and (2) post a quarterly report of such complaints on its website. Authorizes the Board to revoke class exemptions to rail carrier requirements to protect rail shippers from the abuse of market power. Requires Board studies on: (1) class exemptions; (2) the Uniform Railroad Costing System; (3) use of a replacement cost approach to value rail facility assets; (4) rail practices; and (5) rail interchange rules. Directs the Board to require Class I railroad carriers and other railroad carriers to report regularly on railroad service metrics and other performance data as prescribed by the Board. Delineates requirements regarding proof and admissibility of evidence of rail carrier interline rate agreements. Prohibits the Board from issuing a person (other than a rail carrier) a certificate to acquire a railroad line or extended or additional railroad line that includes interchange commitments or other mechanisms restricting the ability of the purchaser or tenant to interchange traffic with another carrier unless they are reasonable and in the public interest. Delineates a process for persons to challenge existing interchange commitments as well as certain rights and remedies with respect to them. Directs the Secretary to make grants available to assist any Class III rail carrier under Board jurisdiction with the credit risk premium of a direct loan or loan guarantee made to purchase or lease a rail line. Requires a Class I rail carrier to establish, upon rail customer request, reasonable bottleneck and terminal switching rates for single line movement or interline movement rail transportation over a bottleneck rail segment in which the carrier has market dominance. Revises criteria authorizing the Board to require a rail carrier to make its terminal available to another rail carrier. Authorizes the Board to require a Class I rail carrier (including any other rail carrier deemed appropriate) to make its terminal facilities available for use by another carrier in cases where it has market dominance in a terminal area. Changes from discretionary to mandatory the authority of the Board to establish reasonable rail rate standards for terminal use. Requires the Board to establish a binding arbitration process to resolve rail rate, practice, and common carrier service disputes. Revises maximum rates of relief that the Board may provide to railroad shippers in certain rail rate reasonableness cases. Sets forth time limits for Board review of such cases. Revises requirements with respect to the approval or denial of the consolidation, merger, or acquisition of control of rail carriers to authorize the Board to take into consideration significant effects of the transaction on public health, safety, and the environment as well as intercity rail passenger transportation and commuter rail passenger transportation. Exempts from Board authority pipeline transportation of natural or artificial gases used primarily as fuel or other energy purposes. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the federal and state regulatory framework to support the development of carbon dioxide pipelines.
United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2009
Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or 20-year prison term on any person who: (1) knowingly provides or receives from another person two or more firearms if such person knows or has reasonable cause to believe that such transfer would violate a federal, state, or local law punishable by a prison term of more than one year (i.e., a felony); (2) makes materially false statements to a licensed firearm importer, dealer, or manufacturer relating to the purchase, receipt, or acquisition of two or more firearms; or (3) directs, promotes, or facilitates such illegal activity. Increases penalties on licensed firearms importers, dealers, or manufacturers who knowingly violate firearms restrictions under the federal criminal code, including recordkeeping requirements. Expands the authority of the Attorney General to revoke or suspend the license of a firearms dealer for failure to have secure gun storage or safety devices, for transporting armor piercing ammunition, or for violating other federal prohibitions on gun trafficking. Requires the Attorney General to identify licensed firearms dealers who have a heightened risk of firearms being diverted to criminal use. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on firearms that are lost or stolen during commercial shipping. Authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to hire additional personnel to enable inspections of gun dealers on a three-year cycle and requires the Director to hire additional investigators and special agents to address trafficking in firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009
Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify and establish standards for contaminants in bottled water that are at least as protective as standards established by: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for national primary drinking water; or (2) the World Health Organization, the European Union, or the state of California. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for the enforcement of standards adopted under this Act. Transfers all functions of the Secretary relating to inspections and enforcement concerning bottled water to the EPA if the Secretary fails to publish the final regulation concerning such standards within two years. Requires the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations that require each manufacturer of bottled water to submit reports on its water and display required information on bottle labels; (2) make such reports available to the public; (3) make certain additional information available to the public about the regulation of contaminants in bottled drinking water; (4) publish information regarding violations of bottled water regulations; and (5) establish a grant program to gather information on such violations. Prohibits a manufacturer of bottled water from failing to submit an annual report or to display the required information on bottle labels in accordance with this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 December 2009
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Paula F. Hawkins, former member of the U.S. Senate from Florida. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on December 4, 2009, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Hawkins.
United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009
Helping Unemployed Workers Act - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA), as amended by the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 and the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act. Extends the final date for entering a federal-state agreement under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through December 1, 2010. Postpones the termination of the program until May 31, 2011. Amends the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act to extend until January 1, 2011: (1) federal-state agreements increasing regular unemployment compensation payments to individuals; and (2) requirements that federal payments to states cover 100% of EUC. Amends the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 to exempt weeks of unemployment between enactment of this Act and May 30, 2011, from the prohibition in the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 against federal matching payments to a state for the first week in an individual's eligibility period for which extended compensation or sharable regular compensation is paid if the state law provides for payment of regular compensation to an individual for his or her first week of otherwise compensable unemployment. (Thus allows temporary federal matching for the first week of extended benefits for states with no waiting period.) Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to modify EUC eligibility requirements to disregard an individual's right to regular compensation for a subsequent benefit year when determining such individual's eligibility to receive EUC if such individual: (1) has exhausted his or her rights to regular compensation for any benefit year; and (2) does not file a claim for such regular compensation. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an exclusion from gross income in 2010 for up to $2,400 of unemployment compensation. Defines "short-time compensation program," for Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) purposes, as one in which: (1) participation of an employer is voluntary; (2) an employer reduces the number of hours worked by employees through certifying that such reductions are in lieu of temporary layoffs; (3) an employee whose workweek that has been reduced by at least 10% is eligible for unemployment compensation; (4) an eligible employee may participate in an employer-sponsored job skills training program; and (5) an employer is required to certify that continuation of employee health and retirement benefits will not be affected by participation in the program. Directs the Secretary of Labor to make payments to a state's unemployment compensation trust fund for the payment of unemployment compensation if the Secretary approves a state's application for certification to operate a short-time compensation program that requires the maintenance of health and retirement employee benefits. Requires the Secretary to study and report to Congress and the President on the EUC program.
United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009
Preserving Records of Terrorist & Criminal Transactions Act of 2009 or the PROTECT Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to require: (1) the retention for a minimum of 10 years of criminal background check records for known or suspected members of terrorist organizations who attempt to purchase firearms or apply for a state permit to possess, acquire, or carry firearms; and (2) the retention for at least 180 days of other criminal background check records relating to firearms purchases. Repeals certain provisions that require the destruction within 24 hours of identifying information for individuals who legally purchase or possess firearms.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2009
Rosa's Law - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Public Health Service Act, the Health Professions Education Partnership Act of 1968, the National Sickle Cell Anemia Act, Cooley's Anemia, Tay-Sachs, and Genetic Diseases Act, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, and other federal enactments and regulations to change references to mental retardation to references to an intellectual disability.
United States · United States Congress · 16 November 2009
Criminal Justice Reinvestment Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states, local governments, territories, or Indian tribes to: (1) analyze and improve the cost-effectiveness of state and local spending on prisons, jails, and community corrections; and (2) assist in managing the growth in spending on corrections and increase public safety.
United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2009
National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Reauthorizes appropriations to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for FY2010-FY2014. Revises the term "accident" to expand the NTSB's authority to investigate, at its discretion, accidents not involving the destruction or damage of a vehicle, aircraft, or pipeline, but significantly affecting transportation safety. Authorizes the NTSB by subpoena to summon witnesses and obtain any and all evidence relevant to an accident investigation. Prohibits the NTSB (including agency that has received information from the NTSB) from disclosing publicly any commercial or financial or certain classified information during ongoing NTSB accident investigations. Authorizes public disclosure of such information when necessary, in certain circumstances, to promote transportation safety. Authorizes accident investigation training of NTSB employees in theory and techniques and on transportation safety methods in order to advance NTSB safety recommendations. Revises the authority of the NTSB to investigate transportation accidents to include: (1) freight or passenger railroad accidents involving a fatality (other than a fatality involving a trespasser), substantial property damage, or significant injury to the environment; (2) accidents or incidents in response to an international request and delegation under appropriate conventions, coordinated through the Department of State and accepted by the NTSB; (3) accidents or incidents significantly affecting transportation safety; and (4) accidents involving a commercial space launch vehicle. Authorizes the NTSB, with the consent of the appropriate Secretary, to delegate its authority to investigate: (1) aviation accidents or incidents to the Department of Transportation; and (2) maritime accidents or incidents to the Coast Guard. Authorizes the NTSB, as well as any NTSB officer or employee, to download or seize any recording device and recordings and require specific information only available from the manufacturer to enable the NTSB to read and interpret any flight parameter or navigation storage device or media on board an accident aircraft. Revises requirements for domestic and foreign air carrier plans for addressing the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents that incur major loss of life. Requires domestic and foreign air carriers to make a reasonable attempt to notify the family of a passenger at least 60 days prior to the planned destruction of any unclaimed property of the passenger.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2009
Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act of 2009 - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to make permanent the authorization for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Makes monies covered into the Fund available for expenditure to carry out the purposes of the Act without further appropriation.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2009
Offers deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the innocent victims killed or wounded in the senseless attack that occurred at Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009. Offers support and hope for a full recovery for those wounded there. Honors the heroic service, actions, and sacrifices of law enforcement personnel, first responders, soldiers present at the scene, medical personnel, and countless others who aided the victims. Shares in the pain and grief felt by the people of the United States in the aftermath of this tragic event.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2009
Distracted Flying Act - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking for regulations prohibiting, except for operational, emergency safety-related, or employment- related communications, commercial flight crew members from using personal wireless communications devices or laptop computers while on duty on the flight deck of an aircraft that is in operation. Subjects persons to certain penalties for violations of the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2009
Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to: (1) require states receiving Edward Byrne Memorial justice assistance grants to certify the implementation of a policy for requiring all rape kits (DNA evidence relating to sexual assault) to be sent to crime laboratories for forensic analysis: (2) adjust the amount of such grants based upon compliance and noncompliance with rape kit backlog reduction requirements under this Act; (3) eliminate rape kit repayment requirements for sexual assault victims; and (4) provide for sexual assault forensic medical personnel examiners to collect and preserve evidence, provide expert testimony, and provide treatment of trauma relating to sexual assault. Amends the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to: (1) authorize funding to eliminate rape kit backlogs and ensure that DNA analyses of samples from rape kits are carried out in a timely manner; and (2) require states and local governments to adopt performance measures for reducing rape kit backlogs. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the availability of sexual assault nurse examiners and trained examiners at all Indian Health Service facilities operated under contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009
COBRA Subsidy Extension and Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to: (1) increase the subsidy under COBRA (health insurance continuation benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985) to 75% of a worker's health care insurance premium; (2) extend such subsidy from 9 to 15 months after termination from employment; (3) extend coverage under COBRA to employees whose work hours are involuntarily reduced; and (4) extend until June 30, 2010, the period of eligibility for COBRA premium assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2009
Directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide for the liquidation or reliquidation of certain entries of granulated polytetrafluoroethylene resin from Italy.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the temporary suspension of duty on Ethene, tetrafluoro-oxidized, polymerized, reduced, methyl esters, reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to suspend temporarily the duty on Propanoic acid, 3-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-methyl, polymers with 5-iso-cyanato-1-(isocyanatomethyl)-1,3,3-trimethylcyclohexane and reduced methyl esters of reduced polymerized, oxidized tetrafluoroethylene, compounds with trimethylamine.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the temporary suspension of duty on diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend and increase the temporary reduction of duty on monocarboxylic fatty acids derived from palm oil.
United States · United States Congress · 2 November 2009
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend the temporary suspension of duty on 1, 1, 2-2-Tetrafluoroethene, oxidized, polymerized.
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month 2009. Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should: (1) continue to raise awareness of domestic violence in the United States and its devastating effects on families and communities; and (2) support programs designed to end domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 27 October 2009
Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to states that enact laws that prohibit, with certain exceptions, and establish fines for texting and/or handheld cellphone use while driving. Requires a state that receives a grant to allocate: (1) at least 50% to educate and advertise to the public about the dangers of texting or using a cellphone while driving as well as enforce the distracted driving law; and (2) up to 50% for other traffic safety improvement projects. Directs the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to administer a distracted driving national education program with at least two high-visibility education and advertising campaigns. Requires the Secretary to establish a research program to study distracted driving by passenger and commercial vehicle drivers. Directs the the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to report to Congress on existing and developing wireless communications technology that may be used to reduce problems associated with distracted driving. Requires the Secretary to: (1) prescribe regulations on the use of electronic or wireless devices, including cell phones and other distracting devices, by operators of commercial motor vehicles and school buses; and (2) prohibit their use in circumstances where it interferes with the driver's safe operation of the vehicles.
United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2009
Child Support Protection Act of 2009 - Amends part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of title IV of the Social Security Act to repeal the exclusion from federal matching payments of any amounts expended by a state from child support incentive payments it has received from the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (Thus reinstates federal matching of state spending of child support incentive payments.)
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009
Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2009 - 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 or 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 (currently, for research, experimentation, or 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 any research facility (currently, any individual or entity) with random source dogs or cats unless specified certification requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Cliff Hansen, a former Senator of Wyoming. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on October 21, 2009, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Hansen.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Expresses the sense of the Senate that Congress should: (1) continue to raise awareness of domestic violence in the United States and its devastating effects on families and communities; and (2) support programs designed to end domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2009
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 documented in the U.S. record related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide with respect to the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to realize a just resolution to such events; and (2) in the President's annual message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to accurately characterize the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 Armenians as genocide and to recall the proud history of U.S. intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2009
Fairness and Accountability in Receiving Overdraft Coverage Act of 2009 or FAIR Overdraft Coverage Act - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit a depository institution from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in connection with overdraft coverage, or in acts designed to evade the provisions of this Act. Requires each depository institution that provides overdraft coverage for transaction accounts to clearly and conspicuously disclose overdraft coverage fees. Subjects to the consumer's written, electronic, or other consent overdraft coverage fees for withdrawals from either automated teller machines or from debit card transfers. Requires a depository institution to provide specified consumer disclosures regarding its overdraft protection program, including: (1) periodic statements for any transaction account that has an overdraft coverage program feature; and (2) prompt notification of the account's overdraft status. Prescribes overdraft coverage fee limits. Prohibits an overdraft coverage fee if the overdraft results solely from a debit hold amount that exceeds the actual dollar amount of the transaction. Requires a depository institution to provide consumers who have not consented to participate in an overdraft coverage program transaction accounts with the same terms as those provided to consumers who have consented to participate in such program. Prohibits a depository institution from charging a non-sufficient fund fee for any transaction at an automated teller machine or any debit card transaction. Prohibits a depository institution from reporting negative information regarding consumer use of overdraft coverage to any consumer reporting agency when the overdraft amounts and coverage fees are paid under the terms of an overdraft coverage program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 October 2009
Reducing Emergency Department Utilization through Coordination and Empowerment Demonstration Program Act or the REDUCE Demonstration Program - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish the REDUCE demonstration program under which the Secretary shall enter into agreements with states to provide for the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative approaches to coordinated care management and increased access to community support services for targeted beneficiaries under title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act in order to reduce hospital admissions and the use of emergency health care services.
United States · United States Congress · 13 October 2009
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) a highly capable and knowledgeable individual should be nominated with all expediency to serve as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); and (2) USAID must be empowered to be the primary development agency of the United States and to serve as the principal advisor to the President and national security organs of the U.S. government on the capacity and strategy of U.S. development assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2009
Prevention of Unreasonable Fees Act - Prohibits an operator of a transportation terminal that uses federal funds for terminal construction, or for the purchase or lease of equipment installed there, from charging a fee to a provider of prearranged ground transportation service that meets state vehicle and intrastate passenger licensing requirements, except fees charged to the public to access the terminal or for use of ancillary facilities located there. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to: (1) prohibit or restrict a transportation terminal operator from requiring vehicles that cannot safely use public parking facilities to use segregated facilities provided the fee for segregated facilities is no more than that charged to the public for similar facilities; or (2) restrict the right of a state or its political subdivisions to require a license or fee (other than a prohibited transportation terminal fee) for a motor vehicle providing certain other prearranged ground transportation.
United States · United States Congress · 7 October 2009
Family Asthma Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to award grants for pilot projects to prevent and control asthma symptoms and to reduce asthma attacks and improve self-management for individuals and families. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of NIH, in awarding grants, to give: (1) priority to entities that serve populations disproportionately impacted by asthma; and (2) consideration to an adequate national understanding of asthma prevalence. Authorizes additional appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to develop a National Asthma Action Plan and to fund a report to Congress by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program on federal asthma activities. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) collaborate with state and local health departments to conduct activities to inform and educate the public regarding asthma; (2) conduct asthma surveillance activities to collect data on the prevalence and severity of asthma, the effectiveness of public heath asthma intervention, and the quality of asthma management; and (3) compile and annually publish data on childhood and adult asthma.
United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2009
Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act - Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to declare that a plaintiff establishes an unlawful employment practice if the plaintiff demonstrates by a preponderance of the evidence that: (1) an impermissible factor or authority was a motivating factor for the practice complained of, even if other factors also motivated that practice; or (2) the practice complained of would not have occurred in the absence of an impermissible factor. Specifies the types of: (1) evidence that a plaintiff may utilize; and (2) relief and damages available to a successful plaintiff.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2009
Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2009 - Prohibits road construction and road reconstruction in inventoried roadless areas of the National Forest System. Specifies exceptions, including because: (1) there is threat of a catastrophic event; (2) a natural resource restoration action is necessary; or (3) a federal-aid highway project is in the public interest or is consistent with the purposes for which the land was reserved or acquired. Prohibits timber from being cut, sold, or removed in an inventoried roadless area. Permits various exceptions, including for specified environmental reasons, if the responsible official determines that the cutting, sale, or removal of timber is expected to be infrequent. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to make modifications to roadless area maps to improve their accuracy or inclusiveness. Instructs the Secretary, in order to evaluate the effect of a modification to a roadless area map, to prepare an environmental impact statement or similar analysis required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Declares that this Act does not: (1) revoke, suspend, or modify legal instruments and decisions concerning the use of NFS land made before January 12, 2001; (2) compel the amendment or revision of any land and resource management plan; or (3) apply to specified activities in the Tongass National Forest. States that the prohibitions and restrictions of this Act cannot be reconsidered, modified, or terminated under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2009
September 11 Family Humanitarian Relief and Patriotism Act of 2009 - Provides permanent resident status adjustment for an applicant alien who: (1) was on September 10, 2001, the spouse, child, or unmarried son or daughter of an alien who died as a direct result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist activity against the United States; (2) was deemed to be a beneficiary of, and by, the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001; (3) has no federal tax liability; (4) made a proffer of information to the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) between April 24, 2008, and August 15, 2008, in connection with a request for immigration relief; and (5) applies not later than one year from the date of enactment of this Act. Makes the provisions of this Act inapplicable to an alien who is inadmissible or deportable under criminal or security grounds, including September 11, 2001, terrorist activity.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2009
Designates October 2009 as National Work and Family Month. Recognizes the importance of work schedules that allow employees to spend time with their families to job productivity and to healthy families. Urges public officials, employers, employees, and the general public to work together to achieve more balance between work and family.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2009
Fighting Real Estate Fraud Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants on a competitive basis through the Bureau of Justice Assistance of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to states, local governments, and Indian tribal governments to assist prosecutors in investigating and prosecuting real estate fraud. Defines "real estate fraud" to include crimes involving purposeful misrepresentations, forgeries, omissions to general applications, tax returns, financial statements, appraisals and valuations, verifications of deposit and employment, escrow and closing documents, credit reports, and any actions that may defraud a secured creditor. Directs the Comptroller General to report to Congress on the effectiveness of the grant program in investigating and prosecuting real estate fraud.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2009
Supports the goals and ideals of National Adoption Day and National Adoption Month. Recognizes that every child should have a permanent and loving family. Encourages the citizens of the United States to consider adoption during the month of November and all throughout the year.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2009
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Henry Bellmon, a former member of the U.S. Senate. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on September 29, 2009, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Bellmon.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2009
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 - Amends the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 with respect to the state-established individual emergency unemployment compensation account (EUCA). Requires a further additional Tier-3 period for deposits to an individual's EUCA, using the current formula, if, at the time the amount added to such individual's account under the Act is exhausted or at any time thereafter, the individual's state is in an extended benefit period. Prescribes a formula for determining if a state is in an extended benefit period. Allows the Tier-3 period augmentation to be applied to the individual's EUCA only once. Authorizes a state to pay extended compensation to an otherwise eligible individual before any further additional emergency unemployment compensation (EUC), if such individual claimed extended compensation for at least one week of unemployment after the exhaustion of additional EUC. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend from 2009 through 2010 the 6.2% surtax on employers under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA). Delays the scheduled 2010 reduction in the surtax to 6% until 2011. Amends title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) of the Social Security Act to require an employer to report to the state Directory of New Hires, in addition to other information, the date services for remuneration were first performed by a newly hired employee. Qualifies the requirement that an employer file new hire reports on a W-4 or equivalent form by adding the phrase "to the extent practicable." Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise conditions for state collection of unemployment compensation debts resulting from fraud. Repeals the limitation to residents of the state seeking such an offset of the requirement that the Secretary of the Treasury reduce an individual's overpayment of federal income tax to offset any covered unemployment compensation debt the individual owes such state. (Literally, repeals the requirement that the address shown on the federal tax return for the taxable year of the overpayment be an address within the state seeking the offset.) Permits the Secretary to make such an offset regardless of whether the person resides in the state seeking it.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2009
Requires, notwithstanding specified provisions of the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005, that sums made available to administer the Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program remain available until expended, but not beyond September 30, 2012. Extends the period for performance of any investment approved under the Program as of enactment of this Act by one year, but not later than September 30, 2011. Allows the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to extend, on a case-by-case basis, the period of performance for any such investment for a period of not more than 2 years, but not later than September 30, 2012.
![Official portrait of Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000123_200.jpg)