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United States · Official source
5,795 records where Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ] is listed as a sponsor, author, or other actor. Search with topics and years
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2007
Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2007
Recognizes the contributions of American citizens of Jewish descent who emigrated from the Soviet Union. Commemorates: (1) the 40th anniversary of the mass movement for freedom by and on behalf of Soviet Jewry; and (2) the 20th anniversary of the December 6, 1987, Freedom Sunday rally for Soviet Jews. Condemns incidents of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and religious persecution in the independent states of the former Soviet Union and encourages the development of democracy, religious freedom, rule of law, and human rights in those states.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2007
Community and Healthcare-Associated Infections Reduction Act of 2007 - Directs the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop best-practices guidelines for internal infection control plans to prevent, detect, control, and treat community and healthcare-associated infections at hospitals. Requires AHRQ to: (1) establish best practices with supporting justification, including the establishment of an infection control oversight committee; (2) collaborate with other agencies and organizations whose area of expertise is the identification, treatment, and prevention of infectious disease; (3) publish proposed guidelines; (4) provide for a comment period of not less than 90 days; and (5) establish final guidelines. Directs the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to: (1) consult best practices guidelines in evaluating hospitals' infection control plans as a condition of participation in the Medicare program; and (2) report to Congress on the feasibility of reducing healthcare-associated infection rates through a Quality Improvement Payment Program. Requires: (1) hospitals to report information about community and healthcare-associated infections to the CDC National Healthcare Safety Network, which shall be used by the CDC to develop a national database of infection rates in hospitals; (2) the Director of the CDC to award grants to states to carry out public awareness campaigns; (3) the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify NIH programs regarding research and related activities concerning such infections; (4) the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish an interagency working group on community and healthcare-associated infections; and (5) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress on this Act's impact.
United States · United States Congress · 31 October 2007
Community Health Center Capital Investment Act - Amends the National Housing Act to revise the eligibility requirements for mortgages insured by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to include a mortgage executed by a health center.
United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2007
Designates the week of November 11-November 17, 2007, as "National Veterans Awareness Week."
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2007
Farm, Ranch, Equity, Stewardship, and Health Act of 2007 - Amends the federal crop insurance program. Establishes: (1) a risk management account contract program; (2) a conservation planning pilot program; (3) a nutrient reduction and sediment control pilot program for the Chesapeake Bay watershed; (4) a national clean plant network; (5) an Office of Pest Management Policy; and (6) a program of hunger-free community collaborative and infrastructure grants. Extends and revises specified programs for: (1) commodity assistance; (2) conservation; (3) specialty crops; (4) food programs and nutrition, (5) agricultural trade; (6) rural development; (7) forestry; and (8) energy, including biobased products. Food Employment Empowerment and Development Program Act of 2007 or FEED Act of 2007 - Establishes the food employment empowerment and development program to provide grants to eligible entities to use community resources to combat hunger and the root causes of hunger by creating opportunity through food recovery and job training. Expresses the sense of Congress that any budgetary savings created by this Act should be used to reduce the federal budget deficit and not be used to offset other federal spending.
United States · United States Congress · 24 October 2007
Success in the Middle Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to make matching grants to states, based on their proportion of poor children aged 5 to 17, to: (1) implement state middle school needs analyses and, on the basis of such analyses, improvement plans that describe what students must master to successfully complete the middle grades and succeed in academically rigorous high school coursework; and (2) award competitive matching subgrants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to implement a comprehensive middle school improvement plan for each eligible school. Favors LEAs with high proportions of poor children and eligible schools. Defines "eligible schools" as those where: (1) a majority of middle grade students matriculate to high schools with graduation rates below 60%; (2) more than 25% of the students who finish grade six, or the school's earliest middle grade level, exhibit key risk factors for failure; and (3) a majority of middle grade students are not rated proficient on required state assessments in mathematics, reading, or language arts. Permits states to make subgrants to LEAs that did not receive a competitive subgrant to assist them in applying for competitive subgrants and developing comprehensive middle school improvement plans. Provides the Secretary with funding to: (1) contract for studies that identify promising practices for, and review existing research to identify factors that might lead to, the improvement of middle school education; (2) create a national clearinghouse in best middle grade educational practices and a national database identifying factors that facilitate or impede middle grade student achievement; (3) require certain educational field research designed to enhance the performance of middle grade schools and students; (4) create a research and development center that addresses topics pertinent to middle grade schools; and (5) provide grants to entities that partner with states and LEAs to develop, adapt, or replicate effective models for turning around low-performing middle grade schools.
United States · United States Congress · 19 October 2007
Calls for U.S. citizens and governments to: (1) recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of the United States under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act); and (2) recommit to restoring and maintaining the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 18 October 2007
Supports the goals and ideals of "Lights On Afterschool!," a national celebration of after-school programs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Medicare Access to Community Health Centers (MATCH) Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the definition of "federally qualified health center services" to include ambulatory services furnished by a federally qualified health center (FQHC) for which payment may otherwise be made under Medicare if such services were furnished by a non-FQHC health care provider or health care professional employed by or under contract with an FQHC. Permits payment for hospital-based services. Provides for a Medicare prospective payment system (PPS) for Medicare-covered services provided by FQHCs.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids Act or the FIT Kids Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to require annual state and local educational agency report cards to include specified information on school health and physical education programs. Includes the promotion of healthy, active lifestyles by students within ESEA grant programs that support school counseling, smaller learning communities, community learning centers, and parental involvement in their childrens' education. Revises the professional development program for teachers and principals to include training for physical and health education teachers, and training on improving students' health habits and participation in physical activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund a study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that: (1) assesses the affect health and physical education have on students' ability to learn; and (2) makes recommendations for improving, and measuring improvements to, their health and physical education in schools.
United States · United States Congress · 17 October 2007
Honors Vice President Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for receiving the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of their efforts to promote understanding of the threats posed by global warming.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2007
NASA 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), to mint and issue $50 gold and $1 silver coins emblematic of the 50 years of exemplary and unparalleled achievements of NASA. Requires all such coin sales to include a surcharge of $50 per $50 coin, and of $10 per $1 coin. Requires distribution of the first $4 million to the NASA Family Assistance Fund for financial assistance to the families of NASA personnel who die as a result of injuries suffered in the performance of their official duties. Requires distribution of: (1) one-half of the next $1 million of the remaining amounts to the Dr. Ronald E. McNair Educational (D.R.E.M.E.) Science Literacy Foundation and the Challenger Center for Space Science Education; and (2) the remainder to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution for the preservation, maintenance, and display of space artifacts at the National Air and Space Museum (including the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center). Authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates of the $50 gold coins.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Student Breakfast and Education Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to award competitive grants to states or local educational agencies (LEAs) for the establishment or enhancement of school breakfast programs at, and through the provision of subgrants to, schools where at least 65% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches under the school lunch program. Authorizes schools to use the school breakfast subgrants to: (1) increase the quantity of local or fresh food available under their programs; (2) provide nutrition education and first-hand knowledge of food systems to students; (3) extend the period during which breakfast is available, including during the school day; (4) increase participation in their breakfast programs, including through the provision of universal free breakfasts; or (5) collaborate with institutions of higher education or other research entities in compiling data and reports on their breakfast programs. Gives priority to subgrant applicant schools at least 75% of whose students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches and which intend to use the funds to procure local produce, provide universal free breakfasts, or provide breakfast during the school day. Directs state and LEA grantees, at least 180 days before the end of a grant term, to evaluate whether it would be cost-effective for subgrantee schools to provide universal free breakfasts under the school breakfast program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Advancing FASD Research, Prevention, and Services Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention and Services Program to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish a research agenda for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD); (2) facilitate surveillance, public health research, and prevention of FASD; and (3) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to states and other entities to provide services for individuals with FASD, to educate court, law enforcement, and adoption officials on how to treat and support individuals with FASD, and to provide transitional services for individuals affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. Requires: (1) the Secretary to provide for continuation of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome; and (2) the Comptroller General to evaluate and make recommendations regarding appropriate federal FASD activities. Includes within the grant program for services to individuals with FASD: (1) respite care for caretakers of such individuals, (2) recruitment and training of mentors for such individuals; and (3) educational and supportive services to families of such individuals. Requires the Secretary of Education to direct the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to implement screening procedures and introduce curricula for educating children with FASD. Requires the Attorney General to direct the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to: (1) educate officials on how to treat individuals with FASD; (2) study the inadequacies of the current system for dealing with such individuals; and (3) develop transitional programs for such individuals who are released from incarceration.
United States · United States Congress · 4 October 2007
Authorizes the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Francis Collins for his outstanding contributions in the fields of medicine and genetics.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2007
Designates October 19, 2007, as National Mammography Day.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2007
Recognizes the celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15, 2007, through October 15, 2007. Honors the heritage and culture of Hispanic Americans and their immense contributions to the life of the nation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 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 (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 in accordance with the public safety employee rights and responsibilities regulations establishing collective bargaining procedures for public safety employers and employees in states that do not substantially provide for such 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 orders through appropriate state courts. Prohibits public safety employers, employees, and labor organizations from engaging in lockouts, sickouts, work slowdowns, or strikes. Provides that existing collective bargaining units and agreements shall not be invalidated by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2007
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins in commemoration of disabled American veterans and emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. 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 calendar year 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 · 1 October 2007
Caregiver Assistance and Relief Effort Act of 2007 or the CARE Act of 2007 - Amends the Older Americans Act of 1965 to increase and extend, through FY2011, the authorization of appropriations for the national family caregiver support program, including caregiver support programs for Native Americans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow caregivers a tax credit for family members with long-term care needs; (2) allow a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums; and (3) apply certain consumer protection provisions to long-term care insurance contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Emergency Contraception Education Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop and disseminate to the public information on emergency contraception, including, at a minimum, a description of emergency contraception and an explanation of the use, safety, efficacy, and availability of such contraception. Requires that the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to develop and disseminate to health care providers, including pharmacists, information on emergency contraception that includes, at a minimum: (1) information describing the use, safety, efficacy, and availability of emergency contraception; (2) a recommendation regarding its use in appropriate cases; and (3) information explaining how to obtain copies of information from the CDC.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2007
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 570 Broadway in Bayonne, New Jersey, as the "Dennis P. Collins Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2007
Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for benefits under SSA title XVIII (Medicare); and (2) eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions to become eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study the range of disability conditions that can be delayed or prevented if individuals receive access to health care services and coverage before a condition reaches disability levels.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2007
Sewage Overflow Right-to-Know Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to direct owners or operators of publicly owned treatment works to: (1) institute an alert system for sewer overflows; (2) notify the public of such overflows in areas where human health is potentially affected within 24 hours; (3) immediately notify public health authorities and other affected entities; and (4) provide specified reports to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the state. Makes the alert systems eligible for state water pollution control revolving fund assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2007
Homeowner Tax Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an additional standard tax deduction (available to taxpayers who do not itemize) for state and local real property taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2007
Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act - Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 with respect to hours-of-service requirements airline flight crews must meet to qualify for leave under such Act. Declares that a flight attendant or flight crewmember will be considered to meet such requirements if he or she has been paid for or has worked 60% of the employer's monthly hour or trip guarantee, or the equivalent annualized over the previous 12-month period.
United States · United States Congress · 18 September 2007
Fair Home Health Care Act of 2007 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to exempt certain home health care workers who are employed on a casual basis from the minimum wage and maximum hour requirements under such Act. Defines employment on a "casual basis" as employment which is irregular or intermittent and does not exceed 20 hours per week in the aggregate.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2007
Close the Enron Loophole Act - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to provide that it applies to an agreement, contract, or transaction in an exempt commodity that is executed or traded on an electronic trading facility that is an energy trading center. Prohibits any person from entering into an agreement, contract, or transaction for future delivery of an energy commodity that is not a spot sale of cash commodity or a sale of a cash commodity for deferred shipment or delivery on or through an energy trading facility that is not registered as such with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Sets forth registration criteria. Requires CFTC to ensure that the position limits and accountability levels applicable to contracts in an energy commodity listed for trading on a designated contract market and similar contracts in the same energy commodity listed for trading on an energy trading facility: (1) prevent price manipulation, excessive speculation, price distortion, and disruption of the delivery or cash-settlement process; and (2) are on a parity with each other and are applied in a functionally equivalent manner. Requires CFTC to take necessary action to direct an energy trading facility or a designated contract market to require a person who has exceeded an applicable position limit or accountability level in an energy commodity to limit, reduce, or liquidate any position to prevent or reduce the threat of price manipulation, excessive speculation, price distortion, or disruption of the delivery or cash-settlement process. Sets forth provisions concerning the provision of information and records about energy trading contracts to CFTC. Revises provisions concerning the prohibition on energy contracts designed to defraud or mislead, including by prohibiting any person from cheating or defrauding another person in connection with any contract of sale of any commodity in interstate commerce or for future delivery that is made subject to the rules of a designated contract market for or on behalf of any such person (currently the provisions prohibit members of registered entities, correspondent agents, or employees of members from such actions.) Requires CFTC to issue a rule regarding the requirements for an application for registration for an energy trading facility.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2007
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act - Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to upgrade and unify existing spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) clinical trial sites to establish a national clinical trials network for SMA. Requires the Director of NIH to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of pharmacological approaches to the treatment of SMA; and (2) rapidly and effectively disseminates scientific findings to the field. Requires the Director of NIH to: (1) establish an SMA data coordinating center; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research and medicinal chemistry related to SMA. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and provide ongoing support to the existing SMA patient registry to provide for expanded research on the epidemiology of SMA. Directs the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages with SMA. Requires the Secretary to establish the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Coordinating Committee to: (1) coordinate activities across NIH and with other federal health programs and activities relating to SMA; and (2) conduct a study to identify barriers to the development of drugs for treating SMA and similar genetic disorders. Requires the Director of NIH to establish a trans-National Institutes of Health cooperative research initiative on SMA to ensure the success of the SMA projects led by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Requires the Secretary to submit recommendations to Congress to improve and expand on incentives provided under the Orphan Drug Act and related statutes to promote SMA drug development.
United States · United States Congress · 11 September 2007
Designates the week of October 21-October 27, 2007, as National Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Week.
United States · United States Congress · 10 September 2007
Free Flow of Information Act of 2007 - Prohibits a federal entity from compelling a covered person (journalists and their employers, etc.) to testify or produce any document relating to protected information unless a court makes specified determinations by a preponderance of the evidence, including that all reasonable alternative sources have been exhausted and that nondisclosure would be contrary to the public interest, taking into account both the public interest in compelling disclosure and the public interest in gathering news and maintaining the free flow of information. Requires the content of compelled testimony or documents to be limited and narrowly tailored. Creates exceptions relating to criminal or tortious conduct, prevention of death, kidnapping, or substantial bodily injury, prevention of terrorist activity, or prevention of national security harm. Applies this Act to communications service providers with regard to testimony or any record, information, or other communication that relates to a business transaction between such providers and covered persons. Sets forth notice requirements. Permits a court to delay notice to a covered person upon determining that such notice would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of a criminal investigation. Declares that this Act does not supersede, dilute, or preclude any law or court decision compelling or not compelling disclosure by a covered person or communications service provider of information identifying a source who provided information without a confidentiality promise made as part of engaging in journalism or records, communication data, documents, or information obtained without a confidentiality promise.
United States · United States Congress · 5 September 2007
Declares that as Senator Tim Johnson returns to the Senate, his fellow Members of the Senate extend their warmest welcome and express their personal happiness at his return, and offer their very best wishes for his continued good health.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
Recognizes the religious and historical significance of Diwali, an annual festival celebrated by many South Asians that is particularly significant to Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. Requests the President to issue a proclamation recognizing Diwali.
United States · United States Congress · 3 August 2007
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services should: (1) begin an immediate reconsideration of the final National Coverage Determination on the Use of Erythropoiesis Stimulating Agents in Cancer and Related Neoplastic Conditions (CAG-000383N); (2) consult with members of the clinical oncology community to determine appropriate revisions to it: and (3) implement such revisions as soon as feasible, and brief Congress in advance of announcing such changes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Justice for Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act - Amends the federal judicial code to expand the rights of victims of state-sponsored terrorism by: (1) denying foreign states that support terrorism immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts for cases involving personal injury or death related to the terrorist activities of its officials, employees, or agents; (2) allowing certain nationals of the United States, members of the Armed Forces, and federal employees or contractors a private cause of action against a foreign state designated as a state sponsor of terrorism; (3) making foreign states vicariously liable for the actions of their officials, employees, or agents; (4) limiting appeals in cases against foreign states involving terrorist-related injuries; and (5) establishing a pending lien against property of a foreign state sponsor of terrorism upon the initiation of legal action in the United States against such state.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
No Child Left Inside Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require states, as a prerequisite to receiving implementation grants, to develop environmental literacy plans, approved by the Secretary of Education, for kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) that include environmental education standards and teacher training. Directs the Secretary to award Environmental Education Professional Development Grants to states and, through them, competitive subgrants to partnerships that include an LEA and, permissibly, institutions of higher education (IHE), other educational entities, or state or local natural resource or environmental agencies, for activities involving, among other things, teacher training and the operation of model environmental education programs. Authorizes the Secretary to award competitive matching grants to nonprofit organizations, states, LEAs, or IHEs for activities to improve and support environmental education that include: (1) advancing content and achievement standards; (2) developing or disseminating innovations or model programs; (3) research; and (4) creating new funding sources. Authorizes the use of grants to states out of the Teacher and Principal Training and Recruiting Fund for activities incorporating field-based learning, service learning, and outdoor experiential learning into the curricula and instruction. Authorizes the use of funds under the Fund for the Improvement of Education program to advance environmental education. Amends the Department of Education Organization Act to create an Office of Environmental Education to advance K-12 environmental education and administer environmental education grant programs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Fair Medicaid Drug Payment Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to calculate the federal upper reimbursement limit as no less than 300% of the weighted average (based on utilization) of the most recent average manufacturer prices (AMPs) for pharmaceutically and therapeutically equivalent multiple source drug products available for purchase by retail community pharmacies on a nationwide basis. Directs the Secretary to implement a smoothing process for AMPs to ensure that federal upper reimbursement limits do not vary significantly from month to month as a result of rebates, discounts, and other pricing practices. Requires a state plan to subject to prior authorization all covered outpatient drug products that are innovator multiple source drugs, if such drug products are more expensive than other biologically and therapeutically equivalent drug products available for purchase in that state by retail community pharmacies. Revises requirements for monthly reports to the Secretary of price information by manufacturers subject to rebate agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Public School Repair and Renovation Act of 2007 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to allocate funds to states for competitive school repair and renovation grants to local educational agencies (LEAs). Requires each state, in awarding such grants, to: (1) award high-need and rural LEAs, in the aggregate, at least the same proportion of this Act's LEA funds for the state that they received of total LEA school improvement funds for the state under part A of Title I of the ESEA; and (2) consider the percentage of poor children LEAs serve, the condition of their public schools, and their fiscal capacity to cover repairs and renovations without such a grant. Directs each state to reserve a portion of their allocation for a state-level database of public school facility inventory, condition, design, and utilization. Requires the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the costs of, and public and private expenditures for, repairing, renovating, and constructing public elementary and secondary schools.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Directs the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on contingency planning for the redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. Requires the report to include: (1) specified elements; and (2) contingency planning for each of the specified scenarios.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Toxic Chemical Exposure Reduction Act of 2007 or the TCE Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to publish a health advisory for trichloroethylene that fully protects, with an adequate margin of safety, the health of susceptible populations (including pregnant women, infants, and children), taking into consideration body weight, exposure patterns, and all routes of exposure. Requires the Administrator to promulgate a national primary drinking water regulation for trichloroethylene: (1) that is protective of susceptible populations; and (2) the maximum contaminant level of which is as close to the maximum contaminant level goal for trichloroethylene, and as protective of those susceptible populations, as is feasible. Requires consumer confidence reports to disclose the presence of, and the potential health risks to susceptible populations from exposure to, trichloroethylene in drinking water. Requires the Administrator to: (1) publish a health advisory for trichloroethylene that fully protects the health of susceptible populations from vapor intrusion; (2) establish an integrated risk information system reference concentration of trichloroethylene vapor that is protective of susceptible populations; and (3) apply such reference concentration with respect to any potential vapor intrusion-related investigations or actions to protect public health with respect to trichloroethylene exposure carried out pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 and the Safe Drinking Water Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2007
Prescribe A Book Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: (1) health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; (2) health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and (3) volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children. Requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2007
BRAC Cost Overruns Protection Act of 2007 or BRAC COP Act of 2007 - Amends the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of Defense to report to the congressional defense committees on the costs of implementing recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission that relate to military base closures and realignments that have not been fully implemented. Requires the Secretary to: (1) notify such committees if the Secretary determines that the current estimate of implementation costs for an individual major base closure or realignment is at least 25% greater than the baseline estimate for such closure or realignment; and (2) develop a business plan to reduce the costs of any individual substantially over-budget major base closure or realignment to a level less than 25% greater than its baseline estimate. Directs the: (1) Secretary to submit to the President a recommendation regarding whether to continue implementation of a substantially over-budget major base closure or realignment; and (2) President to report to Congress regarding the implementation of such a closure or realignment. Prohibits the Secretary from continuing or discontinuing the implementation of a substantially over-budget major closure or realignment recommended by the President if a joint resolution disapproving the President's recommendation is enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) railroad safety, including transportation of hazardous materials; (2) deployment of a Gage Restraint Measurement System vehicle and a track geometry vehicle or other comparable technology in each region; (3) construction of the Facility for Underground Rail Station and Tunnel Testing and Training at the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., in Pueblo, Colorado; and (4) rail security personnel in Department of Transportation (DOT) regional offices and in Washington, DC. Provides for the appointment of a Chief Safety Officer for the Federal Railroad Administration. Requires the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to develop: (1) a long-term railroad safety strategy; and (2) a railroad safety risk reduction pilot program. Revises hours of service requirements for train and signal employees to include that such employees may not be required to be on duty for more than 12 consecutive hours. Sets forth requirements for: (1) the prevention and reduction of pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents and other incidents, injuries, and fatalities at or near passenger stations, railroad rights-of-way, and highway-rail grade crossings; and (2) the development of new technology to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings. Requires the Secretary to increase gradually the number of rail safety-related employees at the Federal Railroad Administration. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to require railroad carriers and railroad contractors and subcontractors to develop plans that train certain crafts or classes of employees on relevant federal railroad safety laws and regulations. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) a railroad safety technology grants program; and (2) a railroad safety infrastructure improvement grants program. Directs the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to provide certain assistance to families of passengers involved in a rail passenger accident that results in a major loss of life. Requires a rail passenger carrier to submit to the NTSB, the Secretary, and the Secretary of Homeland Security a plan for addressing the needs of such families. Exempts solid waste management facilities from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board (effectively allowing state and local authorities to regulate solid waste management facilities).
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Coast Guard Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for the Coast Guard. Authorizes FY2008 levels of Coast Guard active duty military personnel and average military training student loads. Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to the Coast Guard to continue deployment of a World Wide Web-based risk management system to help reduce accidents and fatalities. Establishes the Merchant Mariner Medical Advisory Committee. Authorizes the commandant of the Coast Guard to make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements, contracts, or other agreements with, international maritime organizations to acquire information or data about merchant vessel inspections, security, safety and environmental requirements, classification, and port state or flag state law enforcement or oversight. Sets forth various provisions relating to Coast Guard personnel, Coast Guard administrative matters, shipping and navigation, and maritime law enforcement. Requires certain measures to reduce risks related to oil spills and improve response. Provides for maritime hazardous cargo security. Sets forth miscellaneous other provisions.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to make it unlawful to: (1) knowingly sponsor or exhibit an animal in, or knowingly attend, a dog fighting venture; and (2) knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive for purposes of transportation any dog or other animal for the purposes of having the dog, animal, or offspring of the dog or other animal participate in a dog fighting venture. Provides for imprisonment for up to five years for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Labor to make unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments in FY2008-FY2012 by certain transfers from the federal unemployment account to the accounts of the states in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Prescribes a formula for determining the maximum allowable incentive payments. Specifies requirements state law must meet for the state to qualify for such a payment. Limits the use of transferred amounts to the payment of cash unemployment benefits to individuals. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to reserve specified funds out of the federal unemployment account for such incentive payments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2013 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) excise tax imposed on every employer.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution. Declares that nothing in such Act shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of the Army or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act related to discharges: (1) composed entirely of return flows from irrigated agriculture; (2) of stormwater runoff from certain oil, gas, and mining operations composed entirely of flows from precipitation runoff conveyances, which are not contaminated by or in contact with specified materials; or (3) of dredged or fill materials resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities or from activities with respect to which a state has an approved program, or for the purposes of maintenance of currently serviceable structures, construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds, irrigation ditches and maintenance of drainage ditches, or farm, forest, or temporary roads for moving mining equipment in accordance with best management practices, or construction of temporary sedimentation basins on construction sites for which discharges do not include placement of fill material into the waters of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Community Broadband Act of 2007 - Prohibits any state or local government statute, regulation, or other legal requirement from having the effect of prohibiting any public provider from providing advanced telecommunications capability, or related services, to any person or any public or private entity. Defines "public provider" as a state or a political subdivision or instrumentality thereof, an Indian tribe, or any entity owned, controlled, or otherwise affiliated with a state, subdivision, instrumentality, or tribe. Requires, subject to exception, any public provider that regulates competing providers of advanced telecommunications capability or services to apply its ordinances, rules, and policies without discrimination in favor of itself or any other provider it owns or is affiliated with. Requires, subject to exception, a public provider, before it provides advanced telecommunications capability or services, to publish notice and provide local citizens and private-sector entities with an opportunity to be heard.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2007
Fair Pay Restoration Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that an unlawful employment practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice, or when an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid. Accrues liability, and allows an aggrieved person to obtain relief including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practice that has occurred during the charge filing period is similar or related to a practice that occurred outside the charge filing period. Applies certain amendments made by this Act to claims of compensation discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to declare that an unlawful practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when a person becomes subject to the decision or other practice, or when a person is affected by the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid.