United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Toxic Right-to-Know Protection Act - Amends the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 to repeal provisions authorizing the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to modify the frequency of submitting toxic chemical release forms. Requires the Administrator to establish the eligibility threshold regarding the use of a form A certification statement under the Toxics Release Inventory Program at not greater than 500 pounds for nonpersistent bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals. Prohibits the use of such form with respect to any chemical of special concern identified by the Administrator.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Simplification Through Additional Reporting Tax Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to include within the reporting requirements of investment brokers the adjusted basis of any security owned by customers of such brokers.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property.
United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2007
Securing America's Energy Independence Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2016: (1) the energy tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property; and (2) the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures. Allows such credits to be applied against alternative minimum tax liability. Expands the definition of "energy property" for purposes of the tax credit to include certain equipment which uses solar energy to generate or store excess electricity. Provides for a special credit amount for solar photovoltaic energy property and residential energy efficient property based upon kilowatt capacity. Allows a tax credit for the full amount of qualified photovoltaic property expenditures (currently, limited to 30%). Allows accelerated depreciation (three-year recovery period) for solar energy and fuel cell property.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Restoring the Constitution Act of 2007 - Amends federal provisions concerning the prosecution of unlawful enemy combatants by U.S. military commissions to, among other things: (1) repeal the authority for civilian trial (prosecution) counsel in a commission proceeding, but authorize civilian military defense counsel; (2) exclude statements made by coercion; (3) authorize the Secretary of Defense to make exceptions to commission procedures and rules of evidence as required by unique circumstances of military or intelligence operations during hostilities; (4) provide for self-representation by the accused, while requiring assistance by military defense counsel; (5) authorize the military judge to order trial counsel to disclose to defense counsel the sources, methods, or activities in which witnesses or evidence against the accused was obtained; (6) require commission decision review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces rather than by the Court of Military Commission Review; (7) provide the scope of review of detention-related decisions; (8) repeal a provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 prohibiting invoking the Geneva Conventions (Conventions) or similar protocols in any habeas corpus or other action to which the United States is a party; (9) require the President to notify other parties to the Conventions that the United States expects members of U.S. Armed Forces and other U.S. citizens detained in a conflict not of an international character to be treated in a manner consistent with the Conventions; (10) include as War Crime offenses the denial of trial rights and the imposition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; (11) restore habeas corpus for individuals detained by the United States; and (12) provide for expedited judicial review of civil actions that challenges any provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Protecting Children's Health in Schools Act of 2007 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish requirements for providing and receiving reimbursement for school-based health care for children, including children with special needs, and the related administrative and transportation costs covered under Medicaid. Includes health care provided through Medicaid managed care organizations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, acting jointly, to develop and implement a uniform methodology for claims under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Heart Disease Education, Analysis Research, and Treatment for Women Act or the HEART for Women Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the Public Health Service Act to require an application for approval or for investigation of a drug, device, or biological product to include information stratified by sex, race, and ethnicity, including any differences in safety and effectiveness. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) withhold approval of such an application or place a clinical hold on an investigation if such information is not included; and (2) report to the scientific community and make information available to the public on such stratified data upon approval of an application. Requires the Comptroller General to study the drug approval process to ensure compliance with this Act. Requires the Secretary to require that all nonidentifiable patient safety work product reported to a patient safety database be stratified by sex. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), to report to Congress concerning the quality of and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Provides for an educational campaign relating to heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases in women. Authorizes appropriations to enable the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN) program projects in all states and territories.
United States · United States Congress · 13 February 2007
Oil and Gas Traders Oversight Act of 2007 - Amends the Commodity Exchange Act to prescribe reporting and recordkeeping requirements for positions involving energy commodities (a commodity or the derivatives of a commodity used primarily as a source of energy). Directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to subject to the requirements of this Act a contract, agreement, or transaction for future delivery in an energy commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Mental Health Parity Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to require a group health plan that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health benefits to ensure that: (1) the financial requirements applicable to such mental health benefits are no more restrictive than those of substantially all medical and surgical benefits covered by the plan, including deductibles and copayments; and (2) the treatment limitations applicable to such mental health benefits are no more restrictive than those applied to substantially all medical and surgical benefits covered by the plan, including limits on the frequency of treatments or similar limits on the scope or duration of treatment. Prohibits the plan from establishing separate cost sharing requirements that are applicable only with respect to mental health benefits. Excludes from the requirements of this Act any group health plan: (1) for an employer with not more than 50 employees; or (2) whose costs of compliance with this Act increase the total costs of coverage by more than a specified percentage. Supersedes any provision of state law that establishes, implements, or continues in effect any standard or requirement that differs from the requirements of this Act, except for laws relating to the individual insurance market or small employers. Requires the Comptroller General to study the effect of this Act on the cost of health insurance coverage, access to such coverage, the quality of health care, and the impact on benefits and coverage for mental health and substance abuse.
United States · United States Congress · 12 February 2007
Preserving Patient Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals Act of 2007 - Amends the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to revise the classification criterion used to determine whether a hospital or hospital unit is an inpatient rehabilitation facility under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. Eliminates the current schedule of applicable percentages. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, instead, to require in the classification criterion a compliance rate no greater than the 60% compliance rate that became effective for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2005. Requires the Secretary, for cost reporting periods beginning on or after July 1, 2007, to include patients with comorbidity in the inpatient population that counts towards such 60% compliance rate. Requires the Secretary, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, fiscal intermediaries, Medicare administrative contractors, recovery audit contractors, and other government agents to use and apply the criteria established in HCFA Ruling 85-2, as issued on July 31, 1985, as the sole standard for determining the medical necessity of services provided by inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units to beneficiaries under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
High-Performance Green Buildings Act of 2007 - Directs the Administrator of General Services to establish a position of, and appoint, a Director who shall: (1) establish an Office of High-Performance Green Buildings; (2) establish a Green Building Advisory Committee; (3) carry out public outreach; (4) develop and recommend a high-performance green building research plan; (5) develop and implement a comprehensive indoor air quality program for federal facilities; and (6) analyze current budget and contracting practices that affect achievement of high-performance green buildings. Defines a "high-performance green building" as one that, during its life-cycle: (1) reduces energy, water, and material resource use and the generation of waste; (2) improves indoor environmental quality; (3) improves impacts of the building on human health and the environment; (4) increases the use of environmentally preferable products; (5) increases reuse and recycling opportunities; and (6) integrates systems in the building. Authorizes the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide grants to state agencies for use in: (1) providing technical assistance for EPA's programs (including the Tools for Schools Program and the Healthy School Environmental Assessment Tool) to schools for use in addressing environmental issues; and (2) developing state school environmental quality plans. Requires the EPA to develop school site acquisition guidelines that account for: (1) the special vulnerability of children to hazardous substances or pollution exposure where the potential for site contamination exists; (2) available modes of transportation; and (3) potential use of the school as an emergency shelter. Requires the Director to ensure that the public clearinghouse established by this Act receives and makes available information on the exposure of children to environmental hazards in school facilities. Requires the EPA to issue guidelines for states in developing and implementing an environmental health program for schools. Requires the Director to identify incentives to encourage the use of green buildings and related technology in federal government operations Requires the Director of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy to: (1) revise applicable acquisition regulations to require federal facility acquisition, construction, or renovation to optimize energy performance, conserve water, enhance indoor environmental quality, and reduce environmental impacts of materials and waste flows; and (2) issue guidance to federal procurement executives on renegotiating proposed facilities design, existing facilities renovations, and eased facilities improvements. Requires the Director to: (1) consult with the Committee to assist in the implementation of the Environmental Stewardship Scorecard announced at the White House Summit on federal sustainable buildings in 2006; and (2) establish guidelines to implement a specified demonstration projects at federal buildings to contribute to its research goals.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Aviation Security Improvement Act - Extends funding for aviation security. Provides for a system to screen all cargo transported on domestic and foreign passenger airlines. Directs the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA Administrator) to: (1) evaluate the blast-resistant cargo container pilot program and then begin acquisition of containers to meet TSA cargo security program requirements; and (2) develop a system to make such containers available for use by domestic and foreign passenger airlines. Sets forth requirements regarding: (1) preventing explosive devices on passenger planes; (2) deployment of explosive detection systems at airports; (3) not applying certain TSA personnel limitations; (4) specialized training for TSA officers; (5) an appeal process for passengers wrongly delayed or prohibited from boarding a flight; (6) a strategic plan to test and implement an advanced passenger prescreening system; and (7) certification of foreign repair stations. Directs the Administrator to: (1) develop and implement a standardized airport threat and vulnerability assessment program; (2) based on a study, provide grants to airport operators for security upgrade projects; (3) develop a system under which foreign registered aircraft submit specified information to TSA; and (4) report on security credentials of airline crews.
United States · United States Congress · 6 February 2007
Commission to Study the Potential Creation of the National Museum of the American Latino Act of 2007 - Establishes the Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of the American Latino to study and make recommendations to the President and the Congress on a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, DC.
United States · United States Congress · 5 February 2007
Recognizes that African American spirituals are a poignant and powerful genre of music that have become one of the most significant segments of American music in existence. Encourages the people of the United States to reflect on the important contribution of African-American spirituals to U.S. history and to recognize the African-American spiritual as a national treasure.
United States · United States Congress · 1 February 2007
Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary of Veterans Affairs should take into consideration the special needs of veterans suffering from PTSD in developing and implementing the program required under this Act. Directs the Secretary to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans. Requires the program to include: (1) a national mental health campaign to increase mental health awareness in the veteran community; (2) mandatory training on suicide and suicide prevention for appropriate Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees and contractor personnel; (3) family education and peer support counseling; (4) veterans' health assessments, counseling, and treatment programs; (5) suicide prevention counselors; (6) research on suicide prevention; (7) treatment programs for veterans suffering from substance abuse; (8) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (9) a toll-free hotline.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Gang Abatement and Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to define "criminal street gang" and "gang crime" and to prohibit: (1) the commission of a gang crime or crime of violence to further the activities of a criminal street gang ; and (2) the recruitment of another person to join a criminal street gang. Increases criminal penalties for: (1) certain violent crimes in aid of racketeering activity; (2) possession of firearms by repeat offenders; and (3) crimes of violence and drug trafficking crimes committed by illegal aliens. Provides for criminal forfeiture of any property used to commit a gang crime Amends the Controlled Substances Act to impose criminal penalties for murder and other violent crimes committed in the course of a drug trafficking crime. Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) designate certain areas in states as high intensity interstate gang activity areas and to provide assistance to such areas; (2) expand the Project Safe Neighborhoods program to require U.S. attorneys to prosecute criminal street gangs operating in their districts; (3) require the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to increase funding for the Safe Streets Programs and support criminal street gang enforcement teams; (4) conduct media campaigns in high intensity interstate gang activity areas to educate the public about efforts to combat criminal gang activities; and (5) make grants to states to prevent abductions of children by family members. Amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to authorize grants for technology and training to increase accurate identification of gang members and violent offenders. Establishes in the U.S. Marshals Service a Short-Term Witness Protection Section to provide protection for witnesses in state and local trials involving homicide or other violent crimes. Expands the federal witness relocation and protection program to include protection against criminal street gangs.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the Revised Statutes and federal criminal law to prohibit any person, whether acting under color of law or otherwise, from knowingly deceiving any other person regarding: (1) the time, place, or manner of conducting any federal election; or (2) the qualifications for or restrictions on voter eligibility for any such election. Makes intent to prevent another person from exercising the right to vote an essential element of the offense. Creates a private right of action for any person aggrieved by a violation of such prohibition. Prescribes a criminal penalty for such deceptive acts. Directs the U.S. Sentencing Commission to review and, if appropriate, amend the federal sentencing guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of any offense under this Act. Authorizes any person to report to the Attorney General false election information. Requires the Attorney General, immediately after receiving such a report, to consider and review it and, if there is a reasonable basis to find that false information has been communicated, to: (1) undertake all effective measures necessary to provide correct information to voters affected by the false information; (2) refer any pertinent matter to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice for prosecution; and (3) refer the matter to the appropriate federal and state authorities for criminal prosecution or civil action after the election. Directs the Attorney General to study the feasibility of providing such corrective information through public service announcements, the emergency alert system, or other forms of public broadcast. Authorizes the Attorney General to establish a Voting Integrity Task Force.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Nurse Education, Expansion, and Development Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award a grant to each eligible school of nursing to increase the number of nursing faculty and students. Requires such schools to formulate and implement a plan to accomplish at least two of specified goals, which include: (1) establishing or significantly expanding an accelerated baccalaureate degree nursing program designed to graduate new nurses in 12 to 18 months; (2) establishing cooperative interdisciplinary training between schools of nursing and other specified health related fields; (3) increasing admissions, enrollment, and retention of qualified individuals who are financially disadvantaged; (4) increasing enrollment of minority and diverse student populations; (5) increasing enrollment of new graduate baccalaureate nursing students in graduate programs that educate nurse faculty members; (6) developing post-baccalaureate residency programs to prepare nurses for practice in specialty areas where nursing shortages are more severe; and (7) increasing integration of geriatric content into the core curriculum. Requires the Comptroller General to study ways to increase participation in the nurse faculty profession and to submit a report to Congress that includes: (1) a discussion of the master's degree and doctoral degree programs that are successful in placing graduates as faculty in schools of nursing; and (2) an examination of compensation disparities throughout the nursing profession and between higher education instructional faculty generally and higher education instructional nursing faculty.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan or a health issuer offering group health insurance coverage that provides medical and surgical benefits to ensure that inpatient (and in the case of a lumpectomy, outpatient) coverage and radiation therapy are provided for breast cancer treatment. Prohibits such a plan or issuer from: (1) restricting benefits for any hospital length of stay to less than 48 hours in connection with a mastectomy or breast conserving surgery or 24 hours in connection with a lymph node dissection; or (2) requiring that a provider obtain authorization from the plan or issuer for prescribing any such length of stay. Requires such a plan or issuer to: (1) provide notice to each participant and beneficiary regarding the coverage required under this Act; and (2) ensure that full coverage is provided for secondary consultations by specialists in the appropriate medical fields to confirm or refute a diagnosis of cancer. Applies such requirements to health insurance issuers offering coverage in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
John R. Justice Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act of 2007- Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct the Attorney General to assume the obligation to repay student loans for borrowers who agree to remain employed, for at least three years, as: (1) state or local criminal prosecutors; or (2) state, local, or federal public defenders in criminal cases. Allows a borrower and the Attorney General to enter into an additional loan repayment agreement, after the required three-year period, for a successive period of service which may be less than three years. Limits the amount paid under such program on behalf of any borrower to $10,000 per calendar year and $60,000 total.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2007 - Allows the receipt of both military retired pay and veterans' disability compensation with respect to any service-connected disability (currently, only a disability rated at 50 percent or more). States that, in the case of a qualified retiree receiving veterans' disability compensation for a disability rated as total by reason of unemployability, payment of military retired pay is subject to a phase-in of concurrent receipt of both only during the period beginning on January 1, 2004, and ending on December 31, 2007 (currently September 30, 2009). Makes eligible for the full concurrent receipt of both veterans' disability compensation and either military retired pay or combat-related special pay those individuals who were retired or separated from military service due to a service-connected disability.
United States · United States Congress · 31 January 2007
Cleanup Assurance and Polluter Accountability Act of 2007 or CAPA - Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) finalize regulations under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) that require facilities to establish and maintain evidence of financial responsibility for the risk associated with the production, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances; (2) publish proposed financial assurance rules for classes of facilities that present the highest risk associated with such substances; and (3) annually promulgate financial assurance rules for additional classes of facilities, giving highest priority to classes that may contain sites at which unreimbursed response costs are at least $12,000. Requires facilities subject to financial assurance requirements to submit to the EPA: (1) a notification of filings for bankruptcy protection; (2) an estimate of environmental impacts resulting from their activities; and (3) a description of their corporate relationships. Requires the EPA to give priority to the development of requirements for facilities or industries whose prior actions indicate a high risk of default on environmental liabilities. Directs the EPA to require that each affected person: (1) enter a financial assurance agreement that reflects the hazardous substances risk; and (2) provide financial assurances to cover potential response costs and damages. Sets forth factors for the EPA to consider in determining whether to accept financial assurances. Requires the EPA to: (1) make full use of administrative offsets and liens on assets for enforcement purposes; and (2) issue guidance for enforcement of requirements for use of such offsets and liens. Authorizes a trustee in bankruptcy proceedings to avoid any transfer of a debtor's interest in an asset made during the 10 years before the bankruptcy petition is filed, if: (1) the debtor had environmental liability under CERCLA; and (2) the debtor made such transfer with intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any person with respect to such liability. Requires the EPA to report methods to strengthen the government's ability to secure assets needed to pay for response costs at sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Requires the National Bankruptcy Review Commission to evaluate the interaction between bankruptcy and CERCLA and to provide recommendations for action.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
IP-Enabled Voice Communications and Public Safety Act of 2007 - Amends the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999 to impose on IP-enabled voice service providers engaged in interstate or foreign communication a requirement to provide 911 service, including enhanced 911 service, to its subscribers. Requires, for IP-enabled voice service carriers, IP-enabled voice users of 911 communications, and public safety answering points (facilities designated to receive 911 calls and route them to emergency personnel) (PSAPs), parity in liability as compared to local exchange companies, non-wireless 911 service users, and non-wireless PSAPs, respectively. Declares that nothing in this Act, the Communications Act of 1934, the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999, or any Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulation or order prevents states, their subdivisions, or Indian tribes from charging IP-enabled voice services to support 911 or E-911 services. Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to require the E-911 Implementation Coordination Office to develop a national plan for migrating to a national IP-enabled emergency network. Requires, after plan completion, grants for migration to such a network. Authorizes the FCC to compile a list of PSAP contact information or other information on necessary 911 components to assist providers in complying with this paragraph. Allows the FCC to make any part of that information available to the public to improve public safety.
United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2007
National Guard Empowerment Act of 2007 - Expands the: (1) authority of the Chief of the National Guard Bureau (Bureau) to include membership on the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) (and raises the grade of the Chief from lieutenant general to general); and (2) functions of the Bureau to include facilitating and coordinating, with other federal agencies and the states, the use of Guard personnel and resources for, and in, contingency operations, military operations other than war, natural disasters, and support of civil authorities. Directs the Chief to: (1) identify gaps between federal and state capabilities to prepare for and respond to emergencies; and (2) make recommendations to the Secretary of Defense on Guard programs and activities to address such gaps. Requires annual Department of Defense (DOD) budget justification documents to include separate amounts for Guard training and equipment for military assistance to civil authorities and other domestic operations. Expresses the sense of Congress calling for consideration of eligible reserve officers for promotion to the grades of lieutenant general or vice admiral on the active duty list. Treats service as a Bureau adjutant general as joint duty experience. Requires the position of Deputy Commander of the U.S. Northern Command to be filled by a qualified Guard officer eligible for promotion to the grade of lieutenant general. Requires an annual plan for the use of the Armed Forces and National Guard for responding to disasters and acts of terrorism.
United States · United States Congress · 26 January 2007
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, and the Revised Statutes of the United States, to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act of 2007 - States that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory livestock in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such livestock become nonambulatory. Amends the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations providing for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Requires an entity to: (1) humanely euthanize nonambulatory livestock (while not limiting the Secretary's ability to test nonambulatory livestock for disease, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy); and (2) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious, and ensure that such livestock remains unconscious until death. Prohibits an inspector at an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock, carcass, or carcass parts through inspection. Requires an inspector or other employee at such establishment to label such material as "inspected and condemned." Defines "covered entity," "nonambulatory livestock," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Keep Children Covered Act of 2007 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to allot to each remaining shortfall state the amount that the Secretary determines will eliminate the estimated shortfall for the SCHIP program for the state for FY2007. Makes necessary appropriations.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act, or the COAST Anti-Drilling Act - Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing a lease for the exploration, development, or production of oil, natural gas, or any other mineral in either the Mid-Atlantic or the North Atlantic planning areas.
United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2007
Michelle's Law - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance coverage offered in connection with such a plan from terminating the coverage of a dependent child due to a medically necessary leave of absence from a postsecondary educational institution that causes the child to lose full-time status before the date that is the earlier of: (1) one year after the first day of the leave of absence; or (2) the date on which such coverage would otherwise terminate under the terms of the plan. Requires documentation and a certification by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2007
Keeping Families Together Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award competitive matching grants to states to establish systems of care to treat and provide services to all children who are in the custody of the state or at-risk of entering into the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services. Requires states to use grant funds for certain activities, including to: (1) expand public health insurance programs to cover community-based mental health and family support services for such children and their families that will be sustainable after the grant has expired; (2) provide outreach and public education concerning available programs and activities; and (3) provide training and professional development for personnel who work with such children. Requires the Administrator to establish a task force to examine: (1) problems of mental health in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems; (2) issues with respect to access by children and youth to mental health services; and (3) the role of federal agencies in promoting access by children and youth to mental health services.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
COPS Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to expand the authority of the Attorney General to make grants for public safety and community policing programs (COPS ON THE BEAT grant program). Authorizes grants to: (1) hire school resource officers and establish local partnerships to combat crime, gangs, drug activities, and other problems in elementary and secondary schools; (2) establish and implement programs to reduce and prevent illegal drug activities, including the manufacturing, distribution, and use of methamphetamine; and (3) meet emerging law enforcement needs, as warranted. Authorizes the use of COPS ON THE BEAT grants to hire former members of the Armed Forces to serve as career law enforcement officers. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) assigning prosecutors to handle cases from specific geographic areas and to address counter-terrorism problems and violent crime in local communities; and (2) developing new technologies to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in crime prevention and training. Grants the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services exclusive authority to perform functions and activities under COPS ON THE BEAT grant program. Authorizes the Attorney General to extend grant periods and to renew grants if the grant recipient can demonstrate significant progress in achieving the objectives of the initial grant application.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to revise the prohibition on importing convict-made goods into the United States to make it unlawful to: (1) import into, or export from, the United States any sweatshop good; or (2) introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell, or transport or distribute in U.S. commerce, any sweatshop good. Grants the President, for reasons of national interest, authority to recommend waiver of the applications set forth in this Act in connection with the goods of any country with respect to one or more of the principles and rights defined in this Act as a core labor standard. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such a waiver. Makes it unlawful for persons to introduce into commerce, sell, trade, or advertise in commerce, offer to sell or transport or distribute in commerce any sweatshop good. Requires the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to enforce this prohibition as if it were an unfair or deceptive act or practice proscribed under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Allows specified persons with standing to bring a civil action in U.S. district courts against sellers of goods, wares, articles, or merchandise on grounds of a violation of such prohibition. Prohibits executive agencies and the Armed Forces from entering into procurement contracts for sweatshop goods. Prohibits anything in this Act from being construed to preempt a state from regulating labor standards required in the mining, production, or manufacture of merchandise purchased by the state.
United States · United States Congress · 23 January 2007
Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Act - Authorizes the President to award a medal to be known as the "Fallen Heroes of 9/11 Congressional Medal," to the personal representative or next of kin of individuals killed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in recognition of their sacrifice and to honor their deaths. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to strike three medals, to be representative of and in honor of, respectively: (1) victims of the attack at the World Trade Center, including civilians, public safety officers, emergency workers, and hijack victims; (2) victims aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania; and (3) victims at the Pentagon, including the hijack victims. Declares eligible for such medal any individual who died on or after September 11, 2001, as a direct result of that act of terrorism within the United States. States the medals are national medals.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Public Health Service Act to expand the prohibition against discrimination by group health plans and health insurance issuers in the group and individual markets on the basis of genetic information or services to prohibit: (1) enrollment and premium discrimination based on information about a request for or receipt of genetic services; and (2) requiring genetic testing. Sets forth penalties for violations. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to prohibit issuers of Medicare supplemental policies from discriminating on the basis of genetic information. Extends medical privacy and confidentiality rules to the disclosure of genetic information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate against an individual or deprive such individual of employment opportunities because of genetic information. Prohibits the collection and disclosure of genetic information, with certain exceptions. Establishes a Genetic Nondiscrimination Study Commission to review the developing science of genetics and advise Congress on the advisability of providing for a disparate impact cause of action under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act - Revises corporate average fuel economy standards (CAFE Standards) for automobiles to exclude light trucks (currently, only passenger automobiles are excluded) from such standards. Prescribes graduated increased average fuel economy standards for passenger automobiles and light trucks beginning in model year 2010 in order to achieve a combined average fuel economy standard of at least 35 miles per gallon (or such other number of miles per gallon as the Secretary may prescribe) beginning in model year 2019. Prohibits such regulations from making any distinction between passenger automobiles and light trucks by not later than model year 2013 (effectively eliminating the SUV loophole). Sets forth minimum CAFE standards for domestic and foreign passenger automobiles manufactured in a model year prior to enactment of this Act. Prescribes maximum CAFE standards for: (1) work trucks manufactured beginning in model year 2013; and (2) light trucks manufactured beginning in model year 2010. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to issue a motor vehicle safety standard to reduce vehicle incompatibility and agressivity between passenger vehicles and non-passenger vehicles. Requires passenger automobiles and light trucks be equipped with fuel economy indicators and devices beginning with model year 2014. Authorizes the Secretary to establish a CAFE credit trading program to allow manufacturers whose automobiles exceed CAFE standards to earn credits to be sold to manufacturers whose automobiles fail to achieve such standards. Revises fuel economy labeling requirements to require labels attached to passenger automobiles and light trucks to also include greenhouse gas and other emissions consequences information.
United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2007
Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require each institution participating in any program under the Act to provide to all current students and employees, and to any applicant for enrollment or employment upon request, an annual fire safety report containing specified information about the campus fire safety practices and standards of that institution. Requires such institutions to: (1) record all on-campus fires, including the nature, date, time, and general location of each fire and all unwanted and false fire alarms; and (2) open such information to public inspection. Requires the institutions to report on such information annually to the campus community in a manner that will aid the prevention of similar occurrences. Directs each institution to require the national organizing bodies of the fraternities, sororities, and other student groups they recognize to collect specified fire safety information for each student housing facility they own, control, or occupy and report such information to the Secretary of Education, all current members, and to any interested party upon request. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on fire safety systems and standards in institution and student housing facilities, and on exemplary fire safety education and training programs at such institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy Act or DRIVE Act - Instructs the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to publish in the Federal Register an oil savings target and action plan for specified calendar years. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop: (1) a fuel efficiency consumer education program for motor vehicle tires; (2) a fuel efficiency program for passenger automobile and light truck tires; and (3) a program to designate Transit-Oriented Development Corridors. Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to: (1) develop a testing and assessment program to determine heavy duty vehicle fuel economy; (2) establish a task force to develop minimum certification standards for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; and (3) establish a near-term electric transportation deployment program. Instructs the Secretary of Transportation to prescribe average heavy duty vehicle fuel economy standards. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a tax credit for 50% of the cost and installation (up to $3,500) of a qualifying idling reduction device (includes off-truck infrastructure equipment) on a heavy-duty diesel-powered on-highway vehicle; (2) allow a credit for 35% of the advanced motor vehicle technology expenses of certain motor vehicle manufacturers or component parts manufacturers; (3) terminate the limitation on the number of new qualified hybrid and advanced lean burn vehicles eligible for the alternative motor vehicle credit; (4) extend the alternative motor vehicle credit; (5) establish a fuel-efficient tax credit for private fleets; (6) subject heavy vehicles to the depreciation limitation for certain luxury automobiles; (7) increase the alternative fuel vehicle refueling property credit; (8) extend biodiesel income and excise tax credits; (9) increase the small ethanol producer tax credit for sucrose and cellulosic ethanol producers; and (10) provide plug-in electric vehicle incentives. Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) establish a lightweight material research and development program; (2) carry out a research and commercial application program for electric drive transportation technology and engine dominant hybrid vehicle technology; (3) provide hybrid technology loan guarantees; and (4) require that by FY2016 each federal agency achieve at least a 30% reduction in its fleet petroleum consumption, and have at least 30% of its alternative fuel vehicles be hybrid or lean burn vehicles; (5) establish an alternative fuels pilot grant program; and (6) conduct a national media campaign to decrease U.S. oil consumption over the next decade. Sets forth a federal agency motor vehicle efficiency and fuel requirements. Requires certain minimum percentages of light-duty motor vehicles manufactured for model years 2012 and beyond to use specified propulsion technologies and fuels. Amends the Clean Air Act to prescribe minimum annual quantities of renewable fuel from cellulosic biomass and sugar. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a low-interest loan and grant program for farmer-owned ethanol producers to develop infrastructure, including pump stations, for the retail delivery of any fuel containing at least 85% ethanol.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of items and services under a cardiac rehabilitation program and a pulmonary rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2007
Requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to suspend the use of private debt collection companies to collect unpaid taxes and prohibits the use of any IRS funds for tax collection contracts with private companies.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Disabled Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow members of the uniformed services whose retired pay in any taxable year is reduced due to an award of disability compensation by the Department of Veterans Affairs an extension of the three-year limitation period for filing tax refund claims until one year after the date of a disability determination. Limits the period for which such refund claims may be filed to taxable years beginning less than five years before the date of a disability determination.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Ensuring Implementation of the 9/11 Commission Report Act - Homeland Emergency Response Operations Act or the HERO Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete assignment of the electromagnetic spectrum for public safety services to permit operation by December 31, 2007. Requires reports respecting: (1) a unified incident command system; (2) a national critical infrastructure risk and vulnerabilities assessment; and (3) private sector preparedness. Faster and Smarter Funding for First Responders Act of 2005 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grant program to assist state and local governments in achieving essential capabilities for terrorism preparedness. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to: (1) establish an Office of the Comptroller within the Office for Domestic Preparedness, a First Responder Grants Board, and a Task Force on Terrorism Preparedness for First Responders; and (2) promulgate national voluntary standards for first responder equipment. Requires reports by: (1) DHS on a unified incident command system, a national critical infrastructure risk and vulnerabilities assessment, the comprehensive screening system, a biometric entry and exit data system, international collaboration on border and document security, and standardization of secure identification; (2) the Comptroller General on private sector preparedness, federal first responder training programs, and terrorist watch list consolidation; (3) the Secretary of Transportation on a national strategy for transportation security on airline passenger screening, on explosives detection at airline screening checkpoints, and on the comprehensive screening program; (4) the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center on collection and analysis of intelligence on terrorist travel; (5) the Commissioner of Social Security on social security card security enhancements; (6) the Director of National Intelligence on implementation of goals, and establishment of a National Counterterrorism Center; (7) the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on the creation of an FBI national security workforce; (8) the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); (9) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on information sharing incentives and on the leadership of the President of national security institutions in the information revolution; (10) the Secretary of Defense on Northern Command plans for homeland defense; and (11) the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on security clearance standardization. Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Defense to each report on homeland airspace defense. Directs the Attorney General to report on specified areas of civil liberties and security and executive power, including government sharing of personal information. 9/11 Commission Civil Liberties Board Act - Revises provisions concerning the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. Provides for the designation of privacy and civil liberties officers. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require fingerprints in passports. Requires specified reports on the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and the policy goals of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Revises provisions concerning the House and Senate intelligence committees. Requires public disclosure by the President of certain intelligence funding. Expresses the sense of Congress respecting: (1) Afghanistan; (2) Pakistan; (3) Saudi Arabia; (4) coalition strategy against Islamic terrorism; (5) the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI); (6) the Proliferation Security Initiative; and (7) nuclear weapons and materials security standards. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) terrorist sanctuary elimination; (2) standards for detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists; (3) economic policies to combat terrorism; (4) terrorist financing; and (5) public diplomacy, scholarship, exchange, and library programs in the Islamic world, and international broadcasting. Omnibus Nonproliferation and Anti-Nuclear Terrorism Act of 2007 - Establishes the Office of Nonproliferation Programs in the Executive Office of the President. Sets forth provisions concerning: (1) removal of certain restrictions on cooperative threat reduction and energy nonproliferation programs, and modification of such programs' fund use outside the former Soviet Union; (2) the Global Threat Reduction Initiative; (3) Russia's tactical and non-strategic nuclear weapons; (4) research and development of alternative use of weapons of mass destruction expertise; (5) nonproliferation activities; and (6) strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 17 January 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) it is not in the U.S. national interest to deepen its military involvement in Iraq, particularly by escalating the U.S. military presence in Iraq; (2) the primary objective of U.S. strategy in Iraq should be to have the Iraqi political leaders make the political compromises necessary to end the violence in Iraq; (3) greater regional and international support would assist the Iraqis in achieving a political solution and national reconciliation; (4) main elements of U.S. forces in Iraq should transition to helping ensure Iraq's territorial integrity, conduct counterterrorism activities, reduce regional interference in Iraq's internal affairs, and accelerate training of Iraqi troops; (5) the United States should transfer, under an appropriately expedited timeline, responsibility for internal security and halting sectarian violence in Iraq to the government of Iraq and Iraqi security forces; and (6) the United States should engage nations in the Middle East to develop a regional, internationally-sponsored peace and reconciliation process for Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for Amtrak for FY2007-FY2012. Authorizes Amtrak to contract for the operation of an intercity rail service or route not included in the national rail passenger transportation system. Requires Amtrak to: (1) implement a modern financial accounting and reporting system; (2) submit an annual budget and business plan and a five-year financial plan; (3) submit grant requests for specified authorizations of appropriations, including for its operating and capital grants and debt repayment; (4) develop and implement a standardized methodology for establishing and allocating the operating and capital costs among the states and Amtrak associated with trains operated on state supported routes. Requires an independent auditor to develop and recommend objective methodologies for determining intercity passenger routes and services. Provides for: (1) minimum standards for measuring performance and service; (2) investigations of substandard performance; (3) annual evaluations of the financial and operating performance of each long distance passenger rail route; (4) passenger rail service to be provided by alternate carriers on certain Amtrak routes; (5) a northeast corridor state-of-good-repair plan; and (6) restructuring Amtrak's indebtedness. Authorizes: (1) grants to states for the capital costs of facilities and equipment necessary to provide or improve intercity passenger rail transportation; (2) a state to prepare and maintain a state rail plan. Requires Amtrak to establish a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee, comprised of representatives of Amtrak, the Federal Railroad Administration, and interested states. Provides, in order to carry out all railroad safety laws, for eight safety offices for eight geographical regions. Surface Transportation and Rail Security Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a task force to complete a vulnerability and risk assessment of freight and passenger rail transportation. Provides for: (1) systemwide Amtrak security upgrade grants; (2) grants for fire and life-safety improvements to Amtrak tunnels on the Northeast Corridor; and (3) grants for freight and passenger rail security upgrades. Provides funding for oversight of capital projects and management plans. Requires a plan for addressing the needs of the families of passengers involved in any Amtrak intercity train rail passenger accident resulting in a loss of life. Requires a railworker security training program. Provides for whistleblower protection for rail security matters. Requires rail carriers transporting hazardous materials to develop high hazard material security threat mitigation plans. Encourages the equipping of rail cars transporting high hazard materials with wireless communications technology.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to set forth provisions concerning global warming pollution emissions. Directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to: (1) set milestones to reduce the aggregate net levels of emissions (authorizes EPA to establish market-based programs to achieve such reduction); (2) require each fleet of automobiles sold by a manufacturer beginning in model year 2016 to meet emission standards; (3) contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study the potential contribution of the non-highway portion of the transportation sector towards meeting the emission reduction goal; (4) require that electric generation units meet an emission standard that is not higher than the emission rate of a new combined cycle natural gas generating unit; and (5) establish a low-carbon generation trading program. Requires covered generators to provide a minimum percentage of the base quantity of electricity produced for sale from low-carbon generation. Requires EPA to: (1) establish a competitive grant program for geological disposal deployment projects; and (2) carry out a global climate change standards and processes research program. Expresses the sense of the Senate that federal funds for clean, low-carbon energy research, development, and deployment should be increased by at least 100% each year for 10 years. Directs: (1) EPA to promulgate requirements concerning the energy efficiency and peak load reduction of electricity suppliers and to establish a renewable energy credit program; (2) the Secretary of Agriculture to establish standards for accrediting certified reductions in carbon dioxide emissions through biological sequestration activities; and (3) major stationary sources to report to EPA on emissions of global warming pollutants. Requires the President to establish the Task Force on International Clean, Low Carbon Energy Cooperation. Authorizes the President to adjust, suspend, or waive any regulation promulgated pursuant to this Act in a national emergency. Requires EPA to require that gasoline contain the applicable volume of low-carbon renewable fuel. Directs EPA to require manufacturers to meet standards for new motor vehicles or engines. Requires executive agency automobiles to be as fuel-efficient as practicable. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Commerce to report on the effects of U.S. failure to adopt measures that require or result in a reduction in total emissions in accordance with the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; (2) the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require securities issuers to inform investors of risks relating to global warming; and (3) the SEC to clarify that U.S. commitments to reduce emissions under the Framework are considered to be a material effect and that global warming constitutes a known trend. Directs federal agency environmental impact statements or analyses to evaluate the effects on, and impact of, global warming.
United States · United States Congress · 16 January 2007
Expresses the sense of the Senate that the United States should act to reduce risks posed by global climate change and to foster economic growth by: (1) participating in negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and leading efforts in other international fora with the objective of securing U.S. participation in binding agreements that advance and protect U.S. interests, that establish mitigation commitments by all countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases, that establish flexible international mechanisms to minimize the cost of efforts by participating countries, and that achieve a significant long-term reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions; and (2) establishing a bipartisan Senate observer group to monitor international negotiations on climate change and to ensure that the advice and consent function of the Senate is exercised to facilitate timely consideration of any applicable treaty.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2007
Observes and celebrates the national holiday honoring Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. Honors his example of nonviolence, courage, compassion, dignity, and public service. Pledges to advance the legacy of the Dr. King and encourages the U.S. people to celebrate the holiday and his life and legacy.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2007
Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act - Includes as a protected disclosure by a federal employee any lawful disclosure an employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible evidence of any violation of law, waste, abuse, or gross mismanagement, without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure. Sets forth provisions concerning review and appeal of actions concerning such disclosures. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to provide that, for purposes of provisions regarding the protection of voluntarily shared critical infrastructure information, a permissible use of independently obtained critical infrastructure information includes any lawful disclosure an employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible evidence of any violation of law, waste, fraud, abuse, or gross mismanagement, without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure. Requires agencies to inform employees on how to make a lawful disclosure of information.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2007
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) sponsoring or exhibiting a bird in a fighting venture in a state where it would not otherwise be in violation of the law, only if the person knew that any bird in the venture was knowingly bought, sold, delivered, transported, or received in interstate or foreign commerce for such purpose; or (2) knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting in an animal fighting venture any other animal that was moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Prohibits knowingly: (1) selling, buying, transporting, delivering, or receiving, for purposes of transportation in interstate or foreign commerce, any dog or other animal to participate in an animal fighting venture; (2) using interstate mail service for commercial speech promoting an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the states (with an exception for bird fights in states whose laws allow them); or (3) selling, buying, transporting, or delivering in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument to be attached to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture. Increases the penalties to a fine and up to three years' imprisonment for violations.
![Official portrait of Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000123_200.jpg)