United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early Act or PREEMIE Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and coordinate NIH research on preterm labor and delivery, infant mortality, and low birthweight infants. Establishes the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network and the Neonatal Research Units Network within NIH. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to: (1) expand and coordinate CDC activities on preterm labor and delivery and infant mortality; (2) conduct a study on the relationship between prematurity, birth defects, and developmental disabilities; and (3) review the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring Survey. Requires the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's national longitudinal study of environmental influences on children's health and development to consider the impact of assisted reproduction technologies. Requires the Director of NIH to contract with the Institute of Medicine to study the health and economic consequences of preterm birth. Directs the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to assess certain core performance and outcome measures utilized under the Social Security Act for purposes of expanding such measures to include known risk factors of low birthweight and prematurity. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct a demonstration project to improve the provision of information on prematurity to health professionals and the public; (2) conduct projects to support the informational and emotional needs of families during the stay of an infant in a neonatal intensive care unit, during the transition of the infant to the home, and in the event of a newborn death; and (3) establish an Interagency Coordinating Council on Prematurity and Low Birthweight.
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to reduce, through December 31, 2008, the duty on certain sorbic acid (hexadienic acid) (2,4-hexadienoic acid).
United States · United States Congress · 5 April 2005
Joins the world in mourning the death of Pope John Paul II, and pays tribute to him by pledging to be ever faithful to our national calling to be "one Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,'' and to help our neighbors in immeasurable ways.
United States · United States Congress · 4 April 2005
Amends the Department of Commerce and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to prohibit U.S. courts from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any assertion of rights by an individual (currently, by a designated Cuban national) of a mark, trade name, or commercial name that was used in connection with a business or assets that were confiscated by the Cuban government unless the original owner of such mark or name, or such owner's bona fide successor, has expressly consented. Applies such prohibition only if the individual asserting the rights knew or had reason to know at the time of acquiring the rights asserted that the mark or name was the same or substantially similar to the mark or name used in connection with the business or assets that were confiscated.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act - Directs the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) created by this Act to establish a modern system for regulating rates and classes for market-dominant products. Specifies regulatory requirements for workshare discounts. Directs United States Postal Service (USPS) Governors to establish rates and classes for products in the competitive category of mail. Authorizes the USPS to conduct market tests of experimental products. Establishes a Postal Service Competitive Products Fund. Prohibits the USPS from engaging in unfair competition. Abrogates the USPS's immunity from suit for violations of the Trademark Act of 1946 and those provisions of the Federal Trade Commission Act concerning unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Sets forth qualifications and requirements for Governors. Requires the appointment of a mediator (in lieu of current factfinding panel) in the event of USPS labor disputes. Authorizes USPS bonuses or other awards to Postal Service officers and employees in senior executive or equivalent positions. Replaces the Postal Rate Commission with the Postal Regulatory Commission. Postal Civil Service Retirement and Health Benefits Funding Amendments of 2004 - Modifies the USPS's contributions to the Civil Service Retirement System. Establishes a USPS Retiree Health Benefits Fund. Repeals a provision of the Postal Civil Service Retirement System Funding Reform Act of 2003 which addressed the disposition of savings under that Act. Addresses the temporary disability and disability retirement of postal employees. Expresses the sense of Congress regarding Postal Service purchasing reform.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Convention Against Torture Implementation Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of State to submit to the appropriate congressional committees an annual list of countries where torture is known to be used. Prohibits the direct or indirect transfer or return of persons by the United States or any contractor: (1) to a listed country; or (2) if substantial grounds exist for believing a person would be in danger of torture. Sets forth conditions under which: (1) the Secretary may waive such transfer prohibition; and (2) a treaty-based transfer may occur.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Childproof Handgun Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit any person who is not a licensed collector from manufacturing, selling, delivering, or transferring a handgun that cannot be personalized, with exceptions for individuals acting under the authority of the United States, a State, or a political subdivision. Defines "personalized" to mean a handgun that incorporates a device or feature that: (1) allows the handgun to be fired only by a particular individual; (2) is not capable of being readily deactivated; and (3) may allow the handgun to be personalized to one or more additional individuals. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study to determine whether the technology involved in personalizing firearms will be commercially feasible within five years considering criteria including the reliability of the technology and the difference in price for personalized firearms and equivalent firearms that are not personalized.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Equity for Our Nation's Self Employed Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow self-employed individuals to deduct health insurance costs in computing the tax on self-employment income.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration, including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Allows the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if the Secretary determines that such regulation would be appropriate for the protection of the public health. Prohibits such regulations from: (1) limiting product sales or distribution to authorization of a practitioner licensed to prescribe medical products; (2) prohibiting product sales in face-to-face transactions by a specific category of retail outlets; or (3) establishing a minimum age greater than 18 years of age for product purchases. Prohibits cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health, but reserves to Congress the power to ban any tobacco products or reduce the nicotine level to zero. Allows the Secretary to take specified actions, including public notification and recall, against unreasonably harmful products. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) judicial review; (2) coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (3) congressional review of regulations; and (4) state and local authority. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act to change cigarette warning label and advertising requirements. Amends the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education Act of 1986 to change smokeless tobacco warning label and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Joins the people of the United States in deploring and condemning Irish Republican Army (IRA) violence and criminality in Northern Ireland. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) Robert McCartney's sisters and fiancee deserve full U.S. support in their pursuit of justice; (2) Sinn Fein leadership should insist that those responsible for the murder and witnesses to the murder cooperate directly with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and be protected from IRA retaliation; and (3) the U.S. Government should offer all appropriate assistance to Northern Ireland law enforcement authorities to see that the murderers of Robert McCartney are brought to justice.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Designates April 2005 as Financial Literacy Month to raise public awareness about the importance of financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may be associated with a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Expresses support for the designation of National Brain Injury Awareness Month (March has been recognized as such by the Brain Injury Association of America).
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins emblematic of the design selected by the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation for the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, in commemoration of disabled American veterans. Restricts such coin issuance period to the calendar year beginning on January 1, 2010. Requires a $10 dollar surcharge from such coin sales to be paid to the Disabled Veterans' LIFE Memorial Foundation in order to establish an endowment to support the construction of the American Veterans' Disabled for Life Memorial in Washington, D.C.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Authorizes the President to extend unconditional and permanent nondiscriminatory (permanent normal trade relations) treatment to the products of the Ukraine.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to reinstate the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act's assault weapons ban to prohibit: (1) the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon; (2) the transfer, possession, or importation of a large capacity ammunition feeding device; (3) the transfer of any assault weapon with such a device. Specifies models and features of banned weapons. Sets forth exceptions to such ban, including: (1) firearms or devices lawfully possessed under Federal law on the date of enactment of this Act; (2) any firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action that has been rendered permanently inoperable or is an antique firearm; and (3) firearms manufactured for, transferred to, or possessed by a Federal, State, or local government agency or for law enforcement. Prohibits: (1) any person from transferring a semiautomatic assault weapon to which the ban does not apply, except through a licensed dealer or a State or local law enforcement agency; or (2) a licensed manufacturer, importer, or dealer who transfers a device manufactured before enactment of this Act to fail to certify such date of manufacture. Requires the serial number of any weapon or device manufactured after the enactment of this Act to clearly show the date of manufacture. Directs the Attorney General to: (1) maintain, submit to Congress, and make publicly available a record of any semiautomatic assault weapon used in relation to a crime; and (2) study and report to Congress on the effects of this Act on violent and drug trafficking crime. Prohibits the transfer of such a weapon or device to a juvenile.
United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2005
Small Employers Health Benefits Program Act of 2005 - Directs the Office of Personnel Management to administer a separate health insurance program for non-Federal employees who are either self-employed or employees of a small business with fewer than 100 employees. Allows the Office to contract with carriers to provide health insurance under this Act. Requires rates charged to reasonably and equitably reflect the costs of the benefits provided. Requires a carrier to determine the amount of premiums to assess for coverage based on a community rate that may be annually adjusted based on geographic area, family status, and age. Permits the Office to reimburse a carrier for costs that exceed premiums received by a specified percentage. Requires a carrier to make payments to a contingency reserve fund established by the Office if the carrier's costs are lower than expected by a specified percentage. Allows the Office to use such funds to provide assistance to carriers that experience unanticipated financial hardships. Requires the Office to establish a reinsurance fund to provide payments to carriers that experience a catastrophic claim (a claim over $50,000) for benefits provided to an individual enrolled under this Act. Allows a participating employer to offer supplemental coverage options to employees for excepted benefits that are not subject to the Public Health Service Act requirements for health plans. Authorizes the Office to contract with entities to administer this health program regionally. Allows certain benefits to be offered to Medicare beneficiaries. Requires the Office to implement a public education campaign regarding this health insurance program. Allows a refundable tax credit for health insurance expenses of small employers who pay a specific percentage of employee expenses under such a health plan.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Constitutional Amendment - States that equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Urges the European Union (EU) to classify Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Condemns Hezbollah's continuous terrorist attacks, and its support of Palestinian terrorist organizations on the EU terrorist list, such as the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
Emergency Medical Services Support Act - Requires the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Homeland Security, through the Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response, to establish a Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services to improve coordination and enhance support of emergency medical services (EMS). Establishes a Federal Interagency Committee on Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council to make recommendations on EMS topics to the Committee. Requires the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to provide administrative support to both the Committee and the Council.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2005
Social Security Fairness Act of 2005 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) Government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Ronald Reagan Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to make Alzheimer's disease research a priority within the National Institute on Aging. Requires the Director of the Institute to: (1) undertake an Alzheimer's Disease Prevention Initiative to accelerate the discovery of new risk and protective factors, to rapidly identify therapies and preventive interventions, and to implement effective prevention and treatment strategies; (2) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's; and (3) conduct research concerning early detection and diagnosis, the relationship between Alzheimer's and vascular disease, and interventions designed to help caregivers. Authorizes the Director to establish a National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center to facilitate collaboration among Alzheimer's Disease Centers and Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to educate the public and public health community regarding Alzheimer's disease. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop coordinated respite care programs on a statewide basis. Defines "respite care" to mean planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with a special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of such child or adult. Directs the Secretary to award a grant or cooperative agreement to a public or private nonprofit entity to establish a National Resource Center on Lifespan Respite Care. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a nonrefundable tax credit for each individual certified as having long-term care needs and for whom the taxpayer is acting as a caregiver; (2) a tax deduction for long-term care premiums paid under a qualified insurance contract; and (3) qualified long-term care insurance to be offered in a cafeteria plan and flexible spending arrangements.
United States · United States Congress · 10 March 2005
Recognizes: (1) Yad Vashem as a trustee of the World's conscience, so that the meaning of ``never again'' becomes the living foundation of our collective humanity; and (2) that March 15, 2005, the date of the dedication of Yad Vashem's expanded facilities, is a date of historical significance that will be remembered as such by future generations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Educational Opportunity for All Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a refundable tax credit for qualfied tuition expenses. Defines "qualified tuition expenses" as tuition required for the enrollment of the taxpayer, the taxpayer's spouse or dependents at an institution of higher learning. Limits the annual amount of such credit to $4,000 per student.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Little Rock Central High School Desegregation 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 $1 coins emblematic of the desegregation of the Little Rock Central High School and its contribution to civil rights in America, beginning January 1, 2007. Terminates such minting authority after December 31, 2007. States that all sales shall include a surcharge of $10 per coin, to be equally divided and paid to: (1) the Jefferson National Parks Association for the purpose of providing support for programs and other developmental activities at the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site and support for the ongoing mission of the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior for site improvements at the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, including the establishment of cooperative agreements to preserve and restore the historic character of the vicinity in the historic site's boundaries. States that Congress intends for such surcharges to supplement amounts provided to the Secretary in appropriation Acts for the Little Rock Central High National Historic Site, and are not intended to be a substitute for such appropriated amounts.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Terrorist Apprehension and Record Retention Act of 2005 or the TARR Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to provide that if the national criminal background check system indicates that a person attempting to purchase a firearm or applying for a State permit to possess, acquire, or carry a firearm is identified as a known or suspected member of a terrorist organization in records maintained by the Department of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security, including the Violent Gang and Terrorist Organization File or records maintained by the Intelligence Community: (1) all information related to the prospective transaction shall be automatically and immediately transmitted to the appropriate Federal and State counterterrorism officials, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); (2) the FBI shall coordinate the response; and (3) all records generated in the course of the check that are obtained by Federal and State officials shall be retained for at least ten years.
United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2005
Amends the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act to: (1) prohibit the sale or transfer for commercial product processing of any free-roaming horse or burro on U.S. public lands; and (2) repeal the provisions permitting the sale of certain excess animals or their remains, and excluding from criminal fine or imprisonment a person who processes or permits the processing of such animals' remains.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Microbicide Development Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the Office of AIDS Research to: (1) expedite the implementation of the Federal strategic plan for the conduct and support of microbicide research; and (2) expand, intensify, and coordinate all activities with respect to research and development of microbicides to prevent the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to: (1) establish within the Division of AIDS an organizational unit to carry out microbicide research and development; and (2) assign priority to ensuring adequate funding and support for the integration of basic science and clinical research. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to fully implement the CDC's topical microbicide agenda to support microbicide research and development. Directs the head of the Office of HIV/AIDS of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop and implement a program to support the development of microbicides products and facilitate wide-scale availability of such products.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Traffic Safety Law Enforcement Campaign Act - Directs the Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to: (1) establish a program to conduct at least three high-visibility traffic safety law enforcement campaigns each year focusing on reducing alcohol-impaired driving and increasing seat belt use; and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the campaigns at the end of each year.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Protection of Vulnerable Populations During Humanitarian Emergencies Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of State to: (1) develop a comprehensive strategy for the protection of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, who are affected by a humanitarian emergency; and (2) designate an individual within the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the coordinator for such efforts. Authorizes USAID to establish a fellowship program to increase USAID expertise in carrying out protective activities of vulnerable populations, especially women and children, affected by a humanitarian emergency. Prohibits certain Department or USAID funds for refugees or internally displaced persons to be provided to a primary grantee or contractor unless the grantee or contractor has adopted a code of conduct that is consistent with the six core principles recommended by the United Nations (UN) Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Directs the coordinator to seek to provide health services to vulnerable populations, including: (1) prevention of of sexual violence; (2) reduction of HIV transmission; (3) provision of obstetric care; and (4) integrating women's health services into the primary health care services provided during a humanitarian emergency. Amends the Microenterprise for Self-Reliance Act of 2000 to seek to extend microcredit program availability to vulnerable populations. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to: (1) permit providing military education and training where it would provide for the protection vulnerable populations; and (2) authorize the President to provide assistance for programs to protect vulnerable populations during humanitarian emergencies. Expresses the sense of Congress that the UN should strengthen the ability of its Department of Peacekeeping Operations to protect civilians, especially women and children, from sexual exploitation by peacekeeping personnel.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Medicare Dual Eligible Prescription Drug Coverage Act of 2005 - Provides that, for prescriptions filled between January 1 and June 30, 2006, requirements for the coordination of prescription drug benefits with Medicare as primary payor for dual eligible individuals under the new prescription drug benefit program (PDP) under Medicare part E (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) shall not apply. Requires a State to continue to provide Medicaid medical assistance with respect to prescription drugs as if such coordination requirements had not been enacted. Declares that no State or the District of Columbia shall be required to pay (reimburse) the Secretary of Health and Human Services for Medicaid prescription drug costs for dual eligible individuals (Medicaid clawback payments) for any month before July 1, 2006. Earmarks specified amounts for education and outreach to dual eligibles regarding prescription drug coverage and monitoring of their transition to prescription drug coverage under Medicare. Requires a PDP sponsor and an MA organization offering an MA-PD plan to submit to the Secretary appropriate information regarding the drug utilization of enrollees in such plans who are full-benefit dual eligible individuals. Directs the Secretary to collect data on the drug utilization of full-benefit dual eligible individuals and share it with the States and District of Columbia in as close to a real-time basis as possible. Directs the Comptroller General of the United States to study and report to Congress on the clawback formula.
United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2005
Designates March 8, 2005, as International Women's Day. Reaffirms the Senate's commitment to: (1) improve women's access to quality health care, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment; (2) prevent violence against women, including the trafficking of women and girls worldwide; (3) end discrimination and increase the participation of women in government and private sector decisionmaking positions; and (4) extend full economic opportunities to women.
United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2005
Child Health Care Crisis Relief Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to establish programs related to mental health services for children and adolescents to include: (1) entering into contracts with qualified individuals to pay educational loans in exchange for providing mental health services to children and adolescents; (2) awarding scholarships to students who agree to work as child and adolescent mental health service professionals after graduation or completion of residency; (3) entering into contracts with higher education institutions to establish or expand internship or other field placement programs for students receiving specialized training or clinical experience in child and adolescent mental health; (4) awarding grants to State-licensed mental heath organizations to pay for programs for preservice or in-service training of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health workers; and (5) awarding grants to higher education institutions to establish or expand graduate child and adolescent mental health programs. Amends Title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to adjust the graduate medical education program to: (1) exclude a reasonable number of residents or fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry when calculating the maximum number of residents in the field of allopathic or osteopathic medicine for which the hospital may be paid; and (2) extend the period of board eligibility for residents and fellows in child and adolescent psychiatry. Directs the Administrator to study and report to Congress on the distribution of, and need for, child mental health service professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
National Women's History Museum Act of 2005 - Requires the Administrator of General Services to enter into an occupancy agreement to make the Pavilion Annex (the building and specified immediate surroundings, including any land unoccupied as of the enactment of this Act) in Washington, D.C. available to the National Women's History Museum, Inc. (Museum Sponsor) for a National Women's History Museum, for at least 99 years or any lesser term agreed to by the Museum Sponsor.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Public Health Workforce Scholarship Program to assure an adequate supply of public health professionals to eliminate critical public health preparedness workforce shortages in Federal, State, local, and tribal public health agencies by offering four-year scholarships in return for employment at such agencies. Requires the Secretary to establish the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to provide for the repayment of loans incurred by individuals in the pursuit of the relevant public health preparedness workforce educational degree or certificate in exchange for working at such agencies for at least three years. Requires the Secretary to award grants to public health agencies that receive public health preparedness cooperative agreements from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate State, local, and tribal public health workforce loan repayment programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in cooperation with the Secretary, to ensure that there is an online catalogue within the OPM website of public health workforce employment opportunities within the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Amends Federal provisions concerning the National Guard Youth Challenge Program (a civilian youth opportunities program conducted by the Secretary of Defense) to provide a maximum Federal matching funds level of 65 percent of the costs of operating the State program during FY 2006, 70 percent during FY 2007, and 75 percent during FY 2008 and beyond.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Education Begins at Home Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in collaboration with the Secretary of Education, to: (1) allot grants to states for Parents as Teachers programs, or other programs of early childhood home visitation; and (2) make competitive grants to local educational agencies and other eligible applicants for early home visitation for families with English language learners. Directs the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretary of Education, to make competitive grants to eligible applicants for early home visitation for military families. Amends the Head Start Act to direct the Secretary of HHS to establish standards for home visitor staff in Early Head Start programs with respect to their training, qualifications, and conduct of home visits. Revises Early Head Start programs to provide for: (1) training in parenting skills and child development; (2) certain home-based and family support services; (3) procedures for transition into Head Start or other local early childhood education programs; (4) staff communication and program coordination; and (5) professional development and personnel enhancement.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Protect Law Enforcement Armor Act or PLEA Act - Amends the Federal criminal code to expand the definition of "armor piercing ammunition" to include a projectile that: (1) may be used in a handgun; and (2) the Attorney General determines to be capable of penetrating body armor. Directs the Attorney General to promulgate standards for the uniform testing of projectiles against Body Armor Exemplar (i.e., body armor that the Attorney General determines meets minimum standards for the protection of law enforcement officers), taking into account variations in performance related to the type of handgun used, the length of the barrel, the amount and kind of powder used to propel the projectile, and the projectile's design. Prohibits the manufacture, sale, possession, or transfer of the Fabrique Nationale Herstall Five-SeveN Pistol, 5.7 x 28mm SS190 and SS192 cartridges, or any other handgun that uses armor piercing ammunition, except: (1) where manufactured and sold exclusively to U.S. military, law enforcement, or intelligence agencies; and (2) by a licensed manufacturer or contractor for the purpose of examining and testing to determine whether such prohibition applies.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2005
Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Public Health Workforce Scholarship Program to assure an adequate supply of public health professionals to eliminate critical public health preparedness workforce shortages in Federal, State, local, and tribal public health agencies by offering four-year scholarships in return for employment at such agencies. Requires the Secretary to establish the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to provide for the repayment of loans incurred by individuals in the pursuit of the relevant public health preparedness workforce educational degree or certificate in exchange for working at such agencies for at least three years. Requires the Secretary to award grants to public health agencies that receive public health preparedness cooperative agreements from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to operate State, local, and tribal public health workforce loan repayment programs. Requires the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in cooperation with the Secretary, to ensure that there is an online catalogue within the OPM website of public health workforce employment opportunities within the Federal Government.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2005
Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act - Includes as a protected disclosure by a Federal employee: (1) any lawful disclosure an employee or applicant reasonably believes is credible evidence of waste, abuse, or gross mismanagement, without restriction as to time, place, form, motive, context, or prior disclosure; and (2) the disclosure of information required to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or the conduct of foreign affairs that the employee or applicant reasonably believes is direct evidence of waste, abuse, or gross mismanagement if such disclosure is made to a Member or employee of Congress who is authorized to receive information of the type disclosed. 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 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 · 2 March 2005
Darfur Accountability Act of 2005 - Directs the President to: (1) freeze the assets of persons (and family members) named by the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General as perpetrators of crimes against humanity in Darfur, Sudan, and report such assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control; (2) deny visas and entry to such persons, and to anyone the President determines has been, is, or may be involved in such activities in Darfur; and (3) report the names of such persons to the appropriate congressional committees.
United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit: (1) Federal civilian and military retirees to pay Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis (i.e., exclude premiums from gross income); and (2) a tax deduction (available to itemizers and nonitemizers) for TRICARE supplemental premiums or enrollment fees. Directs the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the option of paying FEHBP and TRICARE supplemental premiums on a pretax basis is available to Federal civilian and military retirees for the first open enrollment period beginning not less than 90 days after the enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2005
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. Limits such research to stem cells that meet the following ethical requirements: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.
United States · United States Congress · 18 February 2005
Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (TRIA) to extend the terrorism risk insurance program from 2005 through 2007. Defines "Program Year 4" as calendar 2006 and "Program Year 5" as calendar 2007. Extends coverage for insured losses under a policy issued during Program Year 5 through December 31, 2008, at the latest. Increases the insurance marketplace aggregate retention amount for Program Years 4 and 5. Directs the Secretary to apply TRIA to providers of group life insurance. Instructs the Presidential Working Group on Financial Markets to report to Congress its recommendations for legislation to address the long-term availability and affordability of insurance for terrorism risk.
![Official portrait of Sen. Lautenberg, Frank R. [D-NJ]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/l000123_200.jpg)