United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2005
Urges Congress to enact legislation that: (1) ensures that all Americans have access to affordable, quality health insurance coverage by 2010; (2) uses private and public sector solutions; (3) constrains underlying health care costs, including by assuring appropriate utilization and lowering prescription drug costs and administrative expenses; and (4) assures high quality health care, including by promoting the utilization of information technology, reducing medical errors, and providing for care coordination.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Clean Water Authority Restoration Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2005
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions regarding employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 26 April 2005
Breast Cancer Patient Protect Action of 2005 - 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 · 22 April 2005
Transit in Parks Act (or the TRIP Act) - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to develop cooperative relationships with the Secretary of the Interior providing for: (1) technical assistance in alternative transportation; (2) interagency and multidisciplinary teams to develop Federal land management agency (the National Park Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Bureau of Land Management) alternative transportation policy, procedures, and coordination; and (3) the development of procedures and criteria relating to the planning, selection, and funding of qualified planning or capital projects (carried out in or in the vicinity of any federally owned or managed park, refuge, or recreational area open to the general public), as well as implementation and oversight of the projects program. Sets forth requirements with respect to departmental cost sharing, financing, and selection of qualified projects. Requires projects of more than $25 million to be carried out through a full funding agreement. Requires the qualified participants of such projects to prepare a project management plan.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
America Saving for Personal Investment, Retirement, and Education Act of 2005, or the ASPIRE Act of 2005 - Establishes a KIDS Account Fund in the Treasury. Establishes within the Fund a Kids Investment and Development Savings Account (KIDS Account). Makes eligible to contribute to such account, and to receive a matching Federal contribution, any U.S. citizen born after December 31, 2006, and under 18 years of age, whose modified adjusted gross income is below the applicable national median adjusted gross income amount. Creates the KIDS Account Fund Board to establish a default investment program under which, in a manner similar to a lifecycle investment program, sums in each KIDS Account are allocated to investment funds in the KIDS Account Fund based on the amount of time before the account holder attains the age of 18. States that, for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, each KIDS Account shall be treated in the same manner as a Roth IRA. Subjects the Board to the same statutory composition requirements, duties, and responsibilities as the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board. Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury, in coordination with the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, to develop programs to promote the financial literacy of account holders of KIDS Accounts.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2005 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-LaSal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Save More for Retirement Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide that a 401(k) pension plan which provides for automatic enrollment of new employees shall be treated as meeting nondiscrimination requirements if employers contribute a specified amount to such plans, allow for earlier vesting of employee ownership, and provide certain notices to employees of their rights and obligations under such plans. Permits automatically-enrolled employees to opt out of plan participation. Requires such plans to provide for annual increases in employee contributions up to a maximum level of ten percent of employee compensation. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to: (1) preempt State laws that would prohibit or restrict automatic employee contributions; and (2) direct the Secretary of Labor to provide guidance, by regulations, to employers in selecting default investments for employees who elect not to direct the investment of their pension plan assets.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2005
Automobile Fuel Economy Act of 2005 - Specifies increased average fuel economy standards for certain light trucks, automobiles (up to 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight), and certain classes of vehicles in the Federal fleet that are manufactured or purchased after specified dates.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2005
Theodore Roosevelt Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 silver coins: (1) emblematic of the life and legacy of President Theodore Roosevelt, bearing his image as a Rough Rider on one side and an eagle design on the other side; and (2) bearing his image on horseback on one side and depicting a flaming sword of righteousness on the other side. Expresses the sense of Congress that the coins should be struck at the U.S. Mint at West Point, New York. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) issue such coins beginning on January 1, 2006; and (2) initiate coin sales before such date. (2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of Roosevelt's award of the Nobel Peace Prize.) Requires payment of $10 surcharges from the coin sales to the Theodore Roosevelt Association, to be used exclusively for educational programs at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, including a visitor's center.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Fiscal Responsibility for a Sound Future Act - Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to extend through FY 2005 the spending caps for discretionary, highway, and mass transit categories in new budget authority and outlays. Declares that Congress should enact a limit on total discretionary spending for FY 2006. Retains (eliminates the expiration of) pay-as-you-go. Reenacts into law (effective for FY 2005) certain budget enforcement mechanisms through FY 2015. Makes it out of order in the Senate to consider under expedited procedures applicable to reconciliation in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 any measure that increases the deficit in the: (1) first fiscal year covered by the most recently adopted concurrent resolution on the budget; (2) first five fiscal years covered by such adoption; or (3) first five fiscal years following such period. Amends H.Con.Res. 95 (108th Congress) to revise provisions concerning the Pay-As-You-Go point of order rule in the Senate to: (1) modify the formula used to estimate the baseline; and (2) extend the application of such rule through FY 2015.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Paycheck Fairness Act - Amends the portion of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) known as the Equal Pay Act to revise remedies for and enforcement of prohibitions against sex discrimination in the payment of wages to: (1) add nonretaliation requirements; (2) increase penalties; and (3) authorize the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) to seek additional compensatory or punitive damages. Requires the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to train EEOC employees and affected individuals and entities on matters involving wage discrimination. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to eligible entities for negotiation skills training programs for girls and women. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and Education to issue regulations or policy guidance to integrate such training into certain programs under their Departments. Directs the Secretary to provide for certain studies, information, national summit, and guidelines, awards, and assistance for employer evaluations of job categories based on objective criteria. Establishes the Secretary of Labor's National Award for Pay Equity in the Workplace. Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to require the EEOC to collect certain pay information. Directs: (1) the Commissioner of Labor Statistics to collect data on woman workers in the Current Employment Statistics survey; (2) the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to use specified types of methods in investigating compensation discrimination and in enforcing pay equity; and (3) the Secretary to make accurate information on compensation discrimination readily available to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Combating Autism Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): (1) to develop a scientifically justified budget for research on autism spectrum disorders; (2) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, to provide for centers of excellence regarding research on autism; and (3) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Disorders, to provide for Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to establish: (1) regional centers of excellence in autism and pervasive developmental disabilities epidemiology; and (2) a clearinghouse for the collecting and storage of data generated. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) a program to provide information and education on autism and its risk factors to health professionals and the general public; and (2) the Autism Coordinating Committee to coordinate autism related activities within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to award grants or cooperative agreements to develop statewide autism screening, diagnosis, and intervention programs and systems. Requires the Director of NIH, acting through the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to provide for centers of excellence regarding environmental health and autism.
United States · United States Congress · 19 April 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should: (1) directly confront and challenge the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to increase oil production immediately; and (2) direct the Federal Trade Commission and Attorney General to exercise vigorous oversight over the oil markets to protect the people of the United States from price gouging and unfair practices at the gasoline pump. Declares that from the date of enactment of this Act until 30 days afterward: (1) deliveries of oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) shall be suspended; and (2) one million barrels of oil per day shall be released from the SPR. Provides for the release of one million barrels of oil per day from the SPR for an additional 30 days if it is necessary to: (1) lower the burden of gasoline prices on the domestic economy; and (2) circumvent OPEC efforts to reap windfall crude oil profits.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2005
Taxpayer Protection and Assistance Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) make grants to establish tax return preparation clinics for low-income taxpayers; (2) regulate the conduct of enrolled agents before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (3) regulate and test paid income tax preparers; (4) contract for the development or administration of examinations for paid income tax preparers; (5) require the registration of refund anticipation loan facilitators; and (6) award demonstration project grants to assist low-income taxpayers without bank accounts to obtain such accounts with federally insured depository institutions. Establishes in the IRS the Office of Professional Responsibility to administer the regulation of paid income tax preparers. Requires refund anticipation loan facilitators to make specified disclosures to taxpayers about refund loan transactions. Requires a set aside of a portion of Tax Court practitioner fees for assistance to pro se taxpayers in the Tax Court.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2005
Christopher Reeve Paralysis Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to permit the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH): (1) acting through the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, to expand and coordinate NIH activities on paralysis research; (2) to award grants to plan, establish, improve, and provide basic operating support for Christopher Reeve Paralysis Research Consortia; (3) to educate and disseminate information and receive public comment on NIH programs and research regarding paralysis; (4) acting through the Director of the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development and the National Center for Rehabilitation Research, to expand and coordinate NIH research with implications for enhancing daily function for persons with paralysis; and (5) to make grants to plan, establish, improve, and provide basic operating support for multicenter clinical trial networks to design clinical rehabilitation intervention protocols and measures of outcomes on paralysis. Permits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to study the health challenges associated with paralysis and other physical disabilities and carry out projects and interventions to improve the quality of life and long-term health status of individuals with such conditions. Permits the Secretary to award grants for activities related to paralysis, including to: (1) establish paralysis registries; and (2) disseminate information to the public. Allows the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) establish Paralysis Research, Education and Clinical Care Centers; and (2) award grants to medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to translate clinical findings and recommendations on paralysis into evidence-based best practices.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2005
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of 2005 - Authorizes the presiding judge of a U.S. appellate court or U.S. district court to permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising to the public of court proceedings over which that judge presides. Directs: (1) a district court, upon the request of any witness in a trial proceeding other than a party, to order the face and voice of the witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured to render the witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding; and (2) the presiding judge in a trial proceeding to inform each witness who is not a party of his or her right to make such request. Authorizes the Judicial Conference of the United States to promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge may refer in making decisions regarding the management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or televising described in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 April 2005
Quality Cheese Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to prohibit the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from using Federal funds to amend specified regulations to include dry ultra-filtered milk or casein in the definition of "milk" or "nonfat milk" as specified in the domestic natural standards for cheese and cheese products.
United States · United States Congress · 15 April 2005
Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $1 coins emblematic of the life and legacy of President Abraham Lincoln in commemoration of the bicentennial of his birth. Permits issuance of such coins only during the one-year period beginning on January 1, 2009. Subjects the coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin.
United States · United States Congress · 14 April 2005
Commuter Benefits Equity Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to equalize and increase to $200, with a modified cost-of-living adjustment, the tax exclusion for both transportation and parking fringe benefits. Extends such benefits to federal employees.
United States · United States Congress · 13 April 2005
National Aquatic Invasive Species Act of 2005 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to establish aquatic invasive species reduction and prevention requirements for vessels (including towed vessels and structures) operating in U.S. waters. Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to promulgate ballast water management regulations and certification procedures. Directs the Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force to establish a priority pathway management program that identifies those pathways that pose the highest risk for the introduction of aquatic invasive species. Prohibits the importation of a live aquatic organism of a species not in trade without specified screening and approval. Requires the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a national system of ecological surveys for rapid early detection and monitoring of invasive species. Establishes the Emergency Rapid Response Fund to assist States in implementing rapid response measures for aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force to review and approve State rapid response contingency strategies. Requires the Invasive Species Council to establish a Federal rapid response team for each of the ten Federal regions. Requires the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) to upgrade and make permanent the existing Chicago sanitary and ship canal dispersal barrier in Chicago, Illinois, constructed as a demonstration project to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in U.S. waterways. Directs the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to construct, at full Federal expense, the Chicago sanitary and ship canal dispersal barrier authorized by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Requires NOAA, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and the U.S. Geological Survey (Administering Agencies) to develop and conduct a marine and freshwater research program to assess rates of, patterns of, and conditions surrounding introductions of nonindigenous aquatic species in aquatic ecosystems and efforts to prevent the introduction of, and detect and eradicate, such species. Requires the EPA Administrator to develop an environmentally sound, cost-effective technology development, demonstration and verification grant program. Requires the Secretary and the EPA to develop a vessel pathway standards research program. Requires the National Science Foundation to establish a grant program for researchers at institutions of higher education and museums to carry out research in systematics and taxonomy. Requires the Invasive Species Council to coordinate with the Task Force to combat aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force to recommend to appropriate Federal agencies additions to the list of aquatic invasive species. Requires the Task Force, the Council, and the Secretary of State to ensure that international efforts to prevent and manage aquatic invasive species are coordinated with U.S. policies.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Comprehensive Identity Theft Prevention Act - Establishes in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) an Office of Identity Theft. Authorizes the Office to take civil enforcement actions against covered persons that violate this Act. Sets limits on the sale or transfer of sensitive personal information. Requires data merchants to register with the Office. Establishes within the Office an international directorate devoted to coordinating international responses to identify theft and development of best practices to protect consumers. Sets forth: (1) notification requirements regarding the unauthorized acquisition of, or the intention to share, an individual's sensitive personal information; and (2) penalties for violations. Specifies prohibitions on the solicitation, display, sale, purchase, or use of, and access to, social security numbers. Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2005 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in the Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection of the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) a National Cybersecurity Office to assist in promoting cybersecurity for the United States. Grants the Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity primary authority for all cybersecurity-related critical infrastructure programs of DHS, including responsibilities to establish and manage a national cybersecurity response system, a national cybersecurity threat and vulnerability reduction program, a national cybersecurity awareness and training program, a government cybersecurity program, and a national security and international cybersecurity cooperation program and primary authority over the National Communications System. Directs the Chairman of the FTC to establish an Online Information Security Working Group to develop best practices to protect sensitive personal information stored and transferred online.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2005
Designates April 15, 2005, as National Youth Service Day. Recognizes and commends the significant contributions of American youth. Encourages the cultivation of a common civic bond among young people dedicated to serving their neighbors, their communities, and the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2005
Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to make grants to public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of not more than eight centers to conduct multidisciplinary and multi-institutional research on environmental factors that may be related to the etiology of breast cancer. Requires each such center to: (1) be known as a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Center of Excellence; (2) establish ongoing collaborations with community organizations; (3) be formed from a consortium of cooperating institutions; (4) be supported under this Act for a period of not more than five years with additional periods allowed after review and recommendation; and (5) use innovative approaches to study unexplored areas of the environment and breast cancer. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Panel to make recommendations for and to review grants awarded under this Act
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2005
Make College Affordable Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the amount of the tax deduction for higher education tuition and related expenses; and (2) allow a tax credit for up to $1,500 of the interest paid annually on certain student loans for higher education expenses. Reduces the allowable amount of both the tax deduction and the tax credit based upon taxpayer adjusted gross income levels. Provides for an inflation adjustment for calendar years after 2005 to such adjusted gross income levels. Makes the tax deduction for higher education tuition and related expenses permanent.
United States · United States Congress · 6 April 2005
Safe Food Act of 2005 - Establishes the Food Safety Administration to administer and enforce food safety laws. Directs the Administrator of the Food Safety Administration to: (1) promulgate regulations to ensure the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination; (2) implement Federal food safety inspection, enforcement, and research efforts to protect the public health; (3) develop consistent and science-based standards for safe food; (4) coordinate and prioritize food safety research and education programs with other Federal agencies; (5) prioritize Federal food safety efforts and deployment of resources to achieve the greatest possible benefit in reducing food-borne illness; (6) coordinate the Federal response to food-borne illness outbreaks with other Federal and State agencies; and (7) integrate Federal food safety activities with State and local agencies. Transfers to the Administration all functions of specified Federal agencies that relate to the administration or enforcement of food safety laws, including (1) the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture; and (2) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the Center for Veterinary Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Requires the Administrator to: (1) administer a national food safety program based on an analysis of the hazards associated with different food and the processing of different food; (2) establish standards for processors of food and food establishments; (3) establish a certification system for foreign governments or food establishments seeking to import food to the United States; (4) establish requirements for tracing food and food producing animals from point of origin to retail sale; (5) maintain an active surveillance system of food, food products, and epidemiological evidence; (6) establish a sampling system to monitor contaminants in food; (7) rank and analyze hazards in the food supply; (8) establish a national public education campaign on food safety; and (9) conduct research relating to food safety. Sets forth provisions regarding prohibited acts, administrative detention, condemnation, temporary holds, recall, penalties for violations of food safety laws, whistle blower protection, and civil actions.
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
Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors Act of 2005 - Establishes in the executive branch the independent Interagency Council on Meeting the Housing and Service Needs of Seniors, which shall identify and promote coordination of senior citizen housing, health care, and service needs.
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 · 20 March 2005
Expresses the sense of the Congress that: (1) the anti-secession law of the People's Republic of China (PRC) provides a legal justification for the use of force against Taiwan, altering the status quo in the region and is of grave concern to the United States; (2) the President should direct appropriate U.S. officials to convey such concern to their PRC counterparts; (3) the U.S. Government should reaffirm its policy that Taiwan's future should be resolved peacefully and with the consent of the people of Taiwan; and (4) the U.S. Government should continue to encourage Taiwan-PRC dialogue.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Workplace Religious Freedom Act of 2005 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify the definition of "religion" for purposes of coverage under that Act by requiring employers to make an affirmative and bona fide effort to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees. Defines the term "perform the essential functions" to exclude practices having a temporary or tangential impact on an employee's ability to perform job functions, such as practices relating to clothing or taking time off work. Sets forth factors to consider in determining whether an accommodation causes undue hardship. Defines "employee" to require an ability to perform essential job functions with or without reasonable accommodation. Requires removal of the conflict between employment requirements and the employee's religious practices in order for an accommodation to be considered reasonable. Considers an employer's refusal to permit an employee's use of general leave to remove a religious conflict solely because the leave will be used to accommodate religious practices to be an unlawful employment practice. States that the amendments made by this Act do not apply with respect to conduct occurring prior to enactment.
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
Cord Blood Stem Cell Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to enter into contracts with qualified cord blood stem cell banks to assist in establishing and maintaining a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Network to: (1) acquire, tissue-type, test, cryopreserve, and store donated units of human cord blood acquired with the informed consent of the donor; (2) make cord blood units available to transplant centers for stem cell transplantations; and (3) allocate up to 10 percent of the cord blood inventory each year for peer-reviewed research. Requires the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a Board of Directors to administer the Network. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator, to establish as part of the Network a National Cord Blood Stem Cell Registry to: (1) operate a system for identifying, acquiring, and distributing donated units of cord blood; (2) provide health care professionals with the ability to search the registry for suitable matches for patients; and (3) maintain a database to document the collection, storage, distribution, and clinical outcomes related to the Network. Requires the Administrator to report to the Secretary regarding the safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of the clinical, research, and education activities of the Network. Requires the Board to ensure that: (1) the Network donor banks meet eligibility requirements; and (2) the Network is geographically distributed throughout the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for energy-efficient building property. Limits the amount of such credit to the lesser of 30 percent (10 percent for other energy property) of the basis of such energy-efficient building property or $1,000 for each kilowatt of capacity of such property. Defines "energy-efficient building property" as a fuel cell power plant which generates at least 0.5 kilowatt of electricity using an electrochemical process. Allows a similar tax credit for the installation of qualified energy-efficient building property in a taxpayer's residence. Terminates both tax credits after December 31, 2009.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2005
Graduation Really Achieves Dreams Act - GRAD Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to Project GRAD USA, a nonprofit educational organization for improving high school graduation and college attendance and completion rates for at-risk students, to provide technical assistance and support through subgrants to existing and new programs that implement a set of integrated education reform services. Requires the grantee to select only subgrantees that serve a substantial number or percentage of at-risk students. Requires the programs to identify one or more groups of public schools at which services will be provided through a feeder pattern through which elementary and secondary schools channel students having participated in program services into an identified high school. Requires program services to include: (1) research-based programs in reading, mathematics, and classroom management; (2) campus-based social services programs, including increasing family and community involvement in schools; (3) a college access program, including providing college scholarships for students who meet established criteria, increasing student and family college awareness, and assisting students to apply for college financial aid; and (4) other services the grantee identifies as necessary.
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
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 · 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
Ferry Transportation Enhancement Act - Amends the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to authorize appropriations for FY 2004 through 2009 for construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities. Amends Federal highway law to make ferry maintenance (currently, only terminal) facilities eligible for Federal funding. Amends Federal transportation law to include ferries within the Federal clean fuels program. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) establish a Ferry Joint Program Office to coordinate Federal programs affecting ferry boat and facility construction, maintenance, and operation, and to promote ferry service as a component of the Nation's transportation system; (2) maintain a national ferry database containing ferry routes, vessels, passengers and vehicles carried, funding sources, and related information; and (3) make grants to an institution of higher education to establish a National Ferry Transportation Institute for research, development, and training programs, relating to U.S. ferry transportation systems.
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
Kidney Care Quality and Improvement Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) review surgical procedures, evaluate whether to include among them the full range of dialysis access procedures, and revise them to reflect the findings; and (2) review the relative value units applicable to physicians' services for vascular access procedures, and revise them to reflect accurately the difficulty of such procedures. Directs the Secretary to establish demonstration projects for an outcomes-based ESRD financial incentives reimbursement system to evaluate methods that improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries with end-stage renal disease. Sets forth required training for patient care dialysis technicians. Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for the: (1) establishment of annual update framework for the Medicare end stage renal disease composite rate; and (2) extension of Medicare as secondary payer. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the impact of the temporary codes (G-codes) for nephrologists' services applicable under the Medicare fee schedule for physician's services. Requires the Secretary to establish demonstration projects to: (1) increase public awareness about chronic kidney disease; (2) enhance surveillance systems and expand chronic kidney disease research; and (3) enable individuals with ESRD to develop self-management skills. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide for Medicare coverage of kidney disease patient education services. Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish blood flow monitoring demonstration projects; (2) provide for appropriate incentives to improve the Medicare home dialysis benefit; (3) arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to evaluate the barriers to increasing the number of individuals with ESRD who elect to receive home dialysis services under Medicare; and (4) establish an independent, multidisciplinary, nonpartisan End-Stage Renal Disease Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Supporting Emergency Responders Volunteer Efforts Act of 2005 or the SERVE Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a $1,000 refundable tax credit for bona-fide volunteer members of a qualified volunteer fire department (an organization providing firefighting or emergency medical services). Prorates the credit for part-year active members.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2005
Investment in America Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) increase the rates of the alternative incremental credit for certain research expenses; and (3) permit a taxpayer election of an alternative simplified tax credit for research expenses in lieu of the standard tax credit for increasing research activities.
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 · 14 March 2005
Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal criminal code to reinstate, for ten years, the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act's assault weapons ban to prohibit the manufacture, transfer, or possession of a semiautomatic assault weapon or a large capacity ammunition feeding 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) certain firearms, replicas, or duplicates listed in an appendix as they were manufactured on October 1, 1993; (3) any firearm that is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action and that has been rendered permanently inoperable or that is an antique firearm; (4) any semiautomatic rifle that cannot accept a detachable magazine that holds more than five rounds of ammunition; (5) any semiautomatic shotgun that cannot hold more than five rounds in a fixed or detachable magazine; and (6) firearms manufactured for, transferred to, or possessed by a Federal, State, or local government agency or for law enforcement. Requires the serial number of any weapon or device manufactured after enactment of this Act to clearly show the date of manufacture. Directs the Attorney General to study and report to Congress on the effects of this Act on violent and drug trafficking crime.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2005
Medicare Medical Nutrition Therapy Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to authorize expansion of Medicare coverage of medical nutrition therapy services to diseases, conditions, or disorders other than diabetes or a renal disease.
![Official portrait of Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000148_200.jpg)