United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) report biannually to Congress on international monetary policy and currency exchange rates; and (2) appear, if requested, before certain congressional committees to testify regarding such reports. Prescribes report contents, including: (1) an analysis of currency market developments and the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the currencies of major economies and trading partners of the United States; (2) a review of the economic and monetary policies of major economies and trading partners of the United States and an evaluation of how such policies impact currency exchange rates; and (3) a list of currencies designated as fundamentally misaligned currencies. Instructs the Secretary to: (1) analyze semiannually the prevailing real effective exchange rates of foreign currencies; (2) determine whether any such currency is in fundamental misalignment; and (3) designate it for priority action if the issuing country engages in specified behavior, including excessive and prolonged official or quasi-official accumulation of foreign assets for balance of payments purposes. Prescribes procedures for: (1) negotiations and consultations; and (2) actions in response to failure, including persistent failure, to adopt appropriate policies, or take identifiable action to eliminate the fundamental misalignment. Requires the Secretary, before the United States approves a proposed change in the governance arrangement of any international financial institution, to determine whether any member of the international financial institution that would benefit from the proposed change, in the form of increased voting shares or representation, has a currency designated for priority action. Requires U.S. opposition to the proposed change if the Secretary renders an affirmative determination. Amends the Tariff Act of 1930, for purposes of an antidumping investigation or review, to require an adjustment in the price used to establish export (and constructed export) prices, in the case of a fundamentally misaligned currency designated for priority action, by reducing such price by the percentage by which the domestic currency of the producer or exporter is undervalued in relation to the U.S. dollar. Adds as a factor the administering authority must take into account in determining whether a foreign country is a nonmarket economy country the question of whether its currency is designated for priority action under this Act. Establishes the Advisory Committee on International Exchange Rate Policy. Repeals the Exchange Rates and International Economic Policy Coordination Act of 1988.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include lactation (i.e., breastfeeding or the expressing of milk from the breast) as protected conduct under such Act. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow employers a business-related tax credit for 50% of their qualified breastfeeding promotion and support expenditures, up to $10,000 for any taxable year. Defines "qualified breastfeeding promotion and support expenditures" as business expenses incurred for breast pumps and other equipment specially designed to assist mothers who are breastfeeding their children and for consultation services relating to breastfeeding. Expands the tax deduction for medical expenses to include expenses for breastfeeding equipment and consultation services. Safe and Effective Breast Pumps Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to: (1) effect a performance standard for breast pumps without regard to their classification under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; and (2) issue a compliance policy guide to provide women with information about breast pumps. Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to require employers with 50 or more employees to provide their breastfeeding employees with break time and private areas to express breast milk for their nursing children.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Offers deepest condolences to the family and friends of Officer Stephen T. Johns. Commends the staff members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for their courage and bravery in responding to the attack on June 10, 2009. Condemns: (1) anti-Semitism and all forms of religious, ethnic, and racial bigotry; and (2) acts of physical violence against, and harassment of, people based on race, gender, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. Calls on the leaders of all nations to speak out against the manifestations of anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws. Expresses Congress's recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from our society. Declares that nothing in this resolution authorizes, supports, or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Designates the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 60 School Street, Orchard Park, New York, as the "Jack F. Kemp Post Office Building."
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act - Amends the Safe Drinking Water Act to: (1) repeal the exemption from restrictions on underground injection of fluids near drinking water sources granted to hydraulic fracturing operations under such Act; and (2) require oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Empowerment Zone, Renewal Community and Enterprise Community Enhancement Act of 2009 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to tax-preferred empowerment zones, rural enterprise communities, and renewal communities to: (1) extend the period of designation for such areas through 2015; (2) provide a safe harbor standard for employee residency requirements in empowerment zones; (3) eliminate certain residency requirements for the empowerment zone employment tax credit; (4) grant authority to expand the boundaries of empowerment zones and enterprise communities, including those located in rural areas; (5) allow carryovers of unused expensing allowances for enterprise zone businesses; (6) allow certain empowerment zone businesses to elect to receive payments in lieu of tax benefits; (7) allow federal guarantees and tax exemptions for enterprise zones and renewal communities; and (8) allow the issuance of tax-exempt rural enterprise community bonds and empowerment zone facility bonds.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Amends the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to renew, for three years, the President's authority to ban the import of Burmese products. Approves the renewal of certain import restrictions contained in the Act. Deems this resolution a renewal resolution which shall take effect upon its enactment or July 26, 2009, whichever occurs first.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Expresses the sense of the Sentate that: (1) all individuals should have the choice of a community health center as their health care home; (2) every health center should be appropriately reimbursed for the high-value preventive and primary care they provide; (3) health care reform should include measures to expand community health centers; (4) the current payment mechanisms for federally qualified health centers through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) are essential to ensuring access to affordable and high-quality preventive and primary care services for program beneficiaries; (5) any expansion of private insurance must include mechanisms to ensure the full participation of, and appropriate reimbursement to, federally qualified health centers and other safety net providers; and (6) ensuring access to all safety net providers is vital to ensuring that health care reform is successful in expanding access, improving quality, and reducing cost.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Grow Research Opportunities With Taxcredits' Help Act or GROWTH Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the tax credit for increasing research activities through 2010; (2) modify the rate of such credit and make such modified credit permanent after 2010; and (3) increase to 20% the rate of the alternative simplified research tax credit after 2010.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Josh Miller Helping Everyone Access Responsive Treatment in Schools Act of 2009 or the Josh Miller HEARTS Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to: (1) purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for use in their schools; and/or (2) provide training to meet the grant requirement that at least five adult employees or volunteers at each school where an AED is to be used successfully complete training in its use and in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Requires LEA grant applicants also to demonstrate that: (1) the AEDs are integrated into the schools' emergency response procedures; and (2) emergency services personnel are notified of their locations. Gives grant priority to schools that: (1) lack an AED; (2) typically have a significant number of students, staff, and visitors present during the day; (3) generally have a longer wait for emergency medical services than other public facilities in the community; and (4) have not received funds under the Rural Access to Emergency Devices Act.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Short Term Accelerated Retirement of Inefficient Vehicles Act of 2009 - Establishes in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) a Cash for Clunkers Temporary Vehicle Trade-In Program through which the Secretary of Transportation, acting through NHTSA, shall: (1) authorize the issuance of a voucher to offset the purchase or lease price for a fuel efficient automobile upon the transfer of the eligible trade-in vehicle title to a participating dealer; (2) register dealers for Program participation; (3) make payments to them for eligible transactions they accept between specified dates; and (4) establish and provide for the enforcement of measures to prevent and penalize fraud under the Program. Prescribes requirements, including combined fuel economy, for $1,000, $2,500, $3,500, and $4,500 vouchers to offset the purchase or lease price for a previously owned (model year 2004 or after) or new fuel efficient passenger automobile or truck. Limits the number of vouchers to one per customer, including joint registered owners of a single eligible trade-in vehicle. Requires a dealer to certify that each eligible trade-in vehicle: (1) has been or will be crushed or shredded, or transferred to an entity that will ensure it will be crushed or shredded, within the period of the Program; and (2) has not been, and will not be, sold, leased, exchanged, or otherwise disposed of for use as an automobile in the United States or in any other country. Makes it unlawful for any person to violate this Act or any regulations issued under it, particularly by fraud. Prescribes civil penalties for any such violation. Directs the Secretary to make Program information available on an Internet website and through other means. Sets forth procedures for expedited congressional consideration of any proposed presidential rescission of discretionary budget authority under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (the Act), with respect to the Battlefield Acquisition Grant Program, to: (1) include under the definition of "battlefield report" the document titled "Report to Congress on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War and War of 1812 Sites in the United States"; (2) authorize grants to eligible entities to pay the federal share of the cost of acquiring eligible sites for the preservation and protection of those sites; (3) permit eligible entities to acquire eligible sites using such grants in partnership with nonprofit organizations; (4) require the non-federal share of the total cost of acquisition of eligible sites to be not less than 50% of the total; and (5) subject acquired eligible sites to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act's prohibition against conversion to other than public outdoor recreation uses without the Secretary's approval. Requires acquisitions of lands or interests under the Act to be from willing sellers only. Requires the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Program, to submit to Congress a report on activities carried out under the Act, including: (1) preservation carried out at the battlefields and associated sites identified in the battlefield report; (2) changes in their condition; and (3) other relevant developments related to such battlefields and sites.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Critical Access Flexibility Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the Medicare rural hospital flexibility program a state may establish. Authorizes state designation of a Medicare critical access hospital (CAH), even if it does not comply with the requirement that it be located more than a 35-mile drive from another hospital, if it is certified by the state on or after enactment of this Act as being a necessary provider of health care services to residents in the area. (Thus restores state authority that existed before January 1, 2006, to waive the 35-mile rule.)
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2009
Wildlife Strike Act of 2009 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to be notified expeditiously by: (1) an aircraft operator if the aircraft collides with one or more birds or other wildlife; (2) airport or aircraft operator personnel if they see the collision; and (2) aircraft maintenance personnel if they identify damage to the aircraft resulting from such a collision.
United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2009
Requires that a collection of the rules of the committees of the Senate be printed as a Senate document. Provides for 300 additional copies of such document for the Committee on Rules and Administration.
United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2009
Homes for Heroes Act of 2009 - Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure veteran access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs; (2) coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans; and (3) serve as a HUD liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the HUD Secretary to provide assistance to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to expand the supply of supportive housing for very low-income veteran families (that is, families with incomes not exceeding 50% of the area median income). Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) make housing rental vouchers available to all homeless veterans, regardless of medical condition; and (2) include veterans in public housing planning. Excludes veterans' benefits from income for purposes of HUD assisted housing rental determinations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make grants to nonprofit entities for technical assistance in sponsoring HUD housing projects for veterans; and (2) report annually to specified congressional committees and the VA Secretary on HUD activities relating to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 or PACT Act - Amends the Jenkins Act to: (1) include smokeless tobacco as a regulated substance; (2) impose shipping and recordkeeping requirements on delivery sellers (sellers using the telephone, mails, or the Internet) of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco; (3) require common carriers of cigarette products to obtain age and identity verification upon delivery of such products; (4) require the Attorney General to compile and publish a list of delivery sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco who have not complied with the registration or other requirements of such Act; (5) increase criminal penalties and impose new civil penalties for violations of this Act; and (6) grant jurisdiction to U.S. district courts to prevent and restrain violations of this Act and direct the Attorney General to administer and enforce this Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) treat cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as nonmailable and prohibit such items from being deposited in or carried through the U.S. mails (with specified exceptions, including for mailings for consumer testing); and (2) authorize officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to enter the premises of certain cigarette shippers to inspect records and inventories. Prohibits a tobacco product manufacturer or importer from selling or delivering in states cigarettes not in compliance with model or qualifying state statutes. Limits the applicability of this Act with respect to Indian tribes and certain tribal matters. Directs the ATF Director to create regional contraband tobacco trafficking teams and a Tobacco Intelligence Center to monitor and coordinate tobacco diversion investigations. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to the precedential effect of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) exclude from an employee's gross income employer-provided accident and health plan benefits extended to a domestic partner or non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiary eligible to receive such benefits under an employer plan (i.e., "eligible beneficiary"); (2) exempt such benefits paid to eligible beneficiaries from applicable employment and unemployment taxes; (3) allow self-employed individuals a tax deduction for the health insurance costs of their eligible beneficiaries; (4) allow tax-exempt volutary employees' beneficiary associations to provide sick and accident benefits to the domestic partners and non-dependent, non-spouse beneficiaries of their members; and (5) allow reimbursement of the medical expenses of an eligible beneficiary from a health savings account (HSA). Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to provide guidance relating to reimbursements from a flexible spending arrangement and a health reimbursement arrangement attributable to an eligible beneficiary as defined by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
School Building Fairness Act of 2009 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to direct the Secretary of Education to allocate funds to states for competitive matching grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for school repair, renovation, and construction. Reserves 1% of the grant funds for assistance to outlying areas and Indian schools. Requires each state, in awarding such grants to LEAs, to consider: (1) the percentage of poor children each LEA serves; (2) the condition of their public schools or need for additional schools; (3) the extent to which they will comply with certain green building standards; (4) their fiscal capacity to cover repairs, renovations, and construction without such a grant; and (5) the likelihood that they will maintain repaired, renovated, or newly constructed schools in good condition. Requires each state to award high-need and rural LEAs, in the aggregate, at least the same proportion of this Act's LEA funds for the state that they received of total LEA school improvement funds for the state under part A of Title I of the ESEA. Directs each state to reserve a portion of their allocation for a state-level database of public school facility inventory, condition, design, and utilization. Requires the National Center for Education Statistics to study and report to Congress on the condition of public elementary and secondary schools, including an analysis of trends in spending for their repair, renovation, and construction. Directs the Secretary to provide for the establishment of a clearinghouse of information on the best educational practices from nursery school through higher education, and the latest research regarding the construction, improvement, and maintenance of safe, healthy, and high-performance public schools.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a national clinical trials network for spinal muscular atrophy by upgrading and unifying spinal muscular atrophy clinical trial sites and recruiting new investigators and sites. Requires the Director to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of therapies and clinical approaches to the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) rapidly and efficiently disseminates scientific findings to the field. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a data coordinating center with respect to spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research related to spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and support a spinal muscular atrophy patient registry to provide for expanded epidemiological research towards improving awareness, management, treatment, and prevention of spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages. Directs the Secretary to establish the Interagency Spinal Muscular Atrophy Research Coordinating Committee. Sets forth the duties of the Committee, including to develop a comprehensive strategy related to spinal muscular atrophy research and other related neurological diseases and disorders. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide information and education on spinal muscular atrophy to health professionals and the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act - Amends the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) to reauthorize appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the safe routes to school program. Revises program requirements to specify children kindergarten through 12th grade as the ones to be benefited by the program. Revises apportionments to replace the current specific dollar amounts with formulae. Includes projects for other nonmotorized modes of transportation besides walking and bicycling as noninfrastructure-related projects. Authorizes states to set-aside up to 10% of apportioned funds for infrastructure improvements that create safe routes to bus stops located outside of the vicinity of schools. Requires any state that receives an apportionment of funds to form a multidisciplinary state advisory committee. Prescribes requirements for the treatment of noninfrastructure and infrastructure projects. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) develop and implement a comprehensive plan for evaluating the effectiveness of safe routes to school; and (2) establish a working group of federal agencies, states, and stakeholders to examine the issue of school siting.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Sex Offender Registration Tips Program Act of 2009 or the SORT Act of 2009 - Directs the Attorney General to: (1) provide grants and access to information and resources to Parents for Megan's Law, Inc., to implement the Sex Offender Registration Tips Program; and (2) ensure access by Parents for Megan's Law, Inc., to the National Crime Information Center databases operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Air America Veterans Act of 2009 - Requires the Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress on the advisability of providing federal retirement benefits to U.S. citizens for their service prior to 1977 as employees of Air America or an associated company when such company was owned and controlled by the federal government and operated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit. Allows employees to use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members; or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Grants the same authority, for employees under their jurisdiction, to the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this Act. Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to a suit brought by an employee of a federally-assisted state program or activity for relief authorized under this Act. Requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics annually to compile information annually on paid sick time, and the Comptroller General to study related matters. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), subject to the approval of the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, to design, procure, and place in a prominent location in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center a marker which acknowledges the role that slave labor played in the construction of the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Requires the Secretary of Commerce to include in any questionnaire used in a decennial census to determine state populations an option for respondents to indicate Dominican extraction or descent.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Caribbean Count Act - Requires the Secretary of Commerce to include in any questionnaire used in a decennial census to determine state populations an option for respondents to indicate Caribbean extraction or descent.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Reuniting Families Act - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to establish the fiscal year worldwide level of employment-based immigrants at 140,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007. Establishes the fiscal year worldwide level of family-sponsored immigrants at 480,000 plus: (1) the previous year's unused visas; and (2) the number of unused visas from FY1992-FY2007. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to: (1) mean a child, spouse, or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (and for each family member of a citizen or resident, such individual's accompanying spouse or child), except that in the case of parents such citizens shall be at least 21 years old; (2) permit a widow or widower of a U.S. citizen or resident to seek permanent resident status if married at least two years at the time of the citizen's or resident's death or, if married less than two years, by showing through a preponderance of the evidence that the marriage was entered into in good faith and not solely to obtain an immigration benefit; and (3) include an alien who was the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or resident at the time of the citizen's or resident's death if the alien files a petition within two years after such date or prior to reaching 21 years old. Increases immigration visas for: (1) unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens; and (2) brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens. Provides a 60,000 visa allocation for the unmarried sons and daughters of permanent resident aliens. Increases annual per country (10% of annual total) and dependent area (5% of annual total) limits for employment-based and family-sponsored immigrant visas. Expands specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Provides specified relief for orphans and spouses regarding: (1) petitions for immediate relative status; (2) parole eligibility; (3) permanent resident status adjustment; and (4) processing of immigrant visas. Exempts children of naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant limitations. Makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status provided that the child's age is determined using such child's age at the date that the petition to classify such child's parent as a K-visa alien is filed with the Secretary of Homeland Security. Authorizes the Secretary or the Attorney General to adjust the status of a finacee/fiance or alien spouse and any minor children (K-visa) to conditional permanent resident status if such alien marries the petitioner within three months after U.S. admission. Redefines "child" for purposes of titles I and II of the Act to include a stepchild under 21 years old. (Current law includes a stepchild who has not reached 18 years old at the time the marriage creating the status of stepchild occurred.)
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 - Provides that a federal employee and his or her domestic partner shall be entitled to benefits available to, and shall be subject to obligations imposed upon, a married federal employee and his or her spouse. Defines "domestic partner" to mean an adult unmarried person living with another adult unmarried person of the same sex in a committed, intimate relationship. Defines "benefits" to include federal health insurance and enhanced dental and vision benefits, retirement and disability benefits, family, medical, and emergency leave, group life insurance, long-term care insurance, compensation for work injuries, and benefits for disability, death, or captivity. Excludes members of the uniformed services from the definition of "employee." Sets forth requirements for filing: (1) an affidavit of eligibility as such a domestic partner, which shall include a certification that the employee and the domestic partner are each other's sole domestic partners and intend to remain so indefinitely; and (2) a statement upon dissolution of such a domestic partnership.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Sunscreen Labeling Protection Act of 2009 or the SUN Act - Requires the proposed rule issued by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA) pertaining to over-the-counter sunscreen drug products to take effect 180 days after enactment of this Act, unless the Commissioner issues a final rule that includes formulation, labeling, and testing requirements for both ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation protection before such time.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
New York/New Jersey High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Expansion Act of 2009 - Designates the counties of Clinton, Franklin, Jefferson, and St. Lawrence in the state of New York as high-intensity drug trafficking areas and incorporates such counties into the New York/New Jersey high-intensity drug trafficking area program administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Shareholder Bill of Rights Act of 2009 - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require any proxy or consent or authorization for an annual or other meeting for which the proxy solicitation rules of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) require shareholder compensation disclosure to include a separate resolution subject to shareholder vote to approve the compensation of executives. Requires any person making a proxy solicitation concerning an acquisition, merger, consolidation, or proposed sale or other disposition of substantially all of the assets of an issuer (transaction) to disclose in the proxy solicitation material, in a clear and simple form, any agreements or understandings of that person with any of the issuer's principal executive officers concerning any type of (golden parachute) compensation based on or otherwise related to the transaction that have not been subject to a shareholder vote. Requires the proxy solicitation material for a golden parachute to require a separate shareholder vote to approve it. Directs the SEC to establish rules for the use by shareholders of issuer proxy solicitation materials for the purpose of nominating individuals to membership on the issuer's board of directors. Prohibits such rules from providing for such use, however, unless the shareholder, or a group of shareholders acting by agreement, has beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, an aggregate of at least 1% of the issuer's voting securities for at least the two-year period preceding the date of the issuer's next scheduled annual meeting. Requires the SEC to direct the national securities exchanges and national securities associations to prohibit the listing of any security of an issuer that is not in compliance with any specified requirements pertaining to director independence, mandatory annual elections, SEC rules on elections, and mandatory establishment of a risk committee to establish and evaluate the issuer's risk management practices.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Rating Accountability and Transparency Enhancement Act of 2009 or the RATE Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to review credit ratings and methodologies employed by each nationally recognized statistical rating organization (NRSRO) to ensure that the NRSRO complies with its internal controls for determining credit ratings. Requires each NRSRO to establish establish and enforce governance procedures to manage conflicts of interest in accordance with SEC rules. Directs the SEC to issue specified rules to prohibit, or require the management and disclosure of, any conflicts of interest relating to the issuance of credit ratings by an NRSRO. Requires an NRSRO to review and revise a credit rating, if appropriate, in any case in which an employee of an obligor, issuer, or underwriter of a security or money market instrument was employed by an NRSRO and participated in determining such credit ratings for the obligor or the issuer during the one-year period preceding the date of the credit rating (look-back requirement). Requires each NRSRO to designate a compliance officer to perform specified duties. Directs the SEC to establish an office to administer SEC rules with respect to the practices of NRSROs in determining ratings to ensure that credit ratings NRSROs issue are accurate and not unduly influenced by conflicts of interest. Directs the SEC to require each NRSRO to disclose publicly information on initial ratings and subsequent changes in order to: (1) provide a gauge of the accuracy of ratings; and (2) allow users of credit ratings to compare performance of ratings by different NRSROs. Requires the SEC to promulgate rules on credit rating procedures and methodologies. Modifies the scienter requirement in a private action for money damages against an NRSRO to provide that it shall be sufficient for the complaint to state with particularity facts giving rise to a strong inference that the NRSRO knowingly or recklessly failed either to: (1) conduct a reasonable investigation of the rated security with respect to the factual elements relied upon by its own methodology for evaluating credit risk; or (2) obtain reasonable verification of such factual elements from other sources that it considered to be competent and that were independent of the issuer and underwriter. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on implementation of this Act, including: (1) the appropriateness of relying on ratings for use in federal, state, and local securities, banking regulations, and capital requirements determinations; and (2) the effect of liability in private actions and the scienter modification of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 - Directs the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a regional strategy to guide U.S. support for multilateral efforts to eliminate the threat to civilians and regional stability posed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and to enforce the rule of law and ensure full humanitarian access in LRA-affected areas. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to respond to the humanitarian needs of populations in northeastern Congo, southern Sudan, and Central African Republic affected by LRA activity. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) should work with the appropriate congressional committees to increase future assistance to Uganda if the government of Uganda demonstrates a commitment to reconstruction in war-affected areas of northern and eastern Uganda. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should support efforts by the people of northern Uganda and the government of Uganda to: (1) promote local and national reconciliation including mechanisms outlined in the Annexure to the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation between the government of Uganda and the LRA; and (2) assist internally displaced people, establish mechanisms for the demobilization and reintegration of former combatants, and enhance the competency of local institutions including the police.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2009 - Amends the Fur Products Labeling Act to: (1) eliminate the exemption to fur labeling requirements for products containing relatively small amounts of fur; and (2) permit states to enforce more restrictive labeling requirements. Directs the the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in the Fur Products Name Guide, to replace the term "Raccoon, Asiatic" with "Dog, Raccoon."
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Amends S.Res. 73, 111th Congress (authorizing expenditures by Senate committees and establishing a Special Reserve within funds in the Expenses of Inquiries and Investigations account) to increase such funds for March 1, 2009-September 30, 2009. Declares that such additional funds shall not be considered to be subject to a specified 89% limitation on Special Reserves.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2009 - States that it is the policy of the United States to support the decision of state and local governments and educational institutions to divest from, and to prohibit the investment of assets they control in, persons that have investments of $20 million or more in Iran's energy sector. Authorizes a state or local government to adopt and enforce measures to divest its assets from, or prohibit the investment of assets they control in, such persons, including financial institutions which extend them credit to so invest. Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to shield any registered investment company from civil, criminal, or administrative action based upon its divesting from, or avoiding investing in, securities issued by such persons. Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to shield from treatment as breaching a fiduciary duty any person divesting employee benefit plan assets from, or avoiding investing plan assets in, such persons.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase to 6% permanently the rate of increase in the fee schedule for ground ambulance services furnished on or after January 1, 2010, in rural and urban areas. Makes permanent the increase in the base rate of the fee schedule the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to make for a trip in the case of ground ambulance services furnished on or after July 1, 2004, (and beyond January 1, 2010) for which the transportation originates in a qualified low population density rural area.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the award of a congressional gold medal to the Army's 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to waive or modify certain restrictions on the term and use of grants to fire departments for hiring, rehiring, or retaining firefighters under the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 for recipients of grants awarded during FY2009 or FY2010.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Protect Those Who Serve Act - Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, any U.S. territory or possession, and any Indian tribe for the renovation, modernization, and construction of law enforcement facilities. Sets forth matching requirements for receipt of a grant.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2009 or the AgJOBS Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to confer "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) has performed agricultural employment in the United States for at least 863 hours or 150 work days during the 24-month period ending on December 31, 2008; (2) applied for such status during the 18-month application period beginning on the first day of the seventh month that begins after the date of enactment of this Act; (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States; and (4) has not been convicted of any felony or a misdemeanor, an element of which involves bodily injury, threat of serious bodily injury, or harm to property in excess of $500. Limits the number of blue cards that may be issued during the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. Directs the Secretary to adjust a blue card alien (and spouse and minor children) to permanent resident status if the alien has fulfilled specified periods of agricultural employment. Amends the Social Security Act to exempt blue card aliens from prosecution for social security-related identity or payment false statements if such conduct occurred prior to the granting of blue card status. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Replaces the existing labor certification requirement with a labor attestation requirement containing: (1) a description of the nature and location of the job; (2) the job's expected beginning and ending dates; (3) the number of jobs; and (4) specified labor assurances respecting job opportunities covered by collective bargaining agreements and non-covered job opportunities.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Designates October 30, 2009, as a national day of remembrance for American nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers, and haulers. Encourages Americans to support and participate in appropriate ceremonies, programs, and other activities to commemorate such day.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2009
Healthy Schools Act of 2009 - Amends titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (Children's Health Insurance) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to require the state to certify that it has implemented procedures to pay for covered items and services furnished by school-based health clinics under Medicaid and CHIP.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2009
Great Lakes Icebreaker Replacement Act - Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Homeland Security for necessary expenses of the Coast Guard relating to the design, acquisition, and construction of a combined buoy tender-icebreaker to replace icebreaking capacity on the Great Lakes.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2009
Celebrates the 20th anniversary of the end of communist rule in Poland. Congratulates the people of Poland for their accomplishments in building a free democracy and for their contributions as international partners. Expresses appreciation for the close friendship between the governments of the United States and Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2009
Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009 or EARLY Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct a national evidence-based education campaign: (1) to increase public awareness regarding the threats posed by breast cancer to young women, including the particular risks faced by certain racial, ethnic and cultural groups; and (2) focusing on awareness of risk factors and achieving early detection through community-centered informational forums, public service advertisements, and media campaigns. Directs the Secretary to award grants to entities to establish national multimedia campaigns that: (1) will encourage young women to be aware of their personal risk factors, strategies and methods for increasing early detection and self awareness, genetic counseling and testing, imaging-based screening methods, evidence based preventative lifestyle changes, and other appropriate breast cancer early detection and risk reduction strategies; (2) will encourage young women of specific higher-risk populations to talk to their medical practitioners about those risks and methods for appropriate screening and surveillance; and (3) may include advertising through specified media. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) establish an advisory committee to assist in creating and conducting the public education campaign; (2) conduct an education campaign to increase awareness among health care professionals; and (3) conduct prevention research. Directs the Secretary to award grants to organizations and institutions to provide to young women diagnosed with breast cancer substantive assistance and health information from credible sources on: (1) education and counseling regarding fertility preservation; (2) social, emotional, psychosocial, financial, lifestyle, and caregiver support; (3) familial risk factors; and (4) risk reduction strategies to reduce recurrence or metastasis.
![Official portrait of Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000148_200.jpg)