United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Justice for Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act - Amends the federal judicial code to expand the rights of victims of state-sponsored terrorism by: (1) denying foreign states that support terrorism immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts for cases involving personal injury or death related to the terrorist activities of its officials, employees, or agents; (2) allowing certain nationals of the United States, members of the Armed Forces, and federal employees or contractors a private cause of action against a foreign state designated as a state sponsor of terrorism; (3) making foreign states vicariously liable for the actions of their officials, employees, or agents; (4) limiting appeals in cases against foreign states involving terrorist-related injuries; and (5) establishing a pending lien against property of a foreign state sponsor of terrorism upon the initiation of legal action in the United States against such state.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Design Piracy Prohibition Act - Extends copyright protection to fashion designs. Excludes from such protection fashion designs that are embodied in a useful article that was made public by the designer or owner more than three months before the registration of copyright application. Gives fashion designs copyright protection for three years. Declares that is not infringement to make, have made, import, sell, or distribute any article embodying a design which was created without knowledge or reasonable grounds to know that protection for the design is claimed and was copied from such protected design. Extends the definition of infringing article to include any article the design of which has been copied from an image of a protected design without the consent of the owner. Provides that a fashion design shall not be deemed to have been copied from a protected design if it is original and not closely and substantially similar in overall visual appearance to a protected design. Applies the doctrines of secondary infringement and secondary liability to actions related to original designs. Makes any person who is liable under either such doctrine subject to all the remedies, including those attributable to any underlying or resulting infringement. Requires the Register of Copyrights to determine whether or not the application relates to a design which on its face appears to be within the subject matter protected as original designs and, if so, register the design. Increases allowable damage awards for infringement of original designs.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Fair Medicaid Drug Payment Act of 2007 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to calculate the federal upper reimbursement limit as no less than 300% of the weighted average (based on utilization) of the most recent average manufacturer prices (AMPs) for pharmaceutically and therapeutically equivalent multiple source drug products available for purchase by retail community pharmacies on a nationwide basis. Directs the Secretary to implement a smoothing process for AMPs to ensure that federal upper reimbursement limits do not vary significantly from month to month as a result of rebates, discounts, and other pricing practices. Requires a state plan to subject to prior authorization all covered outpatient drug products that are innovator multiple source drugs, if such drug products are more expensive than other biologically and therapeutically equivalent drug products available for purchase in that state by retail community pharmacies. Revises requirements for monthly reports to the Secretary of price information by manufacturers subject to rebate agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 2 August 2007
Amends the Federal Power Act to authorize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a construction permit for siting an interstate electric transmission facility if it finds that an authorized state entity has: (1) approved the siting of the proposed facility; or (2) unreasonably withheld a determination, or delayed making a determination, for a period of at least two years after the date on which the permit application was filed. Repeals provisions governing: (1) rights-of-way; and (2) compensation for acquisition of rights-of-way. Prohibits FERC from issuing a permit if a state entity has denied a permit application for the same project during the two-year period beginning on the date the permit application is submitted to the entity.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2007 - Establishes an independent National Infrastructure Bank to: (1) designate qualified transit, public housing, water, highway, bridge, or road infrastructure projects for loans, loan guarantees, and other financial assistance; and (2) issue general purpose and project-based infrastructure bonds exempt from state and local taxation.
United States · United States Congress · 1 August 2007
Designates September 2007 as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Declares that the federal government has a responsibility to: (1) raise awareness about prostate cancer screening and treatment; (2) increase funding for prostate cancer research; and (3) improve access to, and the quality of, health care services for detecting and treating prostate cancer.
United States · United States Congress · 31 July 2007
Meth Mouth Prevention and Community Recovery Act - Requires the Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to make grants to enable public and private nonprofit entities to determine whether educating youth about meth mouth (oral decay that is commonly associated with methamphetamine use) is an effective strategy for preventing or reducing methamphetamine use. Reserves a portion of appropriated funds for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify the clinical research, health services research, and public health research on associations between substance use disorders, oral health, and the provision of dental care. Requires the Secretary to study the effect methamphetamine use has on the demand for, and provision of, dental care. Directs the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support training and offer technical assistance to ensure that dentists and allied dental personnel are prepared to: (1) recognize signs of alcohol or drug addiction; (2) discuss the nature of substance abuse as it relates to their area of expertise; (3) understand how certain dental therapies can affect the relapse potential of substance dependent patients; and (4) help those affected by a substance use disorder find appropriate treatment for their conditions. Authorizes the Administrator to collaborate with professional accrediting bodies to develop and support substance abuse training courses for oral health professionals.
United States · United States Congress · 30 July 2007
Prescribe A Book Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a Pediatric Early Literacy program under which the Secretary of Education awards matching grants to nonprofit organizations for the implementation of three-part models through which: (1) health care providers encourage parents to read aloud to their children and offer them recommendations and strategies for doing so; (2) health care providers give each visiting child between the ages of six months and five-years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and (3) volunteers reading to children in health care facility waiting areas show parents the techniques and pleasures of reading aloud to children. Requires that the books provided to children under the program be obtained at a discount.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Railroad Safety Enhancement Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for: (1) railroad safety, including transportation of hazardous materials; (2) deployment of a Gage Restraint Measurement System vehicle and a track geometry vehicle or other comparable technology in each region; (3) construction of the Facility for Underground Rail Station and Tunnel Testing and Training at the Transportation Technology Center, Inc., in Pueblo, Colorado; and (4) rail security personnel in Department of Transportation (DOT) regional offices and in Washington, DC. Provides for the appointment of a Chief Safety Officer for the Federal Railroad Administration. Requires the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to develop: (1) a long-term railroad safety strategy; and (2) a railroad safety risk reduction pilot program. Revises hours of service requirements for train and signal employees to include that such employees may not be required to be on duty for more than 12 consecutive hours. Sets forth requirements for: (1) the prevention and reduction of pedestrian and motor vehicle accidents and other incidents, injuries, and fatalities at or near passenger stations, railroad rights-of-way, and highway-rail grade crossings; and (2) the development of new technology to improve safety at highway-rail grade crossings. Requires the Secretary to increase gradually the number of rail safety-related employees at the Federal Railroad Administration. Directs the Secretary to issue regulations to require railroad carriers and railroad contractors and subcontractors to develop plans that train certain crafts or classes of employees on relevant federal railroad safety laws and regulations. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) a railroad safety technology grants program; and (2) a railroad safety infrastructure improvement grants program. Directs the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to provide certain assistance to families of passengers involved in a rail passenger accident that results in a major loss of life. Requires a rail passenger carrier to submit to the NTSB, the Secretary, and the Secretary of Homeland Security a plan for addressing the needs of such families. Exempts solid waste management facilities from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Surface Transportation Board (effectively allowing state and local authorities to regulate solid waste management facilities).
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Increases authorized monthly educational assistance amounts for members of the Selected Reserve. Reduces the military retirement eligibility age in the case of a person who serves in the reserves on active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, below 60 years of age by six months for each 90 days that the person so serves. Prohibits such eligibility age from being reduced below 50. Requires that, if a member of the reserves requires treatment for more than 30 days for a wound or injury incurred on active duty, the Secretary of the military department concerned shall transfer such member to a treatment facility that is not more than 30 miles from either the hometown or permanent duty station of the member, as elected by such member. Requires a member of the reserves who travels more than 50 miles for drill, instruction, or annual training duty to be reimbursed for the costs of such travel.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to make it unlawful to: (1) knowingly sponsor or exhibit an animal in, or knowingly attend, a dog fighting venture; and (2) knowingly sell, buy, possess, train, transport, deliver, or receive for purposes of transportation any dog or other animal for the purposes of having the dog, animal, or offspring of the dog or other animal participate in a dog fighting venture. Provides for imprisonment for up to five years for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2007
Congratulates Cal Ripken, Jr. for his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Honors him for his outstanding career and his contributions to baseball and his community.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act - Amends the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Labor to make unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments in FY2008-FY2012 by certain transfers from the federal unemployment account to the accounts of the states in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Prescribes a formula for determining the maximum allowable incentive payments. Specifies requirements state law must meet for the state to qualify for such a payment. Limits the use of transferred amounts to the payment of cash unemployment benefits to individuals. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to reserve specified funds out of the federal unemployment account for such incentive payments. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through FY2013 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) excise tax imposed on every employer.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2007
Clean Water Restoration Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) to replace the term "navigable waters," throughout the Act, with the term "waters of the United States," defined to mean all waters subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sandflats, wetlands, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds, and all impoundments of the foregoing, to the fullest extent that these waters, or activities affecting them, are subject to the legislative power of Congress under the Constitution. Declares that nothing in such Act shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of the Army or the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the provisions of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act related to discharges: (1) composed entirely of return flows from irrigated agriculture; (2) of stormwater runoff from certain oil, gas, and mining operations composed entirely of flows from precipitation runoff conveyances, which are not contaminated by or in contact with specified materials; or (3) of dredged or fill materials resulting from normal farming, silviculture, and ranching activities or from activities with respect to which a state has an approved program, or for the purposes of maintenance of currently serviceable structures, construction or maintenance of farm or stock ponds, irrigation ditches and maintenance of drainage ditches, or farm, forest, or temporary roads for moving mining equipment in accordance with best management practices, or construction of temporary sedimentation basins on construction sites for which discharges do not include placement of fill material into the waters of the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2007
Amends provisions under the airport noise and access restriction review program for stage two and stage three aircraft to exempt from review under such program local restrictions limiting the hours of operation of an airport provided the airport owner had maintained such a restriction which was disallowed by a court before 1985 and certain other requirements are met.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2007
Life Insurance Fairness for Travelers Act of 2007 - Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 to require an insurer to make available, in all of its life insurance policies for an insured who is either a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, coverage that neither considers past, nor precludes future, lawful foreign travel by the insured. Prohibits the insurer from: (1) declining such coverage based on past or future lawful foreign travel by the insured; or (2) charging a premium for the coverage that is excessive and not based on a good faith actuarial analysis. Allows declination of or limited coverage for travel to foreign destinations for which serious health-related warnings have been issued, or in which an ongoing military conflict or serious unlawful situation is taking place.
United States · United States Congress · 24 July 2007
Requires the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct a study and report to Congress on the helicopter operations over Long Island, New York, including regarding: (1) the effect of helicopter traffic on residential areas; and (2) the feasibility of diverting helicopters from residential areas, creating specific helicopter air lanes, and establishing helicopter altitude limits. Exempts helicopters performing operations for accredited news organizations, law enforcement, or emergency services from any limitations or restrictions.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Trade and Globalization Adjustment Assistance Act of 2007 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to allow the filing of a petition with the Secretary of Labor for certification of eligibility to apply for trade adjustment assistance (TAA) by adversely affected workers in a service sector firm, its subdivision, or a public agency. Revises group eligibility requirements for TAA to cover: (1) a shift, by a public agency to a foreign country, of production of articles or in provision of services, like or directly competitive with articles which are produced, or services which are provided by the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency; and (2) instances where the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency obtains or is likely to obtain such services from a foreign country. Provides for industry-wide certification of adversely affected workers for TAA. Increases the amount of payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act. TAA Health Coverage Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the tax credit for the health insurance costs of certain TAA workers and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients. Sets forth requirements to prevent a lapse of health care coverage for TAA workers and their families. Replaces alternative trade adjustment assistance for older workers provisions with eligibility requirements for wage insurance benefits to older workers who have received an industry-wide certification to apply for TAA. Increases the maximum allowance to cover costs of an adversely affected worker for job search expenses and relocation expenses. Establishes an Office of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Ombudsman. Extends the TAA program for workers through December 31, 2012. Revises the TAA program for communities negatively impacted by trade. Establishes a TAA for communities program to coordinate the federal response. Allows the filing of a petition with the Secretary of Commerce for certification of eligibility to apply for TAA by a service sector firm. Extends the TAA program for firms through FY2012. Makes fishermen and aquaculture producers eligible for TAA without regard to whether such fishermen seek TAA based on an increase in imports of wild stock or an increase of imports of farm-raised stock. Revises TAA group eligibility requirements for certain agricultural commodity producers. Extends the TAA program for farmers through FY2012.
United States · United States Congress · 23 July 2007
Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act of 2007 - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to authorize appropriations through FY2012 to carry out the Act. Repeals the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) quorum requirement for the transaction of business. Decreases the period of advance notice the CPSC must, in some circumstances, provide a manufacturer or private labeler before disclosing to the public information obtained under the Act. Allows disclosure without advance notice to a manufacturer or private labeler if the CPSC makes an affirmative determination that: (1) disclosure is necessary to prevent an unreasonable risk to health and safety; and (2) the manufacturer or private labeler is not cooperating with the Commission. Sets a minimum for the penalty imposed on manufacturer, distributor, or retailer which knowingly fails to comply with a recall order. Increases from $1.25 million to $20 million the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed under the Act for any related series of prohibited acts.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2007
Fair Pay Restoration Act - Amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to declare that an unlawful employment practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when an individual becomes subject to the decision or practice, or when an individual is affected by application of the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid. Accrues liability, and allows an aggrieved person to obtain relief including recovery of back pay for up to two years preceding the filing of the charge, where the unlawful employment practice that has occurred during the charge filing period is similar or related to a practice that occurred outside the charge filing period. Applies certain amendments made by this Act to claims of compensation discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Amends the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 to declare that an unlawful practice occurs when a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice is adopted, when a person becomes subject to the decision or other practice, or when a person is affected by the decision or practice, including each time compensation is paid.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2007
Volunteer Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow sponsors of certain deferred compensation plans to elect to include length of service award plans for bona fide volunteers providing fire fighting and prevention services, emergency medical services, ambulance services, and emergency rescue services. Directs the Secretary of Labor to issue regulations exempting a length of service award program from treatment as an employee pension benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
National Women's Rights History Project Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to designate a vehicular tour route, to be known as the Votes for Women History Trail Route, to link properties in New York State that are historically and thematically associated with the struggle for women's suffrage in the United States. Requires the National Park Service to administer the Trail through the Women's Rights National Historical Park (established under prior law). Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) enter into cooperative agreements and memorandums of understanding with, and provide technical and financial assistance to, other federal agencies, the State of New York, localities, regional governmental bodies, and private entities; (2) make annual grants to state historic preservation offices for up to five years for assistance in surveying, evaluating, and nominating women's rights history properties to the National Register of Historic Places; and (3) make matching grants and give technical assistance for development of a network of governmental and nongovernmental entities providing interpretive and educational program development of national women's rights history, including historic preservation.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
Protect our Children First Act of 2007 - Amends the Missing Children's Assistance Act to: (1) revise and expand the required uses for the annual grant made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and (2) reauthorize the missing children's assistance and the NCMEC grant programs through FY2013. Amends the Crime Control Act of 1990 to allow Inspector General staff members to assist the NCMEC in conducting reviews of inactive missing children case files.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
Children's Products Safety Act of 2007 - Amends the Consumer Product Safety Act to require every manufacturer of an article for use by a child under 60 months of age which is subject to a consumer product safety standard administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) declaring a consumer product a banned hazardous product to certify, based on testing conducted by a nongovernmental independent third party, that the product conforms to such standard or is not a banned hazardous product. Bars importation of such articles lacking independent third party certification.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2007
Private Student Loan Disclosure Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Truth in Lending Act to subject private education loans to its consumer credit disclosure requirements. Sets forth the private student loan terms and conditions which lenders must clearly and conspicuously disclose to borrowers in any application or solicitation for such a loan and contemporaneously with the approval of a private student loan application. Gives private student loan borrowers 30 days after the loan is approved and the required loan disclosure information is received to accept and consummate the loan transaction. Subjects lenders to civil liability for violating such requirements. Requires civil actions to be brought within one year after the first monthly payment on the loan becomes due after the borrower leaves school, unless full repayment begins earlier. Requires private student loan providers, when making the required loan disclosures, to inform borrowers of their possible eligibility for federal educational loans. Requires the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to develop and test a student borrower disclosure statement that encourages students to use federal educational loans and discloses their average interest rate and the fact that they are less costly than private education loans.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2007
Lead Poisoning Reduction Act of 2007 - Amends the Toxic Substances Control Act to establish a Select Group on Lead Exposure. Requires the Group to: (1) conduct a study of state, tribal, and local programs to protect children from exposure to lead at child-occupied facilities constructed before January 1, 1978; (2) develop baseline standards such programs must meet to receive a grant under this Act; and (3) develop a model program to protect children from exposure to lead at such facilities that can be adopted by state, local, and tribal governments. Requires the model program to meet or exceed standards that require facilities to be notified as soon as practicable after a child is diagnosed with lead poisoning and to be tested for the presence of lead upon receiving such notification. Directs the Administrator to: (1) establish a program to provide grants to assist such facilities in carrying out activities to protect children from lead exposure; (2) promulgate regulations requiring such facilities to test applicable exposure pathways for lead, prohibiting states and Indian tribes from issuing a license to such facilities until the testing is complete and the exposure to lead is eliminated, and requiring all child-occupied facilities to eliminate the risk of exposure to lead through applicable exposure pathways; and (3) apply regulations governing lead-based paint activities to contractors and workers engaged in the renovation, remodeling, or painting of such facilitates and to establish a program to provide information and training about those activities to them.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2007
FHA Loan Limit Adjustment Act of 2007 - Amends the National Housing Act with respect to mortgage insurance eligibility to revise requirements for the principal amount of a mortgage loan, in part increasing the amount of a mortgage that may be insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Repeals the requirement that certain mortgagors, before a mortgage is insured, complete a program of counseling on the responsibilities and financial management involved in homeownership. Increases high-cost area and project-based additional mortgage loan limits for FHA-insured mortgages for: (1) rental housing; (2) cooperative housing; (3) rehabilitation and neighborhood conservation housing insurance; (4) moderate income and displaced family housing; (5) housing for the elderly; and (6) condominiums.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2007
Requires the Coast Guard Commandant to study an area commonly identified as Coast Guard Sector Buffalo, located in Buffalo, New York, and report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives on the most cost-effective method for providing shore facilities and the feasibility of consolidating and relocating shore facilities on a portion of the existing site while meeting and expanding Sector Buffalo operational requirements. Requires that the report contain a preliminary plan for the design, engineering, and construction of the proposed project.
United States · United States Congress · 17 July 2007
Compassionate Care for Servicewomen Act - Requires emergency contraception to be included on the basic core formulary of the uniform formulary of pharmaceutical agents for the pharmacy benefits program of the Department of Defense. States that prior authorization shall not be required for such contraception.
United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2007
FOREWARN Act of 2007 - Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the Act) to to revise the terms "employer," "plant closing," and "mass layoff" for purposes of the Act. Requires an employer to: (1) give 90-day written notice (under current law, 60-day) to employees and appropriate state and local governments before ordering a plant closing or mass layoff; and (2) notify the Secretary of Labor within 60 days of such closing or layoff (including the number of employees involved). Makes an employer who violates such notice requirements liable to the employee for double the back pay (under current law, for back pay) for each day of the violation for up to 90 days (under current law, 60 days). Authorizes the Secretary to bring a civil action on behalf of one or more employees for certain relief under the Act. Directs the Secretary to make educational materials concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities available to the general public and employers.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Business Activity Tax Simplification Act of 2007 - Expands the federal prohibition against state taxation of interstate commerce to: (1) include taxation of out-of-state transactions involving all forms of property, including intangible personal property and services (currently, only sales of tangible personal property are protected); and (2) prohibit state taxation of an out-of-state entity unless such entity has a physical presence in the taxing state. Sets forth criteria for determining that a person has a physical presence in a state.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Combating Child Exploitation Act of 2007 - Requires the Attorney General to appoint a Special Counsel for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction within the Office of Deputy Attorney General to coordinate Department of Justice policies and strategies for the prevention and investigation of child exploitation cases. Establishes within the Office of Justice Programs an Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC Task Force), consisting of state and local task forces (one task force for each state) to address online enticement of children, child exploitation, and child obscenity and pornography cases. Requires the Attorney General to establish a National Internet Crimes Against Children Data Network Center to assist the ICAC Task Force program and federal, state, local, and tribal agencies investigating and prosecuting child exploitation. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to state and local ICAC task forces to combat Internet crimes against children. Requires the Attorney General to establish additional computer forensic capacity to address backlogs, including for child exploitation investigations. Amends the federal criminal code to authorize wiretapping in state child exploitation investigations. Authorizes funding for additional agents and personnel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Postal Service.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Housing Fairness Act of 2007 - Instructs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to conduct, and report to Congress on, a nationwide testing program to: (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or refinance a home mortgage loan; (2) measure patterns of adverse treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home buyer, or borrower; and (3) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices across housing and mortgage lending markets. Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 to reauthorize the fair housing initiatives program. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary should: (1) fully comply with such Act's requirements to establish, design, and maintain a national education and outreach program for the development and dissemination of the fair housing rights of individuals who seek to rent, purchase, sell, or facilitate the sale of a home; (2) use all amounts appropriated for such program; and (3) promulgate regulations on the fair housing obligations of each recipient of federal housing funds to affirmatively further fair housing. Directs the Secretary to implement a competitive matching grant program to assist private nonprofit organizations in: (1) conducting comprehensive studies of specified aspects of the causes and effects of housing discrimination and segregation; and (2) implementing pilot projects that test solutions to help prevent or alleviate housing discrimination and segregation.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Prostate Research, Imaging, and Men's Education Act or the PRIME Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to expand and intensify research to develop advanced imaging technologies for prostate cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment comparable to mammogram technology. Directs the Secretary: (1) to carry out a national campaign to increase awareness and knowledge with respect to the need for prostate cancer screening and for improved detection technologies; (2) in developing such campaign, to recognize and address the racial disparities in the incidences of prostate cancer and mortality rates; (3) to establish a program to award grants to nonprofit private entities to test alternative outreach and education strategies; (4) to carry out research to develop an improved prostate cancer screening blood test using in-vitro detection; and (5) to certify compliance with this Act within one year.
United States · United States Congress · 28 June 2007
Provides that, with respect to disputes arising after July 10, 2005, between the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and its employees in attempting to reach an agreement concerning the implementation of proposed changes to the FAA personnel management system: (1) the services of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) shall be used; (2) the Administrator and employees may by mutual agreement adopt procedures for the resolution of disputes or impasses arising in the negotiation of a collective-bargaining agreement; and (3) if the services of the FMCS have led to an impasse between the FAA and its employees in reaching an agreement with respect to implementing the proposed changes, the FAA Administrator and employees shall submit their controversy to the Federal Service Impasses Panel for binding arbitration. (Under current law, the services of the FMCS shall be used and, if the services of the FMCS do not lead to an agreement, the Administrator's proposed change to the personnel management system shall not take effect until 60 days have elapsed after the Administrator has transmitted the proposed changes, along with the objections of the employees to the changes, and the reasons for such objections, to Congress.)
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Prevention, Education, and Research Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Tick-Borne Diseases Advisory Committee. Requires the Committee to advise the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health regarding how officials can: (1) ensure interagency coordination and communication and minimize overlap regarding efforts to address tick-borne diseases; (2) identify opportunities to coordinate efforts with other federal agencies and private organizations addressing such diseases; (3) ensure interagency coordination and communication with constituency groups; (4) ensure that a broad spectrum of scientific viewpoints is represented in public heath policy decisions and that information disseminated to the public and physicians is balanced; and (5) advise relevant federal agencies on priorities related to Lyme and tick-borne diseases. Requires the Secretary, acting through the appropriate federal officials, to provide for the coordination of all federal programs and activities related to Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, including: (1) developing sensitive and accurate diagnostic tools and tests, (2) improving the efficient utilization of diagnostic testing currently available; (3) accurately determining the prevalence of such diseases; (4) evaluating the feasibility of creating a national uniform reporting system; (5) providing and promoting access to a clearinghouse of information on such diseases; (6) increasing public education related to such diseases; (7) creating a physician education program; (8) establishing epidemiological research objectives to determine the long term course of illness for Lyme disease; and (9) determining the effectiveness of different treatment modalities by establishing treatment outcome objectives
United States · United States Congress · 27 June 2007
Medicare Mental Health Copayment Equity Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide, by a gradual increase in the percentage of expenses considered incurred expenses, for a gradual reduction (from 50% to the standard 20%) of copayment rates for outpatient psychiatric services under the Medicare program.
United States · United States Congress · 26 June 2007
Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow a person to submit an application for licensure of a biological product based on its similarity to a licensed biological product (the reference product). Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to license the biological product if it is biosimilar to or interchangeable with the reference product. Allows a determination of interchangeability if the product is: (1) biosimilar to the reference product and can be expected to produce the same clinical result in any given patient; and (2) the risk in terms of safety or diminished efficacy of alternating or switching between the products is not greater than the risk of using the reference product without switching. Prohibits the Secretary from determining that a second or subsequent biological product is interchangeable for any condition of use until one year after the first commercial marketing of the first product to be approved as interchangeable for that reference product. Prohibits the Secretary from making approval of an application under this Act f effective until 12 years after the date on which the reference product was first licensed. Authorizes the Secretary to issue product class-specific guidance. Sets forth provisions governing patent infringement actions related to the exchange of confidential information, good faith negotiations, and the filing of an infringement action. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop recommendations with respect to the goals for the process for the review of biosimilar biological product applications; and (2) collect and evaluate data regarding the cost of reviewing such applications.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2007
Civil Rights Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow an exclusion from gross income for amounts received (either backpay or frontpay or punitive damages) on account of an unlawful discrimination claim; and (2) allow income averaging for backpay and frontpay amounts received from such claims.
United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2007
Social Security Number Online Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit a state, local government, or any officer, employee, or contractor of a state or local government, from displaying to the general public on the Internet all or any portion of any Social Security account number. Establishes a fine of up to $5,000 a day on any state or local government that has a policy or practice of substantial noncompliance with the requirements of this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action against a state, local government, or officer, employee, or contractor of such state or local government for appropriate relief for any violation of this Act. Directs the Attorney General to award grants to states and local governments to come into compliance with such prohibition.
United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2007
Honors the firefighters who responded to the fire in Charleston, South Carolina on June 18, 2007, including those who lost their lives: William "Billy" Hutchinson, Mike Benke, Louis Mulkey, Mark Kelsey, Bradford "Brad" Baity, Michael French, James "Earl" Drayton, Brandon Thompson, and Melven Champaign. Honors other public servants who contributed to battling the fire. Pledges to continue to support and to work on behalf of the firefighters.
United States · United States Congress · 21 June 2007
Local Community Radio Act of 2007 - Repeals provisions in the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001, that required the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to: (1) modify rules authorizing the operation of low-power FM radio stations to prescribe minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels; (2) prohibit applicants who have engaged in the unlicensed operation of any station from obtaining a low-power FM license; and (3) conduct a program to test whether low-power FM radio stations will result in harmful interference to existing FM radio stations if minimum distance separations for third-adjacent channels are not required. Requires the FCC to modify its rules to eliminate third-adjacent minimum distance separation requirements between specified stations. Requires the FCC to retain rules that provide third-adjacent channel protection for full-power noncommercial FM stations that broadcast radio reading services via a subcarrier frequency from potential low-power FM station interference. Requires the FCC when licensing FM translator stations to ensure: (1) that licenses are available to both FM translator stations and low-power FM stations; and (2) that such decisions are made based on the needs of the local community.
United States · United States Congress · 20 June 2007
Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 - Requires the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to allow specified uses by Louisiana of certain funds under the Road Home Program. Requires state reports, made public on the Internet, on each state grant program for household assistance programs funded with community development block grant (CDBG) disaster assistance. Directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to require Louisiana to make certain funds available for specified community development pilot programs in Orleans and other parishes. Authorizes additional funds for the Road Home Program. Permits a state or locality to use, as a matching requirement, share, or contribution for any other federal program, certain CDBG funds previously made available for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and infrastructure restoration in major disaster areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, Rita, or Wilma. Authorizes appropriations to HUD, via FEMA, of certain Hurricane-related unobligated disaster relief funds to reimburse metropolitan cities and urban counties for amounts used to provide rental housing assistance to hurricane-evacuated families. Directs the Secretary to provide for an independent survey of public housing residents of New Orleans about returning to a repaired public housing or comparable dwelling unit. Sets a deadline for the Housing Authority of New Orleans (Authority) to make a certain number of dwelling units available for occupancy. Grants a right of return to previous public housing households. Prohibits the Authority from: (1) preventing such households from occupying a replacement dwelling unit, except as prohibited by federal law; or (2) demolishing or disposing of any public housing dwelling unit operated or administered by it (including any uninhabitable unit), except pursuant to a HUD-approved replacement plan. Requires the Secretary to report to certain congressional committees on all public housing projects in the Katrina or Rita disaster areas for which plans exist to transfer ownership to other entities or agencies. Authorizes appropriations for repair and rehabilitation of the Authority's public housing. Extends through June 30, 2008, the HUD Disaster Voucher Program and the Secretary's authority to waive specified requirements related to section 8 rental assistance. Provides for: (1) tenant replacement vouchers for all lost units; (2) voucher assistance for households receiving FEMA assistance, including residents of FEMA trailers; (3) voucher assistance for supportive housing; (4) waiver of limitations on project-basing of vouchers; (5) preservation of project-based housing assistance payments contracts for dwelling units damaged or destroyed; and (6) reimbursement to landlords for damages resulting from abrogation by FEMA of commitments entered into under the city lease program. Prohibits the HUD Secretary from denying conveyance of property title to HUD and payment of hazard or flood insurance benefits in specified circumstances. Establishes within HUD an FHA-New Orleans Homeownership Opportunities Initiative. Authorizes appropriations for the fair housing initiatives program. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on methods of improving distribution of federal housing funds to assist states with hurricane recovery. Commends the actions and efforts by individuals and organizations who contributed to the hurricane relief effort.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2007
Travel Promotion Act of 2007 - Establishes the Corporation for Travel Promotion as a nonprofit corporation that is not an agency or establishment of the U.S. government. Makes the Corporation subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act. Requires the Corporation, among other things, to provide useful information to people interested in traveling to the United States, counter and correct misperceptions regarding U.S. travel policy, and promote U.S. travel. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Requires the transfer of Treasury funds to the Corporation, requiring nonfederal matching funds. Authorizes the U.S. government, if a fully automated electronic system is implemented to determine, in advance of travel, the eligibility of an alien to travel to the United States, to charge an applicant a system use fee. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry represented on the Board, provided industry members approve by majority vote in a referendum. Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Office of Travel Promotion, to be headed by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Travel Promotion. Amends the International Travel Act of 1961 to require that the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries expand its research and development activities to promote international travel to the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for the production of cellulosic biofuel. Defines "cellulosic biofuel" as any liquid transportation fuel derived from any lignocellulosic or hemicellulosic matter (other than food starch) that is available on a renewable or recurring basis.
United States · United States Congress · 14 June 2007
Empowerment Zone and Renewal Community Enhancement Act of 2007 - 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.
![Official portrait of Sen. Schumer, Charles E. [D-NY]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000148_200.jpg)