United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2005
Small Business Hurricane Relief and Reconstruction Act of 2005 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make loans of up to $10 million aggregate to a nonprofit organization located or operating in a disaster area (as designated by the President as a result of Hurricane Katrina or Rita) or providing services to persons who have evacuated from a disaster area. Defers disaster loan payments to the later of one year after the date of enactment of this Act or one year from the date of issuance of the loan (but allows the Administrator to extend such deferral until two years after either date). Authorizes the refinancing of any loan or business debt related to such disasters that was outstanding on August 24, 2005. Authorizes the Administrator to make loans to small businesses or cooperatives that demonstrate a direct adverse economic impact caused by either Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Authorizes the Administrator to make loans to small businesses that have or are likely to suffer substantial economic injury on or after August 24, 2005, as the result of a significant increase in the price of heating oil, natural gas, propane, or kerosene. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize such loans for farms that are also a small business and that suffer substantial economic injury after such date as the result of a significant increase in energy or input costs. Authorizes the Administrator to: (1) make supplemental emergency loans to small businesses located anywhere in the United States that are directly adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita; and (2) guarantee timely payment on any debentures issued by small business development companies after Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Increases authorized funding for small business loan programs. Authorizes appropriations to the Secretary of Commerce for grants to state government agencies in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida, for relief from damages caused by Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Authorizes appropriations to the SBA for specified small business development and counseling activities. Directs or authorizes the Administrator, with respect to small businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina or Rita, to: (1) establish a contracting outreach and technical assistance program; (2) provide performance bonding; and (3) increase the goal of participation in federal prime contracts and subcontracts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Timber Tax Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax deduction (available to taxpayers whether or not they itemize deductions) for up to 60% of gains from certain sales or exchanges of timber.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
New Markets Tax Credit Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the new markets tax credit limitation amount of $3.5 million through calendar year 2012 and to adjust such amount for inflation for taxable years beginning after 2008.
United States · United States Congress · 29 September 2005
Expresses the sense of Congress that the United States should not be a signatory to any agreement or protocol with respect to the Doha Development Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, or any other bilateral or multilateral trade negotiations, that adopts any proposal to lessen the effectiveness of domestic and international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguard provisions, including certain proposals, and would lessen in any manner U.S. ability to enforce rigorously its trade laws, including the antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguard laws. Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) U.S. trade laws and international rules appropriately serve the public interest by offsetting injurious unfair trade, and that further "balancing modifications" or other similar provisions are unnecessary and would add to the complexity and difficulty of achieving relief against injurious unfair trade practices; and (2) the United States should ensure that any new agreement relating to international disciplines on unfair trade or safeguard provisions fully rectifies and corrects decisions by WTO dispute settlement panels or the Appellate Body that have unjustifiably and negatively impacted, or threaten to negatively impact, U.S. law or practice, including a law or practice with respect to foreign dumping or subsidization.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
CARE Act of 2005 - Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to charitable giving, including to: (1) allow nonitemizing taxpayers to claim a tax deduction for charitable contributions; (2) permit tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes; (3) expand the tax deductions for charitable contributions of food and book inventories; (4) allow an increased tax deduction for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, and scholarly compositions; and (5) exclude from gross income reimbursements to volunteers for the charitable use of an automobile. Revises various disclosure and oversight requirements relating to tax-exempt organizations. Restores and increases funding for the Social Services Block Grant Program. Savings for Working Families Act of 2005 - Allows certain low income individuals to establish individual development accounts (IDAs) to accumulate assets for homeownership, education, business startup, and other purposes. Allows an investment tax credit for contributions to an IDA. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Attorney General, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to award grants to, and enter into cooperative agreements with, nongovernmental organizations to assist nonprofit community-based organizations in delivering social services. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to contract for an evaluation of maternity group homes under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2005
Downed Animal Protection Act - States that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory livestock in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such livestock become nonambulatory. Amends the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations providing for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Requires an entity to: (1) humanely euthanize nonambulatory livestock (while not limiting the Secretary's ability to test nonambulatory livestock for disease, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy); and (2) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious, and ensure that such livestock remains unconscious until death. Prohibits an inspector at an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock, carcass, or carcass parts through inspection. Requires an inspector or other employee at such establishment to label such material as "inspected and condemned." Defines "covered entity," "nonambulatory livestock," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Pulmonary Hypertension Research Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate the activities of the Institute with respect to research on pulmonary hypertension and to coordinate the Director's activities with related activities of other national research institutes and National Institutes of Health (NIH) agencies. Requires the Director to make grants to, or enter into contracts with, public or nonprofit private entities for the development and operation of centers to conduct research and programs on pulmonary hypertension, including: (1) basic and clinical research into the cause, diagnosis, early detection, prevention, control, and treatment of the disease; (2) training programs for scientists and health professionals; (3) programs to provide information and continuing education to health professionals; and (4) programs for the dissemination of information to the public. Requires the Director to establish: (1) a data system for the collection, storage, analysis, retrieval, and dissemination of data derived from patient populations with pulmonary hypertension; and (2) an information clearinghouse to facilitate and enhance knowledge and understanding of pulmonary hypertension by health professionals, patients, industry, and the public.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2005
Working Family Child Assistance Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the annual inflation adjustment applicable to the $10,000 income threshold required to qualify for the refundable portion of the child tax credit.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2005
Directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to initiate a proceeding no later than June 1, 2006, to reevaluate and reconfigure its band (spectrum) plans for the upper 700 megahertz band and the unauctioned portions of the lower 700 megahertz band, requiring the reconfiguration to include spectrum to be licensed for small geographic areas.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2005
Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act - Establishes an all hazards alert system that will: (1) enable any appropriate federal department or agency or state or local governmental entity to alert the public to any imminent threat from natural phenomena, accidents, natural disasters, terrorist activity, and other emergency situations that present a significant risk of injury or death to the public; (2) be coordinated with and supplement existing federal, state, and local emergency warning and alert systems; (3) be flexible enough in its application to permit narrowly targeted alerts in circumstances in which only a small geographic area is exposed or potentially exposed to the threat; and (4) transmit alerts in response to natural hazards, hazardous materials incidents, and terrorist attacks across the greatest possible variety of media, including digital and analog broadcast, cable, and satellite television and radio, wireless telecommunications, and hardwire telecommunications, to reach the largest portion of the affected population. Establishes the National Program Office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to conduct the day-to-day operation and management of the system. Establishes the Working Group on the National Alert System to transmit to the director of the National Program Office: (1) a description of the emergency alert service to be provided by the System; (2) guidelines for the technical capabilities of the System; (3) guidelines for technical capability that provides for the priority transmission of System alerts; (4) guidelines for the other capabilities of the System; and (5) standards to which the equipment and technologies in the System must conform. Directs the Office to establish a program of grants to provide for installation of technologies in remote communities effectively unserved by broadcast and wireless technologies to enable community residents to receive System alerts. Specifies requirements for implementation and use of the System.
United States · United States Congress · 21 September 2005
Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the U.S. Coast Guard should receive Congress's highest commendation for its response to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina; (2) Congress should commit to providing the Coast Guard with resources it needs to modernize and maintain its fleet of vessels and aircraft; and (3) the Administration should ensure that the Coast Guard receives sufficient funding to cover its unexpected operational and capital costs associated with Hurricane Katrina.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2005
Small Business, Homeowners, and Renters Disaster Relief Act of 2005 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to make loans to: (1) small businesses and small agricultural cooperatives that demonstrate a direct adverse economic impact caused by Hurricane Katrina; and (2) nonprofit organizations for purposes of repairing damage caused by Hurricane Katrina or performing other hurricane relief services in a damaged area. Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to authorize the Administrator to guarantee development company debentures issued for the purpose of rebuilding or resuming operations in a Hurricane Katrina-damaged area. Authorizes appropriations to the: (1) Department of Commerce to provide, in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida, bridge grants and loans to small businesses in areas which the President has designated as a disaster area as a result of Hurricane Katrina; and (2) SBA for entrepreneurial development for small businesses affected by Hurricane Katrina. Directs the Administrator to: (1) provide an outreach and technical assistance program for affected small businesses; and (2) make supplemental emergency loans to affected small businesses. Authorizes the making of loans to small businesses and farming operations that have or are likely to suffer substantial economic injury on or after January 1, 2005, as the result of a significant increase in energy costs.
United States · United States Congress · 19 September 2005
Working Waterfront Preservation Act of 2005 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to authorize the Secretary of Commerce to award a grant to a state or local government of a coastal state, a nonprofit organization, or a fishing cooperative for projects to: (1) acquire real property in a coastal state to provide access to commercial fishermen or persons in the aquaculture industry to coastal waters in working waterfront areas; or (2) make improvements to real property owned by an eligible entity in a coastal state to provide access to such persons to coastal waters in working waterfront areas.
United States · United States Congress · 13 September 2005
No Child Left Behind Flexibility and Improvements Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to revise requirements relating to annual yearly progress (AYP) of students and schools, statewide and local accountability systems, special education, limited English proficiency students, funding levels and academic assessment deferrals, highly qualified teachers, and reading activities. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to modify an AYP timeline. Allows states to use: (1) additional types of statewide models and systems for measuring all students' progress; and (2) alternative assessments, designated by their individualized education program plan teams, for students with disabilities. Gives states an option to include as limited English proficiency students, until they complete secondary school, those formerly in such subgroup who have subsequently acquired English proficiency. Permits use of local assessments in measuring AYP. Increases the levels of ESEA funding which must be reached before states are not allowed certain deferrals of academic assessments. Revises requirements relating to AYP by group and subgroup. Adds options for deeming teachers of multiple academic subjects as highly qualified, and for general social studies certification. Authorizes use of reading activities subgrants for individual or small-group instruction, as well as for class-wide instruction.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2005
National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Reauthorization Act of 2005 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to waive requirements for awarding breast and cervical cancer grants to states if certain conditions are met, including that the Secretary finds that granting such a waiver will not reduce the number of women in the state receiving examinations and screening for breast and cervical cancers nor the quality of such services. Provides that such waivers are for two-year periods. Requires the Secretary to review performance under the waiver and allows the Secretary to extend such waivers. Authorizes appropriations for such grants through FY2011.
United States · United States Congress · 12 September 2005
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) make permanent the tax deduction for tuition and related expenses for higher education; and (2) include books as a deductible expense.
United States · United States Congress · 8 September 2005
Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to carry out, under the River and Harbor Act of 1968, a project for the mitigation of shore damage attributable to the project for navigation, Saco River, Maine, without regard to the requirement for congressional authorization set forth in that Act. Authorizes the Secretary to implement the project plan preferred by non-federal interests.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2005
Acknowledges Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's lifelong service to the United States. Commends his 33-year tenure on the U.S. Supreme Court and his many accomplishments as Chief Justice. Extends sympathy to his family and friends.
United States · United States Congress · 6 September 2005
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses the condolences of the Nation to the victims of Hurricane Katrina; (2) commends the resiliency and courage of the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama; and (3) commits to provide the necessary resources and to stand by the people of such states in the relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Digital Translator and Low-Power Television Transition Assistance Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to extend the deadline for conversion of translator stations and low-power analog television stations to advanced (digital) television services from the current transition period ending on December 31, 2006, to the period ending four years thereafter. Establishes in the Treasury the Low-Power Digital Television Transition Trust Fund, funded by proceeds from the federal auction of certain electromagnetic spectrum frequencies, for the making of grants to licensees of low-power television stations, state and local governments, and community organizations to: (1) upgrade low-power television translator stations from analog to digital in eligible rural communities and other areas served by low-power television stations; and (2) extend digital television broadcast signals to unserved households located in such communities and areas. Requires a report from the Federal Communications Commission to specified congressional committees on the status of low-power television and translator stations. Directs the FCC to report semiannually to such committees on the status of international cooperation with Canada and Mexico with respect to the Digital Television table of allotments.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2005 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act with respect to reimbursement for specified emergency care and services of private institutions for mental diseases subject (under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Medicaid (EMTALA) Program) to certain requirements for examination and treatment for emergency medical conditions. Requires the Medicaid program to reimburse such institutions for care and services required to stabilize an emergency medical condition of an individual between ages 21 and 65, if the treatment is within the range of services that such institution typically provides.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Small Business Lending Improvement Act of 2005 - Amends the Small Business Act to establish within the current Preferred Lenders Program operated by the Small Business Administration (SBA) the National Preferred Lenders Program, under which a participant may operate as a preferred lender in any state if the lender meets eligibility criteria established by the SBA. Allows each approved participant to make loans for up to two years under the program. Increases: (1) to up to $3 million the maximum authorized SBA gross loan amount for small businesses; and (2) the FY2006 authorization of appropriations to the SBA for such loans. Directs the SBA Administrator to establish an alternative size standard (measuring the size of a business for purposes of eligibility for small business loans) utilizing the maximum net worth and net income of the prospective borrower as an alternative to the use of industry standards. Requires, in the interim, the use of an alternative size standard regulation.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in recognition of Constantino Brumidi's contributions to the Nation as a designer and decorator of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to arrange for the gold medal to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Constantino Brumidi.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Medicare Payment Adjustment To Community Health Centers (PATCH) Act of 2005 - Amends part E (Miscellaneous) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to revise the definition of federally qualified health center (FQHC) services to include certain services furnished by an FQHC for which payment may otherwise be made under Medicare if they were furnished by a health care provider or health care professional other than an FQHC. Repeals the limitation of such services to outpatients of an FQHC, extending them to all patients of an FQHC. Repeals the declaration that any reference to a rural health clinic is deemed a reference to an FQHC. Ensures FQHC reimbursement for patients of hospitals and critical access hospitals under the hospital prospective payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Interest on Business Checking Act of 2005 - Amends Federal law to authorize interest-bearing transaction accounts for all businesses, permitting up to 24 transfers per month to another account of the owner in the same institution (or any greater number the Federal Reserve Board may determine). Amends the Federal Reserve Act, the Home Owners' Loan Act, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to repeal the prohibition against the payment of interest on demand deposits. Requires a joint rulemaking by the federal banking agencies authorizing the payment of interest and dividends on transaction accounts at depository institutions under their respective jurisdictions. Amends the Federal Reserve Act to authorize the payment of interest at least quarterly by a federal reserve bank on reserves maintained there on behalf of a depository institution. Revises the ratio of reserves a depository institution must maintain against its transaction accounts, permitting a ratio of zero. States that, where escrow accounts are maintained at a depository institution for completion of a real estate settlement transaction, specified expense-taking or fee-waiving activities shall not be treated as the payment or receipt of interest for purposes relating to the payment of interest on accounts or deposits maintained at depository institutions.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Commends the Iraqi people's progress toward establishment of a representative democratic government. Recognizes: (1) the importance of ensuring women in Iraq have equal rights under the law and in society; and (2) the importance of ensuring women's rights in all legislation, with special attention to preserving women's equal rights under family, property, and inheritance laws. Encourages Iraq's Transitional National Assembly to adopt a constitution that grants women equal rights under the law and to work to protect such rights. Expresses support for: (1) the continued participation of women in the Iraqi National Assembly and in all levels of the government; and (2) the efforts of Iraqi women to fully participate in a democratic Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 29 July 2005
Encourages expanded efforts to alleviate hunger in developing countries, and pledges to support international hunger relief efforts. Expresses the sense of the Senate that: (1) the United States should use financial and diplomatic resources to work with other donors to ensure that food aid programs receive all necessary funding and supplies; and (2) food aid should be provided in conjunction with measures to alleviate hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Small Business Expensing Permanency Act of 2005 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the increased expensing allowance ($100,000) for depreciable business assets and related provisions pertaining to phaseout amounts, inflation adjustments, and the period for revocation of an election.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2005
Designates March 8, 2006, as Endangered Species Day. Encourages: (1) educational entities to spend at least 30 minutes on such Day teaching students about threats to, and the restoration of, endangered species; and (2) organizations, businesses, and agencies with an interest in conserving endangered species to collaborate on educational information for use in schools.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Human Cloning Ban Act of 2005 - Prohibits any person or private or public legal entity from: (1) conducting or attempting to conduct human cloning; (2) shipping the product of nuclear transplantation in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of human cloning; or (3) exporting to a foreign country an unfertilized blastocyst if such country does not prohibit human cloning. Sets forth criminal and civil penalties for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2005 - Authorizes appropriations for FY2006-FY2011 for: (1) Amtrak capital and operating grants, including state capital grants; (2) the Federal Railroad Administration; (3) Amtrak repayment of long-term debt and capital leases; (4) excess Amtrak railroad retirement payments to the Railroad Retirement Account; (5) the rail cooperative research program; and (6) grants to Amtrak and states participating in the Next Generation Corridor Train Equipment Pool Committee. Amends federal transportation law to make certain Amtrak reforms and operational improvements, including: (1) state funding of Amtrak rail routes; (2) establishment of improved financial accounting system; (3) development of a five-year financial plan; (4) improvement of passenger train performance; (5) establishment of an alternative passenger rail service program; (6) employee transition assistance; and (7) development of a Northeast Corridor state-of-good-repair plan. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to an applicant state, Interstate Compact, or public agency to assist in financing the capital costs of facilities and equipment necessary to provide intercity passenger rail transportation. Establishes: (1) a Next Generation Corridor Equipment Pool Committee; and (2) a rail cooperative research program. Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to Amtrak for certain systemwide security upgrades. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to Amtrak for fire and life-safety improvements and infrastructure upgrades to tunnels on the Northeast Corridor. Directs Amtrak to submit to the National Transportation Safety Board a plan to address the needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to report to Congress an assessment of the current system for preclearance and screening of rail and airline passengers and baggage, as well as freight railroad traffic, between the United States and Canada. Allows a tax credit to holders of rail infrastructure (intercity rail facility) bonds issued by a state, interstate compact, or Amtrak to finance or refinance certain rail improvement projects.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Amends provisions of the Small Business Act relating to the women's business center program (a program of Small Business Administration (SBA) grants to establish centers to aid women-owned small businesses) to make any grant recipient whose five-year project ended in FY2004 eligible to apply for a grant to continue such a center in sustainability status for FY2005.
United States · United States Congress · 27 July 2005
Small Business Economic Impact Analysis Act of 2005 - Prohibits an agency from making a qualified termination or restructuring (a termination of the use of a facility or restructuring that will result in the net loss of at least 1,000 jobs in a state) unless it conducts a detailed analysis of the impact on small businesses and small governmental jurisdictions of the proposed termination or restructuring. Requires: (1) a related cost-benefit analysis; and (2) the agency to publish a draft of the analysis at least 180 days before undertaking the termination or restructuring. Directs the: (1) agency to publish a final economic analysis; and (2) Comptroller General to review such final analysis. Prohibits an agency from taking final action on a termination or restructuring until its analysis receives a satisfactory review from the Comptroller General. Authorizes judicial review for any small business or small governmental jurisdiction adversely affected or aggrieved by a qualifying termination or restructuring.
United States · United States Congress · 26 July 2005
Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a three-year pilot program under which up to 15 states may issue electronic migratory bird hunting and conservation stamps. Prohibits a state's participation in the program absent the Secretary's approval of an application providing details of the state's electronic stamp process. Requires the Secretary to publish eligibility requirements and selection criteria. Directs the Secretary to require participating states to: (1) provide an actual (paper) stamp to each individual to whom the state sells an electronic stamp by the date on which the electronic stamp expires; and (2) collect and transmit to the Secretary electronic stamp revenue and customer information. Authorizes participating states to charge a reasonable fee to cover program costs. Sets forth requirements for electronic stamps. Authorizes termination of a state's participation in the program by the Secretary for violations of application terms or by a state upon providing written notice.
United States · United States Congress · 25 July 2005
Recognizes and honors the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and salutes all people whose efforts contributed to its enactment. Encourages all Americans to celebrate the advance of freedom and the opening of opportunity made possible by its enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 22 July 2005
Honors the life and legacy of Constantino Brumidi, artist and patriot. Recognizes Brumidi's many contributions to the world of art as well as to the United States, as reflected in his work in the U.S. Capitol Building.
United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2005
Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2005 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage of items and services furnished under a cardiac rehabilitation or a pulmonary rehabilitation program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2005
Wired for Health Care Quality Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish the Office of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology to develop a nationwide interoperable health information technology infrastructure. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish the public-private American Health Information Collaborative to recommend uniform policies to support the widespread adoption of health information technology; and (2) adopt recommended modifications to standards for the electronic exchange of health information. Prohibits any federal agency from expending federal funds to purchase health information technology that is inconsistent with adopted standards and requires all federal agencies collecting health data to comply with such standards. Requires the Secretary to develop criteria to: (1) ensure uniform and consistent implementation of any standards voluntarily adopted by private entities; and (2) ensure and certify hardware, software, and support services compliance with adopted standards. Allows the Secretary to award grants to: (1) facilitate the purchase and enhance the utilization of qualified health information technology systems; (2) implement regional or local health information plans; and (3) develop academic programs integrating qualified health information technology systems in the clinical education of health professionals. Requires the heads of specified federal agencies to develop a system to measure the quality of care patients receive. Requires the Secretary to: (1) adopt and utilize such system; (2) disseminate recommendations and best practices derived from the analysis of quality measures; and (3) study methods to create efficient reimbursement incentives for improving health care quality. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), to develop a Center for Best Practices to provide technical assistance and develop best practices to support and accelerate efforts to adopt, implement, and effectively use interoperable health information technology. Reauthorizes appropriations for grants to reduce statutory and regulatory barriers to telemedicine.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2005
Milk Import Tariff Equity Act - Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to impose tariff-rate quotas (quantitative import limits) and provide various duty rates on certain casein, caseinates, milk protein concentrate, and other casein derivatives and glues imported into the United States (except imports from Mexico). Authorizes the President to: (1) enter into a trade agreement with a foreign country to grant new concessions as compensation in order to maintain the general level of reciprocal and mutually advantageous concessions; and (2) proclaim any necessary modification or continuance of any existing duty, or continuance of existing duty-free or excise treatment, or any quantitative limitation. Sets forth certain limits on the reduction of duties on such products.
United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2005
National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act of 2005 - Directs the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses through participating Small Business Development Centers (Centers). Requires the Administrator to enter into arrangements with participating Centers to provide: (1) access to regulatory information and resources; (2) training and education activities; (3) confidential counseling to owners and operators of small businesses regarding compliance with Federal regulations; (4) technical assistance; and (5) partnerships with Federal compliance programs. Requires the Administrator, giving substantial weight to the recommendations of the majority of the Centers, to select the Center programs of two States from each of ten groups of States for participation in the pilot program. Provides grant limits. Terminates the pilot program four years after disbursement of the first grant.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2005
Preserving Patient Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation Hospitals Act of 2005 - Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services, during the period between July 1, 2005, and the date two years after the enactment of this Act, from: (1) requiring a compliance rate, pursuant to the criterion (commonly known as the "75 percent rule") used to determine whether a hospital or hospital unit is an inpatient rehabilitation facility, that is greater than the 50 percent compliance threshold that became effective on July 1, 2004; (2) changing the designation of any inpatient rehabilitation facility in compliance with the 50 percent threshold; or (3) conducting medical necessity review of inpatient rehabilitation facilities using any guidelines other than the national criteria established in the Medicare Benefits Policy Manual. Directs the Secretary to establish procedures for: (1) making any necessary retroactive adjustment to restore the status of a facility as an inpatient rehabilitation facility as a result of this Act; (2) making any necessary payments to inpatient rehabilitation facilities based on such adjustment for discharges occurring on or after July 1, 2005, and before enactment of this Act; and (3) developing and implementing an appeals process that provides for expedited review of any adjustment to the status of a facility as an inpatient rehabilitation facility made during such period Directs the Secretary to establish the National Advisory Council on Medical Rehabilitation to provide advice and recommendations to: (1) Congress and the Secretary concerning the coverage of rehabilitation services under title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act; and (2) appropriate federal agencies on how best to utilize available research funds and authorities focused on medical rehabilitation research.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2005
Regulatory Flexibility Reform Act of 2005 - Revises the Regulatory Flexibility Act. Defines the "economic impact" of a rule to include any economic effects on small entities. Requires initial regulatory flexibility analyses of a proposed rule to contain a detailed statement estimating the additional cumulative economic impact of the proposed rule on small entities beyond that already imposed on the class of small entities by the agency or explaining why such an estimate is not available. Requires an agency to notify the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration of any draft rules that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities either: (1) when the agency submits a draft rule to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866, if that order requires such submission; or (2) if no submission to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is so required, at a reasonable time before publication of the rule by the agency. Requires that final regulatory flexibility analyses include the agency's response to any comments filed on a rule by the Chief Counsel and a detailed statement of any changes made as a result. Requires publication of analyses on agency websites. Revises provisions requiring the publication by each agency of a plan for the periodic review of its rules that have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities to determine whether such rules should be continued, changed, or rescinded.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish a geography education grant program under title II, Teacher Quality Enhancement. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award a grant to a national nonprofit education organization or consortium, with 75% to be used for subgrants to institutions of higher education associated with state geographic alliances, nonprofit educational organizations, or state or local educational agencies. Requires various grantee and subgrantee activities designed to expand geographic literacy among kindergarten through grade 12 students by improving their teachers' professional development programs offered through institutions of higher education. Includes among such activities state-based conferences to assess geographic literacy and identify improvement strategies.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Declares that the Senate has heard with profound sorrow and deep regret the announcement of the death of the Honorable Gaylord A. Nelson, a former member of the United States Senate from Wisconsin. Declares that when the Senate adjourns on July 11, 2005, it stand adjourned as a further mark of respect to the memory of Senator Nelson.
United States · United States Congress · 11 July 2005
Declares that the Senate: (1) expresses deepest sympathies and condolences to the people of the United Kingdom and the victims and their families for the heinous terrorist attacks that occurred in London on July 7, 2005; (2) condemns these barbaric and unwarranted attacks on the innocent people of London; (3) expresses strong and continued solidarity with the people of the United Kingdom and pledges to remain shoulder-to-shoulder with them to bring the terrorists responsible for these brutal attacks to justice; and (4) calls upon the international community to renew and strengthen efforts to defeat terrorists by dismantling terrorist networks and exposing the violent and nihilistic ideology of terrorism, increase international cooperation to advance personal and religious freedoms, ethnic and racial tolerance, political liberty and pluralism, and economic prosperity, and combat the social injustice, oppression, poverty, and extremism that breeds terrorism.
![Official portrait of Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/s000663_200.jpg)