United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Children's Access to Reconstructive Evaluation & Surgery (CARES) Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that covers surgical benefits to also cover outpatient and inpatient diagnosis and treatment of a congenital or developmental deformity, disease, or injury of a minor child (defined as child under the age of 22). Requires that such coverage: (1) be subject to pre-authorization or pre-certification requirements of the plan or issuer; and (2) include any surgical treatment deemed by the treating physician to be medically necessary to approximate a normal appearance. Defines "treatment" to include reconstructive surgical procedures that are performed on abnormal structures of the body caused by congenital defects, abnormalities, trauma, infection, tumors, or disease, including: (1) procedures that do not materially affect the function of the body part being treated; and (2) procedures for secondary conditions and follow-up treatment. Excludes cosmetic surgery performed to reshape normal structures of the body to improve appearance or self-esteem.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Offers deepest condolences to the family and friends of Officer Stephen T. Johns. Commends the staff members of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for their courage and bravery in responding to the attack on June 10, 2009. Condemns: (1) anti-Semitism and all forms of religious, ethnic, and racial bigotry; and (2) acts of physical violence against, and harassment of, people based on race, gender, ethnicity, or religious affiliation. Calls on the leaders of all nations to speak out against the manifestations of anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow laws. Apologizes to African-Americans on behalf of the people of the United States for the wrongs committed against them and their ancestors who suffered under slavery and Jim Crow laws. Expresses Congress's recommitment to the principle that all people are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and calls on all people of the United States to work toward eliminating racial prejudices, injustices, and discrimination from our society. Declares that nothing in this resolution authorizes, supports, or serves as a settlement of any claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Amends the Small Business Act with respect to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs to extend funding and revise provisions, including those concerning set-asides and award levels, qualifications for program participation, collaboration and partnerships, acquisition preferences, performance measurement and oversight, workforce development, the Department of Defense (DOD) commercialization pilot program, nanotechnology, and intellectual property protections.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
Paperless Enrollment for School Meals Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs that are based not on applications for such meals, but on estimates of the number of children eligible for such meals. Requires such estimates to be derived from recent data, such as survey, welfare, or tax data. Permits schools and LEAs from high poverty areas to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals that are not based on applications, if they directly certify a specified minimum percentage of their students as eligible for free meals due to such students' eligibility for certain other public assistance. Reimburses such schools and LEAs pursuant to a formula that factors in the percentage of students directly certified as eligible for free meals. Requires schools and LEAs reimbursed on the basis of estimates or certifications to provide free meals to all their students under the school lunch and breakfast programs and cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving such meals that exceed the assistance received under such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2009
Pharmaceutical Market Access and Drug Safety Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to revise provisions governing the importation of prescription drugs. Waives the limitation on importation of prescription drugs that have been exported from the United States. Prohibits the importation of a qualifying drug unless such drug is imported by: (1) a registered importer; or (2) an individual for personal use. Establishes registration conditions for importers and exporters. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to inspect places of business, verify chains of custody, inspect facilities, and determine compliance with registration conditions. Sets forth provisions governing the importation of qualifying drugs that are different from U.S. label drugs, including standards for judging such differences. Prohibits manufacturers from: (1) discriminating against registered exporters or importers; (2) causing there to be a difference in a prescription drug distributed in the United States and one distributed in a permitted country; (3) engaging in actions to restrict, prohibit, or delay the importation of a qualifying drug; or (4) engaging in any action that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) determines discriminates against a person that engages or attempts to engage in the importation of a qualifying drug. States that the resale in the United States of prescription drugs that were properly sold abroad is not patent infringement. Requires the Secretary to educate consumers regarding prescription drug importation. Sets forth provisions governing the sale of prescription drugs through an Internet site. Includes the dispensing or selling of a prescription drug in violation of this Act as a prohibited act under FFDCA. Prohibits the introduction of restricted transactions with unregistered foreign pharmacies into a payment system or the completion of such transactions using a payment system.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act with respect to the use of average sales price methodology for calculating payments for drugs and biologicals under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance). Excludes from the manufacturer's average sales price when calculating such payments any customary prompt pay discounts extended to wholesalers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Patient Access to Critical Lab Tests Act - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) where practical, Medicare regulations and policies should be written to promote development of and access to certain highly specialized laboratory tests; and (2) certain Medicare regulations should be revised to permit laboratories furnishing such tests to bill for and be paid directly by Medicare for furnishing them. Declares that, whenever a laboratory performs a covered complex diagnostic laboratory test, with respect to a specimen collected from an individual during a period in which the individual is a hospital patient, if the test is performed after such period, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall treat such test, for purposes of making direct payment to the laboratory, as if the specimen had been collected by the laboratory directly. Defines "covered complex diagnostic laboratory test" as: (1) an analysis of DNA, RNA, chromosomes, proteins, or metabolites that detects, identifies, or quantitates genotypes, mutations, chromosomal changes, biochemical changes, cell response, or protein expression, or gene expression or similar method or is a cancer chemotherapy sensitivity assay or similar method, with certain exceptions; (2) a diagnostic X-ray or other diagnostic test; (3) one developed and performed by a laboratory independent of the hospital in which the specimen involved was collected, and not under any arrangements with such hospital; and (4) one not furnished by such hospital, directly or under any arrangements made by it.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2009
Amends the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 to renew, for three years, the President's authority to ban the import of Burmese products. Approves the renewal of certain import restrictions contained in the Act. Deems this resolution a renewal resolution which shall take effect upon its enactment or July 26, 2009, whichever occurs first.
United States · United States Congress · 8 June 2009
Allows certain air carriers that hold or operate air carrier slots at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which are used for scheduled air service between that airport and a large hub airport, to use such slots also to provide nonstop air transportation service between Reagan National Airport and another airport more than 1,250 statute miles away (perimeter rule limit).
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2009
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to extend, through the 2012-2013 school year, the Philadelphia universal feeding pilot program, which allows certain high-poverty schools in Philadelphia to be reimbursed for free and reduced price meals under the School Lunch program on the basis of school-wide demographic surveys of family income, rather than individual applications.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Preserving Patient Access to Primary Care Act of 2009 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to authorize the Secretary of Education to award recruitment incentive grants or contracts to graduate medical schools to enable them to improve primary care education and training for medical students. Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to: (1) award grants to critical shortage health facilities to enable them to provide scholarships to individuals who agree to serve as physicians at such facilities after completing a residency in a primary care field; (2) establish an educational loan repayment program for individuals who agree to serve as primary care physicians or primary care providers (including nurse practitioners) in an area that is not a health professional shortage area but has a critical shortage of such physicians or providers; and (3) establish an educational loan repayment program for individuals who agree to serve as physicians in the field of obstetrics and gynecology or as certified nurse midwives in an area that is not a health professional shortage area. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to provide for deferment of education loans during medical residency and internships in a primary care field. Amends the PHSA to direct the Secretary to award grants to eligible state and local government entities for the development of informational materials that promote careers in primary care. Amends the PHSA to extend the authorization of appropriations for training in a family medicine, general internal medicine, general geriatrics, general pediatrics, physician assistance, general dentistry, and pediatric dentistry Authorizes increased appropriations for the national health service corps scholarships and loan repayment programs. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow the use of Medicaid transformation payments for methods for improving medical assistance under Medicaid and SSA title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program) (CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP) by encouraging certain medical practices to qualify as patient centered medical homes. Amends SSA title XVIII (Medicare) to: (1) increase budget neutrality limits under the physician fee schedule to account for anticipated savings resulting from payments for certain services and the coordination of beneficiary care; and (2) require a separate Medicare payment for designated primary care services and comprehensive care coordination services. Amends SSA title XVIII to cover patient-centered medical home services. Directs the Secretary to develop a methodology to increase payments for designated evaluation and management services provided by primary and principal care providers. Requires: (1) additional incentive payments for primary care services furnished in health professional shortage areas; (2) permanent extension of the floor on the Medicare work geographic adjustment under the physician fee schedule; and (3) permanent extension of the Medicare incentive payment program for physician scarcity areas. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on the process for determining relative value under the Medicare physician fee schedule. Eliminates cost sharing for preventive benefits and the time restriction for initial preventive physical examination. Directs the Secretary to study and report to Congress on: (1) facilitating the receipt of Medicare preventive services by Medicare beneficiaries; (2) increasing the ability of physicians and primary care providers to assist Medicare beneficiaries in obtaining needed prescriptions under Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program); and (3) developing and implementing mechanisms to promote and increase interaction between physicians or primary care providers and the families of Medicare beneficiaries, as well as other caregivers who support such beneficiaries, for the purpose of improving patient care under the Medicare program. Requires additional payments to physicians for services to individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Requires various specified studies. Directs the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MEDPAC) to provide an ongoing assessment of the impact of changes in Medicare payment policies in improving access to and equity of payments to primary care physicians and primary care providers. Authorizes distribution of additional residency positions and the counting of resident time in certain outpatient settings. Establishes rules for counting resident time in a nonhospital setting primarily engaged in furnishing patient care in non-patient care activities, such as didactic and scholarly activities and other activities (but not research not associated with the treatment or diagnosis of a particular patient). Authorizes redistribution of residency slots after a hospital closes or is acquired by another entity with the approval of a bankruptcy court. Directs the Secretary to revise the 9th Statement of Work under the Quality Improvement Program to include a requirement that, in order to be an eligible Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for the 9th Statement of Work contract cycle, a QIO provide assistance, including technical assistance, to physicians under the Medicare program that seek to acquire the elements necessary to be recognized as a patient centered medical home practice under the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Physician Practice Connections -- PCMH module.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2009
Revises TRICARE (a Department of Defense [DOD] managed health care program) to authorize treatment of autism spectrum disorders, if a health care professional determines that such treatment is medically necessary.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 or PACT Act - Amends the Jenkins Act to: (1) include smokeless tobacco as a regulated substance; (2) impose shipping and recordkeeping requirements on delivery sellers (sellers using the telephone, mails, or the Internet) of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco; (3) require common carriers of cigarette products to obtain age and identity verification upon delivery of such products; (4) require the Attorney General to compile and publish a list of delivery sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco who have not complied with the registration or other requirements of such Act; (5) increase criminal penalties and impose new civil penalties for violations of this Act; and (6) grant jurisdiction to U.S. district courts to prevent and restrain violations of this Act and direct the Attorney General to administer and enforce this Act. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) treat cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as nonmailable and prohibit such items from being deposited in or carried through the U.S. mails (with specified exceptions, including for mailings for consumer testing); and (2) authorize officers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to enter the premises of certain cigarette shippers to inspect records and inventories. Prohibits a tobacco product manufacturer or importer from selling or delivering in states cigarettes not in compliance with model or qualifying state statutes. Limits the applicability of this Act with respect to Indian tribes and certain tribal matters. Directs the ATF Director to create regional contraband tobacco trafficking teams and a Tobacco Intelligence Center to monitor and coordinate tobacco diversion investigations. Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to the precedential effect of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Pathways to College Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award competitive five-year grants to local educational agencies that serve mostly high-need high schools for programs to increase the number of students from low-income families who attend college. Defines "high-need high schools" as those where at least one-half of the students are from low-income families. Requires grantees to use such funds to: (1) train teachers and counselors to provide students with advice concerning postsecondary education; (2) implement a comprehensive college guidance program for all students which exposes them to postsecondary information and planning assistance before the end of their first semester of high school; (3) ensure that their schools develop comprehensive, school-wide plans of action to strengthen their college-going culture; (4) create or maintain a postsecondary access center in each school that provides information on colleges and universities, career opportunities, and financial aid options; and (5) provide a setting in which professionals working in college access programs can meet with students. Directs the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grantees in calculating and analyzing their college-going rates and adopting best practices for elevating such rates. Requires grantees periodically to evaluate the success of their grant activities and use the evaluations to refine such activities and their performance measures. Directs the Secretary to conduct an independent evaluation of the grant program which includes an assessment of the program's affect on high school graduation and college-going rates.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Teachers at the Table Act - Amends title I (Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to establish the Volunteer Teacher Advisory Committee to monitor the effects of such title (amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) in classrooms, with its focus solely on children and families. Requires that committee membership consist of a diverse group of public school classroom teachers who are past or present Teachers of the Year and have experience or training in data collection, analysis, and reporting.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
SMA Treatment Acceleration Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a national clinical trials network for spinal muscular atrophy by upgrading and unifying spinal muscular atrophy clinical trial sites and recruiting new investigators and sites. Requires the Director to ensure that such network: (1) conducts coordinated, multisite, clinical trials of therapies and clinical approaches to the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) rapidly and efficiently disseminates scientific findings to the field. Requires the Director to: (1) establish a data coordinating center with respect to spinal muscular atrophy; and (2) expand and intensify NIH programs with respect to preclinical translation research related to spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance and support a spinal muscular atrophy patient registry to provide for expanded epidemiological research towards improving awareness, management, treatment, and prevention of spinal muscular atrophy. Requires the Secretary to ensure the collection and analysis of longitudinal data related to individuals of all ages. Directs the Secretary to establish the Interagency Spinal Muscular Atrophy Research Coordinating Committee. Sets forth the duties of the Committee, including to develop a comprehensive strategy related to spinal muscular atrophy research and other related neurological diseases and disorders. Requires the Secretary to establish a program to provide information and education on spinal muscular atrophy to health professionals and the general public.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act - Amends the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) to reauthorize appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the safe routes to school program. Revises program requirements to specify children kindergarten through 12th grade as the ones to be benefited by the program. Revises apportionments to replace the current specific dollar amounts with formulae. Includes projects for other nonmotorized modes of transportation besides walking and bicycling as noninfrastructure-related projects. Authorizes states to set-aside up to 10% of apportioned funds for infrastructure improvements that create safe routes to bus stops located outside of the vicinity of schools. Requires any state that receives an apportionment of funds to form a multidisciplinary state advisory committee. Prescribes requirements for the treatment of noninfrastructure and infrastructure projects. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to: (1) develop and implement a comprehensive plan for evaluating the effectiveness of safe routes to school; and (2) establish a working group of federal agencies, states, and stakeholders to examine the issue of school siting.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to permit each employee to earn at least one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Declares that an employer shall not be required to permit an employee to earn more than 56 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, unless the employer chooses to set a higher limit. Allows employees to use such time to: (1) meet their own medical needs; (2) care for the medical needs of certain family members; or (3) seek medical attention, assist a related person, take legal action, or engage in other specified activities relating to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Prohibits an employer from interfering with an employee's exercise of such rights. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority for employees covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Grants the same authority, for employees under their jurisdiction, to the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. Authorizes civil actions by employees, individuals, or their representatives for damages or equitable relief against employers who violate this Act. Waives a state's sovereign immunity with respect to a suit brought by an employee of a federally-assisted state program or activity for relief authorized under this Act. Requires the Commissioner of Labor Statistics annually to compile information annually on paid sick time, and the Comptroller General to study related matters. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Requires the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), subject to the approval of the House Committee on House Administration and the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, to design, procure, and place in a prominent location in Emancipation Hall in the Capitol Visitor Center a marker which acknowledges the role that slave labor played in the construction of the U.S. Capitol.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 - Provides that a federal employee and his or her domestic partner shall be entitled to benefits available to, and shall be subject to obligations imposed upon, a married federal employee and his or her spouse. Defines "domestic partner" to mean an adult unmarried person living with another adult unmarried person of the same sex in a committed, intimate relationship. Defines "benefits" to include federal health insurance and enhanced dental and vision benefits, retirement and disability benefits, family, medical, and emergency leave, group life insurance, long-term care insurance, compensation for work injuries, and benefits for disability, death, or captivity. Excludes members of the uniformed services from the definition of "employee." Sets forth requirements for filing: (1) an affidavit of eligibility as such a domestic partner, which shall include a certification that the employee and the domestic partner are each other's sole domestic partners and intend to remain so indefinitely; and (2) a statement upon dissolution of such a domestic partnership.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act of 2009 - Directs the President to submit to the appropriate congressional committees a regional strategy to guide U.S. support for multilateral efforts to eliminate the threat to civilians and regional stability posed by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and to enforce the rule of law and ensure full humanitarian access in LRA-affected areas. Authorizes the President to provide assistance to respond to the humanitarian needs of populations in northeastern Congo, southern Sudan, and Central African Republic affected by LRA activity. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State and Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) should work with the appropriate congressional committees to increase future assistance to Uganda if the government of Uganda demonstrates a commitment to reconstruction in war-affected areas of northern and eastern Uganda. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should support efforts by the people of northern Uganda and the government of Uganda to: (1) promote local and national reconciliation including mechanisms outlined in the Annexure to the Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation between the government of Uganda and the LRA; and (2) assist internally displaced people, establish mechanisms for the demobilization and reintegration of former combatants, and enhance the competency of local institutions including the police.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2009
Truth in Fur Labeling Act of 2009 - Amends the Fur Products Labeling Act to: (1) eliminate the exemption to fur labeling requirements for products containing relatively small amounts of fur; and (2) permit states to enforce more restrictive labeling requirements. Directs the the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in the Fur Products Name Guide, to replace the term "Raccoon, Asiatic" with "Dog, Raccoon."
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Requires the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the award of a congressional gold medal to the Army's 100th Infantry Battalion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team, collectively, in recognition of their dedicated service during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Centennial District Authorization Act of 2009 - Establishes in the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Centennial Historic District (District). Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, state or local government agencies, nonprofit entities, and any leaseholders to administer the District. Directs the Secretary to: (1) prepare a plan for the development of historic, architectural, natural, cultural, recreational, and interpretive resources within the District; and (2) provide financial assistance for capital improvement projects in the District.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Securing America's Future Economy Commission Act or SAFE Commission Act - Establishes the Securing America's Future Economy (SAFE) Commission to develop legislation designed to address: (1) the unsustainable imbalance between long-term federal spending commitments and projected revenues; (2) increases in net national savings to provide for domestic investment and economic growth; (3) the implications of foreign ownership of federally issued debt instruments; and (4) revision of the budget process to place greater emphasis on long-term fiscal issues. Requires the Commission to: (1) hold at least one town-hall style public hearing within each federal reserve district; and (2) develop one or two methods for estimating the cost of legislation as a supplement to the estimates and assumptions provided by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Requires the Commission to submit a legislative proposal to Congress and the President that relies on such estimates and assumptions. Sets forth procedures for consideration of such legislation. Requires CBO to prepare a long-term cost estimate and have it published in the Congressional Record as expeditiously as possible whenever requested to do so by the Commission, the President, or the chairman or ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget of either chamber.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Rural Education Achievement Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Amends part B (Rural Education Initiative) of title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise the Small, Rural School Achievement program, which gives rural local educational agencies (LEAs) federal formula grants and greater flexibility in the use of state educational funds. Limits eligibility to LEAs whose schools are all designated with a school locale code of Fringe Rural, Distant Rural, or Remote Rural, unless located in an area the state defines as rural. Raises federal grant limits when funds available to implement the program equal or exceed $100 million. Alters LEA eligibility for federal funds under the Rural and Low-Income School program by requiring that: (1) at least 40% of the children ages 5 through 17 that LEAs serve be eligible for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; and (2) all of their schools be designated with a school locale code of Distant Town, Remote Town, Fringe Rural, Distant Rural, or Remote Rural.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2009
21st Century Skills Incentive Fund Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to award matching grants to states to establish statewide 21st Century Skills initiatives. Conditions grant eligibility on a state's: (1) developing a comprehensive plan for such initiative; (2) showing a commitment to advancing such skills within standards and assessments, curriculum, professional development, and the learning environment; (3) achieving broad support for the initiative among state education, business, and civic leaders; and (4) implementing 21st century assessments of education that measure core subjects and 21st century themes, life and career skills, thinking and innovation skills, and information media and technology skills. Directs the Secretary to establish a 21st Century Skills Incentive Fund from which grants shall be awarded. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require that the percentage limitation on corporate charitable contributions be applied separately to cash contributions to state 21st Century Skills initiatives and all other corporate charitable contributions.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2009
Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act of 2009 - Amends the Tariff Act of 1930 to require the administering authority to: (1) determine, based on certain requirements, whether the exchange rate of the currency of an exporting country is fundamentally and actionably undervalued or overvalued (misaligned) against the U.S. dollar for an 18-month period; and (2) take certain actions under a countervailing duty or antidumping duty proceeding to offset such misalignment in cases of an affirmative determination. Subjects the misalignment to the U.S. dollar of the currency of nonmarket economy countries also to the countervailing and antidumping duty provisions of the Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2009
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 - 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. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Corporation should not engage in lobbying activities. 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. entry policy, and promote U.S. travel. Requires the Corporation to establish and maintain a publicly accessible website. Establishes in the Treasury the Travel Promotion Fund. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require (under current law, authorize) the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish and collect a fee for the use of an electronic data sharing system concerning the admissibility of certain aliens into the United States that will ensure recovery of the full costs of providing and administering such system. Terminates such fee following FY2014. Authorizes the Corporation to impose an annual assessment on U.S. members of the travel and tourism industry represented on the Board of Directors of the Corporation. Establishes in the Department of Commerce the Office of Travel Promotion, to be headed by a Director. 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 · 12 May 2009
Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 - Amends the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act to direct the Secretary of Defense (the presidential designee) to establish procedures for: (1) collecting marked absentee ballots of absent overseas uniformed services voters in regularly scheduled general elections for federal office; and (2) delivering such ballots to the appropriate state election officials. Requires the designee to: (1) ensure that such ballots are delivered prior to the time established for the closing of the polls on the date of the election; (2) carry out delivery requirements by utilizing the express mail delivery services of the U.S. Postal Service, which shall include a mechanism for ballot tracking; (3) inform individuals who are anticipated to be absent overseas uniformed services voters in such an election of the procedures for collection and delivery of marked absentee ballots established pursuant to this Act; and (4) take steps to ensure that such voters are able to cast their votes in a private and independent manner, and that vote contents remain private while in the designee's possession or control.
United States · United States Congress · 11 May 2009
Celebrates the 20th anniversary of the end of communist rule in Poland. Congratulates the people of Poland for their accomplishments in building a free democracy and for their contributions as international partners. Expresses appreciation for the close friendship between the governments of the United States and Poland.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2009
Breast Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act of 2009 or EARLY Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct a national evidence-based education campaign: (1) to increase public awareness regarding the threats posed by breast cancer to young women, including the particular risks faced by certain racial, ethnic and cultural groups; and (2) focusing on awareness of risk factors and achieving early detection through community-centered informational forums, public service advertisements, and media campaigns. Directs the Secretary to award grants to entities to establish national multimedia campaigns that: (1) will encourage young women to be aware of their personal risk factors, strategies and methods for increasing early detection and self awareness, genetic counseling and testing, imaging-based screening methods, evidence based preventative lifestyle changes, and other appropriate breast cancer early detection and risk reduction strategies; (2) will encourage young women of specific higher-risk populations to talk to their medical practitioners about those risks and methods for appropriate screening and surveillance; and (3) may include advertising through specified media. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director, to: (1) establish an advisory committee to assist in creating and conducting the public education campaign; (2) conduct an education campaign to increase awareness among health care professionals; and (3) conduct prevention research. Directs the Secretary to award grants to organizations and institutions to provide to young women diagnosed with breast cancer substantive assistance and health information from credible sources on: (1) education and counseling regarding fertility preservation; (2) social, emotional, psychosocial, financial, lifestyle, and caregiver support; (3) familial risk factors; and (4) risk reduction strategies to reduce recurrence or metastasis.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2009
International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009 - Authorizes the President to provide assistance, including through multilateral, nongovernmental, and faith-based organizations, to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the educational, health, economic, social, and legal empowerment of girls and women. Sets forth priority assistance criteria. Directs the President, through the Secretary of State, to establish a multi-year strategy to prevent child marriage in developing countries and to promote the empowerment of girls at risk of child marriage. Sets forth strategy elements. Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require that Department of State country reports on human rights practices include a description of the status of child marriage for countries with specified rates of child marriage. Defines "child marriage" as the marriage of a girl or boy not yet the minimum age for marriage stipulated in law in the country in which the girl or boy is a resident.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Small Business Health Options Program Act of 2009 or the SHOP Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to designate an office within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to administer a health insurance program for small businesses and self-employed individuals to purchase health insurance coverage meeting certain requirements. Establishes a Small Business Health Board to monitor the implementation of the program and make recommendations for improvements. Requires the Administrator of the program to: (1) enter into contracts with health insurance issuers to provide health insurance coverage under this Act; and (2) enter into agreements with entities to serve as navigators to provide information about the program, provide referrals to applicable agencies for any grievance, complaint, or question, and assist in enrollment. Requires a participating employer to ensure that each eligible employee has an opportunity to enroll in a plan. Sets forth requirements for health plans offered under this Act. Requires the Administrator to contract with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to study: (1) the rating requirements that apply to health insurance purchased in the small group markets in the states and to develop recommendations concerning rating requirements; and (2) the administrative procedures that apply to the program and to health insurance purchased in the small group markets in states. Sets forth premium-setting rules for plans under this Act. Allows a state to prohibit participation in this program if the state offers alternative health benefit plans. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a tax credit for small employers for qualified employee health insurance expenses under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide for the regulation of tobacco products by the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including through disclosure, annual registration, inspection, recordkeeping, and user fee requirements. Directs the Secretary to establish the Center for Tobacco Products to implement this Act. Sets forth criteria by which tobacco products are deemed adulterated or misbranded. Allows the Secretary to require prior approval of all label statements. Authorizes the Secretary to restrict the sale or distribution of tobacco products, including advertising and promotion, if appropriate for the protection of the public health. Sets forth limits on such regulations, including prohibiting establishment of a minimum age greater than 18 for product purchases. Prohibits: (1) cigarettes from containing any artificial or natural flavor (other than tobacco or menthol) or an herb or spice, including strawberry, cinnamon, or coffee; or (2) a tobacco product manufacturer from using tobacco that contains a greater level of pesticide chemical residue than is specified by any tolerance applicable to domestically grown tobacco. Requires the Secretary to establish tobacco product standards to protect the public health. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) banning all cigarettes, all smokeless tobacco products, all little cigars, all other cigars, all pipe tobacco, or all roll-your-own tobacco products; or (2) requiring the reduction of the nicotine yields of a tobacco product to zero. Requires premarket approval of all new tobacco products. Sets forth standards for the sale of modified risk tobacco products. Requires the Secretary to establish a Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee. Revises tobacco product warning labels and advertising requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2009
New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Act - Authorizes the President to present gold medals, on behalf of Congress, to: (1) the astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission to the surface of the moon, Neil A. Armstrong (the first human to walk on the moon), Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. (pilot of the lunar module Eagle and second person to walk on the moon), and Michael Collins (pilot of their command module Columbia) in recognition of the first lunar landing, on July 20, 1969; and (2) John Herschel Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, on February 20, 1962.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Medicare Long-Term Care Hospital Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007, as amended by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to extend from three years to five years the delay in application of: (1) the 25% patient threshold payment adjustment to freestanding and grandfathered long-term care hospitals (LTCHs); (2) any payment adjustment, in certain circumstances, to any applicable LTCH or satellite facility located in a rural area or co-located with an urban single or metropolitan statistical area (MSA) dominant hospital; (3) the very short-stay outlier policy; and (4) a specified one-time prospective adjustment to LTCH prospective payment rates. Extends from three years to five years the moratorium on: (1) the establishment and classification of a LTCH or satellite facility, other than an existing one; and (2) an increase of LTCH beds in existing LTCHs or satellite facilities. Establishes a formula for annual adjustment of the base prospective payment rate for LTCHs for rate years 2011 through 2015 in order to implement a budget neutrality offset of the costs of implementing this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Medicare Patient Access to Physical Therapists Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to authorize qualified physical therapists to provide services for Medicare beneficiaries without the requirement of a physician referral. Provides for treatment of outpatient speech-language pathology services separately from outpatient physical therapy services.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Cures Acceleration Network and National Institutes of Health Reauthorization Act of 2009 - Establishes the Cures Acceleration Network, an independent agency, to awards grants and contracts to eligible entities to accelerate the development of cures and treatments of diseases, including through the development of medical products and behavioral therapies. Defines "medical product" as a drug, device, biological product, or product that is a combination of drugs, devices, and biological products. Sets forth the functions of the Network. Establishes the Cures Acceleration Network Review Board. Directs the Chairperson of the Board to award matching grants and contracts to eligible entities to: (1) accelerate the development of cures and treatments, including through the development of medical products, behavioral therapies, and biomarkers that demonstrate the safety or effectiveness of medical products; or (2) establish protocols that comply with the standards of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and otherwise meet regulatory requirements at all stages of development, manufacturing, review, approval, and safety surveillance of a medical product. Sets forth provisions governing conflict of interest policies for the Network. Amends the Public Health Service Act to rename the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities as the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop and enforce NIH's conflict of interest policies and respond in a timely manner when such policies have been violated by a recipient of funds provided under a grant or contract. Reauthorizes appropriations for NIH for FY2010-FY2012.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act - Adopts the definition of "hate crime" as set forth in the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (i.e., a crime in which the defendant intentionally selects a victim or, in the case of a property crime, the property that is the object of the crime because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, or sexual orientation of any person). Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) provide state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies with technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the investigation or prosecution of violent crimes and hate crimes; and (2) award grants to assist such agencies with the extraordinary expenses associated with the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. Authorizes the Office of Justice Programs to award grants to state, local, or tribal programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice (DOJ), including the Community Relations Service, for FY2010-FY2012 to prevent and respond to hate crime acts. Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit willfully causing bodily injury to any person because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of such person. Amends the Hate Crimes Statistics Act to expand data collection and reporting requirements under such Act to include: (1) crimes manifesting prejudice based on gender and gender identity; and (2) hate crimes committed by and against juveniles. Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the exercise of constitutionally-protected free speech.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2009
Services, Education, and Rehabilitation for Veterans Act or the SERV Act - Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to delegate to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to administer the veteran's treatment courts program established by this Act. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states and other entities: (1) to develop, implement, or enhance veteran's treatment courts or to expand operational drug courts to serve veterans; and (2) for programs that involve continuing judicial supervision over nonviolent offenders with substance abuse or mental health problems who have served in the U.S. military. Requires such programs to include mandatory periodic testing for the use of drugs, substance abuse and mental health treatment, opportunities for diversion, probation, or supervised release, and programmatic, offender management, and aftercare services. Directs the National Drug Court Institute to conduct national training programs for state and local communities to improve the professional skills of drug court practitioners and provide comprehensive technical assistance to adult, juvenile, and family dependency drug courts.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Presidential Signing Statements Act of 2009 - Prohibits any state or federal court from relying on or deferring to a presidential signing statement as a source of authority when determining the meaning of any Act of Congress. Requires any federal or state court, in any action, suit, or proceeding regarding the construction or constitutionality, or both, of any Act of Congress in which a presidential signing statement was issued, to permit the Senate, through the Office of Senate Legal Counsel, or the House, through the Office of General Counsel for the House, or both, to participate as an amicus curiae, and to present an oral argument on the question of the Act's construction or constitutionality, or both. Authorizes the full Congress, in any such suit, to pass a concurrent resolution declaring its view of the proper interpretation of the Act of Congress at issue, clarifying Congress's intent or its findings of fact, or both. Requires the federal or state court in question to permit Congress, through the Office of Senate Legal Counsel, to submit any such passed resolution into the record of the case as a matter of right. Makes it the duty of each federal or state court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, to advance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the disposition of any matter brought under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Congo Conflict Minerals Act of 2009 - Declares it is U.S. policy to promote peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by supporting the efforts of the DRC, other governments in the Great Lakes Region of Africa, and the international community to: (1) monitor and stop commercial activities involving the natural resources of the DRC (the minerals columbite-tantalite [coltan], cassiterite, wolframite, and gold) that contribute to illegal armed groups and human rights violations in the eastern region of the DRC; and (2) develop stronger governance and economic institutions that can facilitate and improve transparency in the cross-border trade involving such natural resources in order to reduce exploitation by illegal armed groups and promote local and regional development. Directs the President, acting through the Secretary of State, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), and other appropriate U.S. officials to use the voice of the United States at the UN Security Council to renew the mandate and strengthen the capacity of the UN Group of Experts on the DRC to investigate links between such minerals and the financing of illegal armed groups. Directs the Secretary to work with UN member states and local and international organizations to: (1) produce, and make public, a map of mineral-rich zones and illegal armed groups in the eastern region of the DRC; and (2) provide guidance to commercial entities to ensure that the raw materials used in their products do not finance armed conflict, result in labor or human rights violations, or damage the environment. Requires the Secretary, working with the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to report to Congress on a strategy to address the links that exist between human rights abuses, armed groups, and the mining of the minerals in the DRC. Requires specified annual reports to cover such links. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to promulgate rules to require certain persons who engage in the trade or use of coltan, cassiterite, and wolframite to disclose annually to the SEC the country of origin and mine of origin of such minerals. Expresses the sense of Congress on assistance to communities in the eastern DRC that depend economically on the mineral trade, particularly those affected by sexual and gender-based violence, as well as individuals displaced by violence.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Federal Milk Marketing Improvement Act of 2009 - Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to base the minimum Class II milk price on the average production cost of producing all milk in the 48 contiguous states. Directs the Secretary to: (1) announce the minimum price for Class II milk by November 1 of each year, with specified price adjustment dates; (2) use the Class II milk price as the basic formula price for all federal and state milk marketing orders and all unregulated milk production areas; and (3) estimate annual milk production and domestic consumption. States that the price of Class I (fluid) milk price in all federal and state milk marketing orders and all unregulated milk production areas shall be equal to the basic formula price plus the applicable Class I differential under federal and state milk marketing orders. Authorizes the Secretary, upon a determination of a positive dairy trade balance and excess production, to provide for a producer price reduction of not more than 5% of all milk produced in the 48 contiguous states and marketed by producers for commercial use. Prohibits imposition of producer charges for the cost of hauling milk or the conversion of raw milk to manufactured products. Sets forth provisions respecting: (1) milk inventory management; and (2) milk handler responsibilities. States that in the case of a federal milk order, disapproval of an amendment to the order shall not be considered disapproval of the order or of other terms of the order.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue $5 gold coins and $1 silver coins emblematic of the design selected by the Secretary, after consultation with the Boards of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, in honor of the distinguished service of the American military men and women who have been Medal of Honor recipients. Limits the period for coin issuance to calendar year 2011. Imposes a surcharge of $35 per coin for the $5 coin and $10 per coin for the $1 coin, to be distributed to the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation to help finance educational, scholarship, and outreach programs of the Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Requires review by the Supreme Court of appeals of interlocutory or final judgments, decrees, or court orders challenging the legality or constitutionality of: (1) the President's Surveillance Program (Terrorist Surveillance Program); (2) certain statutory defenses for the protection of persons assisting the federal government with information, or access to it, including communication contents, communications records, or other information relating to a customer or communication; and (3) any intelligence activity involving communications that was authorized by the President during a specified period. Requires the Supreme Court to advance on the docket any such appeal and expedite it to the greatest extent possible.
United States · United States Congress · 23 April 2009
Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 to require a federal or state court to substitute the United States for an electronic communication service provider with respect to any claim in a covered civil action if the Attorney General certifies to the court that either: (1) the service provider did not provide the alleged assistance; or (2) the assistance alleged to have been provided was in connection with an intelligence activity involving communications authorized by the President between September 11, 2001, and January 17, 2007, and designed to detect or prevent a terrorist attack, or activities in preparation for a terrorist attack, against the United States. Requires the alleged provider assistance to be described in a written request or directive from the Attorney General or the head of an element of the intelligence community to the electronic communication service provider indicating that the activity was authorized by the President and determined to be lawful. Requires a federal or state court, upon receiving such a certification, to: (1) substitute the United States for the electronic communication service provider as the defendant as to all claims designated by the Attorney General in the certification; (2) dismiss all such designated claims against the provider; and (3) enter a final judgment relating to those claims. Provides that the electronic communication service provider shall remain as a defendant if the Attorney General's certification states that not all of the alleged assistance was provided under a written request or directive. Allows substitution only after a determination by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (after certification by the Attorney General) that the directive requesting provider assistance was lawful and that the assistance was provided in good faith of the lawfulness of the directive. Provides that, in a covered civil action in which the United States is substituted as a party-defendant, any plaintiff may serve third-party discovery requests to any electronic communications service provider as to which all claims are dismissed.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to study and report to Congress on the minimum level of sound that is necessary to be emitted from a motor vehicle, or some other method, to alert blind and other pedestrians of the presence of operating motor vehicles while traveling.
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