United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2009
Energy-Efficient Manufactured Housing Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Energy to provide grants to each state agency responsible for developing state energy conservation plans under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to provide owners of dated manufactured homes (manufactured homes constructed before January 1, 1976) rebates to use toward the purchase of new Energy Star qualified manufactured homes. Restricts rebates to owners of dated manufactured homes that are used on a year-round basis as a primary residence that will be destroyed (including appropriate recycling) and replaced in the same general location with an Energy Star qualified manufactured home. Limits rebates to: (1) one owner per household; (2) households with total incomes not exceeding 200% of the federal poverty level in the applicable area; and (3) $7,500 per manufactured home. Allows a state agency to supplement the amount of the rebate using state or other funds. Permits a state agency conducting a program the purpose of which is to replace dated manufactured homes with Energy Star qualified manufactured homes to use the amounts provided under this Act to support the program. Directs the Secretary to seek to achieve the purpose of this Act through similar federal programs, including: (1) the Weatherization Assistance Program for Low-Income Persons; and (2) the Department of Energy's (DOE's) State Energy Program.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2009
Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009 - Prohibits an automobile manufacturer (manufacturer) in which the federal government has an ownership interest, or which receives loans from the federal government, from depriving an automobile dealer (dealer) of its economic rights. Requires the manufacturer to honor those rights as they existed for Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corporation dealers prior to the commencement of the bankruptcy cases of each corporation, including dealer rights to recourse under state law. Requires the appropriate manufacturer to restore the franchise agreement between the dealers and Chrysler LLC or General Motors that was in effect prior to the commencement of their respective bankruptcy cases, and to take assignment of such agreements. States that nothing in this Act is intended to make null and void the transfer of substantially all the assets of such corporations.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Extension Act of 2009 - Amends the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend for an additional five years the rural community hospital demonstration program.
United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2009
Expresses sympathy for the family, friends, and patients of Dr. George Tiller (who was shot to death on May 31, 2009). Condemns the use of violence: (1) to prevent women from receiving reproductive health care; and (2) as a means of resolving differences of opinion.
United States · United States Congress · 15 June 2009
Providing for Additional Security in States' Identification Act of 2009 or the PASS ID Act - Repeals title II (Improved Security for Driver's Licenses and Personal Identification Cards) of the REAL ID Act of 2005. Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to prohibit: (1) federal agencies from accepting state-issued driver's licenses and personal identification cards unless the state issues such licenses and cards that are materially compliant with the minimum standards of this Act; and (2) persons from being denied boarding a commercial aircraft solely because of failure to present a driver's license or identification card issued pursuant to this Act. Specifies minimum document requirements and issuance standards for such licenses and cards. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) enter into the appropriate aviation security screening database information on persons who have been convicted of using a false driver's license at an airport; and (2) establish a state-to-state one driver, one license demonstration program. Establishes a State Driver's License Enhancement Grant Program. Makes it unlawful for a person knowingly and without lawful authority to copy or resell information from a driver's license or identification card.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2009
Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary), for any film crew of five persons or fewer, to require a permit and assess an annual fee of $200 for commercial filming activities or similar projects on federal lands and waterways administered by the Secretary. Makes such a permit valid for such activities or projects that occur in areas designated for public use during public hours on all federal lands and waterways administered by the Secretary for a 12-month period. Prohibits the Secretary, for persons holding such a permit, from assessing any additional fee for commercial filming activities and similar projects that occur in those areas during those hours. Bars the Secretary from prohibiting, as a mechanized apparatus or under any other purposes, the use of cameras or related equipment used for commercial filming activities or similar projects in accordance with this Act on federal lands and waterways administered by the Secretary.
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 · 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 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 · 1 June 2009
Homes for Heroes Act of 2009 - Amends the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act to establish in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) a Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs to: (1) ensure veteran access to HUD housing and homeless assistance programs; (2) coordinate all HUD programs and activities relating to veterans; and (3) serve as a HUD liaison with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Directs the HUD Secretary to provide assistance to private nonprofit organizations and consumer cooperatives to expand the supply of supportive housing for very low-income veteran families (that is, families with incomes not exceeding 50% of the area median income). Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to: (1) make housing rental vouchers available to all homeless veterans, regardless of medical condition; and (2) include veterans in public housing planning. Excludes veterans' benefits from income for purposes of HUD assisted housing rental determinations. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make grants to nonprofit entities for technical assistance in sponsoring HUD housing projects for veterans; and (2) report annually to specified congressional committees and the VA Secretary on HUD activities relating to veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Establishes within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) the position of Director of Physician Assistant Services, who shall report to the VHA's Under Secretary for Health on all matters relating to the education and training, employment, appropriate utilization, and optimal participation of physician assistants within VHA programs and initiatives.
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2009
Rural Transit Improvement and Flexibility Act of 2009 - Revises the apportionment of nonurbanized formula grants for amounts remaining after apportionment for grants to Indian tribes for public transportation on Indian reservations for FY2006-FY2009. Increases from 20% to 25% the amount of remaining funds to be apportioned to a state based on its land area. Decreases correspondingly from 80% to 75% the amount of remaining funds to be apportioned to a state based on population in nonurbanized areas. Limits to 25% of its apportionment for a formula grant for a capital project for the special needs of elderly individuals and individuals with disabilities the amount a state may use for operating costs of equipment and facilities. Limits a grant for operating assistance from exceeding 50% of the net operating project costs. Increases such limit to 62.5% of the government share of project costs in the case of a state containing nontaxable Indian lands, individual and tribal, and public domain lands (both reserved and unreserved), national forests, and national parks and monuments. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a pilot program for the award of grants to states to establish transit centers to improve transit service (buses and other transit vehicles) in urbanized areas with a population of less than 200,000 and in nonurbanized areas.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2009
Selected Reserve Continuum of Care Act - Directs (current law authorizes) the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide certain medical and dental services to members of the Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve not otherwise eligible for such services if a qualified health professional determines that the services are necessary to ensure that the member meets applicable standards of medical and dental readiness. Provides funding for such services through the Defense Health Program. Requires (current law authorizes) the Department of Defense (DOD) to provide, to each member of the Ready Reserve ordered to active duty of more than 30 days, necessary medical and dental screening and care to ensure that the member meets applicable medical and dental standards for deployment.
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 · 18 May 2009
Medicare Ambulance Access Preservation Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to increase to 6% permanently the rate of increase in the fee schedule for ground ambulance services furnished on or after January 1, 2010, in rural and urban areas. Makes permanent the increase in the base rate of the fee schedule the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to make for a trip in the case of ground ambulance services furnished on or after July 1, 2004, (and beyond January 1, 2010) for which the transportation originates in a qualified low population density rural area.
United States · United States Congress · 18 May 2009
Beef Checkoff Modernization Act of 2009 - Amends the Beef Research and Information Act to require a beef promotion and research order to provide that: (1) at least 30% of U.S. producer assessments be made available to promote and market products derived from cattle born and raised in the United States; and (2) an amount collected from importers shall be reserved to promote products derived from cattle not born and raised in the United States. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture, beginning in 2010 and at least every seven years thereafter, upon receipt of a petition of a group comprising 10% or more of cattle producers, to conduct a referendum to: (1) determine whether cattle producers favor the termination or suspension of the order; and (2) vote on any other amendments to the order.
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
Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to include physical therapy within the definition of "primary health services" for purposes of provisions concerning the National Health Service Corps. Makes physical therapists eligible for repayment of their educational loans in order to ensure an adequate supply of physical therapists.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2009
Brewers Excise and Economic Relief Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) reduce from $18 to $9 (the pre-1991 level) the per-barrel tax on beer; and (2) allow a further reduction in such tax for brewers who produce not more than 2 million barrels annually.
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 · 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 · 7 May 2009
Department of Energy Carbon Capture and Sequestration Program Amendments Act of 2009 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to direct the Secretary of Energy to carry out a demonstration program for the commercial application of integrated systems for the capture, injection, monitoring, and long-term geological storage of carbon dioxide from industrial sources. Authorizes the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements to provide financial and technical assistance to up to 10 demonstration projects. Sets forth requirements for demonstration projects relating to site safety, environmental protection and remediation, and site closure. Directs the Secretary of Energy to provide grants for training of state employees involved in permitting and management of carbon capture, transportation, and storage projects.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 2009
Honors, recognizes, and thanks Concerns of Police Survivors for 25 years of service assisting family members of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Recognizes the sacrifices made by police families in providing essential support to one another.
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 · 6 May 2009
Arthritis Prevention, Control, and Cure Act of 2009 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS): (1) to develop and implement a National Arthritis Action Plan; and (2) acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conduct, support, and promote the coordination of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases research. Requires the Secretary to award grants to: (1) support arthritis-specific research projects at the Centers for Prevention Research by the CDC; (2) support state comprehensive arthritis control and prevention programs and public health surveillance, prevention, and control activities; and (3) assist in the implementation of a national strategy for arthritis control and prevention. Requires the Secretary to coordinate a national education and outreach program on arthritis and other rheumatic diseases. Requires the Secretary to establish an Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases Interagency Coordinating Committee to: (1) improve coordination of federal research activities related to arthritis and rheumatic diseases; and (2) convene a summit to provide a detailed overview of such current federal research. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand and intensify juvenile arthritis research. Allows the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to award grants to support juvenile arthritis data collection. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the CDC, to support the development of a National Juvenile Arthritis Patient Registry. Requires the Secretary to promote and support pediatric rheumatology training, including by allowing the Secretary to establish a loan repayment program. Requires the Comptroller General to conduct a study on the economic impact of arthritis in the workplace.
United States · United States Congress · 5 May 2009
Resident Physician Shortage Reduction Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) reduce a hospital's otherwise applicable resident limit by the number of positions unused for the five most recent cost reporting periods; and (2) require the distribution of additional resulting residency positions to certain other hospitals. Requires that all the time spent by a resident in outpatient settings be counted towards the determination of full-time equivalency for the purposes of payments for direct graduate (GME) and indirect (IME) medical education costs, without regard to the setting in which the activities are performed, if the hospital continues to incur the costs of the resident's stipends and fringe benefits during the time the resident spends in that setting. Sets forth rules for counting resident time for didactic and scholarly activities and other activities. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a process for the redistribution of residency slots after a hospital closes.
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 · 5 May 2009
Community Building Code Administration Grant Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, to the extent amounts are made available for grants under this Act, to award grants, on a competitive basis and with federal matching funds, to qualified local building code enforcement departments to increase staffing, provide staff training, increase staff competence and professional qualifications, support individual certification or departmental accreditation, or for capital expenditures specifically dedicated to department administration. Sets forth criteria for rating and ranking of grant proposals.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2009
Preserve Patient Access to Reputable DMEPOS Providers Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to declare that the surety bond requirement under the Medicare program for suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies (DMEPOS) shall apply only to a state-licensed retail pharmacy if there has been a final adverse action that is not subject to administrative or judicial appeal taken against such pharmacy during the 10-year period preceding the issuance (or renewal) of the provider number involved. (Thus exempts from the surety bond requirement any state-licensed retail pharmacy that has not been subject to such an adverse action for at least 10 years. Such adverse actions refer to: (1) a Medicare-imposed revocation of any Medicare billing privileges; (2) suspension or revocation of a license to provide health care by any state licensing authority; (3) revocation or suspension by an accreditation organization; (4) conviction of a federal or state felony offense within the last 10 years preceding enrollment, revalidation, or re-enrollment; or (5) an exclusion or debarment from participation in a federal or state health care program.)
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to revise the civil penalties for violations of firearms law and the procedures for assessing such penalties. Requires fines to be based upon the nature and severity of the violation, the size of the firearms business involved, and the prior record of the firearm's licensee. Prohibits consideration of the amount of fines or license revocations imposed by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in the retention, promotion, or transfer of such agents. Revises the definition of "willfully" for purposes of firearms violations and standards for criminal violations of firearms recordkeeping requirements. Requires the Attorney General to: (1) make preliminary determinations on firearms license applications and notify applicants in writing of a proposed denial; and (2) establish guidelines for ATF inspections, examinations, or investigations of possible firearms violations. Permits an owner of a firearms business whose license is expired, surrendered, or revoked 60 days to liquidate inventory. Allows purchasers of existing firearms businesses the right to cure firearms violations attributable to such businesses. Allows the transfer, possession, and importation of machineguns for industry testing, training, and film production. Eliminates the requirement of written permission for the use of a handgun for lawful purposes by a minor (under age 18) where a parent or legal guardian is present at all times during such use. Prohibits the Attorney General from electronically retrieving inactive firearms licensee information by name or personal identification code. Directs the Attorney General to authorize the importation of all frames or receivers of rifles, or barrels for firearms other than handguns, if the importation is for repair or replacement purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2009
Recognizes the special legal and political relationship the Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land we share. Commends and honors the Native Peoples for the thousands of years that they have stewarded and protected this land. Recognizes that there have been years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the federal government regarding Indian tribes. Apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples for the many instances of violence, maltreatment, and neglect inflicted on them by U.S. citizens. Expresses the regret of the United States for the ramifications of former wrongs and its commitment to build on the positive relationships of the past and present to move toward reconciliation. Urges the President to acknowledge the wrongs of the United States against Indian tribes in U.S. history. Commends the state governments that have begun reconciliation efforts with recognized Indian tribes located in their boundaries, and encourages all state governments to do the same. Prohibits anything in this Joint Resolution from authorizing or supporting any claim against the United States or serving as a settlement of any claim against the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 28 April 2009
Amends the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) to direct the Secretary of the Treasury to provide to the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the Comptroller General, and the Congressional Oversight Panel ongoing, continuous, and close to real-time updates of the status of the use of funds distributed under EESA, including with respect to procurement contracts, through a standardized electronic database that combines all of the necessary information from existing public and private sources to track the status of the funds distributed under the Act. Requires the Secretary also to: (1) compare the data in such database with any other data for any activities that are inconsistent with EESA purposes; and (2) collect from all federal agencies any regulatory filings, data generated by the use of internal models, financial models, and analytics associated with the financial assistance on at least a daily basis in order to help the Secretary to determine the effectiveness of TARP in stimulating prudent lending and strengthening bank capital. Directs the Secretary, if TARP goals are not being met, to work with the federal agencies supplying the information to have them provide the recipients with recommendations for better meeting such goals. Requires the Secretary, furthermore, to adjust the future uses of TARP assistance if such goals are not met even following such recommendations.
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
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 · 22 April 2009
Fee Repeal and Expanded Access Act of 2009 - Revises specified provisions of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, including provisions concerning recreation fee authority, use of funds, distribution of revenue, recreation passes, and cooperative agreements. Provides for the application and administration of certain admission and use fee authorities under the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965, the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986, and the National Parks Omnibus Management Act of 1998 as if the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act had not been enacted.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Respecting States Rights and Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 - Amends the federal criminal code to provide for reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms in states that allow their residents to carry such firearms by persons who are not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm and who are: (1) carrying a valid state license or permit for carrying a concealed firearm; or (2) otherwise entitled to carry a concealed firearm in their state of residence.
United States · United States Congress · 21 April 2009
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation on behalf of Congress of a gold medal of appropriate design to Dr. Muhammad Yunus in recognition of his many enduring contributions to the fight against global poverty.
United States · United States Congress · 20 April 2009
National Guard and Reserve Retired Pay Equity Act of 2009 - Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 to back-date to September 11, 2001, the period of active duty or performed active service, in support of a contingency operation or in other emergency situations, for which members of Ready Reserve components of the Armed Forces shall receive credit in determining eligibility for early receipt of non-regular service retired pay.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Tribal Law and Order Act of 2009 - Amends the Indian Law Enforcement Reform Act to make a variety of changes to increase Native American tribes' law enforcement powers and increase federal powers and responsibilities regarding crimes on Indian land, including: (1) allowing federal officials, with the consent of the tribe, to investigate offenses against tribal criminal laws; (2) providing technical assistance and training to tribal law enforcement officials regarding use of the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database; (3) requiring federal and local officials, when they decline to investigate crimes on Indian land, to report to Native officials and requiring such officials, when they decline to prosecute, to turn over evidence to Native officials; (4) establishing in the criminal division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) the Office of Indian Country Crime to develop, enforce, and administer federal criminal laws in Indian country; (5) authorizing, at the request of a tribe, concurrent federal-tribal jurisdiction; (6) authorizing grants to state, tribal, and local governments that enter into cooperative agreements, including agreements relating to mutual aid, hot pursuit of suspects, and cross-deputization; (7) requiring the Attorney General to allow tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) law enforcement agencies to directly access and enter information into federal criminal information databases (under current law, such access is limited); and (8) increasing the criminal sentences tribal courts may impose.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Family Caregiver Program Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to waive charges for care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in emergency cases to attendants accompanying veterans severely injured while on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, while such veterans are receiving VA care for such injuries. Directs the Secretary, as part of authorized VA home health services for veterans, to furnish family caregiver assistance to family members of veterans in need of personal care services due to a serious injury incurred or aggravated during active duty. Requires the Secretary to: (1) evaluate the services needed by each veteran; (2) provide training and certification to the caregivers; (3) designate a primary personal care attendant for each eligible veteran; (4) provide ongoing family caregiver assistance to such family members; (5) provide respite care, in appropriate cases; (6) pay monthly caregiver stipends; (7) conduct oversight of the caregiver assistance program; (8) provide program outreach; and (9) report on program implementation and evaluation. Authorizes the provision of VA health care to primary personal care attendants. Directs the Secretary to reimburse attendants for travel expenses, including lodging and subsistence, in connection with authorized VA treatment for veterans.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Net Operating Loss (NOL) Carryback Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a five-year carryback of net operating losses, including the operating losses of life insurance companies, incurred in 2008 and 2009. Denies such extended loss carryover period to: (1) taxpayers in whom the federal government acquires an equity interest under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008; (2) the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (3) members of certain affiliated groups.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act - Allows, except as provided under federal criminal law relating to the possession of firearms and other dangerous weapons in federal facilities, a person to possess, carry, and transport concealed, loaded, and operable firearms within a national park area or national wildlife refuge area in accordance with the laws of the state in which such area, or that portion thereof, is located.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Rural Heritage Conservation Extension Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deduction for charitable contributions by individuals and corporations of real property interests for conservation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2009
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an Indian tribe, in the case of a facility that uses a renewable energy resource to produce electricity in which such tribe has an ownership interest in the gross sales from such facility, to assign to any other person who has such an ownership interest any portion of the production from the facility that would, but for this Act, be allocated to such tribe for purposes of the renewable electricity production credit.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Medicare Fracture Prevention and Osteoporosis Testing Act of 2009 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a national minimum payment amount for CPT code 77080 (relating to dual energy x-ray absorptiometry, or DXA, the most widely accepted method of measuring bone mass to predict fracture risk) and CPT code 77082 (relating to vertebral fracture assessment, or VFA), and any successor to such codes as identified by the Secretary (bone mass scans). Directs the Secretary to arrange with the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies to study and report to the Secretary and Congress on: (1) the ramifications of Medicare reimbursement reductions for DXA and VFA on beneficiary access to bone mass measurement benefits; and (2) the methods to increase use of bone mass measurement by Medicare beneficiaries.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2009
Original Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle Ultra-High Relief Palladium Bullion Coin Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue a $20 coin that bears, on the obverse and reverse, the designs of the famous 27-millimeter version of the 1907 Augustus Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle ultra-high relief gold piece. Authorizes the Secretary to commence minting and issuing such coins for sale, beginning in 2009, in: (1) an appropriate number of $20 bullion investment coins meeting specified requirements; and (2) up to 15,000 ultra-high relief numismatic $20 coins meeting certain other requirements. Requires all coins to be minted at West Point, New York. Prohibits numismatic coins from being made available as so-called "fractional" coins. Requires the Secretary to take specified protective and anti-counterfeiting measures. Instructs the Treasury Inspector General to report to certain congressional committees on the extent of counterfeiting of rare, collectible, or numismatic coins for sale in the United States, regardless of the country where the original of such coin was produced or of the country in which the counterfeiting takes place, or sales overseas if such counterfeit coins are unauthorized copies of coins originally produced by the U.S. Mint.
United States · United States Congress · 31 March 2009
Fair Elections Now Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) with respect to: (1) eligibility and qualifying contribution requirements and benefits of fair elections financing of Senate election campaigns; (2) establishment of a Fair Elections Fund; (3) eligibility for Fund allocations; (4) contribution and expenditure requirements; (5) a public debate requirement; (6) certification of whether or not a federal election candidate is a participating candidate; (7) benefits for participating candidates; (8) matching payments for qualified small dollar contributions; (9) political advertising vouchers; (10) establishment of a Fair Elections Oversight Board; (11) civil penalties for violation of contribution and expenditure requirements; (12) prohibition of joint fundraising committees with any political committee other than a candidate's authorized committee; and (13) a specified limitation on coordinated expenditures by political party committees with participating candidates. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to: (1) prohibit the preemption of the use of a broadcasting station by a legally qualified Senate candidate who has purchased and paid for such use; (2) revise Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authority to revoke licenses for broadcasting stations who fail to provide access to Senate candidates; and (3) revise the formula for determining reduced broadcast rates for participating candidates in certain circumstances. Directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking proceeding to establish a standardized form to be used by broadcasting stations to record and report the purchase of advertising time by or on behalf of a candidate for nomination for election, or for election, to federal elective office. Amends FECA to: (1) empower the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari to appeal a civil action; (2) require all designations, statements, and reports required to be filed under FECA to be filed directly with the FEC, and in computer-accessible electronic form; and (3) reduce from 48 to 24 hours after their receipt the deadline for the FEC to make designations, statements, reports, or notifications available to the public in the FEC office and on the Internet.
United States · United States Congress · 30 March 2009
Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act of 2009 - Amends the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prescribe consumer protection guidelines for rental-purchase transactions, including: (1) the determination of rental-purchase cost; (2) disclosure requirements; (3) prohibitions against confessions of judgment, wage assignments, and waiver of consumer claims or defenses; (4) furnishing of statements of account; (5) point-of-rental disclosures; and (6) rental-purchase advertising disclosures. Declares that an action for civil liability may be brought against a merchant's assignee only if the violation is apparent on the face of a rental-purchase agreement to which it relates, including, but not limited to, a disclosure that can be determined to be incomplete or inaccurate from the face of the agreement. Authorizes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to promulgate implementing regulations. Grants enforcement powers to the Federal Trade Commission and to state attorneys general. Subjects to criminal penalties any willful and knowing violation of the information disclosure requirements of this Act.
![Official portrait of Sen. Tester, Jon [D-MT]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/t000464_200.jpg)