United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Medicare Independent Living Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to eliminate the in-the-home restriction for Medicare coverage of mobility devices for individuals with expected long-term needs. Deems such devices to be durable medical equipment (DME) if they are used in customary settings for the purpose of normal domestic, vocational, or community activities.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Alzheimer's Family Assistance Act of 2007- Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow a phased-in tax credit ($1,000 in 2007 increasing by $500 each year until allowing $3,000 in 2011) for family caregivers of spouses and dependents who have long-term care needs; (2) allow a tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums; and (3) apply certain consumer protection standards to long-term care insurance contracts.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to restore, make permanent, and eliminate the dollar limitation for the tax exclusion for amounts received under a qualified group legal services plan.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend the exclusion from gross income for employer-provided health care coverage to certain eligible beneficiaries and their dependent children; (2) revise the definition of "dependent" for purposes of the tax deduction for the health insurance costs of self-employed individuals; and (3) extend voluntary employees' beneficiary association sick and accident benefits to eligible beneficiaries and their dependents.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month and supports the goals and ideals of such Month. Urges national and community organizations, private businesses, colleges and universities, and the media to promote, through such Month, awareness of sexual violence and strategies to decrease the incidence of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Acknowledges the observance of March 8, 2007, as International Women's Day. Applauds the enactment of the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act by the Kingdom of Lesotho. Lauds the Kingdom of Lesotho for demonstrating its commitment to improve gender equity. Commends the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for developing and implementing policies to advance gender equity in the Kingdom of Lesotho and other countries eligible for MCC financial assistance.
United States · United States Congress · 29 March 2007
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp honoring Rosa Louise McCauley Parks should be issued; (2) the provision requiring that an honoree must have died at least 10 years before this honor should be waived; and (3) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend that such a stamp be issued.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to states and Indian tribes for colorectal cancer programs that include: (1) providing colorectal cancer screening to individuals who are over 50 years of age or at high risk for such cancer; (2) providing case management and referrals for medical treatment; (3) ensuring the full continuum of follow up and cancer care for individuals screened; (4) carrying out activities to improve the education, training, and skills of health professionals in the detection and control of colorectal cancer; and (5) developing and disseminating public information and education programs for the detection and control of colorectal cancer and promoting the benefits of receiving screenings through this program. Gives priority to low-income individuals who lack adequate coverage under health insurance and health plans with respect to screenings for colorectal cancer. Allows the Secretary to provide training and technical assistance with respect to the planning, development, and operation of programs funded by a grant under this Act. Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to allow states to provide medical assistance to individuals who have been screened for colorectal cancer under this Act and who need treatment for complications due to screening or colorectal cancer. Applies provisions related to breast and cervical cancer programs to programs under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 28 March 2007
Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify automatic fire sprinkler systems as five-year depreciable property. Makes this Act applicable to property placed in service after April 11, 2003.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women and Youth Act of 2007 - States that it shall be U.S. policy to: (1) pursue a global HIV prevention strategy that emphasizes the needs of married and unmarried women and girls and addresses the factors that lead to gender disparities in HIV infection rates; and (2) balance funding for HIV prevention methods. Directs the President to: (1) formulate and submit to the appropriate congressional committees, and make available to the public, a comprehensive and culturally appropriate global HIV prevention strategy that addresses the HIV vulnerability of married and unmarried women and girls and seeks to reduce the factors that lead to gender disparities in HIV infection rates; (2) ensure that the United States coordinates its overall HIV/AIDS policy and programs with foreign governments, international organizations, other donor countries, and indigenous organizations; and (3) provide clear guidance to U.S. field missions.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Latin America Military Training Review Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed. Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.
United States · United States Congress · 27 March 2007
Supports the goals and ideals of Financial Literacy Month, including raising public awareness about the importance of financial education in the United States and the serious consequences that may result from a lack of understanding about personal finances.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
All Healthy Children Act of 2007 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish under a new title XXII (All Healthy Children Program) a state-operated program receiving federal financial assistance to provide comprehensive health coverage for children and pregnant and postpartum women in place of benefits previously provided for them under SSA titles XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP). Establishes a Commission on Children's Health Coverage to: (1) evaluate annually for Congress the status of children's health coverage in the United States; and (2) report to Congress a legislative proposal that would assure health benefits coverage for all U.S. children. Provides for expedited congressional consideration of such proposal.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Torture Victims Relief Reauthorization Act of 2007 - Amends the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998 to authorize appropriations for FY2008-FY2009 to: (1) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants to programs in the United States to cover the costs of services provided by domestic treatment centers in the rehabilitation of victims of torture (including treatment of the physical and psychological effects of torture), social and legal services, and research and training of health care providers outside of treatment centers or programs to enable them to provide such services; (2) the President for grants to treatment centers and programs in foreign countries that carry out projects and activities specifically designed to treat victims of torture for the physical and psychological effects of torture; and (3) the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Secure Handling of Ammonium Nitrate Act of 2007 - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to regulate the purchase and sale of ammonium nitrate to prevent its misappropriation or use in a terrorist act. Requires the Secretary to establish: (1) a threshold percentage for ammonium nitrate for a substance to be treated as ammonium nitrate under this Act; and (2) a process by which each applicant for registration as the owner of an ammonium nitrate facility and any person who seeks to be an ammonium nitrate purchaser are required to register with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are issued a registration number. Directs the Secretary to require the owner of a facility engaged in selling or transferring ammonium nitrate to maintain a record of each sale or transfer of ownership of ammonium nitrate for three years after such sale. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) exempting persons producing, selling, or purchasing ammonium nitrate exclusively for use as an explosive material under a federal explosives license; (2) ensuring that access of agricultural producers to ammonium nitrate is not unduly burdened; (3) restricting the disclosure of information obtained under this Act; (4) inspecting and auditing facility owner records to prevent the misappropriation of ammonium nitrate; and (5) timely reporting of the theft or unexplained loss of ammonium nitrate. Prohibits: (1) buying and taking possession of ammonium nitrate, or owning or operating an ammonium nitrate facility, without a registration number; or (2) failing to comply with any requirement of this Act. Prescribes a civil penalty.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to make competitive grants to eligible entities to promote recruitment, training, and placement of individuals, including individuals who have completed a court reporting training program, as realtime writers providing closed captioning in video programming. Sets forth priorities in making grants. Limits grants to $1.5 million for a two-year period. Repeals this Act five years after funds are appropriated to carry it out.
United States · United States Congress · 26 March 2007
Inhumane Trapping Prevention Act - Makes it unlawful to: (1) import, export, or transport in interstate commerce conventional steel jawed leghold traps and articles of fur derived from animals trapped in such traps; or (2) sell or acquire such a trap transported in violation of such provision. Prescribes criminal penalties for violations. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to reward persons (other than government employees performing official duties) for information leading to a conviction under this Act. Empowers enforcement officials to detain, search, and seize suspected containers or merchandise and any accompanying documents, to make arrests without warrants with probable cause, and to execute warrants. Subjects seized merchandise to forfeiture.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Medicare Mental Health Modernization Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for: (1) elimination of the lifetime limit on inpatient mental health services; (2) parity in treatment for outpatient mental health services; (3) coverage of intensive residential services under Medicare part A (Hospital Insurance) and of intensive outpatient services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance); (4) exclusion of clinical social worker services from coverage under the Medicare skilled nursing facility prospective payment system; and (5) coverage of marriage and family therapist services and mental health counselor services under Medicare. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to study and report to Congress on whether the criteria for coverage of any therapy service or any outpatient mental health care service under Medicare unduly restricts the access to such a service of any Medicare beneficiary with Alzheimer's disease or a related mental illness because the coverage criteria requires the Medicare beneficiary to display continuing clinical improvement to continue to receive the service.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the passengers and crew members, collectively, on board United Airlines Flight 93 in recognition of their heroic service to the Nation. Requires the gold medal, after such award, to be given to the Flight 93 National Memorial located in Stonycreek Township, Somerset County, in Pennsylvania, to be displayed as appropriate and made available for research.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Public Service Academy Act of 2007 - Establishes in the Department of Homeland Security a U.S. Public Service Academy for the instruction in and preparation for public service of selected individuals. Sets forth provisions relating to: (1) key personnel positions and faculty and departments; (2) student qualifications and requirements for admission; (3) procedures for the appointment of students to the Academy by Members of Congress and the President; (4) curriculum standards; and (5) study abroad requirements. Requires each Academy student to sign an agreement with respect to length of public service. Imposes tuition and cost repayment requirements for Academy students who fail to graduate or accept or complete assigned public service. Establishes a Board of Visitors to inquire into the efficiency and effectiveness of the operations of the Academy. Requires the tuition of each Academy student to be fully subsidized. Provides for public (80%) and private funding for the Academy.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Requires that, in case of a review conducted by the Department of Defense (DOD) regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of a member of the Armed Forces who is killed in action by weapon fire other than as the result of an act of an enemy (friendly fire death), the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that a summary of review results are provided to the primary next of kin at least 24 hours before such results are released to the public. Authorizes the primary next of kin to waive the notice requirement to expedite the public release of such results.
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Medicare Hearing Health Care Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for direct access to qualified audiologists for Medicare beneficiaries, without regard to any requirement that the beneficiary be under the care of (or referred by) a physician or other health care practitioner, or that such services are provided under the supervision of a physician or other health care practitioner. Covers audiology services under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance).
United States · United States Congress · 23 March 2007
Vote by Mail Act of 2007 - Directs the Election Assistance Commission to establish a Vote by Mail program of grants to participating states solely for implementation of procedures for the conduct of all elections by mail at the state or local level. Directs the Comptroller General to evaluate and report to Congress on the benefits of broader implementation of mail-in voting in elections.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Responsible Education About Life Act - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to states for family life education, including education on abstinence and contraception, to prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Expresses the sense of Congress that states are encouraged but not required to provide matching funds. Requires the Secretary to provide for a national evaluation of a representative sample of such programs for effectiveness in changing adolescent sexual behavior, including delaying sexual and high-risk activity, preventing pregnancy and disease (including HIV/AIDS), and increasing contraceptive knowledge. Requires states receiving such grants to provide for an individual evaluation of the state's program by an external, independent entity.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Authorizes the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to establish a Science and Technology Scholarship Program to award scholarships to students at institutions of higher education to recruit and prepare them for careers in the National Weather Service and in NOAA marine research, atmospheric research, and satellite programs. Sets forth provisions governing such Program.
United States · United States Congress · 22 March 2007
Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians in order to cover their services under the Medicaid program.
United States · United States Congress · 21 March 2007
Model T Ford Automobile Commemorative Coin Act - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Model T Ford Automobile, up to 500,000 $1 coins emblematic of the Model T Ford and the assembly line. Subjects coin sales to a surcharge of $10 per coin. Requires specified distributions of surcharges to: (1) the Automobile National Heritage Area Partnership Inc. for creating an endowment for national Model T educational programs; and (2) the Edison Institute (also known as "The Henry Ford"), in Dearborn, Michigan, a National Historic Landmark, for creating an endowment for educational programs associated with the Model T Ford Automobile.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal in recognition of Constantino Brumidi's contributions to the Nation as a designer and decorator of the U.S. Capitol. Requires the Architect of the Capitol to arrange for the gold medal to be displayed in the Capitol Visitor Center as part of an exhibit honoring Constantino Brumidi.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of marriage and family therapist services generally, and particularly those provided in rural health clinics and in hospice programs, and mental health counselor services under part B of the Medicaid program. Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system. Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Second Chance Act of 2007: Community Safety Through Recidivism Prevention or the Second Chance Act of 2007 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to reauthorize, rewrite, and expand provisions for adult and juvenile offender state and local reentry demonstration projects to provide expanded services to offenders and their families for reentry into society. Directs the Attorney General to award grants for: (1) state and local reentry courts; (2) Comprehensive and Continuous Offender Reentry Task Forces: (3) evaluation of methods to improve academic and vocational education for offenders at prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities; (4) demonstration programs to reduce the use of alcohol and other drugs in long-term substance abusers and reduce illegal drug demand by providing drug treatment; (5) incentive grants to improve drug treatment for offenders in prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities; (6) pharmacological drug treatment services to incarcerated offenders; (7) technology career training for offenders; and (8) mentoring services for reintegrating offenders into the community. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants for: (1) the establishment of a National Adult and Juvenile Offender Reentry Resource Center; (2) drug treatment programs as an alternative to imprisonment; (3) prison-based family treatment programs for incarcerated parents of minor children; and (4) a study of parole or post-incarceration supervision violations and revocations. Requires the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to establish: (1) a prisoner reentry program; and (2) a pilot program for the release of elderly nonviolent offenders (age 60 or older).
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or other assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that: (1) constitutes a crime of violence under federal law or a felony under state, local, or Indian tribal law; and (2) is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim or is a violation of the state, local, or tribal hate crime laws. Directs the Attorney General to give priority for assistance to crimes committed by offenders who have committed crimes in more than one state and to rural jurisdictions that have difficulty covering the extraordinary investigation or prosecution expenses. Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to assist state, local, and Indian law enforcement agencies with such extraordinary expenses. Directs the Office of Justice Programs to: (1) work closely with funded jurisdictions to ensure that the concerns and needs of all affected parties are addressed; and (2) award grants to state and local programs designed to combat hate crimes committed by juveniles. 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.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act or EAT Healthy America Act - Amends provisions with respect to: (1) specialty crops; (2) the tree assistance program; (3) the conservation reserve program; (4) the wetlands reserve program; (5) the farmland protection program; (6) the grassland reserve program; (7) the wildlife habitat incentive program; (8) the environmental qualities incentives program; (9) air quality improvement; (10) integrated pest management initiative; (11) the conservation loan guarantee program; (12) agricultural trade; (13) invasive pests and diseases; (14) nutrition; (15) agricultural research; (16) renewable energy, including crop biomass waste; and (17) farm labor housing.
United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2007
Safe Climate Act of 2007 - Amends the Clean Air Act to direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate: (1) targets for a 2% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions each year from 2010-2050; and (2) regulations requiring reductions to meet such targets, including by setting caps on emissions of sources and sectors with the largest emissions or the best opportunities to reduce them, by issuing and authorizing trading of emission allowances, and by imposing penalties for excess emissions. Requires relevant federal agencies to finalize a rule to carry out the National Academies' recommendations for regulatory action needed to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations or explain their reasons for declining to act. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the distribution of emission allowances (including through auctions) and the use of proceeds (to be deposited in a Climate Reinvestment Fund) for specified goals, including mitigating the effects of energy cost increases and climate change. Requires the EPA to ensure that emissions and allowances are accurately tracked, reported, and verified. Authorizes the emission reduction regulations to include: (1) additional requirements for any source or sector; and (2) performance standards, best management practices, and technology-based requirements. Requires such regulations to set standards for the reduction of greenhouse emissions from motor vehicles at least as quickly as the standards adopted by the California Air Resources Board at its September 2004 hearing. Requires the EPA to revise such standards in 2014 and every five years thereafter to further reduce emissions. Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to direct the Secretary of Energy to: (1) require, beginning in 2010, an annual increase in the percentage of electric energy generated from renewable sources that is sold at the retail level in the United States and to require such percentage to be at least 20% of the total electricity sold by 2020; and (2) set end-user savings targets for retail electric-energy and natural gas suppliers. Authorizes DOE to: (1) increase the required percentage of end-user savings for years after 2020; and (2) allow suppliers to achieve the targets through a market-based trading system.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2007
Stop Tuberculosis (TB) Now Act of 2007 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to require (currently, authorizes) the President to furnish assistance for tuberculosis (TB) prevention, treatment, and elimination. Gives priority to activities described in the Stop TB Strategy (as defined by this Act). Revises related fund use provisions. Authorizes the President, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to provide increased resources to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Stop Tuberculosis Partnership to improve the capacity of countries with high TB rates and other affected countries to implement the Stop TB Strategy and specific strategies related to addressing drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Authorizes appropriations for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) TB activities.
United States · United States Congress · 19 March 2007
Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for conducting and supporting research on Alzheimer's disease in FY2008-FY2012. Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institute on Aging to: (1) give priority to projects for conducting and supporting Alzheimer's disease research; (2) increase the emphasis on the need to conduct Alzheimer's disease prevention trials within NIH; (3) ensure that Alzheimer's disease is maintained as a high priority for the existing neuroscience initiative; (4) conduct and support cooperative clinical research regarding Alzheimer's disease; and (5) make grants for research related to the early detection, diagnosis, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, the relationship of vascular disease and Alzheimer's disease, and Alzheimer's disease services and caregiving. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) convene a summit of researchers and other industry representatives on Alzheimer's disease; (2) make grants for public education programs on risk factors associated with cognitive health, Alzheimer's disease, and other dementias; and (3) make grants to community organizations to establish and operate Alzheimer's call centers to provide 24-hour information on Alzheimer's disease. Extends through FY2012 funding for demonstration projects relating to Alzheimer's disease.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Prescription Coverage Now Act of 2007 - Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Service to provide for an expedited process for the qualification for low-income assistance through a request to the Secretary of the Treasury for tax return and other information sufficient to identify: (1) whether the individual involved is likely eligible for subsidies; and (2) the amount of premium and cost-sharing subsidies for which they would qualify based on such information. Provides for modification of resource standards for determination of eligibility for low-income subsidy and revision of income and asset rules. Requires indexing of deductibles and cost-sharing above the annual out-of-pocket threshold for individuals with income below 150% of the poverty line. Requires screening by the Commissioner of Social Security for eligibility under Medicare savings programs. Creates a special enrollment period for subsidy eligible individuals. Waives the late enrollment penalty for subsidy eligible individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Conquer Childhood Cancer Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acting through the National Cancer Institute, to establish special programs of research excellence in the area of pediatric cancers. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a grant mechanism for the establishment of Research Fellowships in Pediatric Cancer to support adequate numbers of pediatric focused clinical and translational investigators. Requires the Director to award a grant for the operation of a population-based national childhood cancer database, the Childhood Cancer Research Network. Requires the Secretary to award grants to recognized childhood cancer professional and advocacy organizations to raise public awareness of currently available information, treatment, and research with intent to ensure access to best available therapies for pediatric cancers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to reduce the minimum net worth ratio requirements of credit unions. Revises the minimum risk-based net ratio for such capitalizations. Transfers from the federal banking agencies to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) the authority to adjust the net worth levels of credit unions. Instructs the National Credit Union Administration Board (Board) to design the risk-based net worth requirement to take account of material risks to insured credit unions that are taken account of by comparable standards applicable to FDIC-insured institutions. Establishes a temporary waiver of the net worth restoration plan requirement for an undercapitalized credit union which attains its status due to a major natural or man-made disaster. Revamps requirements for limits and restrictions on member business loans. Authorizes credit unions to lease to any business enterprise separate and clearly distinct space in credit union office buildings in underserved areas. Authorizes the Board, in specified circumstances, to encompass within credit union membership any person or organization within an underserved local community, neighborhood, or rural district. Permits a credit union to invest in securities for its own account. Increases the investment and lending limit in credit union service organizations. Exempts certain voluntary mergers involving multiple common-bond credit unions from the numerical limit for eligibility within the field of membership category of a credit union. Directs the Board to prescribe criteria for continued membership of certain member groups in the case of certain credit union conversions to a community charter. Includes just cause as grounds for expulsion from membership. Authorizes term limits for board members of federal credit unions. Revises voting requirements for credit union conversions to mutual savings banks. Amends the Clayton Act to exempt from its pre-merger notification and waiting period requirements any mergers of one insured credit union activities with another which require agency approval under the Federal Credit Union Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Comprehensive Tuberculosis Elimination Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to set forth research and demonstration projections for the prevention, control, and elimination of tuberculosis that shall receive priority from the Secretary of Health and Human Services in awarding research grants for tuberculosis. Requires the Advisory Council for the Elimination of Tuberculosis to make recommendations on the development, revision, and implementation of a national plan to eliminate tuberculosis in the United States. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop new tools for the elimination of tuberculosis. Requires the Federal Tuberculosis Task Force to make recommendations on the development of a national plan for the development of such tools. Requires the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to expand, intensify, and coordinate tuberculosis research and development. Allows the Director of the Institute to provide awards for: (1) the development of curricula in schools of medicine or osteopathic medicine regarding the principles and practices of preventing, managing, and controlling tuberculosis; (2) supervised study and research for clinically trained professionals who are committed to research regarding pulmonary infections and tuberculosis. Requires the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to conduct research activities to develop a tuberculosis vaccine. Requires the John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences to carry out an international training program regarding tuberculosis. Requires the Secretary to seek to ensure that a portion of amounts appropriated for loan repayment for qualified health professionals conducting research is reserved for contracts with individuals to conduct tuberculosis research.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Healthy Families Act - Requires certain employers, who employ 15 or more employees for each working day during 20 or more workweeks a year, to provide a minimum paid sick leave and employment benefits of: (1) seven days annually for those who work at least 30 hours per week; and (2) a prorated annual amount for those who work less than 30 but at least 20 hours a week, or less than 1,500 but at least 1,000 hours per year. Allows employees to use such leave to meet their own medical needs or to care for the medical needs of certain family members. Directs the Secretary of Labor to exercise certain investigative and enforcement authority with respect to this Act's provisions for employees covered by title I of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 or the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Provides that, for employees under their jurisdiction, such authority shall be exercised by the Librarian of Congress, the Comptroller General, the Board of Directors of the congressional Office of Compliance, or the Merit Systems Protection Board. Declares that the requirements under this Act are minimum requirements, and are not to be construed to discourage employers from adopting or retaining more generous leave policies.
United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2007
Children's Health First Act - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)) of the Social Security Act to grant states the option to expand coverage of children whose family income is any percentage up to 400% of the poverty-line. Authorizes states to offer purchase of coverage for uncovered children under SCHIP who are not otherwise eligible for assistance under SCHIP or Medicaid. Provides subsidies for employment-based coverage of children eligible for SCHIP or Medicaid. Requires coverage of early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment services, including dental services, federally-qualified health services, and rural health clinic services. Establishes the Medicaid-SCHIP Payment Advisory Commission. Provides for an increase in the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for medical assistance for children for states that expand coverage of children. Outlines state options for additional coverage expansions, including older children under Medicaid, targeted low-income pregnant women under SCHIP, and legal immigrants under both programs. Establishes new base SCHIP allotments responsive to increases in health care costs and enrollment expansions. Provides for a two-year initial availability of SCHIP allotments, and for redistribution of unused allotments to address state funding shortfalls. Prescribes a special rule for school-based outreach and enrollment activities. Gives states the option to require certain individuals to present satisfactory documentary evidence of citizenship or nationality for Medicaid eligibility. Gives states the option to provide for "express lane" and simplified determinations of a child's financial eligibility for Medicaid or SCHIP. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate a model process for the coordination of Medicaid and SCHIP enrollment and coverage of children who frequently change their state of residency or are temporarily outside such state. Requires a state Medicaid plan to apply outreach procedures to all pregnant women and children.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Bay Area Regional Water Recycling Program Authorization Act of 2007 - Amends the Reclamation Wastewater and Groundwater Study and Facilities Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to participate in the design, planning, and construction of recycled water projects in cooperation with: (1) Palo Alto and Mountain View, California; (2) Pittsburg, California, and the Delta Diablo Sanitation District; (3) Antioch, California, and the Delta Diablo Sanitation District; (4) the North Coast County Water District; (5) Redwood City, California; (6) the South County Regional Wastewater Authority and the Santa Clara Valley Water District; and (7) San Jose, California, and the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Directs the Secretary to request amounts necessary to fully fund, by September 30, 2010, the San Jose Area Water Reclamation and Reuse Project.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Allows employees of federally-qualified health centers to enroll in an approved health benefits plan under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Artist-Museum Partnership Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow taxpayers who create literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions or similar property a fair market value (determined at the time of contribution) tax deduction for contributions of such properties, the copyrights thereon, or both, to certain tax-exempt organizations, if such properties are properly appraised and are donated no sooner than 18 months after their creation. Limits the amount of such deduction based upon the donor's artistic adjusted gross income, as defined by this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Savings for Working Families Act of 2007 - Allows certain low-income individuals between age 18 and 61 to establish tax-exempt individual development accounts (IDAs) to pay for certain qualified expenses, including education expenses, first-time homebuyer costs, and business capitalization or expansion costs. Sets forth rules for the establishment, maintenance, and termination of IDAs. Permits tax-free withdrawals from IDAs for qualified expenses, but requires IDA beneficiaries to complete one or more financial education courses prior to making an IDA withdrawal. Allows certain financial institutions, tax-exempt organizations, and Indian tribes to sponsor and administer IDAs. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow such entities a business-related tax credit for the cost of administering IDAs and for making matching contributions to IDAs in parallel accounts. Provides that IDA amounts shall be disregarded for purposes of determining eligibility for assistance under certain means-tested federal programs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2007
Internet Spyware (I-SPY) Prevention Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization, or exceeding authorized access, by causing a computer program or code to be copied onto the protected computer, and intentionally using that program or code: (1) in furtherance of another federal criminal offense; (2) to obtain or transmit personal information (including a Social Security number or other government-issued identification number, a bank or credit card number, or an associated password or access code) with intent to defraud or injure a person or cause damage to a protected computer; or (3) to impair the security protection of that computer. Prohibits any person from bringing a civil action under state law premised upon the defendant's violating this Act. Provides that this Act does not prohibit any lawfully authorized investigative, protective, or intelligence activity of a law enforcement agency or a U.S. intelligence agency. Authorizes appropriations to the Attorney General for prosecutions needed to discourage the use of spyware and the practices called phishing and pharming. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Justice should vigorously prosecute those who use spyware to commit crimes and those that conduct phishing and pharming scams.
![Official portrait of Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/671024d7ec807bca66057fcb_200.jpg)