United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate with pharmaceutical manufacturers the prices that may be charged to prescription drug plan sponsors and Medicare Advantage organizations for covered part D drugs for part D eligible individuals enrolled under a prescription drug plan or under a Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MA-PD) plan.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells, regardless of the date on which the stem cells were derived from a human embryo. Limits such research to stem cells that meet the following ethical requirements: (1) the stem cells were derived from human embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics for the purpose of fertility treatment and were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment; (2) the embryos would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded; and (3) such individuals donate the embryos with written informed consent and receive no financial or other inducements.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 - Provides for implementation of recommendations of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission). Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to set forth provisions governing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants for first responders to prevent, prepare for, respond to, mitigate against, or recover from terrorist attacks. Directs the DHS Secretary to: (1) evaluate and prioritize applications based on the degree to which applicants would lessen the threat to persons and critical infrastructure; and (2) ensure that each state receives no less than .25% of grant funds available in a fiscal year (.45% for international border states). Requires the Secretary to establish the Improve Communications for Emergency Response Grant Program. Requires state, local, and tribal governments to pre-identify sites where a unified command system can be quickly established. Establishes the Checkpoint Screening Security Fund. Directs the Secretary to establish a system to inspect 100% of cargo transported on passenger aircraft. Permits containers to enter the United States only if scanned with equipment, and secured by seals, that meet prescribed standards. Directs the Secretary to: (1) take specified actions regarding human trafficking and terrorist travel; and (2) report on international collaboration and a plan to accelerate implementation of an automated biometric system. Requires the Secretary to carry out a Fusion and Law Enforcement Education and Teaming Grant Program. Establishes in DHS the Border Intelligence Fusion Center Program. Homeland Security Information Sharing Enhancement Act of 2007 - Renames the Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection as the Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Directs the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis to implement a Homeland Security Advisory System. Establishes, within the Office, an Internal Continuity of Operations Plan. Homeland Security Information Sharing Partnerships Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish a State, Local, and Regional Fusion Center Initiative; and (2) establish a Homeland Security Information Sharing Fellows Program. Establishes, within DHS, an Office of Infrastructure Protection. Protection of Civil Liberties Act - Makes the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board an independent agency within the executive branch. Privacy Officer With Enhanced Rights Act of 2007 or the POWER Act - Sets forth provisions governing the DHS privacy officer's investigative authority. Directs the Secretary to prepare vulnerability assessments of critical infrastructure and to establish a National Asset Database, a National At-Risk Database, a National Asset Database Consortium. Requires the Secretary to establish a Strategic Transportation Security Information Sharing Plan. Directs the Secretary to implement a program to enhance private sector preparedness for acts of terrorism and other emergencies and disasters through the promotion of the use of voluntary consensus standards. Repeals or modifies limitations on assistance for preventing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation. Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should strive to expand and strengthen the Proliferation Security Initiative, including by working with the United Nations Security Council to authorize the Initiative under international law. Authorizes appropriations for the Department of Defense Cooperative Threat Reduction Program and for the Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration programs to prevent WMD proliferation and terrorism. Establishes: (1) within the Executive Office of the President the Office of the United States Coordinator for the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism; and (2) the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism. Nuclear Black Market Counter-Terrorism Act of 2007 - Directs the President to impose sanctions for transfers of nuclear technology involving foreign persons and terrorists. Requires the President to: (1) identify nuclear proliferation network countries; and (2) suspend arms sales to such countries. 9/11 Commission International Implementation Act of 2007 - Declares U.S. policy regarding increasing the availability of modern basic education in Arab countries. Authorizes: (1) the President to establish an International Arab and Muslim Youth Opportunity Fund; and (2) the Secretary of State to fund a private, nonprofit Middle East Foundation. Sets forth authority for providing a surge capacity for international broadcasting activities to support U.S. foreign policy objectives. Requires reports on: (1) expanding U.S. scholarship, exchange, and library programs in Arab and predominantly Muslim countries; and (2) progress towards implementing 9/11 Commission recommendations for developing a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists. Sets forth statements of U.S. policy and strategy with respect to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to increase the federal minimum wage to: (1) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; (2) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and (3) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day. Applies federal minimum wage requirements to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Sets forth a transition period during which a specified minimum wage in the Commonwealth shall be gradually increased to equal the federal minimum wage.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2007
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that all workers deserve fair treatment and safe working conditions. Honors Dolores Huerta for her commitment to the improvement of working conditions for farm worker families and the rights of women and children.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish the Shirley Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Program under which scholars and secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students from the Caribbean would attend U.S. schools, participate in activities designed to promote a greater understanding of U.S. values and culture, and have the option to live with a U.S. host family. Directs the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop a comprehensive program that extends and expands existing primary and secondary school initiatives in the Caribbean to provide: (1) teacher training methods; and (2) increased community involvement in school activities.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Pacific Salmon Emergency Disaster Assistance Act of 2007 - Appropriates funds for a lump sum payment to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. Requires the Commission to distribute the funds among various entities for assistance for the economic and social effects of the commercial fishery failure designated under specified provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act regarding closures or restrictions on harvesting of Klamath River Fall Chinook salmon.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
National Computer Recycling Act - Directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), after submitting to Congress the results of a study of waste materials in used computers that may be hazardous to human health or the environment along with related management recommendations, to require assessment of a fee on the sale to an end-user of any computer, monitor, or other designated electronic devices. Exempts nonprofit organizations from the fee requirement. Authorizes the Administrator to create additional fee exemptions for sales that will likely result in maximum reuse of significant components and the disposal of remaining components in an environmentally sound and lawful manner. Requires fees collected to be used for administration of this Act and for making grants to eligible individuals or organizations for: (1) collecting or processing used computers, monitors, or other devices for recycling; (2) reusing or reselling such devices; and (3) extracting and using, or selling for reuse, raw materials from such devices. Requires reports to Congress on the status of computer recycling, which shall include descriptions of fee collection and use.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Gun Show Loophole Closing Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to provide for regulation of firearms transfers at special firearms events (events at which 75 or more firearms are offered or exhibited for sale, exchange, or transfer if one or more of the firearms has been shipped or transported in, or otherwise affects, interstate or foreign commerce, excluding an offer or exhibit of firearms: (1) by an individual, from that individual's personal collection, at that individual's private residence, if the individual is not required to be licensed; and (2) at events conducted and attended by permanent or annual dues paying members of private, not-for-profit organizations whose primary purpose is owning and maintaining real property for hunting activities). Prohibits any person from operating a special firearms event without notifying the Attorney General. Sets forth: (1) responsibilities of special firearms events operators and of firearms licensees and transferors other than licensees at such events, including with regard to criminal background checks; (2) special firearms event license application requirements; and (3) penalties for violation of this Act. Authorizes a state to apply to the Attorney General for, and sets forth criteria for, certification of the 24-hour verification authority of that state with respect to criminal background checks. Increases penalties for: (1) serious record keeping violations by licensees; and (2) violations of criminal background check requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Depleted Uranium Screening and Testing Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense to: (1) establish procedures for the predeployment notification to members of the Armed Forces of any known or likely use of depleted uranium in the theater of operation and any health risks associated with exposure to depleted uranium; (2) provide for training deploying members on the safe handling of depleted uranium contamination; (3) carry out a program to identify individuals exposed to depleted uranium during active service in the Armed Forces; (4) provide such individuals with bioassay testing and notification of test results; and (5) identify specified depleted uranium exposure events. Requires the Secretary of each military department to establish procedures for collecting, tracking, and maintaining information on the health status of individuals tested under this Act to assess long-term health consequences of exposure to depleted uranium. Requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct an independent review of bioassay types and contamination thresholds for purposes of required testing. Requires the Secretary of the military department concerned to provide appropriate treatment for any illness of an individual resulting from depleted uranium contamination or exposure. Directs the Comptroller General to conduct a survey of radioisotope identification equipment used by the Department of Defense (DOD) to assess the capability of DOD facilities to identify concentrations of different radioisotopes in naturally occurring levels of uranium and to report survey findings to Congress.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to obligate for each fiscal year certain hazardous materials transportation funds to develop and administer a hazardous materials cooperative research program. Directs the Secretary to establish an independent governing board to select cooperative research projects and studies of hazardous materials transportation to be carried out under the program that will yield results immediately applicable to risk analysis and mitigation or that will strengthen the ability of first responders to respond to accidents involving the transportation of hazardous materials.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act - Establishes a national policy to protect, maintain, and restore the health of marine ecosystems and requires that federal agencies administer U.S. policies and laws accordingly. Allows more stringent federal and state requirements. States that there shall be an agency known as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), declares that Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970 (concerning NOAA) shall have no further force or effect, and sets forth NOAA's mission and functions. (Reestablishes NOAA and requires a reorganization plan.) Creates an Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and makes that person the Administrator of NOAA. Requires maintenance within NOAA of: (1) the National Weather Service; (2) programs to protect, maintain, and restore the health and sustainability of coastal, ocean, and Great Lakes resources; (3) the Office of Education; and (4) a Science Advisory Board. Establishes: (1) a National Oceans Advisor; (2) a Committee on Ocean Policy; and (3) the Council of Advisors on Oceans Policy. Designates certain ocean regions for ecosystem-based management and establishes a Regional Ocean Partnership for each region. Requires the Administrator to establish a network of regional ocean ecosystem resource information systems for each ocean region and other specified bodies of water. Authorizes related contracts. Establishes in the Treasury the Ocean and Great Lakes Conservation Trust Fund. Requires payments to coastal states for development and implementation of Regional Ocean Strategic Plans. Requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide for a special postage stamp to afford the public a convenient way to support efforts to protect, maintain, and restore marine ecosystems.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946 (or to their survivors). Includes service in the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. Exempts from taxation benefits paid under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007 - Supports state, city, and university efforts to divest funds from, or restrict investments in, companies that conduct business operations in Sudan. Directs: (1) the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require all companies trading in registered securities that conduct business operations directly or through parent or subsidiary companies in Sudan to disclose the nature of such operations; and (2) the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the existence and extent of such companies' Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board investments. Prohibits U.S. government contracts with such companies, with exceptions for companies whose activities are related to: (1) southern Sudan, southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains State, Blue Nile State, or Abyei; (2) the implementation of the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement; (3) the provision of military equipment for nongovernmental organizations in the Darfur region of Sudan, the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS), or the United Nations; or (4) the provision of humanitarian assistance that is of immediate and substantial benefit to the majority of people of the Darfur region of Sudan or the majority of people of eastern Sudan, including the Red Sea, Kassala, and Gedaref States. Authorizes a national security waiver of such prohibition on a case-by-case basis.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit: (1) sponsoring or exhibiting a bird in a fighting venture in a state where it would not otherwise be in violation of the law, only if the person knew that any bird in the venture was knowingly bought, sold, delivered, transported, or received in interstate or foreign commerce for such purpose; or (2) knowingly sponsoring or exhibiting in an animal fighting venture any other animal that was moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Prohibits knowingly: (1) selling, buying, transporting, delivering, or receiving, for purposes of transportation in interstate or foreign commerce, any dog or other animal to participate in an animal fighting venture; (2) using interstate mail service for commercial speech promoting an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the states (with an exception for bird fights in states whose laws allow them); or (3) selling, buying, transporting, or delivering in interstate or foreign commerce a knife, gaff, or other sharp instrument to be attached to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture. Increases the penalties to a fine and up to three years' imprisonment for violations.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Student Support Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to make matching grants of at least $1 million to states for allocation to local educational agencies (LEAs) so that additional school-based mental health and student service providers may be hired, thereby reducing the student-to-provider ratios in elementary and secondary schools to specified levels recommended by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. Includes school counselors, school psychologists or other psychologists, child or adolescent psychiatrists, and school social workers among such providers. Requires grants to states and state allocations to LEAs to be made pursuant to specified formulas that take into account a state's and school district's share of disadvantaged children.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act - Designates specified lands within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Ending the Medicare Disability Waiting Period Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) phase out the waiting period for disabled individuals to become eligible for benefits under SSA title XVIII (Medicare); and (2) eliminate the waiting period for individuals with life-threatening conditions to become eligible for such benefits. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to request the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences to study the range of disability conditions that can be delayed or prevented if individuals receive access to health care services and coverage before a condition reaches disability levels.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award a grant to each state to carry out a program for making available throughout that state the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on human services. Requires a participating state to ensure that at least 50% of the resources of the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources. Requires a state seeking a grant to carry out its activities through a lead entity to be known as a 2-1-1 Collaborative. Requires grant amounts to be used solely to make available to a state 2-1-1 telephone service for community information and referral on human services to all citizens of that state with phone access, including telephone connections between families and individuals seeking services and the service providers. Requires grant recipients to: (1) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers; and (2) collaborate with human service organizations to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to provide information or referral to individuals utilizing the 2-1-1 service.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
To Encourage Alternatively fueled vehicle Manufacturing up for Energy Independence Act of 2007 or the TEAM up for Energy Independence Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first retail sale of each passenger automobile sold by manufacturers, producers, or importers. Exempts alternative fueled automobiles from such tax. Amends federal transportation law to revise the definitons of "automobile" and "passenger automobile" to increase the gross vehicle weight limit from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds. Directs the Secretary of Energy to make grants for alternative fuel refueling infrastructure projects from a trust fund into which revenues from the excise tax on passenger automobiles shall be deposited. Amends the Automobile Information Disclosure Act to require labeling for new automobiles to indicate: (1) whether a new automobile is an alternative fueled automobile; and (2) the types of fuel on which such automobile can operate.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Community Choice in Real Estate Act - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 and the Revised Statutes of the United States to prohibit the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury, respectively, from determining that real estate brokerage activity or real estate management activity is financial in nature, is incidental to any financial activity, or is complementary to a financial activity. (In effect, prohibits financial holding companies and national banks from engaging, directly or indirectly, in real estate brokerage or real estate management activities.) Exempts from such prohibition: (1) activities of a bank holding company (or any affiliate) that directly relate to managing any real property owned by national banks or their affiliates; and (2) the right, power, or ability of any financial holding company to engage in any activity, or acquire or retain the shares of any company engaged in an activity authorized for financial holding companies on December 6, 2001 ("grandfather clause").
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
NSA Oversight Act - States that provisions of the federal criminal code concerning wire and electronic communications and their interception and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) are the exclusive means by which domestic electronic surveillance may be conducted until specific statutory authorization for any other such surveillance is enacted. Requires the President to report to the congressional intelligence committees on the Terrorist Surveillance Program of the National Security Agency (NSA) as well as any other program which involves electronic surveillance of U.S. persons in the United States conducted by a federal department or agency without fully complying with FISA procedures. Authorizes additional judges for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Court). Extends from 72 to 168 hours the period after initiating an emergency electronic surveillance to apply for a court order authorizing such surveillance. States that a court order is not required for the acquisition of communications between persons not located within the United States for the purpose of collecting foreign intelligence information, whether the communication passes through, or the surveillance device is located within, the United States. Authorizes the hiring of additional personnel within the Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), NSA, and the Court.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2007
Social Security Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Allows the court to: (1) approve a settlement agreement executed after December 1, 2006, by plaintiffs or defendants in connection with litigation that resulted in the entry of an injunction against a satellite carrier for a willful or repeated pattern or practice of delivering a primary transmission made by a network station and embodying a performance or display of a work to subscribers who are not eligible to receive the transmission; and (2) modify the injunction accordingly.
United States · United States Congress · 6 December 2006
Spinach Research and Recovery Act of 2006 - Authorizes additional appropriations, for the purpose of conducting and supporting applied research to enhance the safety of perishable agricultural commodities for consumers, for: (1) the Agricultural Research Service: (2) the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; and (3) the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make payments (not to exceed 75% of the value of the unmarketed spinach crop) to growers and first handlers of fresh spinach that were unable to market spinach crops as a result of the Food and Drug Administration Public Health Advisory issued on September 14, 2006.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2006
Sandra Day O'Connor and William H. Rehnquist Law Centers Establishment Act of 2006 - Authorizes the Attorney General to provide a grant to: (1) Stanford Law School to establish the Sandra Day O'Connor Center on Constitutional Law; and (2) the University of Arizona James E. Rogers School of Law to establish the William H. Rehnquist Center on Constitutional Structures of Government. Requires such Law Schools to provide specified nonfederal contributions toward the establishment of such Law Centers.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2006
Free File Reform Act of 2006 - Requires the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to ensure that: (1) all services presented through the Free File program (free electronic filing of tax returns) are made available to all eligible taxpayers, particularly low-income, disadvantaged, and underserved taxpayers; and (2) companies participating in the Free File program protect taxpayer privacy rights and provide free tax return preparation services to state Free File programs.
United States · United States Congress · 15 November 2006
Urges the House of Representatives to raise awareness of teen dating violence by supporting the goals and ideals of National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Week.
United States · United States Congress · 13 November 2006
Provides that, for purposes of carrying out the duties of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (Inspector General), any funds appropriated or otherwise made available for FY2007 for the Iraq Security Forces Fund shall be treated as amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund. Amends the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004 to terminate the Office of the Inspector General ten months after the date on which 80 percent of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available to both the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund and the Iraq Security Forces Fund have been expended.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2006
Act to Save America's Forests - Amends the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 to revise eligibility criteria for members of the land and resource management scientific committee. Revises the committee termination date. Directs the Chief of the Forest Service, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to each prepare a continuous inventory of forest land administered by each agency head and to document whole-system measures that will be taken as a result of the inventory. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for conservation and restoration of native biodiversity in forested areas. Prohibits clearcutting or other even-age logging operations on any stand or watershed on certain federal land, National Forest System land, and National Wildlife Refuge System land. Provides for federal enforcement and a private right of action. Designates special areas which shall be subject to restrictions on road construction and logging in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Requires the Secretaries concerned to appoint a committee of independent scientists to recommend additional special areas. Restricts road construction and logging on federal land in ancient forests, special areas, roadless areas, and watershed protection areas. Provides for federal enforcement and a private right of action. States that this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not apply to federal wilderness areas designated under the Wilderness Act. Adds specified land to the Giant Sequoia National Monument. Transfers administrative jurisdiction over the Monument from the Secretary to the Secretary of the Interior. Establishes the Giant Sequoia National Monument Advisory Board. Adds specified parts of Sequoia National Forest that are not included in the Monument to: (1) Sierra National Forest; and (2) Inyo National Forest.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2006
Intelligence Community Audit Act of 2006 - Reaffirms the authority of the Comptroller General to audit and evaluate financial transactions, programs, and activities of elements of the intelligence community (those elements identified in the National Security Act of 1947) and obtain access to records for such purposes. Allows the Comptroller General to conduct an audit or evaluation of intelligence sources and methods or covert actions only upon a request of a congressional intelligence committee or the majority or minority leader of the Senate or the House of Representatives. Requires the Comptroller General to disclose the results of any such audit or evaluation only to the original requestor, the Director of National Intelligence, and the head of the relevant element of the intelligence community. Requires the Comptroller General to establish safeguards to protect the unauthorized disclosure of all classified and other sensitive information furnished to the Comptroller General in conducting an audit or evaluation. Requires elements of the intelligence community to cooperate with the Comptroller General in providing documentation and information necessary for audits and evaluations.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2006
Daniel Webster Congressional Fellowship Act - Establishes the Daniel Webster Congressional Fellowship Program, under which up to 40 eligible law school graduates shall be selected by specified congressional leaders as Daniel Webster Congressional Fellows for each Congress. Requires a Fellow to serve as an employee in a participating office of the House or Senate during the Congress for which the individual is selected. Specifies eligibility criteria for a Fellow, including a juris doctor degree.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2006
Honors the life and accomplishments of the late Ann Richards, former Governor of Texas. Recognizes her contributions to the state of Texas, to the progress of women in politics, and to the progress of women throughout the United States. Expresses condolences to her family and loved ones.
United States · United States Congress · 27 September 2006
Requires the Director of National Intelligence to submit to the House of Representatives all documents in the Director's possession concerning the impact of the war in Iraq on terrorism and terrorist threats, including any actual or pending National Intelligence Estimates concerning Iraq.
United States · United States Congress · 14 September 2006
Honors the memory of domestic violence victims. Celebrates the Milwaukee Mujeres Against Domestic Violence Brides Walk. Recognizes all bride walks in protest of domestic violence.
United States · United States Congress · 7 September 2006
Commends the efforts of U.S. officials who have helped secure the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Darfur Peace Agreement. Supports the appointment of an adequately staffed Presidential Special Envoy for Sudan to develop and coordinate U.S. policy toward Sudan. Urges the Envoy's mandate to include: (1) deterring further escalation of violence and humanitarian disaster in the Darfur region of Sudan while ensuring civilian protection and implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement; (2) facilitating the development of an international peacekeeping mission to Darfur; (3) coordinating reconstruction in Southern Sudan and other marginalized areas; (4) coordinating the return of refugees and displaced people in Darfur and southern Sudan; (5) consolidating peace in Northern Uganda; (6) coordinating efforts to ensure transformation of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) into a professional armed force; (7) working toward achieving a peaceful and democratic Sudan by ensuring that free and fair elections are held; and (8) coordinating efforts toward achieving accountability for the crimes committed in Darfur.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
Linking Educators and Developing Entrepreneurs for Reaching Success (LEADERS) Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to support business incubation at institutions of higher education that award associate or baccalaureate degrees. Directs the Secretary to make competitive, matching awards to: (1) a nonprofit entity that manages or provides technical assistance to a degree-granting institution's affiliated incubator (or to the institution that manages in the absence of such an entity), for helping acquire or renovate space for incubators, and for developing curricula, providing services, or providing programming for entrepreneurs housed in an incubator; and (2) a degree-granting institution or a nonprofit local government or community development organization, for feasibility studies to determine the need for or siting of incubators. Requires the Secretary to reserve certain amounts for research regarding best practices for incubator programs, including the development of a benchmarking system based on uniform measures, and for dissemination of information regarding such practices. Authorizes contracts for such purposes with organizations with expertise in business incubation practices.
United States · United States Congress · 28 July 2006
To Encourage Alternatively fueled vehicle Manufacturing up for Energy Independence Act of 2006 or the TEAM up for Energy Independence Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to impose an excise tax on the first retail sale of each passenger automobile sold by manufacturers, producers, or importers. Exempts alternative fueled automobiles from such tax. Amends federal transportation law to revise the definitons of "automobile" and "passenger automobile" to increase the gross vehicle weight limit from 6,000 to 10,000 pounds. Directs the Secretary of Energy to make grants for alternative fuel refueling infrastructure projects from a trust fund into which revenues from the excise tax on passenger automobiles shall be deposited. Amends the Automobile Information Disclosure Act to require labeling for new automobiles to indicate: (1) whether a new automobile is an alternative fueled automobile; and (2) the types of fuel on which such automobile can operate.
United States · United States Congress · 20 July 2006
Calls for people, on the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, to remember its victims and pledge to work toward the repair, rebuilding, and resettlement of the Gulf Coast.
United States · United States Congress · 19 July 2006
Protecting Children's Health in Schools Act of 2006 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) and XXI (State Children's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to establish requirements for providing and receiving reimbursement for school-based health care for children, including children with special needs, and the related administrative and transportation costs covered under Medicaid. Includes health care provided through Medicaid managed care organizations. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Education, acting jointly, to develop and implement a uniform methodology for claims under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 18 July 2006
Wright Amendment Reform Act - Amends the International Air Transportation Competition Act of 1979 to authorize domestic air carriers and foreign air carriers (with respect to foreign air transportation) to offer for sale and provide through service and ticketing air transportation to or from Love Field, Texas, and any U.S. or foreign destination through any point within Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama (effectively expanding domestic and foreign air service to and from Love Field, Texas). Prohibits: (1) a person from providing nonstop air passenger service between Love Field, Texas, and any point or points outside the 50 states or the District of Columbia; and (2) a federal official or employee from designating Love Field, Texas, as an initial point of entry into the United States or a last point of departure from the United States. Limits charter flights at Love Field, Texas, to: (1) destinations within the 50 states and the District of Columbia; and (2) no more than 10 per month per air carrier for charter flights beyond the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Alabama. Directs the city of Dallas, Texas, to reduce the number of gates available for air service at Love Field, Texas, to no more than 20 gates (with a limit not to exceed a maximum of 20 gates). Declares that nothing in a certain agreement between the city of Dallas, the city of Fort Worth, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, and the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Board and this Act shall affect general aviation service at Love Field, Texas.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2006
Shirley A. Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Act of 2006 - Authorizes the Secretary of State to establish the Shirley Chisholm United States-Caribbean Educational Exchange Program under which scholars and secondary, undergraduate, and graduate students from the Caribbean would attend U.S. schools, participate in activities designed to promote a greater understanding of U.S. values and culture, and have the option to live with a U.S. host family. Directs the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to develop a comprehensive program that extends and expands existing primary and secondary school initiatives in the Caribbean to provide: (1) teacher training methods; and (2) increased community involvement in school activities.
United States · United States Congress · 13 July 2006
Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2006 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants for projects to prevent teen pregnancies in racial, ethnic minority, or immigrant communities with a substantial incidence or prevalence of cases of teen pregnancy as compared to the average number of such cases in communities in the state involved. Allows the Secretary to make grants to: (1) provide necessary social and cultural support services regarding teen pregnancy; (2) provide health and educational services related to the prevention of teen pregnancy; (3) promote better health and educational outcomes among pregnant teens; (4) provide training for individuals who plan to work in school-based support programs regarding the prevention of teen pregnancy; and (5) provide public education and increase awareness with respect to the issue of teen pregnancy and related social and emotional issues. Requires the Secretary to make grants to establish and operate a National Clearinghouse for Teen Pregnancy Prevention. Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to make grants to conduct, support, and coordinate research on the prevention of teen pregnancy in such communities. Allows a grant to be made under this Act only if the applicant agrees that: (1) all information provided pursuant to the Act will be age-appropriate, factually and medically accurate and complete, and scientifically based; and (2) information, activities, and services under the grant will be provided in the language and cultural context that is most appropriate for individual groups.
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