Bills Introduced by Congressman Berry

HR.5879 & H.R. 5880 Bills to Suspend Duties On Urea and Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizers From Ukraine and Russia

These bills would suspend the import duties on urea and ammonium nitrate fertilizers from Russia and the Ukraine to lower the price of fertilizer for America's farmers. Experts estimate fertilizer prices could drop by as much as 50% if the International Trade Commission removed existing tariffs and allowed other countries to export urea and ammonium nitrate fertilizers to the United States. Fertilizer prices have increased by 86% since 1990, due largely in part to the rising price of natural gas. Unlike the United States, countries like Russia and the Ukraine have an abundant supply of natural gas at a consistently low price. Fertilizer producers in these countries spent one-twelfth of what producers here in the United States spent for a unit of natural gas last year. These bills would allow these countries to export large quantities of nitrogen fertilizer to the United States, significantly driving down the price of fertilizer for America's farmers.

Berry Introduces Bills to Ease Fertilizer Prices for America's Farmers

H.RES.932 A Resolution Calling for Emergency Funding for Border Security

This resolution calls on Congress to appropriate emergency funding to enhance the nation’s border security initiative. The resolution makes border security the first priority for immigration reform, encouraging Congress to implement a new border security strategy that integrates additional fencing, manpower, and new technologies.

H.CON.RES439 A Resolution to Memorialize Our Military Heroes

This resolution calls on the President to issue an executive order requiring all government buildings to display an American flag at half-mast any time a member of the U.S. Armed Forces is killed in action. This act would honor individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Berry Introduces Resolution to Memorialize U.S. Military Killed in Action

H.R. 5259 Biobased Fuel Action Plan Act of 2006

The Biobased Fuel Action Plan Act of 2006 directs the Administration's Biomass Research and Development Board to prepare a biobased fuel action plan within one year of enactment. The detailed plan must ensure that by 2016 at least 10% of the country's ground transportation fuel supply comes from biobased sources and that by 2021 at least 20% comes from biobased sources. The American consumer will benefit from a plan that expands and diversifies domestic fuel supply, makes America less dependent on foreign oil, and helps stabilize rising fuel costs. The Biobased Fuel Action Plan will also open new markets for farmers and bring greater confidence to investors and entrepreneurs who want to enter the biofuel industry.

Berry Introduces Legislation to Help Increase Biofuel Production

H.R. 5182 Fair and Speedy Treatment (FAST) of Claims Act of 2006

This bill would ensure pharmacists are reimbursed in a timely manner under the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit by requiring Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs) to offer electronic direct deposit of reimbursements to participating pharmacies. Plans would be required to pay electronic claims within 14 days, all other claims within 30 days, and must notify pharmacists promptly if there are any problems with their submitted claims. The bill would set generic dispensing fees at a level that makes it financially beneficial for pharmacists to provide cost-saving drugs to their communities, and would prohibit co-branding on cards issued by a prescription drug plan to eliminate confusion among seniors. The legislation would also establish guidelines for Medication Therapy Management (MTM) programs offered by drug plans. These programs are critical in preventing overmedication and reducing adverse events in high-risk seniors.

Berry and Jones Introduce the Fair and Speedy Treatment of Claims Act of 2006

H.R. 5134 Physical Therapist Loan Forgiveness

This bill would make physical therapists who work in underserved areas eligible for the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program. The program repays student loans for health care professionals who agree to a 2-year commitment to provide primary health care services in priority health professional shortage areas. The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program currently covers primary care physicians, dentists, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and mental behavioral health professionals.

Berry, Emerson Introduce Physical Therapy Bill

H.R. 4456 Hattie Caraway Post Office Designation

This bill would designate the United States Postal Service facility at 2404 Race Street in Jonesboro, Arkansas, as the "Hattie W. Caraway Station in honor of the country's first female United States Senator. Hattie W. Caraway was elected to the U.S. Senate on January 12, 1932 in a special election to finish her husband's term, and was re-elected twice by her fellow Arkansans. During her service in the U.S. Senate, Hattie Caraway became the first woman to chair a Senate Committee and the first woman to take up the gavel on the Senate floor as the Senate's presiding officer. Hattie Caraway was a resident of Jonesboro, Arkansas for nearly 50 years and recently became the first Arkansan to ever appear on a U.S. postal stamp.

Berry Secures Legislation to Designate the Hattie W. Caraway Post Office in Jonesboro

H.R. 3702 Agriculture Assistance Act of 2005

This bill would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make an additional 50% direct Farm Bill payment to any producer who lives in a disaster-declared county and incurred 2005 crop loss from damaging weather or related conditions. The bill would also require the Secretary to use Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds to provide assistance under the Livestock Compensation Program, to remove any surplus of agricultural commodities, to assist fruit and vegetable producers, and to assist producers of cottonseed. Eligible producers must obtain federal crop catastrophic risk protections within the next two crop years to be eligible for the direct payment assistance.

Berry to Introduce Major Agriculture Relief Bill

Berry Slams Administration and House Leadership for Refusing to Pass Agriculture Relief Bill

Berry Calls On President Again for Agriculture Relief

Berry Continues Fight for Agriculture Assistance

Berry Praises Senate Committee for Approving Agriculture Assistance Package

H.R. 3085 Trail of Tears Documentation Act

This bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the feasibility of adding the Benge and Belle routes to the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, including the trails, collection forts, emigration depots, and campgrounds through North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, used by the Cherokee Nation when it was forcibly removed to Oklahoma. If feasible, the Secretary of the Interior would then designate these routes as part of the national trail.

Congressman Berry Introduces Legislation To Complete Trail of Tears

Berry's Trail of Tears Legislation Gains Momentum

Berry's Trail of Tears Legislation Passes House

H.R. 1378 Ephedrine Alkaloids Regulation Act of 2005

This bill would make the ephedrine products pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine Schedule V Controlled Substances, in an attempt to minimize methamphetamine production in the United States. Once these products are designated as Schedule V Controlled Substances, they can only be sold in restricted quantities to the public by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician in a licensed pharmacy. The bill would also require wholesale distributors that ship these products to follow stricter storage and recordkeeping guidelines.

Berry Meth Bill Gains Momentum

H.R. 870 Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Accountability Act

This bill would establish severe penalties for any Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or senior manager of a drug manufacturing company who violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by concealing evidence about the safety of a drug. Under this bill, drug company CEOs would have to report annually to the Secretary of health and Human Services any evidence of serious drug effects and describe the process by which they discovered the adverse effects. The Secretary may withdraw approval for any drug if a CEO fails to provide all necessary public safety information.

Reps. Berry, Stark Introduce Bill to Protect Patients from Dangerous Prescription Drugs

H.R. 752 Medicare Prescription Drug Savings and Choice Act

This bill would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a Medicare-administered prescription drug plan available to any senior or individual with a disability who is eligible for Medicare. The bill would also direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices on behalf of all the seniors enrolled in the plan.

Medicare Tab Jumps, High Drug Prices a Factor; Berry to Introduce Bill to Keep Prices Down

House Democrats, White House Conference on Aging Delegates, Rally behind Berry's Medicare Reform Bill

Report Shows Berry's Medicare Reform Bill Would Save $40 Billion A Year

Berry Offers Amendment on House Floor to Reform Prescription Drug Benefit

Reports Indicate Rising Prescription Drug Prices

Berry & Key Consumer Groups Cite New Report on Dangers of the Medicare Doughnut Hole

Falling into the Doughnut Hole: How Congress and the Drug Industry Created a Trap for American Seniors and People with Disabilities (Report from the Institute for America's Future)

H.RES 706 Agriculture Assistance Resolution

This House resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should enact legislation to assist American farmers adversely affected by natural disasters and unforeseen production costs during the 2005 crop year. The legislation should give farmers a choice of a supplemental direct payment or yield-loss disaster payments.

Berry, Rural Lawmakers, Introduce House Resolution Demanding Agriculture Assistance

H.RES 249 — Celebrating the Discovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

This House resolution celebrates the recent discovery of the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in Eastern Arkansas and commends those individuals who spotted, recorded, and verified the presence of the bird and the private and public landowners of Arkansas who protected the species' critical habitat. The legislation also encourages the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture to continue working with all parties in Arkansas who have successfully maintained the bird's habitat.