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| HR 1 |
Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007 |
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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.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HR 2 |
Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 |
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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.
Increases the minimum wage in the Commonwealth: (1) to $3.55 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after enactment of this Act; and (2) by $0.50 an hour (or such lesser amount necessary to equal the federal minimum wage), beginning six months after enactment of this Act and every six months thereafter until such minimum wage equals the federal minimum wage.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HR 3 |
Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 |
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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, provided such embryos: (1) have been donated from in vitro fertilization clinics; (2) were created for the purposes of fertility treatment; (3) were in excess of the needs of the individuals seeking such treatment and would never be implanted in a woman and would otherwise be discarded (as determined in consultation with the individuals seeking fertility treatment); and (4) were donated by such individuals with written informed consent and without any financial or other inducements.
Requires the Secretary to: (1) issue final guidelines to carry out this Act within 60 days; and (2) submit annual reports on activities and research conducted under this Act.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HR 4 |
Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2007 |
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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. |
| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HR 5 |
College Student Relief Act of 2007 |
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College Student Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to phase-in cuts in the interest rate charged undergraduate student borrowers under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) and Direct Loan (DL) programs, thereby reducing such rate from 6.8% in July 2006 to 3.4% in July 2011.
Limits FFEL lender insurance to 95% of the unpaid balance of such loans. (Currently, 97% of a FFEL issued after June 2006 is federally-insured.)
Provides for graduated reductions in the percentage of defaulted FFEL loan collections a guaranty agency is allowed to retain until, beginning in October 2010, it is equal to the average rate paid to collection agencies that have contracts with the Secretary of Education.
Eliminates exceptional performer status for lenders, servicers, and guaranty agencies, which rewards such entities for high due diligence in FFEL collection.
Reduces special allowance payments made to FFEL lenders to compensate them for the difference between FFEL interest rates and market rates. Exempts small lenders from such reduction.
Increases the loan fee charged FFEL lenders from .5% to 1% of the principal amount of loans disbursed after June 2007. Prohibits its collection from borrowers.
Increases, after June 2007, the rebate fee charged a holder of FFEL consolidated loans, provided that at least 90% of the total principal and accrued unpaid interest outstanding on loans held by such holder are such loans.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HR 6 |
CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 |
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Creating Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation Act of 2007, or the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007 - Title I: Denial of Oil and Gas Tax Benefits - Ending Subsidies for Big Oil Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to the deduction from gross income of any income attributable to domestic production activities. Excludes from domestic production gross receipts those derived from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of oil, natural gas, or any related primary product. (Thus denies a deduction for income attributable to domestic production of oil, natural gas, or their related primary products.)
(Sec. 103) Increases from five to seven years the amortization schedule for geological and geophysical expenditures for certain major integrated oil companies.
Title II: Royalties Under Offshore Oil and Gas Leases - Royalty Relief for American Consumers Act of 2007 - (Sec. 202) Instructs the Secretary of the Interior to agree to any lessee request to amend any lease issued for any Central and Western Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) tract during 1998 and 1999 to incorporate specified price thresholds applicable to royalty suspension provisions.
(Sec. 203) Reaffirms the authority of the Secretary to vary, based on the price of production from a lease, the suspension of royalties under specified leases on the Outer Continental Shelf.
(Sec. 204) Cites conditions for the issuance of new leases authorizing oil or natural gas production in the Gulf. Requires lessees to have: (1) renegotiated each covered lease to modify payment responsibilities to include price thresholds equal to or less than specified price thresholds; or (2) paid all conservation of resources fees or agreed to pay them. Applies the same conditions to the transfer to any such lessee (or any other person with an interest in a lease) of any other covered lease, the economic benefit of such a lease, or any other lease for the production of oil or natural gas in the Gulf.
Instructs the Secretary to establish conservation of resources fees for both producing and nonproducing federal oil and gas leases in the Gulf.
(Sec. 205) Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to repeal: (1) specified incentives for natural gas production from deep wells in shallow waters of the Gulf; (2) royalty relief for deep water production in the Gulf; and (3) the prohibition on cost recovery fees for drilling-related permit application during the Federal Permit Streamlining Pilot Project.
Amends the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to remove the Planning Areas Offshore Alaska from the list of areas for which the Secretary is authorized to reduce or eliminate any royalty or net profit share set forth in the pertinent lease.
Amends the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to repeal provisions governing oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska regarding: (1) renewal of competitive oil and gas leases, with or without discoveries; and (2) waiver, suspension, or reduction of rental fees or royalties on leaseholds as exploration incentives.
Title III: Strategic Energy Efficiency And Renewables Reserve - (Sec. 301) Establishes the Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to hold federal receipts acquired as a result of the enactment of this Act.
Makes the Reserve available to offset the costs of subsequent legislation to: (1) accelerate the use of clean domestic renewable energy resources and alternative fuels; (2) promote the utilization of energy-efficient products and practices and conservation; and (3) increase research, development, and deployment of clean renewable energy and efficiency technologies.
Sets forth procedures for adjustments to discretionary spending limits, allocations, and budget aggregates under the appropriate concurrent resolution on the budget in the event that legislation provides funding for the Reserve in excess of amounts provided for FY2007 purposes.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HRes.78 |
Permit Delegates and the Resident Commissioner to the Congress to cast votes in the Committee of the Whole House |
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Amends Rule III (The Members, Delegates, and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico) of the Rules of the House of Representatives to provide that, in a Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, each Delegate and the Resident Commissioner shall possess the same powers and privileges (including voting) as Members of the House.
Amends Rule XVIII (The Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union) to allow a Delegate or the Resident Commissioner to preside as Chairman of such Committee.
Declares that, whenever a recorded vote on any question has been decided by a margin within which the votes cast by the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have been decisive, the Committee of the Whole shall rise and the Speaker shall put such question de novo without intervening motion. Requires the Committee to resume its sitting, without intervening motion, upon the announcement of the vote on that question.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HCon.Res.5 |
Establishing Hire A Veteran Week |
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Recognizes the importance of the men and women who have served or who currently serve in the Armed Forces of the United States.
Supports the designation of an appropriate week as Hire a Veteran Week.
Encourages the President to issue a proclamation calling upon employers, labor organizations, veterans service organizations, and federal, state, and local governmental agencies to lend their support to increase employment of the men and women who have served in the Armed Forces.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HJRes. 2 |
Further Continuing Appropriations for FY 2007 |
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Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 - Amends the Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007 (Public Law 109-289, division B), as amended by Public Laws 109-369 and 109-383 to extend through September 30, 2007, specified continuing appropriations for FY2007.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HR 475 |
House Page Board Revision Act of 2007 |
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House Page Board Revision Act of 2007 - Amends House Resolution 611, 97th Congress, agreed to November 30, 1982, as enacted into permanent law, to increase from one to two the number of Members of the House appointed to the House Page Board by the House minority leader.
Requires the one-year (renewable) appointment to the Page Board, jointly by the Speaker and the minority leader, of: (1) one individual who, at any time during the five-year period ending on the date of his or her appointment, is or was a parent of a page participating in the program; and (2) one individual who is a former page of the House, but who is not a Member of the House or the parent of a page.
Requires a vacancy in the position held by such Member to be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. Requires the individual appointed to fill a vacancy to serve for the remainder of the original term. Permits such individual to be reappointed in accordance with this Act.
Authorizes per diem travel payments to such individuals for attending Board meetings away from home or business. Authorizes appropriations.
Requires the Page Board to meet regularly, in accordance with a schedule established jointly by the Speaker and minority leader.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HR 547 |
Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act |
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Advanced Fuels Infrastructure Research and Development Act - Instructs the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Research and Development of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement a program of research and development of materials to be added to biofuels to make them more compatible with existing infrastructure used to store and deliver petroleum-based fuels to the point of final sale.
Cites problem areas to be addressed, including microbial contamination.
Directs the Assistant Administrator to: (1) implement a research, development, demonstration program on portable, low-cost, and accurate methods and technologies for testing sulfur content in fuel, including Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel and Low Sulfur Diesel; and (2) begin demonstrations of such technologies within a year after enactment of this Act.
Directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop a physical properties database and standard reference materials for biofuels.
Authorizes appropriations to EPA to implement this Act.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| H Res 157 |
Disapproving of Iraq Troop Surge |
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Providing for consideration of the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res 63) disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq |
| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HR 976 |
Small Business Tax Relief Act |
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Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2007 - (Sec. 1) Amends Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to small business.
(Sec. 2) Extends the work opportunity tax credit through 2008. Makes individuals between the ages of 18 and 40 who have their principal place of abode within an empowerment zone, enterprise community, or renewal community eligible for such credit (designated community residents). Revises the definition of "vocational rehabilitation referral" under such credit to include an individual work plan developed and implemented by an employment network pursuant to certain requirements under the Social Security Act. Expands the eligibility of disabled veterans for such credit. Increases the amount of veteran wages eligible for such credit from $6,000 to $12,000.
(Sec. 3) Increases to $125,000 the amount of small business assets eligible for expensing. Indexes such amount for inflation after 2007. Extends such expensing allowance through 2010.
(Sec. 4) Allows employers to claim a business tax credit for social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips without regard to any increase in the federal minimum wage rate.
(Sec. 5) Allows a full credit against alternative minimum tax liability for the work opportunity tax credit and the tax credit for social security taxes paid with respect to employee cash tips.
(Sec. 6) Establishes a qualified joint venture as a tax entity. Defines "qualified joint venture" as a trade or business conducted solely by a husband and wife who file a joint tax return for the taxable year and materially participate in the trade or business. Exempts such qualified joint venture from treatment as a partnership.
(Sec. 7) Denies preferential tax rates for the capital gains and dividend income of certain dependents of taxpayers.
(Sec. 8) Allows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) an additional four months to notify taxpayers of tax deficiencies before the suspension period for interest and penalties on underpayments of tax takes effect.
(Sec. 9) Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase in the third quarter of 2012 the estimated tax rate for corporations with assets of not less than $1 billion.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HR 556 |
The National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Strengthened Transparency Act |
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National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Strengthened Transparency Act of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to direct the President, acting through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), when receiving written notification of a possible merger, acquisition, or takeover which could result in foreign control of any person engaged in interstate commerce (covered transaction), upon receiving a request from CFIUS, a committee member acting on behalf of CFIUS, or upon the President's own initiative to review such covered transaction to determine its effects on national security. Requires CFIUS to investigate a covered transaction which it determines is a foreign government-controlled transaction. Permits any party to any covered transaction to initiate a review of a covered transaction by submitting a written notice of the transaction to CFIUS.
Directs the President, acting through CFIUS, to conduct an investigation of the effects of certain covered transactions on national security and to take any necessary steps to protect national security, if a review of a covered transaction results in a determination that: (1) the transaction threatens to impair national security and that threat has not been mitigated or the transaction is a foreign government-controlled transaction; (2) a CFIUS roll call vote on any covered transaction results in at least one vote by a Committee member against approving the transaction; or (3) the Director of National Intelligence identifies particularly complex intelligence concerns that could threaten to impair national security of the United States and CFIUS members were not able to develop and agree upon measures to mitigate satisfactorily those threats during the initial review. Provides that, notwithstanding clause (2), an investigation of a foreign government-controlled transaction will not be required under this paragraph if the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Secretary of Commerce determine, on the basis of the review, that the transaction will not affect the national security of the United States and no agreement or condition is required, with respect to the transaction, to mitigate any threat to the national security.
Requires such investigations to be completed within 45 days (with an extension in limited cases). Requires, for any review or investigation of a covered transaction to be treated as final, approval by a majority roll call vote of CFIUS members and the signatures of of the Secretaries the Treasury, Homeland Security, and Commerce. Requires, in the case of any CFIUS roll call vote in connection with an investigation of any foreign government-controlled transaction in which there is at least one vote by a Committee member against approving the transaction, the investigation shall not be treated as final or complete until the findings and report resulting from such investigation are signed by the President, in addition to the Chairperson and the Vice Chairpersons of CFIUS. Requires that, in the case of a covered transaction in which a party is a person of a country the government of which has repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, no review or investigation will be considered final until the results are approved and signed by the President.
Requires the DNI to conduct an analysis of any threat to national security posed by a covered transaction.
(Sec. 3) Establishes CFIUS as a multi-agency statutory committee and revises the membership of such committee. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 4) Makes the consideration of specified factors in evaluating a covered transaction mandatory (currently, discretionary with the President). Adds to the list of such factors whether the covered transaction: (1) has a security-related impact on U.S. critical infrastructure; (2) has potential effects on U.S. efforts to curtail human smuggling and drug smuggling; (3) is a foreign-government-controlled transaction; and (4) such other factors as the President determines appropriate.
(Sec. 5) Exempts the United States from liability for any losses or other expenses incurred by any party to a covered transaction as a result of any review or investigation after a covered transaction has been consummated if, before consummating the transaction, the party did not submit a written notice of the transaction to the CFIUS, did not wait until the completion of any review or investigation, or until 15 days after an investigation is completed.
(Sec. 6) Authorizes CFIUS to: (1) enter into agreements with parties to a covered transaction to mitigate any threat to national security; and (2) designate one or more lead federal agencies to negotiate, modify, monitor, and enforce such agreements. Requires designated agencies to provide periodic reports to CFIUS on the implementation of any agreements or conditions.
Establishes a method of tracking transactions which are withdrawn from the review or investigation process and a process for setting interim protections to address specific national security concerns relating to such transactions.
Requires CFIUS to develop methods for evaluating compliance with any agreement entered into or condition imposed with respect to a covered transaction.
(Sec. 7) Requires: (1) CFIUS reports to Congress after completed investigations; (2) congressional briefing on a covered transaction, or on compliance with a mitigation agreement or condition, if requested by a Member of Congress; and (3) annual CFIUS reports to appropriate congressional committees on all reviews and investigations conducted. Requires specific report information with respect to possible foreign acquisition of U.S. companies involved in the research, development, or production of critical technologies.
Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) annually study investments in the United States, especially investments in critical infrastructure and industries affecting national security by foreign governments or their agents which comply with any boycott of Israel or which do not ban foreign terrorist organizations; and (2) report each study's results to Congress.
Directs the Inspector General of the Treasury to: (1) conduct an independent investigation of each failure of the Department of the Treasury to make any report to Congress required by CFIUS; and (2) report to the appropriate congressional committees on investigation results.
(Sec. 8) Requires the certification of information submitted by a party to a covered transaction.
(Sec. 11) Makes the amendments made by this Act effective 90 days after enactment.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HR 800 |
The Employee Free Choice Act |
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Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit.
Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition.
Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief.
Requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bargaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related unfair labor practice that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights.
Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
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| Voted :: |
Nea |
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| HR 137 |
Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act |
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Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to impose a fine and/or prison term of up to three years for violations of the Animal Welfare Act relating to: (1) sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture; (2) buying, selling, transporting, delivering, or receiving for purposes of transportation, in interstate or foreign commerce, any dog or other animal for participation in an animal fighting venture; and (3) using the mails or other instrumentality of interstate commerce to promote or further an animal fighting venture.
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit knowingly selling, buying, transporting, or delivering, in interstate or foreign commerce, a knife, a gaffe, or any other sharp instrument for attachment to the leg of a bird for use in an animal fighting venture.
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| Voted :: |
Yea |
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| HR 1538 |
Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 |
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Wounded Warrior Assistance Act of 2007 - Title I: Wounded Warrior Assistance - (Sec. 101) Requires a member of the Armed Forces (member) in an outpatient status at a military medical treatment facility to be assigned a medical care case manager to: (1) assist in understanding the member's medical status; (2) assist the member in receiving prescribed medical care; and (3) conduct a review, at least once a week, of the member's medical status. Allows each case manager to be assigned to no more than 17 members, with a waiver by the Secretary of the military department concerned (Secretary concerned) for up to 120 days due to unforeseen circumstances. Directs the Secretary of Defense (Secretary) to establish a standard training program and curriculum to be completed by each manager. Requires each member to also be assigned a service member advocate. Allows each advocate to be assigned to no more than 30 members (with the same authorized waiver as above). Requires the Secretary to provide information to each member in an outpatient status (and their family members) on the availability of services provided by case managers and advocates. Directs the Secretary concerned to conduct semiannual surveys of such members, which shall include an assessment of the quality of care, adequacy of living facilities, and fairness and timeliness of the physical disability evaluation system.
(Sec. 102) Requires the Secretary to establish a Department of Defense (DOD)-wide Ombudsman Office to provide policy guidance to, and oversight of, ombudsman offices in the military departments.
(Sec. 103) Directs the Secretary to establish a toll-free hotline for use by members and their dependents for reporting deficiencies in medical-related support facilities. Requires individuals providing information to be notified of the option to have their identity remain confidential. Requires the Secretary to ensure that, not later than 96 hours after a report of deficiencies is received by way of the hotline or other source: (1) the deficiencies are investigated; and (2) if substantiated, a plan of action for remediation is developed and implemented. Authorizes temporary member relocation in the case of conditions that violate health and safety standards.
(Sec. 104) Requires the Secretary concerned to notify the appropriate Members of Congress of the hospitalization of any member evacuated from a theater of combat. Allows such notification only with the consent of the evacuated member.
(Sec. 105) Directs the Secretary concerned to ensure that each member appearing before a medical evaluation board has access to an independent medical advocate.
(Sec. 106) Prohibits physical evaluation board liaison officers from being assigned more than 20 members at a time (with the same authorized waiver as under section 101, above). Requires the Secretary to establish a standardized training program and curriculum to be completed by each officer.
(Sec. 107) Directs the Secretary to establish a standardized training program and curriculum for military personnel, health care professionals, and other staff involved in the DOD disability evaluation system.
(Sec. 108) Requires the Secretary to submit to the appropriate congressional committees recommendations for improvement of the training provided to health care professionals, medical care case managers, and member advocates who provide care for, or assistance to, members recovering from service-related illnesses or injuries (recovering members). Directs the Secretary to: (1) annually review such training; and (2) develop a tracking system of notifications made by such health care personnel regarding early warning signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide in recovering members assigned to such personnel.
(Sec. 109) Directs the Secretary of the Army to establish a one-year pilot program, at an appropriate active-duty base with a major medical facility, based on the Wounded Warrior Regiment program of the Marine Corps. Requires: (1) the program to track and assist members in an outpatient status who are still in need of medical treatment; and (2) such Secretary to report to Congress on the pilot program.
(Sec. 110) Revises the criteria for removal of a member from the temporary disability retired list.
(Sec. 111) Requires the Secretary to ensure that each member who is being separated or retired due to a physical disability receives a written transition plan that includes a coordinated transition from the DOD disability system to the health care and disability system of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Requires a formal process for the transition of appropriate member records to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to establish and implement a single DOD-VA medical information system for ensuring system interoperability and the exchange of critical medical information.
(Sec. 112) Establishes in the Treasury the Department of Defense Medical Support Fund to support programs: (1) relating to the medical treatment and support of wounded and injured members and their return to military service or transition to civilian society; and (2) intended to support the families of wounded and injured members. Requires the Secretary to notify the congressional defense committees five days before transferring funds from the Fund for the above purposes. Directs the Secretary to ensure that a specified amount is transferred from the Fund to support programs, activities, and facilities associated with the Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment Program, with further allocations for specified purposes. Authorizes appropriations.
(Sec. 113) Establishes the Oversight Board for Wounded Warriors to provide advice and consultation to the Secretary and defense committees with respect to the disability evaluation systems of the military departments and the overall treatment and care of recovering members. Requires: (1) each Board member to visit no less than three military medical treatment facilities each year; (2) the Board to conduct one meeting each year at such a facility; and (3) annual Board reports to the Secretary and the defense committees.
(Sec. 114) Permits, in the case of reserve personnel returning from a combat theater and in need of treatment on an outpatient basis for injuries or wounds sustained in such theater, treatment to be provided at the military medical facility closest to the member's home rather than closest to the base from which the member was deployed.
(Sec. 115) Directs the Secretary to develop and periodically update a plan to incorporate evidence-based preventive and early-intervention measures, practices, or procedures that reduce the likelihood that personnel in combat will develop PTSD or other stress-related psychopathologies into: (1) basic and pre-deployment training for enlisted members and noncommissioned and commissioned officers; (2) combat theater operations; and (3) post-deployment service. Requires: (1) a study of the feasibility of establishing a working group for researching and developing such measures, practices, and procedures; (2) the Secretary to submit to Congress a plan for peer-reviewed research of such measures, practices, and procedures; and (3) an annual report from the Secretary to Congress on the plans and studies required under this section.
Title II: Studies and Reports - (Sec. 201) Requires an annual report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the adequacy, suitability, and quality of medical facilities and medical-related support facilities at each DOD military installation.
(Sec. 202) Requires: (1) all military quarters and housing facilities occupied by recovering members to be inspected on a semiannual basis for the first two years after enactment of this Act and annually thereafter by the inspectors general of the regional medical commands; and (2) each such inspector general to report inspection results to specified officials and the Oversight Board for Wounded Warriors.
(Sec. 203) Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs to: (1) conduct a joint evaluation of their respective disability evaluation systems; and (2) report results to Congress.
(Sec. 204) Directs the Secretary to study and report to the defense committees on the provision of support services for families of recovering members.
(Sec. 205) Requires an interim and final report from the Secretary to the defense committees on DOD changes to ensure that traumatic brain injury victims receive a proper medical designation concomitant with such injury as opposed to the current designation which assigns a generic "organic psychiatric disorder" classification.
(Sec. 206) Directs the Secretary to conduct, and report to Congress on, an evaluation of the Polytrauma Liaison Officer/Non-Commissioned Officer program operated by each of the military departments and the VA in order to assist in the seamless flow of information and communications between treatment facilities and the transition of members from the DOD health care system to the VA system.
(Sec. 207) Directs the Secretary to study and report to: (1) Congress on the average length of time between the desired date for which a veteran seeks to schedule an appointment for health care at a VA facility and the date on which such appointment is completed; and (2) the defense committees on the feasibility of developing a joint soldier tracking system for recovering members.
Title III: General Provisions - (Sec. 301) Prohibits, for one year after the enactment of this Act, any study or competition from being begun or announced relating to the possible conversion to contractor performance of any DOD function carried out at a military medical facility. Requires a report from the Secretary to the defense committees on the public-private competitions being conducted for functions carried out at such facilities by each military department and defense agency.
(Sec. 302) Prohibits either the Secretary or the military department Secretaries from transferring funds or personnel from medical care functions to administrative functions within DOD in order to comply with new administrative requirements imposed, or amendments made, by this Act.
(Sec. 303) Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to increase the number of resident physicians at VA hospitals.
(Sec. 304) Eliminates the $3 each-way deductible currently required of beneficiaries traveling to and from a VA facility in connection with a veteran's vocational rehabilitation, counseling, examination, treatment, or care. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in determining the allowances or reimbursement to be paid in connection with such travel, to use the mileage reimbursement rates for government employees using privately owned vehicles on official business.
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Yea |
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| HConRes 99 |
Congressional Budget for the U.S. Government for Fiscal Year 2008 |
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Revises and replaces the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2007.
Sets forth the congressional budget for the federal government for FY2008, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY2009-FY2012.
Title I: Recommended Levels and Amounts - (Sec. 101) Recommends budgetary levels and amounts for FY2007-FY2012 for: (1) federal revenues; (2) new budget authority; (3) budget outlays; (4) deficits (on-budget); (5) debt subject to limit; and (6) debt held by the public.
(Sec. 102) Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY2007-FY2012.
Title II: Reserve Funds - Creates reserve funds, subject to specified conditions, for legislation concerning: (1) the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP); (2) alternative minimum tax revision; (3) middle-income tax relief and economic equity; (4) agriculture; (5) higher education; (6) Medicare improvements; (7) creation of long-term energy alternatives; (8) affordable housing; (9) equitable benefits for Filipino veterans of World War II; (10) reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act; (11) receipts from the Bonneville Power Administration; and (12) the Transitional Medical Assistance program extension.
Title III: Budget Enforcement - (Sec. 301) Provides for adjustments to discretionary spending limits, budgetary aggregates, and allocations for: (1) continuing disability reviews and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) redeterminations by the Social Security Administration (SSA); (2) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax compliance; (3) the health care fraud and abuse control program; and (4) unemployment insurance improper payments reviews.
Requires all House committees to: (1) review programs within their jurisdiction to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in program spending, giving particular scrutiny to issues raised by Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports; and (2) recommend, based on these oversight efforts and committee performance reviews, improved governmental performance in annual views and estimates reports to the House Committee on the Budget.
(Sec. 302) Prohibits House legislation that would require advance appropriations, except certain FY2009 or FY2010 programs, projects, activities, or accounts.
(Sec. 303) States that new budget authority, outlays, and receipts resulting from adoption of legislation making appropriations for FY2008-FY2009 for overseas deployments and related activities, or emergency appropriations for nondefense discretionary spending, shall not count for certain purposes of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (CBA).
Title IV: Policy - (Sec. 401) Declares the policy of this resolution on: (1) middle-income tax relief; (2) defense priorities; and (3) college affordability.
Title V: Sense of the House - (Sec. 501) Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives on: (1) servicemembers' and veterans' health care and other priorities; (2) the Innovation Agenda: A Commitment to Competitiveness to Keep America #1; (3) homeland security; (4) the ongoing need to respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; (5) long-term sustainability of entitlements; (6) the need to maintain and build upon efforts to fight hunger; (7) affordable health coverage; (8) extension of the statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) rule; (9) long-term budgeting; (10) pay parity; (11) waste, fraud, and abuse; (12) child support enforcement; and (13) state veterans cemeteries.
Title VI: Reconciliation - (Sec. 601) Sets forth reconciliation instructions for the House Committee on Education and Labor.
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Nea |
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