Law and Government Legislation regarding 'Disabled' in Federal Government

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

Designates March 22, 2008, as National Rehabilitation Counselors Appreciation Day. Commends the hard work and dedication that rehabilitation counselors provide and the efforts that professional organizations have made to assist those requiring rehabilitation.

Designates April 2008 as National Autism Awareness Month. Expresses support for increasing federal funding for autism research.

Stresses the need to begin early intervention services soon after an individual has been diagnosed with autism.

Expresses support for the federal government funding 40% of the costs needed to educate children with disabilities.

Recognizes the shortage of appropriately trained teachers and the importance of worker training programs that meet the needs of developmentally disabled individuals.

Recognizes Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre on the occasion of his retirement from the National Football League and commends his generosity to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, his work with Deanna Favre in breast cancer research, and his charitable work to benefit disabled children in Mississippi and Wisconsin.

Blind Persons Earnings Fairness Act of 2008 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to increase, by specified increments over five years, the level of earnings demonstrating the ability of a blind person to engage in substantial gainful activity for purposes of determining disability insurance benefit payments.

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Honors the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the American Printing House for the Blind in Louisville, Kentucky.

Honors the effect the Hadley School for the Blind has had on the lives of thousands of visually impaired people across the globe.

Supports the school's mission to promote independent living through lifelong, distance education programs for the blind, their families, and blindness service providers.

United States Olympic Committee Paralympic Program Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to make a grant to the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) to plan, develop, manage, and implement the Paralympic Program for veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

Directs the USOC to use a grant to recruit, support, encourage, schedule, facilitate, supervise, and implement paralympic instruction and competition activities, training and technical assistance, and coordination and program development activities for veterans and members of the Armed Forces with physical disabilities.

Sets forth outreach, coordination, application, and memorandum of understanding requirements.

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Authorizes the Secretary of the Army to place in Arlington National Cemetery an American Braille tactile flag honoring blind members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and other Americans.

Grants the Secretary exclusive authority to approve an appropriate design and site within Arlington National Cemetery for the memorial.

Compensation for Combat Veterans Act - Provides that, for a veteran claiming disability benefits related to combat, service in a combat zone that is recognized as such service under the Internal Revenue Code, shall be considered proof that the veteran engaged in combat.

Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 - Revises agricultural and related programs and provisions respecting: (1) producer income; (2) conservation; (3) trade; (4) nutrition; (5) credit; (6) rural development and investment; (7) research and related matters; (8) forestry; (9) energy; (10) livestock marketing; and (11) agricultural security.

Child Care Family Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase the rate of the tax credit for expenses for household and dependent care services; and (2) allow an inflation adjustment after 2007 to the adjusted gross income limitation applicable to such credit. Makes such increased tax credit permanent.

Student Disability Fairness Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to accept certifications by the Department of Veterans Affairs that student borrowers are permanently and totally disabled as sufficient documentation for the discharge of their loans under part B (Federal Family Education Loan Program) of title IV of the Act.

Universal Prekindergarten Act - Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide grants to a designated state agency for development of universal prekindergaten programs for all children three, four, and five years old in the state.

Requires the state to: (1) match federal funds by at least 20%; and (2) submit with its grant application a plan to establish, coordinate, and implement a statewide universal prekindergarten program.

Authorizes state agencies to set aside up to 5% of a grant for ongoing professional development activities for teachers and staff of prekindergarten programs that wish to participate.

Enhanced Opportunities for Formerly Homeless Veterans Residing in Permanent Housing Act of 2007 - Authorizes the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct pilot programs of grants to: (1) coordinate the provision of supportive services available in the local community to very low income, formerly homeless veterans residing in permanent housing; (2) provide outreach to inform low-income and elderly veterans and their spouses who reside in rural areas of benefits for which they may be eligible; and (3) establish new, or expand or modify existing, programs or activities to furnish transportation, childcare, and clothing assistance to certain individuals with service-related disabilities who are entitled to a rehabilitation program.

Middle Class Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the tax deductions for: (1) state and local general sales taxes; (2) mortgage insurance premiums; and (3) qualified tuition and related expenses. Makes permanent provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 that increased dollar limitations on the tax credit for household and dependent care expenses.

Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a longitudinal study for at least 20 years of the veterans who begin participating in a vocational rehabilitation program during FY2008.

National Forests, Parks, Public Land, and Reclamation Projects Authorization Act of 2007 - Authorizes specified programs and activities in the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy concerning, among other things, land conveyances, boundary adjustments, studies, memorials, commissions, and museums, national park natural resource protection, national trails and rivers, national heritage areas, and advanced energy technology transfer centers.

Makes amendments to various public laws, including the National Trails System Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988.

Blind Persons Earnings Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to increase, by specified increments over five years, the level of earnings demonstrating the ability of a blind person to engage in substantial gainful activity for purposes of determining disability insurance benefit payments.