Capital investments Legislation - Federal Government

A bill to provide increased rail transportation security. 1/4/2007--Introduced. Rail Security Act of 2007 - Directs the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to conduct a vulnerability assessment of freight and passenger rail transportation, and develop specific prioritized recommendations for improving rail security. Directs the Assistant Secretary to conduct a study on requiring security screening for passengers, baggage, and cargo on passenger trains. Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to make grants to Amtrak for fire and life-safety improvements and infrastructure upgrades to tunnels on the Northeast Corridor. Directs Amtrak to submit to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) a plan to address the needs of families of passengers involved in rail passenger accidents. Authorizes the Assistant Secretary to award grants to Amtrak for certain system-wide Amtrak, freight,[...]

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A bill to reauthorize Amtrak, and for other purposes. 10/30/2007--Passed Senate amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - Title I: Authorizations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2007-FY2012 for: (1) Amtrak capital and operating grants, including capital grants to states; (2) the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA); (3) Amtrak repayment of long-term debt and capital leases; (4) payment into the Railroad Retirement Account that portion of Amtrak's Railroad Retirement Tier II Tax which exceeds the Tier II annuities paid to Amtrak retirees; and (5) the rail cooperative research program. Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for: (1) grants to Amtrak and states participating in the Next Generation Corridor Train Equipment Pool Committee; and (2) Amtrak to evaluate improvements necessary to make all existing intercity rail stations readily accessible to and usable by individuals with [...]

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To amend the National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998, to extend to additional small businesses the preferential right to renew a concessions contract entered into under such Act, to facilitate the renewal of a commercial use authorization granted under such Act, and for other purposes. 1/5/2007--Introduced. NPS Concessions Reform Act of 2007 - Amends the National Park Service Concessions Management Improvement Act of 1998 to increase the anticipated annual gross receipts eligible for a concessioner's preferential right of renewal. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide to any entity that submitted a proposal and who was not awarded a proposed concessions contract a debriefing as to why it was not selected as submitting the best proposal for that concessions contract. Permits a leasehold surrender interest in a capital improvement upon U.S.-owned land within a unit of the National Park Service (NPS) under a concession [...]

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To provide for comprehensive health insurance coverage for all United States residents, and for other purposes. 1/24/2007--Introduced. United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act) - Establishes the United States National Health Insurance (USNHI) Program (the Program) to provide all individuals residing in the United States and in U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, and mental health services. Prohibits an institution from participating in the Program unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that actually deliver care in their own facilities to participate in the Program. Gives patients the freedom to choose from participating physicians and institutions. Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that [...]

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A bill to terminate the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and for other purposes. 3/2/2007--Introduced. Tax Code Termination Act - Terminates the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for taxable years beginning after 2010, except provisions of such Code relating to social security taxation (i.e., taxes on wage, self-employment, and railroad retirement income).Establishes within the legislative branch a National Commission on Tax Reform and Simplification. Directs the Commission to: (1) review the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and its impact on the economy, families, and the workforce: (2) determine whether the current income tax system can be replaced by more a more efficient and fair system of taxation; and (3) submit a report to Congress on the results of its review with recommendations for fundamental reform and simplification of the Code.Requires congressional approval of a new federal tax system no later than July 4, 2010, or a vote of Congress to reauthorize the [...]

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To establish a living wage, jobs for all policy for all peoples in the United States and its territories, and for other purposes. 2/14/2007--Introduced. A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act - Declares that Congress affirms the basic economic rights and responsibilities under the 1944 "Economic Bill of Rights," while updating and extending it to include: (1) certain rights to decent jobs, income security for individuals unable to work for pay, a decent living for farm families, freedom from monopolies, decent housing, adequate health services, Social Security in old age, sickness, accidental injury, and unemployment, and education and work training; and (2) certain other rights relating to collective bargaining, a safe working environment, information on trends in pollution sources and products and processes that affect the well-being of workers throughout the world, voting and campaigning, and personal security. Requires corporations registered with the Securities and Exchange [...]

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A bill to reward the hard work and risk of individuals who choose to live in and help preserve America's small, rural towns, and for other purposes. 4/12/2007--Introduced. New Homestead Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Education to repay a specified percentage (up to $2,000 per year) of certain education loans to an individual who completes a degree and both resides and is employed for at least five years in an area outside a metropolitan statistical area which for 20 years has a net out-migration of inhabitants of at least 10% of the county population (qualifying county). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a: (1) tax credit for the lesser of $5,000 or 10% of the purchase price of a principal residence in a qualifying county; and (2) capital loss deduction with respect to a sale or exchange of a principal residence in a qualifying county. Provides for the creation of tax-exempt individual homestead accounts, funded by individual cash contributions and matching [...]

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To strengthen national security and promote energy independence by reducing the Nation's reliance on foreign oil, improving vehicle technology and efficiency, increasing the distribution of alternative fuels, bolstering rail infrastructure, and expanding access to public transit. 3/1/2007--Introduced. Program for Real Energy Security Act or the PROGRESS Act - Establishes the National Commission on Energy Security and Transition to New Fuels. Sets forth the duties of the Commission, including to make recommendations to Congress and the President for: (1) preserving the national energy security in the event of a terrorist attack or natural disaster; and (2) reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil over a specified period. Establishes: (1) the New Manhattan Center for High Efficiency Vehicles; and (2) the Advisory Council on Federal Participation. Requires the Secretary of Energy to carry out a program of grants to federal and private sector researchers (including the Center) [...]

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To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2008 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes. 12/6/2007--Conference report filed in House.    (There are 4 other summaries) National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 - Division A: Department of Defense Authorizations - Title I: Procurement - Subtitle A: Authorization of Appropriations - (Sec. 101) Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, and Air Force for aircraft, missiles, weapons and tracked combat vehicles, ammunition, shipbuilding and conversion, the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Fund, and other procurement. (Sec. 104) Authorizes appropriations for FY2008 for: (1) defense-wide procurement; and (2) National Guard and reserve equipment. Subtitle [...]

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