Government statistics Legislation - Federal Government

A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a State family support grant program to end the practice of parents giving legal custody of their seriously emotionally disturbed children to State agencies for the purpose of obtaining mental health services for those children. 1/24/2007--Introduced. Keeping Families Together Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award competitive matching grants to states to establish systems of care to treat and provide services to all children who are in the custody of the state or at-risk of entering into the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services. Requires states to use grant funds for certain activities, including to: (1) expand public health insurance programs to cover community-based mental health and family support services [...]

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To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a State family support grant program to end the practice of parents giving legal custody of their seriously emotionally disturbed children to State agencies for the purpose of obtaining mental health services for those children. 1/24/2007--Introduced. Keeping Families Together Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to award competitive matching grants to states to establish systems of care to provide mental health treatment and services to all children who are in the custody of the state or at-risk of entering into the custody of the state for the purpose of receiving mental health services. Requires states to use grant funds for certain activities, including to: (1) expand public health insurance programs to cover community-based mental health and family [...]

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A bill to direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to reduce the incidence of child injury and death occurring inside or outside of light motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 3/13/2008--Reported to Senate amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007, or the K.T. Safety Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking for motor vehicles to require: (1) automatic reversal of direction by power windows and panels when they detect an obstruction; (2) an expanded rearward field of view to prevent backing incidents; and (3) automatic transmissions to have an anti-rollaway system that requires the service brake to be depressed before the transmission can be shifted out of park, which shall function in any starting system key position in which the transmission can be shifted out of park. Requires the Secretary, if it is determined that no additional safety standards [...]

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A bill to provide for the protection of unaccompanied alien children, and for other purposes. 3/12/2007--Introduced. Unaccompanied Alien Child Protection Act of 2007 - Addresses the care and custody of unaccompanied alien children (children), defined as children under the age of 18 with no lawful immigration status and no parent or legal guardian in the United States who is available to provide care and physical custody. Directs immigration officers who find such children at U.S. land borders or ports of entry to permit them to withdraw their applications for admission and return to their country of nationality or last habitual residence. States that such children shall have the right to consult with a consular officer prior to repatriation and with the Office of Refugee Resettlement (the Office) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Gives the Office jurisdiction over the care and custody of all unaccompanied alien children except: (1) the Department [...]

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A bill to promote accessibility, accountability, and openness in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes. 8/3/2007--Passed Senate amended.    (There are 2 other summaries) Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007 or the OPEN Government Act of 2007 - Amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to revise requirements for federal agency disclosures of information requested under that Act. (Sec. 3) Provides definitions of "representative of the news media" and "news," for purposes of request processing fees. Regards a freelance journalist as working for a news-media entity if the journalist can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that entity, whether or not the journalist is actually employed by the entity. (Sec. 4) Provides that, for purposes of awarding attorney [...]

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To direct the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations to reduce the incidence of child injury and death occurring inside or outside of light motor vehicles, and for other purposes. 2/28/2008--Public Law.    (There are 3 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was passed by the House on December 19, 2007. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007 or the K.T. Safety Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a rulemaking for motor vehicles to require: (1) automatic reversal of direction by power windows and panels when they detect an obstruction; (2) an expanded rearward field of view to prevent backing incidents; and (3) automatic transmissions to have an anti-rollaway system that requires the service brake to be depressed before the transmission can be shifted out of park, which shall function in any starting system key position [...]

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A bill to protect the welfare of consumers by prohibiting price gouging with respect to gasoline and petroleum distillates during natural disasters and abnormal market disruptions, and for other purposes. 5/2/2007--Introduced. Petroleum Consumer Price Gouging Protection Act - Declares it unlawful for a supplier to sell crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum distillates at an unconscionably excessive price in an area the President declares an energy emergency area. States it is unlawful for any person to employ, in connection with the wholesale purchase or sale of crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum distillates, any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance in contravention of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rules. States it is unlawful for any person to report information to the FTC related to the wholesale price of crude oil, gasoline, or petroleum distillates if the person: (1) knows, or reasonably should know, the information to be false or misleading; and [...]

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To promote openness in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes. 3/14/2007--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007 - Amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to revise requirements for federal agency disclosures of information requested under that Act. (Sec. 3) Prohibits a federal agency, in setting document duplication fees, from denying news media status to a news media representative solely on the absence of institutional associations of the requester and requires consideration of the requester's prior publication history. Requires such agency, if a requester has no prior publication history or current affiliation, to consider the requester's stated intent at the time the request is made to distribute information to a reasonably broad audience. (Sec. 4) Provides that,[...]

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A bill to establish a National Innovation Council, to improve the coordination of innovation activities among industries in the United States, and for other purposes. 6/3/2008--Introduced. National Innovation and Job Creation Act of 2008 - Establishes in the Executive Office of the President a National Innovation Council, to be responsible for formulating and advocating for the federal government's innovation policy. Requires the Council to collaborate with major statistical agencies, collect data concerning the impact on productivity of the Council's programs, and annually report to Congress on national innovation and productivity. Places the Council under the direction of a National Innovation Council Board.Transfers to the Council specified research and innovation programs of the National Institute of Standards of Technology, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Labor.Establishes within the Council the CLUSTER Information Center to promote [...]

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To amend the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to authorize appropriations, and for other purposes. 6/9/2008--Passed House amended.    (There is 1 other summary) Reconnecting Homeless Youth Act of 2008 - (Sec. 3) Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to revise requirements for services provided under grants from the Secretary of Health and Human Services for centers for runaway and homeless youth and their families. Limits the length of stay in such a center to 15 days, unless it is located in a state or locality with a child or youth-serving-facility licensure law or regulation that permits a longer length of stay not in excess of 21 days. Increases grant allotments from $100,000 to $150,000 for states and from $45,000 to $70,000 for the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Prohibits such allotted amounts for a state for FY2009-FY2010 from being less than the allotted amount [...]

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To amend title VII of the Social Security Act to require the President to transmit the annual budget of the Social Security Administration without revisions to Congress, and for other purposes. 1/23/2008--Introduced. Amends title XVIII (Administration) of the Social Security Act to: (1) require the Commissioner of Social Security to submit the annual budget of the Social Security Administration (SSA) directly to Congress and the President; (2) specify the general contents of the budget, including the amount of funds required to combat fraud committed by applicants and beneficiaries, the number of pending cases and the average processing time, as well as employment statistics for each hearing and field office; (3) prohibit the Commissioner from closing or otherwise limiting public access to an SSA field office until 180 days after submitting to specified congressional committees a detailed report outlining and justifying the process for selecting field offices to be closed [...]

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To amend the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to provide for the implementation of protection and services for children and youths in out of home care, and for other purposes. 12/19/2007--Introduced. Amends the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to require each state through its state educational agency (SEA) and its local educational agency (LEA), in collaboration with its state and local child welfare agencies, to provide children and youths in out of home care with certain educational protection and services, including: (1) guarantee that they will not be segregated in a separate or stigmatized school or separate program within a school based on their status of being in out of home care; and (2) equal access to the state-funded and LEA-funded preschool programs, appropriate secondary education and support services, and before- and after-school programs for which they are eligible, including extracurricula activities. Requires SEA- or LEA-provided transportation [...]

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A bill to promote accessibility, accountability, and openness in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes. 12/31/2007--Public Law.    (There are 3 other summaries) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The expanded summary of the Senate passed version is repeated here.) Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007 or the OPEN Government Act of 2007 - Amends the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to revise requirements for federal agency disclosures of information requested under that Act. (Sec. 3) Provides definitions of "representative of the news media" and "news" for purposes of request processing fees. Regards a freelance journalist as working for a news-media entity if the journalist can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that [...]

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An original bill to provide for the flexibility of certain disaster relief funds, and for improved evacuation and sheltering during disasters and catastrophes. 12/11/2007--Reported to Senate without amendment.    (There is 1 other summary) (This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)Streamlining Mitigation Actions and Recovery Tools and Regional Evacuation and Sheltering Planning of Overarching Networks for Severe Emergencies Act or the SMART RESPONSE Act - Prohibits the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from prohibiting or restricting the use by Louisiana under its Road Home Program of specified funds designated for that state under FEMA's hazard mitigation grant program for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita based upon: (1) any Program requirement that limits the amount made available to an eligible homeowner [...]

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To establish a grant to increase enforcement of laws to prohibit underage drinking through social sources, to improve reporting of Federal underage drinking data, to establish grants to increase parental involvement in school-based efforts to reduce underage drinking, and for other purposes. 12/11/2007--Introduced. Underage Drinking Prevention Act of 2007 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) understanding which programs are effective in reducing underage drinking will maximize scarce federal resources and help confront underage drinking in a more effective, cost-efficient manner; (2) the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration should explore ways to expand and improve evaluation efforts; and (3) federal agencies should strive to evaluate all federally funded underage drinking programs and modify programs as needed to reach maximum effectiveness.Requires the Director of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs to award grants to [...]

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A bill to promote accessibility, accountability, and openness in Government by strengthening section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly referred to as the Freedom of Information Act), and for other purposes. 12/6/2007--Introduced. Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007 or the OPEN Government Act of 2007 - Amends Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provisions to define "representative of the news media" and "news," specify examples of news-media entities, and provide that a freelance journalist shall be regarded as working for a news-media entity if the journalist can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that entity.Provides that, for purposes of recovery of attorney fees and other litigation costs under FOIA, a complainant has substantially prevailed if the complainant has obtained relief through either: (1) a judicial order or an enforceable written agreement or consent decree; or (2) [...]

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