Random Politics & Religion #00

Authorize grants or contracts to operate population-based, statewide cancer registries in order to collect certain data for each form of in-situ and invasive cancer except basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Authorizes grants for planning the registries. Mandates a study on factors contributing to elevated rates of breast cancer mortality in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services, directly or through grants and contracts, or both, to provide technical assistance to the States in the establishment and operation of statewide registries. H.R.4206 (Cancer Registries Amendment Act) enacted as S. 3312 (Cancer Registries Amendment Act).

Require offenders who are convicted of fraud and other white collar crime to give appropriate notice to victims and other persons in cases where there are multiple victims eligible to receive restitution. H.Amdt. 98 to H.R. 665 (Victims of Justice Act of 1995)

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs should emphasize minimizing the burden on small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. H.Amdt. 210 to H.R. 830 (Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995)

Increase funding for the Court of Veterans Appeals by $1.4 million and reduce funding for Housing and Urban Development salaries and expenses by $1.4 million. H.Amdt. 1203 to H.R. 3666 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997

Congress consents to the Vermont-New Hampshire Interstate Public Water Supply Compact to erect and maintain joint public water supply facilities. H.J.Res.129 enacted as S.J.Res.38 (A joint resolution granting the consent of Congress to the Vermont-New Hampshire Interstate Public Water Supply Compact)

Congress declares that Ngawang Choephel and other prisoners of conscience in Tibet, as well as in China, should be released immediately, and that the U.S. government should seek access for internationally recognized human rights groups to monitor human rights in Tibet. H.Amdt.174 to H.R.1757 (Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998)

Increase funding for the Meals on Wheels program by $5 million and reduce funding for the Food and Drug Administration by $5.5 million. H.Amdt.267 to H.R.2160 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998)

Amendment increases funding for the National Guard Starbase program by $2 million. Funding for the increase would be offset by reducing funds comensurately from the NATO Joint Stars program. H.Amdt.289 to H.R.2266 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1998)

Prohibit funds for the U.S. Customs Office from being used to allow the importation into the U.S. any material mined, produced, or manufactured by forced or indentured child labor. H.Amdt.368 to H.R.2378 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1998)

Increase funding for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative by $1 million and reduce funding for general administrative expenses within the Department of Commerce commensurately. H.Amdt.388 to H.R.2267 (Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998)

Encourage lower higher education costs by giving the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education -- which administers a competitive grant program for higher education institutions -- a broader mission and allow it to make competitive grants available to institutions that cooperate and reduce costs through the joint purchase of goods and services. H.Amdt.569 to H.R.6 (Higher Education Amendments of 1998)

Reduce the intelligence budget for fiscal year 1999 by 5% with an exemption for the CIA Retirement and Disability Fund. H.Amdt.614 to H.R.3694 (Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999)

Require the Comptroller General to report to Congress regarding the efficacy and benefits of uniformly limiting any commissions, fees, markups, or other costs incurred by customers in the acquisition of financial products. H.Amdt.626 to H.R.10 (Financial Services Act of 1998)

Increase funding for nutrition programs for senior citizens by $10 million. H.Amdt.706 to H.R.4101 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999)

Prohibit funding to be used to enter into or renew a contract with any company owned, or partially owned, by the People's Republic of China or the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China. H.Amdt.708 to H.R.4103 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1999)

$2 million appropriated to the National Archives and Records Administration for the National Personnel Records Center for modernization of its records management system. H.Amdt.724 to H.R.4104 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999) enacted as H.R. 2490 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2000)

Reduce the appropriation for the Agricultural Research Service by $13 million and to increase the appropriation for the commodity assistance program by $10 million. H.Amdt.127 to H.R.1906 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000)

Provide $1 million for a national pilot program to promote agritourism. H.Amdt.136 to H.R.1906 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000)

Increase Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding by $20 million; provides $30 million for deficit reduction; and reduces fossil energy research and development funding by $50 million. H.Amdt.258 to H.R.2466 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000) enacted as H.R.3194 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000)

Increase funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program by $13 million and reduces Strategic Petroleum Reserve funding accordingly. H.Amdt.270 to H.R.2466 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000) enacted as H.R.3194 ( Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2000)

At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following new section: \ RURAL VETERANS HEALTH CARE SERVICES \ SEC. . The house supports efforts to implement improvements in health care services for veterans in rural areas. H.Amdt.442 to H.R.2684 (Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000)

Prohibit the use of National Institutes of Health funding to grant an exclusive or partially exclusive license pursuant to chapter 18 of title 35, USC, except in accordance with section 209 of such title (relating to the availability to the public of an invention and its benefits on reasonable terms). H.Amdt.791 to H.R.4577 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2001)

Increase funding for weatherization assistance and energy conservation programs by $45 million and reduce fossil fuel energy research and development programs accordingly. H.Amdt.818 to H.R.4578 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001)

Prohibit the importation of goods on which the United States Customs Service has issued a detention order on the basis that such goods were made by forced or indentured child labor. H.Amdt.238 to H.R.2590 (Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2002)

Prohibit use of funds in the bill giving an exclusive or partially exclusive licenses to pharmaceutical companies pursuant to chapter 18, U.S.C., relating to the availability to the public of an invention and its benefits on reasonable terms. H.Amdt.376 to H.R.3061 (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002)

Provide $100 million for federally qualified community health centers. H.Amdt.404 to H.R.3338 (Department of Defense and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States Act, 2002)

Increase funding for weatherization assistance grants by $15 million with offsets from other energy conservation activities. H.Amdt.255 to H.R.2691 (Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004)

Prohibit the use of funds in the bill to implement any policy prohibiting the Directors of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks from conducting outreach or marketing to enroll new veterans within their respective networks. H.Amdt.336 to H.R.2861 (Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004) enacted as H.R.2673 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2004)

Provide $242 million for the weatherization assistance program. S.Amdt.737 to H.R.1591 (U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007)

Establish an energy efficiency and renewable energy worker training program. S.Amdt.1515 to H.R.6 (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007)

Require that not less than 30% of the hot water demand for certain new or substantially modified Federal buildings be met through the installation and use of solar hot water heaters. S.Amdt.1525 to H.R.6 (Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007)

Increase specially adapted housing benefits for disabled veterans. S.Amdt.4384 to H.R.3221 (Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008)

Require the Comptroller General of the United States to report to Congress on financial assistance for child care available to deployed members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces. S.Amdt.1658 to S.1390 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010)

Increase funds for the school community garden pilot program by $2.5 million, with an offset. S.Amdt.2271 to H.R.2997 (Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010)

Make available $20 million for veteran outreach and reintegration services under the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program from the from Overseas Contingency Operations budget. S.Amdt.2601 to H.R.3326 (Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010)

Require the non-partisan Government Accountability Office to conduct an independent audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System that does not interfere with monetary policy, to let the American people know the names of the recipients of over $2 trillion in taxpayer assistance from the Federal Reserve System, and for other purposes. S.Amdt.3738 to S.3217 (Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010)

Require recipients of TARP funding to meet strict H-1B worker hiring standard to ensure non-displacement of U.S. workers. S.Amdt.306 to H.R.1 (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009)

Require the Comptroller General of the United States to report to Congress on financial assistance for child care available to deployed members of the reserve components of the Armed Forces. S.Amdt.1658 to S.1390 (National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010)

Require the Administrator of the General Services to make publicly available the contractor integrity performance database established under the Clean Contracting Act of 2008. S.Amdt.4280 to H.R.4899 (Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010)

VA reform bill expands health care facilities, allows veterans to go outside the VA system to private health care providers when wait times are too long or if a veteran lives more than 40 miles away from a VA facility, and makes it easier to fire VA officials. S.2450 (Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014) enacted as H.R.3230 (Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014)

Directs the Secretary of the VA to increase, as of December 1, 2013, the rates of veterans' disability compensation, additional compensation for dependents, the clothing allowance for certain disabled veterans, and dependency and indemnity compensation for surviving spouses and children. Requires each such increase to be the same percentage as the increase in benefits provided under title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act, on the same effective date. S.893 (Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2013)

Modify the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs or Secretary of the Army over interring the remains and honoring the memory of a person in a national cemetery. S.Amdt.2146 to S.1471 (Alicia Dawn Koehl Respect for National Cemeteries Act)