zli12321/Bills huggingface dataset:
Hurricane and Tornado Mitigation Investment Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow individual and business taxpayers in certain states a tax credit for 25% of their qualified hurricane and tornado mitigation property expenditures up to $5,000 for any taxable year. Defines such expenditures as expenditures in a dwelling unit to improve the strength of a roof deck attachment, create a secondary water barrier, improve the durability of a roof covering, brace gable-end walls, reinforce the connections between a roof and supporting wall, protect against windborne debris, or protect exterior doors and garages.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Taxation
Multiple Peril Insurance Act of 2007 - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to require the national flood insurance program to enable the purchase of optional insurance against loss resulting from physical damage to or loss of real or related personal property located in the United States arising from any flood or windstorm (any hurricane, tornado, cyclone, typhoon, or other wind event). Restricts multiperil coverage to areas (or their subdivisions) where an appropriate public body has adopted adequate land use and control measures, including effective enforcement provisions, which the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) finds are consistent with certain statutory criteria for land management and use relating to windstorms. Prohibits provision of multiperil coverage to any structure (or related personal property ) covered, at any time, by flood insurance under the Act. Prescribes the nature and terms of coverage, and actuarial rates. Prohibits new multiperil coverage for property declared by a duly constituted governmental authority to be in violation of state or local laws, regulations, or ordinances intended to reduce windstorm damage.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Flood Insurance Community Outreach Grant Program Act of 2007 - Amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to authorize the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to make grants to local governmental agencies responsible for floodplain management activities in communities that participate in the national flood insurance program for: (1) outreach activities to encourage and facilitate the purchase of flood insurance protection by owners and renters of properties in such communities; and (2) educational activities that increase awareness of flood risk reduction. Permits grant funds to be used to: (1) identify such property owners and renters; (2) notify them when their properties become included in, or are excluded from, an area having special flood hazards about the effect of such inclusion or exclusion on the applicability of the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement; (3) educate them regarding the flood risk and reduction of risk in their community and regarding the benefits and costs of flood insurance; and (4) encourage them to maintain or acquire coverage. Sets forth requirements regarding cost-sharing and limits on administrative costs. Requires the Director to provide for such agencies to submit applications for grants and for competitive selection, based on criteria established by the Director. Lists selection considerations. Authorizes the Director to use up to 50% of amounts available for grants in each fiscal year in areas determined to have the most immediate need for such activities.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
National Flood Insurance Program Participation Evaluation Act of 2007 - Directs the Comptroller General to analyze and report to Congress on potential methods, practices, and incentives that would increase the extent to which low-income families that own residential properties located within areas having special flood hazards purchase flood insurance coverage for such properties under the national flood insurance program.

Date: 2007-02-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Disaster Assistance Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 2007 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to prohibit the termination or demotion of, or other discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment against, an employee who, when activated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a disaster assistance employee reservist, is absent from or late to work for up to 90 days (or longer if the Secretary of Homeland Security publishes a determination that an extension is appropriate due to a national emergency). Allows an employer to: (1) charge against the employee's regular pay any time that an employee loses from employment because of such activation; and (2) request the employee to provide written verification from FEMA of the time and dates of such activation. Requires any such employee to make a reasonable effort to notify his or her employer of such absences or lateness. Authorizes a person who has been terminated, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against in violation of this Act to bring a civil action in U.S. district court if the action is commenced within one year after the violation.

Date: 2007-02-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma Federal Match Relief Act of 2007 - Sets the federal share of assistance, including direct federal assistance, provided for Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and Florida in connection with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma for essential assistance, repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities, debris removal, and federal assistance to individuals and households under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act at 100% of eligible costs. Makes the federal share applicable to disaster assistance provided before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act, but limits such federal share of essential assistance, repair, restoration, and replacement of damaged facilities, and debris removal to assistance provided for projects for which project worksheets have been approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) before that date.Amends the Community Disaster Loan Act of 2005 and the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006 to repeal provisions that prohibit the cancellation of loans under the Community Disaster Loan Program, effective as of the date of enactment of each such Act.

Date: 2007-02-16
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Catastrophic Disaster Recovery Improvements Act of 2007 - Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), in providing SBA disaster relief assistance, to waive the prohibition on the duplication of benefits, including whether damage or destruction has been compensated for, credit is available from, or funds have been made available from any other source. Applies such amendment to any SBA assistance provided on or after August 29, 2005 (thereby ensuring applicability and retroactivity for victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma).

Date: 2007-02-27
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Commerce
Gulf Coast Back to Business Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations for the Economic Development Administration of the Department of Commerce for grants to appropriate state government agencies in Louisiana and Mississippi for small businesses located in disaster areas caused by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita. Amends the Small Business Act to authorize the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to defer for a conditional period the payment of principal and interest on disaster loans made to small businesses affected by such hurricanes in the case of loans made before December 31, 2006. Prohibits an increased collateral requirement with respect to the deferred loans. Includes as a HUBZone (historically underutilized business zone) any area in which the President has declared a major disaster as a result of such hurricanes. Amends the Small Business Competitive Demonstration Program Act of 1988 to make the small business competitive demonstration program (to test innovative small business procurement methods and procedures) inapplicable, for a conditional period, to any contract related to relief or reconstruction from such hurricanes.

Date: 2007-02-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Commerce
Emergency Child Care for the Gulf Coast Region Act of 2007 - Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish grant programs for: (1) businesses and consortia in the Gulf Coast Region to pay start-up costs and to provide additional child care services for employees; (2) nonprofit business organizations in the Region to provide technical assistance to such businesses for child care services; (3) entities to develop distance learning child care training technology infrastructures and model technology-based training courses for child care providers and workers in the Region; and (4) child care providers in the Region to improve the qualifications and promote the retention of such providers. Defines "Gulf Coast Region" to mean the area declared by the President to be a major disaster as a consequence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make scholarship grants to child care providers to improve their educational qualifications to provide services.

Date: 2007-03-08
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Families
Tax Free Road Home Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income payments to individual taxpayers from the Louisiana Road Home program for rebuilding or renewing a personal residence.

Date: 2007-03-09
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Taxation
College and University Hurricane Revitalization Act of 2007 - Provides for calculating the allotments of grants under title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which provides institutional aid to schools serving high percentages of minority and low-income students, to institutions of higher education located in parishes or counties for which a major disaster was declared owing to Hurricane Katrina or Rita. Requires the Secretary of Education to consider school data from the school year immediately preceding the school year which included August, 29, 2005, rather than current school year data, in calculating 2007-2012 grant allotments. Requires each institution to submit a written request to the Secretary for such consideration.

Date: 2007-03-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Education
Katrina Housing Tax Relief Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) qualify certain buildings in the Gulf Opportunity Zone, the Rita Go Zone, and the Wilma GO Zone (GO Zones) placed in service before 2011 for the housing tax credit without regard to certain otherwise applicable restrictions if such buildings receive (or received) a state or local housing credit allocation in 2006, 2007, or 2008; (2) extend through 2010 the treatment of such Go Zones as difficult development areas for purposes of the increased housing tax credit; (3) exclude certain assistance provided under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (e.g., community development block grants), the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2006, or the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror, and Hurricane Recovery, 2006, in determining whether Go Zone buildings eligible for the housing tax credit are federally subsidized and therefore subject to limitations on such tax credit; and (4) treat qualified GO Zone repair and reconstruction loans provided prior to January 1, 2011, as qualified rehabilitation loans for purposes of the tax exemption for exempt facility and mortgage bonds.Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee on state and local practices in allocating and utilizing tax incentives provided by this Act. Requires such committees to hold public hearings if the report includes findings of significant fraud, waste or abuse.Denies a pre-levy hearing to taxpayers upon whom the Secretary of the Treasury has served a disqualified employment tax levy. Defines a "disqualified employment tax levy" as any levy in connection with the collection of employment taxes if: (1) the person subject to the levy requested a hearing with respect to unpaid employment taxes arising in the most recent two-year period before the beginning of the taxable period with respect to which the levy is served; and (2) such levy is served before February 29, 2016.Amends the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 to increase from 106.25% to 106.45% the estimated tax rate in the third quarter of 2012 for corporations with assets of not less than $1 billion.

Date: 2007-03-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Taxation
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Act of 2007 - Defines "environmental justice" to mean the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and socioeconomic groups with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of laws and policies affecting the environment.Requires the heads of federal agencies to make achieving environmental justice part of their missions by identifying and addressing disproportionately high and adverse effects of their programs on minority, low-income populations in the area affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Requires agencies to conduct programs in a manner to prevent discrimination.Establishes the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice (Working Group). Requires federal agencies to develop agency-wide environmental justice strategies that identify and address disproportionately high and adverse effects or disproportionately low benefits of their programs with respect to minority, low-income populations. Requires such strategies to identify programs that should be revised to: (1) promote enforcement of all health and environmental statutes in areas with such populations; (2) ensure greater public participation; (3) improve research and data collection; and (4) identify differential patterns of use of natural resources among such populations.Establishes the Federal Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to provide independent advice and recommendations to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Working Group on areas relating to environmental justice.

Date: 2007-03-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Environmental protection
American National Red Cross Governance Modernization Act of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) charitable organizations are an indispensable part of American society; (2) such organizations must maintain the trust of the American public by fostering effective governance and transparency; (3) the American National Red Cross (ANRC) is and will remain a federally chartered instrumentality of the United States; and (4) the ANRC should maintain appropriate communications with state regulators of charitable organizations and cooperate with such regulators.(Sec. 3) Amends the charter of the ANRC to designate the ANRC as a federally chartered instrumentality of the United States and authorize it to conduct its business and affairs as the American Red Cross in any jurisdiction and to conduct other activities consistent with its traditional purposes.(Sec. 5) Authorizes the ANRC corporation (corporation), rather than its board of directors, to prescribe policies and regulations relating to ANRC chapters. Provides for the selection of delegates to the annual meeting of the ANRC, instead of its national convention.(Sec. 6) Modifies provisions relating to the ANRC board of governors to restate the role of the board as the governing body of the corporation and to revise provisions relating to its size, composition, and relationship with management. Establishes an Advisory Council to advise, report to, and meet with the board of governors.(Sec. 7) Authorizes the corporation to adopt policies in lieu of bylaws. (Sec. 8) Defines the annual meeting of the corporation as the annual meeting of the delegates of the chapters (instead of the national convention). Designates the time and place of the annual meeting and determines the voting guidelines and requirements for such meeting. (Sec. 9) Eliminates the requirement that the number of trustees overseeing the ANRC endowment fund be nine. Grants the corporation, rather than the board of governors, the authority to prescribe policies and regulations on terms and tenure of office, accountability, and expenses of the board of trustees. (Sec. 10) Requires the corporation to submit a report to the Secretary of Defense on the activities of the corporation during the preceding fiscal year, including a complete, itemized report of all receipts and expenditures. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Comptroller General to review the corporation's involvement in any federal program or activity. Requires the corporation to establish an Office of the Ombudsman. Requires such Office to submit an annual report to specified congressional committees on trends and systemic matters that the Office has identified as confronting the corporation.

Date: 2007-03-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: International affairs
Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2007 - Instructs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on: (1) the status of the national flood insurance program for specified pre-FIRM properties (containing a structure neither constructed nor substantially improved after the later of December 31, 1974, or the effective date of the initial rate map published by the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (NFIA) for the pertinent area); (2) the extension of mandatory flood insurance coverage purchase requirements to properties located in any area that would be designated as having special flood hazards but for the existence of a structural flood protection system; and (3) the mandatory purchase requirement in connection with non-federally related loans. Amends the NFIA to include nonresidential properties and nonprimary residences within the guidelines for actuarial rate properties. Amends the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973 to increase civil monetary penalties. Amends the NFIA to: (1) increase flood insurance coverage for residential property; (2) provide coverage for necessary increases in living expenses, basement improvements, business interruption, and replacement cost of contents; (3) provide for notification to tenants of the availability of contents insurance; and (4) increase borrowing authority for the flood insurance program. Requires FEMA, upon request, to participate in state disaster claims mediation programs. Authorizes grants for outreach to property owners and renters to encourage purchase of flood insurance protection. Extends funding through FY2011 for the pilot program for mitigation of severe repetitive loss properties. Includes demolition and rebuilding activities within the flood mitigation assistance program. Amends the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to require good faith estimates to state that flood insurance coverage for residential real estate is generally available, whether or not the real estate is located in an area having special flood hazards. Instructs the FEMA Director to: (1) establish a decisions appeals process for flood insurance policyholders; (2) establish a program to review, update, and maintain flood insurance program maps; and (3) clarify the applicability of replacement cost coverage. Reestablishes the Technical Mapping Advisory Council.

Date: 2007-03-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish an avalanche protection program to: (1) identify the potential for avalanches on federal lands and inform the public about the probability of avalanches and their potential adverse effects; (2) carry out ongoing research to improve avalanche forecasting; and (3) reduce the risks of avalanches and mitigate their effects.Requires the Secretary: (1) to coordinate the program to ensure protection for recreational users of public land under the Secretary of the Interior's jurisdiction, using resources of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center; (2) to establish an advisory committee to assist in program development and implementation; and (3) with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, to establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes.Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to carry out projects and activities to: (1) assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches; (2) maintain essential transportation, utilities, and communications; (3) assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and explosives required for avalanche control in specified areas; and (4) assist research and development activities for alternatives to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control.Directs the Secretary to give priority to projects carried out in avalanche zones with a high frequency or severity of avalanches or in which deaths, injuries, or damage to public facilities and communities have occurred. Requires the Administrator of General Services to transfer specified property suitable for avalanche control purposes to a user of surplus ordnance.

Date: 2007-03-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish an avalanche protection program to: (1) identify the potential for avalanches on federal lands and inform the public about the probability of avalanches and their potential adverse effects; (2) carry out ongoing research to improve avalanche forecasting; and (3) reduce the risks of avalanches and mitigate their effects.Requires the Secretary: (1) to coordinate the program to ensure protection for recreational users of public land under the Secretary of the Interior's jurisdiction, using resources of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center; (2) to establish an advisory committee to assist in program development and implementation; and (3) with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, to establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes.Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to carry out projects and activities to: (1) assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches; (2) maintain essential transportation, utilities, and communications; (3) assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and explosives required for avalanche control in specified areas; and (4) assist research and development activities for alternatives to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control.Directs the Secretary to give priority to projects carried out in avalanche zones with a high frequency or severity of avalanches or in which deaths, injuries, or damage to public facilities and communities have occurred. Requires the Administrator of General Services to transfer specified property suitable for avalanche control purposes to a user of surplus ordnance.

Date: 2007-03-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Public lands and natural resources
Strengthening Public Health Protections in Major Disasters and Emergencies Act of 2007 - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to carry out a program for the protection, assessment, monitoring, and study of the health and safety of individuals who responded to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita or who respond to a major disaster or emergency, if chemicals or substances associated with potential acute or chronic human health effects were or are released in a major disaster area.Makes participation voluntary. Requires the President to take appropriate measures to protect the privacy of registry or study participants. Authorizes the President to carry out such a program through a cooperative agreement with a medical institution (including a local health department) or a consortium of medical institutions. Requires the President to carry out such a program in accordance with certain privacy regulations.Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enter jointly into a contract with the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on disaster area health and environmental protection and monitoring. Extends through September 30, 2010, the President's authority to establish a program to provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments for the implementation of cost-effective predisaster hazard mitigation measures.Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize payments from allotments made to a state for community outreach and education programs and other activities designed to prevent health and health care disparities.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Health
National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2007 - Requires the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative and to cooperate with other specified federal agencies to carry it out. Requires such Initiative to set research objectives (based on a National Science Board report on the need for such Initiative) to: (1) make recommendations to the Board; (2) assemble the expertise of U.S. science and engineering capabilities through a multi-agency effort focused on infrastructure, the natural environment, and improving understanding of hurricane prediction, intensity, and mitigation on coastal populations; and (3) make grants for hurricane research, including regarding hurricane dynamics, modification, and observation, air-sea interaction, relationships between hurricanes and climate, predicting flooding and storm surge, coastal infrastructure, building construction, emergency communication networks, information utilization by public officials, and sharing computational capability.Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate U.S. activities related to the Initiative as a formal program with a well-defined organizational structure and execution plan. Directs the Under Secretary and the Director to: (1) establish a National Infrastructure Database to catalog infrastructure, provide information to improve information public policy related to hurricanes, and provide data to improve researchers' abilities to measure hurricane impacts in order to improve building codes and urban planning; and (2) develop a National Hurricane Research Model to conduct integrative research and facilitate the transfer of research knowledge to operational applications.

Date: 2007-03-29
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Ready, Willing, and Able Act - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting jointly, to establish a working group to assist their respective departments to: (1) promote the development of disaster plans that will protect the maximum number of citizens; (2) help state and local officials provide the necessary means and infrastructure for the American public to volunteer to assume a direct and influential role in community-based disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation planning efforts; and (3) develop standards to measure the success of a community's level of direct, participatory disaster planning efforts. Amends the Public Health Service Act to revise the requirements for a state application for a grant to improve state, local, and hospital preparedness for and response to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Requires the application to include an assurance that the state will take specific steps to comply with any recommendations of the working group.

Date: 2007-04-17
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Authorizes the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to carry out a program to refinance Gulf Coast disaster loans (loans made by the SBA to Gulf Coast small businesses in response to Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, or Rita) under which the Administrator may provide an option to defer loan repayment for up to four years after the initial disbursement under the original loan was made. Requires the Administrator to disclose the accrued interest that must be paid under the option.

Date: 2007-04-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Good Samaritan Protection for Construction, Architectural, and Engineering Volunteers Act - Grants construction companies and architectural and engineering firms and their employees immunity from liability for negligence, except for gross negligence or willful misconduct, when providing emergency assistance on a voluntary basis in response to a declared emergency or disaster, in good faith, and without expectation of compensation.

Date: 2007-04-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Law
First Response Broadcasters Act of 2007 - Authorizes appropriations to the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for facility and equipment expenses to construct an additional 25 Primary Entry Point stations (radio broadcast stations designated to provide public information following emergencies where there is no commercial power) in the continental United States and territories.Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish a pilot program, the Broadcast Disaster Preparedness Grant Program, under which the Administrator may make grants to first response broadcasters. Sets forth provisions regarding priorities in making grants, use of funds, the federal share, and termination of grant authority.Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to: (1) include specified assistance to first response broadcasters among the essential assistance that federal agencies may provide to meet immediate threats to life and property resulting from a major disaster; (2) prohibit a federal officer or employee from confiscating fuel, water, or food from such a broadcaster during a disaster if that broadcaster documents that such supplies will be used to enable the broadcast of essential disaster-related public information in the affected area; and (3) direct the head of a federal agency to allow access to the area affected by a major disaster for technical personnel, broadcast engineers, and equipment needed to restore, repair, or resupply any facility or equipment critical to such a broadcaster's ability to continue to acquire, produce, and transmit essential disaster-related public information, subject to specified limitations. Establishes guidelines for press access to a disaster area.

Date: 2007-05-15
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
National Hurricane Research Initiative Act of 2007 - Requires the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce and the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a National Hurricane Research Initiative and to cooperate with other specified federal agencies to carry it out. Requires such Initiative to set research objectives (based on a National Science Board report on the need for such Initiative) to: (1) make recommendations to the Board and to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Science Advisory Board; (2) assemble the science and engineering expertise of state or local government agencies and nongovernmental entities through a multi-agency effort focused on improving severe tropical storm forecasting capabilities, on durable and resilient infrastructure, and on mitigating impacts on coastal populations, the coastal built environment, and the natural coastal environment; and (3) make grants for hurricane research, including regarding storm internal dynamics, predicting high winds, tornadoes, and storm surge, and improving measurements of hurricanes and tropical storms through specified technologies.Directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, through the National Science and Technology Council, to coordinate U.S. activities related to the Initiative as a formal program with a well-defined organizational structure and execution plan. Directs the Under Secretary and the Director to: (1) issue a request for proposals to undertake the basic and applied research with a sufficient annual budget to accomplish the desired research results during a 10-year term; (2) establish a National Infrastructure Database; and (3) develop a National Hurricane Research Model.

Date: 2007-05-21
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Emergency Child Care Services Act - Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to include: (1) technical advice and assistance for emergency child care services among the types of assistance federal agencies may provide, at the President's direction, to meet immediate threats to life and property resulting from a major disaster; (2) private facilities that provide emergency child care among those facilities damaged by a major disaster to which the President may make contributions; and (3) the House and Senate homeland security committees among those committees that the President shall notify before making any contribution exceeding $20 million for the repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement of a public or private facility damaged or destroyed by a major disaster. Defines "emergency child care."

Date: 2007-05-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Gulf Coast All-Hazard Readiness Act of 2007 - Grants congressional consent to any number of the Gulf Coast states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) to negotiate and enter into an agreement or compact that: (1) is consented to by the legislatures of the participating states by December 31, 2010; (2) is entered into primarily to establish a plan for all-hazard mitigation, readiness, response, and recovery; (3) establishes a multi-state all-hazard fund generated by participating states to be utilized when a disaster affects those states; (4) requires states to appoint commissioners to organize the operation, management, and disbursement of the fund; and (5) prohibits participating states from taking action prohibited by federal law.

Date: 2007-06-13
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 - (Sec. 2) Amends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act to redefine an act of terrorism to eliminate the requirement that the individual or individuals committing a terrorist act be acting on behalf of any foreign person or foreign interest. (Sec. 3) Extends the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program through calendar 2014. (Sec. 4) States that no insurer may be required to make payment for insured losses in excess of its statutory deductible combined with its statutory share of insured losses. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) notify Congress within 15 days of an act of terrorism on whether the Secretary estimates that aggregate insured losses will exceed $100 billion; (2) promulgate final regulations for determining the pro rata share of insured losses which exceed $100 billion; and (3) report to Congress on the process used to determine the allocation of pro rata payments when insured losses exceed $100 billion. Requires insurers to disclose to policyholders the $100 billion cap on their liability. Modifies the federal surcharge imposed to recoup federal financial assistance provided in connection with all acts of terrorism (or acts of war) during a Terrorism Insurance Program Year. Requires a terrorism loss risk-spreading premium in an amount equal to 133% (currently, 100%) of any mandatory recoupment amount for such period. Establishes deadlines for the collection of terrorism loss risk-spreading premiums for acts of terrorism occurring during specified periods. (Sec. 5) Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to certain congressional committees regarding: (1) the availability and affordability of insurance coverage for losses caused by terrorist attacks involving nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological materials; (2) the outlook for such coverage in the future; and (3) the capacity of private insurers and state workers compensation funds to manage risk associated with such events. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to certain congressional committees on whether there are specific markets in the United States with unique capacity constraints on the amount of terrorism risk insurance available.

Date: 2007-06-18
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Finance and financial sector
Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to direct the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to continue implementation of an emergency management performance grants program. Limits the federal share of the cost of a program funded activity to 50%. Sets forth guidelines for the Administrator to apportion funds to carry out the program among the states on the basis of population. Provides that if the total amount appropriated to carry out the program for a fiscal year equals or exceeds $200 million, no state shall receive an apportionment for that fiscal year that is less than the amount the state received in emergency management performance grants for FY2007. Authorizes appropriations. Authorizes the Administrator to make grants to states for equipping, upgrading, and constructing emergency operations centers and limits the federal share of the cost of any funded activity to 75% (current law prohibits using funds to construct emergency operating centers in any state that does not match the amount made available).

Date: 2007-06-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Amends emergency relief fund provisions providing for the repair of highways, roads, and trails damaged as a result of a natural disaster to authorize on or after April 29, 2007, the expenditure of fund amounts for additional mass transportation services, including the operation of traveler information services, provided as temporary substitute highway traffic services on federal-aid highways during a natural disaster emergency.

Date: 2007-06-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Transportation and public works
CJ's Home Protection Act of 2007 - Requires the consensus committee established under the National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1974, within 90 days of enactment of this Act, to develop and submit to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development proposed federal manufactured home construction and safety standards. Requires the Secretary to issue a final order promulgating the standard within 90 days after receiving the proposal. Amends the Act to require such standards to require each manufactured home delivered for sale to be supplied with a weather radio: (1) capable of broadcasting emergency information relating to local weather conditions; (2) equipped with a tone alarm and Specific Alert Message Encoding, or SAME technology; and (3) compliant with the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) Standard 2009-A Performance Specification for Public Alert Receivers (or its current revision). Exempts any aspect of the function, operation, performance, capabilities, or utilization of such weather radio or any related instructions from certain requirements regarding: (1) noncompliance with standards or defective nature of manufactured homes; (2) notification and correction of defects by such manufacturers; or (3) the Secretary's regulations pursuant to the authority under such Act. Requires the Secretary to study and report to specified congressional committees on conditioning the applicability of the requirement to supply weather radios in manufactured homes on the geographic location at which a manufactured home is placed, but only to the extent that such requirement applies to new manufactured homes and new site-built homes.

Date: 2007-06-20
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Housing and community development
Affordable Homeowners Insurance Act of 2007 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exempt distributions from retirement plans for disaster relief from the penalty for premature retirement plan withdrawals.

Date: 2007-06-26
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Taxation
Kansas Disaster Tax Relief Assistance Act - Extends to businesses and individuals in certain Kansas counties declared by the President as major disaster areas under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (FEMA-1699-DR, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act) by reason of severe storms and tornados beginning on May 4, 2007, provisions of the Internal Revenue Code allowing: (1) suspension of certain limitations on personal casualty losses; (2) an extension of the period for replacing damaged property without recognizing gain; (3) an employee retention tax credit for affected businesses through 2007; (4) 50% bonus depreciation for affected businesses; (5) increased expensing of small business assets; (6) increased expensing of demolition and cleanup costs; (7) extended net operating loss carryback periods for losses attributable to storms and tornadoes and for public utility property disaster losses; (8) relaxed income verification requirements for tenants in low-income rental projects; and (9) penalty-free withdrawals and loans from individual retirement accounts and other tax-exempt pension plans.

Date: 2007-06-28
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Taxation
Public Safety Interoperability Implementation Act - Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act to establish the Public Safety Communications Trust Fund to make grants to implement interoperability and modernization for the communications needs of public safety, fire, emergency, law enforcement, and crisis management by state and local government agencies and instrumentalities and nonprofit organizations. Requires that the Fund be a separate Fund in the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund and that it consist of certain amounts from the Digital Television Transition and Public Safety Fund, appropriations under this Act, and proceeds from the sale of certain bands of government-owned broadcast spectrum.

Date: 2007-07-19
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management
Disaster Voting Reform Act of 2007 - Directs the Election Assistance Commission to make grants to each eligible state to: (1) restore and replace supplies, materials, and equipment used in the administration of elections which were damaged as a result of a major natural disaster; and (2) conduct voter outreach and education for voters displaced as a result of a major natural disaster. Requires preference for states with satellite voting sites. Grants an eligible disaster evacuee the right to be treated in the same manner as an absent uniform services voter and overseas voter under the Uniform and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voting Act. Deems such an individual entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Requires each motor vehicle authority and each designated voter registration agency in a state to take necessary steps to notify individuals to whom services are provided of the protections of this Act and the requirements for obtaining those protections.

Date: 2007-07-24
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Government operations and politics
Fire Disaster Assistance Act of 2007 - Amends the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 to extend the date for which livestock indemnity payments and livestock compensation program assistance is available for disaster-caused losses.

Date: 2007-07-27
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Agriculture and food
Authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a project for the repair and reconstruction of the Interstate I-35 bridge located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that collapsed on August 1, 2007. Makes the federal share of the project cost 100%. Authorizes appropriations. Waives, for such project, the $100 million per state single-failure (or, single-disaster) highway-related total obligation limitation. Amends the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users to authorize the Secretary to: (1) use such single-failure (or, single-disaster) highway-related funds for the repair and reconstruction of the Interstate I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that collapsed on August 1, 2007; and (2) use no more than $5 million of funds made available for FY2007 for Federal Transit Administration Discretionary Programs, Bus and Bus Facilities (without any local matching funds requirement) to reimburse the Minnesota state department of transportation for actual and necessary costs of maintenance and operation (less the amount of fares earned) for providing temporary substitute highway traffic service following the collapse of the Interstate I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 1, 2007, until highway traffic service is restored on such bridge. Makes the federal share of the project cost 100%.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Transportation and public works
Amends the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 to extend for an additional two-year period the eligibility of Hurricane Katrina employees for the work opportunity tax credit.

Date: 2007-08-02
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Taxation
Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to authorize the President to provide assistance to a person who owns or operates a rental dwelling unit damaged or destroyed by a major disaster for that unit's repair, restoration, reconstruction, or replacement if: (1) before the disaster the unit was made available for occupancy only by low- or moderate-income tenants; (2) the person will continue, for a specified minimum period, to make available rental dwelling units for occupancy only by such tenants; and (3) the person has applied for a disaster loan under the Small Business Act and either has been determined to be ineligible for such a loan or has obtained such a loan in the maximum amount for which the Small Business Administration (SBA) determines the person is eligible.

Date: 2007-08-03
Topic: Domestic Commerce (Disaster Relief)
Subject: Emergency management