LATHAM, TOM (a Representative from Iowa)

Appointments

Conferee: H.R. 2555, Dept. of Homeland Security appropriations, H8118 [10SE]

———H.R. 2673, agriculture, rural development, FDA, and related agencies programs appropriations, H11379 [18NO]

———H.R. 2754, energy and water development appropriations, H8879 [24SE]

Bills and resolutions cosponsored

Armed Forces: exempt certain members from requirement to pay subsistence charges while hospitalized (see H.R. 2998), H8083 [9SE]

Aviation: provide an apportionment to certain primary airports that had reduced passenger boardings due to the discontinuance of air carrier service (see H.R. 630), H2402 [26MR]

Blair, Tony: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 1511), H3355 [11AP]

Civil Air Patrol: make volunteer members eligible for public safety officer death benefits (see H.R. 732), H1642 [5MR]

Computers: prevent the use of certain bank instruments for Internet gambling (see H.R. 21), H2270 [20MR]

Consumers: require disclosure of terms of rental-purchase agreements (see H.R. 996), H4978 [4JN]

Courts: modify jurisdiction of Federal courts, inferior to the Supreme Court, over certain cases and controversies involving the Pledge of Allegiance (see H.R. 2028), H4788 [2JN]

Cruz, Celia: mint coins in commemoration (see H.R. 3109), H11133 [7NO]

Dept. of Agriculture: conduct a loan repayment program regarding the provision of veterinary services in shortage situations (see H.R. 1367), H9130 [1OC]

———organic food standards relative to livestock and dairy production (see H.R. 955), H2473 [27MR]

Dept. of Defense: prioritize transfer of excess personal property to the Forest Service Federal Excess Personal Property Program in order to be loaned to rural fire departments (see H.R. 1311), H4876 [3JN]

Dept. of Energy: authorizing appropriations for the Office of Science (see H.R. 34), H2472 [27MR]

Disabled: importance of recruiting and retaining direct support professionals to ensure the proper care of individuals with developmental disabilities (see H. Con. Res. 94), H9215 [2OC]

Drugs: respond to the illegal production, distribution, and use of methamphetamines (see H.R. 834), H703 [13FE]

Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act: make repeal of estate taxes permanent (see H.R. 8), H5364 [12JN]

Education: clarify existing Federal law relative to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law (see H.R. 2732), H8176 [10SE]

———improve access to printed instructional materials used by blind or other print-disabled persons in elementary and secondary schools (see H.R. 490), H324 [5FE]

Federal employees: treatment of retirement benefits for assistant U.S. attorneys (see H.R. 2260), H5929 [25JN]

Federal Prison Industries, Inc.: eliminate Federal agency requirement to purchase products and require commercial competition for Federal contracts (see H.R. 1829), H4205 [15MY]

Firearms: prohibit lawsuits against weapons manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers (see H.R. 1036), H1464 [27FE]

Flag—U.S.: constitutional amendment to prohibit desecration (see H.J. Res. 4), H4206 [15MY]

Freedom of religion: safeguard religious liberties (see H.R. 3190), H11702 [20NO]

Gambling: prohibit gambling on high school and college sports (see H.R. 1451), H2401 [26MR]

Grand Excursion of 1854: support anniversary celebrations (see H. Con. Res. 44), H705 [13FE]

Hazardous substances: provide assistance for poison prevention and stabilize funding of regional poison control centers (see H.R. 1819), H6604 [10JY]

Health: establish grants to improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and prevent obesity (see H.R. 716), H5267 [11JN]

———increase supply of pancreatic islet cells for research, coordinate efforts on transplantation, make transplantation a standard therapy, and provide Medicare coverage of certain transplantations (see H.R. 1068), H1747 [11MR]

Immigration: extend basic pilot employment verification system (see H.R. 2359), H5043 [5JN]

———prohibit Federal agencies from accepting foreign issued identification other than passports (see H.R. 687), H8382 [17SE]

Insurance: promote health care coverage parity for individuals participating in legal recreational or transportation activities (see H.R. 1749), H3303 [10AP]

Iraq: establish program to foster private U.S. investment in Iraqi schools and hospitals through adopt-a-school and adopt-a-hospital initiatives (see H. Res. 455), H11651 [19NO]

Jamestown, VA: mint coins in commemoration of settlement anniversary (see H.R. 1914), H11392 (see H.R. 1914), H11515 [18NO]

King, Martin Luther, Jr.: mint coins in commemoration (see H.R. 589), H1334 [25FE]

Labor unions: protect the free choice of individual employees relative to participation in labor organizations (see H.R. 391), H4978 [4JN]

Law enforcement officers: exempt from State laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns (see H.R. 218), H3052 [9AP]

Medicare: allow applications for the preferred provider organization (PPO) demonstration project under the Medicare+Choice program (see H.R. 1743), H3302 [10AP]

———allow beneficiaries direct access to physical therapists without a physician referral (see H.R. 792), H700 [13FE]

———coverage of immunosuppressive drugs for beneficiaries who receive an organ transplant without regard to when the transplant was received (see H.R. 588), H1955 [18MR]

———coverage of oral anticancer drugs (see H.R. 1288), H5267 [11JN]

———establish minimum geographic cost-of-practice index value for physicians' services (see H.R. 33), H392 [11FE]

———improve access to services in rural hospitals and critical access hospitals (see H.R. 937), H1812 [12MR]

———pay ambulance suppliers the full costs of providing such services (see H.R. 1301), H5046 [5JN]

———protect and preserve access of beneficiaries to health care provided by hospitals in rural areas (see H.R. 1675), H3572 [30AP]

———protect and strengthen beneficiaries' access to quality health care in rural areas (see H. Res. 267), H5174 [10JN]

———repeal outpatient rehabilitation therapy caps (see H.R. 1125), H2822 [3AP]

———standardize payment amounts for inpatient hospital services (see H.R. 1580), H2819 [3AP]

———treatment of certain physician pathology services (see H.R. 1963), H4206 [15MY]

———update renal dialysis composite rate (see H.R. 1784), H6869 [15JY]

National Cord Blood Stem Cell Bank Network: establish to prepare, store, and distribute human umbilical cord blood stem cells for the treatment of patients and to support peer-reviewed research (see H.R. 2852), H9131 [1OC]

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: authorize development of research centers focusing on environmental factors related to the etiology of breast cancer (see H.R. 1746), H3454 [29AP]

National Nanotechnology Research and Development Program: establish (see H.R. 766), H2473 [27MR]

Petroleum: eliminate methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) from U.S. fuel supply, expand production and use of renewable fuel, and increase energy independence (see H.R. 837), H2473 [27MR]

Postal Service: reform funding of Civil Service Retirement System benefits for employees (see H.R. 735), H1516 [4MR]

POW: provide special compensation for former POWs (see H.R. 850), H1903 [13MR]

Public safety officers: ensure that officers who suffer a fatal heart attack or stroke while on duty shall be presumed to have died in the line of duty for purposes of survivor benefits (see H.R. 919), H4205 [15MY]

Robinson, Jackie: award Congressional Gold Medal posthumously and designate a national day of recognition (see H.R. 1900), H8175 [10SE]

SBA: establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses (see H.R. 205), H1682 [6MR]

SEC: require enhanced disclosures of employee stock options and require study on economic impact of broad-based employee stock option plans (see H.R. 1372), H5046 [5JN]

Small business: improve access and choice relative to employee health care (see H.R. 660), H2402 [26MR]

Social Security: earnings test for blind individuals (see H.R. 173), H323 [5FE]

Syria: halt support for terrorism, end occupation of Lebanon, stop development of weapons of mass destruction, and cease illegal importation of Iraqi oil (see H.R. 1828), H4368 [20MY]

Taxation: allow deduction equal to fair market value for charitable contributions of literary, musical, artistic, or scholarly compositions created by the donor (see H.R. 806), H7618 [24JY]

———allow exclusion of tax-exempt bonds issued for health care or educational purposes in determination of interest expenses of financial institutions (see H.R. 661), H1516 [4MR]

———allow farmer-owned cooperatives access to small ethanol producer tax credit (see H.R. 465), H242 [29JA]

———allow penalty-free withdrawals from individual retirement plans for adoption expenses (see H.R. 584), H4978 [4JN]

———clarify the exemption from tax for small property and casualty insurance companies (see H.R. 1530), H5552 [18JN]

———eliminate double taxation of dividends (see H.R. 50), H53 [7JA]

———expand S corporation eligibility for banks (see H.R. 714), H2822 [3AP]

———extension of the credit for producing electricity from wind (see H.R. 570), H319 [5FE]

———permit churches and other houses of worship to engage in political campaigns (see H.R. 235), H9282 [7OC]

———provide a credit for energy-efficient appliances (see H.R. 1332), H1953 [18MR]

———provide a credit for expenditures for the maintenance of railroad tracks of certain railroads (see H.R. 876), H1955 [18MR]

———provide a credit to promote homeownership and community development (see H.R. 839), H4205 [15MY]

———provide a tax credit for broadband Internet access (see H.R. 768), H1335 [25FE]

———provide collegiate housing and infrastructure grants (see H.R. 1523), H6869 [15JY]

———provide incentives for the use of biodiesel as a fuel (see H.R. 3119), H8906 [24SE]

———reduce capital gains rates and index the basis of certain assets (see H.R. 44), H4738 [22MY]

———restore estate tax and repeal carryover basis rule, increase estate and gift tax unified credit, and reduce rate of estate and gifts taxes to the generally applicable capital gains rates (see H.R. 2610), H6261 [26JN]

———treatment of beer (see H.R. 1305), H1952 [18MR]

———treatment of certain commercial power takeoff vehicles (see H.R. 1513), H7020 [16JY]

———treatment of flexible spending arrangements relative to long-term care insurance (see H.R. 2096), H6707 [14JY]

Telecommunications: equitably distribute universal service support throughout rural areas (see H.R. 1582), H3572 [30AP]

Television: preserve localism, promote diversity in programming, encourage competition, and prevent excessive concentration of ownership of broadcast stations (see H.R. 2052), H4978 [4JN]

Trucking industry: hours of service requirements for commercial drivers transporting agricultural commodities and farm supplies (see H.R. 871), H2132 [19MR]

Veterans: permit concurrent receipt of military retired pay with service-connected disability benefits (see H.R. 303), H8381 [17SE]

Water: modify maximum hours of service for operators of ground water well drilling rigs (see H.R. 1008), H6264 [26JN]

William J. Scherle Post Office Building, Glenwood, IA: designate (see H.R. 2758), H7019 [16JY]

Bills and resolutions introduced

Dept. of Veterans Affairs: establish electronic database to enable Dept. health care facilities in Iowa to share patient information with State of Iowa Veterans Home (see H.R. 2834), H7454 [23JY]

Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation (TREAD) Act: exempt small trailer manufacturers from certain reporting requirements (see H.R. 1137), H1679 [6MR]

Essays

What the Flag of the U.S. Stands For: Jefferson Brown, E463 [13MR]

Pledge of Allegiance

House of Representatives, H4371 [21MY]

Remarks

Agriculture, rural development, FDA, and related agencies programs: making appropriations (H.R. 2673), H6625, H6644, H6656 [14JY]

Appropriations: making supplemental appropriations for ongoing military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan (H.R. 3289), H9528 [16OC]

Corps of Engineers: funding, H7125 [18JY]

Dept. of Agriculture: National Animal Disease Laboratory funding, H2730 [3AP]

Dept. of Energy: increase renewable energy programs funding through reductions in Yucca Mountain, NV, nuclear waste disposal site funding, H7134 [18JY]

Dept. of Homeland Security: making appropriations (H.R. 2555), H5748 [24JN]

———making appropriations (H.R. 2555), conference report, H8798 [24SE]

Energy and water development: making appropriations (H.R. 2754), H7125, H7134 [18JY]

FCC: impact of local telephone exchange carriers' network unbundling regulations on the telecommunications industry, H4373 [21MY]

———release of triennial review rulemaking on local phone competition and broadband deployment, H4373 [21MY]

Tributes

Atanasoff, Vincent, E2159 [30OC]

Brown, Jefferson, E463 [13MR]