VELAZQUEZ, NYDIA M. (a Representative from New York)

Amendments

Appropriations: making supplemental appropriations for ongoing military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan (H.R. 3289), H9617 [16OC], H9636 [17OC]

Appointments

Conferee: H.R. 1588, Dept. of Defense appropriations for military activities and prescribing personnel strengths, H6907 [16JY]

Bills and resolutions cosponsored

Abortion: provide freedom of choice to military personnel serving overseas (see H.R. 2062), H3973 [9MY]

Agriculture: prohibit open-air cultivation or use of human food or animal feed as host plant and establish tracking system to regulate genetically engineered pharmaceutical and industrial crops (see H.R. 2921), H7782 [25JY]

———provide protections for farmers and ranchers that may be harmed economically by genetically engineered seeds, plants, or animals and ensure fairness in dealings with certain biotech companies (see H.R. 2918), H7782 [25JY]

Air pollution: reduce emissions from electric powerplants (see H.R. 2042), H3857 [8MY]

Alaska: provide additional protections for National Forest System lands (see H.R. 979), H1461 [27FE]

Animals: prohibit the intentional feeding of bears on Federal lands (see H.R. 1472), H5267 [11JN]

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: preserve the Arctic coastal plain as wilderness (see H.R. 770), H699 [13FE]

Armed Forces: support members engaging in military action in Iraq (see H. Con. Res. 103), H2270 [20MR]

Assault weapons: reauthorize ban on production of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices (see H.R. 2038), H3856 [8MY]

Aznar, Jose M.: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 2131), H9812 [21OC]

Ben R. Gerow Post Office Building, Liberty, NY: designate (see H.R. 3234), H9213 [2OC]

Blackwell, Lucien E.: tribute (see H. Res. 169), H2586 [1AP]

Brian C. Hickey Post Office Building, Bethpage, NY: designate (see H.R. 2452), H7949 [4SE]

Briggs, Harry and Eliza: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3287), H9380 [10OC]

Capitol Building and Grounds: revise women's suffrage statue located in the Capitol rotunda to include a likeness of Sojourner Truth (see H.R. 601), H5663 [19JN]

Chavez, Cesar E.: commemorate birthday (see H. Res. 112), H1466 [27FE]

Children and youth: enhance operation of the AMBER Alert communications plan to expedite the recovery of abducted children (see H.R. 412), H2401 [26MR]

———issue commemorative postage stamp to recognize U.S. efforts to reunite missing children with their families and to honor the victims of abduction and murder (see H. Con. Res. 192), H4737 [22MY]

Civil rights: improve remedies for discrimination in the payment of wages based on sex (see H.R. 1688), H4739 [22MY]

Colleges and universities: address the rising cost of tuition by strengthening the compact between the States, Federal Government, and institutions of higher education (see H.R. 3519), H11703 [20NO]

———expand and enhance post-baccalaureate opportunities at Hispanic-serving institutions (see H.R. 2238), H4735 [22MY]

———permit States to determine residency standards for higher education purposes and cancel removal and adjust status of certain long-term resident alien students (see H.R. 1684), H7949 [4SE]

Columbia River: ensure salmon and steelhead preservation, maintain reasonably priced and reliable power, and conduct studies on the impact of dams on salmon and steelhead on the endangered species list (see H.R. 1097), H1747 [11MR]

Commission To Establish a National Museum of the American Latino: establish to develop a plan of action for the establishment and maintenance of the National Museum of the American Latino in Washington, DC (see H.R. 3292), H9477 [15OC]

Contraceptives: establish a public education and awareness program relative to emergency contraception (see H.R. 1812), H5046 [5JN]

———require equitable coverage of drugs, devices, and services under health insurance plans (see H.R. 2727), H6867 [15JY]

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women: ratification (see H. Res. 21), H61 [7JA]

Courts: assign liability for injury caused by genetically engineered organisms (see H.R. 2919), H7782 [25JY]

CPSC: ban realistic toy handguns (see H.R. 211), H12310 [21NO]

Cuba: make exception to trade embargo for food, medicines, and goods and services intended for children, lift travel restrictions, and provide scholarships for certain Cuban nationals (see H.R. 3422), H10236 [30OC]

Daniel Patrick Moynihan Global Affairs Institute: support (see H.R. 3032), H8016 [5SE]

De Laine, Joseph A.: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3287), H9380 [10OC]

Dept. of HUD: reauthorize the Public Housing Drug Elimination Program (see H.R. 1981), H3682 [6MY]

Dept. of Veterans Affairs: reduce backlog of benefit claims (see H.R. 1264), H2271 [20MR]

———require congressional notification prior to implementation of the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services initiative (see H.R. 2808), H7225 [21JY]

Discrimination: express that high-level Federal officials should not belong to a club that discriminates on the basis of sex or race (see H. Con. Res. 130), H3305 [10AP]

Diseases: extend issuance of special postage stamps to fund breast cancer research (see H.R. 1385), H6264 [26JN]

———prevent and cure diabetes and promote and improve the care of diabetic individuals within minority populations (see H.R. 1916), H4877 [3JN]

———prohibit interference by certain education grant recipients with a student's treatment of his or her diabetes (see H.R. 3178), H8949 [25SE]

Domestic violence: research health impact and prevention and provide training and Federal coverage for health care professionals to identify and treat families experiencing family violence (see H.R. 1267), H4529 [21MY]

Education: provide educational opportunities for all students in State public school systems (see H.R. 236), H2515 [31MR]

Edward O'Grady, Waverly Brown, Peter Paige Post Office Building, Nyack, NY: designate (see H.R. 3167), H9132 [1OC]

Emancipation Proclamation: anniversary (see H. Con. Res. 36), H462 [12FE]

Employment: prohibit discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation (see H.R. 3285), H9376 [8OC]

ERISA: provide emergency protection for retiree health benefits (see H.R. 1322), H8017 [5SE]

Family and Medical Leave Act: allow leave to care for a domestic partner, parent-in-law, adult child, sibling, or grandparent with a serious health condition (see H.R. 1430), H6348 [8JY]

FCC: encourage more extensive review and public comment before revising media ownership rules (see H. Res. 218), H4132 [14MY]

———invalidate ruling on media ownership rules (see H.R. 2462), H5365 [12JN]

Federal employees: provide benefits to domestic partners (see H.R. 2426), H5265 [11JN]

Federal Prison Industries, Inc.: eliminate Federal agency requirement to purchase products and require commercial competition for Federal contracts (see H.R. 1829), H3407 [12AP]

Ferre, Luis A.: tribute (see H. Res. 433), H10457 [5NO]

Financial institutions: accept U.S.-issued matricula consular as a valid form of identification (see H.R. 773), H699 [13FE]

Food: ensure safety of genetically engineered foods (see H.R. 2917), H7782 [25JY]

———ensure that efforts to address world hunger through the use of genetically engineered animals and crops actually help developing countries and peoples while protecting human health and the environment (see H.R. 2920), H7782 [25JY]

———require labels on food that contains, or is produced with, a genetically engineered material (see H.R. 2916), H7782 [25JY]

Foreign aid: prohibit application of restrictive eligibility requirements to foreign nongovernmental organizations based on provision of certain health services (see H.R. 2952), H7783 [25JY]

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: exempt bookstores and libraries from orders requiring the production of any tangible things for certain foreign intelligence investigations (see H.R. 1157), H3637 [1MY]

Forest Service: protection of certain roadless areas (see H.R. 2369), H6349 [8JY]

Health: 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), H5468 [17JN]

———national policy to provide health care and reform insurance procedures (see H.R. 676), H2402 [26MR]

Height, Dorothy I.: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 1821), H3353 [11AP]

Help America Vote Act: require a voter-verified permanent record or hardcopy (see H.R. 2239), H12921 [8DE]

Higher Education Act: repeal provisions prohibiting persons convicted of drug offenses from receiving student financial assistance (see H.R. 685), H4787 [2JN]

Hispanic Americans: provide programs and activities to improve health (see H.R. 2258), H4736 [22MY]

History: acknowledge African descendants of the transatlantic slave trade, recognize injustices suffered, and work to improve the situation of Afro-descendant communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (see H. Con. Res. 47), H1467 [27FE]

Hospitals: provide emergency contraceptives to women who are survivors of sexual assault (see H.R. 2527), H7226 [21JY]

Immigration: adjust the status of certain aliens, with longstanding ties to the U.S., to that of an alien lawfully admitted to permanent residence (see H.R. 440), H1396 [26FE]

———prevent commercial alien smuggling (see H.R. 2630), H6262 [26JN]

———provide a mechanism for U.S. citizens, and lawful permanent residents, to sponsor their permanent partners for U.S. residence (see H.R. 832), H702 [13FE]

Independent Commission on Intelligence About Iraq: establish (see H.R. 2625), H7840 [3SE]

Insurance: coverage of minimum hospital stays for mastectomies and lymph node removals relative to breast cancer (see H.R. 1886), H6264 [26JN]

———extend Federal funding for operation of State high risk health insurance pools (see H.R. 1110), H1678 [6MR]

———prohibit use of genetic information in determining coverage or premiums (see H.R. 1910), H3634 [1MY]

———provide nondiscriminatory coverage of substance abuse treatment services under private group and individual health coverage (see H.R. 2256), H9377 [8OC]

Iraq: encourage use of small and minority owned businesses in the post-conflict reconstruction of Iraq (see H. Res. 214), H3636 [1MY]

James E. Davis Post Office Building, Brooklyn, NY: designate (see H.R. 3012), H9215 [2OC]

James J. Peters Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY: designate (see H.R. 2786), H7085 [17JY] (see H.R. 3383), H9981 [28OC]

John G. Dow Post Office Building, Tappan, NY: designate (see H.R. 3166), H9132 [1OC]

Julia, Raul: award Congressional Gold Medal posthumously (see H.R. 2818), H7329 [22JY]

———tribute (see H. Con. Res. 287), H8491 [23SE]

Law enforcement: assess backlog in DNA analysis of rape kit samples and improve investigation and prosecution of sexual assault cases with DNA evidence (see H.R. 1046), H4528 [21MY]

———eliminate backlog of DNA samples collected from crime scenes and offenders and expand and improve the use of DNA collection and analysis in criminal investigations (see H.R. 3214), H9129 [1OC]

Law enforcement officers: adjust percentage differentials payable to Federal law enforcement officers in certain high-cost areas (see H.R. 466), H1334 [25FE]

Marine Corps: mint coins in commemoration of anniversary (see H.R. 3277), H12311 [21NO]

Marshall, John: mint coins in commemoration (see H.R. 2768), H8382 [17SE]

Medicaid: increase Federal Medical Assistance Percentage to help States finance increases in enrollment (see H.R. 816), H701 [13FE]

Medicare: coverage of oral anticancer drugs (see H.R. 1288), H3858 [8MY]

———coverage of screening and diagnostic mammography services (see H.R. 817), H4528 [21MY]

———enhance access of beneficiaries who live in medically underserved areas to critical primary and preventive health care benefits and improve the Medicare+Choice program (see H.R. 1377), H4255 [19MY]

———establish voluntary outpatient prescription drug coverage program and modernize and reform payments and the regulatory structure (see H.R. 1199), H4205 [15MY]

———improve outpatient vision services (see H.R. 1902), H4877 [3JN]

———increase payments to hospitals in Puerto Rico (see H.R. 1351), H4131 [14MY]

———protect patients by limiting the number of mandatory overtime hours a nurse may be required to work by certain service providers (see H.R. 745), H4528 [21MY]

———repeal outpatient rehabilitation therapy caps (see H.R. 1125), H3453 [29AP]

———restore the full market basket percentage increase applied to payments to hospitals for inpatient hospital services furnished to beneficiaries (see H.R. 1710), H4877 [3JN]

Mental health: provide for equal insurance coverage of benefits unless comparable limitations are imposed on medical and surgical benefits (see H.R. 953), H2822 [3AP]

Minimum wage: level (see H.R. 965), H4787 [2JN]

Minorities: improve health of minority individuals (see H.R. 3459), H11393 (see H.R. 3459), H11516 [18NO]

National Affordable Housing Trust Fund: establish to provide decent, safe, and affordable housing for low-income families (see H.R. 1102), H1640 [5MR]

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health: long-term health monitoring of firefighters in disaster areas (see H.R. 3431), H10339 [4NO]

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), H3763 [7MY]

———develop research centers focusing on women's health and disease prevention, and conduct and coordinate a research program on hormone disruption (see H.R. 852), H5408 [16JN]

Native Americans: acknowledgment of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina (see H.R. 898), H3974 [9MY]

———clarify citizenship eligibility for certain members of the Tohono O'odham Nation of Arizona (see H.R. 731), H3053 [9AP]

New England Fishery Management Council: include New York as a member (see H.R. 2679), H7788 [25JY]

Organ donation: allow leave for individuals who provide living organ donations (see H.R. 1381), H2268 [20MR]

Pearson, Levi: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3287), H9380 [10OC]

Pensions: protect employee benefits in defined benefit plans and enforce age discrimination requirements that apply to conversion of pension plans to cash balance plans (see H.R. 1677), H2938 [8AP]

Pentagon Renovation Program: tribute to Latino and immigrant worker efforts in reconstructing the portion of the Pentagon destroyed in terrorist attack (see H. Res. 117), H1466 [27FE]

Pharmaceuticals: permit commercial importation of prescription drugs from Canada (see H.R. 847), H703 [13FE]

Public buildings: require that certain procedures are followed in Federal buildings when a child is reported missing (see H.R. 1263), H1900 [13MR]

Public housing: protect rights of tenants who are evicted as a result of criminal activity through no fault of their own (see H.R. 1429), H2402 [26MR]

Public lands: designate certain national parks, wild and scenic rivers, and wilderness areas in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming (see H.R. 1105), H7839 [3SE]

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]

Public welfare programs: expand the purpose of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program to include poverty reduction (see H.R. 625), H321 [5FE]

———provide access to tools to stimulate employment (see H.R. 535), H318 [5FE]

Puerto Rico: designate certain National Forest System lands as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System (see H.R. 1723), H12921 [8DE]

Roberto Clemente Walker Post Office Building, Carolina, PR: designate (see H.R. 2826), H7453 [23JY]

Robertson, George I.M.: award Congressional Gold Medal (see H.R. 3263), H9688 [17OC]

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

SBA: anniversary (see H. Res. 368), H8284 [16SE]

———establish vocational and technical entrepreneurship development demonstration program (see H.R. 1387), H3572 [30AP]

———expand and improve assistance provided by small business development centers to Native Americans (see H.R. 1166), H1681 [6MR]

Senior citizens: establish a consumer price index for elderly consumers to compute cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits (see H.R. 2262), H5175 [10JN]

Small business: improve access and choice relative to employee health care (see H.R. 660), H389 [11FE]

———provide incentives for investment (see H.R. 3170), H8905 [24SE]

Small Business Act: reauthorize (see H.R. 2802), H7225 [21JY]

Small Business Investment Act: reauthorize (see H.R. 2802), H7225 [21JY]

Social Investment and Economic Development Fund for the Americas: establish (see H.R. 3447), H12312 [21NO]

Social Security: repeal Government pension offset and windfall elimination provisions (see H.R. 594), H4255 [19MY]

Sosa, Sammy: tribute (see H. Res. 195), H3304 [10AP]

Taxation: accelerate increase in refundability of the child tax credit (see H.R. 2325), H5367 [12JN]

———allow Federal civilian and military retirees to pay health insurance premiums on a pretax basis and allow a deduction for TRICARE supplemental premiums (see H.R. 1231), H4876 [3JN]

———allow use of principal repayments to issue additional mortgages and modify price limitations under the mortgage revenue bond program and change income limit for housing credit program (see H.R. 284), H8284 [16SE]

———expand incentives for construction and renovation of public schools (see H.R. 717), H3453 [29AP] (see H.R. 930), H2473 [27MR]

———permit the deduction of health insurance costs of self-employed individuals to be allowed in computing self-employment taxes (see H.R. 1873), H3569 [30AP]

———prevent corporations from avoiding the U.S. income tax by reincorporating in a foreign country (see H.R. 737), H461 [12FE]

———prevent corporations from exploiting tax treaties to evade U.S. income tax and prevent manipulation of transfer prices by deflection of income to tax havens (see H.R. 2184), H9478 [15OC]

———treatment of certain mobile machinery (see H.R. 3246), H9213 [2OC]

———treatment of damages and back pay received on account of, and expenses incurred in asserting any claim of employment discrimination (see H.R. 1155), H7225 [21JY]

———treatment of flexible spending arrangements relative to long-term care insurance (see H.R. 2096), H6264 [26JN]

———treatment of roof systems (see H.R. 3310), H9613 [16OC]

Thomas P. Noonan, Jr., Dept. of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, Queens, NY: designate (see H.R. 1318), H1953 [18MR]

Transportation: improve consumer protection regulation of the household goods transportation industry (see H.R. 2928), H9381 [10OC]

———promote intermodal transportation of passengers (see H.R. 1394), H5714 [23JN]

Unemployment: provide for a temporary enhanced unemployment benefits program (see H.R. 1652), H4368 [20MY]

Utah: designate certain lands as wilderness (see H.R. 1796), H3352 [11AP]

Veterans: increase the minimum Survivor Benefit Plan basic annuity for certain surviving spouses and provide for an open season under that plan (see H.R. 548), H2472 [27MR]

Voting: secure the Federal voting rights of persons who have been released from incarceration (see H.R. 259), H172 [27JA]

Women: constitutional amendment to ensure equal rights (see H.J. Res. 37), H1811 [12MR]

World War II: allow certain individuals of Japanese ancestry who were brought forcibly to the U.S. from Latin America and were interned in the U.S. to be provided restitution (see H.R. 779), H700 [13FE]

Bills and resolutions introduced

Employment: ensure improved access to employment opportunities for low-income people (see H.R. 2298), H4787 [2JN]

Higher Education Act: expand and extend the eligibility of Hispanic-serving institutions for assistance (see H.R. 2108), H4130 [14MY]

Excerpts

American Dream Downpayment Act: Committee on Financial Services (House) (H.R. 1276) (H. Rept. 108-164), H9044 [1OC]

Remarks

Appropriations: making supplemental appropriations for ongoing military operations and reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan (H.R. 3289), H9637 [17OC]

Brooklyn, NY: tribute to American Legion St. Stanislaus Memorial Post No. 1771, E61 [27JA]

Brooklyn Chinese-American Association: anniversary, E437 [12MR]

———anniversary of Eighth Avenue Senior Center, E2007 [8OC]

Chinese New Year: observance, E120 [31JA]

Dept. of HUD: section 8 housing vouchers programs funding, H7699 [25JY]

Depts. of Veterans Affairs and HUD, and sundry independent agencies: making appropriations (H.R. 2861), H7699 [25JY]

Foreign aid: require large companies submit a subcontracting plan prior to being awarded a contract for reconstruction efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, H9637 [17OC]

Head Start Program: reauthorize and improve (H.R. 2210), H7588 [24JY]

———reauthorize and improve (H.R. 2210), consideration (H. Res. 336), H7519 [24JY]

Home Investment Partnerships Act: provide downpayment assistance (H.R. 1276), H9044 [1OC]

Medicare: reform and provide prescription drug coverage (H.R. 1), consideration (H. Res. 299), H5959 [26JN]

———reform and provide prescription drug coverage (H.R. 1), consideration of conference report (H. Res. 463), H12233 [21NO]

———treatment of women, H5959 [26JN]

Public welfare programs: reauthorize and improve block grants to States for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (H.R. 4), H525 [13FE]

SBA: anniversary (H. Res. 368), H8245 [16SE]

———establish a pilot program to provide regulatory compliance assistance to small businesses (H.R. 205), H2881 [8AP]

Small business: improve access and choice relative to employee health care (H.R. 660), H5615 [19JN]

———improve calculation of the Federal subsidy rate with respect to certain small business loans (S. 141), H358, H360 [11FE]

Tributes

Marrero, Esperanza, E1709 [5SE]