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Amends the Small Business Act to make small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans eligible for the award by the Small Business Administration (SBA) of small business development grants in the same manner as small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
Sets forth requirements: (1) for the use of encryption for sensitive data maintained by the federal government; (2) relating to access by agency personnel to sensitive data; and (3) relating to government contractors and their employees involving sensitive data.
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise provisions exempting deceased members of the Armed Forces who die from wounds, disease, or injury incurred while serving in a combat zone from income tax to extend the tax exemption to the last taxable year ending before such wounds, disease, or injury were incurred.
- Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly stipend to each individual who is entitled to veterans' basic educational assistance and is pursuing full-time a doctoral degree in the sciences of engineering, mathematics, or other technology disciplines. Allows such payment in addition to any other authorized Montgomery GI Bill educational assistance.
- Makes such payment $1,200 a month (adjusted for inflation for fiscal years after 2005) for up to 60 months.
- Recognizes the special legal and political relationship the Indian tribes have with the United States and the solemn covenant with the land we share.
- Commends and honors the Native Peoples for the thousands of years that they have stewarded and protected this land.
- Acknowledges years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the Federal Government regarding Indian tribes.
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Co-Sponsored Bills
- Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to direct the Commissioner of Education Statistics, in redesigning the College Opportunity On-Line (COOL) website, to identify and include the data of greatest importance to prospective and enrolled students, and their families.
- Requires the Secretary of Education to publish, on such website, additional college affordability information comparing the change in each school's student costs with the change in the consumer price index (CPI) over the most recent three-year period.
- Requires a school whose prices increase at more than twice the percentage change in the CPI over such time period to: (1) report an explanation to the Secretary; and (2) establish a quality-efficiency task force to review the school's operations, if the school's price increase is in the top 5% of such schools. Places schools on affordability alert status if their prices continue to exceed the CPI by such amount for two additional years. Requires publication of the explanatory reports, task force analyses, and affordability alerts on the COOL website.
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- Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the Department of Defense (DOD) and the nation have a committed health benefits obligation to retired military personnel that exceeds the obligation of corporate employers to civilian employees; and (2) DOD has many additional options to constrain the growth of health care spending in ways that do not disadvantage beneficiaries, and should pursue such options rather than seeking large fee increases for beneficiaries.
- Prohibits an increase after: (1) April 1, 2006, in a premium, deductible, copayment, or other charge prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for medical and dental health care coverage for military personnel; and (2) September 30, 2007, in the dollar amount of a cost-sharing requirement under the DOD pharmacy benefits program.
- Prohibits: (1) charges for DOD inpatient care from exceeding $535 per day; and (2) beginning on April 1, 2006, an increase in premiums under TRICARE (a DOD managed health care program) for certain members of the Selected Reserve.
Congratulates Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy on his election to become the next President of France.
Supports the goals and ideals of National Life Insurance Awareness Month.
Repeals the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes.
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