United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2004
GEAR UP & GO Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise specified requirements for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) to facilitate the transition of low-income high school students into postsecondary education. Authorizes the Secretary of Education to carry out a GEAR UP & GO grants program to provide low-income high school students participating in GEAR UP partnerships or State programs opportunities for dual/concurrent enrollment in college courses while still enrolled in high school. Provides that students in such program: (1) shall not be required to apply for admission to the institution of higher education; and (2) may receive college credit. Requires up to 25 percent of GEAR UP & GO program funds to be reserved for grants to early/middle college high schools designed to provide 9th through 12th grade low-income and first-generation college students with a coherent course of study enabling them to earn simultaneously a high school diploma and college credit toward a postsecondary degree.
United States · United States Congress · 17 March 2004
National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act of 2004 - Establishes the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program to achieve major measurable reductions in losses of life and property from windstorms. Requires the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish an Interagency Working Group consisting of representatives of the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other Federal agencies as appropriate. Outlines general agency responsibilities. Requires the Program to consist of the following primary mitigation components: (1) improved understanding of windstorms; (2) windstorm impact assessment; and (3) windstorm impact reduction, which shall be implemented through activities such as data collection and analysis and research and development. Requires research activities authorized under this Act to be peer-reviewed and the components to be designed to be complementary to and avoid duplication of other hazard reduction efforts. Requires the Working Group to: (1) develop an implementation plan for achieving Program objectives; and (2) transmit biennial reports on the status of the Program. Requires the Director to establish a National Advisory Committee on Windstorm Impact Reduction to assess: (1) trends and developments in the science and engineering of windstorm impact reduction; (2) the effectiveness of the Program in carrying out specified activities to improve windstorm impact assessment; (3) revising the Program; and (4) implementation and management of the Program. Requires the Advisory Committee to report biennially on such assessment.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States to extend nondiscriminatory treatment (normal trade relations) to the products of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos).
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Family Abduction Prevention Act of 2004 - Directs the Attorney General to make grants to States for projects involving: (1) the extradition of individuals suspected of committing a family abduction back to the State from which the child was taken; (2)investigation by law enforcement agencies of family abduction cases; (3) training for law enforcement agencies in responding to family abductions and recovering abducted children; (4) outreach and media campaigns to educate parents on the dangers of family abductions; and (5) notifying law enforcement authorities of the name and address of anyone requesting the school records of an abducted child. Requires that not less than 50 percent of the cost of a project for which a grant is made be provided by non-Federal sources.
United States · United States Congress · 11 March 2004
Stem Cell Replenishment Act of 2004 - Allows Federal funds to be used for research on human embryonic stem cells irrespective of the date on which the derivation process for such stem cells was initiated or completed. (Current law requires the derivation process to have begun by August 9, 2001.) Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health to revise human embryonic stem cell research guidelines to the extent necessary to ensure the availability of not less than 60 stem cell lines that are scientifically fit for distribution or research.
United States · United States Congress · 4 March 2004
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a deduction from gross income for premiums paid under a high deductible health plan by an individual eligible for a deduction for amounts paid into a health savings account, for months when such taxpayer is not covered under any other plan.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2004
Trade Adjustment Assistance Equity for Service Workers Act of 2004 - Amends the Trade Act of 1974 to extend trade adjustment assistance (TAA) to workers in a service sector firm or its subdivision or public agency. Revises group eligibility requirements for TAA to include: (1) a shift, by a public agency to a foreign country, of production of articles, or in provision of services, like or directly competitive with articles produced or services provided by the workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency; and (2) the situation where such workers' firm, subdivision, or public agency obtains or is likely to obtain such services from a foreign country. Repeals group eligibility requirements that: (1) the country to which the workers' firm has shifted production of the articles be a party to a free trade agreement with the United States; (2) such country be a beneficiary country under the Andean Trade Preference Act, African Growth and Opportunity Act, or the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act; or (3) there has been or is likely to be an increase in imports of articles that are like or directly competitive with articles which are or were produced by such firm or subdivision. Requires the Secretary of Labor to certify as eligible to apply for TAA any adversely affected secondary workers in a service sector firm or its subdivision or public agency. Specifies criteria for determination of the existence of increased imports of like or directly competitive articles or services. Increases from $220 million to $440 million the amount of fiscal year payments for training of adversely affected workers under the Act. Authorizes the Secretary to waive training requirements for an individual receiving a trade readjustment allowance if he or she has an advanced degree or postgraduate certification in a specialized field and there is a reasonable expectation of employment at equivalent wages in the foreseeable future. Permits as a training program for an adversely affected worker to continue enrollment at an institution of higher education for purposes of obtaining a degree for a maximum 104-week period, and there is a reasonable expectation of employment at equivalent wages in the foreseeable future. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to provide technical assistance for the establishment of industrywide programs for new service development. Modifies the trade monitoring system to include imports of services. Amends the Internal Revenue Code relating to tax credits for health insurance costs of certain TAA and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) pension recipients with respect to: (1) redefining "eligible individual" to include any individual who is covered by a TAA petition, under certain conditions; (2) allowing a 100 percent tax credit for the first month of such costs; (3) modifying the cost requirements and the period of creditable coverage; (4) adding a special rule for eligible PBGC pension recipients; (5) continued qualification of family members after an eligible individual becomes Medicare eligible; and (6) offering by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the Secretary of the Treasury jointly of Federal fallback coverage in States not offering State qualified health insurance.
United States · United States Congress · 3 March 2004
Recognizes the extraordinary contributions resulting from the Hubble Space Telescope to scientific research and education. Recommends that the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) appoint an independent panel of expert scientists and engineers inside and outside of NASA to examine all possible options for safely carrying out the planned servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Expresses the strong sentiment of the House of Representatives that NASA should continue all planning, preparation, and astronaut training activities for the SM-4 servicing mission without interruption until: (1) the expert panel issues its report; and (2) NASA provides a timetable of compliance with a recommendation of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board report which calls for a fully autonomous capability for all missions, since such compliance will allow both a Hubble servicing mission and missions to the International Space Station to be carried out safely.
United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2004
Child Nutrition Improvement and Integrity Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (CNA) to reauthorize various programs, including the national school lunch and breakfast, child and adult care food, after-school snack, summer food service, and special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC). Revises requirements relating to eligibility for and access to such programs. Reauthorizes, without any termination date, the exclusion of military housing allowances from consideration as income in determining eligibility for free or reduced price lunches. Includes as automatically eligible for free lunches and breakfasts: (1) children or youth defined as homeless under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act; and (2) youth served under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Makes eligible also for such special payments any new schools which draw attendance from schools receiving severe need assistance. Extends through FY 2009 the summer food pilot projects and the summer food service program for children. Allows nonprofit organizations to participate in such programs. Revises the child and adult care food program. Extends indefinitely the period during which private day care providers with at least 25 percent of served children eligible for free and reduced price lunch are eligible to participate. Extends, from three years to five years, the period of a tier classification of a family or group day care home. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) to issue regulations requiring States to develop and use a standard form of agreement between each family or group home day care sponsoring organization and their homes participating in the program. Extends through FY 2006 the period during which the Secretary is required to reserve funds for providing training and technical assistance to States to improve program management and oversight. Authorizes the Secretary or a State agency to disregard any overpayment to an institution if the total overpayment does not exceed a collection cost amount consistent with other disregards, except where there is evidence of a violation of criminal law or civil fraud law. Allows children up to age 18 (currently 12) to be served program meals while residing at homeless or domestic violence shelters. Directs the Secretary, in conjunction with States and participating institutions, to examine the feasibility of reducing paperwork under the program. Revises eligibility and certification requirements for free and reduced price lunches. Directs the Secretary to base income eligibility guidelines on nonfarm income poverty guidelines issued by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Requires applications and related descriptive materials for free and reduced price lunches to be distributed at least annually to parents and guardians in clear and understandable format and language. Requires descriptive material to contain: (1) only the income levels for reduced price lunches, and an explanation that lower income levels may mean eligibility for free lunches; and (2) notice that WIC participants in the program are eligible for free or reduced price lunches. Allows applications to be submitted by an adult of the household: (1) as a single application for all children in the household; and (2) electronically if the filing system meets confidentiality standards. Directs local education agencies (LEAs) to verify information in a sample of approved applications, with variations in such samples according to specified formulae based non-response rates. Provides for direct certification of children as eligible for free meals, without further application, based on their being in households receiving assistance under the food stamp program or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program under title IV part A of the Social Security Act. Sets forth privacy protections. Prohibits requiring LEAs to submit free and reduced price meal policy statements to State agencies after the initial submission unless there is a substantive change in such policy. Requires, with certain exceptions, a child's eligibility for free and reduced price lunches to remain in effect from the date of approval for the current school year until the beginning of school in a subsequent school year, or as otherwise specified by the Secretary. Transfers responsibility for local administration of school lunch and breakfast programs from local school food authorities (LSFAs) to LEAs (including appropriate entities determined by the Secretary in cases of private nonprofit school food authorities). Makes LEAs, as well as LSFAs, responsible for program compliance and accountability. Directs the Secretary to give priority consideration to States that will use reallocated funds for technology and information management improvements. Requires States to describe how they will use technology and information management systems to improve program integrity in certain ways. Raises the amount of the minimum State administrative expense grant, and guarantees that such a grant shall not be less than the one received in a previous fiscal year. Permits eligibility for special assistance to be determined district-wide, as an alternative to determining it on an individual school basis. Directs the Secretary to develop and distribute training and technical assistance materials relating to administration of school meals programs. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide training and technical assistance related to administrative practices to improve program integrity and administrative accuracy to State educational agencies (SEAs), LSFAs, and LEAs; and (2) assist SEAs in reviewing administrative practices of LSFAs. Establishes additional administrative and performance review requirements for selected LSFAs and LEAs that have demonstrated high levels of or high risks for administrative errors. Directs SEAs, where such a selected LSFA or LEA fails to meet performance criteria established by the Secretary, to: (1) require such entity to develop and carry out a plan of corrective action; (2) provide technical assistance; and (3) conduct a follow-up review. Authorizes the Secretary require the SEA to recover funds that were expended in error and use them to improve program integrity and administrative accuracy. Requires States to provide annual training and technical in administrative practices, emphasizing requirements established under this Act. Requires the Secretary to assist the State or provide such training and technical assistance or directly. Authorizes the Secretary or the State to contract with a third party conducting such activities. Requires each LSFA or LEA to insure that an individual conducting or overseeing such administrative procedures receives such training at least annually. Authorizes the Secretary to assist States in carrying out State training and administrative reviews of selected LSFAs and LEAs with excessive error rates. Requires LEAs participating in school meals programs to establish local school wellness policies with: (1) goals for nutrition education, physical activity, and other school-based activities; (2) nutrition guidelines for all foods sold on school campus during the school day in order to promote health and reduce obesity; (3) a plan to ensure policy implementation, including designating persons with operational responsibility; and (4) involvement of parents, students, and representatives of the LSFA, school board, school administrators, and the public. Revises the system of nutrition education grants to SEAs to provide assistance to State agencies, schools, and nonprofit entities for the Team Nutrition Network (TNN) program and other nutrition education projects that improve student understanding of healthful eating patterns, the quality of school meals, and access to local foods in schools and institutions operating programs under NSLA and CNA. Establishes TNN to: (1) promote the Nation's schoolchildren's health through nutrition education, physical fitness, and other activities supporting healthy lifestyles; (2) provide grants to States to develop Statewide, comprehensive, and integrated nutrition education and physical fitness programs; and (3) provide training and technical assistance to States, school and community nutrition programs, and child nutrition food service professionals. Requires State TNN Coordinators to: (1) administer and coordinate a comprehensive integrated statewide nutrition education program; and (2) coordinate efforts with the Food and Nutrition Service and State agencies responsible for children's health programs. Directs the Secretary to provide assistance for the following types of three-year pilot projects: (1) to States on a competitive basis for State TNN Coordinators to create model nutrition education and physical fitness programs for school students; and (2) to not more than 100 LEAs, at least one per State, to promote healthy eating habits and increase physical fitness among school students. Authorizes the Secretary to provide: (1) technical assistance to SEAs to improve school meal quality; and (2) technical assistance and competitive matching grants to schools and nonprofit entities to improve access to local foods in schools and institutions. Includes fruits and vegetables among the foods to be emphasized in commodity distribution. Revises fruit and vegetable pilot program requirements to direct the Secretary to make available fresh and dried fruits and fresh vegetables to 25 schools in each of four additional States and one Indian reservation, with an emphasis on low-income schools. Requires schools to serve milk in a variety of fat contents. Permits substitute nutritionally-equivalent nondairy beverages to be reimbursable, if a note is provided from a medical authority or the child's parent or guardian. Extends the period during which weighted averages are not required to be used in nutrient analysis of foods under the school lunch program, if school food authority has an equivalent nutrient analysis system. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate rules, based on Federal nutrition guidelines, to increase the presence of whole grains in foods offered in school nutrition programs; and (2) enter into an agreement with a science-based organization to study, determine, and report on appropriate nutritional standards for foods available to students in school, considering total daily dietary intake of students participating in the school foods program. Revises WIC program (under CNA) definitions of: (1) nutrition education to include child development and physical activity; and (2) supplemental foods to provide for consideration of the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Revises certification requirements for WIC program participation to allow: (1) a State to certify breastfeeding women for up to one year or until they stop breastfeeding, whichever is earlier; (2) a local agency to waive the physical presence requirement for infants under eight weeks of age; and (3) applicants or participants to reschedule appointments to apply or be recertified. Directs the Secretary to: (1) promulgate a rule updating the prescribed supplemental foods available through the WIC program, within six months of receiving the review of the WIC food package undertaken by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine in September 2003; and (2) beginning in 2013, and at least every ten years thereafter, conduct scientific reviews of supplemental foods available in the WIC program and recommend changes to reflect nutrition science, current public health concerns, and cultural eating patterns. Requires State agencies to notify vendors in writing of violations, unless the notification would compromise an investigation. Authorizes State agencies to round up to the next whole can of infant formula to ensure all infants receive the full-authorized nutritional benefit. Revises WIC program competitive bidding provisions to require infant formula: (1) rebate invoices to provide reasonable estimates or actual counts of numbers of units sold to program participants; and (2) bid solicitations amounts to be adjusted on a cent-by-cent basis according to changes in the lowest national wholesale truckload price. Authorizes demonstration projects, in up to ten local sites, to evaluate inclusion of fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables, to be made available through private funds, as an addition to supplemental food provided under the WIC program. Revises WIC program provisions for management information systems to require: (1) States to comply with certain standards for electronic benefit systems; and (2) the Secretary to implement a national Universal Product Code Database for use by all State agencies. Requires participating vendors in the WIC program to purchase infant formula from a State-maintained list of approved manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers. Prohibits State alliances from exceeding 200,000 infant participants (except alliances with such numbers as of October 2003). Allows any State agency serving under 5,000 participants, or any Indian Tribal Organization, to request to join any State alliance. Increases from one to three percent the maximum portion of nutrition services and administration funds a State may expend during the subsequent fiscal year for allowable expenses incurred during a fiscal year. Extends through FY 2009 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) the WIC program; (2) WIC nutrition services and administrative funds; and (3) WIC farmers' market nutrition program. Revises requirements relating to training and technical assistance under NSLA, CNA, and other federally-assisted feeding programs. Directs the Secretary to develop policy and establish procedures regarding the purchase, distribution, notice of consumption, and provision of information regarding irradiated foods in Federal school meals programs. Extends through FY 2009 the authorization of appropriations for: (1) State administrative expenses (CNA); (2) the commodity distribution program (NSLA and the Commodity Distribution Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987); (3) purchases of locally produced foods (NSLA); (4) training, technical assistance, and food service management institute (NSLA); and (5) compliance and accountability (NSLA).
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Early Treatment for HIV Act of 2004 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to give States the option of providing Medicaid coverage for certain low-income HIV-infected individuals. Provides States taking advantage of this option with an enhanced Federal Medicaid match.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Increases the maximum amounts for any one fiscal year for the Federal share of construction costs, and for any single project, that may be allotted by the Secretary of the Army for the construction of small shore and beach restoration and protection projects.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Prescription Drug Safety and Affordability Act of 2004 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny prescription drug manufacturers an income tax deduction for gifts provided to or for the benefit of a physician, not including product samples.
United States · United States Congress · 26 February 2004
Urges that: (1) a commemorative postage stamp be issued in honor of the centennial anniversary of Rotary International and its effort to eradicate polio; (2) the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee of the U.S. Postal Service recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued; and (3) the Rotary Clubs of the United States be commended for 100 years of volunteer service.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2004
Desalination Energy Assistance Act of 2004 - Requires the Secretary of Energy to make specified incentive payments to the owners or operators of qualified desalination facilities (facilities first used to produce desalinated water after enactment of this Act) for up to ten years to partially offset the cost of electrical energy required to operate such facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 25 February 2004
Domestic Preparedness Act of 2004 - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to address homeland security preparedness shortcomings of units of municipal and county government. Specifies that each grant shall be made for one of the following categories: (1) equipment and training; and (2) improving interoperability between members of a consortium of municipal and county governments. Sets limitations on the Federal share of the costs of activities carried out with such grants. Mandates that an applicant be a unit of municipal or county government or a consortium of such units in order to be eligible for a grant under this Act. Provides that grant amounts: (1) shall be used only for the category of use for which the grant is made; (2) may be used only for new domestic preparedness initiatives; (3) shall not be used to sustain or supplement an existing program; and (4) may be distributed to fire departments, police departments, emergency services, and public health agencies of the grantee.
United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2004
States that Congress recognizes: (1) as an historic achievement of friendship more than five decades of strategic partnership between the United States and the people of the Marshall Islands in pursuit of international peace and security; and (2) the importance of the nuclear weapon test code-named Bravo at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Mandatory IDEA Full-Funding Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to revise and reauthorize part B programs of education of all children with disabilities. Authorizes appropriations in specified amounts for part B for FY 2005 through 2011 and thereafter. (Provides phased-in increases of funding designed to reach a promised 40 percent Federal share of funding by FY 2011.) Makes appropriations in specified amounts for part B for FY 2005 through 2011 and thereafter. Provides an exception to local educational agency (LEA) maintenance of effort requirements under part B. Repeals certain provisions relating to LEA treatment of Federal funds as local funds under part B.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Secure Existing Aviation Loopholes Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) establish a system and plan to screen or inspect all cargo to be transported in passenger aircraft operated by an air carrier or foreign air carrier in air transportation or intrastate air transportation; (2) monitor and evaluate research and development (R&D) of effective cargo screening; and (3) impose a cargo security fee to be collected by the air carrier or foreign air carrier that provides the air transportation. Amends Federal transportation law to authorize the Under Secretary of Transportation for Security to provide for the deployment of Federal air marshals on: (1) any passenger flight of an air carrier in charter air transportation for which the Under Secretary determines such deployment is in the interest of aviation security; (2) every passenger flight of foreign air carriers in air transportation; and (3) flights of all-cargo air transportation. (Currently, the deployment of Federal air marshals may be provided on every passenger flight of air carriers in air transportation or intrastate air transportation). Prohibits the flight of a foreign air carrier from landing in or taking off from a U.S. airport unless it has on board a Federal marshal or an equivalent officer of the government of the foreign country if the Secretary of Homeland Security requests the presence of a Federal marshal or officer on such flight. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) require all flight crews of air carriers to have improved communication systems for providing flight attendants with a wireless method of communicating with pilots that meet certain standards; (2) develop a plan to improve coordination between the Department of Homeland Security and counterpart agencies and departments of foreign governments in the area of aviation security; (3) issue regulations to improve preflight screening of passenger aircraft for dangerous objects and training of screeners of passenger aircraft and to reduce the time between preflight screening and the departure time for a flight; (4) issue a rule setting forth certain training requirements for flight attendants; (5) issue regulations to improve control over access to the secured area of U.S. airports; (6) issue regulations requiring air carriers to provide pilots with certain training, including aircraft maneuvers to respond to attacks on the aircraft; (7) issue an order requiring cargo aircraft engaged in cargo transportation or intrastate air transportation to have a door between the cargo and pilot compartments that can be locked and cannot be forced open from the cargo compartment, prohibiting access to the flight deck of the cargo aircraft, except by authorized persons, and requiring flight deck doors to remain locked while in flight, except to permit access by authorized persons; (8) issue an order to modify certain aviation security requirements to ensure that the wall surrounding the flight deck door on any passenger aircraft engaged in air transportation or intrastate air transportation is sufficient to secure the cockpit; (9) establish during a high threat level no fly zones around sensitive nuclear facilities, certain chemical facilities, and any other facilities designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security; and (10) require airport operators that serve general aviation aircraft and landing facilities for such aircraft to complete vulnerability assessments for evaluation of the security at such airports and facilities, including a plan for addressing any vulnerabilities. Subjects airport workers: (1) employed in, or applying for, positions as aircraft maintenance and catering personnel, aircraft cargo handlers, and aircraft support facilities personnel whether having escorted or unescorted access to aircraft or secured areas of airports to a social security check and a check against all terrorist watch lists in addition to other required background checks; and (2) to physical screening for metallic objects and having their personal bags inspected for prohibited items such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials.
United States · United States Congress · 11 February 2004
Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to revise impact aid program provisions for distribution of school construction payments, and of school facility emergency and modernization grants, to local educational agencies impacted by military dependent children or by children residing on Indian lands.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2004
Help Establish Access to Local Timely Healthcare for Your Vets (HEALTHY Vets) Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in the case of a veteran for whom Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities are geographically inaccessible, to use current authority for contracting out veterans' medical care to non-Department facilities in order to provide the following care to such veterans: (1) primary care; (2) acute or chronic symptom management; (3) nontherapeutic medical services; and (4) other medical services determined appropriate by the director of that geographic service region, after consultation with the Department physician responsible for the primary care of the veteran. Outlines conditions under which Department facilities shall be deemed geographically inaccessible. Authorizes the Secretary to waive the requirement of geographic inaccessibility, on a case-by-case basis, if the Secretary determines that the costs to the Department of providing such care significantly outweigh the benefits of localized health care for the veteran.
United States · United States Congress · 4 February 2004
Military Survivor Benefits Improvement Act of 2004 - Adjusts the basic Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity amount for surviving spouses, age 62 and older, of former military personnel to: (1) 35 percent of the retired pay of the decedent (current law), for months before October 2005; (2) 40 percent for months after September 2005 and before October 2008; (3) 45 percent for months after September 2008 and before October 2014; and (4) 55 percent for months after September 2014 . Adjusts similarly percentage amounts with respect to survivors of reserve personnel and survivors of persons who die while on active duty. Provides a corresponding phased elimination of the SBP supplemental annuity authorized to be provided to such surviving spouses. Requires periodic recomputation of: (1) annuity amounts beginning in October 2005; and (2) retired pay reductions for supplemental survivor annuities. Provides a one-year open enrollment period for SBP participation, commencing October 1, 2005, for those currently not participating, those electing to increase current coverage, and those wishing to participate in the supplemental SBP. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to require appropriate premiums for SBP participation.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2004
Corporate Subsidy Reform Commission Act of 2004 - Establishes an independent Corporate Subsidy Reform Commission to: (1) identify Federal programs and laws that provide inequitable Federal subsidies; (2) review such subsidies; (3) conduct public hearings on agency recommendations regarding inequitable subsidies; and (4) report to Congress recommendations for termination, modification, or retention of each subsidy reviewed. Requires each Federal agency to include in budget documents submitted in FY 2005 a list of programs or laws within that agency that provide inequitable Federal subsidies, together with recommendations for appropriate action. Expresses the sense of Congress that, following submission of the Commission's report, the House of Representatives and the Senate should promptly consider legislation that would enact changes in Federal statutes necessary to implement the Commission's recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2004
Program Reform Commission Act of 2004 - Establishes an independent Program Reform Commission to: (1) identify unnecessary Federal programs; (2) review such programs; (3) conduct public hearings on agency recommendations regarding unnecessary programs; and (4) report to Congress recommendations for termination, modification, or retention of each program reviewed. Requires each Federal agency to include in budget documents submitted in FY 2005 a list of programs within that agency that are unnecessary, together with recommendations for appropriate action. Expresses the sense of Congress that, following submission of the Commission's report, the House of Representatives and the Senate should promptly consider legislation that would enact changes in Federal statutes necessary to implement the Commission's recommendations.
United States · United States Congress · 3 February 2004
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should: (1) renegotiate the provisions of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) relating to access to the U.S. sugar market, so as to grant no greater access to that market than is currently enjoyed by CAFTA signatories; and (2) exclude sugar as an element of free trade negotiations.
United States · United States Congress · 28 January 2004
Recognizes the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education (in which the Court determined that segregated schools are not equal, a decision that led to the desegregation of public schools).
United States · United States Congress · 27 January 2004
Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946 (or to their survivors). Includes service in the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. Exempts benefits paid under this Act from taxation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
United States Seaport Multiyear Security Enhancement Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to make grants to seaports to enhance security if the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, determines that the grant will improve security at a seaport or improve the efficiency of the seaport without lessening security.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Freedom of Choice Act - Declares that it is the policy of the United States that every woman has the fundamental right to choose to: (1) bear a child; (2) terminate a pregnancy prior to fetal viability; or (3) terminate it after fetal viability when necessary to protect her life or her health. Prohibits a governmental entity from : (1) denying or interfering with a woman's right to exercise such choices; or (2) discriminating against the exercise of those rights in its regulation or provision of benefits, facilities, services, or information. Authorizes an individual aggrieved by a violation of this Act to obtain appropriate relief, including relief against a governmental entity in a civil action. States that this Act applies to every Federal, State, and local statute, ordinance, regulation, administrative order, decision, policy, practice, or other action enacted, adopted, or implemented before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Empowering Parents and Teachers for a Drug-Free Education Act of 2004 - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (under provisions which are also known as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act) to authorize the Secretary of Education to make grants to local educational agencies and private schools to establish drug-free school demonstration programs that include random drug testing of students and meet other specified requirements.
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Essential Air Service Preservation Act of 2004 - Repeals provisions establishing the Essential Air Service local participation program (a pilot program under which designated essential air service communities are required to assume ten percent of their essential air service subsidy costs).
United States · United States Congress · 21 January 2004
Resolves that the Federal Communications Commission should: (1) reverse its Enforcement Bureau's decision of In the Matter of Complaints Against Various Broadcast Licensees Regarding the Airing of the "Golden Globe Awards" of October 3, 2003, which found that no violation of the decency laws or regulations had occurred as a result of the airing of indecent language during the televised broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards; (2) return to vigorously enforcing the indecency and profanity statute pursuant to its declaratory order of In the Matter of a Citizen's Complaint Against Pacifica Foundation StationWBAI, which was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court; (3) make every reasonable and lawful effort to protect children from indecent and profane programming; (4) resolve expeditiously all indecency and profanity complaints and consider reviewing such complaints at the full Commission level; (5) aggressively investigate and enforce all indecency and profanity allegations; and (6) reassert its responsibility as defender of the public interest with respect to profane and indecent utterances in broadcast media.
United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2004
Medicare's Equitable Drugs for Seniors Act of 2004 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as amended by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to repeal provisions prohibiting the Secretary of Health and Human Services from: (1) interfering with the negotiations between drug manufacturers and pharmacies and prescription drug plan sponsors; and (2) requiring a particular formulary to institute a price structure for the reimbursement of covered Medicare part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) drugs. Grants the Secretary instead, in order to ensure that beneficiaries enrolled under prescription drug plans and Medicare Advantage prescription drug plans pay the lowest possible price, authority similar to that of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Secretary of Defense, and the heads of other Federal agencies and departments that purchase prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of covered Medicare part D drugs, consistent with the requirements and in furtherance of the goals of providing quality care and containing costs under such part.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Identity Theft Investigation and Prosecution Act of 2003 - Authorizes appropriations to the Department of Justice for the investigation and prosecution of identity theft and related credit card and other fraud cases.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Fairness to Local Contractors Act - Amends the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 and defense contract law to require a bidder or offeror, to be considered a responsible bidder or offeror for the construction of a public building, facility, or work, to submit a tax clearance (a document stating that such entity is in compliance with all State tax laws) from the State in which the contract is to be performed. Requires the head of a Federal or defense agency to withhold the final payment under such a contract until the contractor submits both a tax clearance and a certification of compliance with all State laws concerning payments to employees under a contract, including unemployment insurance, workers compensation, health insurance, and disability insurance. Authorizes the head of a Federal or defense agency to: (1) withhold from any contractor payments amounts necessary to pay any State tax liability attributable to the contract; and (2) pay such amount directly to such State. Directs the Secretary of Defense or agency head to require a contractor to be licensed if the State in which a construction contract is to be performed requires a license. Requires revision of the Federal Acquisition Regulation to explain the general excise tax law of Hawaii.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Amends part D (Voluntary Prescription Drug Benefit Program) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act, as added by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, to give the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority similar to that of other Federal entities that purchase prescription drugs in bulk to negotiate contracts with manufacturers of covered part D drugs, consistent with the requirements and in furtherance of the goals of providing quality care and containing costs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
National Security Language Act - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) to establish programs to encourage early foreign language instruction, including grants to: (1) partnerships of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) for activities relating to foreign language instruction at elementary or secondary schools, with priorities for high-need LEAs and less-commonly taught foreign languages; and (2) IHEs that develop innovative programs for the teaching of foreign languages, with priorities for combining foreign languages with science and technology and for less-commonly taught foreign languages. Provides undergraduate student loan forgiveness of up to $10,000 for students who major in a critical need foreign language and are employed as teachers of such language in elementary or secondary schools or as using such language regularly in a Federal agency. Directs the Secretary of Education to: (1) establish a foreign language education marketing campaign to encourage students at secondary schools and IHEs to study foreign languages, particularly ones less commonly taught and critical to national security; and (2) conduct a study to identify foreign language heritage communities and recruit speakers of such critical languages. Amends the David L. Boren National Security Education Act of 1991 to establish an International Flagship Language Initiative with grants to IHEs.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
State and Local Access to Fair Prescription Drug Prices Act - Requires a participating manufacturer of a covered outpatient drug to make available for purchase by each State for the benefit of its residents whose cost of covered outpatient drugs is paid for by the State through a group health program, a retiree health program, a State or local pharmaceutical assistance program, or other similar program (including a State Medicaid program), such covered outpatient drug in an amount equal to the aggregate amount of a covered drug sold in a State at a price that is no greater than the manufacturer's average foreign price. (Makes such provision applicable to local governments under similar outpatient drug purchase arrangements.) Applies such requirement to direct purchases by State or local organizations or agents. Sets forth enforcement provisions, including manufacturer debarment for repeat violations. Permits a State, with respect to its provision of Medicaid assistance for covered outpatient drugs, to: (1) continue its Medicaid rebate agreement; or (2) disregard the manufacturer's average foreign price in determining the best price under a rebate agreement. Defines specified terms.
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Prescription Drug Retail Price Disclosure Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require prescription drug labels to state a drug's full retail price (the price absent discount, insurance, or public health benefit payments).
United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2003
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that there should be established a "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day" to honor those members of the U.S. armed forces who served in Vietnam.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Stock Option Accounting Reform Act - Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require an issuer of registered securities to show as an expense in its mandatory annual report the fair value of all stock purchase options granted to certain of its senior executive officers after December 31, 2004. Exempts small business issuers from such requirement. Amends the Securities Act of 1933 to require reporting of: (1) stock option expenses as a reduction of the total expense in the fiscal year in which they expire or are forfeited; and (2) as income any excess by which such reduction exceeds total option expenses for any fiscal year. Requires any accounting principle recognized as "generally accepted" by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the expensing of stock purchase options to comply with this Act. Denies recognition to any such accounting principle until the Secretaries of Commerce and of Labor complete a joint study on the economic impact of mandatory expensing of all employee stock options.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to give family- or employment-based immigrant visa priority to the children, sons, or daughters of Filipino World War II veterans who were naturalized as U.S. citizens under the Immigration Act of 1990.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Employee Free Choice Act - Amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. Sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition. Revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives. Provides, under injunction provisions, for priority to be given to preliminary investigation of charges of violations by employers or other entities. Adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Clean Money, Clean Elections Act - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) to: (1) prescribe eligibility and qualifying contribution requirements, seed money limits, and benefits of clean money financing of House election campaigns; (2) set forth requirements applicable to clean money candidates; (3) direct the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to certify whether or not a candidate is a clean money candidate; (4) establish in the Treasury a House of Representatives Election Fund for clean money financing; (5) set forth requirements concerning reporting of certain expenditures of private money candidates and reporting of certain independent expenditures; (6) limit expenditures that may be made by political party committees in connection with the general election campaign of a House election in which one or more of the candidates is a clean money candidate; and (7) provide for the treatment of coordinated expenditures as contributions. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to entitle clean money candidates to receive specified free broadcast time and reduced broadcast rates under certain circumstances. Amends Federal postal law to prohibit franked mass mailings by Members of Congress (except notices of public meetings) during primary and general election periods, unless they are not candidates for re-election or election to any other Federal office. Amends FECA to revise requirements for the composition and terms of FEC Commissioners and mandate electronic filing of FEC reports, among other changes, including those made with respect to audits, authority to seek injunction, and standard for investigation.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Credit Union Regulatory Improvements Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Credit Union Act to (FCUA) to authorize real estate lease extensions at minimal charge to credit unions that finance the construction of credit union facilities on Federal land. Permits a credit union to make investments in securities for its own account. Increases the maturity date on credit union loans from 12 years to 15 years, or longer as the National Credit Union Administration Board may allow. Increases from up to one percent to up to three percent of the total paid in and unimpaired capital and surplus the limit on an individual credit union's aggregate investment in credit union service organizations. Exempts loans to nonprofit religious organizations from restrictions placed upon member business loans relating to credit union net worth or capitalization standards. Permits a credit union to offer money transfer instruments, including electronic fund transfers, to persons in the field of membership as well as to actual members. Exempts multiple common-bond credit union mergers and conversions from certain numerical limitations on field of membership. Requires the Board to prescribe criteria for the voluntary conversion of a common-bond credit union into a community credit union. Authorizes the board of directors of a Federal credit union to expel a member for just cause, including disruption of credit union operations. States that reimbursement for lost wages owing to voluntary service on a credit union board of directors shall not be treated as prohibited compensation. Revises the criteria for increasing the interest rate ceiling on the unpaid loan balance. Authorizes a credit union to lease specified office space in buildings in underserved areas to any business enterprise if the space is separate and clearly distinct from any office or operation of the credit union. Amends credit union conversion voting requirements. Amends the Clayton Act to exempt from its premerger notification and waiting period requirements mergers among certain insured credit unions. Amends the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to treat credit unions as depository institutions for certain purposes. Revises the credit union net worth limitations placed upon member business loans to twenty percent of credit union total assets. Repeals the requirement that an undercapitalized insured credit union become adequately capitalized before it may increase the total amount of member business loans outstanding at any one time. Allows an undercapitalized insured credit union to increase the total amount of such outstanding loans if the Board approves. Redefines: (1) credit union "net worth ratio"; and (2) "critically undercapitalized" credit union. Repeals the mandate that regulations for complex credit unions include a risk-based net worth requirement.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
New Starts Enhancement and Local Investment Promotion Act of 2003 - Amends Federal transportation law with respect to grants or loans for new starts of a capital project for a new fixed guideway system or extension of an existing system. Requires the Secretary of Transportation to waive the prior approval requirement for a State or local governmental authority's undertaking a project in advance of Federal funding, if the authority agrees to provide 60 percent or more of the net cost of the project from non-Federal funds. Allows the authority, as a consequence, to carry out any pre-construction part of the project without regard to whether the Secretary has approved in advance the plans and specifications for that part. Declares that the application process for a new starts project approved for a full funding grant agreement shall serve jointly as an application for a secured loan, line of credit, and loan guarantee. States that the proceeds of a line of credit, for projects with an approved full funding grant agreement and a non-Federal revenue share of at least 60 percent of the project cost, shall be available for ten years after the date of substantial completion of the project to pay eligible project costs and to provide liquidity for a variable rate remarketing program. States further that any draw on the line of credit shall not represent a guarantee of debt payment, but shall represent a direct loan and shall be made and repaid only under the terms, rate, and conditions as agreed to by the project sponsor and Secretary. Provides that each new starts project with a full funding grant agreement shall be funded from amounts made available from the capital program grants and loans for each of FY 2004 through 2009 to carry out such project in accordance with the annual schedule contained in each agreement. Requires the Secretary to make loans available to a new starts project sponsor in an amount equal to the difference between the full funding grant agreement amount for a fiscal year, and the amount appropriated in the same year, if the appropriated amount is lower than the full funding agreement amount. Requires the Federal Government to repay the principal of any such secured loan through a subsequent appropriation from the new starts program. Prohibits the assignment to a specific new starts project of any interest expense paid. Prohibits the Secretary from: (1) making a loan for a project for which a grant (except a relocation payment grant) is made; or (2) imposing an overall limitation on the amount of Government financial assistance that may be expended for alternatives analysis and preliminary engineering for a project, or a project full funding grant agreement.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Expresses: (1) condolences and deepest sympathy to the families of the young women killed in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico, since 1993, many of whom appear to be victims of one or more serial murders; and (2) the solidarity of the people of the United States with the people of Mexico in the face of these tragic and senseless acts. Recognizes the courageous struggle of the victims' families in seeking justice for them. Condemns: (1) the abductions and murders of such young women in Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua; (2) the use of torture as a means of investigation into these crimes; and (3) all senseless acts of violence in all parts of the world and violence against women in particular. Urges the President and Secretary of State to express: (1) concern over these abductions and murders to the Government of Mexico and to request that the investigative and preventative efforts of such Government become part of the bilateral agenda between the Governments of Mexico and the United States; and (2) support for the efforts of the victims' families to seek justice for the victims, to express concern relating to the continued harassment of these families and the human rights defenders with which they work, and to express concern with respect to impediments in the ability of the families to receive prompt and accurate information in their cases. Supports multilateral efforts to create a DNA database that would allow families to positively identify the remains of the victims and encourages the Secretary to facilitate U.S. participation in such database. Encourages the Secretary to: (1) include in the Department of State's annual Country Report on Human Rights all instances of improper investigatory methods, threats against human rights activists, and the use of torture with respect to cases involving the murder and abduction of young women in the State of Chihuahua; and (2) urge the Government of Mexico to ensure fair and proper judicial proceedings for the individuals accused of these abductions and murders and to impose appropriate punishment for those individuals subsequently determined to be guilty of such crimes. Recommends that the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico visit Ciudad Juarez and the city of Chihuahua to meet with the victims' families, women's rights organizations, and Mexican Federal and State officials responsible for investigating these crimes and preventing future such crimes.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Rural Healthcare Improvement Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to services in rural areas, inpatient hospital services, physician services, physician updates, home health services, and the Office of Rural Health Policy. Amends SSA title XIX (Medicaid) to provide for a special, temporary increase in disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments on a one-time, non-cumulative basis, and an increase in the floor for treatment as a low DSH State. Provides for allotment adjustments for FY 2004 and 2005 for States without a DSH allotment owing to revocation or termination of a certain waiver. (The Medicare provisions of H.R. 3549 are identical to title I of S. 1926, the Support Our Health Care Providers Act of 2003, which in turn is identical, except with respect to any provider cuts or premium increases, to title IV of the conference report of H.R. 1, the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003, which became Public Law 108-173 on December 8, 2003. The Medicaid provision is very similar to one in title VI, subtitle A of H.R. 3549.)
![Official portrait of Rep. Case, Ed [D-HI-1]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/c001055_200.jpg)