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
Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2003 - Directs the President to establish: (1) an Interagency Committee (IC) to plan and coordinate Federal efforts in manufacturing research and development; and (2) an Advisory Committee to provide advice and information to the IC from the non-Federal manufacturing research and development community. Requires Federal agencies that are the IC members to coordinate their manufacturing grant activities with a collaborative manufacturing research grants program established by this Act's amendment to the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (NIST Act). Amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to refer to Manufacturing in renaming the following Department of Commerce entities: (1) Manufacturing and Technology Administration; (2) Office of Manufacturing and Technology Policy; and (3) Under Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Technology. Establishes the post of Assistant Secretary of Manufacturing to serve as one of the policy analysts for the Under Secretary. Directs the Under Secretary to: (1) serve as a point of contact on Federal manufacturing research and development, as well as broader policy issues related to manufacturing, for discussions among industry, academic, labor, and other groups; and (2) report on foreign governments' efforts to attract and develop technology-based manufacturing. Amends the NIST Act to require the NIST Director to establish the following programs: (1) collaborative manufacturing research grants to partnerships among firms, educational institutions, research institutions, State agencies, and nonprofit organizations to encourage development of innovative, multidisciplinary manufacturing technologies; and (2) manufacturing sciences research fellowships, at specified postdoctoral and senior levels. Reauthorizes and revises the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. Establishes, within the MEP program, a manufacturing extension center competitive grant program to develop projects to solve new or emerging manufacturing problems.
United States · United States Congress · 21 November 2003
Steel Industry Retiree Benefits Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow the 65 percent health insurance costs credit, in the case of a qualified steel company, for qualifying coverage of a qualified steel industry retiree and qualifying family members under a qualified health insurance plan.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users - Reauthorizes the Federal-aid surface transportation program through FY 2009. Reauthorizes appropriations from the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) for: (1) specified highway (including highway safety) programs; (2) research and technology; (3) motor carrier safety; and (4) transportation research. Directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a National Commission on Future Revenue Sources to Support the HTF. Establishes: (1) a National Commission on the Future of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate Defense Highways; and (2) a Commission on Intelligent Transportation Systems Procurement Policy. Requires States with an urbanized area population of over 200,000 to obligate specified funds for congestion relief. Federal Public Transportation Act of 2004 - Sets forth revised provisions governing public transportation funding and the Secretary's authority to make specified grants, including grants for capital projects, planning, and transit and for commercial driver's license program improvements. Directs the Secretary to establish programs involving: (1) long-term bridge performance; (2) innovative highway safety technologies; (3) freight planning capacity building; (4) freight transportation research; (5) future strategic highway research; (6) surface transportation congestion solutions research; and (7) commercial remote sensing products and spatial information technologies. Intelligent Transportation Systems Act of 2004 - Directs the Secretary to conduct an ongoing intelligent system transportation program to research, develop, and operationally test and advance nationwide deployment of intelligent transportation systems as a component of the U.S. surface transportation systems. Incorporates Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration planning provisions. Reauthorizes the hazardous materials transportation program. Makes the guaranteed funding levels provided under this Act dependent on identifying additional budgetary resources.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Wireless 411 Privacy Act - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit a provider of commercial mobile services, or any affiliate or agent of such provider (provider), from including the wireless telephone number of any current subscriber in any wireless directory assistance service (WDAS) database unless the provider: (1) provides a conspicuous, separate notice to the subscriber of the right not be listed in any WDAS; and (2) obtains express prior listing authorization from such subscriber, and that authorization has not been withdrawn. Allows a provider to include the wireless telephone information of any new subscriber in a WDAS only if the provider provides: (1) a conspicuous, separate notice to the subscriber, at the time of entering into a service agreement and at least once a year thereafter, of the right not to be listed in any WDAS; and (2) the subscriber with convenient mechanisms to decline or refuse to participate in any WDAS. Allows a provider to connect a calling party from a WDAS to a commercial mobile service subscriber only if: (1) the subscriber is provided prior notice of the calling party's identity and is permitted to accept or reject each call; (2) the subscriber's wireless telephone number information is not disclosed to the calling party; and (3) the subscriber is not an unlisted commercial mobile service subscriber. Prohibits a provider from charging a subscriber for the exercise of any rights under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2003
Meat and Poultry Products Traceability and Safety Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to direct that cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses, mules and other equines, and poultry presented for slaughter for human consumption, and the carcasses or parts of carcasses and the meat and food products of those animals, shipped in interstate commerce be identified in a manner that enables the Secretary of Agriculture to trace: (1) each animal to any location at which the animal was held at any time before slaughter; and (2) each carcass or part of a carcass and food product forward from slaughter through processing and distribution to the ultimate consumer. Authorizes the Secretary to prohibit or restrict entry to a slaughtering establishment of an animal not so identified. Directs the Secretary to establish a traceability system for all stages of production, processing, and distribution of meat and meat food products and poultry and poultry food products.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003
Hepatitis C Epidemic Control and Prevention Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and implement a plan for the prevention, control, and management of hepatitis C virus (HCV), which shall include strategies for education and training, surveillance and early detection, and research. Directs the Secretary to: (1) conduct a biennial plan assessment; (2) support voluntary State, local, and tribal HCV testing and counseling programs; (3) provide for the vaccination of HCV-infected individuals against hepatitis A and B and other infectious diseases; (4) support the establishment and maintenance of HCV surveillance databases; and (5) establish and support a Hepatitis C Clinical Research Network. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States, political subdivisions of States, Indian tribes, or nonprofit entities to carry out activities under this Act. Requires the Director of the National Institutes of Health to establish a Liver Disease Research Advisory Board.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide, as a general rule, for the exclusion from unrelated business taxable income gain or loss from the qualified sale, exchange, or other disposition of any qualifying brownfield property by an eligible taxpayer.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003
Environmental Restoration Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to establish a waste coal energy production per ton credit equal to $1.50 per million Btu of heat input utilized by the taxpayer to produce energy in an eligible facility from qualified waste coal during the 10-year period beginning on the date the facility was originally placed in service (or, if later, the date of the enactment of this section). Permits transfer of the credit through sale and repurchase agreements.
United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2003
Condemns the terrorist attacks in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 15, 2003. Expresses condolences to the families of the individuals murdered in the attacks and expresses sympathies to the individuals injured. Conveys hope for the rapid and complete recovery of all such injured individuals. Urges the United States, Turkey, and all other countries to stand united against terrorism that targets the civilized world and to work together to bring to justice the perpetrators of such attacks.
United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2003
Condemns past and ongoing violations of human rights by all sides in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Calls on the Government and armed forces of Indonesia and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) to declare a ceasefire and return to negotiations. Calls for an end to martial law and human rights violations. Calls for immediate access by international humanitarian and human rights organizations and journalists. Calls for the public release of any surveillance files on Jafar Siddiq Hamzah. Calls on the Government of Malaysia to refrain from the forcible return of Acehnese asylum seekers to Indonesia, allowing them full access to representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Calls on the President and Secretary of State to: (1) press both sides to the conflict to suspend hostilities, return to negotiations, and cease all human rights violations; (2) increase efforts to assist in the rehabilitation and economic development of Aceh; (3) protest human rights violations and encourage their investigation, including pressing the Government of Indonesia to identify those individuals within the Indonesian armed forces, police, and others who should be prosecuted for human rights crimes; (4) review its bilateral relationship and military assistance to Indonesia; and (5) urge the Indonesian Government and armed forces to refrain from using U.S.-supplied weaponry in Aceh.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2003
Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act - Bans the importation into the United States of any archaeological or cultural material of Iraq that was removed from Iraq after the issuance of Executive Order 12722 of August 2, 1990, unless the Department of Homeland Security determines that such material was legally exported from Iraq. Requires U.S. customs officers to detain such material until it can be certified as legally exported from Iraq. Allows such import restrictions to be lifted after the expiration of certain sanctions imposed upon Iraq by the United Nations Security Council. Subjects to seizure and forfeiture any Iraqi archaeological or cultural material that is illegally imported into the United States or that cannot be certified as legally exported from Iraq. Requires the return to Iraq of any archaeological or cultural material forfeited under this Act. Defines "country of origin" for purposes of applying U.S. tariff and customs laws to certain archaeological materials. Amends the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act to: (1) redefine an object of archaeological interest as one that is at least 100 years old (currently, at least 250 years old); (2) classify certain coins or coin-like objects as objects of archaeological interest if such coins are at least 250 years old; (3) limit the period during which import restrictions under the Act may be placed on the archaeological or ethnological material of any country to ten years (subject to extensions by the President for emergency conditions) after the date such restrictions are published in the Federal Register; (4) make changes in the membership of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee; and (5) extend from five to ten years the effective period of bilateral or multilateral agreements for import restrictions on archaeological or ethnological materials.
United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2003
Condemns as a deliberate interference with the right of the United States to protect its own markets against unfair trade practices the adverse report issued by the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement Appellate Body on the proceeding to determine whether U.S. imposition of import restrictions on certain steel products on March 5, 2002, was consistent with the Agreement on Safeguards described in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act. Strongly urges the President to: (1) repeal all exclusions to such import restrictions which benefit European Union (EU) steelmakers if the EU retaliates against the United States in the form of counter import restrictions; and (2) direct the United States Trade Representative to use the voice and vote of the United States at the WTO to ensure that immediate reforms are made to the dispute settlement process to increase its transparency and ensure that it does not unfairly restrict trade remedy laws, create new obligations, or undermine legitimate trade actions brought by the United States or other WTO member countries.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2003
Voluntary Public Access and Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program Act of 2003 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under which States may apply for grants to encourage owners and operators of privately-held farm and ranch land to voluntarily make such land available for public access and habitat-related activities under State-administered plans. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to exclude from excess base acreage computation for direct and counter-cyclical payment purposes certain conservation enrolled farm land not planted in an agricultural commodity.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2003
Puppy Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Animal Welfare Act to modify the standards that govern the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of animals by dealers, research facilities, and exhibitors. Requires a standard for addressing the initiation and frequency of breeding of female dogs so that they are not bred before reaching at least one year of age, and whelped more frequently than three times in any 24-month period. Prescribes a process for immediate suspension and eventual revocation of the license of a dealer, exhibitor, or operator of an auction sale for three or more violations of such Act within 18 months.
United States · United States Congress · 7 November 2003
Chiropractic Health Parity for Military Retirees and Dependents Act - Directs the Secretary of Defense, no later than July 31, 2004, to complete development of a plan to provide chiropractic health care services and benefits, as a permanent part of the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense managed health care program), for covered beneficiaries. Requires plan implementation by December 31, 2004.
United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2003
SUTA Dumping Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Social Security Act (SSA) with respect to administration of unemployment taxes and benefits. Revises SSA title III (Grants to States for Unemployment Compensation Administration) to require State unemployment compensation laws, as a condition of State eligibility for such grants, to provide for transfer of unemployment experience upon transfer or acquisition of a business. Directs the Secretary of Labor to study and report to Congress on State implementation of such requirement. Revises SSA title IV part D (Child Support and Establishment of Paternity) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to disclose information on individuals and their employers in the National Directory of New Hires to a State agency that, for purposes of administering a Federal or State unemployment compensation law, transmits such individuals' names and social security account numbers to the Secretary. Requires such disclosure only to the extent that it would not interfere with effective operation of the part D program.
United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2003
Post Office Community Partnership Act of 2003 - Modifies Federal postal law to revise requirements for the closing or consolidation of a post office and apply them, as well, to its proposed closing, consolidation, relocation, or construction. Requires a 60-day notice, under certain conditions, to persons (including local government officials) who are (or would be) served by the post office involved to allow such individuals an opportunity to present their views before such proposed action. Requires the notice: (1) by the deadline, to be hand delivered or delivered by mail and published once a week for at least four weeks in one or more newspapers regularly issued and of general circulation within the zip code areas which are (or would be) served by the post office involved; and (2) to include a description of the proposed action, a summary of the reasons for it, and the date on which the action is to be taken (or, in the case of the construction of a post office, the proposed timetable). Revises the factors to be considered in deciding whether or not to take such proposed actions. Requires the Postal Service to follow a community's public participation procedures to address the relocation, closing, consolidation, or construction of buildings in the community if such procedures are more stringent than those provided in this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 30 October 2003
Higher Education Affordability and Equity Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code and the Higher Education Act of 1965 to expand education incentives, including: (1) the deduction for interest on education loans; (2) making the deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses permanent; (3) increasing allowable contributions to Coverdell education savings accounts; (4) allowing qualified higher education expenses (books, supplies, room, board, and special needs services) to be excluded from gross income in the case of scholarship programs for higher education; and (5) repealing the sunset provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 applicable to title IV (Affordable Education Provisions) of such Act.
United States · United States Congress · 29 October 2003
Cold War Victory Medal Act - Directs the Secretary of the military department concerned, upon application, to issue Cold War Victory service medals to military personnel who served honorably during the Cold War era (September 2, 1945, through December 26, 1991).
United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2003
Commends the President for continued efforts to engage the Government of the People's Republic of China. Joins the President in encouraging the People's Republic of China to meet its commitments as a member of the World Trade Organization and the international community. States that the Chinese economy would benefit from a market-determined exchange rate to avoid market and trade distortions. Joins the President in continuing to encourage China's efforts to modernize its financial system which includes the establishment of a more flexible exchange rate and compliance with its trade agreement obligations. Urges the Administration to continue its efforts to facilitate moves towards a market-based valuation of the renminbi, relaxation of capital controls, and reform of its banking sector. Encourages U.S. government efforts to promote innovation, reduce costs, and level the international playing field in the manufacturing sector.
United States · United States Congress · 21 October 2003
Directs the Secretary of Labor, pursuant to specified provisions of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, to establish a pilot program to award grants for retraining displaced workers in high technology fields. Makes eligible to receive such grants schools or vocational or career training centers in the State of Pennsylvania that conduct training in high technology fields. Sets the amount of such a grant at $10,000 for each displaced worker enrolled.
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2003
Stop Terrorism of Property Act of 2003 - Amends the Federal criminal code to prohibit intentionally, in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, damaging the property of another with the intent to influence the public with regard to conduct the offender considers harmful to the environment (eco-terrorism).
United States · United States Congress · 16 October 2003
Realistic Roofing Tax Treatment Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify any roof system as 20-year property for depreciation purposes.
United States · United States Congress · 15 October 2003
Neighbors in Need Act - Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (TEUCA) to: (1) extend the TEUCA program in States with high unemployment (States that already qualify for the TEUC-X program (under which second tier benefit amounts are deposited in an individual's account) or would if the trigger for such program were changed) through March 31, 2004, with a phase-out period through June 30, 2004; and (2) provide eight additional weeks of TEUC benefits to those who have exhausted theirs before enactment of this Act. Amends the Social Security Act to require: (1) increases and decreases in the earnings allocated to State accounts when States meet or fail to meet funding goals; and (2) interest-free advances to State accounts in the Unemployment Trust Fund to be restricted to States which meet funding goals. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) suspend the tax on individual unemployment compensation for 2004 and 2005; (2) allow certified States to elect to collect Federal unemployment taxes, under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA); and (3) require States to distribute to unemployed individuals State-specific information packets explaining unemployment insurance eligibility conditions.
United States · United States Congress · 10 October 2003
Authorizes the President to award congressional gold medals posthumously, to their next of kin, on behalf of Reverend Joseph A. DeLaine, Harry and Eliza Briggs, and Levi Pearson, in recognition of their contributions to the Nation as pioneers in South Carolina in the effort to desegregate public schools that led directly to the landmark desegregation case of Brown et al. v. the Board of Education of Topeka et al. Directs that amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals be deposited in the U.S. Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Marine Corps 230th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 500,000 one dollar coins which shall be emblematic of the warrior ethos of the United States Marine Corps. Requires all surcharges from the sale of the coins to be paid to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation for construction of the Marine Corps Heritage Center.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Pathways to Advance Training Act - Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make formula matching grants to States with approved plans for programs of vocational education, training, employment counseling, and related services, including tuition assistance, for: (1) single parents and displaced homemakers; and (2) secondary and postsecondary students pursuing nontraditional training and employment. Provides that State boards designated or created as State agencies responsible for vocational and technical education vocational education agency shall administer such programs and make competitive subgrants to eligible entities.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in recognition of his contributions to maintaining the security of the Euro-Atlantic region.
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Workers Assistance Extension Act - Amends the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 (TEUCA) to extend the TEUCA program through June 30, 2004, with a phase-out period through September 30, 2004. (The TEUCA program provides: (1) an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits (TEUC) to jobless workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits; and (2) another additional 13 weeks of benefits (TEUC-X), for a total of 26 additional weeks, for such workers in high unemployment States.)
United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2003
Commends the participation of Afghan women in Afghanistan's government and civil society. Encourages the full inclusion of women in the political and economic life of their country. Advocates the protection of women's human rights in the Afghanistan Constitution.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2003 - Defines "specialty crop" as all agricultural crops, except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to States to enhance specialty crop competitiveness. Bases grant amounts on specialty crop production value. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to increase fruit or vegetable producer operating loan limits. Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to provide for marketing order specialty crop food safety programs. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to State or local educational agencies for school garden programs that permit children to learn about specialty crops' dietary importance. Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to: (1) increase maximum orchardist assistance under the tree assistance program; and (2) increase and extend specialty crop technical assistance. Directs the Secretary to use specified funds to provide restitution to licensed specialty crop shippers for economic losses resulting from the preparation of false inspection certificates by Department of Agriculture graders at Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, New York. Authorizes appropriations for the maintenance of the Agricultural Marketing Service inspection training center in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Directs the United States Trade Representative to establish at least one position in the Office of the United States Trade Representative for specialty crop trade matters. Directs: (1) the General Accounting Office to conduct a study on why and to what extent U.S. specialty crops have not benefited from the Uruguay Round; and (2) the Secretary to prepare a foreign market access strategy plan aimed at increasing such exports. Directs the Secretary to establish: (1) in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Export Petition Division to process petitions for reducing sanitary and phytosanitary export barriers; and (2) in the Department an office to develop and protect intellectual property rights in plants and plant materials. Provides for a Foreign Agricultural Service study of supplier credit guarantee program modifications in order to increase specialty crop exports. Directs the Secretary to transfer the Office of Pest Management Policy of the Department from the Agricultural Research Service to the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture for administrative and funding purposes. Provides for additional research initiatives respecting: (1) methyl bromide alternatives; (2) specialty crop clean air benefits; (3) produce quality improvement; (4) new crop protection tools and integrated pest management; (5) foreign invasive pests and diseases; and (6) national specialty crop development initiative grants. Establishes in the Treasury the Invasive Pest and Disease Response Fund to support emergency eradication and research activities of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in response to economic and health threats posed by invasive pests and agricultural disease. Directs the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to provide for independent scientific advice and peer review with regard to specialty crop import and export requests, including risk and mitigation assessments. Authorizes the Secretary to carry out a food safety education program to reduce contamination from: (1) microbial pathogens; and (2) unsanitary handling practices. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to remove the income limitation from the environmental quality incentives program.
United States · United States Congress · 2 October 2003
Mobile Machinery Tax Fairness Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit the treatment of certain mobile machinery as a highway vehicle, thereby exempting such machinery from federal highway excise taxes.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2003
Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies Act - Establishes the Commission on the Accountability and Review of Federal Agencies to: (1) evaluate executive agencies and their programs; and (2) submit to Congress a plan recommending agencies and programs that should be realigned or eliminated and proposing implementing legislation. Directs the President to: (1) establish a systematic method for assessing the effectiveness and accountability of agency programs; and (2) submit to the Commission assessments of not less than half of the programs that use such method. Prohibits the implementation of such method until it has been reviewed and accepted by the Commission. Requires the Commission to consider submitted assessments in evaluating programs. Requires the President to identify common performance measures for programs having similar functions and provide the Commission with data on such measures.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2003
Advancing Justice Through DNA Technology Act of 2003 - Rape Kits and DNA Evidence Backlog Elimination Act of 2003 - Amends: (1) the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 to reauthorize the Act; (2) the DNA Identification Act of 1994 (Identification Act) to expand the scope of DNA samples to be included in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS); and (3) the Violence Against Women Act to authorize grants to increase the availability of legal assistance to victims of dating violence. DNA Sexual Assault Justice Act of 2003 - Amends the Identification Act to require that CODIS include only information on DNA identification records and analyses that are prepared by laboratories that: (1) have been accredited by a nationally recognized nonprofit professional association of forensic scientists within two years; and (2) undergo external audits at least every two years that demonstrate compliance with specified standards. Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants for: (1) DNA training and education; (2) sexual assault forensic examination programs; (3) research and development; (4) using DNA technology to identify missing persons; and (5) tribal domestic violence and sexual assault coalitions. Expands and reauthorizes the Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Grant Program. Innocence Protection Act of 2003 - Sets forth conditions under which a Federal prisoner may obtain post-conviction DNA testing of specific evidence. Directs the Attorney General to award grants to States to improve the quality of legal representation in State capital cases.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2003
Small Business Tax Flexibility Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit a qualified small business the election of having a taxable year, other than the required taxable year, which ends on the last day of any of the months of April through November.
United States · United States Congress · 1 October 2003
Tax Reform Action Commission Act of 2003 - Establishes in the legislative branch a Tax Reform Action Commission to make specific recommendations to Congress for the reform of the internal revenue laws in a manner that produces a system that is: (1) simple, transparent, and efficient; (2) fair and equitable to all Americans; and (3) neutral between different activities and between current consumption and future consumption.
United States · United States Congress · 30 September 2003
Benjamin Franklin Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue one dollar coins emblematic of the life and legacy of Benjamin Franklin (not more than 250,000 bearing his image as a young statesman and not more than 250,000 with his image as an older numismatist). Directs that all sales include a $10 per coin surcharge, which shall be paid by the Secretary to the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Commission, to be used to educate people about Franklin's legacy.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends the District of Columbia Code to provide that the D.C. Council's regulatory authority regarding firearms, explosives, and weapons in the District shall not be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise permitted to possess firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Amends the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the definition of a machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.) Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on registration of pistols (handguns); (3) prohibition on possession of handgun ammunition; (4) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked; (5) related firearm registration requirements such as applicant qualifications and filing deadline. Maintains the current ban on the possession and control of a sawed-off shotgun, machine gun, or short-barreled rifle. Eliminates criminal penalties for possessing an unregistered firearm. Amends Federal law to eliminate criminal penalties for carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 - Amends part E (Foster Care and Adoption Assistance) of title IV of the Social Security Act to revise requirements with respect to States eligible to receive adoption incentives payments. Reauthorizes the adoption incentive payments program. Provides additional incentives for adoptions of older children (nine years of age and up). Modifies requirements with respect to determination of numbers of special needs adoptions that are not older children as well as adoptions of older children. Revises the formula for adoption incentive payments to States to provide a payment for: (1) special needs adoptions that are not older child adoptions; and (2) older child adoptions. Repeals the requirement that the Secretary of Health and Human Services provide supplemental grants to incentive-eligible States. Authorizes the Secretary to impose specified penalties against a State for failure to provide necessary data to the Secretary for the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System.
United States · United States Congress · 25 September 2003
Health and Education Access for Students with Diabetes Act - Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit a State or public or private entity from receiving funds under ESEA title IV part A, also known as the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, unless it has a policy in effect against hindering or restricting a student from engaging in diabetes treatment prescribed or recommended by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 24 September 2003
Purchase Card and Travel Card Accountability Act of 2003 - Directs the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy to prescribe a Government-wide policy for the use of purchase and travel cards by Federal employees. Requires such policy to include definitions of appropriate and inappropriate uses of such cards and a system of accountability for employees using such cards.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2003
Directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation of a congressional gold medal to Monsignor Ignatius McDermott (founder of Haymarket Center, the largest drug abuse treatment center in Chicago) in recognition of his contribution to the drug treatment community and his accomplishments as a priest and humanitarian.
United States · United States Congress · 23 September 2003
Agricultural Job Opportunity, Benefits, and Security Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, upon completion of specified agricultural work and residency requirements, to adjust the status of a qualifying alien agricultural worker (and spouse and minor children) to that of a: (1) lawfully admitted temporary nonimmigrant; and (2) permanent resident nonimmigrant. Sets forth provisions with respect to: (1) adjustment of status applications, including penalties for false statements; (2) waiver of numerical limitations and certain grounds for inadmissibility; (3) temporary stay of removal and work authorization; (4) administrative and judicial review; and (5) dissemination of program information. Amends the Social Security Act to provide for the correction of such aliens' social security records. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to set forth registry application requirements for H-2A employers and employer associations, including assurances: (1) that the job opportunity is temporary or seasonal, and is not the result of a labor dispute, (2) that attempts have been made to hire U.S. workers; and (3) respecting required wages and benefits, and compliance with labor laws. Sets forth employment requirements with respect to: (1) wages; (2) housing; and (3) transportation reimbursement. Establishes the Commission on Agricultural Wage Standards under the H-2A program. Revises provisions respecting the admission and extension of stay of temporary H-2A workers. Provides special rules for alien sheepherders. Sets forth worker protection and labor standards enforcement provisions for such aliens.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Calling for 2-1-1 Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of Commerce to award a grant to each State to carry out a program for making available throughout that State the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on human services. Requires a participating State to ensure that at least 50 percent of the resources of the program funded by the grant will be derived from other sources. Requires a State seeking a grant to carry out its activities through a lead entity to be known as a 2-1-1 Collaborative. Requires grant amounts to be used solely to make available to a State 2-1-1 telephone service for community information and referral on human services, including telephone connections between families and individuals seeking services and the service providers. Requires grant recipients to: (1) abide by the Key Standards for 2-1-1 Centers; and (2) collaborate with human service organizations to provide an exhaustive database of services with which to provide information or referral to individuals utilizing the 2-1-1 service.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Celia Cruz Commemorative Coin Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 300,000 one dollar silver coins and 500,000 half dollar clad coins emblematic of Celia Cruz (known as the "Queen of Salsa") and her legacy. Establishes surcharges of ten dollars per coin for the dollar coin and three dollars per coin for the half dollar coin, which shall be paid to the Celia Cruz Foundation.
United States · United States Congress · 17 September 2003
Great Lakes Water Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 to direct the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to issue, within 30 days after enactment of this Act, a regulation that prohibits any vessel with a ballast water tank from entering the Great Lakes if more than five percent of the capacity of the tank contains ballast water. Requires the master of such a vessel to certify compliance with such prohibition to the Secretary or the Secretary's designee before the vessel's departure from the first lock in the St. Lawrence Seaway.
![Official portrait of Rep. English, Phil [R-PA-3]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/e000187_200.jpg)