United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Downed Animal Protection Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations to provide for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory livestock by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory livestock be humanely euthanized. Provides that an entity shall: (1) not move nonambulatory livestock while such livestock is conscious; and (2) humanely euthanize such livestock. Prohibits an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory livestock through inspection. Defines "covered entity," and "humanely euthanize."
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act - Requires hospitals, as a condition of receiving Federal funds, to provide emergency contraception to a woman who is a victim of sexual assault.
United States · United States Congress · 19 June 2003
Requests the President to inform Congress and the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) regarding U.S. efforts and measures taken with respect to implementation and observance of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and certain UN resolutions calling for U.S. and world nuclear disarmament. Calls on the President to implement and observe all NPT obligations and commitments and to revise national policies on nuclear weapons accordingly. Urges the President, in the interests of protecting and advancing human, national, and global security, to: (1) declare unconditionally that the United States will not use nuclear weapons first, and that pending their elimination, such weapons serve only to deter a nuclear attack by a hostile state or other entity; (2) initiate and conclude multilateral negotiations on verifiable steps nuclear states, including the United States, shall take to reduce and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons; (3) cooperate with the Russian Federation to remove from deployment nuclear weapons that are operational; (4) reaffirm the moratorium on nuclear testing and work for ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; and (5) terminate all efforts to enhance U.S. military capabilities of the U.S. nuclear arsenal and to develop ballistic missile defenses.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
Student Loan Fairness Consolidation Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for Federal consolidation loans under the Federal Family Education Loan program, and establish parallel requirements under a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan program, to: (1) allow borrowers to refinance existing consolidation loans; and (2) make available variable interest rate consolidation loans. Excludes consolidation loans for repaying Federal PLUS loans (taken out by parents of students) from such provisions for refinancing and variable interest rates.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
Estate Tax Repeal for Family-Owned Farms and Businesses Act of 2003 - Amends estate tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code to repeal section 2057 (Family-Owned Business Interests). Allows for purposes of such tax, in the case of an electing estate of a decedent with specified family-owned business interests, the taxable estate value to be determined by deducting from the value of the gross estate the adjusted value of such qualified family-owned business interests of the decedent. Provides for the treatment of family-owned business interests and spousal property.
United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2003
College Loan Assistance Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise student aid requirements for student loans and Pell Grants. Allows refinancing of student consolidation loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. Reduces the amount of a cap on interest rate under the FFEL program. Extends authority for the Pell Grant program. Increases the maximum amount of an individual Pell Grant award to $7,000 for each of academic years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006. Prohibits eligible lenders or the Secretary of Education from collecting origination fees from borrowers, under the FFEL or the Federal direct loan program, for any loan made on or after the first July 1 after the date of enactment of the Student Loan Relief Act of 2003 (sic).
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Protect Diversity in Media Act - Invalidates the final rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pursuant to its broadcast media ownership proceeding and announced on June 2, 2003. Reinstates (retroactively, as in effect prior to such announcement) any rule that the FCC modified pursuant to that proceeding. Prohibits the FCC from using current biennial rule review authority to review broadcast media ownership rules.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Millennium Challenge Account Authorization and Peace Corps Expansion Act of 2003 - Authorizes the President, acting through the Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, to provide assistance to eligible low income and lower middle income countries to support policies and programs that advance their progress in: (1) achieving lasting economic growth and poverty reduction; and (2) promoting specified objectives fostering democratic societies, human rights, the rule of law, investment in education and health infrastructure and systems, economic freedom, broad-based economic growth, and free market systems. Requires recipient contries to enter into a Millenium Challenge Compact with the United States establishing a multi-year plan for achieving shared development objectives. Specifies conditions for suspension or termination of assistance. Establishes the Millenium Challenge Corporation to carry out such assistance program, and a Millenium Challenge Advisory Council. Sets forth elements of a framework for U.S. economic assistance. Reauthorizes the Peace Corps through FY 2007. Makes the Peace Corps responsible for recruiting all of its volunteers. Urges the Director to utilize the services of returned Peace Corps volunteers and former Peace Corps staff who have relevant language and cultural experience and may have served previously in countries with substantial Muslim populations, in order to open or reopen Peace Corps programs in such countries. Requires the Director to expand the training program for Peace Corps volunteers in the areas of education, prevention, and treatment of infectious diseases prevalent in host countries in order to ensure that the Peace Corps increases its contribution to the global campaign against such diseases. Urges the Director to designate a Peace Corps officer or employee located in the United States to coordinate all HIV/AIDS activities within the Peace Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) at the 55th Annual Meeting of the International Whaling Commission the United States should remain firmly opposed to commercial whaling, and take other specified related steps; (2) at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the United States should oppose all efforts to reopen international trade in whale meat or to downlist any whale population; and (3) the United States should make full use of all appropriate diplomatic mechanisms, relevant international laws and agreements, and other appropriate mechanisms to implement these goals. Urges the United States to take appropriate steps to convince foreign countries whose nationals are engaging in trade in whale meat or a taking which diminishes the effectiveness of the Convention to cease such trade or taking.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Surveillance Oversight Act and Disclosure Act of 2003 - Amends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to authorize courts established to hear applications, grant orders, and review denials regarding electronic surveillance to establish rules and procedures and take actions necessary to administer their responsibilities under FISA. Directs that such rules and procedures be transmitted to the judges on such courts, the Chief Justice of the United States, and specified congressional committees. Requires the Attorney General to issue a public report annually on the aggregate number of U.S. persons targeted for FISA orders, the aggregate number of applications for orders for U.S. persons and for all persons without regard to nationality, and the number of times that the Attorney General has authorized that such information be used in a criminal proceeding. Amends: (1) the Federal criminal code to require that the semiannual report of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to the intelligence and judiciary committees concerning requests for access to telephone and transactional records include a separate statement of requests made of institutions operating as public libraries or serving as libraries of secondary schools or institutions of higher education; (2) the Right to Financial Privacy Act of 1978 to require that the Attorney General's semiannual report regarding requests for financial records go to the judiciary committees; and (3) the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require that the Attorney General's semiannual report regarding disclosures by credit reporting agencies to the FBI be made to the judiciary committees.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2003 - Entitles domestic partners of Federal employees to benefits available to spouses of Federal employees. Specifies certifications required for benefit eligibility, filing requirements regarding partnership dissolution, and confidentiality requirements. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend the tax exemption for employer contributions to accident and health plans to domestic partners under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2003
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to compensate States for incarcerating undocumented aliens charged with a felony or two or more misdemeanors.
United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2003
Taxpayer Abuse Prevention Resolution of 2003 - Expresses the sense of Congress that Federal tax collection services should not be paid for on the basis of a commission or as a percentage of taxes collected.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
State Veterans Cemetery Fairness Act of 2003 - Makes the burial plot allowance for a veteran who dies in a Department of Veterans Affairs facility or a facility providing Department-contracted care $300 (current law) or the lesser of the actual costs or $750 in the case of a State in which ground burial in a national cemetery is not available.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Inclusive Home Design Act of 2003 - Requires, with exceptions, newly constructed, federally assisted single family houses and town houses to include at least one level that complies with the following accessibility features for persons with disabilities: (1) accessible entrance; (2) accessible interior doors; (3) accessible environmental controls; and (4) accessible habitable space and an accessible bathroom. Requires: (1) each applicant for Federal financial assistance to submit compliance assurances to the relevant Federal agency, and (2) each person who arranges for design or construction of a covered dwelling to submit architectural and construction plans for State or local approval. Prohibits Federal financial assistance to a State or local government unit unless the recipient is taking certain enforcement actions with regard to covered dwellings. Permits: (1) private civil actions in a United States District Court or State court for violations under this Act; and (2) the Attorney General to commence civil actions or intervene in civil actions under this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act - Identifies roadless areas within the National Forest System set forth in specified documents as National Forest Inventoried Roadless Areas, and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to manage such Areas to maintain their roadless character.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Capital Construction Fund Qualified Withdrawal Act of 2003 - Amends the Merchant Marine Act and the Internal Revenue Code to permit as qualified withdrawals from fishing capital construction funds money used by retiring fishermen for the following purposes: (1) paying the net proceeds to a person retiring related commercial fishing vessels and permits; (2) making a rollover contribution into an owner's individual retirement plan; (3) making a payment of an industry fee authorized by the fishing capacity reduction program; and (4) acquiring a vessel monitoring system or the aquisition or construction of fishing gear designed to minimize or avoid bycatch.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Peace Stamp for the Peace Corps Act - Directs the U.S. Postal Service to issue a semipostal (a postage stamp sold at a premium in order to help provide funding for certain causes) to benefit the Peace Corps.
United States · United States Congress · 5 June 2003
Urges the President to submit to the House of Representatives documents or other materials in his possession that provides specific evidence with respect to claims of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 - Prohibits the importation into the United States of any article that is produced, mined, manufactured, grown, or assembled in Burma (Myanmar) until the President determines and certifies to Congress that Burma has taken certain democratic and counternarcotics actions. Authorizes the President to waive such requirements. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to direct any U.S. financial institution holding funds of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) of Burma or the assets of individuals who hold senior positions in the SPDC or its political arm, the Union Solidarity Development Association, to report those assets to the Office of Foreign Assets Control and take such action as may be necessary to secure them. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to instruct the U.S. executive director to each appropriate international financial institution to oppose any extension of a loan or financial or technical assistance to Burma until the requirements of this Act are met. Authorizes the President to deny visas and entry to the former and present leadership of the SPDC or the Union Solidarity Development Association. Urges the Secretary of State to use all appropriate fora, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum and Asian Nations Regional Forum, to encourage other states to restrict financial resources to the SPDC and Burmese companies while offering support to Burma's democratic movement, including the National League for Democracy and Burma's ethnic groups. Authorizes the President to assist Burmese democracy activists dedicated to nonviolent opposition to the regime in their efforts to promote freedom, democracy, and human rights in Burma.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Assured Funding for Veterans Health Care Act of 2003 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to make available to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for programs, functions, and activities of the Veterans Health Administration for FY 2005 130 percent of the amount obligated during FY 2003. Adjusts the amount provided for fiscal years after FY 2005 based on the number of enrolled veterans and the number of other persons eligible but not enrolled who are provided care, multiplied by the per capital baseline amount for FY 2003, as increased by the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index. Prohibits the availability of such funds for: (1) construction, acquisition, or alteration of veterans' medical facilities (other than for repairs provided for before the date of enactment of this Act); or (2) grants for the construction of State home facilities for the furnishing of veterans' domiciliary, nursing home, and hospital care.
United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2003
Working Taxpayer Fairness Restoration Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the refundability of the child tax credit, to accelerate the increase to the 15 percent rate. Limits, to fair market value immediately following a transaction, the importation of net built-in loss by a corporation. Prohibits an allocation of any decrease in the adjusted basis of partnership property to stock in a corporation which is a partner in the partnership. Repeals part V (Financial Asset Securitization Investment Trusts) of subchapter M (Regulated Investment Companies and Real Estate Investment Trusts). Expands the definition of a disqualified debt instrument with respect to deduction disallowance on certain debt instruments of corporations. Expands the authority to disallow deductions, credits, or other allowances under provisions disallowing such benefits due to acquisitions made to evade or avoid income tax. Amends provisions affecting passive foreign investment companies to state that the term "qualified portion" (of a shareholder's holding period) does not include any period if there is only a remote likelihood of an inclusion in gross income under subpart F (Controlled Foreign Income). Adds to the definition of the term "real estate investment trust" by stating that such term includes a corporation, trust, or association which is not a controlled entity. Directs the Secretary to establish a program requiring the payment of user fees, until September 30, 2013, for: (1) requests to the Internal Revenue Service for ruling letters, opinion letters, and determination letters; and (2) other similar requests.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2003
Species Protection and Conservation of the Environment Act - Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make renewable two-year Aldo Leopold Native Heritage Grants for harmful nonnative species control projects to States, local governments, interstate or regional agencies, or private persons with adequate personnel, funding, and authority to carry out and monitor or maintain such a project. Authorizes a grant to a State to carry out an assessment project to: (1) identify harmful nonnative species occurring in the State; (2) assess the needs to restore, manage, or enhance native fish and wildlife and their natural habitats and processes; (3) identify priorities for actions to address such needs; (4) identify mechanisms to increase capacity building in a State or across State lines to conserve and protect native fish and wildlife and their habitats and to detect and control harmful nonnative species within the State; and (5) incorporate, where applicable, the guidelines of the National Management Plan referred to in Executive Order 13112 of February 3, 1999, and entitled Meeting the Invasive Species Challenge. Authorizes the Secretary to assist financially a rapid response to outbreaks of harmful nonnative species when rapid eradication or control is possible. Establishes: (1) the National Invasive Species Council to provide leadership and coordination among Federal agencies, and between the Federal Government and State and local governments; and (2) the Invasive Species Advisory Committee.
United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the ocean is of paramount importance to the economic future, environmental quality, and national security of the United States; (2) the United States has a responsibility to exercise and promote comprehensive stewardship and understanding of the ocean and the living marine resources it contains; and (3) the President should issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe a National Oceans Week with appropriate recognition, programs, ceremonies, and activities to further ocean literacy, education, and exploration.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 - Amends the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to provide for an extension of time for States to request payments for activities to improve administration of elections and for replacement of punch card or lever voting machines. Repeals the exemption of the Election Assistance Commission from certain Government contracting requirements (thus requiring the Commission to advertise for proposals for purchases and contracts for supplies or services). Revises audit capacity requirements to require the voting system to produce a voter-verified paper record suitable for a manual audit equivalent or superior to that of a paper ballot box system. Requires the voting system to provide a mechanism for voter-verification of results with respect to individuals with disabilities which separates the function of vote generation from the function of vote casting, but does not require the use of paper. Requires instruction of election officials in the rights of the disabled to vote with the assistance of an aide of their selection under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Requires the Commission to study and develop best practices to enhance accessibility and voter-verification mechanisms for disabled voters. Accelerates the deadline for compliance with voting systems standards from January 1, 2006, to the regularly scheduled November 2004 general Federal election. Requires each State and jurisdiction unable to meet such deadline to receive a paper voting system at Commission expense that shall be deemed compliant with such standards for use in the November 2004 general election. Requires Federal certification of technological security of voter registration lists. Directs the Commission to: (1) conduct manual mandatory surprise recounts of the voter-verified records of each election for Federal office (and, at State or local option, of elections for State and local office) in .5 percent of the jurisdictions in each State and .5 percent of the overseas jurisdictions in which voter-verified records are preserved in accordance with this Act immediately following each general election for Federal office; and (2) promptly publish the results of those recounts.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Motherhood Protection Act of 2003 - Subjects any person who engages in violent or assaultive conduct against a pregnant woman resulting in that person's conviction of any of specified offenses, and thereby causes an interruption to the normal course of the pregnancy resulting in prenatal injury (including termination of the pregnancy), to specified penalties (including life imprisonment) in addition to any penalty imposed for the violation.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers Act - Directs the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor to prepare and publish a monthly Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI) that indicates changes over time in expenditures for consumption which are typical for individuals aged 62 years or older. Amends titles II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) and XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for the use of such new CPI in the computation of cost-of-living increases for Social Security and Medicare benefits under such programs.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Next Generation Hispanic Serving Institutions - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise provisions for Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) under title V (Developing Institutions). Establishes a program of competitive grants to eligible HSIs that offer postbaccalaureate certifications or degrees (part B grants). Limits a part B grant award's duration to not more than five years. Prohibits the Secretary of Education from awarding more than one part B grant to an HSI in any one fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2005 through FY 2009 for: (1) the current part A program of grants to HSIs that offer baccalaureate degrees or are junior or community colleges; and (2) the new part B program of grants to HSIs that offer postbaccalaureate certifications or degrees. Eliminates the requirement that an eligible HSI provide assurances that at least 50 percent of its Hispanic students are low-income students. Includes, among authorized activities under part A grants, articulation agreements and student support programs to help transfers from two-year to four-year institutions. Eliminates the two-year wait-out period between any two five-year part A grants to an HSI.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option to expand coverage to certain pregnant women; (2) provide for enhanced matching funds with respect to certain pregnant women if certain conditions are met; (3) pay for such Medicaid expansion costs out of the SSA title XXI (State Child's Health Insurance) (SCHIP) allotment; and (4) no longer require that a newborn child be a member of the mother's household and that the mother remain eligible for Medicaid during the one year period after birth in order for the newborn child to continue to be eligible for Medicaid. Amends SSA title XXI to give certain States the option of providing pregnancy-related assistance for targeted low-income pregnant women in accordance with this Act, which includes: (1) automatic enrollment for children born to women receiving such pregnancy-related assistance; (2) additional allotments for providing coverage of pregnant women; and (3) no cost-sharing for pregnancy-related services. Provides for coordination of SCHIP with the program under SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services). Increases the income eligibility for low-income children under SCHIP. Amends SSA title XVI (Supplemental Security Income) to direct the Commissioner of Social Security to review determinations, made by State agencies in connection with applications for benefits under this title on the basis of blindness or disability, that individuals who have attained 18 years of age are blind or disabled as of a specified onset date.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act - Transfers marijuana from schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act to schedule II of such Act. Prohibits, in a State in which marijuana may be prescribed or recommended by a physician for medical use under applicable State law, any provision of the Controlled Substances Act from prohibiting or otherwise restricting: (1) the prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a physician for medical use; (2) an individual from obtaining and using marijuana from a prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a physician for medical use by such individual; or (3) a pharmacy from obtaining and holding marijuana for the prescription or recommendation of marijuana by a physician for medical use under applicable State law. Prohibits any provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act from prohibiting or restricting a State entity, in a State in which marijuana may be prescribed by a physician for medical use, from producing or distributing marijuana for the purpose of its distribution for prescription or recommendation by a physician.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Help Expand Access to Recovery and Treatment (HEART) Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, and the Internal Revenue Code to provide for parity in the application of treatment limitations and financial requirements to substance abuse treatment benefits under group health plans and individual health insurance coverage.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
National Museum of African American History and Culture Act - Establishes within the Smithsonian Institution (SI) the National Museum of African American History and Culture, to be operated as a center for scholarship and a location for museum training, public education, exhibits, and collection and study of items and materials relating to the life, art, history, and culture of African Americans that encompass the period of slavery, the era of reconstruction, the Harlem renaissance, the civil rights movement, and other periods of the African American diaspora. Establishes the National Museum of African American History and Culture Council to: (1) advise and assist the SI Board of Regents on Museum planning, design, construction, operation, and budgets; and (2) have responsibility and authority with respect to the Museum's collections and work. Requires the Secretary of SI to appoint a Museum Director. Establishes the Office of Education and Liaison Programs within the Museum to work with educational institutions and museums throughout the Nation. Requires the Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to establish specified grant, scholarship, internship, and fellowship programs relating to African American museums. Directs the Board of Regents to select the Museum's site from one of four specified sites on or adjacent to the national mall. Directs the Council and the Board of Regents, in carrying out their duties under this Act, to consider the reports and plans submitted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission under the National Museum of African American History and Culture Plan for Action Presidential Commission Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-106).
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) the space science learning center in Downey, California, should be designated as the Columbia Memorial Space Science Learning Center; and (2) the Federal Government, along with public and private organizations and persons, should continue to cooperate in the establishment of such center.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Recognizes Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, and those who actively supported their efforts, for ending segregation in schools in Orange County, California, and for setting the precedent for Brown v. Board of Education (which ended segregation in U.S. schools and declared the doctrine of "separate but equal" unconstitutional).
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Fairness and Accountability in International Taxation Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to deny reduced withholding tax treaty benefits to a foreign entity on any deductible foreign payment (deductible payment made by a domestic entity to a related foreign entity) unless such entity is predominantly owned by individuals who are residents of such foreign country. Exempts from such provision: (1) corporations with substantial business activities in a treaty country with specified tax rates; (2) payments received by controlled foreign corporations from U.S. shareholders; and (3) certain conduit payments made by foreign corporations. Provides a special income and deduction allocation rule for related-party inbound (transfer price increased by deflected tax haven income) and outbound (transfer price increased by deflected tax haven income) transactions. Defines "related-party inbound transaction," "related-party outbound transaction," and "deflected tax haven."
United States · United States Congress · 21 May 2003
Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act - Amends Federal transportation law to prohibit a State from prescribing or enforcing any regulation that allows a restricted property-carrying unit (any trailer, semi-trailer, container, or other property-carrying unit longer than 53 feet, except for a fire-fighting unit) to operate on the National Highway System (including the Interstate System), unless the operation of such unit is authorized by the State on June 1, 2003, and in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including seasonal operations) on or before that date. Prohibits a State from allowing the operation of a commercial motor vehicle combination on the National Highway System (except a vehicle or load that cannot be dismantled or divided easily, and that has been issued a special permit under State law) with more than one property-carrying unit (excluding the truck tractor) whose property-carrying units are more than: (1) the maximum combination trailer, semi-trailer, or other type of length limitation allowed by State law on June 1, 2003; or (2) the length of the property-carrying units of those commercial motor vehicle combinations, by specific configuration, in actual and lawful operation on a regular or periodic basis (including continual seasonal operation) in such State on or before June 1, 2003. Permits a commercial motor vehicle combination authorized in a State to continue to operate on System highways provided it is in compliance with State law, including routing-specific and configuration-specific designations and all other restrictions in force in the State on June 1, 2003. Amends Federal highway law to prohibit a State from allowing the operation of a vehicle or combination (other than a longer combination vehicle) exceeding Interstate weight limits on the Interstate System unless its operation was lawful: (1) on July 1, 1956; (2) in the case of the overall gross weight of any group of two or more consecutive axles, on the date of enactment of the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974; or (3) under a special permit pursuant to State (grandfather) law. Subjects such vehicles and combinations to all routing-specific, commodity-specific, and weight-specific designations in force in such State on June 1, 2003. Sets forth requirements with respect to: (1) the operation of vehicles and loads which cannot be easily dismantled or divided (nondivisible loads) on the Federal-aid highway system as they relate to Interstate weight limitations; and (2) waiver of weight limitations for vehicles that operate on the Federal-aid highway system during periods of national emergency. Declares that Interstate weight limitations on vehicles and combinations (other than longer combination vehicles) that operate on the Interstate System shall also apply to such vehicles and combinations that operate on non-Interstate segments of the National Highway System, unless: (1) such segments are subject to lower State weight limits; or (2) a State allows the operation of any vehicle or combination on an existing non-Interstate segment of the National Highway System that could be so operated lawfully on June 1, 2003. Requires establishment of a model schedule of fines for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2003
National Forest Protection and Restoration Act - Prohibits commercial logging and timber sales (with specified exceptions) on Federal public lands, with a two-year phase-out for existing contracts. Provides for payment of relinquished contracts. Directs the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to each: (1) establish a National Heritage Restoration Corps to restore (and monitor) such lands to their natural pre-logging condition; and (2) develop National Heritage Restoration Plans and related standards for regional ecological restoration and monitoring. Sets forth provisions respecting forest fire and hazardous fuel reduction. Provides for worker retraining of eligible persons whose jobs have been lost due to terminated timber and logging contracts. Authorizes the Secretary of Labor to make training grants, including grants for job search and relocation. Sets forth fund allocation provisions, including amounts for an Environmental Protection Agency investigation of non-wood paper and construction alternatives. Amends the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 to make permanent certain education, transportation, and public purpose payments to States and counties containing Federal land. Authorizes a private right of action for violations of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 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 President Jose Maria Aznar of Spain in recognition of his contributions to maintaining the security of all freedom-loving nations. Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to strike such medal and authorizes the Secretary to strike and sell bronze duplicates.
United States · United States Congress · 15 May 2003
Rite of Passage Community Service Act - Amends the National and Community Service Act of 1990 to establish a Rite of Passage Community Service Program. Requires such program to be a community-based after-school and summer service corps for eligible young people who are between the ages of 12 and 16, inclusive, at the time they begin such service. Requires such program to offer participants service-learning curricula linked to academic goals, as well as opportunities for: (1) service in their communities; (2) activities that train in certain critical skills; and (3) working with older AmeriCorps members who can organize service projects and act as mentors. Requires each individual program participant to: (1) agree to participate in such after-school or summer program for at least 150 hours during a period of at least two months and not more than one year; and (2) receive a $500 education award upon completion of such required hours of service.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Pension Fairness Act of 2003 - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code (Code) to revise and add protections for participants and beneficiaries under employee pension plans (plans). Revises information disclosure provisions to require both defined benefit plans and defined contribution (401(k) and related) plans to give participants periodic statements on earned benefits. Requires notice of excessive stock holdings (more than ten percent in employer stock) and the risks of such excess. Requires a corporate insider or plan fiduciary who sells a specified minimum amount of employer stock holdings to report such sale to participants. Revises enforcement requirements. Requires the accounting standard for an issuer of a single-employer defined benefit plan to be modified to prevent the plan's investment gains from being treated as income to such issuer (and prohibits the Security and Exchange Commission from recognizing such standard before such modification). Requires that participants and their beneficiaries be allowed to diversify their plan investments (by divesting employer stock and reinvesting elsewhere) after three years of the participant's service as an employee. Directs the Secretaries of Labor and of the Treasury to report to specified congressional committees their recommendations relating to treatment of non-publicly traded stock for purposes of such participants control over assets in their plan accounts. Requires that employees and employers have equal representation and voting rights in the joint trusteeship of individual account plans under which some or all of the assets are derived from employee contributions. Sets forth increased accountability requirements, including bonding or insurance adequate to protect interest of participants and beneficiaries, liability for breach of fiduciary duty, and preservation of rights or claims. Establishes an Office of Pension Participant Advocacy, with a Pension Participation Advocate, in the Department of Labor. Directs the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to contract to study and report on the insurance system for individual account plans. Establishes an excise tax on failure of pension plans to provide notice of transaction restriction periods. Requires plan investment advisors to meet certain standards of independence or provide access to independent advice for employees. Provides that employers are not liable for such advice if they prudently select and monitor such advisors. Provides for expanded tax-deferred treatment of qualified retirement planning services for employees. Sets forth requirements for parity in employee benefits. Requires inclusion in gross income of the funded executive deferred compensation (protected in bankruptcy) if a corporation funds its defined contribution plan with employer stock (not protected in bankruptcy). Makes inapplicable, in the case of pension surpluses and assets, the executive performance-based compensation exception to the limitation on deductible compensation. Provides protection for long-service employees during conversions to hybrid defined benefit plans. Requires that employees with ten years of service be allowed to choose whether to receive benefits promised under a traditional plan or under a new cash balance plan. Provides for treatment of corporate insiders, including special rules for executive perks and retirement benefits. Applies the golden parachute excise tax to deferred compensation which is paid by a corporation after a major decline in stock value or when the corporation declares bankruptcy. Requires adequate disclosure regarding executive compensation packages to employees and to unions during collective bargaining. Revises Federal bankruptcy law to provide additional protections for employees of bankrupt employers. Provides for avoidance of certain transfers, and for alternate prosecution of action. Limits retention bonuses, severance pay, and certain other payments. Revises priorities for payment of claims to raise from $4,000 to $10,000 the maximum individual limit on allowed unsecured claims for wages, salaries, or commissions, including leave pay, or certain sales commissions, earned within 90 days before petition filing or business cessation. Subjects to deductible limits the corporate tax deduction for reinvested dividends of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). Makes permanent the Saver's Tax Credit, which is a tax credit for elective deferrals and individual retirement account (IRA) contributions by certain individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to increase the deduction for meal and entertainment expenses to 80 percent (currently 50 percent) of the otherwise allowable amount.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Access to Medical Treatment Act - Permits any individual to be treated by a health care practitioner with any medical treatment that the individual desires (including a treatment that is not approved, certified, or licensed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services) if: (1) the practitioner agrees to treat the individual; and (2) the administration of such treatment does not violate licensing laws. Authorizes health care practitioners to provide any method of treatment to such an individual if certain requirements are met. Requires a practitioner to report: (1) administering such treatment and discovering it to be a danger to an individual; and (2) the positive effects of an unconventional medical treatment for a life-threatening medical condition. States that nothing in this Act shall in any way adversely affect the distribution or sale of dietary supplements.
United States · United States Congress · 14 May 2003
Long-Term Care and Retirement Security Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow: (1) a deduction (increasing percentages with full deductibility as of 2008) for eligible long-term care insurance premiums for a taxpayer, spouse, and dependents and (2) long-term care insurance to be offered under cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. Allows an income-adjusted (limited) credit for eligible individuals with long-term care needs. Sets forth specified requirements for qualifying long-term care insurance contracts. Treats an exchange of qualified long-term care insurance contracts as a disposition of property for which no gain or loss is recognized.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2003
Export Freedom to Cuba Act of 2003 - Prohibits the President from regulating or prohibiting travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens or legal residents, or any of specified transactions incident to such travel. Declares that: (1) this prohibition does not authorize the importation into the United States of any goods for personal consumption acquired in Cuba; and (2) the restrictions on authority contained in this Act do not apply in a case in which the United States is at war with Cuba, armed hostilities between the two countries are in progress, or there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of U.S. travelers.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Freedom of Choice for Women in the Uniformed Services Act - Limits the prohibition against the use of any medical treatment facility of the Department of Defense to perform an abortion except where the life of the mother would be endangered if the fetus were carried to full term or in the case of rape or incest to those facilities in the United States.
United States · United States Congress · 9 May 2003
Preservation of Localism, Program Diversity, and Competition in Television Broadcast Service Act of 2003 - Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from permitting any license for a commercial television broadcast station to be granted, transferred, or assigned to any party if such action would result in that party owning, operating, controlling, or having a cognizable interest in stations which have an aggregate national audience reach exceeding 35 percent. Requires any party currently having licenses in excess of such limit to divest as necessary to comply with such limit within one year.
![Official portrait of Rep. Farr, Sam [D-CA-20]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000030_200.jpg)