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 · 2 June 2003
Loan Forgiveness for Head Start Teachers Act of 2003 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend to certain Head Start teachers student loan forgiveness under both the Federal Family Education Loan program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program.
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
Highway Funding Equity Act of 2003 - Revises Federal highway funding minimum guarantee provisions. Requires the Secretary of Transportation, for each of FY 2004 through 2009, to allocate among the States amounts sufficient to ensure that: (1) the percentage for each State of the total apportionments for the fiscal year for the National Highway System (NHS), the high priority projects program, the Interstate maintenance program, the surface transportation program, metropolitan planning, the highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation program, the congestion mitigation and air quality improvement program, the recreational trails program, the Appalachian development highway system, and the basic minimum guarantee equals or exceeds 95 percent of the ratio that the estimated tax payments to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) (other than the Mass Transit Account) attributable to highway users in the State bears to such payments attributable to highway users in all States (with a specified exception for any State having a population density of less than 50 individuals per square mile); and (2) when HTF allocations (other than from the Mass Transit Account, for such programs, emergency relief, and the discretionary minimum guarantee) for the fiscal year have been identified, the percentage for each State of all of those allocations for the fiscal year equals or exceeds the percentage that is equal to 95 percent of such tax payments ratio. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) the programmatic distribution of NHS funds exceeding $2.8 billion; (2) the apportionment of the remainder of funds to the States; and (3) required adjustments where the sum of State percentages exceeds 100.
United States · United States Congress · 22 May 2003
Obesity Prevention Act - Amends the National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Education (ED), to award competitive grants to: (1) up to 20 State educational agencies for model nutrition education and physical fitness programs for elementary and secondary school students; and (2) up to 100 local educational agencies (LEAs), at least one per State, for pilot projects to promote healthy eating habits and increase the physical fitness of such students. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to make grants to encourage States to implement plans to carry out activities to assist obese children or children at risk of becoming obese. Requires a State, in order to receive such a grant, to: (1) have a State child health plan which provides satisfactorily for certain activities under the children health insurance program of the Social Security Act; and (2) agree to make available at least 15 percent in non-Federal matching funds. Establishes a Commission on Obesity Treatment and Prevention to oversee research, policy formation, and other activities of the Federal Government regarding the prevention and treatment of obesity. Directs the Secretary of HHS, in consultation with the Secretary of ED, to establish programs of: (1) President's Health and Fitness Awards for elementary and secondary schools; and (2) President's Health and Fitness Teacher Achievement Awards for teachers, coaches, or related personnel and the LEAs that employ them.. Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to include nutrition and health education programs in authorized local activities of 21st century community learning centers' programs before- and after-school and during summer recess.
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
Supports the goals and ideals of a National Epilepsy Awareness Month. Urges: (1) an increase in Federal funding for epilepsy research programs at the National Institutes of Health and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and (2) that initial funding be provided to the Department of Health and Human Services to create demonstration projects to serve people with epilepsy who may lack access to adequate medical care.
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
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 · 20 May 2003
Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2003 - Directs the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to expand, intensify, and coordinate programs for the conduct and support of research with respect to uterine fibroids. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and disseminate to the public information regarding uterine fibroids, including on: (1) the elevated risk for minority women; and (2) the availability of a range of treatment options. Directs the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to develop and disseminate to health care providers information on uterine fibroids, including on: (1) the elevated risk for minority women; and (2) and treatment options.
United States · United States Congress · 20 May 2003
Offers the condolences and deepest sympathy of the House of Representatives to the families of the victims of the terrorist suicide bombing attacks that occurred on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. Expresses its hopes for a quick recovery to those individuals who were injured in the attacks. Supports the provision of appropriate U.S. assistance to the people of Morocco in this time of sorrow and grief. Calls on the Federal Government to continue to work with the Kingdom of Morocco as an ally in the fight against terrorism.
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
Increases the annual salaries of the Chief Justice and associate justices of the Supreme Court, U.S. circuit and district judges, and judges of the U.S. Court of International Trade and Court of Federal Claims by 16.5 percent on January 1, 2004.
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 · 8 May 2003
Medicaid Community-Based Attendant Services and Supports Act of 2003 - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to mandate State Medicaid plan coverage of community-based attendant services and supports for certain Medicaid-eligible individuals. Outlines provisions for: (1) an enhanced Federal medical assistance percentage for ongoing activities of early coverage States that enhance and promote the use of community-based attendant services and supports; and (2) increased Federal financial participation for certain expenditures incurred by the State for the provision of community-based attendant services and supports. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) award grants to eligible States which have established a Consumer Task Force to assist the State in its development of real choice systems change initiatives; and (2) conduct a demonstration project for the purpose of evaluating service coordination and cost-sharing approaches with respect to the provision of community-based services and supports to non-elderly dually eligible individuals.
United States · United States Congress · 8 May 2003
Clean Smokestacks Act of 2003 - Amends the Clean Air Act (CAA) to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to promulgate regulations to achieve specified reductions in emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide, and mercury from powerplants (electric generation facilities with a nameplate capacity of 15 megawatts or more that use a combustion device to generate electricity for sale) by January 1, 2009. Requires powerplants, on the later of the date 30 years after the powerplant commenced operation or five years after this Act's enactment, to comply with the most recent new source performance standards under CAA provisions regarding air quality and emissions limitations and with specified requirements for modified sources.
United States · United States Congress · 7 May 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 Government of Iraq certifies that the exportation of such material from Iraq was not in violation of Iraqi law. Requires U.S. custom officers to detain such material until it can be certified as legally exported from Iraq. 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) 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; and (3) 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 · 7 May 2003
Charitable Giving Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to charitable giving and charitable organizations to: (1) allow a deduction for a portion of charitable contributions to individuals who do not itemize; (2) allow tax-free distributions from individual retirement accounts for charitable purposes; (3) increase the cap on corporate charitable contributions; (4) provide a special rule for charitable contributions of food inventory; (5) revise certain excise taxes related to private foundations; (6) modify the excise tax on unrelated business taxable income of charitable remainder trusts; (7) extend and expand the charitable contribution for scientific property used for research and for computer technology and equipment used for educational purposes; (8) adjust the basis of S corporation stock for certain charitable contributions; (9) suspend the tax-exempt status of terrorist organizations; (10) revise church tax inquiry provisions; (11) revise declaratory judgment remedy provisions relating to tax-exempt organizations; (12) exclude from gross income certain landowner initiatives programs to conserve endangered habitats or species; (13) repeal the grassroots expenditure limit for charitable organizations; and (14) set forth a private foundation's permitted holdings, including provisions relating to a corporation that is publicly traded and publicly controlled. Amends title IV of the Social Security Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make grants to any private entity that operates a promising social services program (as defined by this Act). Amends the Assets for Independence Act to authorize appropriations for the assets for independence programs. Expresses the sense of Congress encouraging corporate contributions to faith-based organizations. Amends the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act to include maternity group homes (as defined by this Act) within the program for transitional living youth projects for homeless youth. Authorizes FY 2003 and 2004 appropriations for such group homes.
United States · United States Congress · 6 May 2003
Office of Correctional Health Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Office of Public Health and Science of the Public Health Service the Office of Correctional Health. Requires the Office to carry out public health activities for employees in Federal, State, or local penal or correctional institutions or for persons incarcerated in such institutions (collectively referred to as correctional populations). Includes among such activities disease prevention, health promotion, service delivery, research, and health professions education activities. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to States to provide for correctional populations screenings, immunizations, and treatment for hepatitis A, B, and C. Sets forth a matching requirement for such grants. Requires a portion of each grant to be expended to carry out such activities at penal or correctional facilities that are not facilities in which individuals serve terms of imprisonment, including remand facilities.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Jamestown 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of 2003 - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to mint and issue not more than 100,000 $5 gold coins and 500,000 $1 silver coins, which shall be emblematic of the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia (the first permanent English settlement in America). Provides for a $35 per coin surcharge for the $5 dollar coins and $10 per coin for the $1 dollar coins. Directs that: (1) half of the surcharges be used to support programs to promote the understanding of the legacies of Jamestown (to be paid to the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation); and (2) half be used to sustain the ongoing mission of preserving Jamestown, to enhance national and international educational programs relating to Jamestown, to improve infrastructure and archeological research activities relating to Jamestown, and conduct other programs to support the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Jamestown (to be distributed by the Secretary in equal shares to the Secretary of the Interior, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation).
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide transportation on Department of Defense aircraft, on a space-available basis, for veterans with service-connected disabilities rated at 50 percent or more, and for their dependents, on the same basis that such transportation is provided to former military personnel entitled to retired or retainer pay.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Genetic Nondiscrimination in Health Insurance and Employment Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act , the Internal Revenue Code, and Medicare supplemental policy provisions to prohibit health plans and insurers, with respect to protected genetic information, from discriminating in enrollment, eligibility, contribution rates, and premium rates based on such information. Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or training program to discriminate because of protected genetic information.
United States · United States Congress · 1 May 2003
Diabetes Prevention Access and Care Act - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Director of the National Institutes of Health to expand, intensify, conduct, coordinate, and support research and other activities with respect to pre-diabetes and diabetes, particularly type 2, in minority populations. Directs that the activities shall include research on the causes and effects of health care access disparities and racial discrimination. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to: (1) expand the National Diabetes Education Program; and (2) through the Indian Health Service, conduct research on attention by health care professionals to the American Indian population with regard to diabetes. Directs the Diabetes Mellitus Interagency Coordinating Committee to develop a Federal plan to address diabetes mellitus within communities of color. Requires the Secretary to conduct and support programs to treat diabetes in minority populations, including, through the National Institute of Mental Health, to provide for comprehensive mental health services and treatment to certain individuals. Directs the Secretary, acting through the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, to make grants to expand Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program internships and mentoring opportunities for recruitment of minorities in diabetes-focused health fields. Provides for Federal and State loan repayment programs for health profession students of color. Requires the Secretary, acting through the CDC, to: (1) expand the Diabetes Control Program; and (2) fund education and community outreach on diabetes.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Authorizes the President to present a gold medal in recognition of Jackie Robinson's contributions to the Nation. Calls for designation of a national day recognizing Robinson's accomplishments.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to prohibit group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group health insurance coverage, with regard to hospital stays in connection with breast cancer treatment, from: (1) covering less than 48 hours after mastectomies or less than 24 hours after lymph node dissections; or (2) requiring plan or issuer authorization for prescribing any length of stay. Prohibits: (1) denying eligibility, enrollment, or renewal to avoid these requirements; (2) providing payments or rebates to women; or (3) penalizing or providing incentives to providers. Applies the same requirements to issuers in the individual market.
United States · United States Congress · 30 April 2003
Flight Attendant Certification Act - Amends Federal taransportation law to require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to prescribe standards for cabin crew training and certification for individuals working in an aircraft cabin on board a transport category aircraft with twenty or more seats. Requires all new and existing cabin crew members to be certified by the Administrator after successful completion of an air carrier's training program consisting of: (1) initial, indoctrination, and emergency training; (2) air carrier specific training related to aircraft types and operator's certificate; and (3) submission by the air carrier to the Administrator confirming such completion. Declares that the Administrator shall be prohibited from granting an air carrier a waiver of cabin crew training requirements or an exemption from any part of such requirements. Requires a cabin crew member, to qualify for a cabin crew certificate, to successfully: (1) complete the training requirements established by the Administrator, including all initial, indoctrination, emergency, transition, differences, recurrent, and requalification training; (2) complete the cabin security and self-defense training requirements established by the Transportation Security Administrator; and (3) perform the assigned duties of a cabin crew member and complete the approved proficiency check, under the supervision of a certified instructor or supervisor, for not less than five hours of initial operating experience. Requires air carrier training programs to receive the Administrator's approval.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2003
National Pain Care Policy Act of 2003 - Directs the President to convene a White House Conference on Pain Care, which shall identify barriers to appropriate pain care. Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to establish within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a National Center for Pain and Palliative Care Research. Requires the Director of NIH to carry out a program to develop and advance the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of pain and palliative care. Permits the Secretary to award grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to public and private entities to further the education and training of health care professionals in pain and palliative care. Directs the Secretary to establish and implement a national campaign to provide information to the public on responsible pain management, related symptom management, and palliative care. Amends Federal law to direct the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation, and Health and Human Services to develop and implement a pain care palliative initiative in all health care facilities of the uniformed services. Amends Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (Medicare) to require Medicare+Choice plans to meet certain pain care standards. Requires TRICARE (a Department of Defense managed health care program) to meet such pain care standards. Amends Federal law to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a pain care initiative in all health care facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
United States · United States Congress · 29 April 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from income and employment taxes and wage withholding a rebate of real or personal property taxes, or any other benefit, provided by a State or political subdivision on account of services performed as a member of a qualified volunteer emergency response organization.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2003
Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2003 - Declares the sense of Congress that: (1) the Government of Syria should immediately and unconditionally halt support for terrorism, permanently and openly declare its total renunciation of all forms of terrorism, and close all terrorist offices and facilities in Syria, including the offices of Hamas, Hizballah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command; (2) the Government of Syria should take other specified steps to withdraw its armed forces from Lebanon, halt development of certain weapons, halt illegal imports and transshipments of Iraqi oil and illegal sales and supplies of weapons and military-related equipment to Iraq; (3) the Government of Lebanon should deploy the Lebanese armed forces to all areas of Lebanon, including South Lebanon, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 520 (September 17, 1982) (Security Council Resolution 520); (4) the Governments of Lebanon and Syria should enter into serious unconditional bilateral negotiations with the Government of Israel in order to realize a full and permanent peace; (5) the United States should continue to provide humanitarian and educational assistance to the people of Lebanon only through appropriate private, nongovernmental organizations and appropriate international organizations, until such time as the Government of Lebanon asserts sovereignty and control over all of its territory and borders and achieves full political independence; and (6) being in violation of several key United Nations Security Council resolutions and pursuing policies which undermine international peace and security, Syria should not have been permitted to join the United Nations Security Council or serve as the Security Council's President, and should be removed from the Security Council. Declares that it is U.S. policy: (1) Syria will be held responsible for attacks committed by Hizballah and other terrorist groups with offices or other facilities in Syria, or bases in areas of Lebanon occupied by Syria; (2) the United States shall impede Syria's ability to support acts of international terrorism and efforts to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction; (3) the Secretary of State will continue to list Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism until it ends support for terrorism, including its support of Hizballah and other terrorist groups in Lebanon and its hosting of terrorist groups in Damascus, and comes into full compliance with U.S. law relating to terrorism and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373 (September 28, 2001); (4) efforts against Hizballah will be expanded given the recognition that Hizballah is equally or more capable than al Qaeda; (5) the full restoration of Lebanon's sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity is in the U.S. national security interest; (6) Syria is in violation of Security Council Resolution 520 through its continued occupation of Lebanese territory and its encroachment upon its political independence; (7) Syria's obligation to withdraw from Lebanon is not conditioned upon progress in the Israeli-Syrian or Israeli-Lebanese peace process but derives from Syria's obligation under Security Council Resolution 520; (8) Syria's acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs threaten the security of the Middle East and U.S. national security interests; (9) Syria is in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 661 (August 6, 1990) and subsequent relevant resolutions through its continued purchase of oil from Iraq and shipments of weapons and other military equipment to Iraq; (10) Syria will be held accountable for any harm to Coalition armed forces of Operation Iraqi Freedom caused by shipments of military supplies from Syria to Iraq; and (11) the United States will not provide any assistance to Syria and will oppose multilateral assistance for Syria until Syria withdraws its armed forces from Lebanon, halts the development and deployment of weapons of mass destruction and medium and long range surface to surface ballistic missiles, and complies with Security Council Resolution 661 and subsequent relevant resolutions. Sets forth the following penalties against Syria until the President determines and certifies to Congress that Syria meets the requirements of this Act. Directs the President to prohibit the export to Syria of any item, including the issuance of an export license, on the United States Munitions List or Commerce Control List of dual-use items in the Export Administration Regulations. Requires the President, at the same time, to impose two or more of the following sanctions: (1) prohibit the export to Syria of U.S. products (other than food and medicine); (2) prohibit U.S. businesses from investing or operating in Syria; (3) restrict Syrian diplomats in Washington, D.C., and at the United Nations in New York City, to travel only within a 25-mile radius of Washington, D.C., or the United Nations headquarters building, respectively; (4) prohibit aircraft of any air carrier owned or controlled by Syria to take off from, land in, or overfly the United States; (5) reduce U.S. diplomatic contacts with Syria (other than those required to protect U.S. interests or carry out the purposes of this Act); and (6) block transactions in any property in which the Government of Syria has any interest, by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to U.S. jurisdiction. Authorizes the President to waive such sanctions for one or more six-month periods if the President determines that it is in the vital national security interest of the United States to do so and reports his reasons to Congress. Authorizes the President to provide development assistance to Syria and Lebanon under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 if he certifies to Congress that: (1) Syria meets the requirements of this Act; (2) substantial progress has been made both in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between Israel and Syria and in negotiations aimed at achieving a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon; and (3) the Government of Syria is strictly respecting the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and political independence of Lebanon under the sole and exclusive authority of the Government of Lebanon through the Lebanese army throughout Lebanon, as required under Security Council Resolution 520. Requires annual reports to the appropriate congressional committees on Syria's progress in complying with the requirements of this Act.
United States · United States Congress · 12 April 2003
Commends the efforts of former South African President Nelson Mandela and others involved in the historic peace agreement for the Republic of Burundi that was signed in 2001 in Arusha, Tanzania. Calls on the President to significantly increase development and economic assistance to Burundi. Urges the President to work with Congress to lift restrictions imposed on Burundi after the 1996 coup and, acting through the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to establish a USAID mission there. Urges the international community to assist Burundi in its debt relief efforts, including through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Authorizes the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to arrange for the presentation to Dr. Dorothy Height (President of the National Council of Negro Women) of a congressional gold medal in recognition of her many contributions to the Nation.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Family Opportunity Act of 2003 or Dylan Lee James Act - Amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to: (1) give States the option of allowing families of disabled children to purchase Medicaid coverage for them; and (2) provide for treatment of inpatient psychiatric hospital services for individuals under age 21 under waivers allowing for payment of part or all of the cost of home or community-based services. Amends SSA title V (Maternal and Child Health Services) to make appropriations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for special projects of regional and national significance for development and support of family-to-family health information centers. Amends SSA title XIX to provide for the restoration of Medicaid eligibility to certain Supplemental Security Income (SSA title XVI) beneficiaries under age 21.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Job Protection Act of 2003 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the foreign sales corporation/extraterritorial income (FSC/ETI) exclusion, with an exemption for certain binding contracts in effect before the date of enactment of this Act. Permits a foreign corporation that elected to be treated as a domestic corporation to revoke such election and be treated as a domestic corporation transferring its property to a foreign corporation with no gain recognized on such transfer. Provides: (1) a transitional 2004 through 2008 sliding-scale deduction for an FSC/ETI beneficiary based on the corporation's 2001 FSC/ETI benefit; and (2) special rules for 2003 and for fiscal year taxpayers. Defines "FSC/ETI benefit." Allows a deduction for income attributable to U.S. production activities equal to ten percent of qualified production activities. Provides a 2006 through 2009 phase-in period. Defines "qualified production activities" as: (1) the portion of the modified taxable income attributable to domestic activities; and (2) the domestic/foreign fraction. Sets forth related provisions with respect to: (1) determination of income attributable to domestic production activities; (2) domestic production gross receipts; (3) qualifying production property; (4) domestic/foreign fraction; and (5) special rules.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act of 2003 - Designates specified lands in the following areas of Utah as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: (1) Great Basin; (2) Zion and Mojave Desert; (3) the Grand Staircase and the Escalante Canyons; (4) Moab-La Sal Canyons; (5) Henry Mountains; (6) Glen Canyon; (7) San Juan-Anasazi; (8) Canyonlands Basin; (9) San Rafael Swell; and (10) Book Cliffs and Uinta Basin. Sets forth administrative provisions regarding: (1) filing by the Secretary of the Interior of a map and a legal description of each designated wilderness area with appropriate congressional committees; (2) the exchange of State-owned lands within such areas; (3) Federal reservation of water rights; (4) measurement of setbacks for roads with wilderness; (5) authorized livestock grazing; and (6) withdrawal of such lands from disposition under certain public land laws.
United States · United States Congress · 11 April 2003
Condemns and deplores the incommunicado detention of Dr. Yang Jianli by the People's Republic of China, and the lack of due process afforded him. Calls for his immediate and unconditional release. Declares the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should: (1) make the immediate release of Dr. Yang Jianli by the Government of the People's Republic of China a top priority of U.S. foreign policy; (2) continue to make every effort to assist Dr. Yang Jianli and his family while discussions of his release are ongoing; (3) make it clear to the Government of the People's Republic of China that the detention of U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens, and the infliction of human rights violations on these groups, is not in the interests of the Government of the People's Republic of China; and (4) send a special, high-ranking representative of the U.S. Government immediately to China to reiterate the deep U.S. concern regarding the continued imprisonment of Dr. Yang Jianli and other U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens, and discuss their legal status and immediate humanitarian needs.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to States and local governments to coordinate their budget-related actions with Federal Government efforts to stimulate the economy. Authorizes appropriations for FY 2003 for such payments in an amount equal to the total amount appropriated for for FY 2003 for the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund in the Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2003, and subsequent appropriations Acts.Requires not less than one-third of such amount to be made available to local governments. Requires the Secretary to establish a formula for determining the allocation of payments, with priority consideration to the relative unemployment rate, median income, population, and poverty rate. Permits the use of funds received by States and local governments only for: (1) ordinary and necessary maintenance and operating expenses for education; public safety; public health; social services; roads, transportation, and water infrastructure; and housing; and (2) ordinary and necessary capital expenditures authorized by law.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Reform of Energy Workers Compensation Act - Amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) to provide for worker compensation benefit payments to contractor employees of the Department of Energy (DOE) who were exposed to toxic substances at DOE facilities. (This new subtitle D replaces the current provisions for DOE assistance to such employees in State workers compensation proceedings.) Requires DOE to review claims and determine causation within specified time limits (with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) continuing to appoint members of physician review panels for diagnosing such occupational illnesses). Requires the Secretary of Energy to appoint a Worker Advocacy Advisory Committee to advise on claims procedures and related matters. Directs the Secretary of Labor, acting as a third-party administrator for DOE, to pay such benefits from the EEOICPA fund for claimants approved by DOE. Requires the Secretaries of Energy and of Labor to ensure that such claims are resolved in a nonadversarial manner. Revises EEOIPA subtitle B program administration provisions to add as covered illnesses: (1) chronic renal disease, for uranium workers; and (2) lung cancer, among beryllium-related diseases. Revises provisions relating to: (1) a special exposure cohort expansion procedure; (2) the radioepidemiologic model for determining compensation; and (3) additional specified cancers. Provides for coverage of individuals employed by atomic weapons employers or beryllium employees during a period of residual contamination. Requires the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to report to Congress on its access to information relating to performing radiation dose reconstructions. Provides administrative assistance for claimants under either subtitle B or D, including administrative relief and proof where medical records are not available, resource centers, and outreach programs. Establishes within the Office of the Secretary of Labor the Office of the Ombudsman for Occupational Illness Compensation, which is to coordinate activities of the Secretaries of Labor, Energy, and HHS under EEOICPA.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2003 - Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to extend through FY 2007 the authorization of appropriations for the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program (a matching grant program which helps State, tribal, and local jurisdictions purchase armor vests for use by law enforcement officers).
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Health Care Parity for Legal Transportation and Recreational Activities Act - Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to prohibit a group health plan or health insurance issuer from denying benefits otherwise provided for the treatment of an injury solely because such injury resulted from the participation of the participant or beneficiary in a legal transportation and recreational activity such as motorcycling or skiing.
United States · United States Congress · 10 April 2003
Men's Health Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services an office to be known as the Office of Men's Health. Requires a report.
United States · United States Congress · 9 April 2003
Student Adjustment Act of 2003 - Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to repeal the provision prohibiting an unlawful alien's eligibility for higher education benefits based on State residence unless a U.S. national is similarly eligible without regard to such State residence. Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to cancel the removal of, and adjust to permanent resident status, certain (inadmissible or deportable) alien middle or secondary students with qualifying years of U.S. residency. Makes such aliens eligible for Federal and State higher education assistance during the pendency of their application for cancellation of removal.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
College Fire Prevention Act - Directs the Secretary of Education to make competitive demonstration grants to private or public colleges or universities, fraternities, or sororities for up to half the cost of installing fire sprinkler systems, or other fire suppression or prevention technologies, in student housing and dormitories owned or controlled by such entities. Requires grant priority to be given eligible entities that demonstrate the greatest financial need. Reserves the following portions of grant funds made available for each fiscal year: (1) at least ten percent for eligible entities that are historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities; and (2) at least ten percent for eligible entities that are social fraternities and sororities. Provides that any application for assistance under this Act, any negative determination on the part of the Secretary with respect to such application, or any statement of reasons for the determination, shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceeding of any court, agency, board, or other entity (except a proceeding to enforce an agreement entered into between the Secretary and an eligible entity under this Act).
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
SCHIP Web-Based Enrollment Act of 2003 - Amends title XXI (State Children's Health Insurance Program) (SCHIP) of the Social Security Act to encourage the use of Internet web-based enrollment systems under SCHIP. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to provide for grants to enable States to develop and implement web-based enrollment systems under their SCHIP child health plans.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Quality Cancer Care Preservation Act - Amends part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to revise the payment amount for covered drugs and biologicals furnished during a calendar quarter that are not paid on a cost or prospective payment basis. Changes such amount from 95 percent of the average wholesale price to 120 percent of the average sales price of the drug or biological for the second preceding calendar quarter. Requires drug manufacturers to report average sales prices each calendar quarter for covered drugs and biologicals. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) revise the practice expense relative value units for drug administration services (including chemotherapy administration services) in accordance with this Act to determine the units to be used in determining the fee schedule amounts paid for drug administration services under the Medicare program; (2) recognize and make payments under Medicare for chemotherapy support services furnished incident to physicians' services; (3) recognize and establish a payment amount for the service of cancer therapy management to account for the greater pre-service and post-service work associated with visits and consultations conducted by physicians treating cancer patients compared to typical visits and consultations; and (4) develop a revised methodology for determining the payment amounts for services that are paid under the Medicare fee schedule and that do not have physician work relative value units, including radiation oncology services. Amends SSA title XVIII to provide that if the Secretary requires direct supervision of a service by a physician, that supervision requirement may be fulfilled by one or more physicians other than the physician who ordered the service.
United States · United States Congress · 3 April 2003
Amends the Internal Revenue Code to classify qualified leasehold improvement property (defined as certain improvements made to an interior portion of nonresidential real property) as ten-year property for depreciation purposes under the Accelerated Cost Recovery System.
United States · United States Congress · 2 April 2003
Medicare Rx Now Act of 2003 - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to provide for outpatient prescription drug coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance), along with an annual deductible, adjusted for inflation, with a three-tiered copayment structure (with reduced copayments for generic drugs). Allows for high-deductible outpatient prescription drug coverage under such new program with the provision of benefits through Medicare approved prescription drug plans, including a Medicare+Choice plan under Medicare+Choice (Medicare part C). Directs the Secretary to solicit bids from entities to offer prescription drug discount card plans to individuals enrolled under part B as long as the entity offering a prescription drug discount card plan does not offer benefits to designees of the plan in addition to high-deductible prescription drug coverage, access to negotiated prices, and other required benefits under this Act. Outlines benefits for low-income beneficiaries, including eligibility for low-income subsidies under the Medicaid program (SSA title XIX). Provides for changes under Medicaid with respect to the enrollment process, including providing for automatic reenrollment without need to reapply.
United States · United States Congress · 1 April 2003
Amends the Investment Company Act of 1940 to exclude from its definition of "investment company" any collective trust fund maintained by a bank consisting solely of certain church pension plans, companies, or accounts specified in the Internal Revenue Code. Amends the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to exempt such church pension plans, companies, or accounts from regulation under such Acts, including registration requirements. (Thus exempts such church pension plans, companies, or accounts from Federal jurisdiction for securities fraud, manipulation, transparency, and disclosure requirements).
![Official portrait of Rep. Ford, Harold E., Jr. [D-TN-9]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/f000262_200.jpg)